Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Ginger-Soy Glazed Mahi Mahi


Ah, mahi mahi.

Mahi mahi makes me think of Hawaii. I remember one trip with the hubby's company (ex-company, many moons ago) when one of his coworker's wives turned to me in a restaurant and told me to never order mahi mahi. She said they were as intelligent as dolphins and should not be eaten. She was very serious and told me to go read some studies.
Granted, this group of coworkers were all from Oregon, so naturally there were bound to be a couple of hippies in the group. I consider myself a recycling, composting hippie who is definitely for the humane treatment of animals, but I was pretty certain this woman was wrong. I did however feel too uncomfortable to order the mahi mahi after that, and instead ordered prime rib, hoping she wouldn't have comments on the intelligence of the cow I was hoping to consume. Luckily, she did not.


Mahi mahi also makes me think of "The House Bunny". Ok, ok, so it's not the best movie the world has ever produced, but it is highly entertaining. If I'm going to watch a movie and it's not Oscar season, it's likely I'm going to pick a comedy to watch. Low stress is how I like to watch my movies. I love the scene where the main character is out to dinner with Colin Hanks, and asks the waitress, "Instead of the mahi mahi, can I just get the one mahi? Because I'm not that hungry?" I laughed and laughed. 

Isn't it funny how an object such as mahi mahi can have memory associations with such off-the-wall recollections? I won't even bother asking if you have strange memory associations, because I already know you probably do. I do it with just about everything. Food, songs, movies, smells- all can bring up the memory of something that would seem completely random. You might even have your own memory associations with mahi mahi that have nothing to do with Hawaii or "The House Bunny". The human brain is just fascinating. 


Oh yeah, food. I'm supposed to be talking to you all about this recipe, which I might add is a super-simple and delicious way to prepare this firm, white fish. This is another tried-and-true recipe that I've been making for years. It gets on the dinner table fast. You basically mix together a glaze, quickly sear the fish on both sides, add the glaze to pan, cover and cook, and you are done. That's all she wrote. A crisp green salad is an excellent side dish to accompany this fish, however I decided to steam a pan of baby bok choy. Just to keep in line with the Asian theme of the fish.


When it's done, the fish is firm, moist, and flaky, and coated in a delicious soy-ginger sauce. Look at all that yummy sauce!


Baby bok choy is a simple, easy side dish. I heat a little peanut oil in a pan and then lay down my bok choy's (which I halve). Place them in the pan, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Add about 1/4 cup of water to the pan, and cover for 3-4 minutes. When you uncover the pan, the water will be evaporated and you'll have tasty, tasty baby bok choy. I mean, seriously, how easy is that?

Oh my gosh guys, would you look at the time! Well, that's silly. By the time I post this, it'll be hours past what time it is now. Silliness aside, I've got a doctor's appointment in Ashland in an hour and a half, and I haven't even got dressed yet! Eek! Time to introduce my lazy bum to first gear :)

Have a great day everyone!




Ingredients (serves 2):

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp peanut oil
2- mahi mahi fillets
salt, pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce through cornstarch. Whisk thoroughly to combine. 
2. Heat peanut oil in a medium size skillet over medium-high heat. Season mahi mahi fillets with salt and pepper, to taste. When oil is hot, add fish. The pan should sizzle loudly. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until both sides are browned.
3. Give soy sauce mixture a good final whisking, then add to the pan. Cover pan, turn heat down to low. Cook for 4 minutes, or until fish is cooked all the way through and flakes with a fork.
4. Place mahi mahi on 2 plates, and drizzle with sauce leftover in the pan. Serve immediately. 


Recipe adapted from Coastal Living.
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4 comments:

  1. As a seafood and rice lover, this really makes me super hungry. I think Beate and I should cook this sometime!

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    Replies
    1. I think you and Beate would love it! If you do try it, let me know how you like it! :)

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  2. This looks good. I think your friend is confusing dolphin (or porpoise) the mammal with the fish by the same name. I've caught a few of them (and even have a pic in my blog from a while ago of one) and from what I'm told they are great fish as they only live a few years and grow quickly and therefore don't have the mercury and other heavy metals that other large fish have. In the Atlantic, Mahi Mahi are often called dolphin.

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    Replies
    1. I remember at the time thinking the same thing, that she was confusing the mammal dolphins with mahi mahi, because they are often called dolphin fish. She was very adamant though, I definitely just ended the conversation, LOL.

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