無油煮食

最近有一位朋友說我作的菜用太多牛油，所以不敢嘗試。但一湯匙的牛油只有３０微克(mg)的膽固醇，比美國食品及藥物管理局（FDA）建議每日攝取量300微克差很遠。

但為了大家的健康（其實也為自己），今天的菜沒有下油。雖然如此，味道卻很濃郁。

這道菜用了「球子甘藍」（brussel sprout）。它是一種非常有營養的食材。單是一杯的份量已有足夠一天的維生素Ｃ。

洗菜的時候可放進鹽水中浸三十分鐘，令藏在葉子內的昆蟲走出來。洗淨後把底部老去的部份切去，但要保持菜的完整。再在底部𠝹上十字，令菜容易熟，及幫助吸收汗液。

要注意，若球子甘藍煮的時間不夠會有苦味。所以煮好後的球子甘藍大多會失去青綠色。

另外的材枓是鹽漬鱈魚（salt cod）。煮前要用清水把鱈魚浸透２４小時，其間要換水數次，以保持魚的新鮮。

浸透後的鹽漬鱈魚味道非常鮮甜，鹹度剛好。

若可以的話，用金華火煺切小丁，以增加顏色和風味。

鹽漬鱈魚燴球子甘藍

【材料】
球子甘藍，２００克
鹽漬鱈魚，１００克
金華火煺，小許切丁
清雞湯，適量

【作法】
１．把球子甘藍放在鍋中，加冰清水和鹽。加熱理滾開。
２．水滾後把球子甘藍放在冰清水中冷卻。
３．浸透後的鹽漬鱈魚切片。
４．把鱈魚、球子甘藍、金華火煺放進焗盤或玻璃碟上。
５．捯下清雞湯至覆蓋三分之一的球子甘藍。
６．放進焗爐（３７５度Ｆ）焗２０分鐘即成。

Recently my friend complained that I used too much butter in my dishes that scared my friend away. In fact butter has only 30mg of cholesterol, far less than the 300mg daily limit recommended by FDA. Besides, butter provides a lot of body and flavour to the dish. So why skipping it?

That said, I still want to keep my friend, and myself, a bit healthier. So here it comes something that does not need extra oil.

I used brussel sprout in this dish. This vegetable is high in Vitamin K and Vitamin C, and one cup of brussel sprout provides more than enough of Vitamin C for daily consumption.

When washing brussel sprout, soak it under salted cold water to allow small inscets to come out from within the leaves. After rinsing, cut the bottom brown part out while keeping the entire sprout as a whole. And then make a cross cut at the bottom. This allows an even cooking throughout the sprout, and can keep more sauce inside the sprout.

The other ingredient is salt cod fish. To gain the delicious flavour of the cod, it has to be soaked in clean cold water at least 24 hours before use. Rinse and replace with clean water for a few times while soaking to keep the fish fresh.

If you can find good quality Chinese ham, prepare some fine dices for decoration.

Braised Brussel Sprout with Salt Cod and Premium Chinese Ham

Ingredients
Brussel sprout, 200g
Slat cod, 100g
Chiense ham, diced, enough for decoration
Consommé

Procedure
1. Put the brussel sprout into a sauce pan. Add cold water and salt. Bring it to a boil.
2. Take out the brussel sprout and keep it in cold water.
3. Slice the soaked salt cod.
4. Place the cod, brussel sprout, ham on a baking pan or a glass pie plate.
5. Pour in consommé to cover up to 1/3 of the brussel sprout.
6. Bake under 375F for 20 minutes.

金銀蒜豆豉蕃茄蒸鮭魚頭

今天在學校煮海鮮。 我們把鮭魚起肉後，它的骨和頭便要丟掉。對於中國人來說，魚頭是十分美味的。於是我二話不說，便跟 Chef 要了魚頭。她聽到有人要廢物利用，十分高興。

回家後，我把魚頭清理乾淨，切大塊，溺乾水分。豆豉小許用水浸片刻除去鹹味。蒜頭三塊切成蓉，一半用375度F的油炸至金黃色（大概半分鐘），取出，用廚房紙巾吸去油份，待用。

蕃茄去籽切丁（大小跟魚頭塊差不多），加入魚頭、豆豉、未炸過的蒜茸、蕃茄、少許鹽與黑胡椒碎（或以朝天椒代替）。拌勻。隔水大火蒸八分鐘，或至魚頭全熟。

取出之後灑上炸過的蒜蓉，加上少許檸檬汁和幾片九層塔葉裝飾便成。

炸過的蒜頭令魚頭更有質感和香味，而蒜香的味道也在蒸的過程中，浸入魚塊當中。放入蕃茄的原因除了令黑沈沈的豆豉和魚塊增加顏色之外，更令這道菜有微微的酸性，中和鮭魚的油膩感。

而豆豉則令整道菜更野味。鮭魚頭可用其他濃味多油的魚代替，如海鱸(Sea Bass)等。

Steamed Salmon Fish Head with Roma Tomato in Preserved Black Bean Sauce with Steamed and Deep Fried Minced Garlic

In today's class we cooked fish, and there were a couple of fish heads left for the trash. Since my parents and I love those stuffs (well, I guess it's common for Asian to eat anything, including heads and bones), I picked up a head and some fatty belly for free!

Here's the receipe:

Ingredients:
Head of salmon, Fresh ......... 1
Roma tomato ....................... 3
Garlic, minced .................... 3, minced
Preserved black beans ......... 10 g
Basil leaves, small ........... a few
Salt and cracked black pepper conrns to taste

1. Gut, wash and clean the head. Cut it into large pieces (large enough for one bite). Drain out excess water and set aside.
2. Rince and soak the preserved balck beans in cold water.
3. Take half of the minced garlic and deep fry it at 375'F until golden brown (about 30 seconds).
4. Dice and seed the tomatoes. Keep the skin on for more flavour.
5. Mix the fish head pieces with the rest of uncooked garlic mince, preserved black beans, and tomato dices. Season with a pinch of salt and ground black peppercorns. (Do not put too much salt since the preserved black beans are salty).
6. Steam the fish head for 8 minutes, or until well done.
7. Sprinkle the deep fried mince garlic, and garnish with a few small basil leaves (or chopped chives).
8. Serve hot.

The reason for the deep fried minced garlic to add extra color and texture, while the garlic steamed with the fish provides flavour. The tartness of tomato dice remove some of the oily feel of salmon head. Adding preserved balck beans greatly improve the flavour of the dish.