· James Torr · Personal  · 1 min read

And I just happened to have everything to hand in the fridge/freezer for a fish and chips meal this afternoon.

And I just happened to have everything to hand in the fridge/freezer for a fish and chips meal this afternoon.

And I just happened to have everything to hand in the fridge/freezer for a fish and chips meal this afternoon.

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Here we have a butterflied, salted and dried Indian mackerel, known as aji no himano in Japan.

Here we have a butterflied, salted and dried Indian mackerel, known as aji no himano in Japan.

Here we have a butterflied, salted and dried Indian mackerel, known as aji no himano in Japan. Traditionally eaten for breakfast, however, I ate it for a late lunch today. It was accompanied by smoked salmon skin, crisped up in an air fryer, and some fried rice. The mackerel process is relatively simple once butterflied, and would work just as well on filleted mackerel or sardines. I soaked 4 in 100ml of 10% alcohol (sake or 1 part gin/vodka diluted with 3 water) for about 15 minutes.

Ensenada fish tacos for Valentine's lunch.

Ensenada fish tacos for Valentine's lunch.

Ensenada fish tacos for Valentine's lunch. Thanks to super friendly and helpful Gabriel @casa.azul.brighton for the blue masa harina. They turned out great after my rather shoddy first attempt with masarepa. I hope to get a bit more knowledge on this deep and eclectic cuisine, it's quite a lot though! While reading around, I learned a little bit about a very interesting British author called Diana Kennedy, who lived until 99, in Mexico since the 1950s.

Salmon on offer as is often the case in the winter, so I picked up a couple, cured and smoked them.

Salmon on offer as is often the case in the winter, so I picked up a couple, cured and smoked them.

Salmon on offer as is often the case in the winter, so I picked up a couple, cured and smoked them. Beech, cherry and hickory smoke for 12hrs. We ate one for NYE and the rest will go in the freezer. I made cream cheese and some crackers (not pictured) to go with them. Once I'd stripped the rest of the flesh after filleting them, the head and bones were roasted (12 mins air fryer max) and made into stock with a slice of konbu for some extra umami.

Medium firm tofu trial.

Medium firm tofu trial.

Medium firm tofu trial. I wanted it a bit firmer but I think the mould (a ricotta cheese mould) was a bit all for the correct pressure. The individual steps for making tofu are relatively simple, but there are quite a few: Soak the beans for 8hrs, liquidise with a set quantity of water, strain in a nut milk bag, heat up to around 80C, hold for 30 minutes, add gypsum (or another coagulant), stir, ladle into a mould lined with cheesecloth, press. I made some mabo dofu (pictured) and some home style tofu. I'm not saying I won't do this again, but it's probably on the rainy day side of the food projects I've done as it's relatively simple and cheap to buy locally.