Salmon potato cakes

Ingredients:

1 can of sockeye salmon (213 g) or equal amount of freshly cooked salmon
2 medium size potatoes or 1 large potato
2 stocks of green onions
1/2 cup of flour
1 large egg
Salt for seasoning
bread crumb

Steps:

1. Cut the potatoes with skin on into 1 inch cubes and cook them in boiling water for 10 minutes until the potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork.
2. Drain all liquid from the potatoes and mash the potatoes with a fork. Set aside.
3. Drain all liquid from the can salmon and removed the salmon skin.
4. Mash the salmon in a large bowl and sprinkle with pepper and garlic powder
5. Add chopped green onions and mashed potatoes, then the egg, flour, salt, and mix everything together. You should have a relatively dry, sticky paste.
6. Spread bread crumb into a small plate.
7. Use the spoon to scoop up a egg size paste and roll it into a ball using your hands. Dip the salmon potato ball into the bread crumb until it's fully coated. Press the ball lightly until it forms the shape of a small, flat disk.
8. Heat up a frying pan at medium heat drizzled with oil. After the frying pan is heated, cook the salmon cake a few minutes on each side until golden brown.

Note: It's important to overcook the potatoes or they would absorb too much water and make the paste too wet. For the same reason, it is important to drain as much liquid as possible from the can salmon and the cooked potatoes.
I keep the bones in the can salmon as they contains a lot of calcium. They are very soft and can be mashed easily.

 

The main ingredients: salmon, potato, and green onions

The salmon potato pancake paste before cooking

Salmon cakes cooked in cast iron pan

Misoyaki black cod

(picture to come soon, we finished it before I remembered to take a picture)

I tried the Miso-crusted black cod at Roy's and loved it. The only thing I didn't like about it was that they always char the fish a bit too much for my liking. Here's a home made version that I think tastes just as good, minus the charred fish and the expensive price tag.

Ingredients:
1 lb of black cod or any fish fillet

Miso sauce:
1/4 cup of sake
1/4 cup of mirin sauce - you can get this from most asian stores
4 tablespoons of fresh miso
2.5 tablespoons of brown sugar

Steps:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the sauce and soak the fish fillet in the sauce overnight.
2. Wipe off the extra sauce. Bake the fish at 375F oven for about 15 minutes or pan fry the fish fillet for a few minutes each side. 

Note: You can use this sauce to marinate chicken and pork as well.

Nutritional info:
There's health benefits with Miso, see wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miso#Nutrition_and_health fish is a good source of protein

Roasted potatoes with rosemary

I have always loved potatoes and used to mainly go for Yukon gold. But recently I have a new favorite - German butter potatoes. They are creamy, slightly sweet and great for baking. The roasted potatoes in this dish are crispy on the outside but creamy and soft on the inside. And they are oh so yummy, my husband raved about the dish through out dinner :)

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Rosemary, dried or fresh, finely chopped
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Cut potatoes in half unless they are very large. The pieces should be no less than 2 to 2.5 inches in parameter. Coat the potatoes with oil and rosemary.
3. Cover a baking pan with a large piece of aluminum foil. Put the potatoes flat side down to get a golden crust and to prevent them from drying.
4. Use a salt grinder to sprinkle salt evenly over the potatoes.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Nutritional info:
Potato is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium.

Mixed mushroom with prawns

I got a fresh bag of mixed mushroom at the farmer's market so I cooked this fresh, delicious dish together with some succulent prawns and orange bell peppers.

Ingredients:
Mushrooms of any kind, cleaned and sliced - 1 lb
10 large prawns
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 slice of ginger, minced

Sauce:
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/4 cup of water
a drizzle of sesame oil

Steps:

1.  Add a bit of oil to a heated pan.
2. Cook the prawns for a few minutes until they turn opaque, pink, and curled up. Season the prawns with a bit of salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
3. Cook the minced garlic and ginger in the pan with a bit of oil until you can smell the garlic and ginger. Add in the mushroom and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Mix the ingredients of the sauce well in a container and add to the mushroom and bell pepper, the sauce should thicken shortly. Adjust the thickness sauce accordingly as this depends on the amount of liquid coming out from the mushroom. If the sauce is too thick, dilute with a bit of water. If it is too watery, you can thicken with a bit more corn starch mixed with a small amount of water.

Nutritional info:

Mushrooms are high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, same with bell pepper. One interesting fact is that red pepper is much higher in vitamins and nutrients than green pepper, not to mention much more tasty. So take that into account when you go shopping next time. Prawns are high in protein

Beef stew with potatoes and carrot

Stew beef is one of the cheaper cut of beef and it's easy to cook. It's already cut into chunk when it's sold in the store so it is easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of stew beef

2 medium potatoes or 3 small ones, cut into chunks (I like the German butter potatoes which are soft, creamy and slightly sweet)

1 large carrot, cut into small pieces

1 clove of garlic, minced

(optional) 1 tablespoon of red wine

Beef marinate:

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon of poultry rub or mixed herb

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of oil

Steps:

1. Marinate the stew beef overnight so all the flavour can be soaked into the beef
2. Cook the minced garlic in the pan until golden brown
3. Add the beef in and brown the outside for a few minutes
4. Add the potatoes and carrot into the pan
5. Add the red wine, 1/3 cup of water
6. Season the potatoes and carrot with a bit of salt and pepper
7. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes 
8. The beef should be about cooked now, remove the beef when cooked so it does get tough and dry
9. Continue to cook the potatoes for another 5 to 6 minutes until potatoes are soft, the carrot is tender, and the sauce thickens. 
10. Mix the beef back in

Makes 2 to 3 servings

Nutritional Info:

Beef is high in iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, and B vitamins, and it is a good source of carnitine (an antioxidant). It is also the only meat with creatine, good for building muscles. Red meat is a bit more difficult to digest, and there's some health concern when it is consumed too much (more than 500 g per week). But there's definitely health benefits when consumed moderately. 

Potato is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium.  Carrot is high in B-carotene, dietary fibre, and antioxidants.

Note: Potato contains toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids, which affects the nervous system, causing confusion and weakness. Stems, sprouts and fruits contains high concentration of the toxin. Potato that has turned green also has high concentration of the toxin. So avoid eating any potato that has sprouted or turned green

Chanterelle mushroom fried eggs

It's chanterelle mushroom season and I was able to pick up some wild chanterelle for a good price at the farmer's market. I decided to make pan fried eggs with it. Chanterelle is only in season for a short period during the year so you can always substitute it with other types of mushroom such as Shitaki or cremini.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of chanterelle or other mushroom, clean and sliced
1/4 cup of chopped chives or green onion
4 to 5 eggs (I used 3 large whole eggs plus 3 egg whites left over from making ice-cream)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt
dash of pepper

Steps:

1.  Add a bit of cooking oil to a heated pan and cook the minced garlic until golden brown.
2. Add the mushroom and cook for a few minutes.
3. Add the green onion and cook down the liquid coming out from the mushroom. Turn off heat.
4. In a glass bowl, scrambled the eggs, added the mushroom, salt, pepper and drizzle a bit of oil to the mixture.
5. Add some oil to a clean, heated pan.
6. Pour in half of the egg and mushroom mixture.
7. Cook for a few minutes until one side is almost cooked through.
8. Flip the egg and cook the other side for another minute or so.
9. Repeat steps 5 - 8 for the other half of the egg mixture.

Makes 2 ~ 3 servings.

Nutritional info:

This delicious golden orange mushroom has a fruity fragrance and is high in Vitamin C & D, as well as potassium. Eggs are high in protein, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B5, Calcium, and essential amino acids

Marinated cucumber

Picked up a fresh English cucumber at the farmer's market on Sat and decided to make a nice side dish with it. Cucumber is a good source of various Vitamins and minerals and sesame is a high source of minerals. The rich sesame paste contrasts nicely with the fresh taste of the cucumber.

Ingredients:
1 large English cucumber
1 teaspoon of salt for pickling

Sauce:
1.5 tablespoons of sesame paste
1 teaspoon of soy sauce

Steps:

1. Peel all or most of the skin of the cucumber
2. If the cucumber is old, remove the seeds. Slice the cucumber into thin strips of about 3 to 4 inches long
3. Put the cucumber strips in a strainer and mix well with the teaspoon of salt. Let sit for 10 minutes
4. Wash the salt off with water. Take a hand full of the cucumber at a time and squeeze as much water out as possible. This gives the cucumber a crunchy texture
5. Mix the sesame paste with soy sauce until a thick paste is formed
6. Mix the sauce with the cucumber