Today I’m participating in the Ultimate blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers about how we roadschool (that’s Simple Homemaker lingo for homeschooling on the road), and I’m excited to welcome Amanda from Coping with Frugality at the Simple Homemaker.
Pouch Cooking: Baking Fish in Foil
I love all types of cooking–grilling, baking, fresh food. There is one cooking method that is fast, nutritious, delicious, low-mess, infinitely adaptable, and darn tasty. What is it? Pouch cooking!
Cooking in a pouch is a remarkably simple method capable of producing remarkably complex aromas and flavors. How does it work? Well, if you apply enough heat to food, the moisture inside will be released as steam, right? The steam usually just drifts away, taking a lot of heat with it. But placing food in a pouch is, well, kind of like getting in a small tent on a warm day, okay? Instead of evaporating, that moisture and the heat is trapped right up against the food, cooking it very, very quickly. And since the aromas, the flavors, the essence of the food is captured, fish tastes more like fish, chicken tastes more like chicken, and I suppose, given enough time, I would even taste more like me.
Here is my basic strategy for pouch cooking. I usually pick a meat, this time grouper. Then I build upon that with vegetables. There are a lot of vegetables that would work well with this recipe for baking fish in foil, but this time I picked dried mushrooms, zucchini, and jalapenos. Next is the starch. I love using ramen-style noodles. They are inexpensive, super easy, and taste great in this recipe! Moving on to the aromatics, I never go more than two. This time I kept it simple with lime rind (using lime juice in the sauce as well). Seasonings? Anything goes, but I like to keep things simple. We’ll go with salt and black pepper.
(TSHM Note: Rewritten to avoid plagiarism. Many people aren’t aware that you can copy another person’s ingredient list if you give proper credit, but you must rewrite the instructions. My apologies for not checking this guest piece prior to publishing. It’s all better now.)
Preheat your oven to a whopping 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (You don’t store anything in your oven, do you? Check!)
Crunch up those noodles. Get someone small to help you. Divide them among the foil pieces. Then place on top the following: fish, mushrooms, zucchini, jalapeños, lime zest, salt and pepper.
Wrapping time! Pull up the corners and side of the aluminum foil to all food is safely encased inside. Leave a “chimney” for pouring in the wet ingredients.
Mix together the liquids: vegetable broth, mirin (what is that anyway?) or cider vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, and sesame oil. Pour an equal amount down each chimney, sealing it off afterward, with the exception of a small steam vent. Pop it all on a baking sheet to contain and overflow. Bake those babies for 15 minutes and serve ’em up good and hot!
Ingredients for Baking Fish in Foil
2 packages Ramen noodles
1 cup dried mushrooms, chopped
4 – 4 oz grouper filets
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 quart vegetable broth
1/2 cup mirin or cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons sesame oil
Zest and juice from 2 limes
Print the pouch cooking instructions for baking fish in foil here:
- 2 packages Ramen noodles
- 1 cup dried mushrooms, chopped
- 4 – 4 oz grouper filets
- 1 cup chopped zucchini
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup mirin or cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons sesame oil
- Zest and juice from 2 limes
- Preheat your oven to a whopping 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (You don’t store anything in your oven, do you? Check!)
- Crunch up those noodles. Get someone small to help you. Divide them among the foil pieces. Then place on top the following: fish, mushrooms, zucchini, jalapeños, lime zest, salt and pepper.Wrapping time! Pull up the corners and side of the aluminum foil to all food is safely encased inside. Leave a “chimney” for pouring in the wet ingredients.
- Mix together the liquids: vegetable broth, mirin (what is that anyway?) or cider vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, and sesame oil.
- Pour an equal amount down each chimney, sealing it off afterward, with the exception of a small steam vent.
- Pop it all on a baking sheet to contain and overflow.
- Bake those babies for 15 minutes and serve ’em up good and hot!
Did you try this recipe for baking fish in foil? Please share your experience and variations on pouch cooking in the comments below, and rate the recipe!
Visit Life Your Way to see all of the Ultimate blog Swap participants.