Need help conceptualizing

[BertMor]

Well, It looks like I am unretiring, and heading back into the kitchen. I have an audition soon, and I have two dishs to cook

The first one I am going to do is a Honied Jack Daniels Pork tenderloin with yams and haricot verte. Easy peasey

I want to do a Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass (Please don't convict me, I don't want to use salmon {boring!} I need a fatty fish) with Caramel-Preserved Black Bean Sauce. I can serve it with baby bok choy seasoned with soy and sesame oil.

But I can 't come up with an interesting starch!

Anyone care to contribute?

[El Pescador]

Poi?

[tk59]

Poi?

Uh... YUCK. How about taro?

[BertMor]

Damn you Hawaiins! Question: why those two ? Where is the logic and tie-ins. The basic of the dish is Chinese...kinda

[tk59]

Damn you Hawaiins! Question: why those two ? Where is the logic and tie-ins. The basic of the dish is Chinese...kinda

I'm not Hawaiian and neither is taro. It's a purple, starchy root ubiquitous in asian food (at least chinese and vietnamese). You can make just about anything out of it that you make with potatoes, etc. It's used in everything from savory cakes (not fluffy, dessert type things) to a sweet paste you would put in a dessert. As a matter of fact, I made "taro french toast" this morning.

Maybe you can make a cake with some little chuncks of something tasty dispersed in it. Steam it and then fry it or something.

[BertMor]

I know what taro is, I've used it before. Poi is Hawaiian and thats what I was refering to. I'm still trying to see the connections. The fried cake does sound somewhat interesting.....

[mhlee]

I would not serve Chilean Sea Bass because of high cost. Also, it's not considered to be environmentally correct.

If shipping is not an issue (which it doesn't seem to be because you initially chose Chilean Sea Bass), use Black Cod - it's sustainable, fatty, has a similar texture to Chilean Sea Bass and is probably less per pound. It's also a very prized fish in Asia.

But, since you're in Florida, how about Pompano? I've cooked Pompano (smaller ones - less than 1 pound) and it's been great. It's got a rich flavor, delicate meat and it's local and a lot cheaper than Chilean Sea Bass.

If you're going Chinese, how about a fried rice? The flavors in your dish seem to be salty, savory (black bean sauce), slightly bitter (bok choy), so you could use a little sweetness to the dish. Sweetness could come from a little Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage) sauteed in oil to render out some of the fat and sugar in the sausage into the rice.

BTW, have you used XO sauce? It's been my recent go to sauce for steam and then oil searing fish because it's spicy, savory and pungent and a little sweet. But, you could also use this to flavor your fried rice.

Or, how about using oyster sauce (or other sauce) to lend a sweet component to the vegetables and ditch the starch? Bok Choy is a very filling veg.

+1 to the Taro idea. Steamed and fried taro cake with XO sauce is a staple of dim sum. I don't know if you'll like the texture if you've never had it since it's a little gummy, but it's definitely authentic.

[BertMor]

I would not serve Chilean Sea Bass because of high cost. Also, it's not considered to be environmentally correct.

If shipping is not an issue (which it doesn't seem to be because you initially chose Chilean Sea Bass), use Black Cod - it's sustainable, fatty, has a similar texture to Chilean Sea Bass and is probably less per pound. It's also a very prized fish in Asia.

But, since you're in Florida, how about Pompano? I've cooked Pompano (smaller ones - less than 1 pound) and it's been great. It's got a rich flavor, delicate meat and it's local and a lot cheaper than Chilean Sea Bass.

If you're going Chinese, how about a fried rice? The flavors in your dish seem to be salty, savory (black bean sauce), slightly bitter (bok choy), so you could use a little sweetness to the dish. Sweetness could come from a little Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage) sauteed in oil to render out some of the fat and sugar in the sausage into the rice.

BTW, have you used XO sauce? It's been my recent go to sauce for steam and then oil searing fish because it's spicy, savory and pungent and a little sweet. But, you could also use this to flavor your fried rice.

Or, how about using oyster sauce (or other sauce) to lend a sweet component to the vegetables and ditch the starch? Bok Choy is a very filling veg.

+1 to the Taro idea. Steamed and fried taro cake with XO sauce is a staple of dim sum. I don't know if you'll like the texture if you've never had it since it's a little gummy, but it's definitely authentic.

Some interesting ideas....and I did ask not to be convicted on the CSB Black Cod or Pompano hmmmm, this a high end off-site caterer, I'm not sure how that will go over. But that is definitely a proper choice to consider for a restaurant

I think ya missed the part of the CARAMEL-Preserved Black Bean Sauce, it has lots of sweetness.

I am not familiar with XO sauce, what's it like?

The bok choy is going to be steamed then sauted with peanut oil-sesame oil combo and finished with chx stock, soy and sambal with a garnish of sesame seeds. I find oyster sauce a bit overwhelming most of the time. But I will consider it.

Taro cakes sound interesting but its like okra, lots of people don't like it much, and this is not the time to experiment.

I could do fried rice, it probably would go over well.....Whats a good substitute for Lap Cheong?

Good stuff people this is dcefinitley helping my thought processes

[ThEoRy]

Chinese black rice maybe? I dunno I have to leave in a hurry I'll be back later maybe I can help more.

[dreamsignals]

how about a crispy noodle cake? it would probably be nice to offset the potentially gooey texture of the bean sauce (potentially, not sure how you're gonna make it) and add some crunch