Pick Your "Poison"

I picked Steve up from work yesterday {We've been a one vehicle family for quite some time now. Makes life interesting, but saves a lot of dough.}, and on our brief drive home he asked me what I made for dinner. I told him I made fish with homemade hoisin sauce.

"Poison sauce??", I hear him say over the wind coming through the open windows.

Oh, good grief.

I may get annoyed when he leaves his socks in random places around the house; forgets to put things away after he makes himself a snack; eats something I had intentions of photographing for the blog... but I certainly have no intention of serving him "Poison Sauce" for dinner. Silly husband.

I served up this flavorful fish with some roasted asparagus, and a super quick side of gluten free noodles, sauteed onion & broccoli that I tossed with the leftover hoisin sauce.

 The only "killer" quality about this meal is how simple it is to throw together. Let's keep it that way.



Hoisin Glazed Fish & Noodles
Sauce recipe barely adapted from Food Network

2-4 fillets of your favorite fish, defrosted {I used Haddock because that's what I bought on sale}

1/4 cup soy sauce {we use gluten free}

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Noodles:

rice noodles {I use linguine cut gluten free noodles}

1/2 a white onion, sliced

1 small head of broccoli, chopped into bite size florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to broil {approx 500 degrees}. Line a small sheet pan with foil and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, tomato paste, ginger, garlic, hot sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar, and pepper. Whisk together until combined thoroughly. Set aside.

Place defrosted fish fillets in a shallow dish, and pour half of hoisin sauce over fish. Allow to marinate for 8-10 minutes while you make the noodles. Remove fillets from sauce and place on prepared pan. Brush fish with the sauce it was sitting in and discard the rest.

Broil for 7-9 minutes {depending on the thickness of fish} or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. {Be careful not to overcook. I do it all the time.}

Noodles:

For the noodles, bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Add noodles {I only used half a package}, and cook according to package directions until al dente.

Meanwhile, add olive oil to a medium pan over medium high heat. Add onions and broccoli. Cook until onion is translucent and broccoli is tender crisp. Set aside or keep on low heat.

When noodles are cooked, drain water and add noodles to broccoli and onion. Stir in remaining hoisin sauce and toss gently to coat vegetables and noodles.

Made in Vietnam

There is something living in one of the legs of our dining room table. 

We have never seen it, but we hear it daily. It sounds like it is steadily gnawing its way from the inside out.  And it scares me.

I am convinced that this creature is some sort of Vietnamese monster insect {the table has a sticker underneath that says  “Made in Vietnam”}, and that it is going to eventually make its way out of the table and into our living room where it will breed millions of babies and invade the United States, upon which we will be deported for starting a nation-wide infestation.  Either that or it will decide to crawl up my leg while I am sitting at the table and I will die of sheer terror.  Neither scenario sounds like a good one to me.

I had to restrain myself from taking audio footage of this noise and posting it to see if any of you can help me figure out what it is that has made it a mission to devour our table and annoy the hell out of me. I'll spare you since it isn’t all that interesting to listen to {and for fear that you’d report me for insanity harboring an alien}.

I decided that making Vietnamese food for dinner might pacify whatever it is that has decided to take up residence in our table leg. Perhaps the aromas of its native land will lull it into a state of restful slumber. On the other hand, I hope it doesn’t perceive the dish as an offering and invitation to join us.

Either way, this strange incident inspired me to make a mighty tasty meal.

This Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad is flavorful, easy, and pretty healthy, too. In our house, that constitutes a winner. The combination of the fresh herbs {Mint?! Who would've guessed?}, fish sauce, and garlic is unusual but delicious. The original recipe calls for one whole jalapeno {which intimidated me a little because I'd rather keep all of my tastebuds in tact}, but after making it with only half I decided that next time I'll definitely add the rest for a spicy kick. I also added in some shrimp for extra substance and protein. I served it warm but it can be eaten cold as well.

Hope you'll enjoy a little taste of the exotic... without experiencing a run in with any native creatures. ;)

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Recipe from Food Network

• 1/2 pound peeled, deveined shrimp
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed {I only used 1/2}
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice {about 2 limes}
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 pound dried rice vermicelli {I used these noodles}
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 1 cucumber, halved, peeled, seeded and sliced into thin halfrounds
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 cup finely shredded napa cabbage
• 1/4 cup chopped dry roasted nuts
• olive oil

Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat. When oil is slightly rippling, add shrimp to pan. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until shrimp is opaque and cooked through, careful not to overcook. Set aside.

Place the garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, honey, lime juice, fish sauce and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until almost smooth.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the noodles and cook for 2 minutes. Drain, rinse well with cold water and drain again. {Skip the rinsing step if you want warm noodles.}

In a large bowl, combine the sauce, noodles, carrots, cucumber, mint and napa cabbage. Add cooked shrimp. Toss well and garnish with peanuts.