Tofu Salmon

 Ingredients

Marinade:

1 cup vegetable broth

1 sheet nori

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon miso paste

2 cloves garlic

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled

1 teaspoon beet powder

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

Assembly:

1 block (14 oz) extra-firm tofu

1 sheet nori (optional)

⅓ cup cornstarch

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Optional: furikake, for serving

Optional: Sliced green onions, for serving

Equipment Needed

Tofu press (optional) 

High-speed blender

Two chopsticks or butter knives

Sharp kitchen knife

Kitchen shears

Wire rack or large plate

Large skillet

Spatulas (2) 

Instructions

Prep and Marinate

Press your tofu. Drain and press your block of tofu for at least 20 minutes. If you don’t own a tofu press, learn our favorite trick for how to press tofu without a tofu press!

Prep the marinade. While the tofu is pressing, prepare the marinade. Add all the marinade ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth. 

Slice the tofu. Once the tofu is well-pressed, cut the block in half lengthwise. Then, turn each piece on its side and cut it in half again. To replicate the shape of a salmon filet, cut the pieces at an angle or with a slight curve. You should have four final strips of tofu. 

“Hasselback” the tofu filets. One at a time, take each piece of tofu and lay it flat on a cutting board. Put two chopsticks or butter knives on each side of the piece of tofu. Cut diagonal cuts into the tofu – the chopsticks should stop your knife from cutting all the way through. This will mimic the flaky texture of fish. Repeat with all four filets. 

Marinate for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Carefully place the tofu salmon filets in a baking dish and pour the marinade over top. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or, ideally, overnight. 

Cook the Filets

Add nori (optional). If desired, cut strips of nori about the size of each strip of tofu. This resembles the salmon skin. Carefully remove the tofu pieces from the marinade and place on a wire rack or plate. Dip each piece of nori in the leftover marinade and stick on the flat side of each filet.

Coat in cornstarch. Carefully coat each tofu filet in cornstarch on the four largest sides. 

Pan-fry. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the tofu, nori-side down, to the pan. Depending on the size of your pan, you might have to cook the tofu in two batches.

Cook for about 2 minutes on each of the four sides until crispy. The tofu is delicate and easiest to flip using two spatulas rather than tongs. 

Serve. Once crispy on all sides, enjoy immediately while warm! 

Sri Lankan Fish(or other)Curry

 Ingredients

▢1.5 lb white fish fillets (skinned & deboned and cut into large chunks)

▢½ tsp ground turmeric

▢2 tbsp vegetable oil

▢10 fresh curry leaves

▢½ onion (very finely chopped)

▢1 lemongrass stalk white part only (bruised at end with a rolling pin)

▢4 tbsp Sri Lankan Curry Powder (use my recipe or buy Sri Lankan curry powder)

▢1 tomato (chopped)

▢1 can coconut milk (14oz/400ml)

▢2 tsp salt

▢1 lime (juice of)

Garnishes

▢Fresh cilantro

▢1 hot red chilli (thinly sliced)

Instructions

Sprinkle the fish chunks with turmeric, toss to coat and set aside

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and when hot add the curry leaves. Let them sizzle for 1 minute.

Add the onion and lemongrass stalk and fry for 2-3 minutes until soft and golden.

Add the curry powder and ½ cup of the coconut milk and stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes until thick and paste-like.

Add the tomato and cook gently for another 2 minutes.

Add the remaining coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Add the fish to the pan and shake to submerge. Try not to stir too much as this will result in breaking the fish up. Instead, shake the pan gently to move things around. Cook for 10 minutes until the fish is cooked.

Remove from the heat and season with salt. Finally, squeeze in the lime juice and that's it. You're done.

Serve with basmati rice and garnish with cilantro and sliced chillies.

Notes

Suggestions for Serving and Storing

When it comes to serving my fish curry, I prefer pairing it with fragrant basmati rice. The sauce in the curry blends perfectly with the rice, making each mouthful a delicious explosion of flavors.

For garnishing, I usually use hot chillies and cilantro, but sometimes I also add chopped fresh radish, celery, and tomatoes. Additionally, I like to drizzle a little coconut milk over the final dish to enhance its taste.

As for storage, it's best to consume the fish curry when it's freshly prepared and hot. However, if you have leftovers, refrigeration is the way to go. To reheat it, use a microwave and avoid excessive stirring to prevent breaking up the delicate fish. Store the leftovers in an airtight container and consume within 1-2 days.

For freezing, I wouldn't recommend it for this curry as it can cause the fish to fall apart too much during reheating. Hence, it's best to enjoy the dish fresh.

Eggplant Fave- Borani Banjan- Afghan Eggplant Dish

Burani Badenjan - Eggplant tossed in tomato and yogurt sauce.- 

A LA Samir Restaurant

Borani Banjan (Afghan Eggplant Dish)


https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=699489247569979
Borani Banjan Different ( Eggplant ) Recipe BY
MAZAR CUISINE
طرزتهیه بورانی بانجان به شکل متفاوت
Ingredients
Eggplant 3
Oil 4Tbsp
Tomato 3
Coriander powder 1tsp
Paprika 1tsp
Turmeric powder1/2tsp
Salt1/2tsp
Red chili 1/3tsp
Toomato paste 1tsp
1 cup oil for frying
3 Tbsp water
1cup yogurt
2garlic cloves
1Tbsp dried mint
Pinch of salt
2Tbsp oil
1/2tsp turmeric powder
1Tbsp dried mint
Whole red chili 2
Garnish
Black pepper
Mint

https://littlespicejar.com/borani-banjan/#mv-creation-818-jtr

Ingredients

 2 medium eggplants (~ 1½ pounds), peeled

 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more

 Oil for frying, plus more

 6 cloves pressed garlic, divided

 1 tablespoon tomato paste

 ½ teaspoon turmeric

 ¼ teaspoon black pepper

 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

 ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

 1 cup plain yogurt

 2 teaspoons dried mint, for topping

 naan wedges, for serving

Instructions

EGGPLANTS: Slice the eggplants into ½ inch thick slices. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt and allow the eggplant to sit for 45-60 minutes in a colander in the sink or over a rimmed plate. Then spread eggplants over paper towels and gently press to dry and wipe away most of the salt.

SAUCE: While the eggplant is draining, add 2 tablespoons of oil to a sauce pan. Save 1 teaspoon of minced garlic for later, add the rest to the oil and saute for 45 seconds. Add the tomato paste, turmeric, and black pepper and saute for another 60 seconds or until the tomato paste is fragrant. Add the can of diced tomatoes, crushed pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon of salt, ½ cup of water and bring to a simmer. When simmering, cover the pot with a lid and lower the heat to low; let cook for 15-17 minutes for the flavors to blend. Check to see if the sauce is thick like a chunky pasta sauce. If it isn’t, remove the lid, kick the heat up to medium and simmer until it thickens.

FRY: Add 2-inches of oil to a pot over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the eggplant in 2-3 batches, flipping halfway until golden brown on both sides, about 7-9 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

SIMMER: In a wide bottom pan, add ¼ of the prepared sauce, top with ⅓ of the eggplants, then repeat these layers until all the sauce and all the eggplants are layered. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid, turn the heat on to medium-low and allow the eggplants to cook in the sauce for 15 minutes. Prepare the yogurt sauce while you wait.

SERVE: Add yogurt and the remaining teaspoon of minced garlic to a small bowl and whisk until smooth. When the eggplant is done, spread ½ cup of the yogurt sauce in your serving dish, top with tomato eggplant mixture, and finely drizzle the remaining yogurt oven the eggplant. Sprinkle with dried mint. I sometimes also like to drizzle with a little chili/olive oil right before serving! Serve with naan bread as an appetizer.

Chicken Rice Casserole- v 2.3 Jan 2025 SAVORY RICE LENTIL CASSEROLE

 Chicken Rice Casserole- Experiment 2.3

SAVORY RICE LENTIL CASSEROLE

Continuing to work on a scratch recipe
doubled the recipe today
Sprayed a HALF ALUMINUM- baking dish with Pam type oil spray
added dry ingredients as follows:

First- l cup TVP with one cup water, 2 Tbsp Oil, 12 Tbsp Chicken Seasoning Bulk Barn

let the TVP sit and soak up water/oil

Dry
2 cups parboiled rice
1 cup red lentils dry
2 Tbsp ground flax

1 Tbsp sesame  seeds

Veggies

1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium-large onion

1./2 cup chopped celery

1 garlic bulb diced/minced

1 cup frozen green peas

Liquid

6 cups Costco Soy milk

stirred with 12 Tbps corn starch

2 Tbsp Barbeque sauce (just for some sugar & flavor) 

Stirred veggies and dry, 

Greased the pan, added the dry, then the liquid

Suggest doing this near the stove- as the pan is quite full

Bake 350 for 90 minutes

RESULTS

Used convection- could be less as top was quite brown and a bit caked on sides and bottom

RESULTS

Chicken Rice Casserole version 2.2

Chicken Rice Casserole- Experiment 2.2

Rice-Lentil Protein Casserole

Continuing to work on a scratch recipe
doubled the recipe today
Sprayed a HALF ALUMINUM- baking dish with Pam type oil spray
added dry ingredients as follows:

2 cups parboiled rice
1 cup TVP-Textured Vegetable Protein
1 cup red lentils dry
2 Tbsp ground flax
stirred up the dry
4 Tbsp Corn starch
2 Tbsp Vegetarian chicken soup base

Liquid part-
4 cups soymilk (1 costco soy milk 946 ml)
2 cups water
Since was not going to cook til morning
stirred up the dry
and added the soymilk water and oil 

2 Tbsp Sesame seeds

2 Tbsp barbecue sauce

 forgot to add  frozen peas carrots

original was 1 Tbsp lentils not 1 cup
so need to add more water

RESULTS
- could use some more salty - poured a bit of soy sauce on top

- sesame and TVP floated to top- perhaps soak TVP for a bit before putting in over

bake 90 minutes @ 350 degrees

careful putting into oven - as there is a lot of liquid

Version