A Crustacean Affair

Someone presented these hairy crab as gift from Shanghai. These crustacean creatures are harvested from lakes and are considered as delicacies for anyone visited Shanghai. Coincidentally the time of visit during November was the peak season to savor this exotic cuisine.

Don't be deceived by it's Chinese name "Dai Za Hai" (Big "water gate" crab) and expect this crab to be big and meaty like the king crab. The crab is actually very small. It's meat is sweet but it won't fill your tummy. All that can be savoured is the fatty creamy roe. It is tasty just by steaming it with ginger and wine. Making sure that you don't over steam it to get the creamy texture. Anyway..i am not the big fan for crab and i don't really know how to appreciate this exotic delicacy.

Fried Dory Fish Fingers

Christmas is coming! If you are cracking your head over what to prepare for the kids and adult party, this is a simple party dish to try out..

Ingredients:

3 pieces of dory fish fillet (Available from frozen food store)
Sprigs of coriander leaves - chopped
1 piece of 2-inches size young ginger
6 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
Shredded lemon rinds from one lemon
1 egg-beaten lightly
1 packet of bread crumbs
Some flour for coating
Salt and pepper according to taste
Oil for frying

Methods:
1. Wash the dory fish and cut into finger size.
2. Pat dry the fish with kitchen paper.
3. Blend ginger, garlic and shallots into paste.
4. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Add in the blended ingredients as in (3), chopped coriander leaves and lemon rinds and marinade for at least 1 hour before frying.
5. Beat the egg and season with some salt and pepper. Contain it with a plate instead of a bowl for easy coating.
6. Dab the fish finger with some flour before dipping it into the egg.
7. Next, coat the fish finger with bread crumbs.
8. Heat some oil in the pan and fry the fish finger until golden in colour and very crispy.
9. Serve with salad and tartar sauce/lime sauce.

Season the the fish with salt, pepper (black or white), chopped coriander, shredded lemon rinds, ginger, garlic and shallot paste. Do not discard the marinated ingredients as these are added fiber to a meat dish.





Dab in flour, follow by egg and then coat it again with bread crumbs before frying.







Serve with salad greens.

Steamed Cod Fish

Cod fish has a mild flavor and very fine in texture. This fish is more oily as compared to other local fish and the oil is rich in DHA & Omega 3 fatty acid. Both of which are good for brain development and for prevention of aging diseases such as dementia. This fish is always sold in very "user friendly" sizes and shapes. There is no hassle in cutting, washing and deveining and as such is excellent for a amateur cook like me. It's an excellent dish for kids and aged peoples too.

I bought 2 big cutlets of cod fish from our nearby frozen food store. It was not very expensive, cost about RM36. Cheaper than getting it from any supermarket. At the same time, the shop-owner taught me how to differentiate the genuine cod fish then the "imitation" ones. Apparently, there are some fish with an outer appearance like cod fish skin and the flesh is also whitish in colour. The genuine cod fish's body is rounder and the flesh is more whitish.

Cod fish takes very short time to defrost. So you can defrost the fish in the lower part of the fridge about 2-3 hours before cooking. As I am not good with fish, I have left this honourable task of fish preparation to my mom in law. She marinated the fish with some Chinese cooking wine, sesame oil and soy sauce. Before steaming, just lay some scallions and shredded ginger on top. In fact this fish can be steamed without any marination as the flesh is very sweet and tasty.

This is the picture of the fish before putting into the steamer.














I can't produce the picture of the fish after it's cooked. You know what? My father in law toppled the plate before serving it on the table (Boohooohooooo......)
At the end, only half a piece of cod fish flakes on the plate...