Stella was insistent that I get my recipe for vegetable pancakes on the blog right away so she could make them at home with Hayley! Such a quick, easy and delicious way to have a meal on the table in minutes, these are great for lunch, dinner or snacking. I usually make a pile and they warm up quickly in the toaster oven. They are a bit of a mash up of Korean pajeon, Japanese Okonomiyaki and Chinese scallion pancakes (even a bit like my zucchini fritters!)
I will get a better photo, but Stella didn’t want me to wait, she loved them so much!
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg
3/4 cup very cold water
4 cups very thinly sliced or julienned vegetables
oil for frying
Whisk dry ingredients together, then stir in egg and water. Add in all your vegetables and stir just to combine.
Preheat oven to 300 to keep the pancakes warm as you cook them.
Heat oil in frying pan, and drop in 1/4 cup amounts, flattening them out slightly. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. You will have to do this in batches, so keep them warm in a 300 oven until you have them all fried. Don’t crowd the pan or they will steam rather than fry.
I first tried this recipe as Korean pancakes, adding some chopped kimchi as well as a bit of the juice, but ended up using it for many different vegetables.
Serve with dipping sauce:
1/4 cup soya sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil (I like toasted)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp hot sauce (such as sriracha)
Stir together and set aside for service. Taste and adjust for your personal preference.
Use whatever vegetables you have in your fridge! It really is a fridge clean out in the best possible way.Okay, so i have more than 4 cups vegetables … ha ha … you only need enough batter to hold it all together!Make sure you don’t crowd the pan – it takes very little oil.Flip when nice and crispy, and a golden brown.These ones had fresh shrimp and lots of chives.
Need a quick, easy but delicious dinner idea? Here you go – this broth is amazingly flavorful for so few ingredients and can be packed with whatever you have in your fridge.
Sloan took this photo of her own bowl – I love a recipe that allows everybody to fashion their own meal the way they want to eat – a sure fired winner for picky eaters!
6 cups chicken broth (use veg broth if you. are looking for a vegetarian night!)
4 flattened but not minced garlic cloves – left whole
1 inch piece of ginger, sliced
4 green onion ends, white part only
3 tbsp light soy sauce (or low sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp Shaoxing (chinese cooking wine)
1 tsp sesame oil
This is one of the quickest broth recipes I’ve ever made, and it is absolutely delicious. Ready in only 30 minutes, that gives you enough time to prep all the delightful ingredients you want to complete your lunch or dinner.
Heat a little neutral oil in a deep pot and lightly toast the garlic cloves, ginger slices and white parts of green (spring) onions. As soon as they are lightly roasted, add the broth, soy sauce, sugar, Shaoxing, and sesame oil. Bring to a gentle boil, and then turn down and simmer for 30 minutes. You can do this as early as you like and just keep it warm until you are ready to eat. When ready to serve scoop out the aromatics and you have a lovely clear broth to enjoy with as many fill ins as your bowl can hold.
Serve with: Any or all of the following!
Cooked ramen, udon or egg noodles
Vegetables (cooked in the broth if you like!)
Fresh bean sprouts
Cooked wontons
shredded chicken
cooked seafood
Garnish your bowl with the slivered green onion tops, toasted sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve alongside hot sauce and hoisin sauce if anybody wants to add a bit more punch.
I usually have another pot of boiling water on the go that I first cook the noodles in, then lightly blanch vegetables (bok choy, spinach, bell peppers, zucchini, snap peas). Frozen wontons (purchased or homemade) can also be cooked in this water. I find that if you cook everything in your seasoned broth it dilutes the seasoning and results in a cloudy broth. Both still good, but you may need to adjust seasonings.
Use whatever you like to create your own bowl – we love a combination of lightly cooked and fresh vegetables, as well as plenty of herbs – top it all with peanuts or cashews, sesame seeds and more herbs. Don’t forget a drizzle of chile oil if you like the heat!
It’s hard to spot the salad underneath, but it’s there! A tangle of wheat noodles and crunchy salad greens is the base of this – go ahead and use rice noodles or just omit the noodles entirely.
I love a full meal deal salad! This tangle of vegetables, both fresh and grilled, served mixed with noodles and garnished with steak and nuts is just the best. It’s on repeat around here. Go ahead and splurge for the best steak – you don’t need much to make it a complete meal.
This dressing is the star of the show – it is light and bright with just the perfect amount of zing.
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tsp fresh lime juice
2-3 tbsp chili garlic sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp raw sugar (or honey)
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp fresh Thai basil, roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds **
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup peanut oil
kosher salt to taste
** I’m a big fan of toasting nuts or seeds as it adds so much flavour. Watch closely because they go from deeply toasted (my personal favourite) to black …. beware. (yes, I speak from experience)
Whisk all the ingredients, except the oils, together in a bowl. Once combined, slowly drizzle in the oils and continue to whisk until well blended. This is the part where you taste, and adjust if needed – sometimes you need a bit more lime juice, salt or sweetener. If you prefer your dressing on the spicy side, add in a bit of Thai chili or chili flakes.
This recipe is just as versatile as whatever you have on hand. Tonight this dish included:
Chinese wheat noodles (cooked)
salad greens
mint leaves
basil leaves
cilantro leaves
cucumber
tomato
bean sprouts
grilled red pepper
grilled zucchini
steamed baby bok choy
grilled beef tenderloin
toasted cashews
toasted sesame seeds
I like to make a salad out of the cold cooked noodles and fresh vegetables, and pile that in the bottom of my bowl. Arrange the cooked vegetables around the sides along with the grilled steak. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle the cashews and sesame seeds over.
If you have time, and have a steak that needs marinating, just use a bit of the dressing. This works equally well with chicken, pork or tofu. If you want to use shrimp make sure to only give it a quick marinade.
When grilling the vegetables, drizzle with a little of the dressing before and after grilling.
When you start with a fresh salad as the base, everything is tastier!!
OMG – so good. This and a salad was perfect for dinner.
I love making scallion pancakes, really wanted something that could be a whole meal deal, and ended up with this – a bit of mash up between Korean Pajeon pancakes, Japanese Okonomiyaki and Chinese scallion pancakes. This gojuchang dipping sauce makes it slightly more Korean influenced, but if you don’t have gojuchang in your fridge then you could easily make a dipping sauce of soy sauce and rice vinegar. (or buy something!)
PANCAKE BATTER
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup potato starch (could sub corn starch if this isn’t one of your staples)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups ice water
2 garlic cloves, minced
Oil for cooking
VEGETABLE SUGGESTIONS
shredded cabbage
slivers of spinach
very thinly sliced cauliflower
minced red onion
very thinly sliced red pepper
lots of thinly sliced scallions (spring onions)
Prepare all your vegetables and set aside
If you are inclined to do so, go ahead and add shrimp or cooked shredded chicken to make it a heartier pancake.If you do – I’d add it as soon as the batter is spread out in the pan so you can distribute evenly.
DIPPING SAUCE
1/4 cup light soy sauce (I use reduced sodium)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp gojuchang
1/2 tsp finely slivered ginger
1 minced garlic clove
1 finely sliced spring onion
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Mix well and taste. NO REALLY, SERIOUSLY, TASTE!!! Every different product has a slightly different flavour profile, and you have your own taste preferences so make sure this dipping sauce hits all the notes you are looking for and adjust as needed. Of course, if you aren’t a cooking nut like myself, you may not have all that in your pantry so just buy a jar of dumpling/gyoza dipping sauce! ha ha
METHOD
Whisk together dry ingredients until well combined. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and stir in the ice water and minced garlic. Stir just until combined, then add in the vegetables.
I haven’t specified any amounts for the vegetables, so feel free to experiment with how you like the pancakes. This amount of batter will make 4 good size pancakes with a generous serving of vegetables in each one – feel free to pack in as many veg as you like – you literally only need enough batter to hold it all together in the fry pan.
In a non stick pan, heat about 3 tbsp oil until quite hot – stick a wooden chopstick in, and if it sizzles you are ready!
Scoop in about 1 cup of batter and quickly spread it out so it resembles a pancake. Gently swirl the pan allowing the oil to circulate so the pancake gets crispy bits and nicely browned. Like any pancake, only flip it once you start to see bubbles popping on the surface.
Flip, drizzle another tablespoon or so of oil around the edges and swirl so this second side also gets crispy around the edges.
When nicely browned on both sides, remove to paper towel lined plate and keep warm. As soon as you remove it from the heat sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, and a fresh grate of salt.
This is what I had in the fridge today, so this is what the pancake had! Go ahead and find your own favourites, I really wanted bean sprouts but couldn’t find any decent ones at the store.You could easily get more vegetables in there, and also create a thinner batter with just a bit more ice water. Whisk an egg into the batter if you are looking for extra protein but want to omit any seafood or meat, and keep it vegetarian.Todays version included some raw shrimp, which I quickly placed as soon as the batter was down in the pan, and then sprinkled with sesame seeds. I wouldn’t use cooked shrimp as they might toughen up. What a beauty! Sprinkle with seasoning as soon as you take them off the pan and keep warm until ready to serve. I also sprinkled with a little bit of Furikake today.
If you have never tried gojuchang, then do so! I love it. My first foray into cooking with it was for KFC, Korean Fried Cauliflower and was immediately hooked. It is a Korean chili paste that has so much flavour – slightly tangy and not too spicy.
I don’t know about you, but an advertised 20 minute recipe NEVER takes me 20 minutes. This one was close tho ….. and very easy. Not only easy, but delicious and I’m more than happy to spend a few more minutes to achieve delicious.
8 ounces dried tagliatelle pasta (or really, any pasta you like!)
2 tbsp butter (separated, see below)
olive oil
10 ounces small, peeled and cleaned shrimp
3 garlic cloves (yes, really)
1/4 cup dry white wine (I like sauvignon blanc but any dry white will work – stay away from sweet tho)
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
1 cup asparagus (cut into 1″ pieces)
1/2 cup minced sun dried tomatoes
1/2 tsp chili flakes (or to taste)
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (do NOT use purchased grated!)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
black pepper
more parmesan for serving
Get a large pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Salt and add pasta. Cook to one minute short of the cooking instructions …. (in order to finish in the cream sauce).
Before draining, scoop out about 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Get a nice flat bottom skillet (non-stick works great here) and melt 1 tbsp butter. Drain your shrimp and pat dry (you don’t want them to steam) ….. toss the shrimp into the melted butter and sauté quickly – until ALMOST cooked. Depending on your shrimp size this might only take a minute or two. There is nothing worse than rubbery, overcooked shrimp. Well, okay, lots of things are worse including this COVID nightmare we are living through…. Remove from heat and lightly season with salt and pepper.
In the same skillet heat the other tbsp butter and add a splash of olive oil – once melted add the onions, sauté until soft, add mushrooms and cook until just lightly browned, then add the garlic, asparagus and sun dried tomatoes. Add chili flakes.
Stir in the white wine and allow to reduce slightly, then add the chicken broth, cream and parmesan. Season to taste …. I didn’t need to add any more salt but that finishing black pepper is great.
Add your mostly cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to cover. The sauce will continue to thicken and this is the time to add some of your reserved pasta water a bit at a time, only as needed. Stir in the shrimp to heat through, toss with parsley and serve with a grating of fresh parmesan and black pepper.
Dig in!
These plump & juicy little guys are barely cooked and will finish in the cream sauceEasy to make this a vegetarian meal – just stir in as many veg as you like and omit the shrimp.
Couldn’t wait to dive into these. Every time I make them it surprises me how easy and how incredibly delicious they are.
Just like you get in the tropics….. minus the palm trees and ocean breeze. That dang Covid thing is still keeping us at home, during a time of the year when we’d so much rather be in the land of palm trees & sunshine, ocean bobbing and munching coconut shrimp. Never mind the beach, I’d happily settle for just being able to cuddle my granddaughters!!! Enough whining, here is the perfect recipe to make you feel like you’ve escaped to the beach.
2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten well (can just use egg white if you like)
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat (350-360 degrees)
Set up 3 dredging bowls:
flour
egg
panko/coconut mixture
Season shrimp with salt and pepper, then working with one shrimp at a time, dredge through flour, then egg, then panko/coconut. Press into the panko mixture to make sure the shrimp are well coated. Set aside until you have them all coated.
Working in batches, add shrimp to hot oil and fry until golden brown, turning as necessary until they are crunchy and looking irresistible – around 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
DIPPING SAUCE
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1-2 tbsp sriracha (or to taste)
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
Mix well to combine. If you think of it, mix this ahead of time and set in fridge to allow flavours to meld beautifully.
I can’t promise you will smell the ocean when you make these, but it might make you feel a little better about staying home!
You can get these prepped ahead of time and just keep in the fridge until ready to fry.Served tonight with rice and curried vegetables. This would disappear in a hurry if served as an appetizer also.
I originally got this recipe off Damn Delicious website, and she’s right – they are damn delicious! The dipping sauce is my own concoction and it’s yummy!!
This sauce is incredibly good. How, I wondered, did so much flavour show up in 25 minutes?
I managed to get a few sprigs of cilantro on here for a photo, but it was ready so quickly, and smelled so heavenly there was no fancy plating for a photo!
I’ve made it with some jumbo prawns tonight but you could easily substitute any protein you like, or go straight vegetarian and you will be so glad you tried it.
SHRIMP & MARINADE
1 lb extra large shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed please)
CURRY SAUCE
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh minced ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Madras curry powder
1 can (14.5 ounce) diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 can (13.5 ounce) coconut milk
cilantro for garnish
rice for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small bowl toss the shrimp with the marinade ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
While the shrimp is marinating, heat the oil in a medium size skillet. To it add the onion, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes until the onion softens and becomes translucent. Stir in the garlic, ginger, pepper, salt, coriander, turmeric and curry powder. Cook for another minute.
Add the diced tomatoes with juices and all, the coconut milk, stir and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp with the accumulated juices from the marinade and cook for another 2 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.
Serve over hot rice and garnish with cilantro or parsley.
I’d say the only way you could be disappointed by this dish is if your spices are old. They really aren’t meant to last forever just because they are dry!
Get your prawns gently tossed in the marinade and put in the fridge until you are ready to add them to the curry sauce. (I used chili flakes rather than cayenne pepper today)
Follow the instructions on how to build your flavour base – it really is important in many dishes, but I find especially so in Indian food.
The next night we still had enough for another meal – so I lightly sauted some fresh vegetables in a sauce pan until just tender crisp. Then add the sauce and heat only enough to warm through. This keeps the individual flavour of your vegetables and doesn’t overcook either the remaining prawns or the curry sauce.
Make sure to serve these with Garlic Herb Naan – just what you need to sop up this inviting sauce.
These were my best naan ever! So tender, with dough that is very easy to work with. As an added bonus they freeze well so for nights when it is just the two of us I only cook half and freeze the other half …. ready for fresh frying when I am.
I have a lot of “authentic” food bloggers I follow for cooking dishes from India, Thailand, and Mexico just to name a few. This recipe came from a fellow Canadian! If you haven’t been to Jo’s website ….. http://www.jocooks.com then I recommend you do. She has specific hints to make everything better, and is well worth a read.
This is delicious, which makes it a winner in my books! The biggest bonus is that the whole dish comes together very quickly with ingredients that you likely have in your kitchen anyway. The dipping sauce is a bit sweet, a bit spicy and a bit tangy from the yogurt.
Grilling these outside would have been perfect, but the rain changed that plan!
INGREDIENTS
4tablespoonsplain Greek yogurt
3tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1 tbsp minced chives
1 pound shrimp (raw, peeled and deveined)
Mix together the first four ingredients and set aside.
Thread shrimp on skewers (if using wooden skewers soak in water for 30 minutes first).
Brush the shrimp with some of the sauce and leave the rest for dipping after they are cooked.
Grill shrimp until just cooked through – it only takes a few minutes so watch carefully to be sure they are’t overcooked.
I’m sure you have all these ingredients on hand, and the dipping sauce is amazing to just keep on hand so make enough for leftovers.
Smooth, creamy and absolutely delicious.
Grill just until cooked through – today it had to be on a grill pan because it was absolutely pouring out there!
If you’ve had these at a Chinese restaurant they are usually deep fried in a light batter, and the dipping sauce is a lot heavier – made with mayonnaise. I prefer this version made with greek yogurt, and I bet you will too!
Love the textures of a great Caesar salad – contrasting fresh crisp greens, crunchy bacon and croutons, soft parmesan and a creamy dressing.
Everybody needs a great Caesar dressing in their kitchen, try this one and adjust to your families taste. My grandkids don’t love garlic, so when they are over I usually go light on the garlic cloves but that’s totally up to you!
1 egg (or 1/4 cup mayonnaise)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1-3 cloves garlic
2 anchovy fillets (packed in oil)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
pinch of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 – 3/4 cup oil (I like to use a combo of vegetable oil and really good extra virgin olive oil)
dash hot sauce (totally optional)
Combine all ingredients except oil in jar or blender. Shake/blend really well until smooth, and slowly add oil until emulsified. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper, adding more if necessary.
Everybody helps make dinner around here, and Stella is learning the fine points of knife work! Don’t worry, she quickly learned to rest the knife against her knuckles to avoid trimming her fingers……
Assembling that cheese grater has all Sloan’s attention.
Wash your lettuce leaves and spin dry (you can do this ahead of time, wrap in clean kitchen towel and keep in fridge until ready to use, it really crisps up the lettuce)
Cook bacon until crisp and crumble.
Toss stale bread chunks in olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper and toast until dry and crunchy. (This is also a great place to use dried herbs, and some garlic powder)
Grate Parmesan cheese
Toss lettuce pieces in very large bowl with the bacon, croutons and parmesan cheese. Just before serving toss with dressing just until everything has a delicious coating. Taste and squeeze a bit of lemon over if you like.
This easily goes from a side dish to a whole meal if you serve Caesar salad with grilled chicken or shrimp, and a side of garlic toast.
Grilling the shrimp in the shell protects them from the searing heat of the barbecue, and is definitely worth doing. Serve this as an appetizer and nobody minds getting in with their hands!
Go ahead and make a big batch of this, it goes really well with any cooked fish or chicken dish.
Romesco Sauce:
1 jar (300 mL) roasted red peppers , including juices
1/4 cup prepared tomato sauce
3 tablespoons almond butter or 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Romesco Sauce: In blender, purée together red peppers including juices, tomato sauce, almond butter, vinegar, paprika and cayenne pepper until smooth. Season to taste with salt, if needed. Transfer to small saucepan, and set aside.
1 head cauliflower , cut in large florets
1/4 teaspoon salt
450 g unpeeled jumbo shrimp (21 to 25 count)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 bunch green onions
Shrimp and Vegetables: Plunge cauliflower pieces into boiling salted water for just about 2-3 minutes, and then immediately drop into ice water bath.
This can easily be turned into a vegetarian dish by omitting the shrimp, just use an assortment of vegetables.
In bowl, toss together shrimp, oil and remaining salt.
Thread shrimp onto metal or soaked wooden skewers. Place shrimp and cauliflower on greased grill over medium-high heat; close lid and grill, turning once, until shrimp are pink and cauliflower is charred, about 8 minutes. Add green onions during last 3 minutes of grilling.
Heat Romesco Sauce, stirring frequently until warm, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve cauliflower, shrimp and green onions on large platter with sauce on the side for dipping. Add some crusty fresh French bread and you’ve got a great appetizer!
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