Lingcod and the joy of cooking!

My pops made sure I grew up fishing rivers, lakes, and ponds. When I started to spearfish a couple years back, it was simply to enjoy being underwater and hunting fish in a new way. Then I started to really dig the challenge of breath holds and understanding fish behavior and their habitat. A new and unexpected joy has been figuring out fun and creative ways to utilize fish and their various parts, try to make them taste good, and then try to attractively plate them. I shot a lingcod and a Blue on Friday afternoon while my buddy was in town from LA.

It was fun on Sunday, sitting down in the early morning to decide which plate to use, then which colors will go on that plate, then what flavors can come from those colors. I still didn't have a great idea going into it, other than Ariel Merhav's recent Chinese take on lingcod that made me want to do something Asian. It was neat learning that we have several edible flowers right in Pacific Grove, so I went out hunting after a trip to the grocery store and Asian market. I also stopped by Home Depot to get a torch for burning some of the food. Here is how it came out.

Spicy Shiitake "quenelle", Lingcod over Burned Lemon in a Soy, Sake, Vinegar and Ginger Reduction. Recipe Below -->











RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS:

Mushrooms:
Add sliced carrot, onion, garlic and mushroom to a large non-stick pan with a little olive oil and sautee. Don't clean the pan. Add it to a food processor with italian seasoning, fresh parsley, fresh oregano, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Process it as smooth or rough of a texture as you'd like it to be. It should shape well no matter the consistency. I used a flower pedal, micro greens, a dot of Sriracha and Hawaiian black salt to garnish it.

Sauce Reduction:
Add 3 TBS Mirin (sweet rice wine), 2 TBS finely chopped ginger, 2 TBS low sodium soy sauce, 2 TBS rice vinegar, 1/2 TBS olive oil, 1/4 TBS sesame oil, pinch of salt to a sauce pan. Simmer for as long as you want to get the desired consistency. I was going for more syrup like. I also strained the ginger, but you could leave it in if you wanted more zing in the dish (if you were using rice or something, this would be great).

The fish was cooked in the same pan as the mushrooms and I poured some of the sauce reduction over it while cooking. This dish would also be really good with the fish crusted, but we try to eat on the healthier side, so we went with pan cooked. I burned a few slices of lemon with a, and then rubbed them over the fish once plated.

The garnish was just edamame and lemon, sliced Brussels sprouts that were cooked in the fish pan with some water to make steam, edible flowers, julienned scallions, ginger root and red bell pepper.

Overall, my favorite flavor was the burned lemon and the sauce. Come to find out it's basically just a zingier fresh version of terriaki sauce. My wife ended up wanting the rest of the mushrooms because those were her favorite!

Bon Apetite!

A bit too fancy for me but it's cool that you get a kick out of the whole experience.

The fish in your house get an elaborate send off 

Beautiful presentation!
It’s always interesting to see the varied creative interests of members of the group here.

A bit too fancy for me but it's cool that you get a kick out of the whole experience.

The fish in your house get an elaborate send off 

He didn't even bother to forage the mushrooms.  Needs to step up his game.

I kid, I kid.  I am out of fish and have resorted to drinking hotdog soup.  This meal looks fantastic.

That looks good!

Nice job! Details DO matter.

I get it. From prepping gear to fishing to cleaning fish and gear, and then sitting down to a fresh seafood dinner at the day's end....it is the entire experience that has seduced me

Too purdy to eat and way out of my league 😂

have resorted to drinking hotdog soup. 

 

Nice job! Details DO matter.

I get it. From prepping gear to fishing to cleaning fish and gear, and then sitting down to a fresh seafood dinner at the day's end....it is the entire experience that has seduced me

Finding the right meat is fun, then figuring out how to cook it is almost the next biggest fun challenge for me!

have resorted to drinking hotdog soup. 

 

Bahahaha hot dog soup had me cracking up!!! I'd love to learn how to forage for mushrooms but that's not something I'll dabble in without a tutor!

You know I love the Ab Shell
Great Sharing

have resorted to drinking hotdog soup. 

 

It's an actual thing I thought you were kidding 

Hot Doggity Dog Soup

Ingredients

8 large potatoes (peeled/cubed)
1/2 c onion (chopped)
8 c water
2 can(s) cream of tomato soup
16 hot dogs (sliced)
1/4 tsp pepper
4-6 dash(es) tabasco sauce (optional)
1 pkg beef stew mix
1 beef/chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp butter

have resorted to drinking hotdog soup. 

 

It's an actual thing I thought you were kidding 

Hot Doggity Dog Soup

Ingredients

8 large potatoes (peeled/cubed)
1/2 c onion (chopped)
8 c water
2 can(s) cream of tomato soup
16 hot dogs (sliced)
1/4 tsp pepper
4-6 dash(es) tabasco sauce (optional)
1 pkg beef stew mix
1 beef/chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp butter

You forgot to add to the recipe that before starting to make this, you need to have ample amounts of moonshine... haha reading the ingredients made my cholesterol increase. 

have resorted to drinking hotdog soup. 

 

It's an actual thing I thought you were kidding 

Hot Doggity Dog Soup

Ingredients

8 large potatoes (peeled/cubed)
1/2 c onion (chopped)
8 c water
2 can(s) cream of tomato soup
16 hot dogs (sliced)
1/4 tsp pepper
4-6 dash(es) tabasco sauce (optional)
1 pkg beef stew mix
1 beef/chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp butter

You forgot to add to the recipe that before starting to make this, you need to have ample amounts of moonshine... haha reading the ingredients made my cholesterol increase.

Sounds good to me, I’ll take an extra blood pressure pill that morning 

That's fancy plating Eric, hope it tasted as good as it looks, thanks for sharing

Great presentation Antonio  , you missing edible flowers on top of the lovely hotdog soup 
hope it tasted better than it looks

That's fancy plating Eric, hope it tasted as good as it looks, thanks for sharing

Great presentation Antonio  , you missing edible flowers on top of the lovely hotdog soup 
hope it tasted better than it looks

bahahah you should carve a flower out of a hotdog.