Thursday, February 9, 2012

Mr. Hawthorne Fries Flounder.

Mr. Hawthorne and I have had quite a bit of frying experience.
We've tried all manner of different batters,
tempuras, coatings, and breadings,
and we've come up with a new one,
which is extremely light, crispy, and flavorful.
In fact, it's my new favorite breading.
The topping is a fresh salad of red onion,
red and green pepper, rice vinegar, and sugar.
The sauce is ... my first attempt at Japanese mayonnaise.
 What is Japanese mayonnaise?
 Regular mayonnaise is made from vegetable oil and egg yolks.
 It is a stable emulsion made from the oil and yolks,
 generally seasoned with salt, mustard,
 and lemon juice and/or distilled vinegar.
 Japanese mayonnaise is typically made with rice vinegar and MSG,
 and its texture is much thinner than commercial mayonnaise.
 I Googled around and found numerous recipes
for Japanese mayonnaise and decided
to pick and choose different ingredients,
 using what I had on hand.
I did not have Yuzu juice, MSG, or dashi powder
 as called for in some of the recipes I read.
 There is also a commercial product called Kewpie Mayonnaise,
introduced to Japan in 1925,
 which is a ubiquitous condiment in Japanese households.
Rosie's Japanese mayonnaise ingredients:
1 egg yolk, room temperature
 1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp rice vinegar
 1 tsp miso
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp hot mustard
 1/4 cup canola oil
 Beat egg yolk.
Beat in lime juice, rice vinegar, miso, sugar, and mustard.
 Beat in oil to form an emulsion.
Lime juice into beaten yolk.
Rice vinegar.
Miso.
 Now, I have no dashi powder and no Yuzo juice,
 but I do have Miso.
I saw Miso at the Teeter some time ago and bought it,
 not really knowing what it was.
Now I know:
Miso is:
 soybean paste (water,soybean, rice, salt),
 sugar, seaweed extract, high fructose corn syrup,
 wheat extract, onion powder, shitake mushroom extract, and alcohol.

The bottle of miso says it's more than soup:  
Minute Miso can be added to many 
of your favorite recipes and side dishes including salads,
 marinades, and even a Pumpkin Potage ...
My particular bottle was:  
Produced in Factory that uses seeds, milk, eggs,
 bonito, mackerel, sardine, shellfish, molluscs, and wheat.
 Even more appealing was this:
 Miso only takes a moment to prepare
 and can travel with you anywhere you go.
  ?
 Emphasis mine.

Hot mustard.
Sugar.
While running the mini-processor,
slowly pour in the oil to make an emulsion.
Mine is more of a sauce than an emulsion.
I tasted at this point and really liked the flavors so I stopped.
 Next time, I'll try doubling - tripling up on the seasonings
 and adding more oil to make a true emulsion.
Also, I'll use a whisk, not my little processor.
A whisk does a better job.
On to the flounder.
The breading for the flounder is Idaho Spuds Mashed Potatoes
 and Panko Breadcrumbs.
The wine is for the cook.
 Do NOT panic about Rosie using instant potatoes.
 Rosie has not crossed over to the dark side
. She's just not using the potatoes as they were intended to be used.
And she got this trick from Chef Anne Burrell.
Equal amount panko and potato spuds.
Dredge flounder filets in panko and spuds.
Fry over medium high heat, turning over when golden brown
 - about 2 minutes each side.


I wanted something quick and bright to go on top, so ...
I chopped up some red onion and red and green pepper.
Add in a tablespoon of sugar
and a tablespoon of rice vinegar and freshly ground salt and pepper.

Serve flounder with a pool of the Japanese sauce
 and the onion and pepper confetti.

The flounder was very light and I loved the panko and potato breading.
Very crispy
 I liked my Japanese sauce.
I won't call it a mayonnaise since I stopped adding oi
l before I got a true emulsion, but it was quite good.
I'll be tweaking the Japanese "mayonnaise,"
so stay tuned.

4 comments:

Marilyn said...

I'll have to try that breading sometime.

Rosie Hawthorne said...

I fried shrimp in it the other day and loved it.

Anonymous said...

Ro, thanks for sharing this of FB. Gonna definitely try this on shrimp. My crowd is not big on flounder.
Rita

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Rita, I have a post in the works about doing shrimp with this combo. It was terrific. Here's a hint -
it involves coconut.