Tag: Quick and Easy

Yuzu Kosho Pesto Rice

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This is a simple dish, but it’s much greater than the sum of its parts. I love anything with pesto, but would have never thought to add spicy, citrusy yuzu kosho to it. Adapted from Donabe, I usually serve this with good-quality tinned sardines.

Yuzu kosho pesto rice

Ingredients:

  • 2 rice cups (1 1/2 cups) short-grain white rice, rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 cups basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon yuzu kosho
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  1. Cook the rice in a rice cooker according to directions.
  2. Meanwhile, make the pesto: in a small saucepan, toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat, stirring and watching carefully until pine nuts are lightly golden, about five minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. In a food processor, combine 1 tablespoon of the pine nuts with the garlic, basil, olive oil, yuzu kosho, soy sauce, and lemon juice.
  3. Once the rice has finished cooking, uncover and add the pesto, the remaining pine nuts, and the Parmesan cheese. Gently mix to combine and serve.

Herbed Shrimp Skewers

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These lightly breaded herby shrimp are so versatile. Want an easy appetizer? Check. A main dish for a vaguely Mediterranean dinner? You got it. These broil fast, so pay attention.

Herbed shrimp skewers
Ingredients:
  • 2 pounds shrimp, peeled
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  1. Put the olive and avocado oils in a large bowl and add the shrimp, mixing them to coat. Add the bread crumbs, garlic, and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Toss the shrimp to give them an even coating of bread crumbs. Cover and let marinate for at least one hour.
  2. Thread the shrimp onto skewers, curling them as you do so that the tail is skewered in the middle. Arrange the skewered shrimp on a baking sheet fitted with a grill.
  3. Preheat the broiler. Place the baking sheet with the shrimp about six inches from the broiler and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, until shrimp are cooked through.

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.

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.