Rapid Retro

30/03 Part 1: P-COCK-TAIL

This is the first part of my super easy - campishly retro - instant suppers. I know that both of them may make some people squeam in their chairs reading, if only for the raw factor. Trust me i have gone much farther, raw meat. But if thats not your thing, not to worry.

To be honest the prawns are pre-peeled, pre-cooked and pre-packed. This makes them laughably easy to pre-pare. But there is something about either of these simple and quick plates that is so nice to sit around and pick at with a glass of wine and some delicious reality show to indulge.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

200g Peeled Cooked Prawns
2 tbls Tomato Sauce
2 tbls Mayonaise
1tsp Japanese Chilli Powder
1 spritz lemon juice

What I did - 

This hardly constitutes a recipe. In fact it is just a matter of opening a packet (don't feel any shame) and squeezing out some sauces.

Scatter the little pink bodies of the prawns on a plate and give them a light spritz with a lemon quarter. In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise and the sauce until you have a bowl of pink 70s kitch. Sprinkle the chilli powder over the pink sauce.

Have a dry martini at hand and slowly make your way through this little camp dinner.

JG

Part 2: SAH-SHIMI

This is the less glamorous sister of the prawn cocktail, and a decade later. Now enter the aggressive, fast-talking falseness of the 80s. Sashimi - instant, delicious, expensive to buy out. Super cheap and easy to make at home. Just please make sure the fish is good quality and fresh. No one likes that kind of fish fingers.

I have since discovered Tuna which makes a far nicer dinner. Also there is a strength to the flesh which cuts much easier than salmon. So in this case use this recipe more like a guideline then an actual rule.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

300g Salmon
50g Okra
Wasabi
Light Soy Sauce (preferable salt reduced)
Chilli Powder
Salt + Pepper
Sesame Oil

What I did* - 

Again this is hardly a recipe. But a simple, easy and overwhelmingly delicious supper. Take the tuna or salmon steak and lay if on a chilling board so that the grain is fanning away from you. Slice the fish as thin as possible without tearing it. Lay it gracefully (more than pictured) on a plate and drizzle very lightly in sesame oil.

In a very small bowl spread two or three (tolerance depending) smears of wasabi and top up with soy. Also good with that incredible Japanese chilli powder, you know the one in every Japanese restaurant. Serve with something picky, crunchy and salty - in this case small pieces of over roasted okra. Cook small chunks with liberal amounts of salt until there is no trace of moisture left.

*I mean no offence to anyone who knows better, this is just what I usually do as an instant supper.

JG