COOKING WITH FISH - My Sweet and Spicy Fish Dish recipe

Speaking with a friend yesterday I mentioned I was going to cook some fish for dinner. She told me she rarely uses fish as she really didn't understand how best to cook it or what flavours she should be using. I think the only reason I am as comfortable cooking seafood as I am is because I am a semi-vegetarian and have been for well over 20 years.

For those who are unsure the best way to cook fish at home here are some suggestions:

• Placing a piece of salmon fillet onto a baking tray loosely wrapped in foil and topped with thinly sliced lemon, sprinkled with salt and cracked pepper. Alternatively you could drizzle a little teriyaki sauce over your fish for a sweet oriental taste. Cook for 20-30 mins in oven on 160c, depending on your oven and portion size. Check after 10 mins and then every 5 mins after until the salmon is a lighter pink. You can slice an end off to double check if it's cooked through. The salmon will usually give off a white milky liquid towards the end when it's ready.
• Cover a piece of white fish (like barramundi or perch) with lemon pieces and finely chopped dill, salt and cracked pepper. Wrap loosely in foil and cook on BBQ or in oven.
• Lightly flour (rice flour will work too), sprinkle with salt and pepper some small whiting fillets, then pan fry in a little oil. Yes it's cooked in oil, but the trick here is to have only 2-3 little pieces and load your plate with a good healthy salad. This is a quick and easy dish that should take only 15 mins from start to finish!

Tonight I made a scrumptious fish dish using asian-inspired flavours. I used my Thermomix but there is no reason you can't steam your fish in a microwave or cooktop steamer and make your sauce in a pan. It will take slightly longer than using your TM but the outcome should be fairly similar!

SWEET AND SPICY FISH DISH

INGREDIENTS

1 garlic clove
1 small piece of ginger
2 chillies (green for medium, red for mild)
2 shallots
2 capsicum
Squeeze of half a lemon or lime
20g or 3 tbsp Fish sauce
40g or 6tbsp of Agave syrup (or brown sugar)
20g or 3tbsp coconut oil
Himalayan Salt (or table salt)
Paprika
Turmeric
1 extra large piece of Ling fillet (cut into individual portions)
TO SERVE WITH: Either steamed rice OR Noodles
OPTIONAL: Extra finely sliced vegetables

TM=Thermomix, FP=Food processor

Chop Chillies, ginger and garlic in TM for 5 seconds on Speed 5 or FP medium speed.
Add coconut oil to TM bowl or move FP mixture and oil to deep pan.
Place ling fillets into the top of TM Varoma tray or standard steamer with baking paper lining underneath.
Sprinkle turmeric, salt and paprika on your fish.
Put varoma tray on top in position on your TM or commence your steamer.
Cook oil & garlic mixture in TM on Varoma temp for 2 mins, Speed 2. Or pan fry mixture for 3 mins, stirring regularly.
Now add fish sauce, lemon/lime juice, pinch salt, agave, 250mls water to TM bowl or pan.
Set TM on Varoma temp, Speed 2 for 10 mins or continue pan-frying on medium heat, stirring regularly.
Add sliced capsicums or other finely sliced vegetables to TM bowl or pan.
Now set TM on Varoma temp ON REVERSE SPEED 1 for 10 mins or pan fry until capsicums/vegies are cooked well.
Check the fish to see if it has cooked through when TM has around 5 mins left on the clock. If using a steamer please regularly check your fish as I am unsure the exact cooking time for your individual steamer.
When fish is cooked through the sauce underneath in your TM will be done. For a chunky sauce you can take Reverse off and blend for 3 seconds on Speed 5 or serve as you like.

I used my Thermomix for this recipe. Once fish and sauce were done I rinsed my SlimPasta Wok ready noodles under water in my TM basket and drained well. I then placed noodles into the Thermoserver and added sauce over, keeping lid on for 2 minutes. Drain off excess liquid from fish and serve the noodles/sauce into your bowl with your fish on top. Cover with extra sauce and serve. Alternatively steamed rice or noodles of your choice will go nicely too!

This serves approx 4 adults OR 2 adults and 4 small children. My kids loved this dish, as they don't mind a bit of heat in their food. If you or your children don't like hot spicy food so much then add only 1 red chilli and a little less sweetener to balance your flavour.

I chose Ling fillet for this recipe as it is a hardy fish that holds together well. It has very little flavour so lends itself nicely to spicy, curry style dishes. Buy Australia Ling from a good fish supplier (like mine at Logan Rd Underwood, Big Gun service road towards the Aquatics Centre end) or your local supermarket. It is usually reasonably priced around $20 per kg or sometimes less on special. I spent $14 on my family sized portion.

Steaming fish is a good healthy option and you can add your flavour with the sugar free, low fat sauce. Slimpasta noodles are an excellent gluten free option which not only taste great but have a good texture and need very little preparation. They are available at Coles and most supermarkets in the health food aisle.