Tag: sriracha sauce
Spicy Calamari Salad
This is my version of a spicy calamari I had at a new Thai restaurant in Chatham- Thai Passion. I reviewed it a couple weeks ago.
This salad got my attention- it was fabulous- although I realized it was a bit over the top with the flavoring. I really enjoyed it but while I was trying to decide how to replicate this salad, I decided to tone it down a bit. At the same time, I didn’t want to lose the essence of the dish- which was a lot of spicy, savory, tangy and a bit of sweet. Writing about it makes me want to eat some- my mouth is salivating. If you live in the area- you should go try it in Chatham. If you don’t live in the Jersey area, try the recipe I have created.
As I mentioned before, this version is a bit toned down. I used tamarind concentrate, lime juice,Worcestershire sauce, palm sugar, sriracha sauce, etc. Once the dressing was made, all I had to do was to cook the calamari. I will attach the video that goes with this recipe.
Try this salad- it is a great dish to make in the summer time…
- ¼ pound calamari, defrosted and cut into ½ inch rings
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Heat a non-stick frying pan and add the olive oil on high heat. Add the calamari and sprinkle salt. Saute on high heat for two minutes just until the rings turn opaque. Turn the heat off and drain on a paper towel.
- 2 cups mixed greens
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
- ½ cup green beans, blanched
- 1 medium tomato, cut into 1-inch squares
Toss the mixed greens with the basil, mint, green beans and tomato. Add the calamari and mix well.
Vinaigrette
- ½ teaspoon tamarind concentrate
- Juice of half a lime
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon tamari
- 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
Add the tamarind, limejuice, Worcestershire sauce, tamari, fish sauce, sriracha and palm sugar into a small bowl. Drizzle the olive oil while whisking the dressing. Pour the dressing on top of the salad and toss lightly before serving.
Great Leftover Recipe: Shrimp and Arugula Quesadilla
The weather has been very kind to us lately- I guess we deserve it after the spring we have had. We decided to keep my daughter home from camp one day and visit a lake. Everyone was responsible for packing their own food, snacks and fruit, etc. I thought of cherries and nectarines for fruit; gogurts and fruit leather for snacks- but was having trouble deciding on the lunch part.
My daughter has been into quesadillas lately- which is good since she doesn’t like to eat sandwiches. So- quesadillas came to mind- cheese for her but what about me?? The left over shrimps from the shrimp rolls came to mind.. hmm.. I thought of chopping those up with the grated Mexican cheese blend- perfect- but what about veggies?? I thought of packing a salad but the idea of lettuce on a warm day wilting away didn’t seem very appealing. I instead thought of adding a bit of arugula right into the quesadilla.
Now, ideally I like to dip my quesadilla into something spicy- like a tomato salsa or guacamole. I didn’t have any made and I was too lazy to go buy some and pack tiny containers- too complicated. I used my favorite hot sauce instead- the sriracha sauce. I love using this particular one, it has great flavor with the heat. It has a bit of garlic and sugar paired with the tang and saltiness- perfection in my book! The combination was yum- the quesadilla tasted great room temperature- the shrimp gave it nice substance while the greens gave it a nice crunch- yup they were still a bit crunchy. The hot sauce put it over the top- it was delicious! I devoured the entire quesadilla in less than a minute and wished I had made another one. We ate sweet and juicy nectarines and thoroughly enjoyed the day.
A great picnic or pool item to pack along- no reason to have the not so healthy and not so tasty food you tend to get at those places.
Grilled Vegetables with Peanut Sauce
My daughter loves going to Thai restaurants. Her favorite thing to eat are the gyozas and chicken satay. She can really pack away a number of skewers- if I let her. What she doesn’t like is the peanut sauce- very strange! For me it’s the peanut sauce that is the interesting part- like the rest of Thai cuisine- it really assaults your palette. Sweet, salty, sour and spice happening at the same time. I think that is why I love the cuisine so much. I love anything that has the peanut sauce. I usually make a whole lot and keep in my fridge. It is very versatile- it is a great dipping sauce; it goes really well in cold noodles with shrimp and vegetables; it makes a delicious salad dressing- the sky is the limit! One of my favorite things to eat in the summer months is grilled vegetables. I like to grill all sorts of different veggies and serve them with different marinades. This particular one is my favorite way to eat them. The creamy peanut sauce goes really well with the smoky grilled vegetables. In this case I used red peppers, zucchini and a japanese eggplant. I loved the combination of all the veggies- the peppers bring a subtle sweetness; the zucchini is creamy and the eggplant is like a sponge- absorbing all the peanut goodness! I made this with the shrimp fried rice but the dish goes really well with burgers, hot dogs and steaks.
If your kids like peanut sauce, this dish is a great way to give them vegetables- especially if they are grilled- I feel grilling and roasting brings out the natural sweetness of everything. In our case, I gave Sia the vegetables without the peanut sauce- I think she is a bit strange- but then I can’t really complain, she is a very good eater and loves food!