Shrimp Fried Rice

A day before the fried rice, I made Thai shrimp curry (recipe will follow soon) and served with rice. I didn't even have a chance to take a picture of the shrimp curry before it was finished but I did have leftover rice and some extra frozen shrimp in the freezer. Thanks to Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen, we all enjoyed the leftover basmati rice and the shrimp again the next day without any feeling of monotony. I didn't add or alter Jaden's recipe, but for the sake of my own records I am repeating the recipe here. For the original post go to Steamy Kitchen.

I will use brown rice next time to make it even healthier, but I still don't feel bad, since I used basmati rice and it has a "medium" glycemic index (between 56 and 69),  as compared to certain other grains and products made from white flour. When you make use of the glycemic index to prepare healthy meals, it helps to keep your blood glucose levels under control.

Ingredients

8 ounces small raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
3 eggs, beaten
2 stalks green onion, minced
4 cups leftover rice, grains separated well
3/4 cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
1 tablespoon soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if you are making a gluten-free version)
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper and cornstarch. Let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a bead of water to instantly sizzle and evaporate, add just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan.

2.  Add the shrimp, quickly spreading out around the cooking surface area so that they are not overlapping. Let fry, untouched for 30 seconds. Flip over and let the other side fry for 30 seconds, or until about 80% cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

3. Turn the heat to medium, let the pan heat up again. Add the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the pan into the same plate as the cooked shrimp.

4. Use paper towels to wipe the same wok or sauté pan clean and return to high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is very hot, add the green onions and fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add in the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout. Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1-2 minutes. Use the spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok.

5. Drizzle the soy sauce all around the rice and toss. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all of the ingredients. Let everything heat back up again, until the rice grains are so hot they practically dance! Taste and add an additional 1 teaspoon of soy sauce if needed.

Coconut-Almond Crusted Mahi Mahi

My initial intention was to prepare a macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi but my husband and macadamia nuts cannot co-exist in the same environment! Therefore, I had to find another way so I decided on almonds. Then I searched for the right recipe, and none of the recipes did sound appealing to me. So I came up with my own recipe and to my surprise the pickiest member of our family, my five year old daugher asked for more!

Ingredients:
4 mahi mahi fillets
1/2 cup low fat coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 tbs fresh ginger
4 lemon wedges for serving
salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Place mahi mahi fillets in a large container and cover with coconut milk, marinate for 30 min to 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 425F.

3. In a food processor combine almonds, cornmeal, fresh ginger and salt and peppermix until combined

4. Lightly oil a wire rack large enough to hold fillets in a single layer. Place the rack on a baking sheet and set aside.

5. Divide the nut mixture among the tops of the fillets, patting the mixture to spread and adhere to the fillets.spray tops with olive oil

6. Set on the prepared rack; they should not touch. Bake until lightly browned on the outside and opaque in the center, about 15 min. Serve hot.

Miso Glazed Salmon with Roasted Asparagus

Try this recipe and you will be addicted, instead of heavy butter loaded complex sauces, this healthy and easy recipe is offering a flavor intensive meal.  For a healthier meal and the best flavor try to get wild caught salmon. It feeds largely on krill, which gives it the lovely pink color.  In contrast, farmed salmon are fed pigments to achieve their ruby glow. Farmed salmon are also fed antibiotics to keep them healthy while living in a confined space. Check out previously frozen coho salmon in the fish case at your neighborhood market. Wild caught Alaskan coho salmon is readily available.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sweet white miso paste,
2 tablespoons mirin, (Japanese rice wine)
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce, or tamari
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
A few drops hot pepper sauce (optional)
1 1/4 pounds center-cut salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions*
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, or parsley

* I added 1 tbs sesame oil and 1 tbs honey to the above ingredients and used organic rice vinegar instead of mirin since the ones I could find our grocery store included corn syrup.

Directions:

1.Position oven rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil. Coat foil with cooking spray.

2.Toast sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

3.Whisk miso, mirin, soy sauce (or tamari), ginger and hot pepper sauce in a small bowl until smooth.

4.Place salmon fillets, skin-side down, in the prepared pan. Brush generously with the miso mixture. Broil salmon, 3 to 4 inches from the heat source, until opaque in the center, 6 to 8 minutes.

5.Transfer the salmon to warmed plates and garnish with the reserved sesame seeds, scallions and cilantro (or parsley).

Recipe is adapted from The Essential EatingWell Cookbook, 2004.

Wild Ahi Tuna (Yellowfin) Steak

Yellowfin (called ahi in Hawaii) is the least oily kind of tuna; and it is flavorful. The secret to successful tuna cookery is to not overcook it; overcooking makes tuna dry out. Whichever cooking method you choose, your tuna will be cooked when its flesh becomes opaque yet is still moist on the inside.

Ingredients:
1 to 1/2 pounds Ahi Tuna steaks, thawed if necessary (makes 4 servings) If you can find it look for "sashimi grade”, filleted, fully trimmed and cut like a “center cut” filet steak, about 2” thick.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime-juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Blackpepper


Directions
1. Rinse Ahi with cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
2. Combine oil, 2 tablespoons lime juice and salt.
3. Baste Ahi with oil mixture.
4. Broil on a well greased broiler pan 5-6 inches from source of heat.
5. Cook 8 minutes per inch of fish, measured at thickest point, turning once and basting frequently.
6. Do not overcook. Ahi should be pink in center when removed from heat.