The Neighbors are coming for lunch

[Don Cuevas]

We invited our Mexican neighbors/landlords to comida (main meal, afternoon) today.

I have 5 medium sized fish filets and somewhat less than 500 grams of shrimp in the shell, to serve a total of seven of us.

I decided to stretch the seafood by way of a quasi-Chinese meal. (The Señora LOOOOOVES Cantonese food.)
I'll cut the filets into quads, peel the shrimp, made a light marinade of white wine or some tequila infused with mandarin peel; a dash of light soy sauce, some raspings of fresh ginger, and a little cornstarch.

Meanwhile, there's a nice red sweet pepper to cut up, some chayote (mirliton), which needs some precooking; some carrot and some knob onions.

The sauce will be made of knorr-suiza caldo de pollo powder and water, a little soy sauce, some brown sugar, some pineapple vinegar, and thicked with a cornstarch slurry. Maybe a nice garnish of a few branches of cilantro to finish.

A good pot of steamed white rice ought to pretty well complete the meal. I thought of making a Lemon Meringue Pie, but it's really too much work. They are unaccustomed to having dessert with their meals.

Oh- for an appetizer: guacamole with tostadas de maíz (corn) would be fine. We have two very nice organic avocados.

[Deleted]

Send the leftovers to me!

[traveler63]

Of all the food and dinners I have prepared I have never ventured into Asian food. I know that there are many recipes out there, but for some reason that type of cooking have never peaked my interest. Any suggestions that might get me motivated???

[Deleted]

It can present as somewhat daunting T63. Somehow,the first dishes I tried were really mediocre and one was pure disaster. All that prep work ,it just didn't seem worth it. And of course it never came close to what one can get in a good Chinese restaurant. Try to pick out a recipe with just a few ingredients at first and build up your confidence. Having the right cooking equipment is important but the prep work and the timing is everything.
I suspect you're an exacting chef like myself and it takes some loosening up to feel confident.
I don't do that much of this food as I once did. And I never became proficient at preparing large menus of it for say ,more then four people.
One of my first dishes I attempted involved squid and it was a disaster. I'll never forget the look on Mr. C's face when I served it. And I worked so hard . (Don't try squid)

[bixaorellana]

T63 ~~ see if you can find a copy of this book. It's the most charming, non-intimidating introduction to the technique and logic behind Chinese cooking. The author makes you realize that of course Chinese housewives weren't preparing dishes fit for an emperor on an everyday basis.

Check out some of the references right here in the Any Port Galley.

[hwinpp]

The marinade sounds good, how did it go on? Did you grill or fry the fillet pieces? Was it what your neighbours had expected or were they surprised?

T63, As Cas and Biksa have said, start with simple stir fries, try different combinations of spices, add a dash of alcohol, branch out. Once you feel confident with that start on sauces and soups or more complicated things.

[Deleted]

What hwinpp says is wise. You have to start with very simple things and see what appeals to you, and work from there.

[bazfaz]

We give our builders Robbie and Thomas (French, despite the names) a dinner after they have done major works which has been all too frequent. When asked what they would like me to cook they invariably say Thai.

[Don Cuevas]

Jul 16, 2009 3:18:38 GMT hwinpp said:

The marinade sounds good, how did it go on? Did you grill or fry the fillet pieces? Was it what your neighbours had expected or were they surprised?

T63, As Cas and Biksa have said, start with simple stir fries, try different combinations of spices, add a dash of alcohol, branch out. Once you feel confident with that start on sauces and soups or more complicated things.

hwinpp, the filet pices almost totally disintegrated in the stir fyring, even though I did them separately from all else. The fish, I'm quite sure, was tilapia. It was a gift. I never buy it, as it's too soft a texture and nearly devoid of flavor. It's like pescatarian t*fu.

I cooked the substantial quantity and variety of vegs first, then set them aside. Then the fish. I had to use a new, non-stick pan for the shrimp, as the wok was all stuck with tilapia fragments and cornstarch coating.

I should mention that among the seasonings were fresh root ginger and garlic, and a touch of Absolut Mandrin Vodka. ( I had to check the Absolut web site to get their spelling, "Mandrin".)

Then all was combined with the gently seasoned sweet and sour sauce: brown sugar, pineapple vinegar, then chicken stock (from powder) with cornstarch suspended in it. This is when the fish completely disintegrated.
Nevertheless, I carried on, corrected the seasoning and put it in a large and attractive servng dish, garnished with orange slices and sprigs of cilantro.

We ate it up. Doña Cuevas and I had seconds for our supper, on top of the yellow rice.

We didn't do dessert, as no one had room. Later, we had some nice and tart Lemon Pie (no topping) given to us by an American neighbor friend.

(Only 3 came, by the way. The grown daughter and her 5 year old son couldn't make it.)

[hwinpp]

I never stir fry tilapia. I do it like in your picture in the other thread, score it once or twice, then let it fry aggressively until it's slightly darker than golden. The flesh holds up to it.
Also my tilapia is alive when I buy it so the flesh is quite firm.
I've asked my girlfriend if it can be cooked but she says, 'no, too soft'.

[Don Cuevas]

I'll know better next time. Tilapia is just too soft to bear much handling. Ours were medium sized, skinned filets. It looked best when raw. The fish is for people who don't like "FISH".

I had better luck frying (not STIR frying) flets of mero (grouper) when I made Pescado a la Veracruzana.

[Deleted]

I have trouble with people who don't like fishy fish. One friend lost 10 points in my book when he requested that the mackerel on the sashimi plate be replaced with tuna.