Thai Coconut Shrimp Cakes

There are very, very few foods that everyone in my family, including all 3 of my kids, like. This is the reality of being a family of five or four or three or even two. Quite frankly, anytime there is more than one member in a household, there is bound to be some food disagreement. And this is one of the many reasons why we have an ever-rotating repertoire of recipes around here - to keep the variety alive AND to stay in hot pursuit of something that everyone will eat. On the rare occasion that everyone is pleased by what I put on the table, I stash the recipe like it's lined in gold and bring it back to the menu almost immediately. Inevitably, someone will decide on the second time around that they "forgot" that they are no longer keen on the dish. Sigh. We can only do our best.

This recipe is one that ALL FIVE family members said they liked. TWICE! Of course it would be a shrimp recipe (which is so totally not affordable enough for me to serve regularly) but I try to splurge every once in a while because the mealtime peace is so worth it. I think the recipe was initially intended to be an appetizer. Alas, I didn't read it closely enough the first time I prepared it and sort of laugh-cried when I saw the pitiful 4 little shrimp cakes that I ended up plopping on the table before my family. Eat up everyone - "dinner" is served. We loved every last crumb that took us all of 3 seconds to devour. Oops, Next time I will pay closer attention to the serving size. I don't remember for sure but I hope I served it with rice that night. Either that or we went to bed hungry.

Don't you worry, I have adjusted the recipe to spare you all the disappointment of getting a whiff of something amazing only to realize you can't have more (like happened to us that fateful first night). I doubled the recipe once but would strongly urge you to double it again if you want any chance of having leftovers. If you've never made a crab cake or a shrimp cake or any sort of savory cake really, don't be alarmed! There couldn't be an easier recipe to break you in. You essentially just toss the ingredients together, form them in balls and press them into a mixture of bread crumbs and coconut. They are not deep-fried and they don't easily fall part. You won't hardly believe the flavor you get for such a simple process. We love coconut over here and, since I don't really know what one pairs with shrimp cakes when serving them as a main dish, I usually opt for coconut rice. Prepare rice the way you usually do but replace a portion of the water with a can of coconut milk. Once the rice is done, toss in a handful of shredded coconut and maybe some chopped cilantro for good measure. Be sure to squeeze your lime wedge on both the shrimp cakes and the rice. Slice up some fresh bell peppers to serve on the side and call it dinner. Done!

Thai Coconut Shrimp Cakes
(adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

1 1/3 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
1/2 cup minced unsweetened dried coconut, divided
¼ cup minced green onions
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
4 teaspoons fish sauce
4 teaspoons Sriracha (hot chile sauce)
1 Tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound (16 oz) peeled and deveined shrimp, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 limes, quartered

Combine 2/3 cup panko, ¼ cup coconut, and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Add shrimp; stir just until combined. Using wet hands, shape mixture into 8 equal balls. Combine remaining panko and coconut in a shallow dish. Coat balls in panko mixture; press to form 4 (4-inch) patties.

To prepare in batches, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon oil; swirl to coat. Add 4 patties; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Repeat with remaining 4 patties. Alternatively, heat electric griddle and drizzle with olive oil. Cook patties, 4 minutes per side. Serve with lime.

Serves 4 (2 shrimp cakes each)

Chili-Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice and Snap Peas

I am here this morning to tell you about one thing: SHRIMP! A couple weeks back, I tore out a few pages from the “Superfast Recipes” section of my Cooking Light Magazine and crossed my fingers, hoping the recipes they contained would pass what I will now refer to as The Cooking Light Husband Test. This has been the summer of swimming lessons over here because I'm bound and determined to GET MY KIDS TO SWIM even if it kills me (which it is). This means 45 minutes at the pool nearly every weekday which is awesome but also has forced me to be quicker on my toes when it comes to dinner. This is so not my gifting. When I look out my window, I see my neighbors out playing with their kids until 5:30 PM without batting an eyelash. I can't help but wonder, who is roasting their pork shoulder? Who is rolling out their fresh pasta dough? Who is flash-cooking their tomatoes so they can whip up a batch of Panzanella Tomato Bread Salad? I mean, how do they possibly eat dinner if THEY AREN'T INSIDE COOKING?!

Doesn't every good meal take at least 90 minutes to complete? You see, I have this strange ability to take simple things and make them incredibly intricate and complicated. Like the time I planned a "quick hamburger dinner" and ended up making my own ketchup from scratch and caramelizing my onions for nearly an hour. Yeah. I guess this little "skill" of mine is what makes me a bit dubious when it comes to recipes toted to take "only 20 minutes." The idea of making a meal that fast sounds amazing but I don’t know a lot of diners that pursue their next meal based on how little time it took the chef to prepare it. It took 5 minutes to make? Wow, sounds DELICIOUS! Dish me up a plate.

So this summer has been a bit of my test for me and I've tried really hard to branch out and simplify a bit. And you know what, I've found a couple of recipes that are fast AND hit it out of the park. The week I made all the Superfast Recipes from Cooking Light, my husband complimented me every meal about how good the food had been that week (you know, because the food I usually cook is CRAP). ;) I know I'm not the only one and that there are others of you who are slaving in your kitchens so you can "eat well," wishing you could be outside playing with everyone else. Or maybe just wishing you could find the time to cook something yummy with all the craziness of life, Well then, this post (and the next one) is for you.

One of the great things about this recipe is that you make a big batch of shrimp on one day, reserve half of it and then make a totally different dish with the reserved shrimp the next day. Two super fast meals, two nights in a row with two wildly varying flavors. I'm a little ashamed to admit that prior to this recipe, I don't think I'd ever fed my family snap peas. I "never like them" and so it didn't occur to me to offer them to anyone else. Well, it was through this dish that we learned that THREE members of our tribe actually like snap peas (myself included!!!) I know 3 out of 5 is a failing grade if we're talking a pop quiz or something but when it comes to feeding a young family, a score of 60% is considered a major success. I've now added them as a staple to my weekly shopping list.

We are all also in love with the coconut rice in this recipe and I've prepared it probably 5 times already since discovering it. It's so easy but takes plain rice to the next level. Of course, I like to substitute short grain brown rice sometimes too and just use the entire can of coconut milk (minus the 3 Tablespoons needed for the sauce at the end) and a little extra water. The last thing I'll say about this recipe is that it's gluten-free! Eat up. 

Chili-Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice and Snap Peas

(from Cooking Light Magazine)

2 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, divided

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger

1 cup uncooked jasmine rice

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons light coconut milk, divided

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 70)

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)

1 tablespoon grated lime rind

12 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed

Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon canola oil; swirl to coat. Add minced ginger; sauté 30 seconds. Add rice and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute, stirring to coat. Add 1 cup coconut milk and 1/4 cup water to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in chopped cilantro.

Combine 3/8 teaspoon salt, shrimp, garlic, brown sugar, olive oil, and sambal oelek in a large bowl, stirring well to coat shrimp. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of shrimp to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until just cooked through. Place cooked shrimp in a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining shrimp. Return cooked shrimp to pan. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons coconut milk and lime rind, and cook 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Reserve 1/2 of the shrimp mixture.

Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil. Add sugar snap peas; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Combine snap peas, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl; toss to coat. Serve snap peas with rice and remaining 2 cups shrimp mixture.

   

Serves 4

Toasted Coconut Waffles

Ummm. YUM! Howdy y'all. I'm finally back on the blogosphere. If it feels like I went MIA for a bit there, well, it's because I did. I'm excited to announce that after much drama, we closed on the purchase of our first real home (on the date of my last post, actually) and then not 12 hours later launched into a major remodel that sucked away every spare second of the past 2 months. Needless to say, we hardly had time to eat or cook let alone photograph our food and write about the recipes. It's so good to finally be home sweet home and back on the cooking band wagon (sort of). 

I have a bit of an obsession with coconut apparently, particularly when it comes to breakfast time. We have been eating a LOT (like really a lot) of cold cereal lately and, though I am so darn tired of it, I seem to have lost my breakfast mojo and so I poor another bowl. I used to be a morning person but lately I'm lucky if I can drag myself out of bed before the troops have helped themselves to their own breakfast. Seriously. The other day my 14 month old came toddling around the corner chowing down on 2 pieces of dry bread. Poor kid. Not a mother in sight to feed him. ANYWAY, yesterday I made an intentional effort to kick my breakfast slump in the patootie and jumped on my good friend Google in search of something yummy.

I had a hankering for waffles and one thing led to another and pretty soon I was pulling these pretty puppies off the iron. (By the way, is it gross that I posted a picture with char and crumbs all over my plate? Too bad!) Well, these were by far the best breakfast I had in a long time which I suppose isn't saying a ton about my little breakfast confession, but seriously - so good! The melted coconut oil added a second dimension of coconut flavor alongside the toasted coconut. As it just so happened, I had some leftover pineapple in the fridge which I would highly recommend as an accompaniment. Bon Appetit!

Toasted Coconut Waffles

(adapted a smidge to make them healthier from Bon Appetit Magazine)

1½ cups shredded coconut

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup milk

⅔ cup virgin coconut oil, melted

¼ cup sugar

Nonstick cooking oil spray

Unsalted butter and pure maple syrup (for serving)

Preheat oven to 400°. Toast coconut on a rimmed baking sheet until golden brown,

about 2 minutes. Let cool. 

Whisk flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, milk, oil, and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk mixture into

dry ingredients (do not overmix). Mix in ¾ cup coconut; set aside remaining coconut.

Heat a waffle iron until very hot. Coat with nonstick spray. Working in batches, cook waffles until golden brown. Serve topped with butter, syrup, and reserved coconut.

Serves 4

Collard Greens with Toasted Coconut and Almonds

"What would make my life complete right now is a giant bowl of collard greens," said absolutely no one ever. Collard greens just aren't one of those go-to side dishes that bring about jubilation and great cheer amongst dinner guests. On top of that, I typically suck at sides (pardon my French) so I'm tempted to say you shouldn't trust me here. Except that you should. I'm going to be real with you for a second and confess that the only reason collard greens ever even entered my kitchen was because Trader Joe's began stocking them and I purchased them out of obligation. It's like this unwritten expectation amongst those in my profession, my dietitian-duty I guess you could say. Holy smokes! But have you ever had collard greens with toasted coconut and almonds? Umm yeah. No one dare cast judgment on the lowly collard until they've given this recipe a shot.

Due to some stuff going on in our personal lives right now, the other night my husband and I found ourselves eating a 5 PM dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches at Children's Hospital. Thrilling, I know. We arrived home late and rallied the kids into bed before we collapsed on the couch to the background serenade of our growling stomachs. Our sandwiches had long since burnt off and we were both left with that empty sensation that could only be explained by our unfulfilling "dinner." My husband left my side and headed to the kitchen for a fridge raid, and to my surprise, returned with none other than a bowl of these leftover coconut collards. He looked at me and said "These are so amazing!" as he shoveled them down. So yeah, that's never happened before. I guess there are some of us who find completeness in collards.

I'm not sure if it's the coconut or the coconut oil or the almonds or the garlic that make this dish. Or maybe it's the basil? The recipe contains such an odd conglomeration of ingredients that create a phenomenal result. And please, whatever you do, do not skip the fish sauce! I know it's an uncomfortable ingredient for some. Go light on it at first if you must, but it adds an exciting complexity to this dish that one mustn't deprive the collards of. The original recipe calls for 3 bunches of collard greens but I usually just buy the bag of pre-shredded greens from Trader Joe's which I'd imagine contains substantially less collards. I bet you could get by with 1 1/2 or even 2 of the Trader Joe's bags and keep the remaining ingredient measurements the same but I like the stronger flavors in my ratio so I do it as follows:

Collard Greens with Toasted Coconut and Almonds

(adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine)

 

¼ cup shredded coconut 

¼ cup raw almonds 
1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil 
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
1 (10 oz) bag shredded collard greens 
1 cup torn fresh basil leaves 
1 teaspoon (or more) apple cider vinegar 
1 teaspoon fish sauce 
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce 
Kosher salt 
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread out coconut and almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes; transfer to a plate and coarsely chop the almonds.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add collard greens a handful at a time, tossing until wilted between additions. Cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes longer. Add basil, vinegar, fish sauce, and soy sauce; season with salt, red pepper flakes, and more vinegar, if desired. Serve topped with coconut and almonds.

Serves 4