Seafood

by : Reiko Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Seafood

Smoked Oyster Lemon Pasta
牡蠣の燻製とレモンのパスタ

This has been one of my recent favorite pastas.

Smoked Oyster Lemon Pasta.

This is my secret weapon!

Smoked oysters from Trader Joe’s.

These are so tasty, and I sometimes just eat them as a snack.

The other key ingredients are lemon zest, parsley, garlic, and homemade bread crumbs.

Voila!

I know oysters are not for everyone, but if you like oysters, you should definitely try this!

Smoked Oyster Lemon Pasta

olive oil
2 garlic, chopped
1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs
100g cooked pasta (I used linguine)
1 can smoked oysters (from Trader Joe’s)
lemon zest from 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon parsley
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper
olive oil, for drizzling
lemon juice

1. Cook garlic in olive oil. Add breadcrumbs and continue to cook until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned.
2. Combine the breadcrumbs, cooked pasta, oysters, lemon zest, parsley, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper.
4. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of lemon juice.

I’m on Instagram.

August 19, 2016

by : Reiko Potato/Squash, Seafood

Smashed Potato Salad with Herring and Dill
燻製にしんポテトサラダ

A nice thing about being the cook of our household is that I can make whatever (mostly) food I like and the way I like it.

Potato salad is a popular dish and everybody knows what it is, but it’s probably one of the dishes that everyone has a specific idea of how it should be prepared.

There are a number of ways to make potato salad.

Along the way you make many decisions.

Large pieces of potatoes or small pieces?

What other ingredients?

Mayo or no mayo?….

I like a lot of other vegetables in my potato salad.

There were always cucumber slices in my mother’s potato salad but I usually go for other vegetables.

I like cucumber but it’s not my favorite thing in my potato salad (sorry mom!).

This time I added corn and radish, both of which I got at the local farmers market.

Another ingredient I added this time was smoked herring.

This one from Trader Joe’s is my favorite; Trader Joe’s has many other wonderful canned smoked fish and seafood as well.

This addition of protein makes this potato salad a great main dish for lunch.

If served with leafy salad or vegetable soup, that would be a wonderful lunch (or dinner) for me.

I won’t bore you by telling you too much about my favorite potato salad, but I’ll share just a few things that are important to me.

1. No mayo. We are on the 95% plant based diet (and Terry does not care for mayo).
2. Potatoes are lightly mashed so that they soak up tasty dressing.
3. Lots of vegetables, especially the ones that have crunchy texture.
4. Some kind of herb(s).

Smashed Potato Salad with Herring and Dill

2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper
3~4 cups bite-sized potatoes, cooked and lightly smashed
4 radish, julienned
2 ears corn, cooked
dressing (2 tablespoons white vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon canola oil, 1/2 ~1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, salt, pepper)
fresh dill, chopped

1. Mix white vinegar and sugar. Pour the mixture over cooked potatoes. Mix. Salt and pepper.
2. Place the potatoes on a large plate.
3. Put radish and corn kernels over the potatoes.
4. Make dressing. Combine all the ingredients.
5. Serve the salad with the dressing (you may not need all) and fresh dill.

I’m on Instagram.

July 14, 2016

by : Reiko Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Seafood, Soup

Mussle Coconut Curry ムール貝ココナッツカレー

It’s always fun to visit an Asian grocery store because I seem to find something new and interesting every time I go.

Last time I was at a large local Chinese grocery store I found these beautiful green mussles!

It was interesting to find out that they are from New Zealand because I usually see them at Chinese restaurants so I had assumed they were from Asia.

These were sold in a box frozen. When I opened the box at home I was pleasantly surprised that each piece was very large and plump.

Another thing I found during the same trip to the grocery store was this. Rice flake noodles.

I had never seen it before, and I thought it would be fun to try it in my coconut curry.

These flakes are paper-thin and so pretty.

I expected them to maintain the flat shape, but once cooked in boiling water they all curled up!

The third major ingredient of this dish, coconut milk, also came from the same Asian grocery store that day.

I always enjoy coconut curry, but this one turned out to be a bit special with the new fun ingredients!

Check out my other coconut curry for more ideas, like this, this, or this.

Mussle Coconut Curry with Rice Flake Noodles

canola oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
ginger, chopped, same amount as garlic
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2~3 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon Indian curry paste
1 can coconut milk
a dozen green mussles, thawed
1 cup rice flake noodles, cooked
sugar
salt and pepper
fresh scallion, chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Sautee garlic and ginger in oil.
2. Add onion and celery. Continue to cook.
3. Add vegetable stock. Boil and turn down to a low heat.
4. Add curry paste and coconut milk. Turn heat up.
5. Add mussles. Cook mussles for a few minutes until cooked through.
6. Add cooked rice flake noodles.
7. Season, with sugar, salt, and pepper.
8. Serve with scallion and cilantro.

I’m on Instagram.

April 24, 2016

by : Reiko Leaf Vegetabes, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Seafood

Cod Rice Pouch 鱈ご飯袋焼き

One of our favorite home-cooked meals.

Cod Rice Pouch!

The main ingredient is apparently cod.

But I like to put a lot of vegetables in the pouch as well.

Here is a picture right before the pouch was closed and put in the oven.

You can enjoy this dish simply as it is, or a splash of lemon juice, or any sauce of your choice.

This time I served it with sweet and spicy chili soy sauce.

You can certainly make chili sauce from scratch, but it’s easier when you use Trader Joe’s Hot & Sweet Chili Jam.

This is super easy to make, yet, it looks gorgeous.

Another great thing about this dish is everything (protein, carbs, and veggies) you want for your meal is all in the pouch.

So no need to prepare side dishes separately.

If you are interested in other cod dishes, check out this、this, or this.

Cod Rice Pouch

1 cup cooked rice
1/4 lb cod
vegetables (I used napa cabbage, broccolini, scallion, and carrots)
3~4 ginger slices
1 teaspoon Sake or white wine, or/and olive oil
salt and pepper
sweet and spicy chili soy sauce
– 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Hot & Sweet Chili Jam
– 1 teaspoon soy sauce
– 1 teaspoon white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Place parchment paper on a pan.
3. Put cooked rice, cod, and vegetables on the parchment paper. Place ginger sliced on the cod.
4. Splash Sake, or white wine, or/and olive oil.
5. Salt and pepper.
6. Close the parchment paper.
7. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes or the cod is cooked through.
8. Make sauce. Mix ingredients well. Pour the sauce over the cod and vegetables.

A photo of beautiful St. Paul Cathedral from our long afternoon walk.

Have a great week everyone!

April 10, 2016

by : Reiko Egg, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Seafood

Fried Salmon Rice Bowl 鮭カツ丼

Fried Salmon Rice Bowl

I made this for lunch last weekend, and Terry and I really enjoyed it.

And this was the inspiration for this dish.

“Dashi”.

Dashi is traditional Japanese soup stock made of dried fish and seaweed.

This was made by our friend (he is American but has lived in Japan in the past), and he kindly shared it with me.

It smelled and tasted heavenly and definitely reminded me of home.

This type of rice bowl is usually made with fried pork, and in that case it’s called “katsu-don”: one of the most popular rice bowl dishes in Japan.

I like pork but this time I decided to go with salmon.

The key to good fried salmon is the same for the pork one; use Japanese-style bread crumb, “Panko”.

It makes the salmon super crisp outside and moist inside when deep-fried.

This fried salmon was served with eggs/onions cooked with the wonderful dashi over brown rice.

Delicious!

Fried Salmon Rice Bowl for two bowls

fried salmon
– 1/2 lb salmon, cut in half
– salt and pepper
– flour
– 1 egg, beaten
– Panko bread crumb
– canola oil for frying
1/2 onion, sliced
sauce
– 200ml dashi (Japanese stock)
– 3 tablespoons soy sauce
– 4 tablespoons mirin
– 2 teaspoons sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked brown rice
green onion, chopped

1. Make fried salmon. Salt and pepper salmon. Coat it with flour, egg, and then with panko. Deep-fry the salmon in 350F oil until thoroughly cooked. Remove from the oil. Place it on a plate lined with paper towel.
2. Place sliced onion and the sauce ingredients in a pan and stir over medium heat. Cook onion in the sauce. Take some of the sauce and set it aside. Add eggs slowly. Cook over low-medium heat covered until the eggs are cooked to your prefered doneness.
3. Place the egg/onion mixture over cooked brown rice. Place the fried salmon on top. Pour the sauce over the salmon. Sprinkle green onion.

March 24, 2016

by : Reiko Bread, Leaf Vegetabes, Seafood

Avocado Flatbread with Creamed Cod Roe

Avocado Flatbread with Creamed Cod Roe

I was interested in Kalles Cod Roe Cream for a long time.

Whenever I saw it at IKEA, I would pick one up and then put it down.

For some reason I couldn’t make the decision to take one home; the most likely reason I can think of is probably because it was packaged in a tube, which looked somewhat cheesy (sorry).

But finally the last time I was there, I decided to try it.

Well, I’m glad I did.

This tastes something very similar to my favorite Japanese fish roe called “mentaiko”.

Well, both are cod roe, so it makes sense.

This may not be for everyone because it has a uniquely strong taste and smell that definitely remind you of the ocean; I don’t want to use the word “fishy” as it has such a negative image attached to it.

But if you enjoy caviar or other fish roe, you will probably enjoy this.

It seems that Scandinavian countries and Japan have many things in common, but it makes sense because we are both surrounded by the ocean.

This cod roe cream can be used for many different things such as pasta, boiled eggs, or potatoes.

Me chilling, content after a good meal (lol).

Avocado Flatbread with Creamed Cod Roe

flatbread dough – I used leftover (about 1/4) of this bread dough without nuts and fruits, flattened
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 English cucumber, sliced
3~4 radishes, sliced
Kalles creamed cod roe
fresh arugula leaves
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Bake flatbread at 425F for about 10 minutes or until slightly browned.
2. Place avocado slices. Mash them lightly with a fork.
3. Place cucumber and radish slices.
4. Put arugula leaves. Drizzle olive oil. Salt and pepper.