Yeah, it ain't Rice a Roni, which in my estimation, is one of the more disgusting products on the shelves at the supermarket. I made this because I wanted to try to come up with something that would excite my eclectic tastes and remind me of my wondrous trip to San Francisco a couple weeks ago. Well, actually San Jose. We went to a Chinese place there and I ordered this dish, "Fish Fillets in Chili Oil"
And it was wondrously flavorful. Very nice. This picture shows how much of the chili oil they use. I had eaten a lot of it, and this is what's left. It was a huge bowl. The place was called Hunan Impressions. We were the only Occidentals there, with one very very Irish redheaded exception. But that guy used his chopsticks with aplomb so I think he fit in well. Me, fork. Anyway, the stuff was fabulous, everything we had. Everyone else had meat, but it was vacation so I tasted it. WOW!
So anyway, I acquired some flounder fillets. I also had more shrimp shells in the freezer. See my previous post about using garbage for food. I made some shrimp stock and then strained well. Then I took some mushrooms and cut small, cooked in olive oil until well browned. Added some cut up red pepper, an onion, some shallots, three celery ribs and ten garlic cloves. Cooked a bit before adding a cup of Reisling. Reduced that, added the stock and simmered for ten minutes. I cut up ten Japones peppers and threw them in. Then added about ten leaves of Napa cabbage chopped fine and two zuchinni diced. Cooked anothe ten minutes. Then in a skillet, I cooked a slice of whole fermented wheat bread in olive oil, turned it over and as the other side browned, added some slices of Asiago cheese. (Remember aged cheeses are much healthier) Then when that was
done, I added some coconut oil and dredged the fish in some seasoned whole wheat flour and fried lightly on each side. Serve the soup in a bowl and put the fish on top with the cheese bread on the side. It was not the same, but it was mighty tasty.
Yep
Indeed, garbage. I have advocated that everyone use garbage in their cooking now for some time. There is nothing easier, healthier, safe than to use garbage to add flavor to any dish you cook. It's not garbage you pull from the dumpsters somewhere, it's the garbage that you and every other person that ACTUALLY cooks food produces every day in the kitchen. It's the carrot peelings, celery tops and root ends, onion skins, and membranes from peppers. Stuff you
would ordinarily toss, garbage. I say it has a use, and that use is to add a wondrous mix of incredible flavors, nutrients and even quite a few vitamins. Yep, it's that old standby in every real kitchen, stock.
Now let me just say that this entire dish is not made from garbage, just the gravy that I poured over the savory waffle. And that, was what tied the entire thing all together. Let me tell you what this thing is. First, the waffle, it's garbanzo rye with scallions and green chilis. Second, the two patties in the front are BeHoon. A sort of Dutch Malaysian dish a friend taught me many years ago. Then to the rear, still sitting atop the waffle is a salmon cake.
Sliced scallions, cilantro and that wondrous gravy made from garbage.
I always buy shell on wild caught Texas Coast shrimp. NEVER BUY IMPORTED FARM RAISED SHRIMP!!! Yeah, that's just so disgusting, if you saw the videos on how it's farmed harvested and processed, you would literally vomit. Anyway, I buy shell on because I get to save the shells. Toss in a bag and throw in the freezer. I took a bag of them out, added some other garbage that I always keep in my freezer, covered with water and simmered for a half hour. Strained, and set aside. Next up was the garbanzo waffles. I always soak my beans and grains to make them healthier. (First in my series of how to do that) Soak a cup of chick peas for a
day, rinsed and boiled for twenty minutes. Drained most of the water from them, put them in a blender, added a quarter cup EVOO and juice of a lemon. Whizzed until smooth and added a bit of sea salt and fresh ground pepper (sheesh, sounds like humus) I then sliced three scallions fine, diced an couple canned green chilis and mixed with a beaten egg. Then mixed in a half cup of Rye flour until stiff. Mixed in a half tablespoon baking powder and a fair amount of Cajun Spice mix (I like the flavor) Dumped in the humus and added just enough of the bean cooking liquid to make a thick batter. I got out the Belgian Waffle iron and made a few.
Next is the BeHoon, it's more like the Chinese Egg Foo Yung than anything else. Just no soy sauce (Yuck) In the mini processor, I put in a couple cups cabbage, a half an onion and a few scallions. Whizzed until chopped uniformly fine. Added some ginger and two eggs along with seas salt and pepper. On a hot griddle, spoon out and make little patties, fry on both sides and stack on a plate to
keep warm. Yeah, these are fabulous.
Salmon. Okay, when canned salmon is on sale, buy some. These are spectacular and you can't ever get enough real high quality wild caught seafood in your diet. Beat an egg with some sliced scallions, salt. pepper, and any spices you want. I hate dill, so I don't use it. Some say it's great in a dish like this . Not for me though. I like red chili flakes. So, I added a bunch. Drained the salmon, added to the bowl and broke it up and took out the spine.(that part is always kinda gross) mixed it up, made little burgers and fried in EVOO until browned on each side.
Assembly, one waffle, two BeHoon, one salmon cake and pour over some of the shrimp sauce that you thickened with a bit of Arrowroot. Oh baby,
Yep
