Baked Salmon with Teriyaki Glaze

This was the recipe that was supposed to be the first entry in my blog, but as you would have read, Keith came home a little early that day and was very hungry; I quickly finished cooking dinner and forgot to take pictures of the dish. The teriyaki glaze goes well with many other things such as deep fried tofu, baked chicken drumsticks or even as a marinade for grilled chicken wings. As you can see from the picture I always pour on a little extra teriyaki glaze because it is just delicious drizzled over the steaming hot rice that I serve this with!

BAKED SALMON WITH TERIYAKI GLAZE
Serves 2

1 piece salmon (about 12 ounces)
Salt and black pepper
¼ cup teriyaki glaze

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the salmon.
• Spray a wire rack and place on a baking tray, place salmon on top
• Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until salmon is done
  

Garnish:
2” piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely julienned
¼ cup oil

• Heat oil, fry ginger until golden brown, remove from oil and set aside
• Keep oil for curries or frying vegetables.

To serve:

• Place baked salmon on a serving plate, spread teriyaki glaze evenly and sprinkle crispy fried ginger on top.

Teriyaki Glaze
Makes about ½ cup

½ cup soy sauce
½ cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 tbsp sugar
1 level tsp corn starch
¼ cup water

• Combine the soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a saucepan. Boil on medium heat for about 30 – 40 minutes until reduced in half.
• Mix corn starch with the water and pour into the saucepan. Boil for another 1 minute
• Cool mixture. Store the teriyaki glaze in a clean jar in the fridge. Will keep well for about 2 months.
• Note: Instead of mirin, you can also use sake/vermouth/dry sherry and ½ cup sugar

Crispy, Crunchy, Gooey Apple Crisp

What would you do if given a bag of apples? Well I guess you could eat them just as they are, but where would be the fun in that? A "funner" way to eat them (although probably not as healthy!) would be to cook them as a dessert. Similar to apple crumble, apple crisp is a treat that is easy to make and oh so delicious!

APPLE CRISP
Serves 8

Apple Filling:
3 pounds (about 7-8) apples, peeled, cored and sliced
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Topping:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• For the apple filling, mix all the ingredients in a large bowl (use your hands!) and then place into a 9x13 inch pan.
• For the crisp topping combine the oats, flour, brown sugar and salt, mix well. Pour in the melted butter and mix well again. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
• Bake for about 45 minutes until apples are tender and topping is golden brown.
• Serve warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream or a little whipped cream, if desired.

Thai Red Curry Shrimp

There are days when I will make a meal from scratch even if it requires 20 ingredients and takes hours for the preparation and cooking - as when I make my beef rendang, and then there are days when I just want to open some cans and make do.

One compromise is to use ready made spices or pastes or sauces that make it possible to have a tasty, nutritious meal in just minutes. For Thai dishes I love these pastes that I get from my regular Asian grocery store. Just combine with some canned coconut milk; add chicken, beef, tofu or seafood and some vegetables (canned baby corn is another standard in my pantry) and in 30 minutes or less you have a great meal.



If you're lucky enough to have leftovers the next day just cook up some rice noodles and top with the left over curry.

THAI RED CURRY SHRIMP
Serves 4

1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups assorted vegetables ie. baby corn, bell peppers, long beans, bamboo shoots
2 tbsp fish sauce
¼ cup Thai basil or cilantro, torn

• In a wok or pot, combine the coconut milk with the red curry paste and bring to a boil. Add the brown sugar and kaffir lime leaves then lower the heat to a simmer.
• Add vegetables and shrimp, and cook until shrimp are orange-pink in color and vegetables are tender crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in fish sauce and Thai basil or cilantro.
• Garnish with sprigs of fresh basil or cilantro and sliced red chilies.