When I started talking about what to make for this month's Food'N'Flix which is a double feature with Cook the Books of The Hundred Foot Journey*, the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf really wanted to re-do his Spiced Coconut Sea Urchin Soup.
You can read the invitation by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen for the Cook the Books portion. Here's her invitation; here's what D and I made for that event: our version of Sungta ani Bende Kodi.
But, in our attempt to re-do the urchin soup, we were foiled in sourcing urchin locally. I heard buzzings about an echinoderm epidemic; I also heard it was due to the oil spill in Santa Barbara earlier in the year. Whatever the cause, there have been no urchin to be had. I did think we caught a break when a local seafood purveyor was taking advanced orders for urchin. I placed my order, but kept getting emails - "not this week, maybe next week." I was holding out, hoping that we would get ours before the deadline for this post. But, it was not to be. So, D and I will make urchin soup sometime soon. Just not for this.
So, this is a riff on that soup with another Southeast Asian inspiration: Kaffir limes. Do you know what a Kaffir lime is? It looks like a little green brain and tastes like a mix of a lime and lemongrass.
I also used Kaffir lime leaves which are oddly double leaves. I wanted to add in some cèpes, like they collected in the movie. Porcini mushrooms were the closest I could think of, but I couldn't find any fresh ones; I substituted some fresh local chanterelles.
Kaffir Lime-Coconut Cod with Forbidden Rice
- 3 shallots, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1/2 t minced lemongrass
- 1 T thinly sliced Kaffir lime leaves
- 1 T butter
- splash of olive oil
- 1 pound cod, cut into 2" pieces
- 1 to 2 C thinly sliced chanterelle mushrooms
- 1-1/2 C clam juice
- 2 C fish stock
- pinch of saffon
- 1 T Thai curry powder
- 1 t ground paprika
- dash of ground turmeric
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 C raw whole cashews
- freshly ground salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped
- forbidden rice, steamed in coconut milk
- dried shredded unsweetened coconut
- grated zest from Kaffir lime
- 1 t freshly squeezed Kaffir lime juice
Procedure
In a large souppot, melt butter in a splash of olive oil. Soften the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and Kaffir lime leaves in the butter-oil mixture. Add in the mushrooms and saute for a few minutes.
Pour in the clam juice, fish stock; add cashews. Season with saffron, curry powder, paprika, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer again. Place the cod piece in the broth. Cook until the fish is firm and opaque. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh cilantro and remove from the heat.
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I have searched high and low for Kaffir. Where did you find it?
ReplyDeleteYour cod sounds delicious. Hassan would be proud.
ReplyDeleteLooks lovely. I've seen those limes before at the store and always thought they were just a bad batch, had no idea they were in fact a different type of lime.
ReplyDeleteOMG I love kaffir and love fish stews, awesome recipe. Yap sourcing stuff is hard sometimes. Thanks so much for this double fun movie/book experience.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice! Too bad you were foiled with the urchin!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the sea urchins, but you get so many unusual ingredients. I've heard of kaffir limes but I guess I had never seen one. They sound delicious, as does this dish. Thanks for hosting, Camilla. This was a lot of fun.
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