Salmon Teriyaki

Salmon is probably my favourite fish in the ocean or any water body in that matter. I like  so much,  I can not eat it often enough. 

I like it raw and dipped in wasabi soy sauce

I like it flambeed ,

 I liked it pouched  , grilled

fried and served with rice

I like it in my sinigang soup, in my  Pasta

  even in my Curries!

 Okey,  I guess you already get the picture.

Considering how I love to stay in bed and  hibernate during cold season , grow abundant leg hairs in my sleep, growl when angry, veering towards hostile when hungry,  I could be a reincarnated bear for I know. One things for sure though,  I definitely share their love for this fish.

So when I found another delicious looking Salmon dish  on the Internet, I went off to buy my favourite sea creature and risk Poseidon's wrath for contributing to this fish's depletion.

Salmon Teriyaki

I made a lot of salmons in my life but THIS ends my favourite! It also happens to be one of the easiest salmon recipes I made.


Ingredients:


600-1000 g salmon,
depending on how much people you're feeding
For the Teriyaki marinade:
5 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
5 tbsp. light soy sauce
3 tbsp. rice vinegar , Mirin if you have some
5 cloves of garlic, ( cause I lurve garlic😍)
1 tbsp. ginger, diced or cut thinly
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
few drops of sesame oil
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Now, this is the concoction that suited me best, however you are free to add or use less  any of the ingredients above to suit your palate. If it's to sweet for you, simply cut the sugar or honey. If too bland, add more teriyaki or soy sauce. You want it extra or less garlicky, again it's your choice.

First , prepare the Teriyaki sauce by mixing the ingredients in a big mixing bowl.  

Next, wash salmon , pat dry and cut it into serving pieces. 
I'm cooking for three so I got about 600 g . Then marinate salmon in teriyaki sauce for 15-20 minutes, not longer, we don't want to pickle the fish.😋

Preheat oven ( 190 ° C) , line baking try with parchment paper . Take  salmon out from the marinade, keep the marinade and transfer salmon onto the baking tray. I'm serving mine with asparagus. Bake for 14-20 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish filet.

While fish is baking, put marinade in a saucepan and cook until it thickens.  Set aside.

Brush salmon halfway through baking with the cooked teriyaki sauce and bake until fully cooked.

Salmon Teriyaki

Transfer salmon unto the serving plate, drizzle with the rest of the cooked teriyaki sauce, garnish with green onion and sesame seed. Eat it with rice or mash potatoes and grilled veggies or green salad.

Exploring Adelaide Part 1

I am slowly recovering from Jet lag and finally wrapped my head around the fact that it's actually Autumn in Australia, while Spring is in full bloom in Germany. I am literally on the opposite side of the world!

Today ,my aunt showed us her city.  So what to do when visitors from Germany come to Adelaide? Bring them to a German  village, of course! Hahndorf comes from the German words Hahn 

(rooster/cock) and Dorf (Village) and is one of the oldest German settlements in Australia.

It's a major tourist spot and is a well visited place in Adelaide Hills. The tree lined main street is packed with restaurants, wineries, shops, cafes and souvenir stores. Volkslieder echoes in the air , while some dirndl- clad ladies carries plates of German foods and mass of bier to diners.  It like being in a small German town, only people greets you with 'Howdy, mate!' instead of ''Guten Tag!''.

They got churches.

And some  half- timber houses turned restaurants/shops.

We spent almost  two hours checking quaint shops  while FF and Joe made some small talks with the locals about wines. At lunch time, we search for food and end up in Hahndorf Inn.

My aunt throughly enjoyed her crackling   Schweinehaxe/ pork knuckle  served with Kartoffelknödel or Potato dumpling. Buried underneath is a generous heaping of Sauerkraut. It's like German's Sunday Roast spread .

The guys each had a plateful of Schnitzel and potato salad, served with some crunchy vegetables on the side. Naturally,  tall glasses of German beer were ordered to chase it all down.

I did not cross the ocean and risk pressure ulcers from sitting for 30 hours in a  economy seat just to eat something I could get back home. I choose pan fried Barramundi served on crispy potatoes instead. We also shared a basket of Brezel which looked and tasted quite legit!

After scoops of ice cream for dessert from an ice cream parlour , we had a scenic drive to the hills of Adelaide and went to Mount Lofty Summit. 

We had the bird's eye view of the city from up there. 

I have been asking my aunt to bring me somewhere when I could see Koala Bears and kangaroos since we step in Australia.  So Cleland Wildpark was our last pitch stop that day.

There we finally got the chance to get up close and personal with the locals. I though Koalas are small but I got to pet one and it's like holding a  6 month old baby. Only quieter but hairier , got sharp claw and has monotonic appetite for eucalyptus leaves. 

We also feed some kangaroos , which come in different colors and sizes, some almost as tall as I am! Oh Australia, I love you more and more each day. 😍😍

On the Road, Scenic and Coastal Ride from Adelaide

When I thought that traveling to Asia from Europe is tiring, our  journey from Germany to Australia put the world Jet Lag and exhaustion to a completely different level . FF and I were bone-weary , sleepless, disoriented the moment we landed in Sydney .

It took us 12 hours to travel from Frankfurt to Bangkok, Thailand, my choice of transit. We spent 7 hours there . To ease some discomforts from our complaining joints and muscles , we went to a  spa for a soothing body massage, a warm Jacuzzi bath and to catch few hours of sleep. Then we flew yet again for another 11 hours to Sydney, went  through immigration , transfer to the domestic airport and wait for  4 more hours for our flight  to Adelaide, my aunt's place , in the south of Australia. It took literally  3 days for us to reach her doorstep! I was a wreck and did not remember much of our first day down under, only that it drizzled. We did not do much the next day either except flip our rotting carcasses in bed .

When FF and I felt remotely human again, we went on a road trip! I honestly did not know the places we visited. My aunt and her companion Joe,  drove us around and show us some spectacular areas.

Road trips like this made me fully aware how vast Australia is. In between pit stops and towns , there are just wide spaces and expansive uninhabited areas.  Except the patches of dry grass and bushes that stubbornly grow here and there, the dry soil made everything looked so empty , almost barren! But when I thought, we are in the middle of nowhere, a breathtaking view welcomes us on the next turn.

Just like this area, where the river meets the sea. Just beautiful .

 Numerous jetties along the coast where you can watch and feel the waves .

Or endless expanse of fine sanded beaches. Australia has surprisingly nice beaches and everything is just so clean.

We have been on the road til noon and were pretty famish . Joe made a stop in one of the diners he visited when he's on a road . Menu is short, foods are simple yet so good. The guys enjoyed fish and  chips and we ladies, opt for mix seafoods platter. The batter thin and crispy, the fish and sea creatures succulent and so fresh.

Joe brought us to one of his brother's holiday house after that. It's perch on a  hill, overlooking the ocean. The area is so massive, just like the rest of Australia.  It's so quiet and tranquil in here, a perfect place to unwind , but it could get really dry in summer so water supply could be an issue esp. if rain is scarce, I was told.

We then made our way to Deep Creek Conservation Park, access only by  4WD.

We navigate our way though the steep and narrow road leading to the Blowhole Beach. The rugged and untamed terrain offers a steeping  coastal view.

We spent the rest of the afternoon there, sitting on the grass, feeling the sun shine into our faces, breath the salty blow of the ocean air  .

Watch wild kangaroos grazing and lazing around.

Then walk to the narrow steps down to the beach.

Climb rocks, 

and simply had a wonderful, wonderful time. A day to remember.

One Pot Garlic Shrimp Pasta

I bought a pack of Pil Pil spice condiment in Malaga , Spain 2 months ago and have been using it quite often. I don't exactly know what's in it but it goes wonderfully well with seafoods and chicken. It's garlicky and a bit spicy . This pasta recipe is just one of the many dishes I've tried using this  spice. It's very simple yet deeply satisfying pasta dish which doesn't require a lot of washing. Lastly, only a handful of ingredients is all you need. An absolute keeper!

Pil Pil spice is also available in Amazon.

Ingredients:

250 g pasta , cooked according to packages instruction

400 g shrimps

1 tbsp. Pil Pil spice

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1/4 cup good quality olive oil

250 g cherry tomatoes, washed and keep whole

1 tsp. dried sage

Parmesan cheese, as much as you want!

a  handful of parley

salt and pepper to taste

Got 15 minutes ? Get a wide pot, pan  or even a wok and try this out!

Cook your spaghetti in salt water. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Put you pan, pot or wok back in the stove. Pat dry using a paper towel, heat olive oil in it and add the Pil Pil spice. If you can not find this condiment anywhere, just use mix smoked paprika powder and some chili powder.

Add the minced garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes.

Dump peeled, cleaned, deveined shrimps into the pot. Stir, stir  and stir until each piece is slathered in   the flavourful oil.

Next add the tomatoes. Please keep it whole. These are small bombs of flavour that burst in your palate in every mouthful. Cook  for about 5 minutes.

Add your cooked spaghetti into the pot. Carefully mix everything until .

Add your Parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper, garnish with chopped parsley and well, that's about it! Quick and easy, like I said!

Stuffed Bell Pepper with Red Wine Sauce

A colleague brought  this at work last week. We had it during our not- so- rushed ( hurrah!) dinner break and it tasted marvellous! 

The meat filling was succulent and tasty, the paprika sweet and tender  and the sauce was really flavourful.  Recipe was included in the endorsement that day, implementation followed soon after that. Evaluation at home was quite positive, follow up request ensued. Now, I'm sharing the love. 😍

The recipe is quite easy,  so do give it a try.

Ingredients:

3-4  red bell peppers
400 g of minced meat ( you can take pork or  beef or  mix both)
1 large onion, finely minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Brötchen or white bun or  2 slices of white bread soaked in 100 ml milk
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
about 300 ml red wine
400 ml chicken stock
Suppengemuse / soup vegetable  which is available in Germany groceries
50 g bacon cubes
1 medium sized onion
2 tbsp. tomato puree
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. sugar
2  tsp. dried oregano
a pinch of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for frying

°  Wash paprika well and pat dry. Cut into half and take seeds out. Set aside.

°  Mix all filling ingredients together until well combined.

° Now fill the paprika with the minced meat filling.

° Heat olive oil in a pan, fry paprika with meat side first until brown. Flip and fry for few more minutes. Take paprika from the pan. Add a bit of olive oil in the same pan,  saute onion and bacon for about 3 minutes.

° In most grocery stores in Germany, a bundle of what Germans call Suppengemuse  is widely available. It consist of 2-3 medium- size carrots, a slice of celery root, leek and a parsley . It is used many soup or sauce based dishes. In this recipe, I simply chopped the veggies (  save the parley) into pieces and add into the pan.

° Deglaze pan with the red wine, Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium. Stir in tomato puree.

° Put the stuff paprika back in the pan. Add chicken stock. Then, put bay leaves, sweet paprika, oregano, sugar, cumin and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 40 minutes .

° Transfer paprika in your serving dish. You can serve the sauce with the chopped vegetables in it or you can strain the vegetable using a colander and just serve the sauce .

Serve with chopped parley and best eaten with rice of pasta. Simple and delicious!