Beer Batter Fish n’ Chips

Is there anything more British than Beer, fish, and potatoes? Well, if there is, I can’t think of it. Another easy recipe. --AnglophileLV

1 bottle or can of medium to light beer
Bisquick
Cod or Snapper filets (any white fish) cut into large strips
Frozen French fries (I have not mastered making fries from scratch, so these are the best option)
Vegetable oil
A deep skillet
Malt vinegar and lemon wedges

Bake fries according to package directions – yes, I suck. I’m English and cannot make my own fries, so sue me.

1. Start with 1 Cup Bisquick in a bowl, and add beer until it reaches the consistency of pancake batter.
2. Pour enough oil into the pan to cover ½ of your fish strips and heat until sprinkling a few water drops make it spatter.
3. Dredge the fish strips in the Bisquick until thoroughly coated. Fry them in the oil until the first side turns golden brown and crispy, then flip and do the same on the other side. The fish should be a deep golden brown color before you transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate (to soak up the excess oil). Repeat until all the fish is cooked to crispy goodness.
4. Serve with fries, a lot of beer, malt vinegar and lemon wedges.

Seared Ahi

The Foodland grocery store in Princeville has a fantastic seafood section. They have octopus poke, locally caught fish, and sushi grade Ahi. Since it is almost impossible to find sushi grade Ahi in Southern California, I jumped at the chance to make seared Ahi, served over salad greens bought at one of the many Kauai farmers markets. --Anglophile (in Kauai)

Seared Ahi
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 extremely fresh Ahi steak
2 Tb dark sesame oil
2 Tb soy saunce
1 Tb grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 inch finely chopped)
1 clove garlic minced
2 handfuls green onion, chopped
Juice from 1/2 a lime

Directions:
1. Mix the lime, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and one handful of the green onions together as a marinade. Pour the marinade into a plastic bag with the Ahi steak and let sit in the refrigerator for an hour.

2. Pour sesame seeds onto a plate and roll the Ahi until it is completely coated with sesame seeds.

3. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, sear tuna steak for 1 ½ minutes on each side.

4. Remove Ahi from pan and slice into approximately 1/4th inch pieces.

5. Serve over greens that have been lightly sprinkled with soy sauce and sesame seeds. Garnish with the rest of the green onions.

Okonomi-yaki

When I went to Tokyo two summers ago, my friend/host said I had to try Okonomi-yaki. It was my first introduction to Japanese food that wasn’t sushi or soba. We went to a restaurant that had flat stovetops in the middle of each table and we had to mix the batter and ingredients ourselves. Par for the course at an Okonomi-yaki restaurant, but I didn’t know that then. It was a lot of fun! I returned to California packing Okonomi-yaki flour and bonito flakes so I could give my boyfriend a taste of Tokyo. Despite being weirded out by the way the fish flakes come to life when sprinkled on top of hot food, he liked it—which means it’s probably safe for picky eaters everywhere.

Yesterday I had a craving. But my leftover flour was 2 years old, which meant a trip to the Japanese market for supplies. After a lot of hesitant searching, I found my flour (a mix of yams and fishy things that our American flour can’t quite replicate), bonito dashi (fish soup stock), and genuine Okonomi sauce—I had to make that from scratch last time. Here is my recipe with alternatives for the harder to find ingredients. But you have to try to find bonito flakes, because there’s no substitute and they’re way too entertaining to leave out. It’s common to put mayonnaise as a topping with the Okonomi sauce, but that sounds disgusting. Feel free to try it-let me know how it goes.

The beauty of Okonomi-yaki is that it literally means “what you like-cooked.” You can put almost anything in here, and there are a ton of regional variations. I like mine with seafood. Shrimp and squid go particularly well, but I could only find shrimp at the store.
Okonomiyaki
4 servings (or 2 large pancakes)

Ingredients:

1 cup okonomi-yaki flour (you can also use basic pancake batter or flour)

3/4 cup bonito dashi (or chicken or veggie soup broth)
1 egg
2 handfuls shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix has carrots already in it)

(optional) 1 carrot, grated

½ bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 cup crab meat
10 shrimp

Top with: okonomi sauce*
Dried bonito shavings, aka. fish flakes

Directions:
1. Mix the flour, dashi, egg, crab and cabbage in a large bowl.

2. Heat some oil in pan and cook 5 shrimp until both sides are pink but the interior is still translucent.

3. Pour in mixture and top with the bacon slices.

4. Cook on medium heat until golden brown on both sides, about 5-15 minutes per side.

5. Top with okonomi sauce and bonito flakes.

*If okonomiyaki sauce is hard to come by, here is an easy recipe. Mix:
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sake
1 teaspoon soy sauce

The other thing I came back with from Tokyo—besides good Sake from Nikko—is the love of my life: my Nikiri Bocho. A Japanese vegetable knife bought on Kappabashi Street. I love my blades, but I haven’t once glanced at my 10” Henckel chef’s knife since I started using my Japanese blade. If you make it to Tokyo, you have to get one of these. And some fish flakes.

--AnglophileLV

Schofield Salmon

This recipe comes from a friend.
**

I think my dad does this recipe the best, but I was able to pull it off once of the two times I've used it. And yes, this recipe calls for a LOT of salmon (that's how we Schofields roll), so if you're just making it for yourself feel free to cut the recipe in half (it'll still take at least half an hour to cook even if you do). You know the salmon's done when you stick a fork in it and it's firm all the way through.

-B. Schofield


1 tbsp butter or margarine

1 tbsp ea. Honey and brown sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic or ginger

1 salmon filet w/ skin 3.5-4.5 lbs.

Optional: lime slices

Directions: In a 6 to 8 in. frying pan, over medium heat, stir butter w/ honey and sugar until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add soy sauce, mustard, oil, and garlic. Cool slightly.

Rinse fish and pat dry. Arrange a double layer foil tent, put salmon in, baste with sauce, and pinch foil around it. Place in roasting pan with high walls. Bake at 400 for 30-40 min. Apply lime slices to make it look pretty.

This stuff is absolutely DELICIOUS if you can do it right. For sides you can do mashed potatoes and grill some asparagus.

Note from Pocketmouse: Picture will be provided when I decide to finally try out salmon/non-white fish.