Something's fishy

I learned two important lessons yesterday...1. never try to make a new meal after a long day and 2. fried food is dangerous to both your heart and your skin.

I decided that it was too soon to migrate to Arabia so I thought I'd travel up the west coast through North Africa to East Africa and then cross the Red Sea. I even gained a Kenyan fish recipe yesterday (my daughter’s teacher is from Kenya and told me about kachumberri, rech, and ugali).

Tilapia must be the end all be all, - they are great for aquaculture, for water purification, and for controlling mosquito populations, but they can be invasive. Everyone I have talked to has mentioned Tilapia. I do like Tilapia whole but avoid the filets. Yesterday I ended up buying Red Snapper because Tilapia wasn't available. Technically this is a fair substitution in terms of flesh but not for ethnic cuisine - it's a Caribbean fish.

I attempted to recreate one of my favorite Senegalese meals - poisson. I first had this when a parent in my son's class took me to La Calebasse in University City 3 years ago. It was a bit of a hole in the wall and the service needed improvement, but the fish was delicious. Another friend kept telling me that in Harlem the fish was better, and at Senegal on Frederick Douglas Blvd, it certainly was. A year or so ago, my dad told me about Soliel de Minuit (Malian) in West Philly - a nice sit down/take out establishment with excellent customer service and they offered grilled fish in addition to the standard fried. The food was great, we explored new sauces - our family likes yassa sauce and okra sauce, the tomato sauce and peanut sauce aren't bad either. Recently we went to Kilimanjaro on the fringe of University City and although it was bustling with people, the food was unimpressive.

After running errands (I picked up several Built lunchbags because I learned that some of the insulated lunchbags contain lead), I arrived home at 515pm and thought the best course of action would be to fry the fish. I had already marinated it earlier in mustard, lemon, and onions with a few random spices. I knew the okra sauce would take some time but I hadn't the foggiest idea as to what to do....I was almost tempted to call the guy at Soliel de Minuit - yes, I get tunnel vision when it comes to food. I simply sautéed onions, garlic, ginger, added tomatoes, then simmered the okra with seasoning for almost 2 hours...the consistency wasn't quite right but the taste was similar.

When the okra was just about done, I put on a pot of rice (basmati - totally geographically incorrect, the rice the Senegalese tend to use is a bit mealy) and started my oil for the fish. Then I had the brilliant idea that I would fry yams in addition to the plantains and was thinking, this meal could potentially clog our arteries.

That's when I made a rookie mistake...using tongs to place the fish in the oil...the fish slipped, fell into the oil with a splash that dissipated over me and the floor...I was screaming and crying...running my hand under cold water, still I was determined to complete the meal....everyone said the food was delicious - I suppose the terrible blisters I have were worth it.