Sesame-Soy Udon with Crispy Tilapia

This recipe continues (concludes?) a few recent Cannibal Stew trends: tilapia and Plated...

Recipe

10 oz tilapia (Plated seems to like this amount of protein)
3 scallions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp tapioca (?) flour
3 tbsp sesame oil
8 oz udon noodles
3 packets (maybe a tbsp?) soy sauce
1 packet (however much you want!) sriracha
salt & pepper


Slice the scallions, separating the dark green from the rest.  Mix the cornstarch and flour.  Season the tilapia with salt & pepper, and dredge through the flour.  Heat a tbsp of oil and cook the tilapia until lightly browned, a couple minutes per side.  Remove the fish and cut into bite-size pieces.  Add another tbsp of oil and cook the tilapia until crisp and brown, a couple more minutes.  Heat the last tbsp oil in a separate pan, and cook the udon and garlic until the noodles are warmed through.  Add the soy sauce, sriracha, and light scallion parts, stir to coat, and cook a couple minutes.  Noodles then fish and scallion greens on your plate and eat.

Notes

I'd been on a good tilapia kick recently, having just pan-fried a few fillets nicely.  This recipe made me re-think that old standard.  Do I need to flour the fish every time?  Because it was deliciously crisp and brown.

The udon noodles were good too.  I'm not familiar though - are they usually pre-cooked and just need to be warmed?  It surprised me a little that we didn't have to boil up some water and stuff.  Will just have to factor that in for next time...

fancy tableware huh? at B&H's

Brazilian Fish Stew

Soup season may (thankfully) be about over by now, but this recipe was way too interesting to pass up.  Looked easy enough too - tilapia is always easy to find, and there are no other really crazy ingredients:

Recipe

1-2 lbs tilapia fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
4 tbsp lime juice (I squeezed out about two limes)
1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin*
1 1/2 tbsp paprika*
2 1/2 tsp minced garlic*
salt & pepper
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 bell peppers, in large pieces
14 oz diced tomatoes (drained)
14 oz coconut milk
some diced jalapeno (my addition)
cilantro

* those are weird amounts, huh? I just eyeballed it a bit

Combine the lime, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper and marinate the tilapia for at least 20 minutes.  Heat the oil and soften the onions, then add the fish, peppers, and tomatoes (and jalapeno), pour over the coconut milk, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes.  Add the cilantro for the last bit of cooking and/or to garnish before serving.

Notes

There's a lot of interesting flavors in here: sweetness from the coconut, fishiness, salt, some citrus tang, etc.  I wasn't really blown away though.  Tilapia's not a fancy fish, but I'm not sure a nicer piece would really make much difference without some way to really sear it better.  Overall, though, it's a good way to make a couple dinners'-worth of seafood.  I'll try the leftovers over rice...

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Fishy Spinach

New apartment, new grocery stores, new appliances... well, the ingredients of this one are some of my old stand-by's - was hoping to do one of my simple favorites - but stupid Avanti "Elite" oven won't work so we need a new method of preparation.  Using this as a general guide, I decided to see if I couldn't make a few tilapia fillets that had been sitting in my freezer/fridge for (more than) a couple days edible.

Recipe

The Necessities
tilapia fillets
~3 tbsp butter
spinach
salt & pepper

My Supplements
garlic, chopped
jalapeno, chopped
1 anchovy
lemon (wish I had it)

So to start, you melt your butter and add the garlic, jalapeno, lemon, and/or whatever herbs and spices you want infused in everything yet to come.  Sprinkle your fish with salt and pepper and put it in the pan.  Let it sit for about 2 minutes and change either side.  Take it out, (add in and break up your anchovy,) and put in some generous handfuls of spinach.  Stir it around until it's all a bit wilty and the initial seasoning elements are all mixed in.  Scoop the spinach onto your plate and serve the fish over it.  Like so:

Oh man.  This was another improvised stovetop dish where I might not ever go back to the oven.  Maybe (definitely) it was a bit on the salty side, but a lighter touch sprinkling the fillets would do fine there.  Fast and easy too!

Baked Tilapia

It's not the fanciest fish, but it's super easy and quick to make, and you can spice it up with whatever you feel like or have on hand.

The basics, courtesy of this handy video (which I don't think I've ever watched past 0:57 - why mess with success?):

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, lightly oil a baking dish, add a bed of spinach, lay the tilapia (defrosted) on top, season however you like, cook 10-15 minutes.  Some ideas I've tried:

• Italian: garlic, rosemary, salt & pepper; optional cherry tomatoes, red pepper, Parmesan cheese or pepperoni
• Southwestern: diced jalapenos, a sprinkle of cumin, salt & pepper (below left)
• Asian: soy sauce, grated ginger, sesame seeds, pepper (below right)
• Country(?): mustard, thyme, salt & pepper