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    Home » recipes » entertaining

    By Amanda Smyth 9 Comments

    soy poached salmon with soba noodles + a few things I learned at university

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    This post is brought to you by Origin Energy

    Even at University I knew that studying zoology was going to be a niche market.  I knew there wouldn't be loads of application to real life.  Sure, sometimes while watching the girls squabble over the last biscuit, I think I could be watching a nature documentary.  But really, there’s not a huge crossover in knowledge between my studies and my real life as a stay at home mum and farmer.

    In fact, I can condense all of the crossover into a few simple points:
    Science talk (First Year Chemistry): the bond between fluoride and carbonate is stronger than the bond between calcium and carbonate.
    Real life translation: This is the reason toothpaste contains fluoride - teeth are strengthened when the naturally occurring calcium is replaced with fluoride.

    Science talk (Second Year Physiology): Zinc is crucial for normal development and function of cells responsible for nonspecific immunity such as neutrophils and helper T-cells.  For the body to recognise and respond to infection, it needs to produce a enormous volume of new cells and quickly.  Zinc is a major ingredient of most of these cells.
    Real life translation: It’s essential to ensure my family’s diet contains enough zinc, but especially so during times of illness.

    This recipe for soy poached salmon is packed with zinc - perfect for the occupants of Casa de Cooker who have been living under a cloud of sickness for weeks.  I'm always happy when I find a recipe everyone in our family enjoys.The Sisters Tuck in

    soy poached salmon with soba noodles and vegetables

    Ingredients
    6 cups chicken stock
    2 tbs soy sauce
    1 tbs rice vinegar
    4 x 150g salmon fillet
    240g soba noodles
    1 bunch baby bok choy, sliced
    2 bunches asparagus, sliced
    200g snow peas, halved
    2 tbs sesame seeds, toasted in pan

    Method
    Place stock, soy sauce and vinegar in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and add salmon.
    Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Using tongs, transfer salmon to a plate. Cover with foil and set aside before flaking.
    Bring poaching liquid to the boil. Add noodles and cook for 2 minutes or until tender. Add bok choy, asparagus and snow peas and cook for 1 minute or until tender.
    Serve noodles and broth, topped with salmon and sprinkled with sesame seeds.soy poached salmon with soba noodles

    Origin Energy have put together twelve warming dinner recipes - one for each week of Winter.  They've bundled them up into a beautiful ecookbook. You can download from here.

    Finally, there's one other university crossover which comes to mind.  In my third year, we discussed a paper which found that babies tend to look more like their fathers than their mothers.

    Science talk: The evolutionary explanation was that fathers do not share a mother's certainty that a baby is theirs, and are more likely to hang around and invest their resources in their own offspring. Human evolution, then, could have favored children that resemble their fathers, at least early on, as a way of confirming paternity.
    Real life translation: This is the only possible explanation for the first words my Mum utter to Bearhands after seeing the hours old Big Sister.  I cannot think of any other reason why upon laying eyes on her very first grandchild, the first words out of her mouth were "Well, there was no stray bull in that paddock!"

    do your kids sometimes act like they're the subjects of a nature documentary?

    did they look like their dad?

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Meg says

      May 20, 2014 at 5:51 pm

      This reminds me of a theory I once heard espoused on radio/TV* about why mothers favour their daughters' children over those of daughter-in-laws. They know their daughter's child will definitely carry their genetic line, while they can only assume those of their daughter-in-law also do. *Obviously on a highly reliable/reputable station

      Reply
      • Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says

        May 20, 2014 at 6:11 pm

        I should say that no one has been able to replicate the study since Megan. Apparently since 1996, kids resemble their parents equally. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Carolyn says

      May 20, 2014 at 9:30 pm

      There was no doubt that James was Con's son. He looked just like him when he was born (and still has a strong resemblance). A friends first words were 'oh look it's mini Con'.

      Reply
    3. Emily @ Have A Laugh On Me says

      May 21, 2014 at 9:19 pm

      I look back at the 4 years of study I did at uni and some of it I use today, but not much! I love that everyone who knows me thinks our kids look like me, but everyone that knows hubby says they are definitely his!

      Reply
      • Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says

        May 22, 2014 at 5:22 pm

        That is funny Em.
        Mire are so tarred with their fathers brush, that none of my friends even bother! 🙂

        Reply
    4. BOYEATSWORLD says

      May 23, 2014 at 7:12 am

      There were no doubts here as my two were clones of their dad. I swear I barely got a look in in the genetics department. Love this dish! My kids are salmon fiends so will be definitely giving this a shot xx

      Reply
    5. Jody at Six Little Hearts says

      May 23, 2014 at 10:31 am

      These look divine!

      Reply
    6. The Plumbette says

      May 23, 2014 at 8:35 pm

      I haven't been able to eat Salmon since eating it n London and getting the worst food poisoning ever! I didn't know you studied zoology! I learned something new about you! No wonder you knew what snake was in my toilet picture!

      Reply
    7. mumabulous says

      June 12, 2015 at 7:42 pm

      At Sydney University I quickly learned that 80c schooners of Strongbow cider were available at the various campus bars. By the same token the barman soon learned my order - one schooner of Strongbow dry thanks. It got to the stage where he would simply pour a cider without me having to utter a word. I also learned el mucho crumpetto could be found in the engineering department.

      Reply

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