Ginger Glazed Mahi-Mahi and Stir Fried Noodles (Monday, February 21, 2011)

Over the weekend, I organized a binder full of recipes that were randomly assorted, into a new, neatly divided (and larger) binder.  While doing so I ran across a recipe for ginger glazed mahi that I made once upon a time.  I don't remember it being too exciting but I think my cooking awareness has advanced since then so I decided to give it a go with some fillets that have been in the freezer awhile (too long perhaps).  I was a little fearful that they may not be any good, but they were vacuum sealed so I reasoned that freezer burn shouldn't be an issue.  I thawed them and prepared the glaze, which was more of a marinade.  It included:

4 tbsp wildflower honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp (more or less) finely grated ginger (utilized a newly bought zester)
2 cloves garlic (again grated with the zester)
1 tbsp peanut oil (substituted for sesame oil, none on hand but its on my grocery list)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

I let the fillets marinate for about 1.5 hours, which is a lot for fish, but it wasn't fresh so I didn't feel guilty about it.

Meanwhile I boiled a bunch of noodles that I bought at an asian market.  I don't know what kind they are.  They're yellow and a bit thinner than spaghetti with a slight flatness to them.  I Julienned some carrot, finely sliced some onion and roughly chopped some scallions.  I marinated the veggies in salt and fish sauce for a short time. Then I took a TV timeout until I was hungry enough to peel my ass off the welcoming depths of my couch cushions and got a large pan and large wok heating. The veggies went into my Uber-hot wok with veggie oil for a few minutes before I added my cooked noodles and stir fried a bit longer.  If you don't know, which you do now, stir frying should be done at very high temperatures for very short times.  That's why Chinese food can show up at your door a mere 15 minutes after placing a phone call.  In fact, woks on stove tops don't tend to get hot enough, so sometimes the trick is to cook in small batches so as to not cool the wok by over-crowding.  Notice most Chinese kitchens have a big cast iron wok over an open flame, but I don't, I have a stainless steel wok over an electric range.  It'll have to do for now.  At the same time I also got my marinated fillets into a medium high pan with some veggie oil.  Another tip, different oils have different smoke points so it's best to use vegetable oil or canola oil when stir frying.  These ones have a higher smoke point than olive oil, for example.  Unless, of course, you like the delicate chiming of your fire alarm.  So a few minutes on each side gave a nice color with a little charring of the glaze on the edges of the fish and we were off to the races.  The bottle of wine I happened to open is now a new favorite.  I included the bottle in the picture so as to share it with you.  It's a 2005 New Zealand Pinot Noir made by Whitehaven.  I detected cherry and strawberry flavors with a clean vanilla finish  (see how fancy you can be about wine just by being assertive).  Its fairly priced or it wouldn't have made it to my house.  I'm planning a return trip to the Wal-Mart of wine and liquor (Friar Tuck's) to purchase a few more.  If I was ballin' I'd pick up a case or two and store it in my wine cellar.  That'll have to wait for another life.  Buona Sera!