Fish Trip Cafe

“Teriyaki” is probably the most popular and well-known Japanese sauce.

This delicious sweet and savoury sauce goes especially well with chicken, salmon and tofu.

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— Chicken Teriyaki (serves 2) —

3 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce

3 tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweetened rice wine)

3 tablespoons sake (rice wine)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 large chicken thighs (or 4 small chicken thighs), skin-on, boneless

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

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Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar in a bowl.

Heat the oil in a frying-pan, lay the chicken, skin side down, and fry over a medium heat until skin is browned. Turn the chicken and cover the frying-pan and steam cook the chicken over a low heat until cooked through.

Pour the sauce in the frying-pan, turning the chicken several times to coat well with the sauce, cook until the sauce became thick.

Cut the chicken crosswise into 3/4 inch slices. Serve hot.

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— Beef and Apricot Tagine (serves 4) —

2 teaspoons turmeric

2 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

800g beef, cut into two inch chunks

2 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped

750ml beef stock

1 tablespoon honey

300g dried apricots

Some couscous

A handful coriander leaves, chopped

Some toasted almond flakes

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Mix the turmeric, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large bowl. Add the beef and toss well with the spices. Cover and marinade overnight in the fridge.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat, fry the beef until browned on all sides, transfer on a plate and set aside.

Add the onion to the pan and saute until softened. Add the garlic and saute for another 1 minute. Add the beef back to the pan and mix well.

Add the beef stock and honey to the pan, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Add the apricots and simmer for another 1 hour or until the beef is tender.

Serve with couscous and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves and almond flakes.

Cherry sauce is not just a pretty face.

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— Pork Tenderloin with Cherry Sauce (serves 2) —

400g pork tenderloin fillet

Salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

*****

— for Cherry Sauce —

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 cup black cherries, pitted

60ml port

100ml chicken stock

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

A pinch of salt

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Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C.

Sprinkle the pork all over with salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a frying-pan over a medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook 4 minutes on each side until browned.

Transfer the pork to a baking pan, roast for about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat, saute the shallot until softened.

Add the cherries, port, stock, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and simmer until the sauce has reduced by half and thickened to a light syrup consistency.

Slice the pork tenderloin and drizzle with the cherry sauce.

Dug up the buried yummy Guinness stew, yay! Happy New Year.

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— Steak & Guinness Pie (serves 4) —

800g braising beef steak, cut into chunks

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 black pepper

2 tablespoons plain flour

3 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

300ml Guinness

200ml beef stock

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

5 springs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

400g Puff pastry dough

1 egg, beaten

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Season the beef with the salt and black pepper, sprinkle with the flour and toss around until coated.

Heat the butter in a heavy-based pan. Add the beef and fry until browned.

Add the onion and fry for 3 minutes, then add the carrot, celery and garlic, cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the Guinness, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaf in the pan. Stir well and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 2 hours until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened.

Remove from the heat and place into a deep pie dish and leave to cool completely.

Heat the oven to 200C / 400F.

Roll out the Puff pastry on a floured surface until slightly larger than the pie dish. Cut off a thin strip of pastry, brash the rim of the pie dish with beaten egg and stick the pastry strip around the rim, pressing it down. Brush the pastry rim with more beaten egg and lay the pastry lid on the pie. Seal the pastry edges with a folk, cut a couple of holes in the pastry to let the steam escape. Brash all aver with the remaining beaten egg.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the pastry is golden.

This is a traditional Vietnamese curry.

The natural sweetness of sweet potatoes and coconut milk contrast against the curry spices, giving the dish a depth of flavour.
Sweet and strong – just like the Vietnamese women who I met in the mountain.

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— Vietnamese Chicken & Sweet Potato Curry (serves 2) —

2 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric

250g skinless chicken thighs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped galangal or ginger

1 stalk lemon grass, finely chopped

1- 2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes (adjust chilli to your taste)

200g sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce)

1/2 tablespoon palm sugar

300ml coconut milk

Hand full of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Cooked basmati rice (for serving)

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Combine the curry powder and ground turmeric in a small bowl.

Place the chicken thighs in a bowl and coat with the half of the spice. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy pan, stir-fry the chopped shallots, galangal and lemon grass over medium heat until fragrant.

Add the spiced chicken, the rest of spice and chilli flakes and then stir-fry about 2 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and stir-fry another 2 minutes.

Add the nuoc mam, palm sugar, coconut milk and 50ml of water. Bring to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or the chicken is tender. stirring occasionally.

Add the coriander leaves.

Serve with basmati rice.

By the way, I’ll never step into IKEA on the weekend again . . .

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— Swedish Meatballs (serves 4) —

This bite-sized Japanese style fried chicken is called ‘karaage’. It’s crisp and juicy, and has a soy sauce based savory flavour.

Karaage makes a great appetizer or light meal, or a perfect picnic snack.
Spring is almost here.

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— Japanese Style Fried Chicken (Serves 2-3) —

400g boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine (sake)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

A pinch of black pepper

3 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch

2 tablespoons plane flour

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Lemon wedges for garnish

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Place the soy sauce, rice wine, minced garlic, grated ginger, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces and mix to coat well. Let marinate for around 30 minutes.

Heat the vegetable oil to 350F / 180C.

Mix the potato starch and flour in a shallow bowl. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and thorough coat each piece in the flour mixture and shake off excess.

Deep-fry in oil for two times (it makes the chicken crispy outside and juicy inside). First, deep-fry for 90 seconds (deep-fry the chicken pieces a few at a time), transfer them onto a wire rack to drain oil, leave them for 4 minutes. Deep-fry again for 40 seconds or until golden brown. Transfer the chicken onto a wire rack to drain excess oil.

Serve with lemon wedges.

This quick and easy red-coloured dish goes perfect with red wine.
Red foods give me full of energy :)

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— Chickpeas with Chorizo (serves 2 – 3) —

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

200g chorizo, sliced

1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 sticks cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon paprika powder

Salt and freshly ground black paper

Flat-leaf parsley, chopped

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Heat the olive oil in a large frying-pan, add the onion and stir-fry over medium heat for 3 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, stir-fry for 1 minutes.

Add the sliced chorizo, chickpeas, paprika powder and cinnamon sticks and stir-fry for further 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat. Season with salt and black pepper.

Garnish with chopped parsley.

Huge flowers in the night sky.

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— Wasabi Mayonnaise Chicken Skewers (8-10 skewers) —

2 teaspoons wasabi paste

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

400g chicken thigh

Salt and papper

Some chives, finely chopped

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Mix the wasabi paste and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Set aside.

Trim the excess skin and fat from the chicken thigh, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.

Thread the chicken onto bamboo skewers, lightly season with salt and pepper.

Grill for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through. Coat the wasabi mayonnaise mixture on top side of the chicken skewers, and then grill for another 2 minutes.

Sprinkle with the finely chopped chives.

I always remember the French film ‘Betty Blue’ when I eat chilli can carne.

This is Betty and Zorg’s (main characters) favourite dish, and it perfectly fits the atmosphere of the film. Deep red colour, Spicy taste and hot temperature.

Betty looks so attractive and sexy when she was eating the chilli con carne straight from a pot in her hand with a large spoon, and this scene made me want to become a woman like Betty (unfortunately, I became a totally different type…).

I made a pot full of chilli con carne today, and tried to eat it like Betty, but it was too hot and I got burned.

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— Chilli con Carne (serves 4) —

1 onion

1 red pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground paprika

1/2 tablespoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes

400g beef mince

200ml red wine

1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato purée

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1 beef stock cube

1 tin  (400g) red kidney beans, drained

Salt and black pepper

*****

Grated cheese, sour cream, boiled rice, to serve

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Finely chop the onion, cut the red pepper into small dice.

Heat the olive oil in saucepan (with a lid), add the chopped onion and stir-fry over medium heat until softened. Add the chopped red pepper, minced garlic, paprika, cumin and chilli flakes, stir-fry for about 3 minutes.

Brown the mince in a separate pan. Add the cooked mince to the onion mixture and mix well. Pour in the red wine and boil for 2-3 minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and crumble in the beef stock cube. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for about 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thickened.

Add the kidney beans and cook for further 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve with boiled rice, grated cheese and sour cream.