How to use FM's Pickled Salmon to make easy and simple meals - different ways of eating Food Mystique's nutritious Pickled Salmon.

I shared on how to make Pickled Salmon in my last post and today I will be giving tips on how to whip up quick meals using it.  Make a supply on a free day, store it well in the refrigerator and use it as and when you are in need.  Let's start off by making omelette wraps.

Ingredients

FM's Pickled Salmon
4 eggs
1 sprig cilantro / coriander
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
Cooking oil

Directions

• Lightly beat eggs, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper.
• Pour 1/4 of beaten eggs in lightly oiled and heated pan.  Gently flip over when cooked and spread enough salmon in the middle from one end to the other. Fold as in the image and sear to a nice colour on each side and especially to seal the folded edges.
• Do the same with the rest.  Makes four wraps.

Another tip is a simple pasta or rice noodles meal.  Whenever I prepare pasta, I boil extra to just before al dente, cool and divide into portions in sealed food plastic bags to freeze.  When needed, I remove them from their bags and pop them in the microwave oven in covered microwavable containers to defrost.  Use any type of pasta as preferred.

Ingredients

Boiled Pasta or rice noodles

FM's Pickled Salmon

Broccoli

Flat Leaf Parsley

Salt (optional)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

• Slice broccoli into small florets and mince the parsley.
• Mix enough salmon, broccoli and parsley together and microwave to cook. Remove from microwave oven and mix together with pasta or rice noodles and olive oil. Season with salt if necessary.

How about cheesy salmon pasta? 

Ingredients

Boiled pasta for two persons

100g FM's Pickled Salmon

200g tomatoes

1/2 cup water

Bay Leaves

50g mozarella cheese

Salt (optional)

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

Directions

• Slice tomatoes and blend with salmon and water.
• Bring to a boil in a saucepan, add bay leaves and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add cheese, give it a stir and mix in grapeseed oil.  
• Mix pasta with sauce and serve with minced parsley.

** When making pasta dish, test for taste and add salt only if necessary because salt has been added when boiling pasta and the Pickled Salmon is already seasoned. 

Ingredients

FM's Pickled Salmon

Fresh Orange Juice

Direction

• Blend together adequate amount of each to make a thick consistency as a dip for fruits and garden salad.

~Kim~

Pickled Salmon - packed with nutrients; as a filling for barquettes, crepes, sandwiches, tortillas, omelette or as a base for noodles in a jiffy on that busy day.

Make a supply of this Pickled Salmon, keep in the refrigerator and have it to fall on for those busy days when too tired to cook but do not want to eat out.  Secondly, this is perfect for parties as a filling for barquettes, crepes, dainty sandwiches and tortillas.  Make it a few days earlier and just fill them on the day itself.  A plus for stress free preparation.  Lastly but not the least, it is packed with nutrients.  Just the other day, I was in a situation when I just wanted something simple and yet nutritious and I was glad when I thought about my supply of Pickled Salmon in the refrigerator!

I used to make my own bread but not now.  Thankfully, there is a trusted bakery nearby to cater to my needs.  However, that day I was at another place and saw a bakery and decided to see what they had.   To my delight, their wheat bran boule was just out of their oven, looked and smelled inviting too and I said 'Yes'! Came home later and made the sandwich as below.  Nothing dainty but satisfying enough with a choice of biting into it as an open or closed sandwich.

Pickled Salmon

Ingredients A

1 kg salmon fillet 

2 tsp salt

• Put water to boil in a steamer.  When boiling, place salmon in the steaming tray and steam over high heat for 8 minutes or until cooked.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Flake with a fork and check further to thoroughly remove any stray bones.  Set aside the liquid from steamed fish to use as sauce.
• Mix 1 tsp salt with the flaked salmon, sprinkle the other 1 tsp salt over, cover and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.

Ingredients B

20g fresh young ginger

30g fresh young turmeric

4 pips garlic

100g onion

4 fresh green chillies

200g jicama or Chinese golden pear

• Wash ginger and turmeric, scrap away skin and mince finely.
• Peel garlic and onion and mince finely.
• Remove seeds from green chilli and chop finely.
• Wash jicama or pear, peel the skin and dice finely.
• Mix all together.

** Or use a food processor.  Stain from turmeric is easily removed with dish washing liquid.

Ingredients for Sauce
2 tbsp ground brown rice or rice flour
3/4 cup water & liquid from steamed fish
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp or more chilli powder or paste

• Bring the 3/4 cup water to boil in a saucepan and stir in ground rice.  Simmer for 1/2 minute, remove from stove, leave to cool and then mix everything together.

Final Procedure

1. Mix A and B together with a fork.
2. Pour sauce over and mix thoroughly.
3. Use accordingly or transfer to a sterilised glassware, well covered and store on top shelf of the refrigerator.

In my next post I will show you how to use Pickled Salmon as a base for noodles and omelette wraps.

~ Kim ~

Stewed Chicken and Chinese Chestnut with Noodles - a delicious, satisfying comfort food with smooth and thick sauce coating the chewy noodles and meaty, sweet texture of chicken and chestnut.

I had some time to kill before my next agenda the other morning and so decided to go to a nearby hypermarket.  To my delight, I saw a cart of Chinese Chestnuts freshly laid out. They were clean and plump and I was reminded of the time when I was living in Kuala Lumpur. I would sometimes visit Petaling Street but first and foremost, I would gear myself in a pair of pants/slacks with a loose blouse and waist pouch underneath. Why? Firstly, I always believe in taking safety precautions in busy, popular and crowded places.  Secondly, I wanted to leave my hands free to pick, choose and carry goodies. (Go with a partner, both ways).  And mind you, there were a lot of street carts with unique wearables and delicious foods laid out the length of Petaling Street.  One of those was Roast Chinese Chestnut.  I still remember and miss the waft of the sweet aroma of these roasted Chinese chestnuts even before reaching the stall.  

Did you guess if I bought the chestnuts from the hypermarket?  Of course, I did but only as much as I needed.  I scored and roasted them in a wok over the stove for about 20 minutes.  Some were eaten just like that and the rest used to cook with chicken and just as delicious. 

Stewed Chicken and Chinese Chestnut with Noodles

Ingredients A

1 kg chicken drumstick / leg (skin and fats removed)

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tsp thick soya sauce

1/2 tsp white peppercorns

• Chop each chicken drumstick into two pieces.  Crush peppercorns finely.  Mix all together, cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or more. Leave in room temperature for 15 minutes before cooking.

Ingredients  B

20 Chinese Chestnuts

10 cloves 

6 star anise

8 pips garlic

2 shallots

10g ginger

2 cups hot water

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tsp thick soya sauce

1 tbsp ground rice

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

• Score chestnuts on rounded side by using a chestnut knife.  Or lay the flat sides over a thick paper towel on a working board.  Place and hold cleaver on the top middle part of the nuts.  Tap hard to make a shallow cut into the inner skin.  Do not hold the nuts when cutting to prevent accidents.  The paper towel and positioning of cleaver will hold the nuts in place.  Wash and boil for 10 minutes or roast in oven or in a wok/pan.  Use a small knife to lift and remove the outer and inner skins.  Pare off thinly any stubborn skin.
• Mince the shallots. Leave the garlic whole with the skin on (stewed flesh of garlic tastes good). 
• Slice ginger into four.

How to cook

1. Saute cloves, star anise, garlic, minced shallots and ginger in heated oil over medium low heat until lightly browned and aromatic.
2. Add chicken and stir fry over high heat for 1 minute or until meat changes colour.  Stir in hot water, light and thick soya sauces, chestnuts and bring to boil. When boiling, turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Uncover, stir in ground rice and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
4. Uncover, add salt, turn heat to high and cook for 1 minute or until sauce is smooth and thickened.
5. Turn off heat and stir in sesame oil.  
6. Serve with flat Chinese noodles or rice. Or use Linguine pasta which tastes the same. Boil according to package instructions before mixing with the stew. Garnish with green/spring onions (optional).

** Substitute ground rice with cornflour if preferred.  Mix 1 tbsp water with 4 tsp cornflour and stir in towards the end, cooking on high heat for a minute until sauce is smooth and thickened.

** If inconvenient to peel fresh chestnuts, use dried ones.  Pour boiling water over and leave to soak overnight.  Boil for an hour until softened and cook accordingly.  Do not discard the water.  Use it and add more if needed to make up the required amount.  

The image below is a batch which I made with less sauce on another day.  I didn't want any noodle or rice then.  Use only half of the water, soya sauces, ground rice or cornflour and salt.

Tuck in and enjoy ...

~Kim~