[Sca-cooks] plea for help-- Soup for the Qan

[Jim Fox-Davis]

Maggie,

Two things popped out at me:  First, isn't Carp both a bit more 
fibrous/stringy than pollock and second, would the marrow in the 
sheep's tail have had an effect other than the butter?

Jared
(looking forward to the feast!)

On Wednesday, October 1, 2003, at 08:28 AM, Maggie MacDonald wrote:

> The Calafian Cooks Guild is working on a feast for Coronation in 
> November, way too soon!!!
>
> One of the recipes we've been fiddling with is from Soup for the Qan, 
> page 306, #59 [43B] Fish Cakes
>
> It calls for large carp (skined, boned), sheeps tail (minced), fresh 
> ginger, onions, pepper, mandarin orange peel, black pepper, and kasni 
> (asafoetida).
>
> We used pollock instead of carp, butter instead of sheeps tail (all 
> the sheep/lamb stuff locally has just about NO fat on it at all) and 
> regular orange instead of mandarin orange (and we were out of 
> asafoetida at the time).
>
>
> The directions say: [To the] ingredients [other than the carp] add 
> salt. Add to the fish and work meat. Roll into cakes like crossbow 
> bullets. Fry in vegetable oil.
>
> Ok, that all seems pretty simple, mostly.
>
> I grated the ginger and the orange peel, put it in a food processor, 
> then added coarsely chopped onions and processed. I then cubed the 
> fish in half inch cubes, and processed, adding the salt/pepper as it 
> went.
>
> We then formed into little cakes about the width of my thumb, and half 
> my thumb in length, and fried in olive oil.
>
> These things were HORRID, they fell apart the second they hit the pan. 
> (first try)
>
> I chilled then rolled them, and they fell apart again. (second try)
>
> I then added a little cracker meal, and they held together better, but 
> not well. (third try)
>
> THEN i let them set with the cracker meal under refrigeration for a 
> couple days, to let the flavors marry, and fried in deep oil. What a 
> disaster, they dissolved into crumb size pieces the second they hit 
> the oil.
>
> Does asafoetida have binding properties to it? (Like cracker meal, or 
> eggs, or something)
>
> Has anybody tried this recipe before? What am i overlooking!!!  This 
> recipe tastes marvellous, not fishy icky at all, and I feel that 
> people would quite cheerfully eat it, provided I can get it to their 
> plates in one piece!!
>
> Regards, and desperately,
>
> Maggie MacD.
>
>
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