Monkfish en Papillote with Shiitake and Indian Spices Herb Butter

Served with julienned green onion, lime with side of wasabi cucumber salad.

Before wrapping up in papillote on a bed of shiitake slices and medallions of herb-spice butter.

Ingredients:

For papillote:

Monkfish chunks, patted dry and salted

Dried shiitake mushroom, rehydrated and sliced

Green onion, julienned

Lime

Herb- Spice Butter:

Butter, room temperature

Ground cumin

Ground coriander seeds

Turmeric

Indian chili powder

Garlic powder

Salt

Black pepper

Cilantro, finely chopped 

Mix well, wrap in plastic film into a sausage shape, twist tight and refrigerate until needed.

Cucumber salad:

Persian or Korean cucumbers, sliced thin and salted. Squeeze excess liquid out.

1 Tbsp Mayonnaise

Sriracha to taste

1 Tsp of wasabi powder

Lime juice

Sea salt
Green onion, finely chopped
Black sesame seeds
Furikake of your choice

Crispy Fried Monkfish Fin

Lightly dusted with potato starch. Served on mint leaf, garnished with lime and sliced green onion.

Pork Stir Fried Noodles with King Oyster and Shiitake Mushrooms

The hu tieu noodles have tapioca in it and makes for a chewy bite. 

Stir frying the mushrooms, onion, carrot in Sichuan peppercorn, garlic and ginger oil.

Ingredients:

Pork shoulder, sliced into thin strips (1/4 in.) and soaked in baking soda solution for 15 minutes to tenderize. Pat dry, dust with rice flour or corn starch and make sure to coat all surfaces before cooking.

Hu tieu noodles, blanched in boiling water briefly, rinse and dress well with sesame and vegetable oil.

Half a medium red onion, sliced

King oyster mushrooms, sliced

Shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Small carrot, sliced at bias

2 - 3 Garlic cloves, sliced

2 - 3 Dried chiles (cayenne, japones or one of your choice)

Small piece of ginger, minced

1 Tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns

Sauce:

Sesame oil

Vegetable oil

Soy sauce

Oyster sauce

1/4 Cup of water or chicken broth

Green onion, sliced on bias for garnish

Cilantro, rough chopped for garnish

Lime juice to dress dish before serving

Tips:

Fry the Sichuan peppercorns, ginger and dried chiles in hot oil until fragrant. Add mushrooms, carrots, onion and fry until almost done. Reserve.

Add a couple tablespoon of oil to pan as needed, stir fry pork at high heat until just cooked. It should go quickly since it is cut in thin strips. Do not overcook.

Stir fry noodles and add a little (1 Tbsp) of hot water or chicken broth to steam and help cook. When noodles are about done, pour in sauce. Bring to boil then plate: Noodles on bottom, pork and vegetables on top and garnish.

Chicken and Crispy Prawns Hong Kong Style Chow Mein with Mushroom Oyster Sauce

Served!

Crispy fried prawns

Velveted chicken, baby bok choy and king oyster mushroom on bed of crispy fried chow mein.

Pan charring chicken thigh meat.

Mise en place.

Chicken Pad Thai with Purple Cabbage

Served!

Ingredients:

Tapioca or glass noodles, soaked in very hot water or microwaved for about 1 - 2 minutes then dress liberally with cooking oil or sesame oil. (You could find them in Asian markets as Pad Thai noodles or Vietnamese hu tieu noodles. It has tapioca flour in it which gives it a chewy bite and slightly translucent look.)

Chicken thighs, deboned and cut into equal sized strips about 1 cm wide. Don't you dare use chicken breast! Soak in mixture of 1 cup of water and 1 Tbsp of baking soda for 15 minutes then drain and rinse before cooking to preserve tenderness of meat. (Technique can be used with pork and beef too. I've never tried with it with shrimp).

Purple cabbage, thinly sliced
Bean sprouts

Shiitake mushroom, sliced

Shallots, sliced

Garlic, crushed and sliced
Fresh jalapeno, serrano or Thai chile, sliced
Egg
Crushed peanuts (optional. My wife doesn't like nuts in cooked foods so I don't add them)
Green onion for garnish
Cilantro for garnish

For sauce:

Corn starch
Tamarind paste
Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Rice wine vinegar
Palm sugar or brown sugar (in this case, I used piloncillo which is Mexican sugar and it gave a nice twist)
Lime juice

Tips:

Cook ingredients in batches using nonstick skillet or wok then move to large bowl: I did cabbage and mushrooms first, shallot, bean sprouts, chiles and garlic second, noodles third (get good char on noodles and don't be shy with oil), chicken (get char again) after that and egg scrambled into pan with chicken last. Assemble with noodles on bottom, veggies next, chicken and egg on top then pour remaining sauce over all and garnish.

Base of sauce is water and tamarind paste. Add other ingredients in small amounts until you get a flavor you like. Sprinkle a bit of the sauce as you saute or stir fry each ingredients and reserve a good amount for the last batch and pour over dish.

Shrimp and Baby Bok Choy Dumpling

Open faced dumpling

Ingredients:

Wonton wrappers

Shrimp, peeled and food processed but not too finely

Baby bok choy, cut into 1 inch sections then food processed but not too finely

Green onion, finely chopped

Sesame oil

Five spice powder

Salt

Fish sauce

Sesame oil

Black bean sauce (optional)

Soy sauce for dipping

Sriracha for dipping

Tips:

Don't food process ingredients too finely, you want to still keep its textures.

Don't over cook, steaming time is very fast; about 8 minutes. 

Crispy Fried Red Snapper with Lemongrass and Garlic

Served on bed of butter lettuce with green onion, cilantro, crispy fried dried shallots and lemon. Dressed with nuoc cham dressing.

Shallow fry in pan until crust is crispy then finish off in oven.

Covering fish in slurry

Make diagonal slices and salt fish liberally. Put uncovered in fridge for skin to dry.

For the fish:

Whole red snapper or other firm white flesh fish

Stalk of lemongrass, finely chopped

Garlic, well ground in mortar or finely chopped

Ginger, well ground in mortar or finely chopped

Rice flour

Chili powder

Thai chiles, chopped (serrano or jalapenoo can be used as substitute)

Make a slurry with all ingredients, apply liberally to fish and let marinate uncovered in fridge for 10 to 15 minutes.

Nuoc cham dressing:

Fish sauce, 1 part

Water, 3 parts

Rice wine vinegar, 1 part

Sugar to taste

Lime or lemon juice to taste

Crushed garlic

Crushed ginger

Crushed chile

This dressing should have a taste of salt but not too much. You are looking for a balance of salty, sweet, sour and spicy. Experiment, taste often as you go and have fun until you find your personal balance of flavors.