Bacon-Wrapped Trout

It may be somewhat a daunting task to cook a whole, bone-in fish, but luckily, I discovered that it was quite the opposite!  No matter how you look at it, fish is easy to cook.  Season it with some salt and pepper, sprinkle with lemon or lime juice and some herbs, toss it on a grill or put it in an oven, and in 10 to 15 minutes, your meal is ready.  Sounds easy right?

I came across trouts one day at the supermarket since they were having a sale.  I looked at this fish, right in the eyes, and debated for a few minutes if I should dare to try to cook this.  I thought to myself, "It would be kind of gross to touch this fish, as it is whole and the head is still attached, but I did promise myself that we should eat more fish.  We really don't eat enough fish.  Wait, but that's really not my fault because I love salmon, but the husband does not.  Darn, I wish we can eat salmon..."  Well, I digress..., but because of this fact, I braved the thought of holding the fish in my hands and bought it for dinner that night.

After opening the package and washing the trout thoroughly with cold water, I opened up the pre-cut flap at the fish's stomach area and saw that the guts were removed (thank god).  However, the spine and tiny bones were still attached.  In order to make this dish more pleasant and enjoyable, so that we can eat more fish in the future (do you sense that the hubby is a picky fish-eater?? hahaa), I decided to take out the spine and bones with a small paring knife.  I ended up with bruised fingers and a sore back, because this process took a bit longer than I anticipated, but the end result was nice because we did not have to be as cautious swallowing the meat during the meal.

Bacon-Wrapped Trout

Ingredients
- 2 trout, about 1 lb. per fish
- 8-10 slices of bacon (thick bacon recommended), about 4-5 slices per fish
- 1 small lemon, sliced
- 2 tsp Italian herbs mix (1 tsp per fish)
- 1 tsp dried parsley or 1 Tbsp fresh parsley (1/2 tsp dried per fish, 1/2 Tbsp fresh per fish)
- 2 tsp olive oil (1 tsp per fish), and about 1 Tbsp for the grill (or you can use Pam for the grill)
- salt
- freshly ground pepper

Tools
- grill, outdoor or over the stove top
- paring knife (optional)
- toothpicks (optional)

Steps
1. Wash the trout with cold water and pat dry.  Optional: remove the spine and bones for ease of consumption.  Start with the spine by using the paring knife and cutting and breaking the spine from one end of the fish.  As you remove the spine, use your finger to pick at the bones connected to the spine and remove them from the meat.

2. Generously season the entire fish with salt and pepper, inside and out.

3. Season the internal fish with herbs and 1 tsp of olive oil, and place lemon slices on the inside.  Ensure the lemon slices are small enough so that you can close the area.  It would be difficult to wrap the fish with bacon if the lemon slices are falling out of the fish!

4. Wrap each trout with 4-5 slices of bacon.  Warning: most likely, the bacon slices will not firmly stay on the fish, so you can use toothpicks to hold them in place by threading them through the bacon.

5. Pre-heat the grill and coat the grill with 1 Tbsp of olive oil, or spray with Pam.  Transfer the fish to the pre-heated, pre-oiled grill.  Be careful when you transfer because the bacon slices may fall off the fish.

 6. Grill the trout for about 10 minutes.  If you are using an outdoor grill, covered the grill for added heat.  Check after 10 minutes to see if the fish is done.  If not, continue to grill for a 2-3 minutes and check again.

Serves 2-4.

Just Pictures: Kushiyaki Goodies

Yaki Onigiri (grilled rice ball)

Non-Grilled Items:

Fresh Chicken Spring Rolls

Sumika Salad

Tsukune-Don (ground chicken & egg over rice)

Sumika // Los Altos, CA

(photos courtesy of EH)

Green Curry, Thai Style

One of my favorite items to order at a Thai restaurant is the curry.  No matter if it's red, yellow, or green, Thai-style curry, which is basically curry with the addition of coconut milk, is delicious when poured over a bed of white rice.  The curry paste is easy to buy, and is available at all Asian supermarkets.  No longer do you have to frequent a Thai restaurant for the curry, you can make it yourself at home!  Give it a try!

Thai Green Curry with Pork

Ingredients
- 2 boneless pork chop pieces, cut into cubes
- 2 Tbsp green curry paste
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil
- 1 can of 13.5 oz coconut milk (shake well before using)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 yellow onion, quartered
- 1 large red pepper, cut into cubes
- 1 large zucchini, cut into cubes
- 1/3 cup frozen peas

The important ingredients for this dish...

Tools
- iron cast pot

Steps
1. Saute the green curry paste in oil over medium heat in a crock pot until fragrant.  Reduce the heat and gradually add 1/2 can of the coconut milk a little at a time.  Stir frequently until a film of green oil surfaces.

2.  Add the pork and continue cooking until pork is halfway cooked through.  Add the remaining coconut milk and season with sugar and fish sauce.

3. When the mixture returns to a boil, add the chopped onions and red peppers.

4.  Cook the vegetables for 10 minutes and add the chopped zucchini and frozen peas.  Cook until the all the vegetables are done, about another 5 minutes.

Serves 4.

A few tips...
...add any kind of "stewing" type of vegetables as desired, such as other type of peppers (green, orange, yellow, etc.) or potatoes (since potatoes take longer to cook, chop into cubes and you can either (1) cook the potatoes separately in hot water for 10 minutes prior to adding it in with the vegetables, or (2) cook in the curry mixture for about 10 minutes prior to adding the remaining vegetables)
...to make your dish prettier, garnish with sweet basil leaves and red chilies before serving.
...the original recipe asked for 2 torn kaffir lime leaves, but I didn't have that available so I didn't add it in.  The curry still turned out good!
...if there are leftovers, I want to warn that the more times you heat it, the spicier it will get!  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Pulled Pork Burrito

On a meat-shopping trip one day to the local supermarket, I saw pork shoulder pieces on sale so I grabbed it.  I was being purely spontaneous, since I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it.  A light shed upon me as I came across a pulled pork sandwich recipe on my favorite food blog.  Making pulled pork seemed like a long and complicated process (shows always feature restaurants that would grill and boil and cook big hunk of pork meat and it would take hours and hours), but as I read through the ingredients and method, it seemed pretty simple!  I was amazed.  I just had to make it.

Pulled Pork Burrito
adapted from Pulled Pork Sandwich, Simply Recipes

Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce (plus a little bit of adobo sauce)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 Tbsp light brown sugar

- 1 1/2 pounds of pork shoulder
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups of water
- Salt
- 4 flour tortilla
- 1 heirloom tomato, diced
- 2 lettuce leaves, thinly sliced
- optional: shredded cheese, Spanish rice, beans, onions

Tools
- food processor or blender
- large pot or iron cast pot

Steps
1. Purée all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. If you have extra time, marinate the pork in the sauce overnight or for several hours before cooking.

2. Put sauce, bay leaf, and pork into a large pot (or crock pot) and add 2 cups of water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, covered, turning frequently, for 1.5 hours or until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.

3. Remove the pork from the pot.  When cool, shred pork into small pieces. Set aside.

4. When the pork is cooling, reduce the sauce by two-thirds. Add the pork back to the sauce. Salt to taste. Remove bay leaf before serving.

5. Heat the flour tortilla by placing it in a hot pan for 1-2 minutes.  Assemble the burrito with pork, diced tomatoes, and lettuce (add additional topping as desired). 

Serves 2.