Hey Hive!
We're back with more of our home cooking! If you're unfamiliar with this series, it's where I showcase some of the food we've been making at home since we've been cooking a lot nowadays! Also I'm running out of content so yeah gotta make the most of it!
Anyway, a couple months ago Sean and I went to get a health check-up done for insurance purposes and we found that Sean is lacking in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good cholesterol. HDL is known as “good cholesterol” because it transports cholesterol to your liver to be expelled from your body. HDL helps rid your body of excess cholesterol so it’s less likely to end up in your arteries, while LDL is called “bad cholesterol” because it takes cholesterol to your arteries, where it may collect in artery walls. (Source: healthline)
Source: Ecosh
Anyway, a pretty common and I'd say affordable source of HDL turns out to be salmon! Other common sources include nuts, chia seeds, avocado, whole grains and beans. But I think the most efficient source of HDL (among other nutrients) is seafood, which explains why Sean has so little HDL since he isn't a fan of seafood.
And since it's kinda pricey compared to chicken we normally don't eat it at home. But with the checkup results and many news articles we've read about healthy and physically fit people having sudden heart attacks in their early 30s, we agreed that it's better to be safe than sorry and decided to try eating salmon once a week!
And probably the easiest and cheapest way to get salmon is definitely just buying a fillet from the supermarket and cooking it yourself. Restaurants are really expensive with salmon, and the only other cheap outlet is sushi which is raw so Sean doesn't eat it. So I decided to try cooking salmon at home!
Ingredients:
- Rice
- Carrots
- Lady Fingers
- Salmon Fillet
- Salt
- Pepper
For the staple, we went with our usual rice with vegetables, which is what we typically make. Just chop up some carrots and lady fingers and dump them together with the rice in the rice cooker. Easy.
But we added something different in the rice which was this Hainanese Chicken Rice Mix! It's pre-made, and you just have to mix in a couple of tablespoons into your rice in the rice cooker and cook as per normal. We've tried it before and it actually tastes pretty good! Still not exactly the same as the chicken rice you can find in hawker centers but good enough. And this one is definitely healthier since we can add more vegetables.
Next, the main entree - the salmon fillet! I've never cooked fish before so I Googled a recipe on how to prepare pan-seared salmon and they were all pretty straightforward, but this is a good one and gives good tips such as:
Source: thekitchn
But anyway, step 1 is to wash it of course.
Step 2: Pat dry the fillet with kitchen towels.
Step 3: Season the fillet with salt and pepper.
Sorry I didn't take pictures of these steps but my hands were full with the salmon and seaoning.
Step 4: Let the pan get hot before placing the salmon fillet skin-side down. Make sure to use a non-stick pan, and there's no need to add any oil since the salmon itself will release its own oil. Be very careful of oil spatter, especially with a hot pan.
And now you wait for about 4 minutes or so, depending on the size of your fillet. You will notice the colour of the fillet starting to change to a paler pink colour. Once the colour change is about 3/4 of the way from the bottom, it's time to flip!
Look at that crispy skin! Cook the salmon for a few more minutes until your preferred doneness then it's time to serve!
The salmon itself is pretty oily so we had to put it on paper towels. Salmon oil is actually a pretty good source of Omega-3 fatty acids so it's good oil, which is why all those supplements exist in the first place.
We shared the fillet and ate it with our special "chicken rice". Look at the inside of the salmon and the crispy skin! It might looked a little overcooked, but it tasted pretty dang good! Sean likes his a little more done than usual since he likes crispy skin.
This is exactly why I like salmon. Not only is it easy to prepare and cook, but it doesn't take much time and is delicious on its own! No need for fancy sauces or techniques. It's simple, affordable and nutritious! Wins all round!
We've had salmon almost every week since then and it's always such a treat. Sean really likes it, and it's good for health which is most important of course.
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Check out my previous post in this series!
Posted via foodiesunite.net