Salmon and Mushroom Quesadillas

Can I give you another example why I am a bad Asian? Okay. I can't cook Asian food. I tried and failed time over time. From sweet soy sauce chicken to sweet and sour pork ribs, I never fail to fuck up. Hell, I can't even steam a damn fish. I even tried Chinese-takeout-style beef and broccoli. I mean, how can anyone fuck up some fake Chinese food right? Well, I never cease to amaze myself, for good or bad.

Anyway, today I have some leftover Chinese style salmon, and let me tell you, Chinese people don't care about fishy smells. You open that tupperware full of salmon leftovers and the smell of fish just explodes in your face and overwhelms you close to death. Obviously, putting it into the microwave is just going to amplify the situation and stink up the whole room, and I am not going to deal with that.

So I came up with this idea to add a ton of lime juice and mushrooms to the salmon to make quesadillas. Yes, it's an odd choice of meat for quesadillas. And yes, the amount of cheese I used between those two pieces of tortillas was criminal. But it turned out delicious and notably NOT fishy. So let's consider it a success!

Salmon and Mushroom Quesadillas 

Makes 6 pieces (that's 1 serving for me)

1/2 lb salmon, or 1 container of canned salmon

Handful of mixed mushrooms (I used oyster mushrooms)

2 whole wheat tortillas

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or provolone cheese

Salsa:

2 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

Handful of fresh cilantro, stems and leaves finely chopped

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp vinegar or lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp paprika

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Pinch of red pepper flakes 

1. Heat pan on medium. Saute mushrooms and add salmon in the final stage to warm up the salmon. Set aside. 

2. Drain any excess liquid or oil. Place one piece of tortilla on the pan until light brown on one side. Flip the tortilla over. 

3. Add half of the cheese over the whole piece of tortilla. Then, add half of the mushroom and salmon mixture. 

4. Use a spatula to lift one side of the tortilla and flip it over to the other side. The tortilla should be slightly browned. Press to make sure all the ingredients are sitting tight together. 

5. Remove from pan, cut into smaller pieces and serve immediately.

For salsa, simply mix all the ingredients together. 

Couscous with Tilapia and Oyster Mushrooms

I am a bad Asian. I don't like white rice. It makes me feel bloated and gross. I also haven't had a rice cooker in the past 7 years... don't throw rocks at me!

Don't get me wrong, I love love love carbs. In terms of everyday cooking (especially for lunch), my favorite grains are couscous and quinoa. Couscous is very easy to cook and has more vitamins and protein compared to white rice, making it a more "well-rounded" grain.  It is also very versatile- you can pretty much mix in any ingredients you want. Quinoa is even better. It has tons of amino acids that provide protein for vegetarians or those who simply don't have time to prepare meat for lunch. The protein and fiber in quinoa keeps you full for a long time, while all the minerals help reduce the frequency migraines.

So that leads to lunch for today- couscous salad with tilapia and oyster mushrooms. The key to this recipe is lemon or lime juice (you don't want your couscous to be fishy!), and any herbs you want. Mushrooms is also good for reheating because they have a high moisture content, keeping the couscous nice and fluffy the next day.

Coucous with tilapia and oyster mushrooms

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients
1 cup couscous
1 cup boiling water
1 piece of tilapia fillet, seasoned with salt
2 tsp unsalted butter
1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
Handful of oyster mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lime
Bunch of cilantro, chopped (including stem)
Cheese of your choice
Cayenne pepper, optional
Olive oil or spicy sesame oil

1. Heat pan on medium, melt butter. Pan fry tilapia until golden brown on both sides.
2. In the meantime, boil water and chop the tomatoes, cilantro and mushrooms (I usually just cut off the bottom part of the stem).
3. Mix chopped cilantro stems with dry couscous in a bowl. Add boiling water and cover with a plate or lid. Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Saute mushrooms with garlic until soft and slightly golden.
5. Uncover couscous. Fluff with fork and add fish, mushrooms, chopped cilantro leaves, cherry tomatoes, lime juice, and cheese.
6. Add salt, pepper and (optional) spicy sesame oil to taste. Serve warm.

Chipotle burgers with Smoky Garlic Ketchup

Do you read DIY blogs, cookbooks or watch one of the following channels: Food Network, TLC, HGTV? Do you ever feel that they make it look SO easy and effortless to revamp your old coffee table, whip up a healthy 4-course meal in less than 1 hour, or create your own cute little coffee table for less than $100? Have you ever started undertaking one of those projects, until the small little things keep going wrong until there's no point of return, so you were stuck in the obvious fuck up but had no idea how to fix it? 

Well, I read about 70 cooking/ home decor blogs on a daily basis (thanks to Google Reader), read all the magazines in the Barnes and Noble "Home decor" and "Food/ Wine" section every month, AND watch all the above-mentioned channels. So you can see why I might be a little delusional about my DIY skills. Two weeks ago, I stepped into Home Depot for the first time of my life thinking I could spray paint one of the white little coffee tables from Ikea into a gorgeous dark grey color and then trim it with metal push pins to create that luxurious look that is all over home decor magazines these days. After 15 minutes trying to select a color, guess what happened. I almost spray painted my face and successfully spray painted my whole finger. So that's where the story about revamping a coffee table ended. 

A week later, I decided I can freestyle a burger recipe for a grill out. So there I went, onions, salt, pepper, grilling mix....... eggs and breadcrumbs. Needless to say, the burgers turned out like meatballs and it disappointed every person at the grill out. I was quite ashamed but determined to redeem myself. 

This recipe from Rachel Ray turned out to be killer and of course, the jalapenos/ blue cheese toppings combo never fail. I like my food spicy and flavorful, so I used more chipotle than the original recipe. But I will never freestyle anything ever again, and let's see how long it will take me to step into Home Depot again! Haha!

Ketchup not shown in this picture... but it was delicious!

Chipotle burgers (adapted from Rachel Ray for Food Network)

Makes 6 big patties

Burger
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in 1/2
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 chipotles in adobo and 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (I used Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick
Splash of spicy sesame oil

Toppings
Canned sliced Jalapenos
Blue cheese

Smoky Tomato Sauce (optional, but really delicious! Leftovers can be used as salsa)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 (15-ounce) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes, about 2 cups
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoon adobo sauce
2 chipotle peppers

Pinch of dried oregano
Salt and pepper


1. Place the meat in a bowl. Cut the onion in half and into fine pieces or grate using a food processor. Add to the bowl of meat.
2. Add Worcestershire, chipotles, adobo sauce and grill seasoning to burgers. Drizzle a little spicy sesame oil over the bowl and mix meat. 

3. Grill meat 2 to 3 minutes on each side and top with jalapenos and cheese.

Optional tomato sauce

1. Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat. 

2. Add extra-virgin olive oil and garlic, cook garlic 2 to 3 mins

3. Add sugar and vinegar, cook 2 mins 

4. Add tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, and dried oregano. Allow it to reduce 8-10 mins on low heat.