Take-Out Fake-Out Shrimp and Broccoli

May 23, 2013 by 3 Comments

So sorry for the static on the blog for the past week. Things have been kind of crazy around here. I’ll get into more details in coming blog posts, but for now I just want to get right back to the FOOD!

This Shrimp and Broccoli is a great take-out fake-out. It comes together quickly and taste delicious. I do want to note that the evening I photographed this meal I completely spaced and forgot to add the onions. We still gobbled up dinner, but I think I prefer it with the onions. Obviously if you don’t like onions you can leave them out and the meal will still work. Also, you can adjust the heat to suit your tastes. If you like things extra spicy you can add extra chili-garlic sauce or red pepper flakes. If you don’t like spicy things you can cut it way back!

One last thing before I get to the recipe! The craziness in my own home was put in perspective after this weeks tragedies in Oklahoma. My heart goes out to the many families affected by the terrible storms, including the family of one of my good blogging friends, Kelsey. She wrote an incredibly touching post yesterday and has pledged her blogging profits from the month to the Salvation Army for their disaster relief efforts. Every visit to her site helps! Please stop by her blog and send her some love! You can also visit the Salvation Army site directly or text STORM to 80888 to make your donation



Take-Out Fake-Out Shrimp and Broccoli

Ingredients
1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
1 tsp garlic-chili sauce*
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp canola oil, divided
1-2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup onion, vertically sliced (not pictured)
Sesame seeds for garnish

Directions

In a glass measuring cup combine the chicken broth, rice vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic-chili sauce.

In a large wok or skillet over medium-high, heat the canola oil, ginger, and garlic. Once the oil is hot (and before the garlic starts to turn brown!) add the shrimp. Season with salt and stir-fry until the shrimp is translucent and pink, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan.

Add one teaspoon of oil to the pan. Add broccoli and onions and stir-fry for about 3 or 4 minutes. Pour in the sauce mixture and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the shrimp back to the pan and cook for 1 more minute.

Serve immediately with a side of rice and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Optionally, serve with Sriracha sauce on the side.

Adapted from Cooking Light via My Recipes

Here are some other delicious Asian-inspired flavors!

Spicy, Sticky, Sweet Asian Meatballs
Beef with Eggplant
Shanghai Stir-Fried Pork
Asian Style Braised Short Ribs

Filed Under: Asian Food, Main Course, Seafood Tagged With: , , , , ,

Fish and Chips

March 11, 2013 by 5 Comments

There are few foods that bring me right back to St. Patrick’s day and Irish pubs quite like Fish and Chips. The crispy and golden fried fish dipped in delicious tartar sauce. The fries soaked with malt vinegar. Mmm…. A little piece of Irish heaven.

I couldn’t let this year pass with satisfying my craving for this delicious meal. Of course the only way to make it even better is to make it homemade!

I have to admit that deep frying foods at home has always made me really nervous. The huge pot of basically boiling oil was super intimidating to me. But it was time to conquer my fear. Once I got all of my ingredients prepped, I was surprised at how simple it was. To make sure I was able to fully devote my attention to frying the fish, I decided to oven bake the fries. It was nice because I was able to have both things going at once and didn’t have to worry about keeping the fries warm, though I’m sure deep fried fries would be amazing. If you would like to fry your fries, check out Laura’s blog, Tide and Thyme, for those instructions.

Fish and Chips


Ingredients

5 potatoes, washed and scrubbed
Salt and pepper to taste
Warm water
5 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb white, flaky fish (I used cod)
1 cup full-flavored beer (I used Stone IPA)
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet by coating with 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper.

Peel the sides of the potatoes, leaving some skin on the ends, then cut into 1/2 inch slices lengthwise. Carefully stack the potato slices and cut into 1/4 inch strips. Place cut fries in a large bowl and cover with warm water and a teaspoon of kosher salt for 15 minutes. Drain water and layout fries on a clean dish towel to dry. While the fries are drying, wipe out the bowl they soaked in. Return the fries to the now dry bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of oil. Spread evenly on prepared baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes (rotating pans once or twice), or until bottoms start to turn golden brown. Using tongs or a spatula, flip each of the fries. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, mix 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of beer and a teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl. Put remaining 1/4 cup of flour in a large ziploc bag. Fill a dutch oven a little less than halfway with vegetable oil. With burner on low-medium, bring oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once oil is hot and you’re ready to fry, place fish in Ziploc bag and shake to coat with flour. Take each fish piece and dip in the beer batter, then place in the hot oil. Fry for about 3-4 minutes then use tongs to flip and fry for another 3-4 minutes, or until deep golden brown. Repeat this in as many batches as necessary (I was able to do about 4 pieces per batch without feeling like I was overcrowding the pot).

Serve fish and chips hot with fresh cut lemon wedges, tartar sauce, and malt vinegar. Also goes great with coleslaw!

Tips:

  • Have lots of clean kitchen towels and paper towels ready to dry potatoes, clean up drips, and clean off fingers.
  • Have tongs and spatulas ready for fish and chip turning.
  • A candy thermometer is a must to monitor the temperature of the oil, especially if you have a crappy stove top like I do.
  • I cut my fish into a total of 9 pieces (they were each 3-4 inches long).
  • Have a cooling rack lined with paper towels ready to go for when you take the fish out of the oil.

Source: Fish from Tide and Thyme, Chips (Baked oven fries) from Annie’s Eats originally from The New Best Recipe

Got Fish?
Foil Packet Soy-Lime Salmon with Green Beans
Foil Baked Fish with Black Beans and Corn
Homemade Fish Sticks
Pepper Jack and Cilantro Stuffed Swordfish

Filed Under: Main Course, Potatoes, Seafood, St. Patrick's Day Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Foil Packet Soy-Lime Salmon with Green Beans

January 11, 2013 by 1 Comment


So, technically, I made this salmon in a parchment packet and not a foil packet (because who runs out of foil? me!), but who’s counting? What really matters is that this dinner was fast, easy, delicious, and nutritious.

When Jesse asked what was for dinner and I told him salmon he got that sad puppy dog look. It’s not that he doesn’t like seafood/fish, he just isn’t ever really excited about it. He definitely changed his look after the first bite. The foil (or parchment) locks in the moisture and the flavor leaving you with a perfectly cooked salmon filet and flavorful green beans.

 

Foil Packet Soy-Lime Salmon with Green Beans

Ingredients
4 6-oz salmon filets
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp honey
Red pepper flakes
3 green onions, cut and divided (white and light green parts separated from dark green)
1 lime, quartered
Green beans, trimmed (About 12-15 per packet)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare foil by cutting into sheets 12-14 inches long.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and honey. Place a salmon filet in the center of sheet of foil. Generously brush with sauce. Squeeze lime over the filet. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and the white and light green parts of the green onions. Top with green beans, garlic, ginger, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Seal the foil by bring the sides together and pinching along the seam. Then fold in the ends.

Bake for 18 minutes. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before opening foil and transferring to a plate. Serve with the rest of the green onion tops and any sauce left in the foil packets.

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

 

Filed Under: Easy Weeknight Dinner, Main Course, Seafood, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Foil Baked Fish with Black Beans and Corn

March 8, 2012 by 2 Comments

I’ve been so inconsistent about posting food lately that I’m almost lost about how to even write this post! I really need to get myself back into the swing of things…

In the weeks leading up to “the big move” I pretty much gave up on trying to make and photograph food at dinner time. I was usually too tired after work to put the proper amount of effort into it, the lighting was terrible, and I just couldn’t get into it. It’s also kind of hard to get motivated to make a whole meal when it’s just you you’re cooking for.

On my own, I could happily eat noddles with a little olive oil, garlic, squeeze of lemon and boat load of cheese almost every night for dinner. But during the day (I had a break while the girls were in school) I had much more energy and of course was always looking for an excuse to do anything other than pack my apartment. So I found myself making a lot of my big meals for lunch.

This fish was one of those mid-day meals. I’ve got to tell you, it was one of the best lunches I’ve had in ages. It’s been over a month since I made it and I can still taste it when I think about it.

The chipotle adds a deep smokey flavor that balances out perfectly with the lightness from the citrus in the orange juice. Then there is the punch of cilantro and the little bit of butter makes everything melt together. It’s also great because it’s basically a one dish meal with easy preparation and clean up. Definitely something you should try. I used Tilapia because it was on sale at the grocery store, but pretty much any mild white fish will work. If you’re worried about it being too fishy, try using a fish like mahi mahi since it’s flavor is even milder.

Also, I found this recipe on Pink Parlsey and this week Josie shared a spin-off recipe using chick peas instead of black beans. Sounds interesting!

Foil Baked Fish with Black Beans and Corn
Ingredients
4 skinless white fish fillets (6 to 8 oz each), 1-inch thick
salt and pepper
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce or 1 tsp dry Chipotle chili powder
1 tsp grated orange zest
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (16-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups corn kernels, I used half frozen sweet corn and half frozen roasted corn (from Trader Joes)
1/2 red onion, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and adjust rack to lower middle position.

Pat the fish fillets dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, use a fork to combine the softened butter, 1/2 of the chipotle pepper (or chili powder), orange zest, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and half of the garlic. Spread the butter mixture over the fish.

In a medium bowl, combine the black beans, corn, red onion, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, orange juice, remaining chipotle pepper (or chili powder), remaining garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

Lay out 4 squares of aluminum foil and divide the bean mixture evenly between them. Place one fish fillet on top of the bean mixture on each sheet of foil. Fold the foil in half over the fish and then seal all of the open edges by folding the foil edges up and in.

Carefully move the foil packets to a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. Carefully open the packets, sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve.

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, The Best Simple Recipes as seen on Pink Parsley

Filed Under: Dinner, Easy Weeknight Dinner, Healthier, Seafood Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,