Dad’s Kitchen – Red Snapper in Szechuan Hot Sauce

Everyone always asks me, “You own a home, but you still live with your parents?” And every time, I answer with, “Well, I get a ride to work every day from my mom and my dad has a gourmet meal on the table when I come home.” I know it sounds awfully spoiled, but that’s how it is in the Lee family household. To be fair, I’m living at my home part-time. But seriously, would you leave if you had food like this, this and this?

Last week, my dad got a whole fresh red snapper from Costco. And now that he’s discovered the internet, he just loves scouring the web for new recipes. Most of the recipes he found were boring to him because they use the same ol’ ingredients – lemon, dill, olive oil, etc. He decided to search for “red snapper Chinese style” and came across this recipe. It was different and spicy, so he decided to give it a shot.

And, it’s a keeper! Just take a look at the ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) red snapper fillets (or whole red snapper)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry white wine
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 stalks green onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chili bean sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Directions:

  1. Rub the fish with soy sauce and dry wine mixture.
  2. Let the fish fillets marinated in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
  3. Heat oil in a large skillet, saute the fish fillets for about 3 minutes on each side.
  4. Remove the fillets, add garlic, green onion, ginger, chili bean sauce, tomato paste, sugar, vinegar and water.
  5. Bring the mixture to a boil before adding the fish fillets back to the skillet.
  6. Braise the fish in the sauce for about 4 to 5 minutes.
  7. Mix the cornstarch with 2 tsp of water, stir in the sauce and cook for another minute.
  8. Sprinkle with sesame oil (optional) and serve immediately with steamed rice and your favorite steamed vegetables.

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Dad's Kitchen – Broiled Salmon

Dad Kitchen Salmon Plate

Here’s my dad’s super easy recipe for salmon. It takes less than 10 minutes to cook and it uses about 1/2 a teaspoon of everything. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs wild Sockeye Salmon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried dill or couple sprigs of fresh dill
1 tbsp butter
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to broil.

Place salmon on a baking sheet, skin-side down. Cut 6 thin slices of lemon and spread evenly across the salmon fillet, then sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder and dill. Add butter and a drizzle the olive oil over the fish.

Pop fish in the oven and cook for 5 minutes. Time may vary upon thickness of the fish.

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Dad's Kitchen – Meatloaf

Dads Kitchen Meatloaf

Here’s a much needed post for the Dad’s Kitchen segment.

Meatloaf has a bad rap mostly because of its name. It sounds like mystery meat, old-fashioned. I grew up on my dad’s meatloaf which he makes from his own recipe. Meatloaf is something we look forward to at our house. The best thing about it is the leftovers. Meatloaf sandwiches with ketchup and American cheese? Yum!

Check out the recipe after the jump.

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Dad's Kitchen – Mustard Crusted Pork Loin

Dads Pork Loin

For this edition of Dad’s Kitchen, my dad made Mustard-Pepper-Crusted Pork Rack with Rosemary Potatoes. My dad got the recipe from one of those free cookbooks Costco hands out every Christmas. I’m actually not a huge pork fan, but this rack is bomb. You MUST try it. If you cook it just right, you will have a pork so tender and juicy, your knife will cut through like butter.

Check out the recipe after the jump.

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Dad’s Kitchen – Lingcod w/ Polenta and Veggies

Lingcod with polenta

I owe my obsession with food to my dad. Spoiled as it sounds, all my life, my dad would have dinner prepared and ready to eat when I got home from school or work. He has a wide range of expertise when it comes to different types of food: Chinese, Italian, American, BBQ, Hawaiian, Japanese, French, the list goes on.

Tonight my dad whipped up Lingcod w/Polenta and Vegetables. My dad replicated a dish he had at The Cannery in Vancouver, BC, a couple weeks ago. If you haven’t had this fish before, Lincod comes from the cod family and is a really soft and flaky white fish.

Check out the recipe after the jump.

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