Family

Aside from shopping stuff for our house and kids, I also enjoy cooking for our little family. We obviously love to eat (our physique is a giveaway!) and I’m happy that my family appreciates the simple food I make at home. Except from the cooking class I had back in high school, I just learned how to cook from my mom and relatives – so don’t be misled that I cook gourmet meals. 🙂

I usually try to cook healthy as much as I can, and it helps that the supermarkets we buy our groceries from have a variety of healthy options like lean meats, free-range poultry and fresh seafood. I posted our dinner the other night on Facebook and  some of my friends asked me to share the recipe so I decided to post it here. I will try to post as much recipes as I can, and provide information where I buy some of the ingredients so I can share it with you.

Fish Fingers with Tartare Dip

• 1 whole Medium-sized Sole fish fillet (Dapa in Filipino) or Cream Dory cut in finger-sized pieces
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup flour
• Japanese Bread crumbs
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Lemon or Kalamansi juice
• Vegetable oil for deep-frying
• Dip:
• 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of pickle relish
• 1/2 table spoon minced onions
• white vinegar or lemon juice

How to prepare and cook:

1. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Put a little lemon or calamansi juice (just one calamansi will do), make sure not to put too much because the type of fish used is bland in nature and putting a little too much will make the fish taste sour.
2. Quickly dredge the fish in flour
3. Dip the fish in the beaten eggs
4. Dredge in the Japanese crumbs
5. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan and deep-fry the fish until golden brown. Just leave the fish to cook, turning it once if needed. If you turn or move the fish too much, the coating will fall off.
6. Set aside the fish and drain in paper towels so it will not be soggy with oil
7. To make the dip, mix the mayonnaise, pickle relish, minced onions. Add in vinegar or lemon juice and salt to suite your taste.
8. Garnish with Lemon and celery

I usually buy our groceries at Rustan’s Fresh Supermarket at the Grove or Robinson’s Supermarket in Eaastwood. It’s because these two are the closest to our home and most of our staples and our favorite brands can be found there. For this recipe, I bought ingredients at Rustan’s last weekend – I had the fresh fish already cleaned and deboned in the store. If sole is not available, you can always opt for Cream Dory or Pangasius- there are lots of brands in the market but the brand we always buy is Sea King.

To make the fish crunchier and tastier, it’s best to use Japanese-style bread crumbs instead of just plain flour. I keep a few bags at home for quick-to-cook viands like Pork Tonkatsu, Prawn Tempura or Chicken Crispers. You can get this at any supermarket.

If you are pressed for time, try to cook this recipe, it took me less than 30 minutes to prepare this. I’m sure your little kids would love it – Mia loves these! Serve with coleslaw, or shredded cabbage with thousand island dressing for a balanced meal.

Happy cooking!