Spicy tilapia with sesame-vinegar cucumber

[cheyinka]

This recipe is a modification of a recipe from delishfood.wordpress.com and a recipe from Gastronomy Domine. The modifications are mostly from not having all the ingredients required, and from realizing that the fish didn't seem to be cooking fast enough.

You will need:
• 1 large cucumber
• 2 tsp brown sugar (though white sugar will work)
• 4 cloves fresh garlic (or 2 heaping teaspoons diced garlic from a jar)
• 4 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 5 tsp soy sauce (or tamari)
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp sriracha
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 small yellow onion
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tilapia fillets
• However much rice you normally make for two servings

Mix together 2 tbsp of the rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp of the soy sauce, and all of the sesame oil, the brown sugar, and the garlic.

Set the cucumber on a cutting board and slap it hard with the flat of a cleaver until deep cracks have opened up in the cucumber (six or seven times should work if you're smacking it hard enough). Cut off the ends (and discard them), then chop the rest into bite-sized chunks.

Put the cucumber in a bowl, stir up the dressing again, then pour the dressing over the cucumber chunks and put the cucumber in the fridge.

Cut up the onion into the smallest pieces you can easily manage and set it aside.

Mix together everything else except the olive oil and fish.

(If you're making white rice, start cooking it now. I think you'd need to start brown rice before you started making the dressing for the cucumber.)

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat, then put the tilapia in and turn the heat down to medium-low. After one minute, turn the tilapia over, put the onion on top of the tilapia, and then pour in the liquid ingredients.

After 5 minutes turn the heat up to just below medium, cover the skillet, and cook for ten to thirteen more minutes. (It might be possible to cook it at the same temperature the whole way through.)

When the fish is done, put a serving of rice and about half the cucumber chunks on each plate, then put the fish on top of the rice.

Devour greedily.

Comments

[redsnake05]

You just reminded me how much I love sesame-vinegar cucumber, particularly with lots of garlic. Yum! I might try adapting this for tofu in place of the fish. Thank you!

[cheyinka]

Oo, that's an adaptation I'd be interested in trying, so if it goes well, let me know! :D

[lovepeaceohana]

This sounds absolutely delicious, but I do have a question:

Set the cucumber on a cutting board and slap it hard with the flat of a cleaver until deep cracks have opened up in the cucumber (six or seven times should work if you're smacking it hard enough). Cut off the ends (and discard them), then chop the rest into bite-sized chunks.

I swear I'm asking this in the politest tone I know, but why? I'm just having this image of beating the crap out of a cucumber and having to explain it to someone. Alternatively, forwarding the recipe, and then having to explain it.

Halp :(

[cheyinka]

According to the original recipe it's so that it absorbs the dressing better. It also makes it a little easier to cut into bite-sized chunks (because it'll be cracked open in places), I guess. I haven't tried this recipe with cucumber that hasn't been mauled, so I don't know if it really makes that much of a difference. :)

[lovepeaceohana]

Huh. Well, I'll give it a shot without the mauling then - my upstairs neighbors (who have two large dogs and are fond of vacuuming at one in the morning) tend to object to any kind of tenderizing noises and it's just easier to keep things friendly :P Will update with results later!