A Word From The Other Parsimonious Chef...: Travel For What??? Thai Style Sea Bass.....

Grilled Veggie w/ Chili Gastrique

Travel is essential for me, in the past I considered travel as a weekend at Va Beach or Ocean City. Growing up in the Metro area (now referred to as the DMV) , this gave me about a 3.5 hour radius for travel. While these are both great destinations there are other places to discover.

As I matured to young adulthood I found myself wanting for more travel-wise, going all around the country and Canada to find out what else was out there to see. Vacationing from Seattle to L.A. and of course all along the East Coast and Mid West I had a great time in these places as well. Even flying to Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto found me enjoying the discovery of new things, places, people and food.

It wasn't until I started to travel internationally that I really appreciated it the way I do now. While there are far too many reasons to list I can narrow my favorite reasons to these listed below.

History & Culture
Cuisine
Discovery

To experience the history and culture of a place is reason alone for anyone to be swayed to travel anywhere, but if you do so simply in the U.S. the differences from stop to stop are minuscule for the most part. Moving outside of that "comfort zone" gives me a sense of daring and accomplishment that is incomparable. Going to the local museums gives you a great oral and tangible history of a place. Getting information from the locals about the haunts off of the beaten path can often times be just as informative. It also helps to give you a complete picture of why a place does what it does, eat what it eats and exist how it exist that cannot be found simply by relying on the manicured and pretty history as told by the pictures and exhibits at the museums. When I went to Barbados for a festival last year I found a great example of this; I found out about a weekly occurrence on Friday's in a city named Oistins. Oistins is a small coastal town that has a fish fry each Friday. This hidden gem wasn't on any of the brochures that I saw prior to my arrival there. In fact it was upon sitting at the resort's bar that I found out by asking the bartender about the non touristy places. He, of course was more than happy to let me know where the locals all hang out. I went and looking back on it , this was probably one of the most special parts of the trip. We got to see the locals being local and unguarded it was great!

Oistins Friday Fish Fry

BBQ Chicken @ Oistins, Barbados

Food is a stand alone reason for travel for me, I had a friend that once rented a limo to take me from DC to Philly just for me to get my favorite Key Lime Pie and a Cheesesteak (True story - thank you TQ). Cuisine is often a determining factor in travel for me. I can absolutely plan a trip just to find out the differences in how something is prepared for the sake of adding it to my database and repertoire.

Discovery is such a broad subject and can refer to the discovery of people, places, things and even of self. In the last year I "rolled solo" to a bunch of places and had to meet people on my own. If you are reading this and know me it may seem like it's not such big deal but I assure you that I am deftly apprehensive about meeting people on my own. Last year broke me out of that as it was swim or drown with every trip. I am happy to say that I met people in that time that I am sure I will know, hang out with and converse with for the rest of my life. This is also one of the reasons that I blog now, so many experiences and stories to share that I had to do something to show my appreciation for all that has come my way in the last few years. While we often times share only the good I can honestly say that I have had extreme highs and lows in the past few years and I am equally thankful and appreciative of both.

On the Menu today: Thai Style Whole Fish

Grilled White Sea Bass & Deep Fried Black Sea Bass W/ Grilled Veggies

Grilled White Sea Bass

Deep Fried Black Sea Bass

For the Grilled White Sea Bass we will need the following:

White Sea Bass (1 feeds 2 pp)
Lemon (3 slices)
Cilantro (1 bunch)
Garlic (3 cloves)
Coarse Kosher Salt (t t)
Olive Oil (2 Tbs)

Rinse the fish and pat dry with a paper towel and stuff the cavity of the fish with the lemon slices, garlic and cilantro. Season the fish generously with the salt and place directly on the heated grill. Flip after 5 minutes and repeat the process, allowing to cook for 2-5 minutes or until done.

Grilled White Sea Bass w/ Veggies

For the Deep Fried Black Sea Bass we will need the following:

Black Sea Bass (1 feeds 2 pp)
Flour (1/2 cup per fish)
Garlic Salt (1 tsp)
Cayenne Pepper (1 tsp)
Paprika (1 tsp)
Old Bay Seasoning (2 tsp)
Salt (.5 tsp)
Wood Skewer (1 per fish)
1 Deep Fryer
Veggie Oil (1-2 qt)

Rinse the fish and pat dry with a paper towel. Combine the seasonings with the flour and place the fish in this mixture (the normal method is to use a paper bag to shake the fish in). Remove the fish and skewer in the shape of you desire (see picture below). Deep fry fish until done which will take 5-8 minutes on high in your deep fryer.

Floured & Skewered

Deep Fried Black Sea Bass W/ Chili Gastrique

For the Chili Gastrique we will need the following:

Tamari or Soy Sauce (1/2 cup)
Rice Vinegar (1/8 cup)
Brown Sugar (1/2 cup)
Limonata (1/2 can)
Ginger (2 Tbs)
Garlic (1 Tbs)
Habanero (1 each)
Thai Chili Pepper (2 each)
Red Chili Pepper (1 each)
Corn Starch (2 Tbs)

Start by slicing the peppers into rings and sauteing, add the minced ginger and minced garlic. Add the soy sauce, Limonata,vinegar and brown sugar allowing to incorporate and reduce slightly. Make a slurry by adding a half tsp of water to the 2 Tbs of cornstarch and mixing (you may need to add more water until the mixture reaches a silky consistency). Add the slurry to the sauce to thicken to your desired consistency (about 2-5 minutes). This sauce can be served over either of the fish or served on the side for you and your guest to add as you choose.

For the Grilled Veggies we will need the following:

Red Onion (1-2 ea)
Zucchini (5 ea)
Eggplant (1-2 ea)
Corn (5-7 ea)
Tomatoes (5 ea)
Olive Oil (1/2 cup)
Tarragon (1 bunch)
Garlic (3 cloves)
Coarse Kosher Salt (t t)

Slice the red onion, zucchini, eggplant and corn and marinate in a mixture of olive oil and fresh tarragon and grill until done (be sure to salt while grilling). Slice the tomatoes in half and serve fresh.