Thai Fish Burgers with Green Mango & Papaya Slaw. Homemade fluffy brioche buns, fresh lime-fish sauce green papaya slaw, grilled fish & creamy sriracha aioli.  Jump to Recipe 

Meet my favourite burger ever.

Say hello to that warm, crispy edged, fluffy brioche bun. Enriched with just a hint of butter and egg, and much lighter than a true brioche, its slight sweetness and tender crumb are the ultimate counterpoint to the sharp sweet-sour contrast of the thai green mango & papaya salad. The classic lime, fish sauce and chilli dressing is bright and fresh, supplemented with liberal handfuls of thai basil and coriander, peanuts for crunch. An aioli-sriracha sauce delivers a creamy heat, and chunks of flaking grilled fish finish it off.

You have to try it.

I can sell it some more, if you want. It is healthy – unusual in the world of burgers – packed with fresh fish and without the cheese, processed meat and fats of takeaways. It is fast – you can make the slaw as far ahead as the day before, the fish takes a max of 5-10 minutes to cook, and you can make the buns ahead too (or buy them, even). The sriracha aioli is literally a mix of sriracha and aioli. It is like the best thai/vietnamese salad encased in soft, warm brioche bun and in finger food form.

My efforts to cut down on phone usage and reliance have been proved wrong, unfortunately. Though I still remain convinced that peering at a swiftly scrolling instagram or facebook feed multiple times a day isn’t conducive to efficiency and productivity, I will no longer drive somewhere without my phone.

Last week I went to a gym class only a few kilometres away, phone-less – it was almost flat, so I left it to charge. Notifications and emails could wait, right? After the class, I got in the car to go home, and had the immediate sense that sometime wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t put my finger on it. The harsh bumping sensation and slight tilt of the dashboard as I tried to pull out quickly answered the question – it was a flat tyre. Absolutely pancake flat, in fact.

Now, I don’t know much about cars. I know it is apparently a life skill, but I have never seen a tyre changed in my life. The next realisation was that lacking my phone, I couldn’t contact anybody. At all. I managed to get back to the gym and call the roadside service, but they were at least another hour away. In the meantime, I was meant to be meeting a friend to go to uni, my lectures started in 45 minutes, and my phone sat helplessly on my desk, utterly useless to me and buzzing frequently with missed calls and texts from my housemates. I realised I didn’t even know their phone numbers or emails – they were all stored on my phone too. Being so completely stuck is not a familiar feeling!

It reminded me of how we are constantly connected to each other and the world in a way that no other generation has been before. I just can’t imagine going to look up a question in the encyclopedia, or not being able to get instantaneous directions to wherever I’m going. Being phoneless or wifi-less almost inspires a vague sense of panic, the disorientating sensation that something is not quite right whenever that device is not in the near vicinity. It is by most of our sides 24/7, scrolled through before bed and on waking up, and picked up at any moment of slight boredom or procrastination. I know I’m not the only one – in a Time Magazine survey of 5000 people, 84% said they could not go a single day without their cellphones.

Crazy, right?

In the meantime, use your phones to get the recipe for these Thai fish burgers with green mango & papaya slaw. They’re worth it.

Cooks Notes:

• The salad can be made up to 1 day ahead, and should ideally be made at least 4 hours ahead of time to allow the flavours to combine. Just whiz up the dressing, julienne the mango & papaya, toss it together and store covered in the fridge.
• The brioche buns are worth a try and not hard (but if you are short on time, feel free to buy some!).   Any extras can easily be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for another burger night. Make them when you have an afternoon at home – the timetable is:
  • Make dough, knead (15 min)
  • Rest for 1-2 hours in bowl
  • Divide, shape into balls (10 minutes)
  • Rest for 1 hour
  • Bake 15-20 minutes.

The post Thai Fish Burgers with Green Mango & Papaya Slaw appeared first on The Brick Kitchen.

Spicy Fish Tacos with Grilled Corn Slaw & Avocado-Coriander-Lime Sauce – summery and healthy with fresh, vibrant flavours. Put together in half an hour!  Jump to Recipe 

Today was my last day of university for the semester!

I can’t decide whether that is a good or a bad thing. On the negative side, it signals that exams are just a short week of studying away, said week of studying is hardly ever a fun place to be, and I have a WHOLE lot of material to cover in that timeframe. It feels like the end of the year is rushing upon us like a tsunami that you can’t escape from – end of year functions are starting, schools and universities are winding down, and Christmas decorations are already appearing in shops (I’m sure every year they seem to arrive earlier!). It is one of the times that I would appreciate a ‘pause’ button on life. A chance to not feel like a hamster on a treadmill of increasing speed for a few days, to regather my thoughts and senses. I guess that is what our mid-semester break last month was for – but it already seems like the distant past.

But there are also a whole lot of reasons for it to be a good thing. The portend of summer is one: those long, stretched out, warm days filled with beach trips and, knowing me, being supremely busy but not actually having many responsibilities or things that have to be done (though I do need to find a job. ASAP.). Moving out of college (for the final time!) and having a kitchen again is another reason – I am already dreaming of ice cream concoctions (thoughts on vanilla bean ice cream with raspberries, passionfruit curd swirl and meringue shards?) and layer cake combinations (lemon, coconut & berries need to find themselves together somehow).

These spicy fish tacos with grilled corn slaw & avocado-coriander-lime sauce remind me of those lazy summer days, though they would be perfect for a busy weeknight too. Flaking white fish is coated in a warm spice mix, full of paprika, garlic, a hint of chili and brown sugar, and paired with a grilled corn slaw – crunchy and fresh, the slightly charred and caramelized sweetcorn kernels hold up against the sharp coriander and lime dressing. On top goes a vibrantly green avocado sauce, creamy and tangy with lime, a smidge of buttermilk (seriously, it works), coriander and garlic. The hands-on aspect of tacos is the best part – all the fillings are piled inside fresh corn or flour tortillas and everyone can get messy!

I made them for the first time on holiday, which is probably why they aren’t as complex as some recipes that appear on here. With an ingredient list that isn’t too tricky, the tacos are easy to throw together in the half hour before dinner, or double or triple for an outdoor barbecue.  I can’t imagine the fresh, zingy flavours and the crunchy slaw contrast with smooth avocado sauce without getting visuals of summer, freshly caught fish and lengthly day-light savings evenings – those warm memories that make me smile stupidly at the computer screen as I type this.

AND they are one of the rare fish recipes (the only other is these Vietnamese Cha Ca bowls) that my youngest brother will consume without a second thought – which means they must be pretty freaking good. He is not a fish person, so anything that gets it eaten is an achievement in our house. The mahi mahi was bought at the markets in Noosa, almost as fresh as it gets, but any other white fish would work well too. I couldn’t help but break out the camera to capture the colourful stalls of fresh produce, which were our source of avocados and corn for this recipe.

Whether you are in the northern hemisphere heading into winter and need a final reminder of summer, or are getting ready to welcome it with open arms and need recipe ideas, you need to give these tacos a try! PLUS they are healthy, so #noregrets when you eat them all, I swear.

The post Spicy Fish Tacos with Grilled Corn Slaw & Avocado-Coriander-Lime Sauce appeared first on The Brick Kitchen.

Chả Cá: grilled white fish, fragrant with tumeric, fish sauce, ginger and garlic, is tossed together with dill, spring onion and roasted peanuts.  Jump to Recipe 

Typing up this recipe takes my mind back to two separate occasions – one dusting off cobwebs in the far reaches of my memory, and another far more distinct afternoon just a couple of weeks ago. The former sparked my love of Vietnamese food. At age 13 (so yes, not aaallll that long ago but long enough that memories have begun to fray around the edges and merge with the many photos Mum took of us all), we went on a whirlwind two week trip to Vietnam, spending time in Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, the Mekong Delta and Saigon. It was my first introduction to proper Vietnamese: the freshness, the abundance of herbs, the existence of Vietnamese mint, the nuances of sweet, sour, and salty that are so fundamental to the cuisine, the love of fish sauce, the daily markets in every town spilling over with piles of greenery and other produce, the sheer variety of dishes over the country….you get the picture.

Although I cannot remember eating Chả Cá Thăng Long (also known as Chả Cá Lã Vọng and Chả Cá Hà Nội, or just Chả Cá) during our time their, it is infamous in Hanoi. Grilled white fish, crispy edged and fragrant with tumeric, fish sauce, ginger and garlic, is tossed together with handfuls of dill, spring onion and roasted peanuts and served on a bed of rice vermicelli noodles. Herbs are scattered on last: mint, vietnamese mint and coriander, along with a decent splash of nuoc cham – a Vietnamese dipping sauce that brings the dish to life with its subtle notes of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and a bit of heat from red chili.

The second occasion was in the holidays just been. One of my favourite days spent at home in the kitchen, I had started off the morning with lofty goals of what I wanted to create: first on the list was dessert. I had been battling with a rhubarb, raspberry and almond frangipane tart recipe off and on during the last 3 or 4 times I had made it and was determined that this was the day I would get it right – the pastry, the cooking time, the filling, everything. It was a Thursday so I was also in charge of dinner – stuck for ideas but wanting something light, quick, and healthy that everyone in the family would eat (I can’t get over that my brothers still don’t appreciate the amazingness of salmon or eggplant), I opted for this Chả Cá, deciding at the last minute to photograph it as well. Trying to make and photograph two dishes at once does not always end well (very rarely, in my case!) so it was with a bit of stress that I headed to the supermarket to get all final ingredients for dinner. By this point it was only a few hours away from the light fading enough to make photographs impossible (thanks to the NZ winter and 5pm sunset!).

Luck was on my side. It turned out to be one of those long afternoons where the minutes seem to stretch into hours, the sun pouring into through the window in amongst days of clouds and rain, keeping the light right for just that little bit longer. Nothing went wrong (probably a first, for me), and by the time the boys were all home from various tennis and swimming training sessions and Mum and Dad got home from work, the rhubarb tart had worked perfectly (no burnt pastry here, thank you very much!), I had trialled and photographed a small batch of chả cá during the afternoon which had turned out even better than I hoped, and I seemed to have overcome the evening weariness that often appears after a full-on day in the kitchen.

The rest of the chả cá was devoured that evening. Even the two youngest, who are can be iffy with fish, cleared their plates and asked for more. One of the best things about this dish is that it is super easy: marinate the fish ahead of time or just before you make, make the dipping sauce in five minutes, cook your noodles, sauté the fish, and you are ready to go. It doesn’t have to look perfect (my photos certainly don’t), you just throw it all together in a bowl and consume. AND it tastes amazing. Just try it.

A few notes regarding the recipe: 

• Chả Cá is traditionally made with snakehead fish, but now more commonly made with catfish or another firm white fish. Here I used tarakihi, a white, mild fish which is very easy to cook. It is also relatively abundant in New Zealand waters so viewed as a reasonably sustainable fish to buy, particularly compared to other popular fish such as snapper which are in danger of being overfished both in New Zealand and Australia.

• Although traditionally served with Vietnamese shrimp paste sauce, in this rendition I have used the popular alternative of nuoc cham dipping sauce, simply because I was not convinced that my brothers (or anyone, for that matter) would handle the pungency of the former.

• To make the entire meal a little healthier, or just to round it off, you can serve it with some extra vegetables on the side – we used sauteed morning glory (also called water spinach) as it is used everywhere in Vietnam, but beans and broccoli would work just as well.

The post Chả Cá Thăng Long (Vietnamese Turmeric Fish with Dill) appeared first on The Brick Kitchen.