Saturday, May 9, 2009

Bouillabaisse, my way



It was 1230 pm by the time we got home last Saturday from an trip to Fassler seafood factory in Woodlands (another post, another time), and stomachs were growling angrily. What is fast to cook and good to eat, besides instant noodles?
Answer: Bouillabaisse, a traditional french fish stew made with a variety of firm-fleshed white fish and shellfish. A bottle of fish soup bought from Carrefour had been sitting in our pantry for some time. What could be simpler than to bring it to the boil, and add in chunks of fatty salmon belly, succulent oysters, and firm sweet prawns? (So I deviated from the "traditional" style of using non-oily fish. So? Tastes good to me. ) Sprinkle with chiffonaded parsley, and mop it up with chunks of crusty bread.
Bouillabaisse definition, from Wikepedia
Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provencal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille. It is a fish soup containing different kinds of cooked fish and shellfish and vegetables, flavored with a variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron. There are at least three kinds of fish in a traditional bouillabaisse, typically scorpionfish; sea robin; and European conger; and it can also include gilt-head bream; turbot; monkfish mullet; or silver hake. It also usually includes shellfish and other seafood such as sea urchins, mussels; small crabs; spider crab or octopus. More expensive versions may add langoustine. Vegetables such as leeks, onions, tomatoes, celery and potatoes are simmered together with the broth and served with the fish.

No comments:

Post a Comment