Crispy Skin Salmon with Fiery Asian Slaw

I have to apologize again for being somewhat MIA this past week, but a business trip took me to Chicago for several days and away from our kitchen.  Something kinda amusing happened, though. This seafood place near the hotel where I was staying was featuring catfish from my hometown, Hickory, North Carolina one night.  Since I've moved to the coast, I rarely eat seafood away from home except for the occasional trip to a one of the local fish camps when I head inland to visit my parents in Hickory.  Anyway, I had to laugh a little bit to myself when I saw that they were featuring catfish from Hickory, and I immediately emailed my mom to let her know and ask her about it.  Where did these catfish come from?  Lake Hickory?  Umm, yuck.  She said that she thought they were probably farm raised which would make sense (and sound much more appealing to me).  

Anyway, when I returned from Chicago, Rick and I planned our meals for the weekend.  I headed to Publix to get the groceries while he headed to his place to clean up the mess that the people who had come to view his place earlier that day.  One of the meals that we planned on doing was from a recipe on myrecipes.com from the September 2009 issue of Cooking Light.  It was another one featuring and Asian style slaw, and this one added a little heat to it.  Once again, myrecipes.com didn't let us down, and the meal turned out great!  Rick wants to add it to our repertoire because it was delicious and good for us, too!  I really liked the orange juice with the fish.  I can't wait to make it.  Now, just gotta figure out what to go with the extra cole slaw!  I did up the vinegars and chili sauce in the slaw, and I added a little bit of sesame oil to it. The piece of salmon that I used was smaller than the original recipe required, and it turned out to be perfect for the two of us!  All in all, a very yummy and super quick meal...perfect for the week nights!

Here's what we did...

Crispy Skin Salmon with Fiery Asian Slaw

Ingredients

1 piece 12 oz of salmon

Cooking spray

1/4  cup  fresh orange juice

2  tablespoons  rice vinegar

2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar

1  tablespoon  olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2  teaspoons  Sriracha (hot chile sauce)

1  teaspoon  ground ginger

1/2  teaspoon  honey

1/2  cup  chopped fresh cilantro

1  16 oz package cole slaw

1  tablespoon  toasted sesame seeds

Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine rice vinegar and next 6 ingredients (through honey) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add  1/2 teaspoon salt, cilantro, and coleslaw; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Place in the refrigerator while cooking the fish.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon fillets evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add salmon to pan, skin side down; cook 4 minutes. Turn salmon over; cook 3 minutes. Add orange juice to pan; cook until liquid almost evaporates and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Enjoy!

Rick does dinner AGAIN!

Maybe I should be sick more often because he did it again last night!  How lucky am I?  Last night, Rick brought over some whiting that he had purchased at Sewee Outpost.  If you ever find yourself on Highway 17 North heading to Myrtle Beach (or South heading to Charleston from Myrtle Beach), I would recommedn checking them out.  They have all kinds of good stuff nfrom food to equipment to everything inbetween.  They also serve awesome biscuits on weekend mornings.  I stopped by Publix on my way home yesterday and picked up some House Autry Seafood Breader.  That stuff is amazing, and it makes perfect breading for frying fish.  I swear it tastes like something you would get at a fish camp back home.  We have yet to try out the chicken one, but I'd imagine that it going to be awesome, too.  Rick requested that I make our favorite cole slaw, and I also whipped up a tartar sauce by combining McCormick's tartar sauce with some horseradish sauce.  I was impressed with how quick and easy our meal was.  Too bad the Tar Heels didn't play so well last night.

Before I post the recipe, I would like to apologize for being slack and not posting pictures.  I promise to upload them this weekend!!

Here's what we did.

Rick's Fried Whiting

Ingredients
1 lb of whiting filets
1 box of House Autry Seafood Breader
Vegetable Oil

Directions
Cut whiting filets into 2 inch pieces.  Put breader into a gallon freezer bag, add filet pieces, seal, and shake to bread the fish. 

Heat vegetable oil in a cast iron or heavy skillet (about 1/8 inch deep to pan fry).  When the oil is heated, add whiting pieces to oil  and pan fry about 2-3 minutes per side (or until fish is flaky).  Remove fish and place on a paper-towel covered plate to drain the oil.

Enjoy!

Taco Tuesday Night Part Two

One of my favorite Christmas presents that I received this year is the Southern Living Annual Cookbook that my mom gave me.  I had requested it after seeing quite a few recipes that I liked on myrecipes.com from the magazine.  Back in the 90s, my mom had given me two of these cookbooks, but she had stopped doing it since she also gets them every year.  As soon as I opened the present, I began flipping through it.  I came across a taco recipe that looked like something that Rick and I would enjoy.  It was for Tempura Shrimp Tacos.  I was also excited about it because it would also be a nice break from the leftovers that I've been eating since I returned from NC.  Like other Southern Living recipes, it can be found on here on myrecipes.com.  It was originally published in the September 2009 issue.  

I had never played with Tempura batter before, but it sure was messy!  I accidentally followed the directions on the box instead of the recipe so I used the whole box instead of just a cup.  I upped the amount of fajita seasoning.  We still thought that the end product was rather bland.  The Mexi-Cole Slaw was pretty good, but in Rick's opinion, nothing can top the Asian slaw. I don't know that we'll be having it again because while it wasn't bad, there are so many other recipes that we like better!


Tempura Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
1 pound unpeeled, large raw shrimp (31/35 count)
1 cup tempura batter mix (I used McCormick's)
3/4 cup cold light beer
2 teaspoons fajita seasoning mix (I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of Old El Paso)

Vegetable oil
12 (6-inch) fajita-size flour tortillas, warmed
Mexi-Coleslaw Mix (see below for recipe)

Directions
Peel shrimp; devein, if desired.

Whisk together tempura batter mix, beer, and fajita seasoning in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.

Pour oil to depth of 2 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 325°. Dip shrimp in tempura batter, shaking off excess. Fry shrimp, in batches, 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden; drain on a wire rack over paper towels.

Serve in warm tortillas with Mexi-Coleslaw Mix and desired toppings (We used cilantro, salsa, and sour cream)



Mexi-Coleslaw Mix
Ingredients
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon fajita seasoning (I used a tablespoon)

1/2 (16-oz.) package shredded coleslaw mix
Salt to taste

Directions
Stir together cilantro, mayonnaise, lime juice, and fajita seasoning in a large bowl; add coleslaw mix, stirring to coat. Season with salt to taste. Cover and chill 30 minutes to 24 hours.

Crab and Shrimp Cakes!!!!

Even though it turned out to be a not-so-great night for UNC basketball last night, Rick and I did have a wonderful dinner. As tempting as it is to expound on how poorly my Heels played, I will concede that they are young and confine all my complaining to messageboards.  

On Thursday, we had snow crab legs, but because we didn't eat them all, I decided to make one of Rick's favorite recipes:  Crab and Shrimp Cakes!  The recipe is from epicurious.com and called Asian-Style Crab and Shrimp Cakes.  Interestingly enough, for an Asian recipe, it calls for using French bread crumbs when using panko is so much better.  This recipe is another one that is perfect for two!  I paired the crab cakes with the cole slaw that I posted a couple of months ago.  I love this meal because not only is it easy, but it is lightening fast!  You can bake them in the oven or fry them in peanut oil.  Last night, I opted for frying.  I've also been known to add green onions if I have them handy.


I served the cakes with a horseradish sauce that I made Thursday night to go with the crab legs.  I was hoping to replicate the crab sauce that Harris Teeter sells (which they have been out of for WAY too long). Usually, I serve the crab and shrimp cakes with a wasabi sauce.  I am going to include that recipe because I like it better than the horseradish sauce!


Here's the recipe that I use:

Asian Style Crab and Shrimp Cakes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce (nam pla) or soy sauce
• 1 cup crab meat (or 6 oz canned crab meat)
  
• 4 oz chopped shrimp (peeled and deveined)
  
• 1 1/2 cups panko
• 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

Directions

Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Add crabmeat, shrimp and 3/4 cup panko and mix well. Season with pepper. Place remaining panko to a  plate. Drop 1/4 of crab mixture into panko and turn to coat. Shape into 2 1/2-inch-diameter cake. Repeat coating and shaping with remaining crab mixture and panko to 4 cakes.

Heat peanut oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add cakes and sauté until crisp, about 5 minutes per side. 

Another option instead of frying is to bake them in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes and flipping half way through.


Wasabi Dipping Sauce
1 cup light mayo
2 tablespoons wasabi paste (water and wasabi paste mixed together)

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 small pinch of salt


Mix ingredients together and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.

Wasabi Chicken?

I love making Asian-inspired meals because they are not only easy but also delicious. I don't try to do anything extremely complicated--just yummy! Rick has told me several times how much he enjoys when I make this particular type of cuisine. Recently, I jokingly told him that these dinners were so good because I was part Asian. Those who know me know that I'm blonde-haired and blue-eyed and very far from such.

On Saturday, I decided to dig out a recipe from my epicurious.com recipe box for wasabi crusted chicken. I haven't made it since 2004. I was really surprised that I haven't made it in so long because I'm such a big fan of panko and wasabi. My fear of chicken may have been keeping me from doing it. Yep, cooking chicken has always scared me. It's too dry if you over cook it, and there's that whole salmonella thing if you under cook it. Lately, I've gotten better with it, though so I decided to take a chance and try this recipe again.

When I got home from clinical, I was a little tired, but luckily, Rick had gone to the grocery store while I was busy in the nursery. He picked up chicken broth, teriyaki sauce, eggs, and the cilantro and chow mein noodles for the slaw. I decided to pair the chicken with Rick's favorite slaw. He, unfortunately, left the bag of cole slaw at his place so we ran over there to get it before starting. We contemplated grilling out because I was so tired but decided to go ahead with our planned meal.

I don't know if my tiredness or what kept me from following the instructions that I had written on the side of the recipe that said "make wasabi paste and coat chicken before dipping in eggs," but I opted to ignore this simple step. The result? Not a bit of wasabi kick! I had even added the wasabi powder to the sauce and egg wash! Grrrr.... They still turned out yummy, but if you want the wasabi kick, you gotta add the wasabi to water to "activate" it! I also failed to flatten my chicken breasts before cooking so I ended up baking them for a little bit (covered in foil) after cooking them in the peanut oil to avoid burning the panko. They turned out great, though (minus the kick of course)! I used leftovers today to make a chicken sandwich with wasabi mayo. I finally got that wasabi kick I was looking for!

The slaw, as always, was delicious!!! The only changes I make to it is using a bag of cole slaw and adding sesame seeds and chow mein noddles on top!


Here is the untouched Chicken Recipe

Wasabi-Crusted Chicken Breasts
Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) or fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
• 4 teaspoons wasabi powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten to blend
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, flattened to 1/3-inch thickness between plastic wrap

• 4 tablespoons peanut oil

• 3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
• 3 tablespoons sake
• 3 tablespoons low-salt chicken broth
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced

Preparation

Combine panko, wasabi powder, salt, and pepper in a large shallow dish. Place eggs in pie dish. Dip chicken, 1 breast at a time, in egg, and then in panko mixture. Turn to coat completely.
Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté 2 chicken breasts until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to platter. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken.

Add teriyaki sauce, sake, and chicken broth to skillet; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Drizzle sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and serve.

My changes:

• ALWAYS make wasabi paste (wasabi + water) and coat chicken before dipping in the egg
• I use mirin instead of sake
• Repeat after me again...ALWAYS make wasabi paste and coat chicken before dipping in the eggs

The slaw recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 1 1/2-pound heads green cabbage, very thinly sliced (about 25 cups)
• 1 cup seasoned rice vinegar*
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil

Preparation

Place cabbage in very large bowl. Add vinegar, cilantro and oil; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; chill at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours, tossing often.
*Also known as sushi vinegar; available at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets.

My changes:

• Use bag of cole slow
• Add sesame seeds before tossing
• Top with Chow Mein Noodles