Tag: Quick and Easy

Panko-Crusted Salmon Patties

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It’s salmon season! Kind of. Okay, so there’s no salmon season in California this year (thanks, climate change), but you can use any wild salmon in this easy and comforting dish. Chopped water chestnuts add crunch to the filling, making these patties oh-so-easy to eat.

Panko salmon patties
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 pound skinless salmon fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the marinade:

  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped water chestnuts
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • Cornstarch for dry-coating
  • 3/4 cup panko
  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil
  1. Place salmon in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add marinade ingredients. Process until mixture is smooth. Remove the salmon mixture to a bowl. Add water chestnuts and mix well. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  2. To make each patty, take 1/4 cup salmon mixture and shape into a patty. Dip patty in egg, drain briefly, then coat with panko.
  3. Place a wide frying pan over medium heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat sides. Add patties and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Eggplant with Crispy Shallots and Fish Sauce-Lime Vinaigrette

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It’s eggplant season! Adapted from chef Joe Ogrodnek, this buttery, savory, and lime-heavy eggplant dish is one of my new favorites. I could eat this all summer.

Ingredients:

4 medium Japanese eggplants (about 1 3/4 pound)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the dressing:
6 tablespoons hot water
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup fresh lime
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon grated garlic
1 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 (2-inch) piece lemongrass stalk, halved lengthwise and smashed
1 makrut lime leaf

Additional ingredients:
1/4 cup torn fresh basil, cilantro, and or mint, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup thinly sliced radishes
1/4 thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup toasted chopped peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 teaspoons crispy fried shallots
2 teaspoons fried garlic

1. Cook the eggplant: Working in batches, sear the eggplants in vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high until browned on all sides and tender. Set aside to cool slighly.

2. Whisk together 6 tablespoons hot water and sugar in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Whisk in fish sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and chile. Add lemongrass and lime leaf.

3. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise (do not cut all the way through).

4. Place eggplant on a serving platter. Stuff eggplants evenly with herbs, radishes, and red onion. Drizzle 2 tablespoons dressing over each stuffed eggplant. Top evenly with peanuts, scallions, fried shallots, and fried garlic. Sprinkle with additional herbs. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Burmese Steamed Eggplant

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This eggplant is much more than the sum of its parts. Eggplant, ground turkey, and a few aromatics steam in a pot and achieve some sort of velvety, garlicy alchemy. Adapted from my tattered copy of Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, serve this alongside rice or flatbread and it’s *chef’s kiss.*

Ingredients:

2 dried Thai red chiles, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes to soften
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced anchovies in oil, drained
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1/4 pound ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 pounds Asian eggplants (about 4), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 to 2 tablespoons cilantro or mint leaves, coarsely torn

1. Drain the chiles, reserving the water. Coarsely chop them, discarding the stems, and place in a blender with the shallots, garlic, anchovies, and salt. Process to a paste (use some of the chile water if you need to). Add the tomato and blend briefly, then transfer the spice paste to a bowl and set aside.

2. Place a 4-quart heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid over high heat. Add the oil and heat, then add the turkey and brown briefly, then add the spice paste and turmeric. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the eggplant slices and stir briefly, cover tightly, and reduce the heat to low (do not add water). Cook, checking every 5 minutes or so to ensure that nothing is sticking and to give the ingredients a quick stir, for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the eggplant is very tender.

3. Serve in a shallow bowl and top with the cilantro or mint. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hawaiian Butter Mochi

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I’ve been making this Hawaiian butter mochi since I was a teenager. Adapted from a decades-old recipe from the now-defunct (endless sob) Gourmet Magazine, it’s the best (and easiset) butter mochi I’ve had to this day. Go ahead, try it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups (1 pound) mochiko (sweet rice flour)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350F degrees.
  2. Whisk together mochiko, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together coconut milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla in another bowl. Add coconut mixture to flour mixture, whisking until batter is combined.
  3. Pour batter into an ungreased 13- by 9-inch baking pan, smoothing top, and bake until top is golden and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 1 1/2 hours. Cook cake completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours. Cut mochi into 24 squares before serving.

Curried Egg Tartines

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It may seem like endless winter in California this year, but technically, spring is finally here. Here’s the perfect dish, adapted from Bon Appetit — toasted sourdough, creamy curried eggs, and crisp radishes — to celebrate our hypothetical spring. Enjoy your twentieth atmospheric river of the season! 

Ingredients:

8 eggs
3 radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
1 cup coarsely chopped tender herbs (such as parsley and/or chives)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Juice of 1 Meyer lemon
3 green onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 thick slices sourdough bread
1 1/2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
1/2 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Maldon sea salt
Aleppo-style pepper

1. Using a slotted spoon, lower eggs into a large saucepan of gently boiling water. Cook, adjusting heat as needed to maintain a gentle boil, 9 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let cool, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place radishes, herbs, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and toss to combine; set herb salad aside.

3. Separate dark green tops from green onions and thinly slice; set aside. Thinly slice remaining white and pale green parts; set aside separately.

4. Gently peel eggs and coarsely chop (keep pieces large). Toast slices of bread until golden.

5. Heat oil in a small skillet and cook curry powder and reserved green onion white and pale green parts, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer green onions to a large bowl, add mayonnaise, mustard, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and mix to combine. Add eggs and reserved green onion tops and gently fold to envelop eggs in dressing. (This egg salad can be made a day ahead of time.)

6. To serve, top toasted bread with egg salad and herb salad. Sprinkle with sea salt and Aleppo-style pepper.