Healthy Heart with Norwegian Fjord Trout

Celebrate World Heart Day with Norwegian Fjord Trout at AEON

In conjunction with World Heart Day, Norwegian Seafood Council is collaborating with AEON on a month-long campaign from 27 September to 27 October 2019 with ‘Norwegian Fjord Trout for a Healthy Heart’!

Her Excellency Gunn Jorid Roset, the Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia was present to launch the campaign together with AEON management as well as with CVS and HealthifyMe App team.

“From our annual Seafood Consumer Insights, we know that Norway is the preferred country of origin for Malaysians when it comes to purchasing Fjord Trout, Our survey showed that Malaysians are known to choose Norwegian Fjord Trout for its health and nutritional benefits,” said Asbjorn Warvik Rortveit, Norwegian Seafood Council’s Regional Director, South-East Asia. Norwegian Fjord Trout is gradually gaining popularity in Malaysia for its fine quality the fish has to offer. The evident is in the export volumn of fresh Norwegian Fjord Trout that has been increasing from 77 tonnes in 2010 to 1670 tonnes in 2018.

Norwegian Fjord Trout, ocean-farmed in the pristine cold waters in the natural fjords of Norway, has such a unique oceanic clean flavour that can rival the ones of the favorite salmon. In fact, when savored as sashimi, the Norwegian Fjord Trout has such a luscious note along with the melt-in-the-mouth creaminess of the fish due to its beautiful marbling and deep red flesh. 

Celebrate CNY 2019 with Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout

Cooking with Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout for Good Health and Prosperity during Chinese New Year

Left to right: Mr Jon Erik Steenslid, Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia HE Gunn Jorid Roset and Chef Jimmy Chok

Its that time of the year to toss to a Chinese New Year filled with much prosperity, joy and health being! And there’s no better way to do this than to gather with family, friends and loved ones to usher in the Year of the Pig with Yee Sang or Yu Sheng and other festive good eats.

Yee Sang is made tastier with Norwegian salmon and fjord trout. The Norwegian Seafood Council recently hosted a workshop on “Cooking Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year Dishes with Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout” at KDU University in Shah Alam.

Members of media, bloggers and honorary guests were treated to a delectable cooking demonstration by the jovial Chef Jimmy Chok. This is no ordinary workshop but rather an in-depth class of how Norwegian Seafood Council is ensuring diners all over the world that Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout is deliciously safe for consumption and how theses fishes are reared and harvested out of the cold, clean waters of Norway and within hours are sent for export to more than 100 countries around the world.

The perfect timing of the festive season, Norwegian salmon is now a Malaysian favorite when it comes to Yee Sang. Fjord trout is also another good option for the festive Chinese dish. Norwegian salmon is one of the richest sources of Omega 3 fatty acids and a normal meal of 150g of salmon covers a person’s weekly needs of Omega 3, according to the European Food Safety Authority recommendations.  It is also a rich source of iodine, selenium and other key nutrients.

The Norwegian Fjord Trout is similar to salmon, but its flesh has a deep red-orange colour with white marbling that gives the fillets a luxurious feel. Norwegian Fjord Trout has a remarkably rich flavour, with a pure aftertaste. It has a lustrous and silvery skin like salmon and grows to a weight of 2.5 kilos, which is a bit smaller than salmon.

Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia HE Gunn Jorid Roset kicked off the event with a speech...

“The auspicious colour of Norwegian salmon and fjord trout makes it so suitable for these fish to be served during the Chinese New Year celebrations,” says Mr Jon Erik Steenslid, the Norwegian Seafood Council director for South-East Asia. “Besides, they are widely and easily available throughout the festive season in markets, supermarkets and seafood stores in Malaysia.”

Chef Chok proceeded to explain that salmon has a layer of rich oils that is release during cooking hence one doesn’t even have to add any oil while cooking the fish. It only takes a few minutes to cook to a perfect doneness with a soft pink doneness in the middle. One should also leave the fish to seared well on the skin side down first and then flip over for another few minutes before the fish is ready to be seasoned or jazzed up with sauces. The fish is so versatile that one can also steam, bake, deep fried, stir fry and pan seared it. Same goes for the fjord trout and both fishes from the waters of Norway are safe for raw sashimi consumption on its own or with yee sang.

A simple tomato-based sauce and micro greens with pan seared salmon…

Steamed baked at low temperature, the fjord trout literally melts-in-the-mouth!

Chef Chok, together with Mr Jon Erik Steenslid and Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia HE Gunn Jorid Roset proceeded to whip up their Yee Sang. There are no limits when it comes to ingredients for a Yee Sang although there are some basic classic ingredients to balance up the dish for its signature savory, sweet and sour notes. Textural components are also essential to making a great Yee Sang. Of course, the Norwegian Salmon is the highlight of the yee sang!

We also had the opportunity to make our own yee sang. Our yee sang had plenty of fruits like Mandarin segments, juicy pomelo sacs as well as pomegranate, dried apricots, dried figs, dried berries, pickled ginger and radish, crispy salted egg fish skin and more, all tossed with a kaffir lime leave infused plum sauce and slices of delectable Norwegian Salmon.

The workshop was followed by a luncheon showcasing how versatile the Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout can be in Chinese cuisine for this festive Chinese New Year. Easy to prepare and cooking time is minimal compared to other meat and poultry, one can easily whip up these dishes for this festive reunion dinner or festive parties in a jiffy. Recipes are provided below…

Our lunch includes Sweet Sour Soup with Norwegian Fjord Trout, Steamed Norwegian Salmon Head with Fermented and Salted Garlic Chilli Sauce, Deep Fried Norwegian Salmon Cubes with Szechuan Pepper Salt, and 41C Norwegian Fjord Trout with Japanese Mushroom Black Pepper Sauce.

After the yee sang, Chef Chok serves up a tasty Sweet and Sour Soup with Norwegian Fjord Trout. Taking the classic soup and adding the fjord trout pieces are much welcomed by everyone. The trout is utterly tender and goes well with the richness of the soup.

Deep Fried Norwegian Salmon Cubes with Szechuan Pepper Salt takes on simple cooking with basic seasoning, reminding us that as long as the ingredient such as the salmon is fresh and of premium quality, the salmon can really be amazing when its cooked just right.

Another great way to enhance the lusciousness of the fjord trout would be to slow baked them at low temperature. The 41C Norwegian Fjord Trout with Japanese Mushroom Black Pepper Sauce had everyone enjoying the creamy and melt-in-the-mouth trout paired with a robust black pepper sauce with mushrooms and iced vegetables.

I was particularly fond of the Slow Cooked Norwegian Salmon with Chili Bean Tomato Sauce. A whole fillet of Norwegian Salmon slow baked and sauced up with a rich and piquant sauce that beckons for steamed rice. The dish is perfect for foodies who enjoy Chinese dishes with rich and spicy flavours.

Nothing is ever wasted and one of the recipe to use up Norwegian Salmon head is flagged by Chef Chok in his dish of Steamed Norwegian Salmon Head with Fermented and Salted Garlic Chilli Sauce. Another dish that is bound to be a hit, this dish had a sublime umami flavour from the fermented tauchu, black beans, garlic and other aromatics.

Let’s usher in this festive Chinese New Year with a Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout feast! Both salmon and trout are available at all leading grocery stores. For more information, please visit their website: https://en.seafood.no/ or Facebook: www.facebook.com/seafoodfromnorway/

Norwegian Seafood Council: Origin matters

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) is owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. The Norwegian seafood industry finances its activities through fees levied on all exports of Norwegian seafood. NSC is the approval authority for Norwegian seafood exporters.

Headquartered in Tromsø, NSC has presence in major markets around the world aiming to increase the value of Norwegian seafood resources. NSC oversees the administration and use of the trademark “Seafood from Norway”, a joint value for the Norwegian seafood industry. Together with the industry, NSC aims to increase the demand for and consumption of seafood from Norway. For more information, please visit https://en.seafood.no/

NORWEGIAN SALMON YU SHENG (serves 10)

Ingredients

Slices of raw Norwegian salmon

Carrot, white radish and green radish, julienned 

Enoki mushroom – 1 pkt

Roasted salted peanuts – 100gms

White sesame seeds – 1 tsp, roasted

Slice into thin strips:

Japanese pickled red ginger – 80gms

Japanese pickled yellow daikon – 80gms

Dried mango – 80gms

Dried figs – 80gms

Dried apricot – 80gms

Dried cranberry –  80gms

Dried pineapple – 80gms

Ingredients for sauce:

Kaffir lime leaf – 3 pcs, cut into fine threads

Ginger flower, cut finely

Pomelo – 200gms, peeled fruit

Pomegranate – 80gms, peeled

Ingredients to finish Yee Sang:

Thai crackers – 1pkt

Olive oil – 150 ml

Lime juice – 80ml

Combine:

Lee Kum Kee plum sauce – 1 jar of 260gms

Honey –  1 ½  tbsp

Rice vinegar – 3 tbsp

Method

Arrange all the vegetables, fruits and dried fruits attractively on a large plate.  Top with kaffir lime leaf shreds, ginger flower.

When ready to toss, add crackers, salmon, lime juice, oil and plum sauce mixture.  (You can add less of the liquid ingredients according to your preference)

*******

SWEET SOUR SOUP WITH NORWEGIAN FJORD TROUT (serves 5)

Ingredients

Fish stock –1 litre

Chinkiang black vinegar – 150ml

Fresh wood ear mushroom – 100gms thinly sliced

Oyster mushroom – 100gms – thinly sliced

Soft tofu – 1 pkt cut into cubes

Shitake mushroom – 100gms thinly sliced

Potato starch flour – as needed to thicken soup

Norwegian fjord trout – 600gm sliced thinly

Chicken stock cube – ½

Salt/pepper/sugar to taste

Coriander to garnish

Chilli oil

Method

Bring stock to a boil and adjust sourness of soup with black vinegar

Season to taste

Add all the ingredients into the soup except for fish

Bring soup to a boil and adjust thickness of soup with potato starch

Place sliced trout in bowl and top with a piece of coriander

Pour hot soup over and add chilli oil as needed.

*******

STEAMED NORWEGIAN SALMON HEAD WITH FREMENTED AND SALTED SOYA BEAN GARLIC CHILI SAUCE

Ingredients

1 whole salmon head – cut into 2

Salted fermented soya bean – 2 tbsp wash and soak

Black fermented soya bean – 1 tsp soak

Red chilies– 2 pcs chopped

Garlic – 10 cloves chopped

Spring onion – 200gms chopped

Oyster sauce – 2 tbsp

Sesame oil – 1 tbsp

Ginger – 100gms chopped

3 tbsp oil

Sugar/salt /pepper to taste

Chicken stock – 500 ml

Potato starch – 1 tbsp

 Method

In a pan or wok sauté garlic, ginger until fragrant

Add black and salted soya beans, cook till soft and then season with oyster sauce, sesame oil and stock, bring to a simmer

Adjust seasoning and add chopped chili

Thicken with potato starch

Cut salmon head into half and steamed with some ginger for 10 minutes

Remove and pour away water

Spoon sauce over fish and garnish with spring onions

*******

DEEP FRY NORWEGIAN SALMON CUBES, SZECHUAN PEPPER SALT (serves 5)

Ingredients

Salmon belly and top loin – 1 kg

Peanut oil for deep frying

Corn flour – 150gms to coat fish

Szechuan pepper – 2 tsp

Salt – 1/2 tsp

White pepper – pinch

Togarashi chili - 1 tbsp

5 spice powder – pinch

Method

Season salmon cubes with salt and pepper and then coat with corn flour

Heat oil and fry salmon to golden brown and set aside

Lightly toast Szechuan pepper till fragrant then pound

Mix Szechuan pepper with salt, 5 spice, togarashi and white pepper

Serve on the side to fried salmon cubes

*******

41C NORWEGIAN FJORD TROUT WITH JAPANESE MUSHROOM BLACK PEPPER SAUCE

Ingredients

Fjord trout top loin only – 2 whole fillets

Shimeiji mushroom– 2 pkt

Lee Kum Kee black pepper sauce – 3 tbsp

Green bell pepper – 1 nos

Garlic – 5 cloves chopped

Ginger 100gms chopped

Salt/pepper/sugar to taste

Chicken stock 300ml

Method

Salt trout for 20 minutes and wash away salt after that. Dab dry with paper towels.

Wrap trout loin tight with cling film

Bake in oven at 41c for 1.5 hours. Once done, remove and allow to cool in fridge

In pan sweat garlic and ginger, then stir fry mushroom and green peppers

Add black pepper sauce, stock and adjust seasoning

Cut trout to portion and place on plate

Pour sauce over and garnish

*******

SLOW COOKED NORWEGIAN SALMON WITH CHILLI BEAN TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredients

Salmon fillet – 1 whole fillet

Lee Kum Kee toban sauce [ chilli beans ] – 3 tbsp

Roma tomatoes – 500gms – cut diced

Red onion large – 1 nos – chopped

Garlic 5 cloves – chopped

Ginger 100gms – chopped

Spring onion 1 sprig – chopped

Chicken stock 300 ml

Oil 2 tbsp

Salt/pepper/sugar to taste

Red chilli 2 nos - sliced

Method

Put salmon on tray and baked whole fillet in oven at 55c for about 45 minutes

Once done remove from oven

In pan heat oil and fry garlic, ginger and onion until fragrant

Add chilli bean sauce and stock, adjust seasoning

Add tomato and sliced chilli, bring to a boil

Pour over fish and garnish with spring onion

Norwegian Fjord Trout Workshop @ KDU University College

Cooking with Norwegian Ford Trout by Norwegian Seafood Council

We enjoy salmon so often and yet, we know nothing about trout. In fact, trout has often been labeled as salmon trout in the consumer market to latch on to its more popular family member, the Salmon.

A recent invite to the Norwegian Fjord Trout workshop was such an interesting event. Thanks to the Norwegian Seafood Council, members of the media and bloggers were treated to a hands-on cooking workshop showcasing the versatility of cooking with Norwegian Fjord Trout with Chef Jimmy Chok at the KDU University College in Shah Alam.

The workshop kicked off with video presentation of where Norwegian Fjord trout was farmed, followed by some interesting facts about the Norwegian Seafood Council and Fjord trout by Jon Erik Steenslid, Director, Southeast Asia, Norwegian Seafood Council.

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) was established in 1991 and has approximately 60 employees globally. Owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, the council monitors the seafood export for Norway. Norway is the second largest exporter of seafood in the world and also the world’s largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon. With a staggering number 2.45 million metric tonnes of seafood exported to over 146 countries in 2016, seafood is one of Norway’s most important export commodity. Farmed Fjord trout and Atlantic salmon are fed special NON GMO pellets made from vegetable and marine ingredients, ensuring safe and nutritious consumption of the fishes.

Jon Erik also highlighted that Norway has the perfect living conditions for Fjord trout, being surrounded by ice-cold waters with fjords stretching deep into its coastline. Farmed in the ocean, in the pure cold Norwegian fjords where seawater meets fresh meltwater from the glaciers and snow, consumers are assured that seafood from Norway, especially Fjord trout, are being farmed in excellent conditions best suited to them.

The event was also graced by the presence of Her Excellency Gunn Jorid Roset, the Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia. An avid trout lover herself, Her Excellency expressed her enjoyment for trout just as much as salmon and is happy to be able to enjoy Norwegian trout and salmon while living in Malaysia.

Norwegian Fjord Trout has indeed become a popular choice with Malaysian consumers unknowingly, simply because of its similar appearance to salmon although it is a whole different species from salmon. Chef Chok proceeded to give us a lesson on how to differentiate between salmon and trout.

The Fjord trout grows to a weight of 2 to 5 kilos which is generally a bit smaller than salmon. The appearance of both fishes is easily identifiable when placed together. The salmon head is more pointed while the trout head is more round. The skin of the Fjord trout is quite similar to salmon as they both have lustrous and silvery colour. The body of the salmon is more slender compared to the trout which has a rounded and thickset body when compared to the salmon. The tail is also relatively different with the salmon being more forked while the trout is rather squared.

Once filleted, the colour of the salmon and the trout is also easily identifiable. The colour of the trout has an appealing deep red-orange colour with white marbling that gives the fillet a luxurious feel while the salmon has a lesser sheen with the same red-orange colour. Fjord trout has a remarkably rich flavour with a pure aftertaste. They say once you’ve had a taste of Fjord trout, one might actually be converted to a full-fledge trout fan than a salmon one.

Chef Chok procced to showcase on how to cook Fjord trout for his dish of Seared Fjord Trout with Mango Pomelo Salad & Thai Chili-Sesame Dressing. Trout fillet are best cooked with skin on and on low heat. First, cook the fillet of trout skin side down. The low heat will allow the natural oils of the trout to ooze out and this will help to eliminate the fishy aroma that comes from the oil. It will also help to extract the amount of oil from the trout which Chef Chok poured away from the pan and continue to cook the trout till medium doneness.

Depending on the size and thickness of the fillet of the trout, the best way to feel the doneness is with one’s finger as advised by Chef Chok. Gently prod the side of the trout flesh and if its feels a delicate but lightly firm texture, the trout should be cooked to medium doneness. Should one opt to have their trout cooked to their liking of doneness, do proceed but the trout is best served medium doneness for optimized flavours and textures according to Chef Chok.

Chef Chok’s perfectly medium cooked Fjord trout with crispy skin and soft moist medium doneness flesh looked gorgeously enticing at sight!

Chef Chok’s dish is relatively easy to whip up with a few basic cooking steps. He makes cooking easier with the readily available sauces on the market and uses the Thai sweet chili sauce on this dish. The mango and pomelo salsa is also easy to prepare and takes only a few minutes of chopping and mixing.

While there are rules in cooking, assembling the dish allows one to get creative. Chef Chok’s presentation was simple and really lovely. This final dish looked gorgeous and artsy elevating the gorgeous colours of the Fjord trout beautifully. The finishing touches of briny trout roes enhanced the moreish flavours of the dish.

Chef Jimmy Chok, Her Excellency Gunn Jorid Roset, Jon Erik Stenslid, Director, Southeast Asia, Norwegian Seafood Council

Chef Jimmy Chok and his dish of Seared Fjord Trout with Mango Pomelo Salad & Thai Chili-Sesame Dressing

Sashimi time! Generous platters of sashimi of salmon and Fjord trout as well as smoked salmon and smoked trout was amazing. The flavours of the Fjord trout was sublime with delicate creamy and rich with a clean aftertaste. Salmon was delicious too but the trout flavours had a gorgeous richness that most of us enjoyed very much.

*photo courtesy of JomMakan

Time to cook! My partner-in-crime was Alice from JomMakan as we paired up to reproduce the dish that Chef Chok showed us earlier.

*photo courtesy of JomMakan

The ingredients are easily available and the dish was really easy to cook as it took us less than half hour to prepare and cook. We enjoyed the experience so much so that we even added some of our own touches on the presentation of the dish.

Our final dishes of Seared Fjord Trout with Mango Pomelo Salad & Thai Chili-Sesame Dressing

Her Excellency commented that my stroke of Thai Chili-Sesame Dressing on my dish resembled the shape of Norway, much to my surprise though it wasn’t intentional...

It was also an honor as Alice and me had a photo taken with Her Excellency and Jon Erik with our dishes.

Indeed a very memorable workshop on Norwegian Fjord Trout with Norwegian Seafood Council. Coupled with the information of the origin of seafood from Norway, how it was produced and how it was managed in a sustainable manner, the quality of Norwegian seafood is assured of nothingg short but premium quality always. After this workshop, I truly concur with Norwegian Seafood Council: Origin matters

For more information, please visit their website: https://en.seafood.no/ or Facebook: www.facebook.com/seafoodfromnorway/

SEARED FJORD TROUT with MANGO POMELO SALAD &

THAI CHILI-SESAME DRESSING

Ingredients

200g fjord trout

Salt & pepper to taste

120g diced mango

80g pomelo

½ red onion, chopped

1 kaffir lime leaf, chopped

1 stalk spring onion, chopped

Juice from 1 lime 

100ml Thai chilli sauce

½ red onion, chopped

½ tsp sesame oil

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Juice from 1 lime 

Garnishing: trout roe, micro herbs and cherry tomato

Method

Season trout with salt & pepper. Sear over medium heat until fish fillet is medium rare. Allow to rest.

Mix mango salad ingredients together. Stir well and season to taste.

Mix dressing items evenly and set aside.

To plate, spoon a heap of mango salad onto plate.

Remove skin from trout and use your hands to flake the trout. Place on top of mango salad.

Fry trout skin until crisp. Cut into triangular shards and place on top of trout fillet.

Garnish the plate with trout roe, cherry tomatoes (cut into halves) and micro herbs.

Swirl dressing around the trout using a spoon then sprinkle sesame seeds around it to serve.