Skip to main content

This is healthy eating pho sure. Stacie Stewart's Thai poached salmon bowl

One minute i'd never heard of Stacie Stewart and the next she seems to be everywhere; on TV, in the Telegraph, online. If this recipe is an indicator then that's a good thing.
This is another spin on the tried and trusted 'Pho-like' soup and apparently comes in at under 500 calories.
I like the little twist of blitzing the paste to start the stock off. making the stock, or indeed the paste, is something you could do in advance and keep in the fridge or freezer to make this even quicker and easier.
My only changes were to make a bit more stock by adding some vegetable bouillion and to remove the beansprouts which just aren't my bag. We also used 3 salmon fillets as there were three of us.
Personally, I wouldn't consider the fish sauce as optional as Stacie suggests, If you don't like that pungent fishy-goodness of nam pla then I would suggest it definitely needs some soy sauce.
However we all loved this, you can just feel the self righteousness flooding through you as you consume this delicious soup.
Here's the recipe


Stacie Stewart Thai poached salmon bowl

Ingredients
2 shallots, chopped 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped 1 lemongrass stalk, outer leaves removed, chopped 1 tsp coconut oil (I used groundnut) 400ml fish, chicken or vegetable stock (I used a combination of 400ml of chicken and then topped it up with a bout another 250ml ofvegetable bouillion)3 salmon fillets (about 140g each), skin removed 1 bunch of pak choi (about 6 leaves) 150g beansprouts 1 carrot, julienned or very thinly sliced 1 red pepper, thinly sliced 1 courgette, 'courgettied' or thinly sliced 1 tbsp fish sauce (optional) 1 lime 1 tsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted 1 small bunch of coriander, Thai basil and/or mint, roughly chopped
In a mini chopper, whizz the shallots, ginger, garlic, chilli and lemongrass until you have a paste (add a drop of water if you need to)


Method
Heat the oil in a medium-large saucepan over a medium-low heat and fry the shallot paste for a few minutes to soften. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the lemongrass paste now, if using. Simmer for 10 minutes to infuse the flavours. If you’re in a rush this isn’t necessary.

When you’re ready to poach the salmon, simply add the fillets to the hot stock and simmer gently for 6-8 minutes. For the last 2 minutes, add the pak choi and carrots, peppers and courgettes.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast f...

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind...

Cooking Polpo .... Pork and fennel polpette with tomato sauce ... thats meatballs to you and I

Another recipe from the Polpo cookbook. I was inspired to cook this by fellow food fanatic Will Saunders. Its a really, really....i'll say it again....really, easy recipe. Theres a bit of love required to make the tomato sauce but the polpette are a breeze and the combination of fennel and pork tastes great and just a little bit unusual. This made enough for a meal for Martha, Joe and I. A 'food parcel' for Joe to take home and a snack for Lisa when she returned from her screen priniting sojourn in Margate. So it would be plenty for six particularly if you paired it with some pasta or other veg. We had it with a fennel, green bean and rocket salad from the same book. The sauce (makes 1.5 litres) ingredients 100ml extra virgin olive oil 1 white onion, finely sliced 1 garlic clove, chopped 1/2 tbsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Small pinch chilli flakes 750g fresh tomatoes 3 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes (try and get really nice ones, defo worth it here...