Sweet Chilli Eggplant

Date Published: August 12th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 12th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sides, asian, easy, quick, vegetarian
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 10 mins

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Australians really like their sweet chilli sauce. I had no idea until I moved here nearly 6 years ago. It’s most commonly used as a dip for deep fried foods (especially with chicken salt potato wedges and sour cream – YUM) and it’s also widely available as a condiment in many takeaway shops. Sweet chilli sauce isn’t a very common ingredient in Chinese cuisine so I didn’t have much exposure to it growing up but since moving to Australia I’ve increased my sweet chilli intake by 200% 😅.

This recipe came from my good friend Anita. We had dinner at her place one day back in the vet school days and she wanted to recreate a dish she had at a restaurant with eggplant steaks. After a dash of this and that, she concocted a delicious sweet and savoury sauce that the eggplant steaks were bathed in. It was SO good. There wasn’t a written recipe since she didn’t measure anything (like a true OG Asian cook, eh?) so I’ve recreated it based on the ingredients she used and the result is bang on. I know the serving size says 4, but I could seriously eat a whole plate of this myself over a bowl of rice. I actually wasn’t a fan of eggplants until that day, surprisingly, and now I can’t get enough of it! I’m currently working on a few more eggplant recipes at the moment so keep an eye out!

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Sauce:
- 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
- 1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine
- 2 Tbsps kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp black vinegar (I like the Chinkiang brand)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsps neutral oil
2 medium eggplants, diced in roughly 4cm pieces (I just use regular eggplants but you can use the Chinese variety if you like)
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

Make the sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients in a bowl: sweet chilli sauce, cooking wine, kecap manis, soy sauce, black vinegar, and garlic. Set aside.

Heat a skillet on MED-HIGH heat and drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into the skillet and swirl around to coat. Add the eggplants in batches (don’t overcrowd the pan, only sear one layer of eggplant at once) and sear them until the centres are soft and the skin blisters or wrinkles.

The eggplant will absorb the oil right away so don’t worry if your pan looks dry because the eggplants will release some oil and liquid as it cooks. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same skillet, turn the heat down to MEDIUM and add in the sauce. Stir-fry the sauce for 30 seconds, then scoop out a couple tablespoons into a bowl and mix it with the cornstarch then add it back into the skillet with the rest of the sauce and stir. Let the sauce simmer and bubble for a minute and continue stirring until the sauce thickens (the consistency should be gloopy, similar to sweet chilli sauce). Taste and adjust flavours as needed.

Pour the sauce over the eggplants and mix. Done! Serve immediately.

Tip: You can make these into eggplant steaks by slicing the egg plants into 3cm thick slices and follow the recipe exactly the same way and pour the sauce over before serving.

Summarized Recipe:

Sweet Chilli Eggplant

Ingredients:

Sauce:
- 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
- 1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine
- 2 Tbsps kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp black vinegar (I like the Chinkiang brand)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsps neutral oil
2 medium eggplants, diced in roughly 4cm pieces (I just use regular eggplants but you can use the Chinese variety if you like)
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

Make the sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients in a bowl: sweet chilli sauce, cooking wine, kecap manis, soy sauce, black vinegar, and garlic. Set aside.
Heat a skillet on MED-HIGH heat and drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into the skillet and swirl around to coat. Add the eggplants in batches (don’t overcrowd the pan, only sear one layer of eggplant at once) and sear them until the centres are soft and the skin blisters or wrinkles.
- The eggplant will absorb the oil right away so don’t worry if your pan looks dry because the eggplants will release some oil and liquid as it cooks. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same skillet, turn the heat down to MEDIUM and add in the sauce. Stir-fry the sauce for 30 seconds, then scoop out a couple tablespoons into a bowl and mix it with the cornstarch then add it back into the skillet with the rest of the sauce and stir. Let the sauce simmer and bubble for a minute and continue stirring until the sauce thickens (the consistency should be gloopy, similar to sweet chilli sauce). Taste and adjust flavours as needed.
Pour the sauce over the eggplants and mix. Done! Serve immediately.

Tip: You can make these into eggplant steaks by slicing the egg plants into 3cm thick slices and follow the recipe exactly the same way and pour the sauce over before serving.

August 12, 2020August 13, 2020

AbbyLeave a comment

Apple Chicken Goat Cheese Salad

Date Published: August 10th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 10th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: salads, healthy, easy, < 30 mins, mains
Serves: 4 as mains, 6-8 as side salads | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 5 mins

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This is my ALL TIME FAVOURITE SALAD. Seriously. Back in Canada I used to go to Montana’s a lot with my friends and I almost never order salad when I’m eating out because I always think it’ll never be as good as a warm cooked meal and not way could it be as flavourful. One night I wasn’t particularly hungry and I was trying to be a bit more healthy since I was training for a marathon so I decided to browse their salads section and ordered the ‘Apple Harvest Salad’. I only chose this one because it had goat cheese in it (and I LOVE goat cheese). When the food arrived, my salad portion was HUGE with dressing served on the side. I was skeptical, but ohhhhh boy was I wrong. That salad changed my world and it actually became my new favourite thing on their menu (other than the goat cheese stuffed chicken breast and Kapow Shrimp). I’d actively go to Montana’s just to get this salad – which doesn’t sound like me at all! Now that I live in Australia, there’s no Montana’s in sight and I decided to recreate it myself! I’d say I did a pretty good job because this salad is FANTASTIC. If you love goat cheese, this is the salad for you! The juicy crisp apple pairs so well with the warm nutty toasted pecans and the creaminess of the goat cheese all tied together in a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

I’ve only ever eaten this salad as a main dish because it’s THAT good and there’s no way I could eat it as just a small side dish so I’ve categorized this in both the mains and sides section. If you want to serve it as a side, you might want to consider skipping the chicken so your meal isn’t too bulky. If you’re packing it for lunch, keep the salad dressing separate and pour it on when you’re ready to eat.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Salad:
- 1 cup pecans
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast or thigh, chopped to bite-sized pieces – you can use leftover chicken from a roast or make it fresh the way you prefer (see my preferred method to cook chicken breast here)
- 12 cups of lettuce or mixed greens (enough for 4 main salads)
- 1 red bell pepper (aka capsicum), sliced (I ran out of peppers in the house and used cherry tomatoes instead in the photos)
- 1 large apple, sliced
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 140g goat cheese, crumbled
- Fresh ground black pepper
Balsamic vinaigrette dressing:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Toast the pecans: Preheat oven to 180˚C (~350˚F) and bake the pecans on the top rack for 5-10 mins and flip over and continue to bake until fragrant and toasty darker brown (another 5 mins). When done, set aside and let them cool then roughly chop.

Optional step: if you haven’t made your chicken breast, you can pop them in the oven with the pecans (see my preferred method). When cooked, slice into strips or bite-sized pieces and let cool.

Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, add all the salad ingredients together: pecans, chicken, lettuce/mixed greens, red pepper, apple, cranberries, goat cheese, and fresh ground black pepper. If you want to be fancy you can place the ingredients on top of the salad and serve the dressing on the side.

Make the balsamic vinaigrette: Combine all the ingredients for the dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, dijon, honey, salt and pepper) in a bowl and whisk until you get a homogenous mixture. Drizzle half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing as needed. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Apple Chicken Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

Salad:
- 1 cup pecans
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast or thigh, chopped to bite-sized pieces – you can use leftover chicken from a roast or make it fresh the way you prefer (see my preferred method to cook chicken breast here)
- 12 cups of lettuce or mixed greens (enough for 4 main salads)
- 1 red bell pepper (aka capsicum), sliced
- 1 large apple, sliced
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 140g goat cheese, crumbled
- Fresh ground black pepper
Balsamic vinaigrette dressing:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Toast the pecans: Preheat oven to 180˚C (~350˚F) and bake the pecans on the top rack for 5-10 mins and flip over and continue to bake until fragrant and toasty darker brown (another 5 mins). When done, set aside and let them cool then roughly chop.
Optional step: if you haven’t made your chicken breast, you can pop them in the oven with the pecans (see my preferred method). When cooked, slice into strips or bite-sized pieces and let cool.
Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, add all the salad ingredients together: pecans, chicken, lettuce/mixed greens, red pepper, apple, cranberries, goat cheese, and fresh ground black pepper.
Make the balsamic vinaigrette: Combine all the ingredients for the dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, dijon, honey, salt and pepper) in a bowl and whisk until you get a homogenous mixture. Drizzle half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing as needed. Enjoy!

August 10, 2020September 6, 2020

Abby1 Comment

Spicy Garlic Miso Green Beans

Date Published: August 9th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 9th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: asian, sides, vegetarian
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

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I love cooking with green beans. They’re a common ingredient in a lot of Asian cooking and there’s so many ways you can make them. The flavour of green beans are relatively subtle so I find them fantastic when paired with a bold and flavourful sauce, like in this recipe! These beans are steamed to tenderize, then sautéed in a miso, ginger, and garlic sauce to pack a punch. This recipe is super easy and makes a great quick side dish to pair with a salmon (like my popular maple salmon recipe – click for recipe ) or steak. It only takes 15 minutes to make with minimal clean up :).

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Sauce:
- 2 Tbsps soy sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp miso paste
- 1/2 Tbsp chilli pepper flakes (makes it medium spicy)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp oil
600g fresh green beans, trim off ends

Directions:

In a bowl, make the sauce by mixing together the soy sauce, miso paste, chilli flakes, garlic and ginger. Set aside.

In a dry pan on medium heat, add the sesame seeds and toast it until light brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

In the same pan, add 1 Tbsp of oil and add in the green beans. Stir-fry for a couple minutes then add in enough water to cover 1cm of the pan. Put the lid on and steam the beans until they’re tender (~5 minutes).

Once tender, remove the lid and bring the heat up to MED-HIGH and continue to stir-fry until the beans are lightly browned. Turn off the heat and add the toasted sesame seeds and the sauce to the pan. Stir quickly to combine. The residual heat from the pan should cook off any liquids. Serve!

Summarized Recipe:

Garlic Miso Green Beans

Date Published: August 9th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 9th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: asian, sides, vegetarian
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Sauce:
- 2 Tbsps soy sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp miso paste
- 1/2 Tbsp chilli pepper flakes (makes it medium spicy)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp oil
600g fresh green beans, trim off ends

Directions:

In a bowl, make the sauce by mixing together the soy sauce, miso paste, chilli flakes, garlic and ginger. Set aside.
In a dry pan on medium heat, add the sesame seeds and toast it until light brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
In the same pan, add 1 Tbsp of oil and add in the green beans. Stir-fry for a couple minutes then add in enough water to cover 1cm of the pan. Put the lid on and steam the beans until they’re tender (~5 minutes).
Once tender, remove the lid and bring the heat up to MED-HIGH and continue to stir-fry until the beans are lightly browned. Turn off the heat and add the toasted sesame seeds and the sauce to the pan. Stir quickly to combine. The residual heat from the pan should cook off any liquids. Serve!

August 9, 2020August 9, 2020

AbbyLeave a comment

Parmesan-Crusted Cauliflower Steak

Date Published: August 8th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 8th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: vegetarian, mains, sides, healthy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 38 mins

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Ohhhhh boy. Get ready to have your mind blown. I had never heard of cauliflower steak before until a few weeks ago when the whole family was trying to eat a little lighter. After a couple hours of googling for some food inspo, I came across this recipe from Epicurious and I instantly knew we had to make it. The result came out fantastic albeit a little salty (and I usually love my salt so that’s saying something!). The crunchy parmesan panko crust with the dijon mayo ontop of the roasted cauliflower was so delicious and adds warmth to a miserable cold day (much like today). This easy recipe is definitely a must-try! It’s going straight up to my top 20 dishes to make! I’ve adjusted the recipe to lessen the salt and made some adjustments to have this as a standalone dish with any sides of your choice.

PS: Try to get the biggest cauliflower you can find because I could eat two of these in one sitting! Or make smaller steaks and serve this as a side dish.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

2 large heads of cauliflower
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 Tbsps mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
Parmesan Crust Topping:
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Zest of 1 lemon (~1 Tbsp)
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 6 Tbsps olive oil
- 2/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220˚C (425 F).

Remove the outer leaves of your cauliflower heads and keep the core intact. If the bottom of the core is thick and fibrous, you can trim it off. Cutting along the widest part of the cauliflower (so you get the biggest slices), cut the cauliflower in half then slice one 3cm thick cuts from each half. Reserve the rest of the cauliflower to be used another day. Repeat for the second cauliflower.

Gently rub olive oil over and black pepper to both sides of the steaks and bake for 10-15 minutes on each side at 220˚C. You want the cauliflower to be tender and browned on the edges.

While the cauliflower is baking, combine the mayonnaise, dijon mustard and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

In another bowl combine all the ingredients of the parmesan crust in a bowl except panko (garlic, lemon zest, parsely, parmesan, olive oil) and set aside. Don’t add the panko to this mixture until your cauliflower has cooked and you’re ready to use it, otherwise the panko can get a little soggy sitting in the bowl.

Finished baking on both sides. You want crispy brown edges and a tender centre.

Once the cauliflower steaks have cooked on both sides, take it out of the oven and spread the mayonnaise/dijon mixture over each steak. Add panko to the parmesan crust mixture and combine then spread it ontop of the steaks. Bake the steaks for another 5-7 minutes until the panko crust is lightly browned. Serve!

Summarized Recipe:

Parmesan-Crusted Cauliflower Steak

Ingredients:

2 large heads of cauliflower
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 Tbsps mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
Parmesan Crust Topping:
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Zest of 1 lemon (~1 Tbsp)
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 6 Tbsps olive oil
- 2/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220˚C (425 F).
Remove the outer leaves of your cauliflower heads and keep the core intact. If the bottom of the core is thick and fibrous, you can trim it off. Cutting along the widest part of the cauliflower (so you get the biggest slices), cut the cauliflower in half then slice one 3cm thick cuts from each half. Reserve the rest of the cauliflower to be used another day. Repeat for the second cauliflower.
Gently rub olive oil over and black pepper to both sides of the steaks and bake for 10-15 minutes on each side at 220˚C. You want the cauliflower to be tender and browned on the edges.
While the cauliflower is baking, combine the mayonnaise, dijon mustard and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
In another bowl combine all the ingredients of the parmesan crust in a bowl except panko (garlic, lemon zest, parsely, parmesan, olive oil) and set aside. Don’t add the panko to this mixture until your cauliflower has cooked and you’re ready to use it, otherwise the panko can get a little soggy sitting in the bowl.
Once the cauliflower steaks have cooked on both sides, take it out of the oven and spread the mayonnaise/dijon mixture over each steak. Add panko to the parmesan crust mixture and combine then spread it ontop of the steaks. Bake the steaks for another 5-7 minutes until the panko crust is lightly browned. Serve!

August 8, 2020August 9, 2020

Abby6 Comments

Tabbouleh (Mediterranean Quinoa Salad)

Date Published: July 28th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 28th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: salads, healthy, easy, < 30 mins
Serves: 4 as a side dish | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 5 mins (20mins including cooking quinoa)

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Tabbouleh (or tabbouli) is a simple mediterranean salad mainly comprised of whole grains, tomatoes and parsley. There are many versions of this salad out there but this one is by far my favourite and simplest. The freshness from the lemon juice and veg pairs really well with a heavy main dish such as a roast lamb. It’s also pretty good as a topping in wraps!

I like to use white quinoa in this recipe for the fluffiness, but you can sub it out for a different whole grain if you like for different textures. This recipe is super simple, healthy and filling. Feel free to add in some baked chicken breast or canned tuna or salmon for an easy lunch.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

3 cups of cooked quinoa, cooled to room temp (equates to 1 cup uncooked quinoa) – if you’ve never cooked quinoa before, it’s super simple. Just boil 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa until the liquid is absorbed. You can follow this tutorial for a step-by-step guide on how to make quinoa for some guidance if you need.
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups fresh parsley, finely chopped (either curly or flat-leaf)
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins, roughly chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed – optional
Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1.5 tsps lemon or lime juice
- 3 tsps ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

Directions:

Make the salad dressing by combining all the dressing ingredients together (olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt, red pepper flakes) and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the rest of the salad ingredients together (parsley, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries, black beans (if using)). Add your salad dressing and toss everything together. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled in refrigerator.

Done!

Summarized Recipe:

Tabbouleh (Mediterranean Quinoa Salad)

Ingredients:

Salad Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1.5 tsps lemon or lime juice
- 3 tsps ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
3 cups of cooked quinoa, cooled to room temp (equates to 1 cup uncooked quinoa) – you can follow this tutorial for a step-by-step guide on how to make quinoa for some guidance if you need
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups fresh parsley, finely chopped (either curly or flat-leaf)
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins, roughly chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed – optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Make the salad dressing by combining all the dressing ingredients together (olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt, red pepper flakes) and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the rest of the salad ingredients together (parsley, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries, black beans (if using)). Add your salad dressing and toss everything together.
Salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled in refrigerator. Done!

July 28, 2020August 23, 2021

Abby1 Comment

Smoked Salmon Salad with Roasted Sesame Dressing

Date Published: July 24th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 24th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: salad, healthy, quick and easy, <15 mins, asian
Serves: 1 person as a main, or 2-3 as a side salad
Prep time: 8 mins | Cook time: 30 seconds to toss the salad

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I love this salad. It’s so flavourful, satisfying, and best of all it’s really easy and quick. You can easily customize it too. I came up with it one morning while trying to make a quick lunch for the fam and at the same time clearing the fridge of ingredients – I never expected it to turn out so good!

This recipe sounds fancy smancy but it’s the quickest most ridiculously easy salad to put together as long as you have roasted sesame dressing on hand. You can make the dressing yourself from scratch (the recipe is on my to-do list to upload, I swear), but often times I let the good people at Kewpie do the hard work for me especially if I’m in a rush or just feeling extra lazy. Kewpie does such a fantastic job with this dressing that Toby and I like to keep a 1L bottle in the fridge and use it on SO many things as a dipping sauce – I highly recommend picking up a bottle next time you’re at an Asian grocer.

Roasted sesame dressing is commonly seen in many Japanese restaurants served on their side salads in bento boxes. It’s a creamy dressing that’s packed with roasted sesame flavour. It elevates the most basic salads to another level, including this one. While you can use this dressing with virtually any salad ingredient, I found that when you pair it with smoked salmon, something absolutely magical happens. The heavy savoury smoked salmon paired with the dressing is balanced out by the fresh crisp veggies that results in a refreshing salad with a heap of flavour.

Next time you’re in a rush to pack lunch but still want something delicious and healthy, think of this salad! Or better yet, next time you’re inviting people over for a dinner party but you’ve exhausted all your energy on the main dish, you can quickly whip up this salad as a starter or a side dish to impress.

I’ve written this recipe with veggies I commonly have in my fridge as a staple in most of my salads (lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers/capsicums, and cucumbers) but of course you can change it up to whatever veggies you like such as grated carrot, radishes, spinach, red onions…etc. This recipe is so easily customizable. The only thing I don’t usually pair with this dressing is cheese. I find that the creaminess of the dressing tends to overpower most cheeses so why bother adding it in – fewer calories, amiright?

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

2 handfuls of lettuce, washed and shredded
1 handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves
1 handful of cucumber, chopped
1 handful of red bell pepper/capsicum, chopped
50g smoked salmon, sliced – you can use smoked trout as well which I find is usually cheaper and tastes very close to smoked salmon
Kewpie roasted sesame dressing to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Feel free to customize the ingredients to whatever you like or whatever you’ve got in your fridge. The bold flavours of the salmon and the dressing makes this salad pretty forgiving with whatever veggies you want to chuck in it.

Directions:

Mix everything together in a large bowl and toss with as much dressing as your heart desires. Done!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. Let me know how yours turned out in the comments! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Summarized Recipe:

Smoked salmon salad with roasted sesame dressing

Ingredients:

2 handfuls of lettuce, washed and shredded
1 handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves
1 handful of cucumber, chopped
1 handful of red bell pepper/capsicum, chopped
50g smoked salmon, sliced
Kewpie roasted sesame dressing to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Mix everything together in a large bowl and toss with as much dressing as your heart desires. Done!

July 24, 2020September 6, 2020

AbbyLeave a comment

Spicy Asian Tuna Salad

Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sides/salads, <15mins
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 5mins

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

Last weekend Toby’s dad took us deep sea tuna fishing with a fishing charter in Portland, Vic. My fishing experience is fairly limited but thankfully the charter set up all the rods for us, so all we had to do was wait until a tuna caught on and we take turns reeling them in. Luckily mine didn’t put up too much of a fight but Toby’s gave him a good workout. There was a limit of two tuna per person. We drove around for hours and caught some here and there, but alas we were two fish short of our max. We were on the boat for roughly 6 hours total. We took 4 fish home in total, ranging from 10-15kg (good thing Toby’s parents have a big freezer back on the farm). We youtube’d how to fillet a tuna and we filleted one tuna that night and have been eating it ever since. I’ve been scrambling to find some good tuna recipes and came upon some asian-inspired ones and played around with them. This recipe is the result of it! (I also used up some tuna in the salmon chowder recipe and subbed out the fish type – turned out delicious!)

This recipe has asian-inspired flavours. Some ingredients aren’t very traditionally asian (like the cranberries and raw carrots), but they have their role to play and I promise the overall flavour packs a punch! You end up with a mildly spicy, kinda sweet, crunchy, sesame tuna salad in the end. This recipe is easy and comes together quickly! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Dressing:
- 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp asian chilli paste or sambal (I like to use the Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil (drained), but any chilli paste should do – you may want to adjust the proportions if your chilli sauce is very spicy). You can even use sriracha.
- 1 1/2 tsp honey
- 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated

200g cooked or canned tuna, flaked and drained well
- You can use canned tuna, but for my purposes I was trying to use up the tuna fillets from our fishing trip so I quickly cooked the tuna in the oven at 180˚C for 10mins and flaked it for this recipe.
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 Tbsp green onions, chopped (~2 stalks)
1/3 cup carrots, chopped finely
2 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 Tbsp lemon juice

I was quite conservative with the spice level in this recipe – just spicy enough to leave your mouth with a slight tingle. You can choose to omit the chili powder altogether if you’re not into spicy or even double it if you’re a spice fiend. The spiciness of your chili paste will also determine how spicy your tuna salad is.

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, sesame oil, light soy sauce, asian chilli oil, honey, ginger. Set aside.

In a bigger bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients: tuna, cranberries, green onion, carrots, sesame seeds, chili powder and lemon juice. Once combined, add in the dressing and mix until incorporated. Serve!

You can serve this as a snack or appetizer or side dish. My favourite way to serve this is in some lettuce leaves as wraps. The crisp and freshness of the lettuce cuts through the heaviness of the salad. You can also have it with crackers or spread in a tortilla to make a burrito or even between some bread to make an easy tuna salad with a punch. I also like to serve it with lemon wedges for extra zing!

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Spicy Asian Tuna Salad

Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sides/salads, <15mins
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 5mins

Ingredients:

Dressing:
- 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp asian chilli oil (I like to use the Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil (drained), but any chilli oil/sauce should do – you may want to adjust the proportions if your chilli sauce is very spicy)
- 1 1/2 tsp honey
- 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated

1 1/2 cups (200g) cooked/canned tuna, flaked and drained
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 Tbsp green onions, chopped (~2 stalks)
1/3 cup carrots, chopped finely
2 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, sesame oil, light soy sauce, asian chilli oil, honey, ginger. Set aside.
In a bigger bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients: tuna, cranberries, green onion, carrots, sesame seeds, chili powder and lemon juice. Once combined, add in the dressing and mix until incorporated. Serve!

Notes:

You can serve this as a snack or appetizer or side dish.
My favourite way to serve this is in some lettuce leaves as wraps. You can also have it with crackers or spread in a tortilla to make a burrito or even between some bread to make an easy tuna salad with a punch.

July 4, 2020September 6, 2020

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