Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Dashi broth with Udon Noodles and Glazed Mahi Mahi

A deceptively simple challenge from the people at Slashfood - eat the letter D.

But what would the letter D relate to..would it be the ingredient or the dish name. Dinner and Dessert were quickly ruled out and I settled on finding an ingredient or two that would satisfy the requirement.

Initial thoughts revolved around Duck...perhaps Dumplings...or even fresh pasta made from Durum...but then the mind seized. Inspiration wasn't coming so I took refuge in that spot in the kitchen where I head for ideas...the pantry. And that's where I saw it. Something that I enjoyed but hadn't really used and it started with the letter D.

Dashi!

Dashi can be made fresh but in Japan most home cooks use the granulated form - for this exercise I'm using Hon-Dashi - it's made from bonito.

To go with the dashi an obvious match would be Udon Noodles (plenty of d's in there).

A visit to the market I came upon the final ingredient, a perfect companion - there in the middle of the fishmongers cabinet lay a large Dolphin Fish. It's more user friendly name is Mahi-Mahi.

mahi mahi or dolphin fish© by Haalo



mahi mahi or dolphin fish© by Haalo


The skin is quite thick, a bit thicker than salmon, so I should be able to crisp up the skin. The flesh is springy to the touch, dense but moist. As I was cooking for two, I cut this fillet along the blood line, removing the dark flesh to give me two fillets.

Onto the recipe...

ingredients© by Haalo




Dashi broth with Udon Noodles and Glazed Mahi Mahi

[Adapted from Dish No.2 - Serves 2]
Total time: 1 hour

200 gram packet Udon Noodles
2 x 150 gram Mahi Mahi (dolphin fish)
50 grams Broccoli florets


For the Broth:
1 litre water
2 tablespoons instant Dashi
2 tablespoons Mirin
2 tablespoons Cooking Sake
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

For the Glaze:
2 tablespoons Mirin
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Sugar
4 tablespoons Cooking Sake


To make the Broth:
Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes to let the ingredients mingle.

To make the Glaze:
Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar over a very low heat. Let it simmer to reduce slightly.

Boil the noodles and broccoli florets until the noodles are heated, then drain and add to the broth.

To cook the Fish:
Using a non-stick fry-pan, place a little neutral oil in the pan and heat. Season the fillets with salt and pepper and place in pan, skin side down. Cook until skin is crisp. Remove the fish and wipe the pan clean.

Add the glaze and return the fish to the pan, skin side up. Baste the skin with the glaze as it cooks through. Be careful of the heat, keep it low enough so not to burn the glaze.

Divide the broth, noodles and broccoli into bowls - then top with the fish fillet, spooning over some of the glaze left in the pan.


Dashi broth with Udon Noodles and Glazed Dolphin Fish Fillet© by haalo


No comments

Post a Comment

© Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once | All rights reserved.
BLOG TEMPLATE HANDCRAFTED BY pipdig