Whenever we are preparing a meal, we like to use fresh ingredients as much as possible. That being said, we all have day jobs and sometimes you just don’t have enough time and energy to cook a weeknight meal from scratch.
But just because you are buying some ready made food doesn’t mean you can’t have a great meal. Today, we’ll show you how to take something as simple as instant jasmine rice, and make it into a world class side dish.
One of the main ingredients, lime basil, is a little bit on the exotic side. It doesn’t taste like normal basil. It has a bright citrus flavor that goes great with the rice. You can likely find it at your local Asian market or you can grow it in a pot. They grow like weeds here in California and reseed themselves every year.
If you would like to buy some seeds you can click on the link below:
Super Simple Lime Basil Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Box of instant Jasmine Rice – click here to get it on amazon
- 1/4 cup of chopped of Lime Basil (Feel free to add more if you like the citrus flavor)
- 1/2 stick of Butter
- Juice of 1 Lime
Steps to Cook
- Follow the cooking instructions on the instant rice.
- Cut the butter into smaller chunks and mix into the cooked rice. Stir until all the butter is melted into the rice.
- Mix the lime basil into the rice until it is fully incorporated.
- Squeeze the lime juice on top of the rice.
- Serve and enjoy!
Yellowtail Tiradito – California Style
I travel a fair amount in my line of work. This, has allowed me to try some of the more unique and delicious foods that different cities and countries have to offer.
Back in 2011 I went to Peru for an implementation and was treated to Tiradito for the first time. For those of you who have never heard of the dish, it’s similar to a ceviche, but there are a few key differences.
First, the fish is typically more raw vs many ceviche’s that are left to “cook” in the lime. Second, is the sauce. It’s made of a hot pepper called “Ahi” and it’s blended to a cream and mixed with lemon and oil to make a creamy delicious sauce that is poured over sushi grade white meat fish. The traditional fish used is the Corvina.
I have made Tiradito in the traditional way, but finding fresh “Ahi” peppers is a challenge, in fact I ended up growing some myself.
So I decided to experiment. I used the technique used in making the Tiradito sauce, and simply replaced it with local jalapeño peppers. I then experimented further by adding garlic in to the mix (because garlic is awesome) to see what this new take on an already delicious dish would be like.
It did not disappoint.
Ingredients
- Roughly 1lb of fresh yellowtail. (This will also work with other white meat sushi grade fish)
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 5 Jalapenos
- 3 Yellow Chiles
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Garlic Salt
- Handful of Chives
- Two large lemons
Preparation / Cooking Steps
- Slice the Jalapenos Yellow chilies in half and put them off to the side (De-Seed and De-vein if less heat is desired).
- Finely mince the chives and put aside.
- Blanch the Jalapenos and Yellow peppers for 3-5 minutes. This will also reduce the heat so if you can’t handle spicy food, don’t worry.
- Put the blanched peppers into a food processor and begin blending.
- Squeeze the lemon into the food processor and continue blending.
- Pour the EVOO into the blender. The quantity is going to vary on the size of the peppers, I normally let pour for about 3 seconds to begin with and then add EVOO to taste. The idea is to have the sauce creamy and emulsified.
- Add Salt to taste and blend to integrate the salt into the sauce.
- Slice the fish into thin slices (about ¾ inch or so) and plate it on your serving tray.
- Pour the sauce over the fish (Be liberal on your application of the sauce, you will likely have left over).
- Add the chives on the fish for garnish.
- ENJOY!
Yellowtail Mango Ceviche
One of my favorite things to do in my free time is fishing. I have loved fishing since I was a child, and I loved eating fish, but only as an adult have I really developed a love for cooking fish in a variety of different ways.
One of the best ways to prepare a fish that is fresh is to make it into the ceviche. It makes for a super fresh and bright dish that can be served as either an appetizer or a main course. If you are into entertaining, this is great dish because all you need to do is pre-prepare the ingredients, and them mix them together when you are ready to serve.
For those of you who are not fans of eating sushi and other raw fish, fear not, the fish in the ceviche is actually “cooked” by the acid in the lime.
In this case, we used freshly caught Yellowtail which is pretty easy to get in fish markets here in California. While Yellowtail is a delicious fish if you can get it, this dish can work with a variety of Saltwater fish with flaky white meat.
Ingredients
• Roughly 1lb of fresh yellowtail. (This will also work with other white meat mild fish)
• 1/3 of a Sweet Onion
• 1 Orange or Red Bell Pepper
• 3 Jalapenos (De-seeded and de-veined for less heat)
• 9 Limes (Or enough to fully submerge the fish for the “cooking” process.
• Handful of cilantro finely diced
• Garlic Salt (Added to taste)
Preparation / Cooking Steps
1. Chop the onions the Onions and Bell Peppers and Jalapenos into small cubes (If less heat is desired, remove seeds and veins). (TIP! Use gloves while handeling the jalapenos and be carful not to touch your face or eyes!)
2. Chop the mango into small cubes. Leaving the skin on the mango is optional.
3. Finely mince the cilantro.
4. Cube the fish into small cubes (Note – Fish is much easier to cut and prepare when it’s cold) and put it into a bowl deep enough for all the ingredients to be mixed in.
5. Cut and squeeze the limes into the bowl until the fish cubes are submerged in the lime juice.
6. Once the fish is covered in lime, put it in the fridge and let the fish sit for about 15 minutes.
7. Mix the other ingredients into the large bowl.
8. Serve and Enjoy!