Catfish Sandwich and a Difficult Week Past

Do you know what a clear liquid diet is? Do you know there is something called good bacteria in your stomach? Do you know what acidophilus is? Do you know why they call it an Emergency Room if they make you wait for 4 hours before you get to see even a nurse?

These are just a few of the questions we had to ask ourselves this past week. Some knowledge was gained the hard way, some questions still remain unanswered. It all started end of last month when Siv was down with a cold and fever and went to the doctor for a check up. He was given an antibiotic called Cefuroxime(Ceftin), since he was diagnosed with an ear infection as well. Well Ceftin worked alright, but along with the bad bacteria it was supposed to kill, it also killed off the good bacteria in his stomach that aids digestion, thus causing him severe diarrhea. Siv is a person who eats a lot of questionable food, so first we thought it was just a bad hotdog he ate. But after a couple of days it got worse, we had to go back to the doctor (the same one who gave him Ceftin just 10 days ago) who thought it could be a viral infection in his stomach. So she put him on a clear liquid diet saying it should go away in a couple of days. No change in two days! Well long story short, it took another couple of visits and a trip to the ER over the weekend and some lab tests before it was established that it wasn’t any bad food he ate or virus. It was antibiotic induced which is apparently a well known cause!

For something this common, why didn’t the doctor even consider this possibility on the first visit itself? What makes us really mad is the fact that while the doctor was trying to figure out the problem, she put him on yet another antibiotic, even after we called to double check if the diarrhea listed as a side effect for the new antibiotic is going to cause any issues. It did cause issues, and he was taken off that and was given a third type of antibiotic, which luckily is finally working its magic.

The whole experience was so frustrating, but we learned a lot about bacteria in the process. For example, we can replace good bacteria in the stomach by eating yogurt containing live active cultures. Look for yogurt that contains Lactobacillus acidophilus, which is a very friendly bacterium that protects the body against harmful bacteria, parasites, and other organisms. As it breaks down, it releases things such as hydrogen peroxide that create a toxic environment for unhealthy creatures in the body, helping to drive them out. It also plays an important role in digestion, helping to produce a number of chemicals which aid in the digestion process. There are also acidophilus supplements for lactose intolerant people.

I just wanted to share this story with all of you, in case there are others out there who don’t know anything about this, like how we were a week ago. I think if we were at least aware of such a possibility, this wouldn’t have gotten so bad! We realized that we can’t rely on the doctors to come to the right conclusion all the time, sometimes it helps to ask the right questions.

Anyway, during the whole trial he couldn’t eat much. The first few days were a clear liquid diet where he could drink only see-through liquids like stock and grape/apple/cranberry juice. Then he could move on to soft foods like jell-o and potatoes and crackers and toast. This week we started introducing more solids, but he is not supposed to take any spicy food at all, also no greens or vegetables with fiber. Now, that is a really tough diet to be on.

First solid food he had was some yogurt rice and scrambled eggs. When that didn’t cause any issue, we decided to move on to fish. The idea of just fish with salt didn’t appeal to him much. So to add some flavor I steamed the catfish filet along with some herbs and fennel and lime slices. The flavoring ingredients were discarded after the fish was steamed, and the fish was shredded and lightly sautéed in very minimal oil. It was used as a sandwich filling along with some sautéed onions. After two weeks of bland diet, the mild flavors of the fish were a gastronomic delight for him.

I had the same dish, but mine was spiced up with some pepper and crushed chili flakes. I wrapped the two filets in individual parchment paper parcels, so I could make one with spices and one without.

Steamed catfish filet just out of the parchment paper parcel.

Ingredients

For steamed fish

• 2 large catfish filets (any white fish)
• 1 large fennel sliced, both the bulb and the green leaves
• a few fresh thyme sprigs
• a few fresh parsley sprigs
• 1 fresh lime sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Marinate the fish filets in a mixture of lime juice and salt. Place the individual filets in the middle of two large sheets of parchment paper. Season well with pepper. Divide the rest of the ingredients into two parts, and arrange these on top of the fish filets. Fold the parchment paper over from the long side first, fold it over, and staple to secure. Fold and twist both the short ends next, and staple to seal the ends and form a neat parcel.

Place the parcels in a steamer and steam for about 12-15 minutes. Open carefully, since the filets will be hot and there might be some steam and hot liquid inside.

I discarded the lime pieces and the tough ends of the fennel and most of the herbs and transferred my steamed filet to a non stick pan along with the liquid formed inside the parchment paper parcel. Once the liquid was dried out, I added a little bit of olive oil and shredded the filet and sauteed it till the pieces were lightly browned. The fish and caramelized onions were placed inside the tastiest bread ever – Brioche burger bun from Macrina bakery. Along with some crème fraîche and a side salad, it made a wonderful dinner.

Note: You can add some sliced ginger, sliced green chilies and soy sauce while steaming the fish. Steam it for 15 minutes, and skip the second step. It will make a great healthy dinner along with some steamed rice.

This catfish sandwich is my entry for The Sandwich Festival 2008 hosted by Anupama of Food and More.

Thank you all for the kind e-mails and concerned comments. Sorry I couldn’t respond, but I will get back to you all soon! The sun is shining again, the dark days are behind us I hope!

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Category: Mains, Seafood