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.

Turkey Chorizo and Egg Breakfast Burritos

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Everyone needs a solid breakfast burrito recipe. This one has it all: hearty black beans, creamy avocado, savory turkey chorizo, and a generous dollop of salsa to cut through it all.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
4 ounces fresh turkey or chicken chorizo
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion, plus more for serving
1 cup drained and rinsed canned black beans
2 teaspoons finely chopped unseeded jalapeno, plus thin jalapeno slices, for serving
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus cilantro leaves, for serving
Salt
Pepper
6 eggs
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups), divided
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 avocado, cut into 8 wedges
Tomatillo salsa

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add chorizo; cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until fat has rendered, about 2 minutes. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until chorizo is cooked, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, jalapeño, and cilantro; remove from heat. Transfer mixture to a bowl; season with salt and black pepper to taste. Wipe skillet clean.

2. Whisk together eggs and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl until combined. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add eggs; cook, gently stirring with a rubber spatula, until just scrambled, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer eggs to a bowl; cover with foil to keep warm. Wipe skillet clean.

3. Off heat, sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese in a 7-inch circle in skillet. Heat over medium until cheese is sizzling and almost completely melted, 30 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds. Heat skillet to medium-high and place 1 tortilla in skillet. Carefully sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese on tortilla. Once cheese begins to melt (about 1 minute, spread tortilla with one-fourth each of chorizo mixture, eggs, and avocado. Slide onto a plate. Let cool 1 minute; roll up burrito, leaving ends open. Wipe skillet clean. Repeat 3 times with remaining tortillas, and fillings. Cut burritos in half; serve with onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and salsa.