Bear Cuisine

Thai Mussels with coconut, chile and lime

We love mussels. They are among the glories of the ocean--inexpensive, sustainable and good for you.

This dish, from Diana Henry's Plenty,uses Thai seasonings--among my favorite flavor profiles. The best part of the dish may be sopping up the sauce with crusty bread. Enjoy!

THAI MUSSELS WITH COCONUT,CHILE AND LIME

(serves 4)

1. 4 1/2 pounds mussels
2. 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
3. 1 onion, finely chopped
4. 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5. 3/4 inch square fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
6. 2 fresh red chiles, seeded and shredded
7. 2 14-ounce cans coconut milk
8. juice of 1 lime
9. 1 1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar
10. 2 kaffir lime leaves, cut into strips (or grated zes of 1 lime)

To serve

2 kaffir lime leaves, cut into strips
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/2 fresh red chile, seeded and shredded

 

Wash the mussels really well,scrubbing off barnacles and removing any "beards." Tap each on the side of the sink. If it doesn't close, throw it away. Rinse the mussels carefully.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chiles. Cook over a medium heat until the onion is soft and very pale gold. Add the coconut milk, lime juice, sugar and lime leaves. Bring to just under a boil, then add the mussels.

Cover and cook for 4 minutes, or until the mussels have opened, shaking the pan a couple of time. Throw away any that haven't opened.

To serve, stir, then throw the lime leaves, cilantro and chile on top.

 

Crispy Shrimp with Caramelized Orange Sauce

When we had dinner at Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen,Tina loved this dish so much that she wouldn't give any of us even a tiny taste of it. Now this is most uncharacteristic behaviour and it made me lust for this dish even more than I usually desire my dining companions' meals.( I am sure that they have ordered more wisely than I.) Then when I was perusing Foo's latest cookbook, Susanna Food Fresh Inspiration, I found the recipe for this dish. Nothing else would do but to cook it right away--which we did with absolutely fantastic results.

CRISPY JUMBO SHRIMP WITH CARAMELIZED ORANGE SAUCE

(serves 4)

• 16 jumbo shrimp , peeled and deveined 
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1 large navel orange
  
• 1/4 cup julienned red bell pepper
  
• 1/2 pound baby bok choy, washed
  
• Oil for deep-frying
  

Rub the shrimp well with the salt, then rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Dry well with paper towels.

Remove the zest of the orange with a small knife or vegetable peeler. Cut away and discard any white pith still attached to the zest, then slice the zest lengthwise into julienne strips. Remove the orange segments from their membranes. Set the segments aside in bowl.

Cook the orange zest for 2 minutes in a small saucepan of boiling water. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain well, and place in a small bowl. Cook the red pepper and bok choy separately in the boiling water for about 1 minute each, remove with the slotted spoon, and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again, place on separate mirowaveable dishes or on a plate.

Heat about 3 inches of oil in a deep fryer or a deep skillet to 350-375 degrees. Meanwhile, heat the orange sauce in a small saucepan and keep warm.

Dip each shrimp into the batter to coat lightly, making sure it is completely covered, then drain off any excess batter, drop into the hot oil an deep-fry until golden brown, burning once.Do not crowd the pan: cook in 2 batches if necessary. Place on a plate lined with a thick layer of paper towels to drain well.

Warm the bok choy and red peppers in a microwave just until hot, about 30 seconds. Or saute them separately in a small skillet, adding 1 teaspoon oil to keep them from sticking, for 1- 2 minutes, or just hot.

To serve, place 4 shrimp in the center of each of four plates. Top with the red pepper and orange zest. Spoon the sauce over all and garnish with the orange segments and baby bok choy.

CARAMELIZED ORANGE SAUCE

• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
  
• 2 star anise
  
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
  
• 1 cup orange juice
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 teaspoon cold water
  

Place the sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Stir and heat over medium heat until the sugar begins to melt. Shake the pan, wait 1 minute, then stir and cook until it caramelizes and turns a very light golden color, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger, and star anise and cook for another 20 seconds. Stir in the orange zest and juice, lemon juice, fish sauce and cornstarch mixture. Turn the heat to low and stir until any lumps of caramel dissolve. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened. Strain through a fine sieve. 

This sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated, covered.

TEMPURA BATTER

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 large egg yolk
  
• 1 cup club soda, chilled
  

Sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder together into a large bowl Slowly stir in the egg yolk and club soda. Mix until thoroughly blended. The batter will be thick.

The batter can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead and refrigerated, covered.

Cooking with good friends has to be one of life's great pleasures.

Portuguese Fisherman's Stew

There is a substantial Portuguese population in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and these folks have long been part of the fishing industry here. Many of them are wonderful seafood cooks and this stew shows off one of their signature ingredients--Linguica. This is a mild sausage with just a bit of spice and I have never found it outside of New England. Since we were right there, I decided we could honor all the great fresh seafood and this distinctive sausage by preparing this dish. We loved it!

PORTUGUESE FISHERMAN'S STEW

(serves 4 as a main course)

1. 1/4 cup olive oil
2. 4 small dried bay leaves
3. 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4. 1 tablespoon minced garlic
5. 1 medium onion (5 ounces), thinly sliced
6. 1 medium red or green bell pepper (6 ounces), cored, seeded and thinly sliced
7. 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed (1 tablespoon)
8. 1 teaspoon saffron threads, chopped
9. 1 14-oz can whole tomatoes in juice,drained, juice reserved, cut into strips
10. 1 cup dry white wine
11. 2 cups Fish Stock, clam juice or chicken stock
12. 4 ounces chouricio or linguica sausage, casings peeled off and cut into 1/2" thick slices*
13. 8 littleneck clams,scrubbed and rinsed
14. 10 ounces fatty fish, such as bluefish or mackerel, with skin removed; cut into 4 pieces**
15. 10 ounces lean fish filets, hake, cod, halibut or striped bass, cut into 4 pieces
16. 10 ounces mussels, scrubbed, debearded and rinsed
17. Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
18. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
19. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a 6-to-8 quart pot over medium heat. Add the bay leaves and red pepper flakes and saute until they sizzle and the bay leaves begin to turn brown. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, and thyme and saute,stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to soften but not brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the saffron and saute for 1 minute more.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, the white wine, and fish stock, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice.

Stir in the sausage and clams and simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Add both kinds of fish and stir to submerge them. Simmer slowly for 5 minutes. Add the mussels, leaving them on top of the stew, without trying submerge them (the seam will cook them), and simmer for 3 minutes more. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the stew to sit for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Distribute the fish and shellfish evenly among four soup bowls. Return the broth to the stove, add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the parsley and cilantro. Ladle the broth into each bowl of fish.

*  I doubled the amount of sausage.

** Neither bluefish or mackerel were available so I substituted salmon. That worked perfectly.

(adapted from Jasper White's Summer Shack Cookbook)

Eating Steamers

Several readers suggested that I add some instructions for eating steamers to my previous post.

"After all," they say,"not everyone grew up eating these things as you did." I have to protest and say that this is a skill acquired later in life. I was, however, an exceptionally quick study.

Ok, here's how it's done. 

1. Take the calm in one hand and with your other hand remove the clam from its shell. It should come out easily; if it does, this means that it hasn't been sufficiently cooked.

2. Remove the covering from the siphon(that's the small protrusion/neck of the clam). 

3. Dip the clam in the broth and then in the butter.

4. Devour.

That's all there is to it. If you eat your first soft shell clams with an experienced consumer, you will learn very quickly. Not only will you be able to emulate your mentor; but you will realize that if you don't master the technique , you won't get your fair share.

Steamers

We have just returned from a wonderful vacation on the East Coast. Part of that time was spent in Duxbury, MA , most notable in our lives for being the birthplace of Lacey and Marco, our two corgis.

It is also the home of fabulous seafood.

When I inquired here in New mexico about steamers, the fish monger said that they were too fragile to ship. These soft-shelled clams are one food that has to be eaten in the place where it originates. So, I lost no time in finding a local seafood market and we marked our July 4th celebration with boiled lobsters and steamers. Cooking lobsters has been described elsewhere in this blog. Steamers have this post all to themselves.

Jasper White defines the cooking of New England and I turned to his Summer Shack Cookbook for a refresher on cooking these mollusks.

STEAMERS WITH DRAWN BUTTER

(serves 4 as an appetizer)

• 3 pounds medium steamers ( 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter)
• 2 cups water
• 1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced on a diagonal
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Fill two large pots with cold water. Gently place the clams in one pot, discarding any dead clams or clams with cracked shells. If a clam looks shriveled up, poke the siphon; if it doesn't retract into the shell, the clam is dead. Swish the clams gently in the water and let soak for a few minutes, then lift them out with wire-mesh skimmer and place them in the other pot of cold water. Rinse out the first pot and and fill it again. Swish the clams around again and let soak briefly, then transfer them to the clean pot. Swish and repeat with successive batches of clean water until the water is perfectly clear.

White says to to do this 4 or 5 times; I found that 9 times were required for the water to be completely clear. Drain the clams and set aside.

2. Set up your steamer pot. Add the water, celery, onion, and pepper, cover and turn the heat on high. When the pot has a full head of steam, ad the steamers and replace the lid. Steam for 4 minutes. Uncover the pot and stir once gently Cover and continue to seam until the clams are completely open and somewhat firm, 4 to 5 minutes for medium steamers.

3. Melt the butter to make drawn butter.

4 Remove the pot from the heat and gently transfer the steamers to a large bowl with a wire-mesh skimmer. Drain the broth through a fine strainer into four small bowls.

5. Serve the steamers withe bowls of broth, drawn butter and lemon wedges.

DRAWN BUTTER

• 2 tablespoons ( 1 ounce) unsalted butter per person
• Kosher or sea salt

Put the butter in a small pot and place over a medium heat. Stir the butter often as it melts. Before the melted butter comes to a boil, season to taste with salt. then keep stirring until it boils--it should be cloudy, almost emulsified. Divine among small bowls and serve at once.