NORWEGIAN FJORD TROUT FOR A HEALTHY HEART

Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids – an essential nutrient for a healthy heart – the Norwegian Fjord Trout made a big splash among AEON customers when Her Excellency Gunn Jorid Roset (pix below), the Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia launched a month-long ‘Norwegian Fjord Trout for a Healthy Heart’ campaign at AEON 1 Utama recently.

Also present at the launch event were Asbjørn Warvik Rørtveit (2nd from left), Norwegian Seafood Council’s Regional Director, South-East Asia; Masashi Iwasaki (left), AEON's Assistant GM, Foodline Merchandising; CVS CEO Anwar Anis (2nd from right) and Sandeep Kumar (right) of Healthify Me. Consultant dietitian Indra Balaratnam then demonstrated two simple recipes on how to cook the Norwegian Fjord Trout. (refer recipes below)

Scheduled from 27 September to 27 October, the Norwegian Seafood Council in collaboration with AEON throughout the country will feature cooking demos on simple and wholesome Norwegian Fjord Trout dishes to shoppers at AEON in 1 Utama.

Surrounded by ice-cold waters with fjords stretching deep into its coastline, Norway has the perfect living conditions for Fjord Trout. Farmed in the pure, cold waters of Norwegian fjords where seawater meets fresh meltwater of glaciers and snow, the Norwegian Fjord Trout is bred and raised following the highest environment and sustainability standards.

Asbjorn Warvik Rortveit, Norwegian Seafood Council’s Regional Director, South-East Asia said: “From our annual Seafood Consumer Insights, Norway is the preferred country of origin for Malaysians for Fjord Trout purchases. Malaysians also choose Norwegian Fjord Trout for its health and nutritional benefits.”

 

Other partners for the Healthy Heart campaign include Hospital Cardiac Vascular Sentral Kuala Lumpur (CVS) and HealthifyMe App. Among the the launch weekend activities were HealthifyMe dietician Mitra Prasad’s creation of a 7-Day Meal Plan with Norwegian Fjord Trout, health talks by cardiologist consultant, dietician and fitness experts, coupled with free health checks, dietician advice and fitness advice.

Giveaways with purchases of Norwegian Fjord Trout and health screening packages by CVS and Premium Access promotion by HealthifyMe App will also be featured throughout the month at AEON outlets.

About Norwegian Fjord Trout

The Norwegian Fjord Trout is popular in Malaysia for its unique taste, health benefits and appealing red colour. Its similar appearance to salmon leads consumers to mistakenly associate it as a type of salmon but the Fjord Trout is a whole different specie.

Growing to a weight of 2-5 kilos, the Fjord Trout is slightly smaller than salmon with a lustrous and silvery skin. The meat is a deep red-orange colour with white marbling, giving the fish fillets a luxurious feel. Look for fish with a healthy sheen and feels firm, yet tender and mellow to touch. Fjord Trout has a remarkably rich flavour with a pure aftertaste.

Refer to the recipes below for delicious ideas on how to cook the Fjord Trout. For more information on Norwegian Seafood Council, please visit www.fromnorway.com.

 FJORD TROUT RASA ASAM PEDAS

Serves: 3 to 4

Ingredients:

500g Fjord Trout fillet – cut into chunks 

8 ladies fingers

3 stalks lemongrass

1 torch ginger flower 

2 medium tomatoes

Few sprigs daun kesom  (Vietnamese mint leaves)

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons tamarind pulp (asam jawa) + 3 cups of water - strained

2 tablespoons olive oil

Ingredients for the spice paste to be blended together:

15 dried chillies – soak in water (remove seeds to reduce chilli heat)

1 medium red onion

4 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon-size square belacan (shrimp paste)

1/3 teaspoon turmeric powder

 

Methods:

Gently heat the olive oil in non-stick wok. Sauté the blended spice paste for about 8 minutes until fragrant.

Add in lemongrass and torch ginger flower. Stir in spice paste.

Add in tamarind pulp water and bring to a slight simmer.

Add in daun kesom and bring to boil.

Add sugar to season and taste.

Add in ladies fingers and tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add in Fjord Trout and cook for 2 more minutes until fish is gently cooked.

Serve immediately with rice and vegetables.

EASY FJORD TROUT SEAFOOD PASTA

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

200 g spaghettini pasta – cooked al dente as per packaged instructions

300 g Fjord Trout – cut into cubes

200 g prawns – peeled

8 cloves garlic – minced

100 g cherry tomatoes – halved

80 g yellow capsicum – deseeded and finely sliced

Bunch of parsley -- chopped

250 ml prawn stock

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & crushed black pepper to taste

Sweet paprika

Chili flakes (optional)

Methods:

Marinate Fjord Trout and prawns with paprika, salt and crushed

black pepper for 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a non-stick pan.

Sauté half of the minced garlic, Fjord Trout and prawns until lightly pink. Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté remainder of the minced garlic.

Add in cherry tomatoes and sliced yellow capsicum. Stir-fry for 2 minutes till slightly tender.  

Toss in spaghettini and mix well. Add in prawn stock and simmer.

Mix in the cooked Fjord Trout and prawns with the spaghettini. Season with crushed black pepper, salt and paprika to taste.

Toss in chopped parsley.

Serve with extra chili flakes and wedge of lemon (optional).

NEW CHEF REJUVENATES FIVE SEN5ES

The Signature Steamed Coiling Dragon Grouper with Golden Garlic Sauce is a notable headliner to reel us in. The symphony of garlic and fish jus is on song, the fish doneness satisfyingly on-point. Chunks of ridged gourd soaks up the savoury-sweet sauce.

“While heritage preserves the old dishes, innovation doesn’t mean forgoing tradition,”says Ron Lean Wen Seng, the new Chef De Cuisine of Five Sen5es.

The boyish Perakian chap from Langkap belongs to the new breed of chefs whose 15 years of experience means he’s not only adept in cooking but also self-assured enough to interact with diners and media. Despite having taken over the mantle a fortnight ago, Lean confidently deals with the barrage of questions posed to him. Perhaps past stints in Australia and international hotels in KL helped to dial up his game.

Back to his culinary largesse, Lean’s showboating commences with an impressive dual-prep lobster platter comprising Deep Fried Lobster Balls and Lobster Steamed with Egg. A speciality best pre-ordered in advance, the lobster balls hit the spot yet a zingy dip of sorts won’t be remiss.

Despite bearing a layer of golden yellow sauce (a blend of pumpkin, carrot and celery juice) and a bite-size cube of lobster meat on top, the steamed egg tastes underwhelming. IMHO, the flavour quotient is far too delicate to excite tastebuds attuned to strong, robust flavours.

Wading into the limelight is a notable Double Stewed Rambutan, Chicken, Crabmeat and Scallop. Lean assures us the palate-pleasing soup harks back to homey, comforting concoctions of yesteryear — he has merely used his own selection of ingredients including wolfberries and topshell to rachet up the soulful nuances.

Do you know the classic dish of sweet and sour pork – in this case it’s chicken – is originally from Fuzhou? It’s such a beloved Chinese speciality that any Chinese restaurant worth its salt is often judged by how well it can handle sweet and sour pork/chicken. In Lean’s case, he opts to return to the trad recipe in which hawthorn juice is one of the key components to making the sauce for his Fuzhou Litchi Sweet and Sour Chicken.

Instead of run-of-the-mill tomato and chilli sauces, the tangy-sweet sauce coating the crisp battered nuggets of fried chicken is muted by comparison. It may take some getting used to but perhaps such sedate sauciness is a nod to today’s healthful low-sodium, low-sugar dietary approach.

The Pomelo Crispy Prawns with Homemade Sauce treads a similarly muted flavour pathway. Texture-wise the prawns are on-point, with juicy burst of fresh astringency coming from pomelo sacs. However, a little more zestiness to the creamy mayo, egg white and mango sauce would do the offering greater justice.

Lightly doused in a mixture of pumpkin and chicken stock, the Braised Shimeiji Mushroom with Homemade Spinach Bean Curd hit the spot for us. A surefire crowd-pleaser that ticks all the right boxes.

Although the intention of using a claypot to retain heat is commendable, I personally prefer the Stir Fried Romaine Lettuce with Salted Fish to be stir-fried, lightning-quick. Serving the greens in the claypot wilts and leaves the greens unappetisingly limp.

The last hurrah of Chilled Peach Gum Soup with Red Dates and Longan in Coconut comes in a whole coconut. Can’t fault the pleasantly cool and mildly sweet finale to wrap up the debut of a new ‘sifu’ at Five Sen5es.

For reservations, call Five Sen5es, tel: 03-2773 8338. Address: Level 1, The Westin Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.