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Written by Reuben Riffel cooks up a South African style Snoek Recipe with West Coast Basting and Salsa.
Well we say Snoek but in reality in this video Reuben Riffel is using Grouper. The fact of the matter is that you can use this recipe for practically any white fish that is going in your local neighbourhood. Just because it says Snoek does not mean that it has to be.
Reuben brings a strong South African influence to this fish braai recipe by using Apricot Jam in the basting marinade. This no doubt is what gives it the “West Coast” tag.
Whether you are cooking on the braai, barbecue or in the kitchen this is a very easy recipe to make.
Watch Reuben Riffel on the Today Show in the US preparing his Grouper or in South Africa’s case, Snoek Recipe with a West Coast Basting and Salsa.
The segment begins with a Crispy Prawn Dumpling recipe before Reuben gets to his fish recipe which is nearer the end of the video.
| Fish Fillets | 2 | ||
| For the marinade | |||
| Butter | 2 | tablespoons | |
| Lemon | 1 | ||
| Soy Sauce | 1 | tablespoon | |
| Curry Powder | 1 | tablespoon | |
| Black Pepper | |||
| Garlic Clove | 1 | ||
| Apricot Jam | 1 | tablespoon | |
| For the Salsa | |||
| Tomatoes | 2 | ||
| Cucumber | 1 | ||
| Red Onion | 1 | ||
| Green Chillies | 1 | ||
| Fresh Coriander | |||
| Olive Oil | 1/4 | cup | |
| Salt | |||
| Black Pepper |
For the basting marinade
1 . In a bowl mix together all the marinade ingredients; the butter, juice of one lemon, soy sauce, curry powder, pepper, garlic and apricot jam.
For the Salsa
1 . Chop up the salsa ingredients; the tomatoes, red onion, chillies, cucumber and coriander.
2 . Mix in a bowl with a little olive oil
3 . Salt & pepper to taste
For the fish
1 . Heat up a frying pan
2 . Coat the fish fillets with olive oil.
3 . Saute in the hot pan and baste the fish with marinade for 8-10 minutes. (timing will depend on the thickness of the fish fillets)
A little wiki about Snoek
Snoek or “Cape snoek“, is a long, thin, perch-like commercial food fish belonging to the Gempylidae family. It is found in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere. It is also known in Australasia as barracoutathough it is not related to the barracuda.
It can grow up to 200 centimetres long and weigh as much as 6 kilograms. It is found near continental shelves or around islands and feeds on crustaceans, cephalopods and small fish like anchovy andpilchard. This species will form schools near the bottom or mid-water; sometimes even near the surface at night. It prefers sea water temperature between 13C and 18C.
It is found off the coast of Namibia and the coast of the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa. It was originally called the “zee snoek” (Sea Snoek) by Dutch colonists who arrived in the Cape in 1652. It is said to have reminded them of the freshwater pike they found at home in the Netherlands. The snoek is widely distributed in the colder waters in the Southern Hemisphere. It is found from Namibe in Angola to Mossel Bay in South Africa, off Tristan da Cunha in the mid southern Atlantic and off Western Australia, where it is call the barracouta, off Chile and Argentina. where it is called the sierra.Bluish-black on top with a silver belly, the snoek grows to over a metre in length.
About Chef Reuben Riffel
Reuben Riffel grew up as the middle child in a loving family in Franschhoek. Through his mother’s intermittent involvement in the restaurant industry, Reuben started work as a barman and waiter. One day he was asked by Head Chef, Richard Carsons, to help out in the kitchen. Slowly, the kitchen cast its spell on young Reuben.
As he listened to Chef Richard and started reading and tentatively experimenting the realisation slowly dawned: “This is not just a job. This could actually be interesting. This could be something you can be proud of”
Over the next few years, life took him to different kitchens, from Top restaurants in Balito Bay, the Cape Town Waterfront, Franschhoek and the UK. While in the UK, Reuben was approached by Marc Kent who had purchased a property in Franschhoek for which he had big plans and he wanted Reuben to partner with him in creating a top-notch restaurant. The two men seemed to think alike and, after two years in England, Reuben headed back to Franschhoek.
Reuben tackled this big challenge with typical gusto and within the first year he was declared Chef of the Year and Reuben’s, his restaurant, was made Restaurant Of The Year. “I count myself very lucky,” says Reuben. “Other chefs work as hard as I do and may never enjoy this kind of success.” These humble words are to Reuben’s credit. However, his success is certainly not undeserved. In the famous words of Gary Player: “The more you practice, the luckier you get.”
