Fish Trip Cafe

Sweet and sour mango salsa. A little bit of cilli gives it a nice kick.

The white fish dressed up in a lovely yellow coloured summer dress today.

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— Fried Cod with Mango Salsa (serves 2) —

2 cod fillets

Some salt and pepper

Some plain flour

2 tablespoons butter

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— for mango salsa —

1 medium ripe mango, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons coriander leave, finely chopped

1/2 small red cilli, very finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

A pinch of salt and pepper

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Mix all the mango salsa ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Sprinkle the cod fillets with salt and pepper. Lightly dust each side with flour.

Heat the butter in a frying-pan, sauté the cod fillets over medium heat on each side until cooked and golden.

Transfer to serving plates and pour the mango salsa over the cod fillets.

Risotto balls with melted mozzarella cheese and fresh basil filling. Yum.

No wonder why this snack is Italian’s favourite.

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— Arancini (makes 10) —

1&1/2 tablespoon butter

1/3 onion, finely chopped

200g arborio rice

700ml chicken or vegetable stock

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

A pinch of black pepper

80g mozzarella cheese

2 eggs, beaten

5 basil leaves, torn in half

100g dried breadcrumbs

Oil for deep-flying

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Melt the butter in a heavy pan, add the finely chopped onion and sauté over low heat about 3 minutes until softened.

Add the rice and stir for 1 minutes to seal the rice.

Add the stock little by little, stirring frequently for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat until the rice is al dente.

Remove from the heat, stir in the parmesan cheese and the half amount of beaten egg. Season with the black pepper. Leave to cool completely.

Cut the mozzarella cheese into 10 cubes.

Divide the rice into 10 portions, take one portion in your hand , press the basil leaf and a cube of mozzarella cheese into middle. Shape the rice ball into a ball.

Roll the rice balls in beaten egg, then bread crumbs. Set aside.

Heat the deep-flying oil to 350F. Deep-fly the rice balls until evenly golden brown.

Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Sweet cigars for me.

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— Brandy Snap Cigars (makes 20) —

100g butter

100g granulated sugar

2 tablespoons golden syrup

2 tablespoons honey

100g plain flour

A pinch of salt

3 tablespoons ground ginger

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon brandy

50g dark chocolate

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Preheat oven to 340F.

Put the butter, granulated sugar, golden syrup and honey in a pan and heat gently until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from the heat and stir in the flour, salt , ground ginger, lemon juice and brandy and mix well.

Drop small spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheet, spaced well apart each one as they will spread out.

Bake for about 8 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a minutes before rolling.

Roll them carefully around the handle of the wooden spoon and leave on a rack to cool.

Melt the dark chocolate in a small cup and dip the brandy snaps, leave them on a baking sheet until they are set.

Store in an airtight container.

This is a beautiful Alentejo (south Portugal) dish.

My portuguese friend made this dish for the Christmas party a few years ago. I was quite surprised when I saw it, because the combination of pork and clams was so unusual for me, and I couldn’t really imagine what does it taste like (I thought maybe my friend just put everything what he has in the fridge…).

The taste was amazing. Pork and clams work very well together, rich and flavouful taste.

I’m a big fan of this dish since then.

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— Pork and Clams Alentejo Style (serves 4) —

700g pork loin

20-30 clams, scrubbed

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons coriander leaves, chopped

3 potatoes

1 lemon

4 tablespoon olive oil

A pinch of salt and black pepper

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

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— for wine marinade —

200ml white wine

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon paprika

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Cut the pork into 1 inch cubes.

Mix all the marinade ingredient in a bowl, add the pork cubes and mix. Cover and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or over night.

Cut the potatoes into 1 inch cubes and deep fry until golden brown. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy pot, stir-fry the chopped onion and garlic over medium heat until tender. Add the clams, a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover the pot and cook until the clams open for about 5 minutes.

Drain the pork cubes (reserve the marinade). Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a fry-ng pan. Stir-fry the drained pork cubes over medium heat until golden brown. Add the reserved marinade, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Transfer the cooked pork into the clam pot, mix everything together, stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the deep fried potato cubes and the chopped coriander.

Serve with lemon wedges.

This is a mild and creamy coconut milk-based Vietnamese curry. The beautiful fragrance of lemongrass brings refreshing bright flavour and it’s very simple and quick to make. A great dish for a lazy summer night.

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— Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Curry (serves 4) —

700g chicken thigh, boned and skinned

3-4 stalks lemongrass

3 shallots, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 small green chillies, finely chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)

2 & 1/2 tablespoon Vietnamese fish sauce (nouc mam)

1 & 1/2 tablespoon curry powder

1 bay leaf

300ml coconut milk

2 tablespoons roasted peanits, chopped (for garnish)

2 tablespoons coriander leaves, chopped (for garnish)

4 portions of plain boiled rice

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Cut the chicken thigh into 1 inch pieces. Crash the lemongrass stalks and cut into 1 inch pieces.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying-pan or wok, stir-fry the garlic and shallot over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the chopped lemongrass, green chillies, curry powder, nouc mam,  palm sugar, bay leaf and chopped chicken thigh and stir-fry for another 5 minutes.

Pour the coconut milk and mix everything well. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.

Serves with plain boiled rice and garnish with chopped roasted peanut and chopped coriander leaves.

Biscotti is a perfect little treat with a cup of coffee.

The mushed banana gives enough moisture to the dough instead of butter and too much oil. So it’s good for your diet too.

I used dark rum and brown sugar in this recipe for extra depth of flavour.

I can’t wait to have a coffee time.

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— Banana Walnut Biscotti (makes around 20) —

250g plain flour

50g brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1 banana (ripe), mashed

1 tablespoon dark rum

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

60g walnuts, chopped

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Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the flour, salt and baking power in a bowl and stir to mix well.

Lightly beat the egg in another bowl, add the sugar, mashed banana, dark rum and vegetable oil, mix well. Add the flour mixture into the bowl and mix to form a dough. Knead in the chopped walnuts.

Transfer the sough to a lightly floured surface board, knead for about 2-3 minutes with floured hands. Form the dough into 2 rolls about 7 inch long, place them onto baking sheet and fatten to 3/4 inch high.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove form the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300F.

Cut the baking dough diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices with serrated knife. Place, cut-side down on baking sheet, Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Turn and bake for further 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack to coo and harden.

I love watermelon.

It reminds me of my childhood summer memories (watermelon is one of the summer symbol in Japan), and the fresh red colour makes me cheerful.

Well, is watermelon a fruit or a vegetable?  I’ve been questioning it since I was a child.

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— Watermelon Salad (serves 4) —

1/4 seedless watermelon

100g feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon red onion, finely chopped

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 extra virgin olive oil

A pinch of salt and black pepper to taste

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Cut the water melon into bite-sized cubes.

Arrange them on a plates, top each one with crumbled feta cheese, chopped mint leaves and finely chopped red onion.

Mix the fresh lemon juice and extra virgin oil in a small bowl, drizzle on the watermelon salad.

Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste.

Thick black bean sauce goes perfectly well with crispy noodles.

My body is happy with a lot of green vegetables today.

This recipe is suitable for vegans.

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— Vegetables with Black Bean Sauce on Crispy Noodles (serves 2) —

160g thin dried chinese noodles

1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 shiitake mushrooms

300g Oriental stir fry vegetables (such as baby corn, bok choy, spring onion, tenderstem broccoli,  mangetout, chilli etc.)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoons sesame oil

1 & 1/2 tablespoon black bean sauce

300ml vegetable stock soup

1 & 1/2 tablespoon cornflour (mixed with 3 tablespoons water)

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

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Cook the rice noodles (follow the package directions), drain and rinse under cold water, and drain well again. Set aside.

Heat the deep-frying oil to 360F. Devide the noodles into 2 portion and deep-fry a portion at a time until they became crispy. Place them on kichen paper to remove excess oil.

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— how to make vegetable with black bean sauce —

Cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces.

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying-pan over medium heat, add the vegetables, ginger and garlic, stir-fry about for 3 minutes.

Add the black bean sauce and in the frying-pan and stir-fry for 1 minute. Pour over the vegetable stock soup and bling to boil.

Add the corn flour (mixed with water) to thicken, then add the sesame oil.

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Serve fried noodles on plates and pour the sauce over.

Spice up summer, beat the heat!

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— Moroccan Meatballs (serves 2, about 16 meatballs) —

300g lean minced lamb

1/2 onion, grated

1 clove garlic, grated

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 tablespoon ground paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

20g coriander leaves, chopped

Vegetable oil for frying

Some coriander leaves for garnish

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— for tomato sauce —

1 tin (400g) plum tomato

1 clove garlic, grated

1/2 tablespoon cumin powder

1/2 tablespoon paprika powder

5g chicken stock powder

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Place the minced lamb, grated onion, grated garlic, cumin, paprika, cinnamon in a bowl and knead with your hands until well mixed. Add the chopped coriander in the bowl and mix together.

Roll the meat mixture into smallish meatballs.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the meatballs over medium heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove the cooked meatballs from the frying pan and set aside.

Add all the tomato sauce ingredients in the frying-pan, then bring to the boil.

Turn down the heat to low and return the meatballs to the pan and simmer with the tomato sauce for about 20 minutes until the sauce is thickened.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.