Steamed Sea Bass in Black Bean Sauce

It's Friday, and for me that means fish fridays. Well not always fish fridays, sometimes cheese pizza fridays, or fruit-filled fridays or crusty bread fridays. Basically, no meat fridays. In the past, I haven't been so good with finding good meals to eat on Fridays that consisted of no meat. Well those times have changed...

Mmmm steamed sea bass. We have a similar dish like this at the place where I work so when I had some sea bass on hand, I decided to try it out. This recipe is INCREDIBLY simple and easy to boot. I highly recommend it if you are short for time and want a delicious dinner!

The results were simply fabulous. Tender, perfectly flaky fish with some great delicate flavor. Some reviews said that they didn't like this dish because it wasn't full of flavor but that's what I like about it. It's a beautifully light fish with the perfect amount of flavor, just really simple and yummy.
Steamed Sea Bass with Black Bean Sauce

Yields: 4 servings

Original recipe can be found here.

1 1/2 lbs. sea bass filets, about 1/4 inch thick

3 tbsn. black bean sauce

1/2 inch ginger, cut into matchstick pieces

2 green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 tsp. peanut oil (I used sesame oil)

cilantro or more green onion (to garnish)

In the bottom of a steamer, add 1 inch of water and place the steaming rack on top. Heat over medium high heat to boil the water. If you don't have a steamer, place 1 inch of water in a wok or frying pan and place a rack on top of it. Place the fish in pyrex dish and spread the black bean sauce over it. Then scatter the green onions and ginger on top. Drizzle the oil over the fish, then place the dish on top of the rack. Cover and steam for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Remove from steamer and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

Perfectly flaky sea bass!

Mmmm I love Fish Fridays!

Simplicity at its best.

Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Honey Buttercream

So here is my fantasy (maybe a possibility): That I would be able to finish college, take a year off and then continue on to Medical School. But then somewhere after, in between, or even during I would open my own bakery. I don't know how or even if those two would work together, but hey, I want it ALL! And my best friend, Cherish, would finish up her film school program at USC and become a successful director/ producer in LA and we would live in a cute little apartment that we would make all our own. Back to the present day is where it begins, here, where I have been hired to bake cupcakes for her "310 purple" class screenings - and let me tell you the film shorts were fantastic and an honor to view! In total I baked 4 varieties, here is one: Spiced Chai with Honey-Cinnamon Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

These cupcakes were fantastic. I just received Sky High in the mail the other day, and I knew I HAD to make these cupcakes because one, I LOVE chai, and two, because I heard that her recipes were fantastic, mind-blowing, amazingness. And trust me they were indeed. I didn't use her frosting recipe as I wanted to use something that would hold its shape but I did use her notes of honey which added a nice touch. Make these NOWWW!

Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Honey Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

Yields: an 8-inch triple-layer cake (serves 12 - 16) OR

Original recipe from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Printable Recipe

For the cupcakes:

1 1/3 cup milk

6 chai tea bags

4 whole eggs

2 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 3/4 cup cake flour

2 cup sugar

4 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. salt

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

For the swiss meringue buttercream:

2 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter (12 tbsn.), room temperature

6 tbsn. honey

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat to 350 F. Line with cupcake liners, set aside. In saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add the tea bags. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the bags and squeeze out the remaining milk. Let the milk cool completely. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, vanilla and 1/3 cup of the chai milk. In the bowl of a mixer sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Beat on low for about 30 seconds, then add the butter and remaining chai milk. Mix on medium low speed until light and fluffy. Next, add the egg mixture in three additions, making sure to scrape the bowl well after each. Divide the batter among the cupcake tins, about 2/3 full, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. For the frosting, place all ingredients into a stand mixer or food processor and incorporate well until smooth, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.