New Thai Sheephead Recipe !

[OceanSwimmer]

This is a recipe that Volker and I cooked the other day; his reference was 'Quick and Easy Thai Cuisine' by Judy Lew and Panurat Poladitmontri. By the way, this is a really good cookbook.

<If one person does the dicing while the other gets cookin' this is done in about 30 minutes. And you'll want leftovers, they are fantastic cold (but that's just me>

This recipe is best served over jasmine rice, so get the rice a-cookin' while you prepare the fish part of the dinner.

Volker added some ingredients and we altered the technique, so I say it's his recipe!
I like to call this one....Volker's Bula Fish! (I know Bula is a Fijian term, but I'm having fun with this!)
Ingredients:
Coconut oil 3 Tbsp.
1/2 can 7oz coconut cream
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 heaping Tbsp brown sugar
1 stem lemon grass (only the lower third of the stem) diced fine<--this ingredient is optional, but adds a nice fragrance and flavor.
1 onion finely chopped
Equal amount of chopped celery onion:celery should be 1:1
2 cloves finely minced garlic
1 heaping Tbsp curry powder (yellow) we use S&B oriental curry
1 can pineapple chunks
shredded coconut about 3 Tbsp (garnish)
and
1 kaffir lime leaf, finely cut in strips
1 1/2 to 2 pounds Sheephead cut in 2 inch cubes

In a large saucepan, melt about 2 Tbsp of Coconut oil until hot.
Add the onion, celery and garlic and saute over medium heat until tender;
remove from the pan and set aside, but let the oil and juices remain in the pan. If there isn't enough oil left in the pan, add another Tbsp coconut oil.
Add the fish in the pan and cook until almost done. Remove and set aside with the vegies.
Add to the pan: coconut milk, curry powder, fish sauce, and brown sugar; using a whisk, keep stirring and bring it to a boil. It will thicken a bit, but not much.
When this has really cooked about 3 minutes, add the other ingredients back to the pan, and allow them to heat up again. Include the pineapple chunks too.

Serve in a bowl over rice and top with the shredded lemon grass and kaffir lime leaf. Run to the nearest pretty vista with a can of brew...and enjoy!

Let me know how you like this one!

[settingsteel]

sounds good, smells better

[Oldsarge]

Whoosh! Can I presume that any fish, expecially a somewhat more robust flavored one like a bass would go just as well? This may be tomorrow's dinner!

[podge]

Sounds like it’s a bit of a sweet but savory dish, nice one and yes I bet it does smell great.

[Oldsarge]

Damn! Mrs. Sarge has come down with the flu. Looks like dinner is chicken soup.

[settingsteel]

Call me crazy but I'd substitute that Coco oil for some sesameseed oil, cut it by half

[Mr. X]

Sounds great. Isn't sheephead one of the fish names that mean different fish in different places?

Originally Posted by settingsteel

Call me crazy but I'd substitute that Coco oil for some sesameseed oil, cut it by half

Good idea, although I suspect you will loose some flavour. I love the taste of coconut but it's not good for your heart [they researched this on Marshall Islanders] but fish is [they researched that on Eskimo/Inuit]. Never heard of coconut cream or noticed any natural "head" on the mik -- is it condensed coconut milk?

[OceanSwimmer]

Oldsarge, I'd sure give it a try on the bass! The sheephead is delicate and falls apart too easily if you try to grill it, so that's why it's in this recipe. The other ingredients are pretty yummy. If you want more texture, you can put shredded coconut AND chopped, raw cashews on top before serving. DE-LISH!

And settingsteel and Mr X: Sure, you can substitute any oil you want...the jury is out about coconut oil. Opinions differ about the benefits and/or risks. The natives of the phillipine islands have been using coconut oil for cooking a long time w/out heart problems, so I don't know the conclusive answer! In my opinion, the coconut oil adds that authentic flavor and fragrance that sets it apart.

My thoughts about coconut oil are this: first of all, all things in moderation. If you use coconut oil on a recipe you eat maybe once in 3-6 months, you're not going to consume enough to make a big difference. Besides the exercise you get regularly will be helping you keep your LDL and HDL numbers good, right? So it's all a matter of balance.

Oh, and about coconut cream: it's in Asian supermarkets....labeled 'coconut cream'! It is thicker than coconut milk, and the taste is wonderful.
NOT to be confused with coconut water or juice which is served as a drink.

[podge]

Originally Posted by Mr. X

Never heard of coconut cream or noticed any natural "head" on the mik -- is it condensed coconut milk?

Mr.X you can buy Coconut cream at Tesco’s, and yes the cream does make a difference its gives the finished dish a more rounded finish just try it in any mild curry instead of the coconut milk and you’ll see what I mean.

[settingsteel]

Coconut milk is high in saturated fats, cream more so thus the adverse effects...but in moderation its all good, heck if you start nitpicking just about anything is bad these days even lobster...anyways the sesame seed oil might give it a different twist, in IMPO the coconut cream is intensely flavored, I'd get that dish throw those coconut flakes on top and broil it a second...toasted coconut...yeah thats what I'm talking 'bout...perhaps a light german white to accompany it, and of course a chickee to accompany the wine

[Oldsarge]

And I'll forego the shredded coconut. I love cooking with the milk and will look into the cream but coconut meat and I are not friends. No probs, though, toasted almonds on top will give crunch, too, and I love those. C'mon Mrs. Sarge. Die, virus, die!