Chicken Feet Papaya Soup

This is one of my favorite soups...Chicken Feet Papaya soup:

Chicken feet

Papaya
Red dates
Dried Mandarin peel
Pork bone
Ginger

Blanch the chicken feet and pork bone for about 5-10 minutes first. That gets rid of oil and scuzz that comes with using animal bone. This soup is nourishing and the papaya helps with breastmilk production. (Fish and Green Papaya soup is the best for that.)

I have a thermal pot which makes soup really easy to do. As the water heats up to a rolling boil in the metal pot, I prepare and add all the ingredients. I boil the soup for about 45 minutes and then transfer it into the thermal pot where it continues to simmer. A few carefree hours later...it's done! This pot is also awesome for making stews and congee. 

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!

Soy Sauce Wings

My favorite kind of chicken growing up was soy sauce chicken. I could eat a couple bowls of rice with it. So why not make it for my favorite part of a chicken only: the wings!

Marinade:
Light soy sauce (for the saltiness)
Dark soy sauce (for the dark golden color)
Brown sugar
Rice Wine
Cinnamon
Pepper
Ginger
Garlic

I didn't have these on hand, but would be great to add into the marinade as well:
Star anise
Green onion
Chinese five spice powder

Key is to cook it on medium low heat (30 min to cook)...never past a simmer or the wings dry out. You can use the same marinade on a whole chicken, just be sure to flip the chicken every 15 minutes (~1.25 hrs total). The delicious marinade doesn't have to go to waste either...you can strain it and freeze the liquid for use the next time...just re-add the ginger, garlic, star anise, etc. The flavors just get richer with time. YUM.

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.

Adhoc Korean Shortrib Marinade

This happens more often than not...I look up a recipe for inspiration and find that I'm missing an ingredient or two...or five. Unless it's the main ingredient, I consider myself too lazy practical to make a trip out to the grocery store to get it. No time and not worth the gas. I always look for what's "close enough" and already in my cupboards or fridge. That was the case for the Korean shortribs, or Galbi, I wanted to marinade. But I made do with this:

Soy sauce
Rice wine
Brown sugar or Honey
Garlic
Ginger
Lime juice
Black Pepper
Sesame Oil

What I was missing or had substituted from the real recipe (taken from Maangchi.com):

Cooking wine
Korean pear or Bosc pear
Onion

But you know, my adhoc one was still really really tasty. =)