Culinary Orgasm: Tequila-Citrus Mahi Mahi with Mango Pico de Gallo...and a whole lot of other stuff !

Tequila-Citrus Mahi Mahi with Mango Pico de Gallo

Wow, I almost went a whole month there without a blog post ! Can't let that happen :)

clockwise from left : Corn with Chipotle-Lime Butter, Salt Potatoes, BBQ Pork Neck, Tequila-Citrus Mahi Mahi with Mango Pico de Gallo, Oma's Cucumber Salad.

It's not that we haven't been cooking (or eating) ...just been a busy few weeks, and when we get like that we tend to stick with things we know...things you've already read all about, and we definitely don't want to bore anyone ! Sooner or later, though, the urge to get busy in the kitchen (or the backyard) takes over, which was the case this weekend. The weather was kind enough to cooperate, and we had ourselves quite the grill fest yesterday. Of course, us being us, we couldn't do the traditional hot dog-burger-tater salad type of Memorial Day barbecue...not that there's anything wrong with that, of course - we've done it plenty of times. This time, though, we just had to get our foodie on - so we headed to H Mart. Ahh, gotta love H Mart...have written about it a few times before, it's an amazing Korean supermarket where you can get the most wild and crazy Asian ingredients you can think of and pretty much every type of protein and produce known to man...some of which you've never even dreamed about. (I'm still trying to figure out what one would do with pork uterii).

chicken legs and pork neck mmm mmm good !

We picked up some gorgeous chicken legs, some pork neck (which is going to get a separate blog entry - it was that good, and that much of a revelation), and some mahi mahi. One of the best things about H Mart is that it has the largest fish counter I have ever seen, everything from live fish tanks to salted/smoked/pickled/whatever you could possibly do to a fish. And we hadn't made mahi mahi in ages....so into the basket it went.

Oddly enough, even though we were at H Mart, we didn't want Asian-style fish - so I wandered back to to produce department with vague thoughts of lemon-lime type marinades in my head. And then we saw the mangoes...

At our first Facebook Foodie Freakout , Mark and I started strong with an amazing Coconut Ceviche with Mango Pico de Gallo...I've blogged about it here ; it is really a fantastic dish and totally something to impress your party guests with. Ceviche starts with a citrus marinade as well, so I thought the Mango Pico de Gallo would go really well with the fish marinade that I was making up in my head....the extra little punch I was looking for. Ohhh baby...yeah, that definitely worked !! Together, definite Culinary Orgasm....full of fresh, bright, yummy flavors. Pico de Gallo (which means "rooster's beak" in Spanish) is really just a fresh salsa - a little less liquid than regular salsa, and easily adaptable to all sorts of ingredients. Super easy to make...there's no cooking, just chopping. Do use gloves if you are working with hot chili peppers, though - your eyes (and other parts) will thank you later !

Following is the recipe for the fish, and at the end are links to some other recipes. I promise, I really will get to the pork in another entry...the only other thing we need to talk about is the chicken. This is all Mark, and here is what he has to say :

chicken ready for the grill

"The rub I used on this was Grill Mates Cowboy Rub. If you can put the rub on the night before it's better, but let it sit on there at least a few hours before cooking if you can. Build a small coal fire on one side of the grill. Place the chicken on the other side and close the cover. Have your wood chips soaking on the side...a least a half hour to start. Throw handfuls of wet wood chips on the coals every 15 minutes or so, or when they stop smoking. This chicken took about three hours at a temperature of about 220 - 250 F. You may need to add more charcoal to keep the temperature up."

the Grill Master !!

Tequila-Citrus Mahi Mahi with Mango Pico de Gallo

4 pieces mahi mahi , about 6 ounces each

Citrus-Tequila Marinade

2 shallots, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 T lemon juice

2 T orange juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons tequila

salt (sea salt is really nice) and fresh ground pepper, to taste.

Whisk marinade together well (or my favorite - shake in a screw-top jar) and pour over fish. Let marinate about an hour (no more, or the citrus will "cook" the fish and you'll have ceviche ! ). Grill the fish over hot coals, 4-5 minutes per side or until done. Top with Mango Pico de Gallo.

Mango Pico de Gallo

2 cups diced mango
1 cup diced red onion
½ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup diced poblano chilies
1 habanero chili, seeds and membranes removed, diced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all ingredients well, and let sit in fridge at least an hour to develop flavors.

Other recipes on this menu :