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Day With Mei

Chinese-American pantry recipes

soup

Savory · September 13, 2024

Okroshka

Okroshka is a refreshing cold soup from Russia. It’s filled with crisp vegetables and protein for a light meal that comes together in just 30 minutes. I have been eating this on its own as a light meal during summer….

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Savory · December 11, 2023

Fish Head Soup

Fish head soup is a comforting and inexpensive meal made in just one pot. When it’s picking apart the tender cheek meat or serving the head whole, cultures from all continents prepare fish heads. Fish heads are packed with flavor…

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Hi! I'm Mei, a Chinese-American recipe developer seeing familiar foods from a new perspective.

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Broiled trout with charred pepper sauce Broiling Broiled trout with charred pepper sauce

Broiling a butterflied fish is one of the fastest, simplest ways to cook a whole fish. It’s boneless aside from the central backbone (really hard to miss!), so I better see no objections from anyone afraid of bones. 

The sauce was made with poblanos, a long hot, and serranos charred under the broiler. I blended it with shallot, cilantro, neutral oil, lime, and rattan pepper oil. Adjusted with some ginger and garlic from my paocai jars and a touch of finishing soy sauce. No sauce recipe since it’s weeknight cooking and I haven’t gotten around to testing it.

1 pound butterflied fish (I used rainbow trout)
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 teaspoon neutral oil

1. Optional (but nice to do!), pat the fish dry with paper towels and set it on a wired rack inside of a sheet tray. Season with the kosher salt and set in the refrigerator to cure for 30 minutes. Otherwise pat, season, and proceed.
2. Set your oven rack 5 inches below the broiling element and set the broiler to high. Cover both sides of the fish with a thin layer of neutral oil and place on a sheet tray fitted with a wire rack.
3. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, monitoring closely, until the skin is charred and crispy and the flesh is just cooked through. You can test the doneness with a toothpick or cake tester in the thickest part. It will glide smoothly through the flesh when done. If you feel resistance, return it to the broiler for a moment longer. 
4. Enjoy hot. 

Inspired by some recent readings 📚 Combat-Ready Kitchen by Anastacia Marx de Salcedo and The Ocean’s Hot Dog: The Development of the Fish Stick by Paul Josephson
Tinned Fish Talk 🎣 Ferrigno Sardines à la Pissalad Tinned Fish Talk 🎣 Ferrigno Sardines à la Pissaladière

Sardines from the South of France in a sauce of the Provençal classic, pissaladière (flatbread with black olives, caramelized onions, and anchovies. The tin illustration is a reference to a classic French comedy, comment if you know 👀

I purchased the tin from @rainbowtomatoesgarden quite some time ago, check out their website for a huge selection of tins.
Maple Bourbon Sichuan Bacon (川味腊肉) Ice Cream big Maple Bourbon Sichuan Bacon (川味腊肉) Ice Cream

big thank you to @t1bg for the flavor idea 🙇‍♀️🥓🍁🥃
Tinned Fish Talk 🎣 King Salmon Cheeks from @wildfi Tinned Fish Talk 🎣 King Salmon Cheeks from @wildfishcannery 

King salmon cheeks are a cut you can’t get anywhere else in a can, it’s rare to even find at a fishmonger, much less a restaurant. Fish cheeks are rare because they are so small and labor-intensive to harvest. There’s only two per fish so you can imagine how much it takes to fill a single can.

The good news: this is one of the most uniquely pleasurable experiences I’ve had from a tin of fish. The bad news: there is a very limited quantity that sells out almost immediately each year (sorry!) For transparency, they sent me this tin ($44) but know i’ve been a continued customer and all opinions are my own.

I chose to warm up the unopened tin in hot water so the natural fat and collagen are even more luxurious—like a fatty, unctuous scallop. King salmon has a relatively mild flavor and richer texture compared to sockeye or coho. Wildfish Cannery is a one-of-a-kind operation here in North America with a tight-knit supply chain that hand-packs fish caught locally in Southeast Alaska. I hold a special respect for their culinary approach, the cannery is a direct opposition to the category’s commodity reputation.
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