Steam bag fish and corn salsa

Fish is not something I've always been confident in cooking at home. As kids we didn't grow up eating a lot of fish. Instead our diet was mostly made up of vegetables alongside meat or chicken prepared in a multitude of ways.

As I began eating out a lot more in later years, I would regularly order fish when out at a restaurant. However I was not game to cook it often at home. In fact in the early days my attempts at cooking fish generally produced over cooked or dry fish so for a long time I avoided cooking it at home. Which in itself created a problem as I love to eat it.


So on I went thinking I would just live with never cook fish at home. That is until a friend shared this cooking method of effectively creating a steam bag. This cooking method means that the fish remains really moist and flaky as the moisture can't escape from the bag. The creation of a steam bag also allows you to add other liquids like stock, wine Asian sauces or pretty much any flavouring you heart desires.

In this instance I added soy sauce together with some shallots, garlic, chilli and sesame oil for a really fragrant piece of fish. I served this with a really simple corn salsa with a lime juice dressing.

I'm happy to report that these days I cook fish regularly at home, and with a bit of practice it proved not to be as scary as I once thought!




Steam bag fish with corn salsa
Serves 2


Ingredients:
2 x 140g fish fillets (I used ling this time but vary it with whatever fresh fish I can get at the time)
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
2 small garlic cloves, finely diced
2 Tbs coriander leaves
1 tsp sesame oil
S&P

For the salsa:
1 large corn cob, kernels removed
½ capsicum, finely diced
½ small cucumber, finely diced
1 Tbs coriander, finely chopped
Juice from ½ lime
1 Tbs olive oil
S&P

1. Preheat oven to 180C fan forced.
2. Take 2 lengths of aluminium foil approximately 20cm long and lay it on a bench. Take a slightly smaller length of baking paper and lay it on top of each piece of foil.
3. Place a piece of fish on each section of the baking paper. Create a bag with an opening at the top by rolling the sides of the foil.
4. On each piece of fish in the bag place 1Tbs soy, ½ tsp sesame oil, half the spring onions, garlic, coriander and S&P.
5. Seal the top of each bad by rolling the foil completely closed ensuring each bag is sealed.
6. Place each steam bag on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
7. Place all the salsa ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well.
8. Serve the fish either still in the steam bag or placed onto a warm plate with a side of corn salsa.

Beef, ginger & honey stew

It's been a strange old summer here. While there have certainly been a few hot days and also some steamy humid days, much of summer was marked with rain and quite a few cool days. Where we live up in the mountains, it is usually a bit cooler no matter the time of year compared with Sydney. There have been days during summer I would have considered to be soup days. But I hung on and stuck to the mostly lighter summer fare, somehow unable to cook hearty cool weather dishes until at least the calendar said Autumn had arrived.


I love the arrival of autumn and it is by far my favourite season for cooking. I love the slight crispness in the air and how it draws me ever closer to the kitchen. I can happily spend much of the weekend pottering around the kitchen with a pot bubbling away slowly. Or I am very happy with coffee cup in one hand, flicking through one of my recipe books and seeking inspiration for the next dish.


So with the arrival of autumn, I was absolutely hanging out for the first cool day when I could make something hearty and warming. As good as the summer salads were with all their infinite variety, by the end of summer I am really loooking to cook something more substantial not to mention slow cooked.


I decided on this beef, ginger and honey stew which is slow cooked for an hour and a half to produce a luscious stew and tender falling apart beef. The ingredients here are an inspiration from the many Asian ingredients in my pantry and the ginger I had bought from the green grocer that morning.


Beef, ginger & honey stew
Serves 4

Ingredients:
600g beef (I used rump but use any cheaper cut of meat in this dish), diced
2 large carrots. Sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2cm ginger, finely chopped
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs Chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp dried chilli (optional)
1 ½ cups beef stock
Pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs plain flour

1. In a heavy based saucepan, heat the olive oil and brown the beef in batches. Remove beef from pan and set aside.
2. To the pan in a little olive oil, sauté the vegetables, chilli (if using), garlic and ginger for a few minutes.
3. Return the beef to the pan with the vegetables. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add the soy sauce, wine, honey, sesame oil, pepper and stock. Allow to come to a simmer.
5. Place on a lid and simmer on very low heat for about 1.5 hours until the meat is very tender.
6. Serve with rice or noodles if desired.