seafood

Udon, Seafood & Bok Choy

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As far as I am concerned, all noodles could be udon noodles.
I just love them in any prep variation, be it with seafood, beef,
mushrooms, in a soup, sautéed, stir fried, any which way will do it for me 🙂
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Click here to read all about UDON
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Ingredient’s :

Udon noodles,   fresh, from your Asian market
Mixed seafood, any type you prefer
Baby bok choy,
Onion,   sliced
Cilantro,   coarsely chopped
Garlic,   paste
Ginger,   grated
Soy sauce,
Sherry,
Sriracha,
Oyster sauce,
Sesame oil,
Chili oil,
Lime juice,
Peanut oil, to saute

Method :

Saute seafood in very hot peanut oil, remove onto absorbent paper. Add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until translucent and fragrant. Add noodles, bok choy, soy sauce, oyster sayce, sriracha and a bit of sherry wine and saute until noodles are heated trough. Remove from heat, add seafood and sesame oil, mix well. To serve, drizzle with lime juice and chili oil, sprinkle with cilantro.

Note:
As you can see from the mis en place picture, I used inexpensive (but nevertheless good) mixed seafood since this was only a go-between snack. For a more elegant and important meal, use large prawns, scallops, lobster, mussels, etc. However, the taste of the dish and the texture of the noodles should be satisfying either way.

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Spicy Squid & Vegetables

This recipe work’s as well with other seafood, such as shrimp, mussels, lobster, cuttlefish, octopus, etc. Even chicken, beef, pork, or all vegetables for a vegetarian version, you name it. But here, squid it is. The secret to a successful squid dish is to not overcook the squid. Sauteing a few seconds in a very hot pan, then removing them and adding back to the dish at the very end of the dishes cooking process, making sure they don’t simmer or boil anymore, will do the trick.
Enjoy 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Squid, cleaned, cut into squares
Potatoes, peeled, cut into thick slices, cooked
Corn on the cob, sliced, cooked
Cauliflower, rosettes, blanched
Tomatoes, diced
Onions, diced
Garlic, paste
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt,
Hoisin sauce,
Scotch bonnet hot sauce,
Soy sauce,
Ketchup,
Peanut oil, to saute,

Method :

Saute squid on high heat until opaque, 3-4 seconds, remove, reserve.
Saute garlic and onions until fragrant, add all other ingredients
and saute until heated through. Remove from heat, mix with squid.
To serve, sprinkle with fair amount of cilantro.

Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Seafood & Pasta Salad

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I came home from work early today and the
weather outside was just gorgeous . What better than
a book, ice tea and a cool seafood salad that can
be prepared in a few minutes. Great afternoon, recharged
my batteries and feel wonderfully relaxed.
Now it is time for a new post, then dinner and a movie,
“Ziti in Wodka Sauce” and “Kill shot” with Christopher Walken.

Life is Good !
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Ingredient’s :

Conchigliette, cooked, drained
Shrimps, poached, peeled, tails remove except three for garnish
Octopus, canned, drained
Straw mushroom, canned, drained
Tuna, canned, drained
Peppers, diced (3 colors)
Garlic, paste
Cilantro, chopped
Scallion, sliced
Cucumber, sliced
Egg, hard boiled, sliced
Mayonnaise, freshly made
– (it only takes a minute to make and it’s so much better than store bought)
Horseradish cream,
Lime juice,
Kosher salt,
Black pepper, freshly ground
Olive oil,
Vinegar,

Method :

Take 1/4 of the seafood and marinade with lime, salt,
pepper and olive oil.
Mix remaining seafood , pasta, part of the horseradish
cream, mayo, peppers, lime juice, salt and pepper. Adjust
seasoning to your liking. Place salad on bottom of bowl,
top with the marinated seafood.
To serve, drizzle eggs and cucumber with olive oil and vinegar,
sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with some horseradish
cream to dip the shrimp. Enjoy 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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The ( culinary) world is a big, beautiful, interesting, evolving place, and it’s center is not necessarily in our own backyard :-)

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Hans Susser wrote on LinkedIn
about the vanishing need of butchery knowledge by chef‘s :

Dear fellow professionals,
It always amazes me how many americans think we are in the center of the world and only our practices make sense and are up to date. The fact is that in most countries around the world there is a paralel world of meat utilisation. While there are comercial slaughterhouses everywhere, the majority of meat and seafood is processed on a much smaller scale. Those chef’s who travel the world practicing their trade will be faced with the fact of seeing whole animals being delivered to their hotels and restaurants and then broken down on the property. Dishes are being cooked from every part of the animal,including the blood, feet, snout, heads, etc, etc. A chef would look pretty silly and useless not to be able to teach his staff to work more time effective, cost effective and cleaner while doing these tasks. Then you have the areas where game is a big attraction during the seasons and again, many hunters just take out the digestive tract and deliver the animal whole, pelt, head, innards, EVERYTHING 🙂
Imagine the waste which would occur (and it does) when the animals are not handled by knowledgeable folks.
Unnecessary craft and skills ? Not in my opinion, unless you plan to work in a environment without creativity. I am aware that sometimes we don’t have the opportunity to be creative to a certain point, after all, we need enough customers who are willing to pay for dishes they have never heard of or are not currently on the “in”list. However, if given the chance, we should embrace the opportunity to be well rounded chef’s who can carry on the traditional skills which will always be needed in one place or another, during one time or another.
While I have embraced the convenience and cost effectiveness of buying pre-cut meat and fish on many occasions and places, being able to break down the whole animal was a far more common requirement during my career. I have also worked with a professionally trained american butcher who was amazed by how much he could learn from me in all aspects of butchery, from the traditional cuts as they are done around the world, down to sausage making and breaking down seafood. So in conclusion, it is my opinion that if you work in an environment where certain skills are not required, please don’t dismiss them as being unnecessary and antiquated.
The ( culinary) world is a big, beautiful, interesting, evolving place, and it’s center is not necessarily in our own backyard 🙂

” Moqueca de Frutos do Mar “

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Another 10 minute meal that looks and tastes like a thousand bucks 🙂
When I worked at the Intercontinental in Rio de Janeiro,
I had this for lunch at least twice a week at the pool restaurant.
Last night when I made this, I felt transported back in time to Rio
and it’s many beautiful treasures, the food, the caipirinhas,
the vistas, the beaches and,most of all, the beautiful people who live life to it’s fullest.
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Ingredients :

2 lbs of mixed seafood
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
6 onions, chopped
2 green peppers, de-seeded and chopped
2 red peppers, de-seeded and chopped
2 bunch spring onions spring onions, finely sliced
6 limes, halved
2 tbsp light olive oil
1 pint coconut milk
3 tablespoons light olive oil _ *
1/2 ladle dende oil (substitute with annatto oil) _
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method :

Heat a large sauté pan with the olive oil.
Saute the onion and garlic until opaque.
Add the sea food, saute for two minutes.
Add the coconut milk and bring to a gentle bubble.
After 2 minutes, carefully stir the seafood.
Slowly simmer until the seafood is almost done.
Add the remaining vegetables and half the
herbs and simmer for two minutes.
Transfer to a large serving dish and sprinkle with
remaining herbs and spring onions.
Drizzle lime juice and dende oil (if available) over the top.

*Cook’s Note: Dende Oil is an African palm-oil,
widely used in the Brazilian state of Bahia.
If not locally available, substitute with annatto oil.

Bom apetite ! Vida é boa !
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” Seafood Salad “

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“CANNED” seafood you ask ?

If it is not fresh it doesn’t hit my plate you say ?

Of course, I agree that fresh seafood is heaven on earth
when properly prepared, But sometimes in the real world
you come home late and want something tasty and don’t
feel like cooking. Here is what I did last night :
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The result ?
A great salad done in 10 minutes ( Hard boiled egg‘s take their time )

Ingredients:

Fresh / canned seafood of your liking (What’s in your cupboard)
Cucumber, salted for 5 minutes, rinsed
Hard boiled egg’s, diced
Radish, julienned
Bell peppers, julienned
Chilies, julienned
Garlic, paste
Parsley, chopped