Mahi Mahi and Julienned Veggies In Sweet and Savory Japanese Sauce

Soy sauce and mirin usually goes hand in hand in Japanese seasonings. Most likely you'll see sake in the bunch too. So take that as the base, and to add more depth of flavors, I used both the black vinegar and rice vinegar, also sugar and some finely chopped ginger. 

Turned out the sauce worked really well with mahi mahi, I suppose it'll taste just as good if you want to change the protein to chicken or pork slices.

Mahi mahi and julienned veggies in sweet and savory Japanese sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 300 grams boneless mahi mahi
• 80 grams enoki mushroom
• 1/3 medium carrot
• 1/4 small onion
• 1 small bundle cilantro
• Some corn starch
• Some olive oil
• Some salt

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon black vinegar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons drinkable water
• 1 teaspoon scrapped and finely chopped ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

How?

Slice the mahi mahi to thicker pieces, similar to the size shown in my pictures. Season both sides of the fish with some salt. Have a plate filled with some corn starch and dip the fish with it. Tap and shake away excess corn starch, then set the fish aside for few minutes before actually cooking it, that way the corn starch can really settle/cling onto the fish.

Mix all the ingredients listed under the "sauce" section in a bowl.

Peel and thinly slice the onion. Peel and julienne the carrot. Trim-off the bottom of the enoki mushroom, separate the strings and cut in half if the length appears to long. Chop the cilantro.

Have a pan ready and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets warm. Add in mahi mahi and sear till the bottom turns golden. Flip and sear the other side till golden too.

Carefully scoop out the seared fish pieces and set aside for later use.

Drizzle more oil if there's not enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Still using medium heat, add in onion slices, carrot strips, and enoki mushroom. Give it a quick stir-fry. I prefer to cook till the carrot has been softened. 

Pour in the sauce mixture. Cook till reduce a bit. Use higher heat if needed.

Add the fish back and gently mix together with the sauce. Further reduce a little.

Plate and garnish with chopped cilantro.

I was very happy with the choice of fish here. Mahi mahi has a moderately firm texture that can withstand longer cooking and stronger sauce used. Also the corn starch coating further absorbed some sauce, making the fish much more flavorful in the end.

The sauce was also good with rice. Even Mister who's usually not a fan of vinegar-added dishes really enjoyed this one.  

Other recipes using mahi mahi:

• Oven-baked mahi tikka - also a great option for tortillas
• Spicy mahi mahi with Asian seasonings 麻辣鬼頭刀魚塊
• Pan-fried mahi mahi with Chinese basil 鹽酥鬼頭刀魚頭肉

 

Pomodori Ripieni di Riso / Italian Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

Have you ever heard of a super simple recipe using one whole tomato with rice cooker? Basically you just cook the rice using rice cooker as usual, but with an extra big tomato. Once done, break the softened tomatoes into the rice.

That recipe got quite popular in Asia back then, and that's how I can be double sure that tomato with rice makes a delicious combo. Which leads me to this Italian recipe, also tomato and rice, but with more actual or common cooking steps involved. Thanks to my previous understanding about tomato and rice, I know this Italian rice stuffed tomatoes would be a killer too.

Pomodori Ripieni di Riso / Italian Rice Stuffed Tomatoes -

Ingredients?

• 4 big or 5 medium tomatoes
• 4 fistful basmati rice
• 1 big potato
• 1 garlic clove
• Small bundle basil
• Small bundle parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• Some olive oil
• Some salt

How?

Use big tomatoes if possible, I can only find medium ones so I used five instead of four. Slice-off the top of the tomatoes, but not too thin because we're going to use them like a cap or a lid later.

Scoop out the inside, but not the pulp. I actually save most of the pulp and juice in a separate bowl and plan to utilize that in other dishes. Nothing goes to waste.

Roughly chop the inside meaty part and transfer to a mixing bowl. To that, also add 4 fistful of basmati rice. Usually it would be one fistful of rice for one big tomato, just remember that rice will puff up a little more during the cooking process.

Peel and finely chop one garlic clove, add that to the mixture. Also add 1 tablespoon of chopped basil, 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Give it a quick mix and rest for 30 minutes to one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Peel and slice the potato to wedges. Toss with 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Before stuffing the tomatoes, make sure to pour out any remaining liquid inside. Usually more juice will accumulate on the bottom as time goes by.

Scoop the rice mixture to the tomatoes. You can gently pressed down the stuffing but don't overdo it, otherwise the tomato will break after baking. Lay these stuffed tomatoes in a baking dish and cover with the "lid." 

Scatter seasoned potato wedges around these tomatoes. Sprinkle a little bit more salt all over, also drizzle some more olive oil on top. Into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the lid part appears slightly charred.

Remove from the oven and garnish with some chopped parsley, basil, or both. Serve right away.

It's been confirmed once again, tomato and rice truly makes a delicious combo. Adding potato wedges throughout was a great idea too because they get to absorb the tomato juice leaking to the bottom, creating a fluffy yet also moist texture in the end.

Almost forgot, the juice saved earlier when scoop out the inside for the tomatoes, you can add that to stew, soup, or even substitute with some part of water when making the simple steamed rice.

One other "stuffed" recipe:

• Shiso and cheese stuffed tofu in Japanese seasonings