Oxtail Fried Rice with Fried Catfish

 

Ingredients for Catfish: 

3 catfish fillets
1 TBSP Tabasco
1 cup buttermilk
1 package of Andy's Cajun fry mix

1/2 quart canola oil, for frying

Ingredients for Rice: 

1 heaping cup of leftover oxtail meat, shredded or chopped. Check out this smoked oxtail recipe

1 cup bok choy, cleaned and chopped

1 cup carrots, diced

1/2 cup onion, diced

1/2 cup peas (frozen is fine)

1 red pepper, diced

3 eggs (whisked with a splash of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce)

1 TBSP minced ginger

1 TBSP minced garlic

1 TBSP bacon fat (oil is fine if you don't have reserved bacon fat)

1-2 TBSP canola oil

Green onion for garnish

~5 cups of cooked white rice (I used medium grain rice cooked 1 minute shy of package directions. Cool in a single layer and fluff. This can be leftover rice from takeout as well)

Ingredients for Sauce: 

2 TBSP honey

4 TBSP soy sauce

1/2 TBSP fish sauce

1/2 TBSP gochuchang

1/2 TBSP Siracha

1 tsp sesame oil

pinch of cayenne

tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Directions: 

1. Marinate your catfish fillets in buttermilk and Tabasco 2-4 hours in advance. 

 

2. Combine your sauce ingredients. Whisk and reserve. 

3. Make sure all of your vegetables are diced and ready and your eggs are whisked with the rice vinegar and soy sauce. 

4. Remove the catfish from the buttermilk mixture, cut into large bite-sized pieces and then toss in the fry mixture. Set aside in a single layer. 

5. Start heating your canola oil for frying in a large dutch oven. You want your oil at 350 for frying. 

6. In a large wide pan, heat your bacon fat over medium heat. Add your oxtail meat and heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.  

 

7. If there's not a TBSP of fat left in the pan, add a splash more of oil.  Add in all of your vegetables here - the onion, pepper, bok choy, peas, carrots and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Saute, stirring often until soft - about 4-5 minutes.

8. Stir in minced garlic and ginger and cook another minute. 

9. Remove vegetables from the pan. If there's not 1 TBSP of oil in your pan, add some. Add in your eggs and continuously stir to scramble. 

10. Once your eggs are scrambled, add back in your meat and vegetables and your rice. Make sure to scrape the egg from the bottom to incorporate into the rice. Stir the rice from the bottom and flip over as to not mash the rice. 

11. Start adding a few TBSP of your sauce at a time and stir. Let rice sit undisturbed for a minute. Toss again. If you see a lot of white still, add more sauce and toss.  Let sit for another minute or until warmed through. Then turn off the heat (it will stay warm while you quickly fry the catfish).

12. Work in 2 batches, fry catfish for about 4-5 minutes. Remove and let rest on paper towel. 

13. To assemble, plate your rice on the bottom, top with a few pieces of catfish and garnish with green onion.  Serve with your favorite hot sauce. 

So what's that aioli sauce on the plate? Marcus had a plantain aioli on his. I didn't make that but I tried a smoked oyster aioli for this.  It was a nice, complex sauce but it was a little too strong for me so I wouldn't add that again.  If you like oysters and you like smoke, you may like it.  If so, here's the recipe: 

2 (3.75 oz) cans of smoked oysters in oil

1 (2oz) can of anchovies, rinsed

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 TBSP Dijon mustard

3 TBSP white wine vinegar

1 cup, plus 2 TBSP canola oil

5-10 dashes of hot sauce

Blend oysters and anchovies together first until smooth, remove. 

To that same blender, add the egg yolks, Dijon and vinegar. Blend until smooth and airy. Stream in the oil. Then add in a few TBSP of the oyster/anchovy mixture and blend. Add the hot sauce.  Taste.  I didn't use all of my oyster/anchovy mixture, I had about a heaping TBSP left.