Salmon Carbonara

"Grants Scottish Smoked Salmon | Buy Salmon Online | Shopfresh Seafood". Shopfreshseafood.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 June 2016.

Feature Ingredient: Salmon

Salmon is a species of fish native to the North Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, but is increasingly farmed to meet growing demands. Salmon is typically promoted in a healthy diet, as it contains 'good' fatty acids and is high in protein. There are many ways in which salmon is consumed - cured in a brine solution to become gravlax, smoked, grilled and even raw. In this particular recipe, I'll be using smoked salmon. Smoked salmon is prepared through cold smoking or hot smoking, which produces very different looking end products! Historically, smoking was used to prevent spoiling of the salmon by killing any bacteria. Today I'll be using cold smoked salmon in this recipe. 

Recipe: Salmon Carbonara

Serves 10

Ingredients:

300g smoked salmon, sliced
500g spaghetti 
300ml thickened cream
5 garlic cloves, diced 
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of grated parmesan (although I forgot to add this!)
4-5 eggs
Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Boil the spaghetti in a pot of boiling water with salt until al dente. 
2. Meanwhile, golden the diced garlic in a hot pan with olive oil.
3. To make carbonara sauce, combine the thickened cream, salt + pepper, eggs and parmesan. Mix well.
4. Drain the pasta and add the fried garlic, carbonara sauce and chopped smoked salmon.
5. Serve warm with extra salt and pepper if needed.

Here's a photographic recount of what I did;

Frying the diced garlic

Mixing the carbonara sauce

Combine all the ingredients

Serve!

Ratings/Comments:

Price: Approximately $1.85 per serving 

Difficulty: 2/5

Taste: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

(1 being lowest/not good - 5 being highest/best)

Super quick recipe that whipped up a delicious lunch in no time. I liked how the flavours were simple but highlighted those of the salmon and pepper. It was also interesting to see how the heat of the drained spaghetti cooked the carbonara sauce and even the salmon pieces. Overall, I think the dish could do with some green - perhaps basil or parsley to compliment it aesthetically. Hope you try this out!

- C

깍두기 (Kkakdugi) - Radish Kimchi

Hub, Harvest. "Daikon Radish - Harvest Hub". Harvest Hub. N.p., 2014. Web. 3 May 2016.

Feature Ingredient: Daikon radish

Daikon literally translates to 'big root' in Japanese; it is also known as a winter radish, as some varieties are only grown in Winter. However, some Chinese and Indian varieties are able to tolerate higher temperatures more easily, allowing the crop to grow year round. The root is used in mainly asian cuisine for soups, salads and even for pickling. Today, we'll be experimenting with pickling a daikon radish using a Korean kkakdugi recipe I found here. Below is the video from the recipe author's YouTube channel:

Recipe: Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi)

Serves 20 +

* I mostly followed the recipe above, although I did make some alterations.

Ingredients:

1 large daikon radish (mine was about 5kg), peeled and chopped into cubes

2 cups of chilli power/flakes 

3 tbsp of salt 
3 tbsp of sugar
3 nashi pears, diced

1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 ginger root, peeled 

2 bunches of green onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup of fish sauce
1/3 cup of juice produced from the radish

Method:

1. Mix the salt and sugar with the cubed daikon pieces, cover each piece throughly and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. To make the sauce; blend the ginger, garlic, apples and green onion to produce a paste-like mixture.
3. After 30 minutes, empty most of the water that has been drained from the radish pieces, keeping only about 1/3 cup. 
4. Add the chilli flakes, the blended mixture and fish sauce. Make sure to cover every piece of radish.
5. Compact the pieces into a glass jar and set aside for 2-3 days in the fridge or just in the kitchen if the weather is generally chilly. The radish will ferment in this time.

Below are some photos from what I did:

Adding the mixture to the cubed radish

Adding fish sauce

Adding chilli flakes

Mix well

Compress in a jar

Ratings/Comments:

Price: Approximately $0.50 per serving 

Difficulty: 3/5

Taste: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

(1 being lowest/not good - 5 being highest/best)

The recipe was lots of fun, especially because it was my first time pickling something. I think adding the pears to the mixture also helped to balance the flavours. I would also suggest blending the pickling ingredients rather than having them in chunks as it ensures all the flavours are distributed well. Moreover, you won't need to deal with picking out ginger pieces when you actually eat the cubes. Overall, I would highly recommend this recipe as it can accompany all your meals (maybe not breakfast) as a side dish! Hope you try this recipe out!
- C

Crispy Tofu Triangles

Varney, Dr Jane. "Monash University Low FODMAP Diet: Talking Tofu". Fodmapmonash.blogspot.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

Feature Ingredient: Tofu

Tofu is a type of curd produced by the coagulation of soy milk, which is then compressed to form firm white blocks. These blocks are then sliced into smaller sizes and then packaged into the tofu you find in the supermarket. There are many variations to tofu, such as silken, firm, soft etc that are all created using a similar technique with small variants in the production process. Tofu is popular in East Asian cuisine, found in both savoury and sweet dishes.Tofu is also popular as a source of protein in vegetarian diets and is therefore important in Buddhism. The English name itself comes from Japanese, which is in turn derived from the Chinese equivalent, 豆腐.

Recipe: Crispy Tofu Triangles

Serves 6

Ingredients:

500g firm tofu

1 cup cornflour 

1 tbsp all spice 

1/2 tbsp salt 

Enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom half of the pan

Method:

1. Mix the cornflour, all spice and salt to create a powder mixture. 
2. Place the tofu into the spiced mixture and cover on all sides.
3. Shallow fry the tofu until each side is golden brown. 
4. Serve whilst hot.

A short photo compilation:

Cut the tofu into triangle pieces, then cover them with cornflour, all spice and salt.

Shallow fry the tofu in some vegetable oil.

Serve whilst hot!

Ratings/Comments:

Price: Approximately $1.00 per serving

Difficulty: 1/5

Taste: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

(1 being lowest/not good - 5 being highest/best)

This recipe was really interesting to try as I was trying to recreate a dish I had tried at a Chinese restaurant. The technique is really quite simple and takes only a few minutes to prepare and cook. After this, you are left with perfect golden tofu triangles that are crispy on the outside yet soft and hot in the inside - amazing! I hope you try this recipe out!

- C