Thai Inspired Poached Kingklip
On our honeymoon my husband and I travelled to the most gorgeous little island of Koh Samui, in Thailand. On one of our evenings exploring the island night life, we stumbled upon a restaurant (or should I say a giant hall with trestle tables and an open cooking station). With a name like “Ninja Crepes” we didn’t really know what to expect, but the hall was packed so we decided to give it a try. The food was out of this world with flavours and aromas I can only begin to describe. Ninja Crepes was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, one which we still talk about regularly… our trip into this dodgy “school hall” in the middle of the streets in Thailand, only to eat the best meal of our lives!
So with that in mind, I tried to reinvent the flavours I discovered that night. Simple flavours of coconut, lemongrass and coriander! Enjoy.
- 1kg pack of Greenfish Baby Kingklip Fillets
- 1 tin Coconut Milk
- 1 stem Lemongrass
- Coriander
- 1 lemon
- Salt & Pepper
- (Serve with Rice)
- Finely chop or grate the lemongrass stem
- Remove the coriander leaves from the stems and set aside with the chopped lemongrass
- In a shallow frying pan, pour in the tin of coconut milk
- Add the chopped lemongrass and coriander
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- On a high heat bring to the boil and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes (until the lemongrass softens and infuses the flavour into the coconut milk)
- Add the juice of half a lemon
- While the liquid is still boiling, place the fillets into the poaching liquid and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes
- Turn the fillets over and simmer for a further 5 minutes
- The fish should turn white and flake easily when done
- Remove the fish and reduce the poaching liquid for a further 5 minutes to create a tasty sauce
- Serve with rice and pour the sauce over the fish and rice
- This recipe will work well with any firm white fish
Grilled Dorado in a Lemon Butter Sauce
Because everyone loves butter and garlic… so why not!
- FOR THE FISH
- 1 pack of Greenfish Dorado portions (1kg)
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Butter (melted)
- Salt & Pepper
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 6 tablespoons Butter
- 1 Shallot / small onion (chopped finely)
- 1 heaped teaspoon of Garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Preheat a grill to medium heat
- Place Dorado portions in a bowl and season with salt and pepper
- Drizzle the fish portions with olive oil and 1 tablespoon melted butter
- Place the fish on a tray lined with foil and grill on medium heat for about 12 minutes
- To make the sauce: while the fish is cooking melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan
- Add finely chopped onion to the butter and sauté for about 2 minutes or until softened
- Add minced garlic and sauté for another minute
- Add the chicken stock and simmer until reduced by half
- Add the lemon juice and cook for 2 more minutes
- Remove the pan from the heat
- Add the remaining butter 1 tablespoon at a time until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy
- Add salt and pepper to taste if desired
- Pour butter sauce over the fish once ready to serve.
- It is important not to overcook Dorado. If you are worried rather take the fish out and test it with a fork. The fish should flake easily and still be moist when done.
Garlic Mussel Pot
As a child I clearly remember collecting Black Mussels off the rocks at our holiday home in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape. We would walk up the beach and climb the rocks with our plastic packets collecting mussels and bringing them home to clean, removing the sand and beards in big buckets of fresh water. I can still taste that fresh, salty sea flavour smothered in garlic and butter!
Here is a simple recipe to create a restaurant quality Garlic Mussel Pot in a delicious white sauce, I hope you enjoy!
- 900g half shell mussels (I used frozen mussels acquired from Greenfish Traders)
- 100g butter
- half a cup of flour
- 2 heaped teaspoons of garlic
- 250ml cream
- 2.5 cups of milk
- Salt & Pepper
- A handful of chives (plus some for garnish)
- Remove mussels from packaging and place in a sieve allowing any excess water to be removed
- Set mussels aside
- In a large pot on the stove, melt your butter on a medium heat
- Add flour and mix into butter until it combines
- Add garlic and allow the mixture to bubble for a minute or two (but not brown)
- Using a whisk add cream and stir constantly at the boil, this mixture will thicken quickly
- Add milk and continue to stir with the whisk until the mixture thickens nicely
- Add salt and pepper and chopped chives
- Add mussels to the white sauce mixture and simmer for 10 minutes until the mussels are cooked and the sauce absorbs a lovely seafood flavour
- Serve with rice and/or a french loaf to soak up the sauce
- Garnish the top of with a few freshly chopped chives
Cajun Pan Fried Calamari
Squid is simply delicious, but who knew that such a small little creature of the ocean could hold such wonderful health benefits for our diet as it is loaded in the Vitamin B’s:
Vitamin B2: The plentiful quantities of Vitamin B2 found in squid can lower migraines.
Vitamin B3: This fabulous vitamin helps to stabilise sugar levels in the blood.
Vitamin B12: Here’s to a healthy heart with Vitamin B12 (riboflavin), which is known to lower homocysteine levels in the body, preventing the rate of strokes and heart attacks.
So here is a simple recipe to quickly pan fry all these fabulous Vitamin B’s into a delicious lunch or dinner! Enjoy.
- 1. Squid Tubes and Tenticles (cleaned) - I used 1 x 1kg pack from Greenfish Traders
- 2. Butter
- 3. Garlic
- 4. Cajun Spice
- 5. Salt & Pepper
- 6. Lemon or Lemon Juice
- 7. Sushi Mayonnaise or tartar sauce
- Heat a dry pan on the stove at high heat
- Pan fry the calamari for approx a minute or two to allow it to release any excess water
- Take the calamari off the heat, drain in a colander and set aside
- Pop a good helping of butter into your clean pan
- Add a good helping of garlic
- Throw the dry calamari back into the pan
- Add some cajun spice and salt & pepper
- Fry in the spices for approx 3-5 minutes
- Remove from the heat and squeeze some lemon juice over
- Enjoy with a touch of Sushi Mayonnaise or tartar sauce
The Easiest Grilled Kingklip
Kingklip is a fish many of you will know and love as it is served in a large number of restaurants. Many of you will also know that it can be rather pricey on a menu! So here is a very simple restaurant quality recipe to grill this delicious fish at home for the whole family to enjoy.
The Kingklip I used for this recipe was supplied by Greenfish Traders and has been filleted into 250g portions with skin removed and bone out.
- 1. Good quality Fresh Kingklip Fillets (skin off, bone out)
- 2. Butter
- 3. Crushed Garlic
- 4. Seasoning of choice (I used Robertson Fish Spice)
- 5. Salt & pepper
- Line a tray with tinfoil
- Place Kingklip fillets on lined tray
- Season with salt & pepper and spice of choice
- Spread a generous amount of crushed garlic on top
- Place a few knobs of butter on each fillet
- Turn oven onto Grill function (high heat)
- Place tray on top shelf under grill and grill for 8-10 minutes
- Fish is done when golden brown and flakes apart with a fork.
