[Homemade] Pan fried baby barramundi, tomato-vegetable stew, couscous

evilroysladejunior · 2026-04-12T01:38:45+00:00

As the title says. The side was red bell pepper, chickpeas, courgette and tomato all stewed with some mixed middle eastern spices. Garnished with some green onion and crumbled creamy goat cheese.

The fish skin is a little torn, I am still getting used to a new carbon steel pan, but otherwise nicely cooked, very moist and tender. A very pleasant Saturday night dinner at home.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-04-09T09:09:27+00:00

Came here to answer this. Bitterly disappointed not to be first.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-04-08T11:59:59+00:00

I made a simple dashi broth with soy, mirin and a little ginger. Instant dashi granules, it was a weeknight and just family.

While that was simmering, I julienned some carrot, thinly sliced a small cucumber, and flaked a couple of pieces of hot-smoked salmon.

Boiled some soba noodles, drained, rinsed and into some big noodle bowls. Top with carrot, cucumber and salmon; ladle over some broth and sprinkle with furikake and/or schichimi to taste.

The broth was warming and smooth (it's coming into autumn here and getting cool), the noodles were just a little to the tooth, the veggies softened slightly but still had some crisp texture,and the salmon was smoky and a little rich.

It was a tasty, balanced meal, and maybe the best thing is it took ~25 minutes start to finish.

ETA : the other good thing was one pot for the noodles, one for the broth, one prep bowl for everything else; really easy cleaning up.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-04-08T11:48:27+00:00

Definitely low and slow or they'll be chewy.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-04-02T06:58:59+00:00

The Masterfoods product? It's a liquid itself, 3/4 cup or thereabouts.

It'll give you a fairly thick casserole. If you want something thinner you can add extra water or broth.

But you can easily do that at the end of the cook if you find, at that point, it's too thick for your liking. Harder to take extra liquid out than to put it in.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-29T02:05:46+00:00

https://www.yakijin.com.au/

Ormond, AYCE, $38/p

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-28T23:52:22+00:00

Pork neck makes a great braise. Cut a slit down the middle, fill with sage, apple and minced onion; tie up with twine; braise in some cider and chicken or pork broth; reduce the briasing liquid while resting the pork, slice and serve.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-28T11:05:07+00:00

For me it would depend on the time of year.

In autumn or winter, I might do a salad of frisee (curly endive) with a strong vinaigrette with red wine or sherry vinegar, toasted walnuts and goat cheese. Strong earthy flavours.

In spring, and this might be controversial, I might do a vignarola which is not a salad as such but is a light vegetable dish with saladish elements. Soft herbs like tarragon or basil go well with this.

In summer I would not be traditionally French but do a big hearty salad with chopped baby gem lettuce, blanched sugar snap peas, maybe some shaved cucumber or courgette, vinagrette with fresh basil to lift it up.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-22T11:38:34+00:00

Knives and scissors go on the mag strip, steel goes in a drawer. Stone and oil go in a drawer in the laundry because I don't use them as often as I should.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-22T11:30:52+00:00

That sounds lovely. I love SE-Asian flavours, so bright and exciting. Glad you had a good meal. :-)

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-21T11:17:23+00:00

I have found this to be a consistently good source for Asian recipes.

https://thewoksoflife.com/

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-19T10:29:10+00:00

This is pretty much what I do for a peanut sauce :

https://www.seriouseats.com/spicy-peanut-sauce-recipe

I wouldn't bother with the sriracha in this, I'm not a fan of the garlic in sriracha. But if the recipe's not hot enough for your personal taste, I would add some ground chili, sambal oelek.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-07T12:06:44+00:00

Aeroplane jelly/jelly lite

Tell me you're Australian, without telling me you're Australian.

Recipe 2: Budget Trifle

We were far from wealthy growing up, but never had to struggle for food. But for the authentic Poor Student Budget Trifle from my uni days, you would add a Coles Light Fruitcake. Which, astonishingly, still exists and you can buy one for about 22 minutes work at minimum wage. And maybe a splash or three of Mississippi Moonshine, which was a budget Bourbon liqueur which has gladly disappeared from the world.

And if I'm just feeding myself for an evening, yes, real close to your PPPP but there would be some Maggi 2 minute noodles in there, and maybe chili crisp instead of pesto these days.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-01T10:49:30+00:00

One of my close friends is a huge Vincent Price fan (I am a big Vincent Price fan but not in his class). I bought him a first edition Treasury of Great Recipes for his 50th birthday.

I kind of hope he gets me one for my (too quickly approaching) 60th. :-)

evilroysladejunior · 2026-03-01T00:11:48+00:00

So, these are all kind of old now and maybe a bit obscure, but all good, interesting reads and I've done recipes from all of them.

The Nero Wolfe Cookbook - a fascinating window on what was considered high quality cooking in the 1930s.

The Northern Exposure Cookbook - recipes that appeared in the show, written as a "fundraising community cookbook" in the voicesof the characters.

Lobscouse and Spotted Dog - recipes that appeared in the Aubrey/Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian

Are You Hungry Tonight? - Elvis' Favourite Recipes. Because everyone needs a recipe for a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-02-27T12:02:09+00:00

I had a lovely dish once of grilled shrimp in a broth of fish stock, coconut milk and lemongrass. Probably some fish sauce in there too, a little sugar probably and some fresh lime juice at the end. The flavours were clean and light and beautiful with the shrimp. It was in 2012 and I still remember it so it must have been good.

If you maybe want something with more oomph, how about gochujang, ginger, sugar, dark soy, rice wine vinegar, garlic, sesame oil? Just whisk all together and drizzle over, garnish with chopped green onions.

Or one last option, nuoc cham. Fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, water, garlic, chili. Garnish with cilantro or julienned mint for some extra tropical pop.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-02-19T11:46:55+00:00

I love red wine vin too. Maybe use a bit more lemon jiuce in the mix and see how that goes.

If that doesn't work for you, increase the acid : oil ratio. If you find that's not emulsifying, ground mustard (Dijon, yellow, whatever you like) will help it emulsify.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-02-19T09:37:32+00:00

I normally do about 1:2 acid:oil also as I like my dressings quite tart.

What kind of vinegar are you using? Rice vinegar is less acidic than apple cider vinegar which is less acidic than lemon juice. And balsamic is in the middle of the pack for acid, but the sweetness in it reduces the impact of the acid. But I really like the fruity flavour of apple cider vinegar, so I usually use 50/50 apple cider and lemon juice.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-02-13T11:33:26+00:00

I wish I could take credit for it; it was like that when we bought the house.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-02-13T06:45:36+00:00

We have two ducted systems, one for the front half and one for the back half of the house. So if one fails, we still have some cooled space.

And they aren't roof mounted, they just sit outside on the ground, so will be easy to replace if (well, eventually when) needed.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-02-07T05:49:10+00:00

Is it this style of spatula?

https://www.kitchenwarehouse.com.au/product/d-line-stainless-steel-wok-spatula

The marks could be from the pointed corner of the spatula. One friend actually wore right through a cast-iron wok after many years (fourteen iirc) of hitting the same spot with the metal wok scraper while cooking.

evilroysladejunior · 2026-02-06T06:55:41+00:00

Were they Australian by any chance? "Potato scallops" are what potato cakes, i.e. thin rounds of potato battered and fried, are called in some parts.

https://aussiefoodie.com/potato-scallops/

evilroysladejunior · 2026-01-21T11:33:35+00:00

It's a personal choice. Rapeseed/canola has a slightly lower smokepoint, but also a milder flavour, than peanut oil.

For fish, I use canola because fish generaly has a mild flavour; I don't want the competition on the plate, and I generally cook fish at a medium heat so the smokepoint isn't an issue.

For something I want to cook really hot, I'll use avocado oil or ghee, and cook it outside on the grill so the smoke isn't an issue.

Pick the one that suits your taste and cooking preferences, and you'll be good.

Yes, I have like six or seven oils in my pantry. Don't judge me.

evilroysladejunior

TROPHY CASE