 Tender chunks of salmon in garlicky, creamy coconut sauce infused with coriander.
There are so many great ways to make salmon, and this is definitely one of the top in my books. Simple, and goes well with a side of rice, cauliflower rice, or even some mashed potatoes. You can use either salmon or trout for this, their flaky pink flesh wonderfully contrasting the pale green, fragrant sauce. What You Need: 1 fillet salmon, de-boned and cleaned 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced 1 large red chili, sliced at an angle 1 cup coconut milk 1 large handful coriander Juice of 2 large limes Broccoli florets (optional) What You Do: 1. In a blender, blitz the coconut milk with coriander until you get a beautiful, green-hued liquid. 2. In a non-stick pot, heat two tablespoons of olive oil. 3. Cut the salmon into bite sized chunks. Into the hot pot. Cook for 2 minutes (it's okay if it's undercooked at this stage). Remove salmon. 4. In the same pot, add the sliced garlic and chili. Sautee until fragrant. If using broccoli, add them now. Stir. 5. Add the coconut milk. If it's too thick, add some water. You want a slightly runny sauce. Season with salt and pepper. 6. Add salmon, and let simmer away for a few minutes on a very low heat. 7. Turn off the heat. Add the lime juice little by little. Taste as you go along. You're looking for a tangy, creamy sauce. 8. Serve warm, over a bed of rice, or cauliflower rice, or even with some potatoes. 9. Great. Now even I'm craving some.  If you live in Malaysia or Thailand then it's pretty common to see this dish pretty much in every Thai or Malaysian-Thai hybrid eateries - I mean, it is the mother of all steamed fish recipes. It's spicy and acidic in the best way possible, and you'll keep eating it even as your stomach develops an ulcer and that your tummy feels a weird kind of warm afterwards.
Although there are so many restaurants that do this well, sometimes when I am in hermit-mode, I like to make this at home and eat it at my leisure without the need to put on pants. The key to this recipe's success is that the fish has to be FRESH. SUPER FRESH. Otherwise, don't do it. What You Need: 1 medium-sized, FRESH AF seabass, scaled, gutted and cleaned (dude just get the fishmonger to do it) 1 handful leafy Asian greens 1 tomato, quartered 4 cloves of garlic, peeled 5 bird's eye chili 1 inch ginger 3 large limes, juiced Equal amount of fish sauce to the lime juice 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp chicken stock Some chopped coriander What You Do: 1. Get your steamer out. Lay our the vegetables, and place the fish on top of it. Stuff that fish with quartered tomato. Steam that fish for 15-20 mins. 2. In a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic and chilies together until you get a coarse paste. 3. In a small pot, heat the chicken stock, 1 cup water, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and the garlic-chili paste until everything is mixed and heated through. Check for taste. It should be sharply acidic, with a nice balanced taste of fish sauce, and some heat. Add more of any of the ingredients if necessary. 4. When the fish is thoroughly cooked, remove the plate onto the table. Pour over the sauce onto the fish. 5. Garnish with the copped coriander. 6. Enjoy, but also don't foget the Gaviscon/Tums for later, just in case.  Fish scares the shit out me. For one, I come from a household where fish is usually eaten with rice, and so any other variation is not as familiar to me. Second, they are so damn delicate. Unlike chicken or meat, they break easily in the pan, and if you buy them at the wrong places they tend to smell fishy and downright gross.
But the thing is, fish is so much better than meat. Just as much protein, but with a lot less fat. Due to these reasons I have taught myself again and again to try and cook fish, and hey! Turns out, it really isn't all that hard or scary. Tuna tataki sounds like some fancy dish that you eat in a Japanese restaurant so fancy that you need to pay everything with a credit card and pay it off in 3 consecutive months, but no. With simple ingredients that you probably already have at home, all you need is a piece of tuna steak, which I get from my neighborhood Cold Storage for RM15. You don't need a credit card for that. This recipe makes a plate for 1. What You Need: For the tuna... 1 piece tuna steak (it doesn't really matter how big) 1 tsp dijon mustard 2 tsp olive oil 2-3 tbsp coarse ground black pepper For the soba noodles and broccoli... 1 handful soba noodles Broccoli, cut into long florets 1-2 tbsp sesame seeds 1 small piece ginger, peeled and grated 2 tbsp light soy sauce Some chili flakes What You Do: 1. First, get some water boiling in a pot on the stove. Wash and slice the broccoli into long florets. 2. Now, the tuna. Scatter the coarsely ground black pepper onto a dry, flat plate. Mix the mustard and oil, and season really well with salt. Brush the sides of the tuna with this until well-coated. 3. Now roll that tuna onto the peppercorns, so that the tuna is now crusted with them. 4. Heat a pan to high, and toast the sesame seeds until golden. Remove the seeds. 5. In the same pan over high heat, sear that tuna steak. This takes a really, really short while. Really. Like 50-60 seconds each side ONLY. Remove the fish onto a cutting board. 6. When the water begins boiling in the pot, add the soba noodles and the broccoli. Remove after 3 minutes, or until soba is cooked through. 7. Mix the ginger, chili flakes and soy sauce. Dress the noodles with it. Add the sesame seeds to the noodles. Spoon some of the dressing over the broccoli. 8. Slice up the tuna steaks really thinly, and serve with the noodles and broccoli. 9. Keep that credit card of yours for some other day.  Reality: Either it’s a classic case of I-bought-salmon-then-left-it-in-the-fridge-for-a-little-too-long, or buying a pre-packed fillet of salmon that turned out to be not fresh enough for plain grilling. That’s normal, especially if you’re an ambitious working gal who thinks she’ll cook the week away but ended up never having the time to (read=me). In cases like these, what should we do with that salmon? Here’s a recipe for salmon fishcakes, which, when mixed with other great flavor combination, makes the whole thing taste great with no weird extra-fishy smell. Poaching the salmon makes sure the fishcakes grill easier, and mixing it with a medley of peppers, onion and carrot makes it healthy too. This recipe makes 6 fishcakes What You Need: 1 salmon fillet ½ yellow capsicum, chopped ½ red capsicum, chopped ½ carrot, chopped 1 red onion, chopped 1 cup breadcrumbs 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard (or any mustard, really) 1 tbsp. mayo ½ tsp. whole black peppercorns 1 egg What You Do:
**It's also smart to use your observation when mixing. Start small, and if it's too runny, add more breadcrumbs.    I am obsessed with all things Vietnamese! (Okay maybe just the food for now) They are always so simple and so healthy. This fish dish is a personal favourite, not to mention a hit when we made it for a girls’ night in dinner the other day. And it's so tasty, I definitely make it even when I'm not on a detox. They key is to make sure that everything is fresh – it really does make a difference to the whole dish! This serves 1 if you’re eating just fish with vegetables. What You Need: 1 fresh, medium-sized seabass, cleaned and scaled 1 handful fresh coriander 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 4 cherry tomatoes 1 lemongrass 2 small bird’s eye chili, crushed 2 slices fresh ginger For the dressing: 2 tbsp. lime juice 1tsp raw brown sugar 3 tbsp. fish sauce A few drops of sesame oil What You Do:
      The problem with the Teriyaki marinade is that if I buy a bottle of those ready-made ones, I would use it once or twice, and the bottle will sit there on the shelf untouched for ages until it’s covered with cobwebs and a teriyaki plant will grow inside it (there is no such thing as a teriyaki plant). This recipe gives an alternative, using stuff you probably already have around the house, and takes about 20 minutes to prep (and that’s including marinating time, people). Pair it with some simple soba noodles with lots of crunchy veg and there you go, proper weekend lunch with plenty of extra time for lazy naps. This recipe serves 2. What You Need: For the salmon teriyaki marinade: 2 steaks of salmon 1 heaped tsp. minced garlic 1 level tsp. grated ginger 1 tbsp. honey 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp. light soy sauce For the soba noodles: Soba noodles ½ carrot, peeled into thin ribbons 1 handful sugar snap peas 1 tsp. sesame oil 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp. light soy sauce Juice of ¼ lemon Chili flakes (optional) What You Do:
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