Steamed Fish (Chinese style)

I have never steamed fish fearing that it might smell or worst still that I might overcook the fish but today I tried steaming and it's so perfect and yummy...

Ingredients

2 pcs of cod fish (I bought the cod steaks without skin)
You can use any type of white fish.
Ginger
white pepper

Sauce

1 Tb Light Soy Sauce
1Tsp Sugar
1 Tb water
1 Tb Hsao Xing Wine (Chinese cooking rice wine)

Garnishing

3 clove garlic ( chopped finely)
1 Tb cooking oil
Spring onions
Sesame oil

Method

Clean fish and pat dry.  Place fish in the middle of steaming place and place ginger on top.

Bring water in steamer to boil and place the plate on top and steam for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the sauce to a simmer. Take it off the heat.

In another pan, fry the garlic in the oil.  Dont let it burn or else it will taste bitter.

Check for fish doneness. When done, take the fish off the steamer and pour away the liquid in the steaming plate.

Add a dash of pepper and pour the soy sauce mixture on the fish and garnish with the golden brown garlic and spring onions.  Serve immediately.

Pizza Dough

Guess what? I made pizza from scratch and it turned out simply superb.  I even made it the 2nd time and it was better.  The dough is pretty straight forward and does require a little rising time but I am sure we can spare at least 1 hour of ahead time for dough preparation.  I made Hawaiian Pizza and the ever so popular Pepperoni Pizza.

Source:  Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients


1 packet ( 21/4 tsp) yeast
1 1/3 cup warm water
3 1/2 cup flour plus more if needed
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning, optional
cornmeal, dusting the pan

Method

Combine yeast, water and 1 tsp of sugar. Mix and leave in a warm place until yeast is foamy and dissolved.


In another bowl combine the flour, salt, olive oil, seasoning and balance of the sugar.  Pour in the yeast mixture and knead dough adding in more flour as needed.  Dough needs to be soft and elastic when poked in with finger it should slowly bounce back up.  Cover tightly with clingwrap or kitchen towel ( I usually have one towel just for making bread).  Let rise in warm place, I usually place my bowl inside the oven for about 1 hour or until double in size.

Once it has rise up, punch the dough down and let it sit for another 15 minutes.  At this point you can freeze the dough by place it in a oiled ziplock and sealed tightly for about 3 months.  **

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Oil the pizza pan and spread with cornmeal.  Take the rested dough and spread out.  Pinch the sides slightly to create a rim.  Spread the pizza sauce ( I bought a store bought one).  Fill in the delicious toppings.  Bake in a screaming hot oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Take it out and slice it immediately and serve.

Leftover pizza can be stored tightly in the refrigerator and reheated when needed.

** Its important to know that this recipe is enough to make two 12 inch pizzas.

Put your frozen pizza dough balls(s) in the fridge overnight or for about 12 hours to thaw.  When ready to make the pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and set out on the counter to rest for 30 minutes and come to room remperature.

St Louis

Its vacation time again and this time its St. Louis, Missouri.  We visited few must see places and I have taken some pictures. First we went to St Louis Zoo.  The heat was almost a 100 degrees F.  At the end of the day we went to Union Station.  Walked for a while then off to dinner. Called it a day at 10 pm.
Second day we went to The Science Center and the Cathedral of Basilica Church.  Whenever we go to St Louis, we always make it a point to visit the church.   Then we headed off to the Budweiser Brewery. The brewery tour took about 1 hour and the best part was you get a free mug of beer for tasting...., and the last destination was the Grant's Farm.

Pictures below are some random ones that I really liked and wanted to share...

Ant Eater

Hippo swimming. This was the nearest shot I could get. Its amazing how these huge  mammals swim  and float in the water

The Fudgery

Gateway Arch or Gateway to the West