Gotta molest the salmon to get em flavors in..
So after some research on salmon recipes on the net, my menu was : grilled salmon with creamy dill sauce and bow pasta. She did cook some beef fillets and a vege but this post is about me! :D. Best thing is her house so near to Bangsar Shopping Center (where most of the expats shop), getting the freshest produce didn't seem to be a problem. I got 2 salmon fillets which had the skin on one side. Thing is, according to my mom, can't get that kinda cut in Malacca, just the normal cut with the backbone in the middle. Heck, I even manage to find fresh dill (hands up those who have no idea what that is!). With all the ingredients bought and ready, now the process begins!! Guys who want a cooking lesson take note ya!
Seasoning the salmon..
Right, first I seasoned the salmon with salt, black pepper and garlic with juice of half a lemon. Actually the recipe said to use lemon pepper and garlic powder but I improvised instead. I figured it would not be wise to buy a bottle of each just for one meal and besides using fresh ingredients is better yes? Now that the fish has been seasoned, down to making the marinade. Yes, seasoning itself just won't do for this couch-tv chef.
Mixing brown sugar and soy sauce... am I going nuts??
So on to the marinade which I thought was kinda unusual cos it is a mix of vege oil, soy sauce and brown sugar! Again, I improvised by using extra virgin olive oil instead of vege oil for health reasons :). Oh and also added some water to dilute the marinade. Then I let the fish sit in it for 2 hours in the fridge, turning sides on the hour. Erm, as for the measurements, it was 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar and soy sauce, bout 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and water. This serves 2 ya.
How to drown a fish... partially...
In the mean time I boiled nearly half a packet of bow pasta. Here is a tip that I picked up on the website : season the water with 1-2 table spoons of salt. That will give ur pasta taste and don't bother putting olive oil or butter in it cos it would just be a waste. Me trying to act pro, just hantam the salt ni, and to my surprise, it really works! And when it was time to serve it, I drizzled (yes folks, I can drizzle) some olive oil and mixed in some dried parsley and oregano for taste.
Should've been paying more attention... medium high you fool!
Alright, after 2 hours, time to get some cooking, so heat up a pan to medium heat, than add olive oil and put the fish skin side down first for about 2-3 min. Than turn it for about 2 min and can serve d! On my account, I thought of trying something different that I saw on tv which was to put some herbs in between the fish and pan, in my case fresh dill. Phwar, the aroma I tell you, will make you wanna reach into the frying pan and grab the fish, just like how grizzlies catch salmon in the wild!!! Only mistake I made was putting the fire too high so it got slightly burnt but surprisingly it still tasted godlike! hahaha..
Presentation left much to be desired.. but it's the taste that counts!
Now with the same pan (this gives you the chance to clean the pan and use the leftovers as extra flavour!), put in some butter and saute (waaa word...) half an onion which was finely chopped and 2 cloves of garlic. Than I gradually added 3/4 cups of milk together with about 2-3 teaspoons of finely chopped dill. Supposed to add some flour along the way but since I forgot to buy it, I just left it out. Let it reduce awhile till it becomes slightly thickened and your ready to feast!
Secret to tasty pasta : Salt in the water!!
I couldn't have been prouder of myself weh! Truth be told, this was actually the first time I cooked a meal for others without some supervison from mommy!! The brown sugar and the salmon blended in seamlessly and gave the fish a nice sweet taste. And it the fish was so fresh, bau ikan pun tarak! And surprisingly my sauce goes well with the pasta! All in all a great night for me. And her almost licking her plate added the topping. Though I'm not sure what Gordon Ramsay might think of it. Maybe he'd spit it out for being too burnt and calling me a donkey? haha.. I'm sure Jamie Oliver would say 'nice job' though :).
After cook of cos must clean up la~
Well, tonight pula I'll be cooking again. This time its gonna be grilled chicken breast with cream mushroom sauce and pasta. Manage to get some fresh button mushrooms so who wants a taste?!
Ah, if you have been active on Facebook, you'd know my laptop dieded. I am blogging now from my NEW laptop!! More on that in the next post!
