GUEST RECIPE: murloco’s tacos [baja-style fish tacos]

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Hi! My name is Homebrewed, some of you may know me from Twitter. I am a huge fan of Warcraft and more recently Hearthstone. My favorite amphibious humanoid is the Murloc, I am even quite fluent in Nerglish. So, my recipe I want to share with you today is Murlocos, Baja-style Mur…fish tacos.

https://twitter.com/HomebrewedDwarf/status/536372067592314881

The weeks after I came back from BlizzCon I received some news from the doctor, in other words, I need to start eating healthier. So in this venture, I have been cooking at home a lot more and finding different ways to make some of my favorite food to fuel up into between work and gaming. I was inspired by a dish I had one time at The Reservoir – Restaurant and Tap Room – Waterbury.

There are some things you can do ahead of ahead to cut on the actual time from cooking to eating when you go to fry your fish and assemble your tacos. I recommend making the pickled jalapeños and the cilantro onion salsa the day before as it keeps for at about a week. Also, I do want to recommend, that when you slice the jalapeños you buy some cheap plastic gloves, powder free, to protect your hands.

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Total prep time for this dish is about 1 hour. Cook time is 40 minutes. This recipe will make roughly about 16 tacos. You will end up with leftover condiments! 

OPENING HAND

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EARLY GAME

Ingredients

  1. 3/4 cup water
  2. 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
  3. 3 tablespoons white sugar
  4. 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  5. 1 clove garlic, crushed
  6. 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  7. 10 large jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings

Directions (Pickled Jalapeño)

  1. Combine water, vinegar, sugar, kosher salt, garlic, and oregano in a saucepan over high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, stir in jalapeno peppers and remove from heat. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
  2. Pack peppers into jars using tongs, cover with vinegar mixture, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

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MID RANGE

Ingredients

  1. 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
  2. 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  3. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  4. 2 teaspoons olive oil
  5. 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  6. 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions (Cilantro Onion Salsa)

Chop everything, juice your lime, and place all the mixture into a mason jar and pop it in the fridge.

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Ingredients

  1. 3/4 cup cold seltzer water
  2. 1/2 large egg, beaten
  3. 1/4 cup cold vodka
  4. 2.5 ounces unbleached cake flour, by weight
  5. 2.5 ounces white rice flour, by weight
  6. 1 liter vegetable or sunflower oil
  7. 1 pound haddock or cod
  8. Red cabbage, sliced
  9. 16 corn tortillas
  10. Kosher salt

LATE GAME

Directions (Fish & Assemble)

  1. Slice up your cabbage and put asideblog_murlocostacos_cabbage
  2. Slice fish into pieces that are about two inchesin depthblog_murlocostacos_fish
  3. Heat oil in a cast iron Dutch oven to 375 degrees
  4. Combine seltzer, egg, and vodka in a bowl
  5. Combine rice flour and cake flour in a separate bowl
  6. When your oil reaches temperature, add the wet to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine and surround that bowl with ice on the outside to keep the batter coldblog_murlocostacos_batter
  7. Dip your fish into your batter, shaken off excess, and slowly place into the oil about four pieces at a time
  8. Cook for about two minutes until golden brown and remove from heat
  9. Place cooked fish on a paper towel and season with saltblog_murlocostacos_frying
  10. Heat your corn tortillas directly over the burner if you have a gas stovetop turning with tongs to heat them through or in a pan with a very slight mist of water
  11. Put everything together and enjoy!blog_murlocostacos_macro

Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle!

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Special guest recipe by Homebrewed. He’s a  writer, a Hearthstone aficionado, and a Murloc whisperer! You can follow his adventures on his Twitter: @HomebrewedDwarf 

 

fire spirit salmon [spicy salmon en papillote]

blog_firespiritsalmon_titleHey adventurer! Are you hungry after your long journeys through Azeroth? Well, I’ve cooked up a dish for you that’s straight from the wonderful nation of Pandaria.

This special recipe was created by the amazing Sha of Happiness. She has picked some of the most delicious dishes in all of Azeroth and re-created them in her kitchen.

I’m sure you’re hungry, so let’s get started on this very simple, but very delicious dish!

Recipe adapted from Fire Spirit Salmon by Sha of Happiness. 

UNIT COMPOSITION

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  1. salt
  2. pepper
  3. 2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
  4. 1 teaspoons of olive oil (or butter if you prefer)
  5. ~ 1 tablespoon of sliced ginger
  6. 1 tablespoon of miso paste
  7. 1 1/2 tablespoon of sesame seed oil
  8. 1 tablespoon of red chili paste
  9. 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  10. 1/2 white onion, diced
  11. 2 4oz cuts of salmon
  12. OPTIONAL: 3 – 5 sprigs of green onion (scallion)

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this dish is roughly 15 minutes. Total cook time is about 10 minutes. This will make 2 servings.

I’ve made a slight deviation from Sha’s original recipe. In her recipe, she suggests cooking the salmon via pan or roasting it in the oven. I’ll be roasting it in the oven, but I made a minor change — I’m cooking it en papillote!

So, I’m sure you’re asking… What is en papillote? The term “en papillote” is French for “in parchment”. Basically, the method is you take some sort of food, wrap it into a little package and then cook it. Since the food is wrapped up in its own little container, it will basically be steamed by its own juices (or what ever liquid you’ve put in the pouch).

There are many regional variants on this type of cooking. Zongzi, which is a Chinese dish comprised of sticky rice and various fillings, uses this technique but with leaves. Zongzi is also insanely delicious, so if you ever have a chance to get one, I recommend it!

OPENING

  1. Set a pan on high-heat.
  2. Add in your olive oil.
  3. Sautee your garlic and onions.
  4. Remove from heat and set aside.

MID GAME

  1. In a bowl, combine your soy sauce, sesame sauce, and red chili paste.blog_firespiritsalon_mix
  2. Add in your sliced ginger. When the salmon has finished cooking, you will want to remove these slices before plating.
  3. Set aside and prepare your salmon!

LATE GAME

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 375° (~190° C). 
  2. Place your sauteed onions and garlic on one side of the parchment paper.blog_firespiritsalmon_cooking1
  3. Place your salmon on top of the onions and garlic.
  4. Season your salmon with salt and pepper.
  5. Pour the sauce over the salmon. (Optional: Place a few sprigs of green onion on top of the salmon)blog_firespiritsalmon_cooking2
  6. Fold the parchment paper over the salmon, making sure to leave air inside the package. Roll the sides of the parchment paper up, so that the package is sealed.blog_firespiritsalmon_cooking3
  7. Place in the oven and roast for about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven when done. Be careful when opening the package!blog_firespiritsalmon_cooking4
  8. EAT!

GG WP!

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A big thank you goes out to Sha for creating this amazing and healthy recipe! 😀 Salmon is good AND good for you. <3