Lasang Pinoy, Sundays: Seafood

LaPis Sundays, a gallery of food photography, Pinoy style, is hosted by SpiCes and Feisty Cook

I prepared the salmon a la Bistek Tagalog (beefsteak) seasoned with calamansi or lemon juice and soy sauce, and served on a bed of sauteed sweet onions

Fried Salmon Steaks and Onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, sliced into rings
a large pinch of sea salt
2 pounds salmon steaks
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons calamansi or lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
ground black pepper, to taste

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a nonstick skillet, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and cook the onion over medium heat until soft and slightly browned. Transfer into a serving plate, cover to keep warm, and set aside.
• Pat dry the salmon and coat both sides of the steaks with a mixture of 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon each salt and ground black pepper. In the same skillet, heat the remaining oil and fry the salmon over medium-high heat until cooked. Spread the onion on the platter. Lay the cooked fish on top of the onion. Heat the remaining soy sauce and lemon juice in the same skillet and pour all over the fish. Serve immediately.

Triple Malt Chocolate Cupcakes

I love thick and yummy chocolate malted milkshake. This cupcake is as delicious and has lots of malted milk flavor but won't give you brain freeze. I baked these as gift to a neighbor who last month twice, maybe three times, plowed 2 feet of snow on our cul-de-sac without any compensation. He even helped shovel our driveway once. He does it every year when it snows heavily because he is a nice person. He and his brother-in-law own a snow clearing business and he knows that cul-de-sacs are the last to be plowed, if at all. I gave him and his wife this cake and also baked for them a large loaf of Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedo.

Triple Malt Chocolate Cupcakes

makes about 30 cupcakes
2 cups malted milk powder
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups whole milk
1 recipe Vanilla Malt Frosting
coarsely chopped malted milk balls

• Heat the oven to 350°F. Line three 12-muffin pans with paper liners. Set aside.
• Combine malted milk powder, flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside.
• Combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla in a separate large bowl, and whisk until combined and smooth. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and whisk until just incorporated. Add ½ of the milk, and whisk until smooth. Continue with remaining flour mixture and milk, alternating between each and whisking until all ingredients are just incorporated and smooth.
• Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
• Remove pans from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and let cool completely on the wire rack. Frost tops of cupcakes with Vanilla Malt Frosting and sprinkle with chopped malted milk balls.

Vanilla Malt Frosting

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups powdered sugar
¾ cup malted milk powder
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and beat until mixture is light and whipped, about 3 minutes.
• Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle. Add remaining ingredients and return to low speed until ingredients are incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and continue whipping until frosting is evenly combined and light, about 3 minutes.

Recipe adapted from here.

I made this as the original layer cake one and a half years ago. If you are making layer cake, click on the recipe source for baking time. Here is the photo of the layer cake.

a treat that both children and adults will love

I got the malted milk powder from here. You can use either Carnation or Horlicks which are available from the grocery stores but the cake won't be as malty.