I might be the most reluctant chef in the world, however I do have a husband, toddler, and various playdates to feed, and THIS is my new favourite recipe! Minimal effort + Maximum flavour! The best thing about this is that at its simplest, the flavors are really fresh and yummy, and it's also easy to dress up and embellish for more accomplished chefs (which I most certainly am not)! I spend so much time making sure there's some sort of non-vegetarian food in the house that I routinely forget about myself, and then I end up ordering Seamless. So I suppose the ABSOLUTE best thing about this is that the sauce can also be used for tofu and noodles, and you can have both dishes made in the same amount of time!
The way I like to make it is as follows:
Fish:
2-4 tilapia fillets
1 Tbsp of Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp of Fresh Lemon Juice
First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. I always forget this until I'm totally done.
Mix the sesame oil, soy sauce and lemon juice in a baking dish large enough to accommodate the filets.
Wash the tilapia and pat dry, then place in the baking dish, making sure to coat both sides with the marinade.
Coconut-Cilantro Sauce:
1 cup of low-fat Coconut Milk
1 cup of Cilantro Leaves
2 large cloves Garlic
1" Ginger
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Salt
What I love about having a Vitamix is I can just chuck all the ingredients in there and blend on high speed until the sauce is very smooth. So you know, 10 seconds at the most! An entire sauce in 10 seconds...amazing! If you don't have a Vitamix you can of course use a regular blender, making sure you chop up all the ingredients properly first.
Then...
Pour some of the mixture over the fish filets (as much or as little as you prefer...I personally like to serve it with lots of sauce so I use about 3/4 of the mixture), and bake for approximately 15 minutes. Once the fish easily flakes with a fork, you're done! Serve over rice or noodles.
If you're vegetarian, like me, sauté chopped scallions over high heat in a little butter and toasted sesame oil, add tofu and chopped veggies, with a dash of soy sauce and Sriracha. After a few minutes, reduce to a low heat and toss with cooked hakka noodles. Finally, add 1/4 of the sauce mixture and toss to evenly coat. Keep the heat on low until everything is nice and hot. You'll get a deliciously delicate coconut-cilantro flavour on the noodles, while the tofu and veggies stand out on their own. I could literally eat an entire wokful of this dish (hence, no picture)... my mouth is watering right now.
Try it and let me know what you think!