Steaming Live Clams and Boned Fish in Toshiba ER-GD400HK

We love seafood soooooooo much! Had been having seafood for dinner for a few days in a row but still want to have more. We went to the supermarket yesterday and bought some Patagonian Toothfish kirimi (aka Chilean Seabass) and US Manila clams.

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We had "Arugula Salad and Steamed Manila Clams" and "Steamed Seabass with Saffron Cream Sauce". I still need some time to organize the notes I jogged down for the dressing, sauce and topping, what I want to share today is steaming live clams and boned fish with Toshiba ER-GD400HK.

• I selected the steam mode at desired temperature and allow it to run for 5 minutes before putting the seafood into the oven.
• I put the seafood onto small stainless steel trays and steamed at different temperature and time for different ingredients:

                         - For the clams, they are medium sized, I steamed them at 95C for 6 minutes
                         - For the fish (100g x 2 pieces), I steamed it at 90C for 7 minutes

The clams were tender and succulent and the fish was just done, very tender and melts in the mouth with the saffron cream sauce.

Arugula Salad with Steamed Manila Clams

Steamed Seabass with Saffron Cream Sauce

Conclusion: Steaming food in stainless steel trays cooks a lot faster than in containers of other material.

Roasted Spring Chicken Stuffed with Chanterelles and Pearl Barley 焗雞油菌洋薏米釀春雞

As we expected to have a chilly rainy day today, we went to the supermarket to grab some grocery last night. I wanted to live vongole while my hubby wanted to have frozen cod and we could not compromise, so we decided to cook something we already had in the fridge: frozen French yellow spring chicken.

Ingredients: (for 2)

• Spring chicken
• Pearl barley (30g), cooked in vegetable stock until soft
• Chanterelles (5g), re-hydrated, rinsed and chopped
• Shallot, 1 clove, finely chopped
• Carrot, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons 
• Fresh thyme, 2 sprigs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable stock or water, as needed
• Extra virgin olive oil

From top left clockwise: cooked pearl barley, re-hydrated chanterelles, fresh thyme, chopped shallot, chopped carrot.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. In a hot pan, drizzle with oil. Add the shallot and saute until softened.
3. Add the chaterelles and carrots, saute until the aroma released. 
4. Add the cooked pearl barley and thyme leaves, mix well. Add stock tablespoon by tablespoon until the mushrooms are tender.
5. Add salt and pepper to season.

   

   Should add more liquid to cook the stuffing.

6. Stuff the prepared stuffing into the chicken cavity until full. Tie the chicken.
7. Rub the chicken with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

   

   Never throw away the elastic tie that comes with the chicken, keep it to tie the bird to keep in good shape after roasting.

8. Roast in the oven for 45-60 minutes until cooked through. When the chicken is already golden brown, cover with foil to prevent over-browning.
9. Serve with blanched vegetables and salads.

Tomato Burdock Bisque 蕃茄牛蒡濃湯

Tomato and burdock are our staple and the flavors of these two ingredients complement each other perfectly. We had tomato burdock bisque in a restaurant and it was good and want to have a bowl of this on a chilly rainy day. I searched the internet and found nothing similar for reference...so I cooked it MY way!

The ingredients should be enough to feed 2-3 persons but it was too delicious and not enough to feed us both! XD

Served with homebaked wholewheat grissini, Italian breadsticks, topped with dried oregano and freshly grated pecorino.

Tomato Burdock Bisque (for 2-3)

Ingredients:

• Chopped canned tomatoes in juice, 1 can (400g)
• Burdock root, 50g, scrubbed and thinly sliced
• Shallot, 2 cloves, sliced
• Carrot, finely chopped (Optional. Just had leftover ingredient from another dish)
• Oregano, fresh, 1 sprig (or replace by dried herb) 
• Vegetarian stock, 1 cup (or replace with water)

Method:

1. In a hot pan, drizzle with oil, stir-fry the shallot until softened.
2. Add the carrot and burdock and saute for a few minutes until slightly browned.
3. Pour in the tomatoes and the stock and bring to a boil.
4. Add the oregano and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Used a blender/food processor to blend the soup. (I used handheld blender today.)
6. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.

Quinoa, Celery and Cucumber Salad with Canned Sardines

We had been dining out too much in the past two weeks, thus I decided to have "clean" meals at home during the holidays. I made Quinoa, Celery and Cucumber Salad with Canned Sardines for lunch today.

Quinoa can be a substitute for grains, very health even for diabetes because it has very low G.I. It is an excellent source of carbohydrates with high-quality protein, low fat and high fibre. Quinoa is easy to prepare and I always cook extra and keep some in the fridge for convenience.

Tri-color royal quinoa. Quinoa is a staple for ancient Incas. Although we always substitute quinoa for grains, it is in fact a vegetable seed.

How to prepare quinoa for salads?

1. Pour quinoa in a sieve and rinse in running water for a minute to remove the substance saponin on the seeds which gives a bitter taste.
2. Combine 1 part quinoa with 2 parts of tap water and bring to the boil. Simmer until the water is absorbed, which takes for 10 minutes or so.
3. Transfer the cooked seeds to a bowl and allow to steam.
4. Add lugs of extra virgin olive oil and fluff up with a fork.
5. Add finely chopped ginger root, garlic and onion to the seeds while still warm and mix thoroughly. Give a good splash of white wine vinegar or your favorite vinegar, mix well and allow to cool. It can then be stored in the fridge. Consume within 3-4 days.

This salad tastes best when chilled, so I always combine the ingredients and dressing 1-2 hours ahead and take it out from the fridge just before serving. 

Ingredients I used today:

From top left clockwise:

• Celery stalks, stringed and diced
• Cucumber, diced
• Pimiento in assorted colours, seeded and diced

  

  Pimientos, love the vivid colors and sweetness!

• Japanese scallions, chopped
• Cherry tomatoes, quartered

Other ingredients:

• Black olives, sliced
• pickled gherkins, diced
• Coriander, chopped
• Avocado, sliced
• Canned sardines

Dressing:

• Extra virgin ve oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Honey
• Freshly grated black pepper

Method: Mix everything in a large salad bowl and chill.