Tag Archives: Fish

Casseroles, Finances, Fish, Healthy, Main Dishes

Instant Pot Potatoes & Green Beans With Fish

February 14, 2019 BudgetEpicurean 4 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I love each and every one of you reading this. If you want a fabulous last-minute dinner idea that is drop-dead easy, I’ve got you covered.

How about we make everyone happy and start with the recipe, huh?

Ingredients:

2-4 filets of fish – your choice, I’ve used cod and salmon with great results
6 – 8 potatoes – any kind works! Or all the kinds.
~1lb green beans – you can use fresh, frozen, or canned
1/4 c soy sauce
3/4 c chicken or veg stock
2-3 tbsp crushed/diced garlic or garlic powder to taste
Optional: 2-3 tbsp honey or maple syrup if using salmon
Optional: crushed red pepper or black pepper for spice

This recipe is very flexible! If you don’t like potatoes or green beans or just want some extra variety, add some carrots, onion, radishes, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, collard greens, or whatever suits your fancy.

This can easily be made vegetarian/vegan if you skip the fish and use tofu/tempeh or just a medley of veg instead. And you can adjust the cooking time, I have done 6 minutes (perfect) and 10 minutes (a little too much).

Step 1: Dice the potatoes into a medium size, add to the pot. I’ve used russet, sweet potatoes, redskin, and Yukon gold, and a combination of all of them, they all work well here.

Step 2: If using fresh green beans, cut the ends off, discard any black or rotting beans. If using canned or frozen just toss em in. Add to the pot on top of the potatoes.

Step 3: Add the fish filets on top of the green beans, if they have skin, skin side up. I had salmon filets that were 3-4 oz each.

Step 4: Mix the rest of the sauce ingredients, and pour over everything. Set your cooker to 6 minutes. Then go do something else while it comes up to pressure and cooks.

10 minutes later, enjoy!

This is a full meal in one pot, one dish to clean up! If you want a little more, you can serve it over rice, with crusty bread to sop up the juices, with a side salad, or over a bed of wilted spinach.

We had plenty for dinner for 2 with enough for 2 more containers of leftovers for lunch the next day.

Obviously this doesn’t have to be saved for a special occasion, you can have this any day of the week. In fact I encourage you to have it every day of the week! Just kidding. But I hope you like it, let me know if you try this in the comments!

If you want to adapt this for stove top:

Cook the potatoes in a covered pan for 25-30 minutes first. Add veggie stock, water, or oil to keep from sticking/burning.
Add the green beans and flavorings, cook another 10-15 minutes until beginning to soften.
Add the fish, cover, and cook a final 7-10 minutes until fish is opaque and flakes apart with a fork.

Casseroles, Crock pot, Dessert, Eggs, Fish, Healthy, Main Dishes, Meal Plans, Pasta, Slow cooker, Snacks, Vegetarian

Weekly Eating – 10/1/18

October 7, 2018 BudgetEpicurean 4 Comments

Hey y’all! Welcome to the series Weekly Eating.

Here is where I’ll talk about the week’s meal plan versus reality, what we ate for the week, and how we did budget-wise. I hope it gives readers a behind-the-scenes look into our life through the lens of food, and it’s also a way to keep us on track with meal planning and grocery budgeting.

Feel free to share your wins and lessons in the comments below!

As promised, I spent a big part of the weekend planting the fall things and ripping up the summer things. Tomatoes and beans are now composting, and kale/beet/radish/broccoli/cabbage are in the ground. Fingers crossed we get something edible. I’m already planning next spring’s garden.

Monday:

Breakfast – Avocado and egg sandwich, quite filling and tasty

Lunch – Leftover from the weekend roasted vegetables, with a small piece of steak under there (hah, I bet at least one person thought “under where?”)

Snack – homemade creamy hummus and raw veggies (I ended up not being hungry enough to eat the peaches I canned)

Dinner –

Tuesday:

Breakfast – Peach oatmeal

Lunch – out to lunch with a coworker

Dinner – Lentil sloppy joes! My new favorite. With dill pickles and homemade purple sauerkraut

Wednesday:

Breakfast – A friend at work keeps chickens, and she brought me a gift of a dozen free range eggs! I was so thrilled, because happy healthy free range chickens make the best eggs. I had a tasty breakfast burrito with bell peppers and onions and hot sauce and eggs and cheese. Nomnom.

Lunch – Leftover lentil sloppy joes! Not mad about it.

Dinner –I made a big batch of my crispy oven baked tofu

And whipped up a quick teriyaki stir fry to go with it

Oh and I also have a jar of homemade apple cider vinegar that’s finally getting going! It’s a great way to use apple cores and peels and scraps. Just fill a jar 2/3, cover with water. Add about 1 tbsp sugar per cup of water needed, and cover. That’s it. Let it sit in a dark place for 2 weeks, strain, and let it sit again until tart enough.

Thursday:

Breakfast – Another breakfast burrito!

Lunch – Out again! Shocking, I know, twice in one week. The down side of trying so hard to make friends for 2 years is that now I have them haha but at least our work meal card gets us 10% off so this was just over $4

Dinner – Ya’ll! Remember how when I went home for a wedding shower, I ended up coming home with a pressure cooker my mom didn’t want? I finally used it! My first item: baked potatoes.

The good news is, it didn’t blow up! The better news is, it steamed perfect soft potatoes in 15 minutes. These things are pretty legit. And WAY less energy used than an oven at 350 for an hour.

Friday:

Breakfast – At the grocery store, I found an insane sale on smoked rainbow trout (like 75% off). Given my love of smoked salmon, I figured it might be similar. So I got it, because luckily for me someone brought leftover Panera, and I nabbed an everything bagel with cream cheese, the perfect lox canvas. Turns out, definitely not the same as salmon. But pretty good.

Lunch – Leftover tofu teriyaki stir fry

Dinner – My second experience with the pressure cooker. Some tiny acorn squash that came with my Produce Box.

Took 15 minutes yet again, perfectly fork-tender. They got whipped into a creamy cheese sauce for acorn squash mac n cheese.

Dessert – Wooo what a crazy week, out for lunch twice AND dessert on Friday! I had 2 peaches that desperately needed used up, so I cut them into a bowl with an also-near-death banana and some frozen pineapple. Topped it with some butter/brown sugar (crack) and granola, then I microwaved it for about 8 minutes and bam. Instant sweet tooth satisfaction.

The Weekend

Saturday is a busy day! My pal Steveonomics is in town, his company is trying to convince him to move here. And so am I. 🙂 Then I have a downtown Food Tour afterwards. So definitely getting my steps in!

Then Sunday is the opposite, no plans whatsoever. Well, just getting down the Halloween decorations from the attic, because you know I’m having a party! Gotta brainstorm a good costume.

Food Total: $98.19

Uhhh… oops. I swear I went to the store with a list in hand… and then there were just a lot of good sales. At least most of the things I got were staples and fruits & veggies. The canned goods will stay for a long time, and we were down to almost nothing on rice. We had like 3 rice based meals this week, and burritos are a main way the boy stays alive, so running out of rice would be a disaster.

Meats	$23.57	Staples	$40.27	Fruit/Veg	$30.32
smoked rainbow trout 4oz	2.97	wheat bread	3	bag spinach 2	4
frozen whiting fillets 2lb	4.97	tomato sauce	1.18	bananas	2.28
frozen cod fillets 2lb	9.97	tortillas	1.48	avocados 4	3.58
Stew meat 1.5 lb	5.66	long grain white rice 10lb	2.99	cucumber	0.69
		basmati rice 5lb	8.99	carrots 10lb	5.99
		brown rice 3lb	4.49	sweet onion	1.21
		cereals x3	5.89	bell peppers 9	8.91
		Pasta – various x4	3.96	Limes	0.99
		4pk org garbanzos	3.29	Pears 2	1.88
		Pasta sauce x3	5	Lemon 1	0.79

Lessons Learned

Ugh guys. I need to admit that I am not doing as great with Zero Waste as I’d hoped. But this blog is supposed to be safe space though right? How do I get better? My biggest issues continue to be cheese (sliced and shredded) and anything frozen. The boy is the main cheese consumer, and he will definitely not shred or slice his own, I’ve tried buying blocks before and they just get moldy. And I’m not that much of a saint to do it for him weekly.

How about you guys? Did you have a learning week or an awesome week of wins?

Fish, Healthy, Main Dishes

Ahi Tuna Tacos

March 12, 2017 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

GUYS! I just found out my ALDI carries frozen Ahi Tuna steaks, 3 for $4.99.

While I love canned tuna and all it’s uses (tuna salad, tuna puffs, tuna noodle casserole…) this is a whole new level. A tuna steak is like, next-level-fancy tuna! It still has all the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, tons of protein, and trace minerals like magnesium and selenium, with the added benefit of looking like you’re at a 5-star restaurant when you serve it.

Finding these culinary gems called for some fish tacos! I adore fish tacos when they are well done. The combination of delicate fish, tangy crunchy slaw, corn salsa and spicy ranch is just unbeatable in my opinion. And yes, you have to have all those pieces to make it truly complete. But I guess, if you must, you could do something different with the toppings… we can still be friends.

I didn’t even marinate or spice the fish, letting it’s true flavor shine and balance out the other toppings. This recipe makes enough for 3 hearty tacos, adjust as needed based on how many tuna steaks and how many servings you have.

Ingredients:

3 tuna steaks
1/4 cabbage, shredded
1 tbsp mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt & black pepper
1 avocado, diced
1 cup corn
3 tbsp ranch
Chili powder
3 tortillas

Step 1: Combine the corn and the diced avocado. Slice the cabbage thinly or shred it. Mix with the mayo and lemon juice and spices. Let sit while you cook the tuna.

Step 2: Grill the tuna steaks on an actual grill, or use a panini press/George foreman, or just cook on the stove top by frying in a greased pan 3-4 minutes per side, until just browned on the outside and still slightly pink in the middle.

Step 3: Cut or flake the tuna and place on the tortilla. Add a scoop of the corn and avocado, a spoonful of slaw, and a tbsp of ranch. Sprinkle the chili powder on top, roll up, and enjoy!

This is such a fresh, flavorful combination, I could eat these every week! And thanks to ALDI I probably can now. Just take out however many fillets you need the night before, and let it defrost in the refrigerator. You could also split up the steak into 3 smaller corn taco shells. Serve with a salad, fries, or beans and rice.

These also make a great lunch, grilled and flaked over a big green salad. That’s exactly what I did with the 3rd fillet that we didn’t use for dinner.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:66]

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Fish, Less than 5, Snacks

Swiss & Lox on Toast

March 19, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

As you may know, I am a huge fan of salmon, especially smoked salmon in the form of lox. Lox is amazing on bagels and toast, or crackers, or pasta. Salmon is known as a great source of lean protein, and omega-3 fatty acids.

This is a great, quick breakfast or snack, or even light lunch option. Look for sales especially, as I got this 4 oz pack of salmon for only $1.50, and the cheese for less than $1. The salmon I bought was pre-seasoned with black pepper and dill and who know what other goodies, but you can use whatever kind you like. You can also use any kind of spreadable cheese here, and fresh herbs if you have em.

Ingredients:

1 ounce lox
1 tbsp swiss cheese
1 slice wheat bread
Optional: squeeze of lemon juice

Step 1: Spread 1 tbsp of your cheese on the bread, toasted or not.

Step 2: Top with a heap of lox. If desired, squirt on some lemon or lime juice, a sprinkle of sea salt, or fresh diced herbs. Enjoy!

Fish, Healthy, Main Dishes

Couscous & Beans with White Fish

January 15, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

This post contains affiliate links. See Partnership page for more.

Since I made my own canned pinto beans, I’ve kept them in the refrigerator so that there’s little risk of botulism growing. This means that I’ve also been coming up with ways to use them up quickly, so beans have been featuring in meals all week in various ways.

I made a Red Beans & Rice that was absolutely delicious and will be part of my usual meal rotation now, and used my beans in stuffed bell peppers. Now I am considering a pinto bean hummus. Is that blasphemy? I don’t care.

This is a great way to get your fiber for the day and sneak in some extra veggies. Even if you don’t like fish, this blend of flavors and textures may change your mind.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup couscous (cooked)
3/4 cup beans
1/2 cup frozen diced peppers and onions
1/2 cup spinach
1 3 oz white fish fillet
2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
Salt & pepper & paprika

Step 1: To cook couscous, take about 3/4 cup water and heat in microwave 2-3 minutes, until near boiling. Pour over 1/2 cup couscous and let sit, covered, for 10-15 minutes.

Step 2: Meanwhile, in a pan combine the frozen veggies, spinach, and beans. Cook 5-7 minutes, stirring often so nothing sticks. The spinach should wilt to a fraction of its size, and the veggies will soften. Fluff the couscous with a fork, and pour veggies on top.

Step 3: In the same pan, add the white fish and spray lemon juice over it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook 4-5 minutes. Flip, and cook the other side another 2-3 minutes, until it is fully white and flakes easily with a fork. Add more lemon juice if you want.

Step 4: Put the fish on top of the whole bowl, sprinkle with more seasonings, and dig in!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:2]

Fish, Healthy, Main Dishes

Brown Sugar and Maple-Apple Glazed Salmon

December 8, 2014 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Salmon is one of my favorite kinds of fish. As I’ve said before, white fish are awesome because they are so versatile, but salmon can hold many bolder flavors while also bringing its own flavor profile to the table. With the mainstream becoming more aware of its amazing protein punch and heart-healthy omega-3s, salmon is increasingly becoming a popular protein option for any meal.

Salmon has a stronger fishy taste than some, but that definitely depends upon how you cook it and what you serve it with. There are so many good options for salmon; including grilling, broiling, sauteing, and baking.

Salmon can easily be paired with something savory or sweet. One of my favorite things to incorporate is brown sugar. The sweet, caramely notes work wonders to bring out the fish’s unique layers of taste. And to go with brown sugar, butter and apples are natural accompaniments.

Ingredients:

2 3-oz salmon fillets (or one big 6 oz-er)
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 medium firm apple (such as Gala or Fuji)
1/4 cup apple juice or cider
2 tbsp maple syrup

Veggie Rice

3/4 cup uncooked rice
1 small zucchini
1 cup fresh spinach
Garlic salt to taste

Step 1: Dice the apple into small bite-sized pieces. In a frying pan over medium heat, add the butter, apple juice, apples, and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, and simmer 3-5 minutes.

Step 2: Add the salmon fillets and cook 5 minutes. Flip, then sprinkle with brown sugar. Cover and simmer 5-10 more minutes, until sugar is slightly caramelized and the fish is cooked through. It should be light pink in color and flake easily with a fork.

If you’d like to make this rice as a side, dice up the zucchini. Either in a rice cooker or a sauce pot, add the rice, zucchini, spinach, and 1 1/2 cups of water or stock. In a rice cooker, mix and turn on. Fluff before serving.

If using a pot, bring to a boil, and then simmer on low with the cover on for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and serve alongside salmon with garlic salt to taste.

The salmon is flaky and sweet, with a sugar glaze and apple flavor. The apples become soft and sweet, almost like having dessert with your dinner!

Dips and Sauces, Fish, Healthy

Lemon Pollock with Olive Tapenade

July 6, 2014 BudgetEpicurean 1 Comment

Fish is healthy and delicious, especially white fish like Alaskan pollock, but it can be bland or boring. Some think this is a negative, but I see it as a huge perk. Fish is the perfect neutral, like a flattering beige sweater or couch. You can dress it up however you like, and it goes well with all types of spices, cooking styles, toppings, and side dishes.

Tapenade is a classical Provençal French dip slash topping. It has also been growing in popularity in other areas of the world, like Greece and the US. The base ingredient is olives. The rest of the ingredients vary by location and chef. Typically, capers, olive oil, garlic, and anchovy fillets are also involved. But there are plenty of variations in which you don’t need anchovy, or no olive oil. (I had sardines, not anchovy, so I used that instead. And it turned out fine.)

Ever since I bought a jar of pimiento and a jar of kalamata olives, I’ve been wanting to make olive tapenade. I finally put it on my meal plan, and made it with some white fish fillets. It was indeed everything I ever dreamed it would be!

It is an amazing topping for fish, but I imagine there are so many other possible uses. Spread on crusty bread slices, a condiment for a sandwich, in pasta like pesto, a dip for crudites, a stuffing for poultry, or as a salad dressing. The possibilities are endless! And it keeps for some time in the fridge, as long as you pour a thin layer of olive oil on top to preserve it. So make a big batch.

Ingredients:

3 white fish fillets
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 tbsp fish sauce
Salt + pepper
1 cup rice
1 can diced tomatoes

Olive Tapenade

2-4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup olives, pits removed
3 garlic cloves
1 anchovy or sardine fillet
4 tbsp lemon juice

Step 1: In a frying pan, place the three fish fillets and cover with lemon juice & fish sauce. Cover with a lid and let cook for 5-7 minutes, then flip. When fish is fully white and flakes easily with a fork, it is ready. Season as desired.

Step 2: While fish cooks, place olives in a blender or food processor. Meanwhile, boil the rice in 1 cup water and 1 can of diced tomatoes, not drained for 20-25 minutes, until fully cooked.

Step 3: Blend the olives. Add the garlic, sardine, lemon juice, and a few tbsp olive oil. Blend, adding extra juice or oil as needed to make it smooth.

Step 4: Place a scoop of rice on a plate, add a fish fillet and a smear of the tapenade topping.

I got a little creative with the plating. Which do you think looks best?

The fish is tart and moist yet firm, and is a perfect canvas for the olive masterpiece. The level of saltiness will depend on which type of olive(s) you use, I had a combination of green pimiento and kalamata. You can omit the sardine or anchovy fillet if you don’t have it or don’t like it, but I think it adds an extra layer of “seafood” taste, and since they were packed in tomato paste they also added a subtle tomato flavor.

This is a great, healthy alternative to something like mayonnaise or hummus, with lower fat and carb content yet a huge hit of flavors. Take a walk on the Mediterranean side and try some tapenade today.

Fish, Main Dishes

Silly American attempts to make Salmon Nigiri

June 17, 2014 BudgetEpicurean 1 Comment

I absolutely adore sushi. There are few types I dislike. Something about the soft buttery fish and rice with copious soy sauce just makes me swoon. I know I violate rules by using as much sauce as I do, but I’m over it. Low blood pressure and all that. I flipping love soy sauce okay?

Oh, and not all sushi is raw fish. Common misconception. Actually the majority of sushi is not raw. You must have nigiri or sashimi to be sure it’s raw. And even then… probably some exceptions. The blog The M Resort has a handy guide for keeping sushi terminology straight. The main ones are sushi, maki, nigiri, and sashimi. I won’t even try to overwhelm you or myself with all the different nuances of flavor, texture, color, and types of fish, or vinegars, additives, and temperature’s effects on rice.

Sushi = any Japanese style fish roll, may or may not be raw, include vegetables, or be rolled in seaweed (nori).

Maki = rolled sushi using a bamboo mat. Typically rolled in seaweed, but can also use thinly sliced cucumbers.

Nigiri = raw slices of fish served over a hand-rolled slab of rice, no nori. Some sushi chefs add wasabi between the fish and rice.

Sashimi = raw slices of fish served without rice, as naked as it gets. Try it with wasabi and soy sauce mixed together.

So one day I’m grocery shopping, and see a gorgeous salmon fillet on sale that needs used today. As often happens when at the grocery store, just seeing one item sparks an idea, and today’s idea was “why not try to make my own sushi at home?” Don’t mind if I do. I did recently purchase a rice cooker (which I also flipping love) so hopefully that would make the process even easier.

I did nothing special to the fish itself, as I wanted its natural flavor. I did try to doctor up the rice, and made my own dipping sauce. I also had some dumplings in the freezer, which I thawed and fried to make a lovely lunch.

Ingredients:

1 8 oz salmon fillet

1 cup white rice

1 1/2 cup water

1/4 cup vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

Garlic-Ginger Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup fish sauce

1 tsp diced garlic

1 tsp sriracha

1 in piece ginger, peeled and sliced

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp cornstarch

Step 1: Put the rice and water in the rice cooker and cook. Alternatively, cook the rice in the microwave or stove-top according to package directions.

Step 2: White rice is cooking, mix all dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl, and heat 3 minutes in microwave. Whisk well and set aside.

Step 3: Slice the fish fillet as thinly as possible on the diagonal. Once rice is cooked, let cool to room temperature. Add vinegar, sugar, and salt and mix well.

Step 4: Take a tbsp of rice, and form into an oblong oval shape with your fingers. Press a thin slice of fish onto the rice and place on plate. Repeat with all fish slices.

Step 5: Fry dumplings according to package if you have them. Place dipping sauce on a plate with the nigiri.

Step 6: Enjoy! While not as good as a sushi restaurant, it was dang good for my first attempt. You better believe anytime fresh fish is on sale I will be trying this again.

You could use really any type of filleted fish, and if you want to get real crazy, buy some nori (seaweed) sheets and make rolls. Add in avocado, carrots, cucumber, cream cheese… the possibilities are endless. Sushi is a great vegetarian and vegan option, you can even make dessert sushi! Give it a try.

What’s your favorite type of sushi?

Casseroles, Fish, Healthy, Informative, Main Dishes

The Art of Ethiopian: Part 2 – Chicken & Fish

April 3, 2014 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

This is part two of a four-part series on Ethiopian cooking, the American way. Since I am such an expert (I know someone from Ethiopia. Plus I’ve eaten it like… four times) I decided to share my versions of some of my favorites.

The recipes are fairly straightforward, you just need to obtain the spices, and be patient. All said, the cooking for this dinner party probably took about 6 hours. The dishes took twice that long. 😉

The Art of Ethiopian Cuisine: Part 1 – Beef & Pork
The Art of Ethiopian Cuisine: Part 2 – Chicken & Fish
The Art of Ethiopian Cuisine: Part 3 – Potatoes & Lentils
The Art of Ethiopian Cuisine: Part 4 – Cheese, Greens, & Injera

Part 2: Chicken and Fish

Sounds like the punchline of a bad Lent joke. Appropriate for April I guess. (Is April still when Lent happens?) But since the earlier post had already covered the ‘red’ meats of beef and pork, this one is for the “white meats”. Sorta.

Chicken stew in Ethiopian is called Doro Wat. I’ve figured that most things that say “Wat” mean meat stew, whereas “Tibs” means meat and vegetables stewed together. As in “Yasa Tibs” meaning my fish, tomato & spinach stew.

The recipe I based the Doro Wat from is found HERE from NomNomPaleo, while the inspiration for the fish is found at Allrecipes HERE.

Ingredients (Doro Wat):

3-4 pounds chicken (bone in will give you better flavor, I used a mix of 2 thighs and 2 boneless skinless breast)
1/2 cup diced onion
2 tbsp butter
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp ginger powder

Step 1: Add stock to chicken in a pan, and cook over low heat until no pink is left. Cut the breast into bite-sized cubes.

Step 2: In a separate pan, add butter and diced onions. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Add 1 cup diced onion to the chicken.

Step 3: Add the rest of the spices, and simmer for 30 minutes or until serving. Add more stock if liquid starts to evaporate.

Ingredients (Yasa Tibs):

1-2 small tilapia (or other white fish) fillets
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1 tbsp garam masala
1 small can tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup fish sauce (or vinegar if you don’t have it)
2 tbsp lemon juice
Garlic salt to taste
Squirt of Sriracha or Tabasco, if you like

Step 1: Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces. Cook in a pan with olive oil until white and flaky.

Step 2: Add all sauces, spices, and spinach. Simmer at least until spinach is wilted, until serving.

This one is delightfully salty and tangy from the fish sauce and acidic lemon juice. And probably the healthiest stew thus far, with little to no fat and a spinach nutrition boost.

Up next: Part 3 – Potatoes & Lentils

Fish

Thai-style tilapia and pak choi

June 1, 2012 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

.
I love Thai food, and recently came across a recipe for Thai-style steamed fish. So of course I took it and made it my own based on what I had in the house. I had just brought home some fresh pak choi (an Asian vegetable like cabbage) from the farm I’m working on. I also had one more tilapia fillet in my freezer, and a lemon in my fridge. So…
.

Ingredients:

1 tilapia fillet
4 small bunches pak choi, rinsed and roots cut off
1/2 lemon + juice
Garlic powder
Sea salt
Thai red chili spices
Olive oil
Aluminum foil

Step 1: Cut a square of aluminum foil, roll up the sides a bit so the oil doesn’t run out. Pour about 2 tbsp oil in, add a bit of spices. Put the tilapia on top, and another sprinkle of spice. Then squeeze half the lemon juice, and add a slice or 2 for good measure.

Step 2: Arrange the pak choi around the fish, sprinkle garlic and sea salt over it all.

Step 3: Roll up the sides and seal the top, leaving space for steam to circulate. Put in the top part of a steamer.

Step 4: Boil water underneath the steam basket. Let this cook for about 20 minutes, or until the greens are wilted and the fish is white and flakes with a fork.

The greens have a tangy bitterness from the lemon juice, and the fish’s natural flavors complement the bite of the red Thai chili spices. It smells lovely, and tastes fantastic! Plus it is only 400 calories!

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 1
Calories: 403.4
Total Fat: 30.6 g
Cholesterol: 55.0 mg
Sodium: 2,553.3 mg
Total Carbs: 13.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 6.6 g
Protein: 26.4 g

Budget Epicurean

Tag Archives: Fish

Instant Pot Potatoes & Green Beans With Fish

Ingredients:

If you want to adapt this for stove top:

Weekly Eating – 10/1/18

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

The Weekend

Food Total: $98.19

Lessons Learned

How about you guys? Did you have a learning week or an awesome week of wins?

Ahi Tuna Tacos

Swiss & Lox on Toast

Couscous & Beans with White Fish

Brown Sugar and Maple-Apple Glazed Salmon

Lemon Pollock with Olive Tapenade

Silly American attempts to make Salmon Nigiri

The Art of Ethiopian: Part 2 – Chicken & Fish

Part 2: Chicken and Fish

Thai-style tilapia and pak choi

The fusion of food, fun, frugality, and curiosity.