Tag Archives: fish

Meal Kit Review: Plated’s Chorizo-Spiced Cod with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, White Beans, and Toasted Sourdough

Despite this post’s title, this is not really a review of Plated‘s Chorizo-Spiced Cod with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, White Beans, and Toasted Sourdough.  And it’s not a review because I totally messed up the cod by mistakenly using balsamic vinegar instead of olive oil (those bottles can look so much alike!).  Needless to say, my results were inedible (even the dog wasn’t thrilled to have them).

But I was disappointed by this kit even before I ruined it.  When I read its title I assumed that there would be actual chorizo in the dish – I love chorizo and I was excited to try the combination of chorizo and fish.  Alas, there wasn’t any.  Instead there was a small package of some chorizo spice mix to rub on the fish.  It might have been good, but it wasn’t what I wanted.

So this was a lesson to not just look at the title of the meal kits, but go further and look at the ingredients to not feel duped.

Fortunately, I only paid $8 for this kit by using a $40-off Black Friday promotion.

Whiting Fish: the Best bargain around?

I came across this fish yesterday at Grocery Outlet.  I was a bit reluctant to buy it because it was only $4 for a 2lb bag – at least one third the cost of most fish I buy.  But it was the only fish I could find at that store that didn’t come from China or Vietnam (instead, it was wild caught in the US), so I figured it was worth the risk.  I think it was.

Pacific whiting, also known as Pacific hake, is a relative of the merluza I grew up eating in Argentina.  It’s a medium-sized fish, with relatively fragile flesh and a distinctive, somewhat sweet, flavor.  It has a greater oil concentration than other species, so it tastes fishier than most of the white fish I usually eat (catfish, cod, sole, tilapia, etc.).  This flavor was too strong for my daughter, and didn’t particularly thrill my husband either.  I liked it, but probably because it took me back to childhood.

That said, if I was cooking just for the adults I would definitely buy it again, specially at $2lb!

Beer batter for Fried Fish

I’ve been trying to incorporate more fish into our diets, and while Camila is game for fish prepared any way, Mika doesn’t really like it.  Alas, Camila only likes fish because Mika doesn’t like it, so I don’t have too much of an incentive of trying to convince Mika that fish is really good – Camila would probably stop liking it instantly.  So instead I often prepare fish in the only way Mika will eat it: fried.  And, let’s be realistic, I love fry fish too – so I’m using Mika as an excuse for as long as I can.

Today Mika was not at home for dinner, but I still decided to make fried fish – excuses be damned.  I’ve tried many, many, many batters before but I had not come across one that I liked.  Tonight I finally found one.  This is a very simple batter – really, couldn’t get simpler – but it was very crispy and actually tasty.  The “secret” is using corn starch in addition to flour.  Remember to salt the fish and dredge it in flour before soaking in the batter.  Fry in high heat.  I tried this batter with both swai and cod, but greatly preferred it on the swai.

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup corn starch
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 3/4 bottle Pale Ale

Sift the flour, corn starch, salt and paprika together. Whisk in the Pale Ale. That’s it 🙂

Marga’s Best Recipes

Buying a Catfish @ 88 Super Market – San Leandro

A few weeks ago, the San Leandro Patch had a little “story” about the 88 market on East 14th St. I’d been to the store once or twice before, in search of rare Asian ingredients, but it’s not a place I’d normally hit. However, the Patch article mentioned that the 88 market has become a seafood emporium in the last few years, offering 150 varieties of fish, so when I needed some catfish earlier this week (to make Catfish a la Meuniere which was, btw, amazing), and Safeway was selling it at $9 lb (really? who are they kidding?), I thought we should give 88 market a try.


Fortunately or unfortunately I sent Mike to do the shopping. He was very impressed with the freshness of the fish. Indeed, it was alive and swimming in a tank until Mike ordered it, heard a big thump and a lot of flopping around. He didn’t watch, and he was happy the kids didn’t go along. He asked for the catfish to be filleted but again, declined to look at the process. What can we say? He’s squeamish.


So he was not prepared, after he came home, for me to scream at him from the kitchen to come see what he bought: a bag of fish parts (head, tail, fins, whatever) with two very uneven, not fully descaled, bone-in fillets that would feed one person (if I chose to cook them, which I did not). Moral of the story? Go to 88 market for very fresh, full fish – but if you want your fish neatly processed, go elsewhere.


I will try this place again, however, when I need some type of rare fish you can’t find at the supermarket – and I have time to learn how to fillet fish myself 🙂


88 Supermarket
14405 E 14th St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 351-8200