Seafood – Page 7 – Yogurtsoda

Sushi rolls

April 24, 2015February 7, 2019

I’ve just returned from a trip to Tokyo and jet lag aside, it was everything my sushi-laden dreams are made of. I’m no early riser, but I even had sushi for breakfast one morning at Tsukiji fish market. The sushi was as good as I remembered it from my last trip a few years ago, and I’ve been craving it at home since I returned.

Thankfully, good sushi is within reach at home. For me, the toughest part is making the vinegared rice. I haven’t mastered it yet but I’ll keep trying until I get it right. It’s a great excuse to eat more sushi.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sushi rice
1 2/3 cups water
1 4-inch piece of kombu seaweed
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 to 15 toasted nori seaweed sheets
any assortment of the following filling ingredients: sliced sashimi-grade tuna, sliced sashimi-grade salmon, salmon roe, sea urchin, crab, barbecued eel, egg omelet, shiso leaves, takuan pickled daikon radish, sesame seeds, sliced cucumber, sliced avocado, green onions, soy-simmered shiitake mushrooms, umeboshi plums, soy-simmered kampyo gourd strips, cooked spinach

1. Make the vinegared rice: soak the kombu seaweed in the water for about one hour to make the stock. Wash the rice 30 minutes prior to cooking and drain on a sieve. Put the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small pot and heat slightly until dissolved. This completes the vinegar dressing. Place the rice and stock into a rice cooker and cook according to cooker instructions. Transfer the rice to a large bowl and sprinkle with the vinegar dressing. Using a flat wooden spoon, toss the rice with horizontal cutting strokes while cooling the rice with a hand-fan. When tossing is completed, cover the rice with a clean cloth moistened with water.

2. Place a nori seaweed sheet on a maki-su bamboo mat. Put the vinegared rice lightly on the nori sheet and spread over the sheet, leaving 3/4-inch at the top and bottom uncovered.

3. Place filling ingredients of your choice horizontally on top of the rice.

4. Lift the edges of both the bamboo mat and nori sheet nearest you and bring over to meet the far edge of the sheet.

5. Gently but firmly press the bamboo mat around the roll to shape it. Push both ends of the rolls towards the center firmly a few times using a cloth or plastic wrap.

6. Cut in sixths or eighths crosswise. Clean the knife with water between cuttings. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

December 1, 2013February 7, 2019

I make these light and healthy spring rolls all the time, especially when the weather begins to warm up. (Or when it never cools down, as is this case with this year’s endless Bay Area summer.)

Even though I usually make them with shrimp, you can substitute with shredded chicken, fresh crab, or any kind of protein. The herbs are interchangeable too: I prefer a mix of romaine lettuce, mint, and basil, but anything goes. Sometimes I substitute shredded carrots with cucumbers or avocado instead. You get the picture.

Don’t make these too ahead of time, as I’ve learned the hard way that refrigerating fresh spring rolls results in a stale wrapper. Don’t worry, though. These are so good you won’t have any left over.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
24 medium shrimp (about 1 pound), peeled (or shredded chicken)
4 ounces dried bean thread (glass) noodles
16 round rice paper wrappers
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 bunch mint leaves, removed from stems
1 bunch basil leaves, removed froms tems
1 Persian cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 bunch romaine lettuce, ribs removed

1. To make the peanut sauce, whisk the first 8 ingredients together in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. To make the spring rolls, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and opaque, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cold water until cool. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and place on a cutting board. Holding your knife parallel to the cutting board, halve each shrimp horizontally. Set aside.

3. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and pour over bean thread noodles in a heat-proof bowl and cover for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

4. Place a clean, damp kitchen towel on a work surface. Fill a medium frying pan or wide, shallow dish large enough to hold the rice paper wrappers with hot tap water. Working with 1 wrapper at a time, completely submerge the wrapper until it is soft and pliable, about 15 seconds. Remove the wrapper from the water and place it on the towel.
Working quickly, tear off a piece of lettuce that is roughly half the size of the wrapper and place in the center of the wrapper. Add 3 shrimp halves in a row, cut side up, just above the center of the wrapper, leaving about 1 inch of space on each side. Layer 1/4 cup of the noodles over the shrimp, followed by a spoon of carrot, a few mint leaves, and a few basil leaves. Place 2 of the cucumber sticks on either side of the noodle pile.

5. Fold the bottom and top halves of the rice paper wrapper over the filling. Holding the whole thing firmly in place, fold the sides of the wrapper in. Then, pressing firmly down to hold the folds in place, roll the entire wrapper horizontally up from the bottom to the top. Slice in half.

6. If not serving immediately, keep the summer rolls tightly covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Serve with the peanut sauce for dipping.

Linguine with Clams and Bagna Cauda Butter

September 24, 2013February 7, 2019

What’s better than linguine with clams? Why, linguine with clams doused in a buttery, garlicy sauce, of course. Adapted from a Michael Chiarello recipe, this dish is a little bit Italian country and a little bit wine country. Most importantly, it’s entirely delicious.

Ingredients:

1 pound dried linguine
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic
2 tablespoons chopped anchovies
3/4 stick butter
sea salt
4 pounds clams, scrubbed
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley

1. Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat. When the oil just begins to warm, add the garlic and anchovies and cook slowly, stirring, until the garlic becomes light brown and the anchovies dissolve, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

2. Process the butter in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the cooled garlic-anchovy mixture and a pinch of salt. Process until well blended. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley, reserving the rest. Set bagna cauda butter mixture aside.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta.

4. While the pasta cooks, prepare the clams. Heat a large pot over high heat. When very hot, add the olive oil, then add the clams. When the clams first begin to open, add the wine and bring to a boil. Boil for a couple of minutes to drive off the alcohol, then cover and cook until the clams open, about 5 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open.

5. Drain the pasta when it is al dente and transfer it to the pot with the clams. Cook over moderate heat for about 1 minute so the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Turn off the heat, add the butter and reserved parsley and toss until the butter melts. Serve immediately.

Crab and Tobiko Summer Rolls

February 21, 2011February 7, 2019

It’s only February, but I’ve had summer on my mind, and all the fresh dishes that go with it. The aptly-named summer rolls are one of my favorite things to eat in the warmer weather and with spring only a few weeks away, I’m making these early this year.

These seafood summer rolls pack a bunch with a chili-garlic spiked aioli and the crunchy, vinagared vegetables balance out the mayonnaise perfectly. If you take the time to prep your mise en place ahead of time here, putting these rolls together is a snap.

Ingredients:
1 (3-inch-long) piece daikon radish, peeled and julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 Persian cucumber, halved and julienned
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
1 ounce tobiko roe
3 teaspoons soy sauce
10 round rice-paper wrappers
1 pound crabmeat, picked over and coarsely flaked
1 green onion, thinly sliced diagonally

1. Combine one tablespoon of lime juice and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, toss carrot, daikon, and cucumber with vinegar, sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, and salt to taste.

2. In another bowl, mix chili-garlic sauce with mayonnaise and half of the tobiko and set aside.

3. Stir together the remaining lime juice and soy sauce in a small bowl.

4. Soak 1 rice paper wrappers in a baking dish of warm water until pliable, about 5 seconds. Put 1 soaked wrapper on a dry cutting board. Put one tablespoon of crabmeat across lower third of wrapper (nearest you), leaving a 2-inch border at bottom. Spread with 1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise-tobiko mixture and top with a few pieces of the carrot mixture and sliced scallion. Fold bottom of wrapper over filling and roll up tightly. Repeat with remaining filling ingredients and rice paper wrappers.

5. Cut each roll into 2 pieces. Arrange on a platter, standing them up, and top each with a dollop of tobiko. Drizzle lime-soy sauce around rolls.

Dungeness Crab Cakes

May 31, 2010February 7, 2019

Crab cakes may be a Maryland tradition but I can’t think of a better way to enjoy them than with San Francisco Dungeness crabmeat. I’ve been making this recipe for more than ten years now – they make a perfect appetizer and are just as good in a sandwich.

I usually serve these without any sort of sauce, since the crab cakes themselves are flavored with Parmesan cheese, garlic and herbs. I know cheese usually doesn’t pair well with seafood, but there’s an exception to every rule, right?

Ingredients:

3/4 pound cooked crabmeat (shelled from one Dungeness crab)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 egg, beaten
1/4 half and half or heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Break crabmeat into flakes. Place in a bowl, add cheese, parsley, oregano, garlic, crumbs, onions, egg, and cream. Mix lightly.

2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Mound two tablespoons of the crab mixture with a spoon, spreading to make a 3-inch cake. Place in pan and repeat until pan is filled. cook patties until lightly browned on bottoms, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until other side is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and arrange on serving plate. Repeat until all crab cakes are cooked, adding more oil as needed. Serve warm.