Crave: Salmon Sriracha

Celebrate Easter with a different take on fish, courtesy of our friends at Crave! Sriracha is all the rage these days, so why not combine it with a light and healthy salmon fillet for a delicious dinner. Pair this is recipe with noodles, mashed peas or mashed potatoes for a balanced meal.

Ingredients
Serves 4

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sriracha sauce

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 pound (around 0.45 kg) wild salmon fillet, cut into 4 (4-ounce) pieces

1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons of seaweed, for garnish

Preparation
In a 1-gallon zip-top plastic bag, combine soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, ginger, and garlic. Add the salmon, toss to coat evenly, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours, turning the fish once.

Remove the salmon from the bag, reserving the marinade. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the sesame oil. Rotate the pan to coat the bottom evenly and add the salmon. Cook until one side of the fish is browned, about 2 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook until the other side browns, 2 more minutes. Reduce heat to low and pour in the reserved marinade. Cover and cook until the fish is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.

Place a piece of salmon on each of 4 serving plates and sprinkle with the seaweed.

The Buzz about Bees

Possibly the busiest workers in our environment, bees play an important role in much more than simply providing honey for our daily feteer. With levels of concern rising about bees becoming endangered by environmental factors and disease, Cairo West Magazine went to seasoned beekeeper and honey-producer Peter Naiem to get the big picture.

Egypt, for its main part, is an arid environment, except for the limited areas of the well-irrigated land of the Nile Delta, although the arable land is filled with cultivated crops, not much other bee-friendly vegetation is available. Beekeeping for honey production has traditionally been in the Beheira, Manoufia, Gharbeya and Kalioubeya regions. Cairo, as a city, does have gardens, parks, flowering plants and trees, but the kind of trees and plants in use now do not offer much for the bee.  This could be changed, but on a serious scale it would be a task for the people who are responsible for the public areas in the city. Citizens of course can help within the limits of own land or other space.

6 Things to Know About Bees and Crop Sustainability

  • Although there are more than 20,000 distinct bee species around the world, only seven species of bees make honey.
  • Bees are indispensable pollinators of most ecosystems. There are 369,000 flowering plant species, and 90% of them are dependent on insect pollination. Without bees, many of the world’s most important crops would fail and directly affect the food supply of humans and countless other species.
  • Crops pollinated by bees make up 35% of global food production. Some plants are pollinated by wind, but that rate is very slow. Insects are the primary pollinators on the planet. Beetles and butterflies also pollinate, but bees are the most efficient insects for this purpose.
  • Without bees, we wouldn’t have apples, cherries, almonds, and many other fruits and vegetables like avocado, broccoli, most leafy greens, cucumbers, pumpkins, and many more.
  • While honeybees are important, there are many other pollinators out there, including butterflies, bats, hummingbirds, flies, and other bee species.
  • Cotton is very reliant on pollination. The disappearance of bees will lead to a huge setback in cotton production.

Why Bees are Endangered

Many factors are influencing the decline of bees, including habitat fragmentation, increased use of neonicotinoid pesticides, colony collapse disorder, climate change and the deadly varroa mite, their number one killer.

Hobby Beekeeping

Although hobby beekeeping is on the rise around the globe, it should be known that according to a very recent Egyptian law from 2018, bee hives should not be kept closer than 500 m from any human housing. If you are fortunate enough to have a rural property or space on the outskirts of the city you may be able to start your own hive. Anyone who wishes to pick up beekeeping should firstly make sure that they are not allergic to bee stings, bee venom or pollen.

A hive has to be in a windless spot facing east, to catch the first warming sun rays in the morning. The spot should be in the shade for the summer but in the sun for the winter. There should not be any domestic animals in the near vicinity, like horses, cows, donkeys or large numbers of dogs or cats, because their smell can make bees nervous. The availability, close-by, of a variety of crops to ensure as much as possible a continuous flow of natural food for the bees, is of paramount importance.

Contrary to popular belief, bees are not really likely to sting. So long as you avoid wearing perfume or cologne and move calmly when near them you should not be at risk. You need protective gear when working on the hive though.

To start out you need a hive, a feeder, a protective hat and costume, or several layers of clothing with well-closed arms and legs, plus sugar for the first month – 0.5-1 kg per week per hive, dissolved with water into a 50:50 syrup. Raw honey can be added, or a herbal tea can be used, made of plants that the bees normally love, like thyme.

4 Tips for Keeping a Bee-friendly Garden, Rooftop or Balcony

  • Plant bee-friendly plants and flowers. In the countryside, bees enjoy various herbs like lavender, thyme, marjoram, spearmint, black cumin and rosemary as well as beans and other non-hardy plants, then citrus trees like lemon and orange yield pollen. Guava is a great bee tree, again providing pollen. Various gourds, like zucchini and watermelon in the early spring are also mainly pollen plants; then cattle fodder like clover and alfalfa in the early summer; then cultivated cotton and banana in late summer. There are also some surprising everyday good sources – like for example the gazania, or African Daisy, which also flowers almost around the year, and quite abundantly in the winter and early spring, and is a very good source for pollen, with an antibacterial effect for the hive.
  • Provide water for bees to take back to the hive, and ensure year-round planting so bees have a source of flowers in the winter.
  • Avoid the use of pesticides.
  • If you just have a window box or balcony, you can still plant bee-friendly flowers.

Resources to explore:
Manoufia Honey. Facebook: manoufiahoney
Beekeeping Department of the Plant Protection Institute.  Tel: 02 3337 2193
El Tahra – 4 Sobhi Haridy St. off Haram Road. Tel: 02 3561 7583
Bee House and Agri Industries – 6 El Manakh St. Midan Opera, Ataba. Tel: 02 2391 2785

 

 

The Muses’ Grilled Sliced Beef

The Muse at Guezira PlazaWoohoo! Steak time! Enjoy this easy to follow recipe courtesy of The Muse in Guezira Plaza which couples sliced tenderloin steak and scrumptious balsamic with a salad topped with lemon dressing. Yum, yum, yum!

Ingredients

1 large tenderloin steak

1 cup rocca

¼ cup chopped dill

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

3 mushrooms, sliced

3 walnuts, roughly chopped

1 kiwifruit, halved and sliced

Parmesan shavings

Balsamic dressing

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ cup orange juice

2 teaspoons sugar

¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon red vinegar

1 tablespoon minced leek

1 clove garlic, minced

Lemon dressing

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Onion powder

Garlic powder

¼ cup lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Arrange rocca, dill, mushroom, cherry tomatoes, and kiwi fruit on serving dish. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Cook tenderloin until medium, allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Slice and layer on the bed of rocca and vegetables. Drizzle salad lightly with lemon dressing, and the steak with balsamic dressing.

Casareccio’s Homemade Gnocchi

An underrated Italian classic, Gnocchi are thick, small, and soft dough dumplings traditionally made from semolina, wheat flour, egg, cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, cornmeal and packed with various flavorings such as herbs, vegetables, cocoa, or prune. This recipe is kindly provided by Casareccio, dubbed Mama Dalya’s Gnocchi! Wondering whether our version would make the cut with La Mama!

Ingredients

2 & 1/2 cups fresh buffalo Ricotta, chilled

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed for rolling the gnocchi

1 large egg

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. In a large bowl and using your hands, mix the ricotta, flour, egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano, butter, salt, sugar, nutmeg and pepper, adding more flour as needed until the dough is slightly sticky. Cover and refrigerate until cold, 1 hour or up to 2 days.
  2. When ready to make the gnocchi, lightly sprinkle flour on a large cutting board and a rimmed large shallow pan. Transfer the dough to the floured board and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Using your hands, roll one of the pieces on the board into a long log about 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide. Don’t worry if the dough isn’t uniformly shaped—the gnocchi will be charmingly irregular. Take care not to pick up too much additional flour or the gnocchi will be tough. You want just enough to keep them shapeable, but still a little sticky.
  3. Cut the log into 3/4-inch pieces and toss them on the floured sheet pan, leaving space between them. Repeat until all the dough has been rolled and cut. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least an hour or up to 2 days.
  4. Cook in a large quantity of salted lightly boiling water. Cooked gnocchi will rise to the top. Remove from water and allow to drain. Serve with your choice of sauce.

Izakaya’s Tiradito Classico

It’s not every day you have a chance to whip out the apron and try out a recipe courtesy of one of the finest restaurants in town! Izakaya has given us their classic recipe for Tiradito. Fancy a try?

Ingredients: 

200g sashimi sea bass

Pinch of sea salt

1 lemon squeezed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 chopped red chili pepper

A bunch of chopped coriander leaves

1 tablespoon sweet crispy corn

Preparation:

With a sharp knife, cut along either side of the line that runs down the center lateral line of the fillet.

Discard the dark flesh and add the sea salt. pour the lime juice on top, and add the olive oil.

Add the chopped red chili pepper and coriander chopped leaves to each side of the plate.

Garnish the Tiradito with sweet potato tempura and crispy corn in addition to a thin slice of red chili.

Izakaya in Palm Hills, 6th of October

After what felt like forever, Izakaya is back to offering impeccable fine dining in Cairo with a brand-new swanky location in Palm Hills. The Izakaya team is still just as committed to offering a unique menu to enjoy if you’d like a romantic dinner in Cairo, so we dropped by to sample some key dishes in a second-to-none atmosphere.

Signature Dishes & Dishes Sampled

Signatures items include the Thai Ebi, Pão Burger, Kinoko Robata, Ponzu Hamachi Tiradito, Ceviche Roll, and the Arroz Nikkei.

We were offered a tasting menu consisting of the Truffle Parmesan Fries, Pao Burger, Arroz Nikkei, and the Chocolate Fondant.

The Truffle Parmesan Fries are a solid favorite for regular visitors of Izakaya, and we can see why. Hand cut chunky fries smothered in a creamy truffle-infused sauce and garnished with heaps of Parmesan shavings – this is a good choice to prime your palate for what comes next. The Pão Burger consists of three prime beef sliders, perfectly balanced with a variety of ingredients. It is a soft slider nestled in a beet-infused steamed bun, topped with cheddar cheese and greens – the red chili dipping jam amps the flavor. We would suggest ordering a few appetizers to share to get a full range of what the menu has to offer.

Onto the main course, the Arroz Nikkei is a superb dish with a distinct smoky taste. The sea bass, flakey and perfectly cooked, is prepared using a char siu marinade — a popular Cantonese way of marinating and roasting meat. Presented on a flavorful bed of shitake mushroom risotto with Peruvian Ají Amarillo aioli, this dish is delicate and packed with flavors that stay dancing on your tongue for quite some time. We were honestly willing to skip on the dessert to keep tasting the dish.

We ended the meal with the classic Chocolate Fondant with soy vanilla ice cream, which was the perfect amount of sweet to cap a delightful evening.

Other Menu Options that Appealed & Beverages Available

Izakaya’s menu is split into appetizers to share, raw, soups and salads, robata (Japanese charcoal grill), main courses, sushi, and desserts. There is something for everyone, but we would go for the Wafu Fillet, Sushi menu, and Banana Cheesecake on a second visit.

Beverage options include a full bar with cocktails, beer and wine. Hot beverages for those enjoying dessert.

Décor & Ambience

The ambience at Izakaya makes you feel like you have been transported to a tropical getaway. There is a spacious outdoor patio area, ideal for the warmer months ahead, complete with a full-service bar. Indoors, there is a variety of seating options including high tables, low tables and booth dining. The lush greenery, low lighting and wooden motifs give a tropical and earthy feel to the space. Knowledgeable and hospitable waiters make navigation of the menu smooth, and the experience, pleasant.

Clientele mix: Super chic and well-dressed crowd, the clientele was mainly 35+ on our visit. Younger crowd likely visit on the weekend and later into the night.

Price range: Expensive, but you will be dining well and enjoying a one-of-a-kind menu.

Worth noting: Make a reservation! Weekends are booked well in advance.

Contact information

Opening hours:  7 pm to 1 am, and open for lunch on Fridays and Saturdays from 2 pm.

Address: Palm Hills, 6th of October – Giza.

Tel: 0127 111 6223

Facebook/Instagram:  IzakayaCairo

How Feseekh Can Harm You This Sham El Nessim!

 One of the traditions of Sham El Nessim is eating salted-fish such as feseekh and herrings. Despite the Ministry of Health warnings every year about the health hazards of feseekh in particular, we just can’t seem to stay away!

Poorly prepared feseekh can lead to botulism poisoning. Symptoms can include nausea and/or vomiting and one or more of the following: double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, dry mouth, difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, weakness, respiratory failure, paralysis and death in severe cases. Symptoms generally begin 12 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food, but can occur as early as six hours or as late as 10 days after.

The fish contaminated with the clostridium botulinum toxin may not look or smell spoiled, so if you are not giving up feseekh, make sure to buy it from a trusted and reputable store.

Another health concern associated with eating salted fish is the effect of the excessive salt intake, which is not restricted to increasing blood pressure. But even if there is no increase in blood pressure, excess dietary sodium can harm such organs as blood vessels, heart, kidneys and brain.

Excess levels of salt may put you at risk for: 

High blood pressure
Stroke
Heart failure
Osteoporosis
Stomach cancer
Kidney disease
Kidney stones
Enlarged heart muscle
Headaches

Elderly people are more prone to these adverse effects. They are advised to abstain from salted-fish, as are pregnant women, as high salt intake can increase the likelihood of developing pregnancy-induced hypertension. Excess salt intake can also cause increased water retention which leads to puffiness, bloating and weight gain.

How to Counter Over-Intake of Salt

Drinking plenty of water: Water helps your body dilute the excess salt and decrease bloating. There is no upper limit for daily water consumption.

Consuming potassium-rich foods: Sodium and potassium have complementary functions in your body: sodium ups your blood pressure and promotes fluid retention; potassium relaxes and lowers your blood pressure and helps you flush out excess fluid. So if you’ve overdone it on sodium, eating more potassium can help you re-achieve the “balance” of these two minerals. Potassium is mostly found in fruits and vegetables. Good sources include bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, cucumber and peas. Some dried fruits, such as prunes, raisins, and dates, are also high in potassium.

Exercising: If you have taken in too much salt and are trying to dilute it by drinking water, go for a jog or spend an hour at the gym to help your body purge some of the excess salt.

This article was brought to you by Tabibi 24/7, Cairo’s leading Family Medicine & Pediatrics group practice. Tabibi operates 24/7 and offers its services at the comfort of your own home or in one of its clinics.
 
For more information, call 16724 or visit  www.tabibi247.com

The Tap: Tribute Bands of Egypt

Tribute bands take music fandom to another level, spending years and sometimes decades singing a repertoire of their favorite bands or musicians’ discography. Here are some of the best tribute bands in town, be sure to check them out when they come to The Tap.

Andromida: Still going strong since 1987, Andromida has been covering Pink Floyd music in Egypt with countless covers and live performances. Andromida has been recognized as the primary Pink Floyd tribute band in Egypt and the Arab World, with a huge following both here and overseas. The band’s unique sound sets it apart from any other tribute project, and with over three decades of experience, band members deliver the music flawlessly with a tint of their own creativity and originality in between the notes.

Glass Onion: Mentioning Liverpool nowadays automatically gets you thinking of the Egyptian football phenomena Mo Salah, but let us not forget that it’s the birthplace of one of the most iconic English Rock bands in history, The Beatles!  Since Glass Onion’s first performance in 2010, the band became an instant crowd favorite as they resemble The Beatles significantly in so many ways.

Strawberry Swing: Let Strawberry Swing “Fix you” with all your favorite Coldplay songs that will make you feel like you are in “para-para-paradise”! In 2016, there was a rumor that Coldplay was going to perform in Egypt. An official event was made and everything seemed peachy until it all collapsed.  However, Strawberry Swing emerged and they were entrusted with the mantle of playing Coldplay music here. The band was even recognized by Coldplay themselves, who apologized for not being able to make it to Egypt, and encouraged fans to go to Strawberry Swing’s concert on Twitter.

Last month, Egypt witnessed a historical performance by Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Pyramids. However, as incredible as that was, not everyone was able to attend. So let’s be grateful to the cover bands who bring our favorite music to life such as Blitz, Funk Off, Crash Boom Bang and many others that spread awesome music.

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Karim Kassem: Lost in Sawah

When we learned that rising talent Karim Kassem secured a role in Luxembourg-based production Sawah, we were eager to find out more. Sawah tells the tale of a young Egyptian DJ named Samir who is mistaken for an illegal immigrant and detained in a country he’s never heard of before while on his way to a championship in Brussels. We caught up with Kassem to learn more about the project and what the audience can expect.

CWM: Playing the role of a DJ must have been a different experience for you, how did you prepare?

K.K: I took private DJ classes, and the production also enrolled me into a professional DJ academy in Luxembourg and I took 18 hours of classes there. I believe I reached a good level and the work is believable, we did a lot of rehearsal and script rewrites. Adolf El Assal, the writer and director, is very open to collaborative work. Nothing is set in stone, and the dialogue was changing to suit what the scene needed. In terms of Samir’s character, I could relate on a personal level to his need to break out and move out of the country to experience work abroad. The whole tension of the film, being lost in a foreign country with no passport, no wallet and no phone – that’s a personal fear and paranoia of mine, so I could use that to make the character relatable.

What were the most challenging scenes to shoot for you?

The most challenging part of the production was nature and shooting outdoors in the cold! I didn’t expect to be so paralyzed from Luxembourg’s weather, in some scenes I was freezing to death and stuttering from the cold. The crew tried to layer me up with thermal clothing and portable heating, but filming over 10 hours in the cold every day for two months is really challenging. There were also a lot of scenes in French, and although I’m a fluent French speaker, I had to pretend I didn’t understand a thing!

What do you hope audiences will take away from the film?

The main theme of the film is identity and how this character is treated like a refugee, although he’s not. It is about breaking the stereotype of Hamam fi Amsterdam, a character who is lost and doesn’t understand a thing, because Samir is an educated and English-speaking Egyptian, but at the same time, he is treated as a refugee. It’s a relevant topic right now with the political climate and immigration debates happening in Europe, and this movie tackles the subject in a humorous and powerful way.

How did taking part in the film change your perspective professionally and personally?

On a professional level, it was a wonderful experience to work with such a diverse and talented multi-cultural international cast and crew – I learned a lot being on set in Europe and seeing the way film production runs there. On a personal level, I had the chance to discover this beautiful country I’ve never been to before and meet people from all over the world.

QUICKFIRE ROUND

Favorite music?

I love South American, Spanish, and Italian music.

Film legends you look up to?

Daniel-Day Lewis, Denzel Washingston, Anthony Hopkins … so many!

Favorite app?

Shazam!

Best piece of advice you received?

Invest in yourself and your mind. That’s how you’re going to make everything happen.

What’s your comfort food?

I have a major sweet tooth … I love dried mangoes.

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