Crispy cod in coconut milk 👅🧠🥬🫑🥥
Everything you need to know about our latest MouthBrain Session
The spirit of collaboration was alive and well in my backyard Friday eve! With a bay leaf gin & tonic in one hand we shook cream into butter with the other. Then we flavored that butter in 2 delightful ways. The menu ended up being a beautiful conversation of dishes, and felt like it was speaking to the subtlety of how seasons change in southern California.
The list of things we grow at home has just ballooned this season. Our garden now includes a variety of lettuces, an array of herbs from cilantro to Thai basil, as well as rosemary and thyme. There is lemongrass we plucked for our aromatics and tiny spicy Thai chilis that are so far proving themselves to be our most successful pepper variety. We also had our pick of incredible first of the season produce from the South Pasadena Farmers Market. Things like Japanese pumpkins, persimmons, and purple radish all make us want to play with flavor and texture in each dish.
The results of our MouthBrain Session were so fantastic I found myself gushing over each bite of food and audibly congratulating us on a job well done. Dinner was divine and the company was even more holy than that.
Please enjoy OUR recipe for Crispy Cod cooked in coconut milk [scroll down]. And please consider becoming a paid subscriber or joining me for an upcoming MouthBrain session.
The one this Thursday takes place at the South Pasadena Farmers Market and culminates with a cooking session on the lawn! Come for the vendors, stay for the pita sandwiches :) Click the link
Crispy Cod in Coconut Milk 👅🧠
Get those aromatics ready by finely chopping ginger, garlic, sliced Thai chilis, lemongrass, and we happened to have fresh turmeric root so we sliced that up too. Toast those in some oil for a couple of minutes, then add maybe ¾ up of both coconut milk and coconut cream. Give it a stir to warm thru and then also hit it with a ¼ cup of water and some salt and black pepper and let that simmer for about 10 minutes.
If it's bubbling aggressively, turn the heat way down. Too thick? Add another splash of water and lower the heat until you reach something you like. We threw in some quartered tomatoes while it was simmering, and you could certainly add some other vegetables. Just remember to think about their cooking time and the fact that the sauce doesn’t need very long. 10-15 minutes is probably what we did, adding a splash to make sure it didn’t over thicken before the flavors had some time to permeate.
While that is simmering - cook the fish. Pat the cod dry and cut into 1” pieces. Toss those pieces in some cornstarch, sesame seeds, and a few big pinches of salt. Shake off all the excess corn starch and pan sear the fish in some neutral oil until crispy and lightly golden brown on both sides. Work in batches if need be and set aside while you finish your sauce. Remember fish will keep cooking after you take it off the heat so check one for doneness.
Last steps: season the coconut sauce with big ol dashes of fish sauce, lime juice, and likely one more pinch of salt. Nestle in the cooked fish and let everything merry together for another minute before removing from the heat and topping with herbs, green onions, toasted cashews, fried onion or shallot and another squeeze of lime. Yummmmy!
Drooling!