Panko Fried Cod, Lime Red Curry served on herbed Basmati Rice and sake spinach

Yee hao! I'm still alive!

"Life is tough" is my friend's favorite phrase. It puts a smile on my face every time thinking of it. Life is indeed tough but it has its beauty. We've been super busy with houses - house inspection, moving, getting the old house ready for rent, and the list goes on and on. As of today, it marks day 6 that we stay in our new house. I haven't even talked about tax season and our Thailand upcoming trip! Yeah, life is tough. Tee hee.

Packing/unpacking isn't fun. We have so much crap. I shouldn't come to a surprise to see how much we accumulate "stuff". Anyone wants to help me unpack?

Now to the food, curry is probably the most common Thai dish you know after Phad Tai. I spiced up and tweaked a common known red curry and, served with herbed rice and panko fried cod. A creamy of curry paired well with crunchiness of panko coated fried cod. Basmati rice and saute spinach brought the dish together.

Lime adds more flavor to the curry sauce and also to the fish. I squeezed lime juice onto the fish and let it sit for half hour before coating it with egg, flour, and panko. This dish has different texture from crunchiness (from fish), creamy (from sauce), and tenderness (from saute spinach and rice). I won't miss adding alcohol into the dish. Sake was chosen to add in spinach! Believe me alcohol makes anything tastes better.

Panko fried Cod, Lime Red curry, and Herbed Basbati rice
Yield: 6

Panko fried Cod ingredients:
1 lbs cod fillets, cut into 6 equal pieces
1 lime
6 tsp salt (1 tsp per fillet)
3 tsp black pepper (1/2 tsp per fillet)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Flour
Panko
Canola or vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

• Squeeze lime juice over cod fillets and let it sit for about half hour in the fridge.
• Season fillets with salt and pepper
• In 3 separated wide bowls, prepare one for flour, one for beaten egg, and one for panko
• Dip each fillet in flour. Shake out excessed flour. One at a time.
• Dip the fillet into beaten egg, then onto panko. Set aside.
• Repeat this for 6 fillets.
• Heat oil to 375 F and fry each fillet until golden brown.

Lime Red Curry Sauce ingredients:

2 Tbs red curry paste

1 can coconut milk

1/4 cup chopped red onion

2-3 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 Tbs fish sauce

1/2 lime, juiced

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup red basil

2 pods palm sugar (or about 1 Tbs)

Directions:

• On a hot pot, add 2 Tbs coconut milk and curry paste. Stir it together to get a flavor and smell out off curry paste. Add ginger and red onion. Cook for a min or so. Add the rest of coconut cream and palm sugar. Cook until sugar has dissolved. Add bell pepper. Turn off the heat. Add lime juice and basil. Adjust to taste.

PS: Palm sugar adds a sweet smooth flavor.

Sake Spinach

1 lb fresh spinach

1 splash sake

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup minced red onion

1 Tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper

• On a hot pan, stir in red onion. Cook until it's translucent. Add garlic and cook for a min. Add sake. Cook until it's reduced. Add spinach, salt, and pepper. Turn off the heat. Stir everything together.

Basmati Rice

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup water

1.5 cups chicken stock

1 Tbs olive oil
Chopped green onion and minced red basil

•  Let the rice rest 15 mins in water before cooking. Add oil and chicken stock. Bring it boil. Then simmer with a lid on for 35 mins or follow package instruction. After it's done, sitr in green onion and basil to mix.

Assemble:

• Plate rice on a plate. Add curry around it. Place spinach over rice and top with fried cod. Garnish with lime zest and minced basil.

hosted by 5 Star Foodie & Lazaro Cooks!

Just a quick note that I missed the 5 star cooking group challenge last month due to moving. I'd like to include a quick photo of what I made for the challenge here. I encourage everyone to check out the round-up on Natasha's website at Five Star Foodie. Every dish is absolutely stunning and creative!

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