Fish soup

I've been wanting to make fish soup for a while. My Dad told me that these red, big eyed fish are ideal because it (and tilapia) are pretty much the only fish that will make the soup milky and creamy when you boil it long enough. That's when you know it's good'n ready. Fish soup is also supposed to be good to drink after injuries or surgery...to promote circulation and healing. I'm sure no clinical studies have been done on this...but it's a known fact for Chinese people...and they have a 5000 yr medical history so they could be onto something. Can't hurt anyways. Fish Onion Carrot Tomato Ginger - helps take away the fishiness I put the fish into a cheesecloth bag so that I don't have to deal with the bones afterwards. Make sure all the gills and guts are cleaned out well before putting the fish in the soup! Keep it at a rolling boil until the broth looks creamy (so start with more water). Add a pinch of salt and enjoy!!

Steamed Turbot

 
Growing up, I loved eating steamed fish. When fresh, it tastes fantastic dipped in soy sauce over steaming white rice. Now that my thyroid's been stable for a year, I'm slowly reintroducing seafood back into my diet.

Turbot...it doesn't even sound like a fish...but it's like a cross between sole and halibut. They're all flat, bottom dwelling type fish that swim on it's side...with two eyes on the same side of the head. Pretty creepy looking but pretty cool. Anyways....really easy to cook:

Corn starch - lightly rubbed on after fish is gutted, washed, patted dry
Ginger - steam WITH the fish to reduce the "fishy" scent

Green onions
Light soy sauce
Sesame oil

These last three ingredients you add when the fish is confirmed cooked. Just add and cover for a minute so the steam softens the onions a little. Then enjoy!

Blackened Trout

I think steelhead trout is my current favorite fish to eat. It's flavorful and even when cooked from frozen, doesn't have that fishy smell to it. While browsing for recipe ideas online, I came across one for blackened trout. It was simple and sounded tasty...so here's my version:

Paprika
Cumin
Garlic salt
Cajun seasoning
Trout

Please have good ventilation....I set off my smoke detector while pan frying these beauties up (about 2 min on each side). Tastes awesome by the way.

Golden Pompano

The Pompano is a cousin of the pihrana I believe...and it's an easy fish to cook. For starters, it doesn't have any scales. Its bones are few and easy to remove. The meat is medium firm and quite tasty....and you can fry, steam, bake, grill it however you like.

There are many ways to season and cook this fish. My current favorite is to rub a curry powder mix onto it (as well as inside the cleaned belly). Then I pan fry it until I can easily push a fork through the whole fish. Add some fresh chopped cilantro and squeeze some lime over it as you eat. Yumz!!

Ingredients:
Curry powder mix (tumeric, chili powder, masala, ground coriander, ground fennel seeds, ginger powder....whatever is in your cupboard)
Cilantro
Lime

Soy Lime Mackerel

Part of trying to eat healthier is also trying to eat more organic and sustainable products. Wild mackerel is one of those products. These smaller fishes grow fast and reach sexual maturity quickly, making them sustainable compared to, say, tuna....which also stores high levels of mercury in its flesh. Another bonus is how the mackerel is scale-less. I hate de-scaling fishes...but I love eating the skin! The darker layer of flesh right under the skin is supposed to be rich in omega oils too.
I trimmed off the head and tail, and filleted it so that it can be opened flat. I left the backbone in so that it wouldn't curl when I panfried it. Then I marinated the fish, skin-side up.

Marinade:
Soy Sauce
Sugar
Vinegar
(can also add chili flakes)

The mackerel was served over a bed of spinach and arugula leaves and the dressing for both the fish and salad was drizzled on top. I had leftover corn so the niblets were tossed into the salad as well.

Dressing:
Lime juice
Olive Oil
Sugar
Ginger root (finely chopped)
Soy Sauce

And it was good! Not fishy in taste at all. =)
Again, sorry no picture...ate it before I remembered.