Bone-in Sirloin

Welcome again to the “An Ingredient Adventure”, for the last few post, the ingredients are usually fish, not to surprise because I am working at a Seafood Restaurant ! However, once in a while we gonna do something with meat as well, for example like the cut of this week of blog, it is the Bone-in sirloin 1 kg.

To be honest with you, I am not a huge fan of meat, all kinds of meat, but thanks to my job, which is working at the grill station, often I have to cook meat and butcher them, but don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy butchering or fabricating them.

Fabricating and cooking are two completely different art in the category of Meat; this time we have the chance of cooking the Australian Wagyu breed bone-in sirloin on the grill, which double the fun.

here it is the meat is on fire!

When we have big piece of meat, there are always the choice of cooking it, either heavily salted and grill, or cooking on pan, with butter garlic and herbs.

I personally like Grilling meat,  the charcoal gives such a sexy, smoky, a bit char character to the meat, especially beef, which is harder to achieve at home. After all, if we can cook exactly the same like the restaurant can do, why bother to go dining out right?

With the heat, most of the fast had been rendered off, and the fat drip onto the hot white charcoal, smoking the meat, and we finish in the 180c oven (don’t worry I type out a separate recipe below.).

and there is the result!

As I mentioned before, If we cook the steak on a pan, we usually would put butter and herb so enhance the flavor of the meat, no matter is poultry or beef or pork.

So here is the cheating part!

Rather than cooking again on the pan, I simply take some butter, place in a pot, put on high heat and see the butter turns to beurre noisette (if you wanna know about a sauce made of that go to my Bream post.

And Here it is ! the Charcoal grilled Bone-in Sirloin 1kg from Australia !

– Quick Recipe:

• Bone-in Sirloin 1kg
• Rest at room temp for 30mins – 1 hr (ideally)
• Highest heat on your grill setting or charcoal or get your pan really really hot
• Cook each side about 2-3mins, depends on the colour of the meat
•  Transfer to a tray with rack, and into a preheated oven at 180C degree / 356F degree
•  roast in the oven for 5 mins, and take it rest for 5-8 mins and back the oven same temperature at   180C degree / 356F degree for another 5 mins
• take rest a warm part of the kitchen or just wrap it with foil for 10mins resting
• while resting, make the buerre noisette, with garlic and thyme
• before serving, blast it with high heat on a pan or the grill for no more than 30 seconds each side, and just cut and serve with your favorite salads!
• Enjoy with love ones or the one you want to get some love from.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my blog and this post. I would love to share more ingredients and cooking on this blog, please click like, or leave me a comment, or subscribe to the blog and share with your friends, or what not all!

Until the next post! Have fun cooking !

 

Threadfin

Before starting the post for this week of the “An Ingredient Advanture” Blog, I would like to thank the ones who like read and/or like the post.

Each country or city or even region has their own “fish” if they are close by the sea, and in Hong Kong, we have this fish call Threadfin, or 馬友, it literally means “Horse Friend”, to this day i have no idea why is call like that .

Now rather being known how fresh it taste like, this fish actually better after curing and drying. In Hong Kong, the older generation tend to like them really dried, like a mummy and heavily salted, so it can be preserved, and steam it by itself or serve with pork “meatloaf”.

The characteristic of the Fish is delicate, sweet and lots of fat. If you don’t cure it for a bit, you might find the flesh a bit mushy, or in plain english, it just sucks. However having a bit of patient, salt and wait for few hours , you will see the magic.

 

(look at this massive threadfin…. )

Here I want to share with you guys, one of the way of butterflying the Threadfin for a semi dried, usually take a full night; It is a Japanese technique, however i like it a bit more moist so i only do half a day.

So after Half-a-Day of drying, I have taste the possible way for serving it

the fillet on the left is the pan-fried threadfin, absolutely crispy skin ( I should have record the cracking sound!)

and on the right is the steamed, very moist flesh! with the green chili paste and shaved onion as garnish. I am just wonder how to make the best of both world… crispy skin with superbly moist flesh and a hint of saltiness… it will be a nice challenge for myself.

Because of the sweet, fatty flesh of the Threadfin, without worrying too much of the getting to the most perfect way of cooking, I believe Grilling/ Pan fried are the 2 best ways of cook the lovely fish.

so  here will my preference on cook Threadfin:

• Curing with salt
• Pan-fried
• Grilling
• Steaming

it is a fish with high content of fat, so sauce is not necessary in this case, the juice and fat from the fish itself will be the best.

If you guys from other part of the world came across with Threadfin or an fish similar to this, give a try! or you want to just leave a comment, let explore and share the possibility of different kinds of ingredient on this planet, until next time!

 

Bream- part 2

Welcome again to the “An Ingredient Adventure” Blog!

If you read my last post, you will realize I sort of disagree with what Chef owner’s decision on how to cook this big Sea Bream he got from the market.

we ALL know, butter is taste great, don’t believe me? go ask the French!  Just kidding….Everyone loves butter, the smell of it, the taste of it, it is very better with is browned, the Hazelnut butter aka Beurre Noisette (maybe with exception of vegan….)! However, Sea Bream is a white flesh, light in taste, full of fat, and most importantly, the flesh very sweet. Sea Bream in this size undoubtedly it is going to be sweet and fatty, with more butter is just gonna kill the taste of the delicate sweetness.

What I believe the best ways of cooking a Sea Bream:

Steam, can’t go wrong with white fleshed fish

Baked, either salt baked, or salt crusted baking

Braising, make a fantastic stew

nonetheless, Grilling, to be exact: Charcoal Grilling

Charcoal Grilling a fish will totally enhance the taste of the fish, by concentrating the taste of the sea, the nature umami taste of the fish itself; with the additional taste of smokey get from the burning charcoal, for me personally is the best way of enjoy a cooked fish.

The savor the best taste of white flesh fish, grilling give the most simple yet original taste of the ingredient itself, so next time you can try to grill a fish at home, especially a sea bream, no matter is red or black give a try !

 

Abalone

Welcome again to the “An Ingredient Adventure” Blog!

I am Ko Loy Yee or David Ko from Hong Kong, I am here to share the ingredient I have or had came across so far, these are mostly taken with my IPhone and shared on my instagram account.

Through this blog, I would love to share and explore different ingredient through some of my travelling experience and from my work, if you have any comment of thought, please leave a comment.

 

Moving in the another new post of the “An Ingredient Adventure” Blog, this week the ingredient I would like to share to the world of WordPress. It is a living fossil, and if you are also from the same part of the world as I do, you must have tried in it’s re-hydrated form. It is the Abalone

 

Abalone also  known as sea snail with 9 holes in Ancient China, comes in Green Lips and Black Lips; and apparently like most of the high quality seafood usually comes from Japan, but nowadays farming are almost around the world as you can read from the link above, but this is from the Philippines.

So when it comes to dealing with this guy, you gonna need a brush, the ones for leather shoes, to brush it lightly, you gonna see to scoop it out of the shell, the fishmonger should be able to it for you, most importantly take out the guts and the beak. But save the liver for a great sauce, maybe later on i would upload a recipe for that.

you can cook it 5 mins on the grill or just steam it, if you like some texture. Or braise it with soy sauce, mirin and dashi for around 2 hours, in really soft states.

These guys don’t come in cheap in Asia, maybe is gonna be cheaper else where? give a try if you can, be sure to buy it not just getting out of the ocean without knowing what it is, unless you wanna kill yourself. until next time!

 

 

Yellow Garoupa

Welcome again to the “An Ingredient Adventure” Blog!

I am Ko Loy Yee or David Ko from Hong Kong, I am here to share the ingredient I have or had came across so far, these are mostly taken with my IPhone and shared on my instagram account.

Through this blog, I would love to share and explore different ingredient through some of my travelling experience and from my work, if you have any comment of thought, please leave a comment.

 

• Yellow Garoupa also known as grouper, 黃斑魚.

this family of fish most common fish when it comes to any banquet in Cantonese region, like sea bass to Frenchman, grouper is quite important when it comes to dining out at a restaurant.

The grouper family is pretty big and here is the link if you really interested in scientific term : grouper family explained.

Here is a Japanese Yellow Grouper like most of its relatives, there have a very firmed flesh, low on fat but thick skin (unlike a lot of human), because of the characteristic of the fish, is going to be a waste if you want to grill or pan-fried it.

Best Way to Cook it: Steamed or like the below Pan Roasted.

Pan roasting is a western way of cooking fish in the southern part of France. and this recipe simple that you can do at home. originally only ask for equal parts of Olive Oil, Butter, Water & Lemon juice; and when our team tries to do it when according to the recipe of the French Chef…. it taste like CRAP.

So there is where something call “Common Sense” kicks in; here is the recommendation, trust of you taste bud but on the on light side at the beginning of the cooking, Because everything will reduce and concentrated.

Here is not a real recipe but a sample:

Chicken Stock 1L

Olive 100(50)g . 100g to start, 50g for finish

Butter 100g

Lemon juice 20g

Apart from the basic liquid for the roast, you will also need tomatoes, confit tomatoes if you have, basil, thyme, garlic, salt. A 400-600g grouper, pan roasting in 180C  oven usually take about 12-15mins with 2 cuts on the back of the fish like in the picture. And then you will have a flaky, juicy and meaty grouper, with cream yet tangy sauce!

Here is the reason why there wont be much recipes in this blog:

Savory or Hot side is most like craft, with little bit of measure, if you trust your taste bud, your dishes will hardly go wrong. It will be more important to know Ratio Than Grams, when it comes to hot food, be brave!

 

 

Akamutsu (nodoguru)

Welcome again to the “An Ingredient Adventure” Blog!

I am Ko Loy Yee or David Ko from Hong Kong, I am here to share the ingredient I have or had came across so far, these are mostly taken with my IPhone and shared on my instagram account.

 

Through this blog, I would love to share and explore different ingredient through some of my travelling experience and from my work, if you have any comment of thought, please leave a comment.

Nodoguru / Akamutsu also know as

– black throat sea perch

-黑喉 ， ノドグロ

If you really want to know the scientific name…

This is high priced wild fish from Japan , high fat content and extremely delicate flesh.

Featured in one of the signature dishes of Ryugin by chef Yamamoto

3 star Michelin way of preparing Akamutsu by Ryugin

 

I would preferred cooked over charcoal or grilled , with salt cured for an hour forehand.

 

However because i was the first time i came across with this fish, and the way being filleted, i managed to break one of the three nodoguru that were sent from Tsukiji that morning. I feel have lucky I still have have my job today.

 

So here is the result of the grill, with the slow and white charcoal, gently cook one side the skin side only, it made a contrast between the crispy skin and the moist, fatty white flesh underneath.

This is my first “real” post on WordPress.com, there will be more interesting to you all, on “An Ingredient Adventure” blog.

 

Purpose of blog

When it comes to food blog post, they will usually be long, that’s why I wish to do it short instead, is more about cooking method based than recipe based like the usual ones.

On top that, the style of the cooking would usually be grilling , or quick ways to cook,and stews once in a while because I love real honest food.

When It comes to photos, they would as real as possible , After years of reading cookbooks and McDonald’s ad, we all know how studio photos works.

Quick & Real for each Ingredient Adventure .