Teriyaki Salmon with Stir Fried Bak Choy

Happy New Year friends!

The last quarter of 2011 was absolutely crazy juggling full time work during the day, photography work in the afternoon and the family on top of that. So I'm really happy to be able to post something for you all today and really thankful that you are still around supporting this lil foodie blog of mine :) 

So my first food post for 2012 is this Teriyaki Salmon with Stir Fried Bak Choy dish. It all sounds fancy but it is so easy to prepare; a simple dish that can be cooked at a leisurely pace on the weekends. 

Serves 4 | 30 minutes plus marinating time

Ingredients

4 cuts of Salmon, (approximately 100g each)

120mL soy sauce

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon minced ginger

2 Tablespoons wine vinegar

1 teaspoon minced garlic for teriyaki marinade

2 Tablespoons tomato sauce

2 bunches of Bak Choy, chopped and separated into stalks and leaves

1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

½ cup water

1 teaspoon minced garlic for bak choy

Olive oil spray

1. In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, wine vinegar, garlic and tomato sauce to make teriyaki marinade.

2. In a shallow tray, place Salmon skin up and pour the marinade over. Cover and refrigerate for one or two hours. 

3. After marinading, heat up a pan on medium-high heat and spray the surface with olive oil. Cook the Salmon skin-side down first. Depending on the thickness of the Salmon, it should take around 10 minutes on each side. 

4. Flip the Salmon over and once turned, add the remaining marinade to the pan. Once cooked, set aside until ready to serve.

5. Heat up a wok on high heat and spray with olive oil and fry garlic. Then add the stalks of the Bak Choy into the wok, cooking until it is slightly soft. 

6. When the stalks are slightly soft, add the Bok Choy leaves, oyster sauce and water. Stir until the leaves are only slightly wilted. This should only take a minute or two.

7. Once the stir fried Bok Choy is finish set aside. Divide the Salmon and Bak Choy amongst 4 plates and serve with steamed rice.

Prawn Pasta

I credit my sister in law for introducing me to this Gordon Ramsay recipe from his book The F Word. When I first tasted it, I was just dying for more! Even though this is a white sauce pasta, it is light and I can guarantee you will find yourself serving up a second plate after polishing the first. This dish is something you would expect to see on the menu of a fancy cafe and pay premium dollars. Now, you can enjoy it in the comfort of your home. Just don't forget the vino ;)

Serves 6 | 30 minutes

Ingredients

500g cooked Prawns

600g cherry Tomatoes

3 spring onions, finely sliced

¹/₈ teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1 level Tablespoon of mince garlic or 1 clove garlic chopped

200g double thickened cream

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

500g dried spaghetti

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried parsley, plus extra to serve

1 teaspoon dried dill

1. Using a heavy-based pan, heat up olive oil on medium heat and brown spring onion, garlic and chilli flakes. 

2. Add tomatoes to the pan and stir occasionally until the tomatoes are soft.

3. Cook your dried pasta according to packet instructions.

4. While the pasta is cooking, add prawns, parsley and dill to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper according to your taste.

5. Add in thickened cream and mix the sauce's ingredients. Warm through gently for a couple of minutes on medium heat. 

6. Drain the pasta and toss with the pasta sauce. Serve immediately. 

Fried Masala Fish Bites

A simple week-day dish that can be served up as dinner on a bed of rice, or as a great appetizer. Regardless of how you wish to serve these Fried Masala Fish Bites, they are a crowd favourite - even with the kids!

Serves 4 as a meal | 15 minutes plus marinade time
Ingredients
3 Basa fish fillets
2 tablespoon fish masala
¹/₂ teaspoon salt
vegetable oil for deep frying


1. Cut fish into bite sized piece and mix with the fish masala and salt, ensuring all sides of the fish bites are covered.

2. Cover the marinated fish with Glad-wrap and leave to refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes.

3. Heat up a frying pan with the vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Fry the marinated fish on both sides in batches. Once fried, place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the oil.

4. Once all the batches of fish are fried, serve on lettuce leaves as nibbles or on a bed of rice or salad to serve as a main.

Notes and Variations
While I have used Basa fillets in this recipe, any firm fish can be used.
Also, if you cannot get hold of fish masala (which can generally be found at your local gourmet / Oriental grocer), standard mild curry powder can be used. Keens Curry powder is an alternative that I use when I have run out of fish masala.

Chorizo and Scallop

As fancy as this dish sounds, it does not reflect just how simple and easy it is to cook. Using so few yet oh so tasty ingredients means you can impress the guests, or indulge yourself, in this sumptuous dish by Nigella Lawson.

Makes 8 as a starter | 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 chorizo sausage
250g scallops
1 tablespoon parsley (fresh or dried)
¹/₂ juice of half a lemon


1. Thinly slice your chorizo sausage and if the scallops you've purchased are thick, slice them in half length ways to make thin discs.

2. Heat up a frying pan on medium-high and cook the chorizo on both sides. When done, place on a separate plate but do not remove the oil from the pan.

3. Now sear the scallops in the chorizo oil on both sides.

3. Once the scallops are cooked, return the chorizo to the pan and add the lemon juice and parsley. Mix through for a few minutes to infuse.

4. When all the flavours have infused, divvy into serving portions and enjoy!

** Original recipe from Nigella Lawson's Quick Collection app - Scallop & Chorizo **

Seared Scallops and Pork Belly with Honey, Soy and Ginger Reduction

Whenever my husband and I go to a restaurant and find this dish on the menu, it is ALWAYS ordered. We love it! Alas there was a day that I was really craving this but we couldn't go to a restaurant. So I thought bugger it, I'm going to try cooking it! With advance preparation, this dish was rather simple to make and at a fraction of the cost at that the restaurants charge us per dish, you can make extra without hurting the purse. 

Serves 4 

Ingredients

500g pork belly, skin off

12 scallops

250mL light soy sauce

2 tablespoon clear honey

25g ginger

light olive oil

1. Roast pork belly in a low temperature oven (120-140⁰C) for 3 hours. Take out and cool, then cut into block pieces.

2. Add soy, honey and grated ginger together in a saucepan, bring to the boil and pass through a fine sieve and allow to cool at room temperature. 

3. Heat a large non-stick pan and add a little light olive oil. Season pork on all sides and fry until coloured on all sides. Take out and place on a paper towel.

4. Season the scallops and put into the same frying pan. You only need to sear the scallops on both sides (so no need to overcook). Then take out and place on a paper towel.

5. Arrange pork belly and scallops on a plate and drizzle with reduction.

Notes and Variations

So simple and yet such a joy to eat. For ease, I did step one 24 hours before I planned to serve this and by doing so it made the dish less stressful to make. After completing step one, I put it in the refrigerator until I was ready to fry it up as per step 3. I think this recipe will also go well with a citrus salad, to add a bit of pizzazz. 

** Original recipe from The West Australian Life and Style Recipe: Seared Scallop & Pork Belly **