Good Fish_ Sustainable Seafood Recipes From the Pacific Coast - Becky Selengut [5]
• How to remove pin bones from salmon, trout, or char
• How to fillet a fish
• How to wok-smoke fish
• How to debone a whole trout for stuffing
• How to butterfly and debone a sardine
• How to clean and cut up a whole squid
• How to make a quenelle with caviar
April first gives you her ideal pairing—a varietal she hopes you’ll be able to find at your local wine shop—listing a specific bottle she tasted with the dish and declared to be a great match. If you aren’t able to find her first choice, she offers a secondary varietal as a good alternative. From time to time I butt my nose in and offer you a booze or beer pairing.
INGREDIENTS AND TERMS DEFINED
CLAM JUICE: If you don’t have extra seafood stock stored in your freezer, bottled or canned clam juice makes a flavorful stock. Be sure to season your recipe cautiously as different brands can vary in saltiness.
DICING: Small dice: Technically—as in “culinary school instructor walking around class with a ruler”—this is defined as ¼ inch by ¼ inch by ¼ inch, but just use that as a very rough guide. Medium dice: ½ inch by ½ inch by ½ inch. Large dice: ¾ inch by ¾ inch by ¾ inch.
DRY WHITE VERMOUTH: We’re mostly red wine drinkers in my house, and I used to feel guilty cooking with white wine and then later realizing it had gone bad before we remembered to drink it. Dry white vermouth has a long shelf life and tastes delicious when used as a cooking wine—after all, it’s a fortified white wine infused with herbs and spices. (I thank my friend Susan for teaching me this handy tip.)
FISH SAUCE: Fish sauce can be found in the Asian foods aisle of large supermarkets. It’s made from fermented anchovies or shrimp and is one of those very special ingredients that adds an incredible salty-savory flavor to foods. One wonders who the first person was to taste the fermented juices of rotting anchovies and declare it a delicious seasoning, but incredibly, they were right. Fish sauce on its own is pungent; in a dish it is magical. I’ve used many brands throughout the years with good results, but Tiparos and Squid Brand are high quality, and I usually have both on hand. There’s no need to refrigerate fish sauce: it’s already rotten!
HIGH-HEAT VEGETABLE OIL: A lot of folks don’t know that each type of oil has a different point at which it will start smoking/burning (called the smoke point) and that smoking oils can be carcinogenic. I like to teach people to use the right oil for the job. When I specify using a high-heat vegetable oil for sautéing, pan-frying, or stir-frying, use any of the following oils: peanut, safflower, sunflower, coconut, or grapeseed. You can also fry with clarified butter (ghee). Look for expeller-pressed oils that are mechanically, not chemically, refined.
JERSEY GIRL: See Introduction (page xvii). Exit 28, in case you’re wondering.
LEMON JUICE: Always fresh squeezed, pretty please.
MIRIN: Mirin is a sweet rice wine that can be found in the Asian foods aisle of most large supermarkets. Substitute with two parts sake to one part sugar, or in a pinch, two parts dry white wine to one part sugar.
PACIFIC COAST: For the purposes of this book, I’ve selected seafood that is either native to or farmed from California up the coast through Canada and into Alaska.
PANKO: Panko is a flaked Japanese bread crumb that is becoming more and more popular as a substitute for old-fashioned bread crumbs. I really like the texture it lends to pan-fried foods, especially oysters or fried fillets—it seems to give the food an extra lightness and crunchiness. I know it has hit the mainstream because out on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula—which is razor-clamming territory—I saw it being sold in a large bulk bin at the local supermarket/hardware store.
SAKE: Sake can now be found at most large supermarkets where wine is sold; you can substitute Chinese rice wine.
SALT: For the purposes of this book, unless otherwise specified, assume sea salt. If you prefer to use kosher salt, double the amount (kosher