niki's Crispy Mackerel Spicy Noodle Bowl
Niki's Crispy Mackerel Spicy Noodle Bowl
I am a fan of the Girls Play channel on YouTube. I asked if any of the girls wanted a custom recipe developed for them and Niki. Some of the things she loves are spicy things, raw veggies, and crispy skin mackerel. I tossed them all together into this fun dish.
Ingredients
- blue mackerel filet, 1 per serving
- 1 tsp neutral oil
- noodles of choice, ie fresh udon, packet ramen noodles, etc
- 2 tbsp spicy chili crisp of your choice
- 1 red hot pepper of choice
- 1 carrot
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 bunch of perilla leaves or other green herb of choice
- 1 daikon radish
- 1 tsp pea flower powder or a blue food coloring of your choice
- 2 cups water
- 1 red cabbage
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add 2 cups of water and 1 tsp of pea flower powder to a bowl and mix well. Peel and cut the daikon into matchsticks about 2 inches long and place into the blue liquid. Allow to steep for at least 30 minutes but the longer it goes the better the dye job will be.
- Prepare the rest of the veggies. Slice the red chilis on a diagonal to make long skinny ovals. Cut the carrot into matchsticks. Slice the sides of the bell pepper off into planks then cut into matchsticks. Stack the perilla leaves and roll them tightly. Slice across the leaf to create narrow threads of green aka a chiffonade. Halve then quarter the cabbage. Starting at the point away from the root, slice it into thin strips. Set everything to the side in neat piles.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- Prepare the mackerel. Check to ensure the pin bones are removed from the mackerel filet. If not then remove with fish tweezers, regular tweezers, or needle nose pliers. Salt the flesh side of the filet. Turn the skin side up and score the skin diagonally at 1/2 inch intervals. This will reduce curling while it cooks and makes it easier to break the fish into bite sized pieces with chopsticks. Oil and lightly salt the skin side. Place the fish in a small broiler safe pan. If you are concerned about the fish sticking you can cut a small piece of parchment paper to place it on. Trim the paper to slightly smaller than the fish so that the edges don't burn under the broiler. Place the fish under a high broiler until the skin is crispy and bubbly and the fish is cooked through. Mackerel is very forgiving of temperature since it's an oily fish so don't be afraid of over cooking it. Remove from the oven and set aside when done.
- Cook your noodles in the boiling water per package instructions. While they are cooking place a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add your spicy chili crisp. If the noodles complete before the chili crisp is sizzling pull them out and into a bowl temporarily. Once the chili crisp is sizzling drop your noodles into the pan. If some starchy waters comes along with the noodles that is fine. Add a good sized pinch of salt. With a pair of tongs toss the noodles until they are well coated in spicy chili oil. Transfer the noodles to a plate or wide bowl. Top the noodles with any remaining chili crisp solids from the pan.
- Garnish the noodle bowl. Lay your veggies in an arc around the upper two thirds of the bowl to create a rainbow shape. From left to right you will place red chilis, orange carrots, yellow bell pepper, green perilla leaves, blue daikon, red(purple) cabbage. Place the mackerel filet across the lower portion of the bowl/plate and serve with a pair of chopsticks. Creating different bites with all of the assorted ingredients is the fun of this dish. Enjoy!
Notes
Attributions:
Spicy Chili Crisp by Sohla El-Waylly