I had so much fun making this with Bryan. Steve and I don’t have cable, so I’ve never seen Nigella on t.v. So I decided to youtube a few of her videos. Umm, she’s pretty much fantastic. She’s so different from any other culinary artist I’m used to (Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, and so on and so on). I love the filming style of her videos, and from the few that I watched (Caramel Croissant Pudding, Doughnut French Toast, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sundae) – I also love the simplicity of her recipes. She’s also a girl after my own heart that loves all things sweet :) I think I may need one of her cookbooks IMMEDIATELY!
Chowder with Asian Flavors
Ingredients
- 3 c. chicken stock/broth not instant
- 1 lb. baking potatoes or 2 medium-sized peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes to make 2 1/2 c.
- 4 oz. baby leeks sliced into 1/2-in lenghts to make 1 c.
- 4 oz. baby corn cut into 1/4-inch slices to make 1 1/4 c.
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp. ground mace
- 1 14 oz. can coconut milk
- 1 lb 4 oz skinless smoked cod filets, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/4 c. lime juice
- 8 oz. small or medium frozen shrimp
- 1 1/2 c. canned sweet corn drained
- 1 tsp. kosher salt or 1/2 tsp. table salt
- 1 long red chile deseeded and finely chopped
- 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
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Bring the stock to a boil in a medium-sized pan.
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Cook the chopped potatoes, leeks, and baby corn in the stock with the bay leaves and mace for about 10 minutes or until tender.
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Add the coconut milk, the chopped smoked fish, and the lime juice. Bring the pan back to a boil and let simmer for a minute or so.
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Tip in the shrimp and sweet corn and once again let it come back to a boil to heat them through.
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Season with salt and then serve. Decorate each bowl with some chopped chile and pungent, leafy cilantro.
Recipe Notes
[My 2 Cents]
This is a very fishy chowder, so if you don't like seafood - run in the other direction! If I were to make any alterations - which it was delightful as is - Bry mentioned substituting chicken for the cod perhaps or even largely chopped crispy bacon. Either way, it all sounds good.
P.s. I LOVED the baby corn in this! Not only because they are "mini" but they added awesome texture and a good flavor too!
Adapted from Nigella Lawson, Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast Cookbook
Some of you may know Bryan Magaña, who happens to be one of my very best friends. He recently started a year-long project to read one book every week for a whole year, and he posts his bite-sized book reviews on YouTube every Monday. And this week’s video features a very special co-star…
Me!
Over at Man vs. Book, Bryan reads and reviews everything from theology to today’s New York Times best-sellers. But this week, he read something a little more my speed — a cook book! After reading Nigella Express, Bryan called on me to help add a little more… FLAVOR to his series.
So this weekend, we spent a little time in the kitchen making Nigella’s Chowder with Asian Flavors. The seafood chowder was every bit as delightful as the filming process. Check out my YouTube debut below! (And stay tuned for more video recipes in the near future, right here on TriedandTasty.com!)
