Fish with Soy Glaze and Cucumber Salsa

 

Greg and I just returned from a short trip to the beach. It was relaxing and fun but oh so hot! We have always been beach people, spending most of our time in the sand rather than the pool. However, with no air stirring this time, we stayed in the pool most of the time.

We usually travel to the Gulf of Mexico. We even lived down there for a few years. We know the restaurants we like and dislike. However, we stayed closer to home on this trip, so every restaurant was new to us.

Other than a few recommendations, we were on our own with some help from the internet. However, help really isn’t the word I should use there. Have you tried to read online reviews lately? How frustrating is that now? Online restaurant reviews are such a mixed bag of opinions nowadays. Nobody shares the same thoughts, which can be far more confusing than helpful.

Now, back home, we are moving back into the house from the camper! So it’s busy and exciting here, and cooking is much easier. With my beach vibes still in gear, I prepared this delicious Fish with Soy Glaze and Cucumber Salsa when we returned home. I discovered the recipe several years ago, which is still one of our favorites.

The fried fish with the soy glaze is fantastic! Paired with the cucumber salsa, it is always a hit at our house! I used the last of my homegrown cucumbers for the salsa. Any flaky white fish will work in this recipe. Our favorite side for this dish is garlic mashed potatoes.

Fish with Soy Glaze and Cucumber Salsa

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • Cucumber Salsa:
  • 1 cucumber peeled, seeded & chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 2 scallions chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
  • Sauce:
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons dry white wine
  • Fish:
  • 6 (3-ounce) pieces flaky white fillets
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Make the cucumber salsa first. In a bowl, combine cucumber, soy sauce, vinegar, scallions, and cilantro, and mix well. Cover and set aside.
  • To make the sauce, in a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and wine. Stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Pour the sauce into a small bowl and set aside.
  • Dredge the fish in the flour. Heat a skillet on medium-high until hot. Add the olive oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Saute the fish for 2½ minutes on each side, until browned. Reduce the heat to medium, then pour in the sauce mixture and cover with a lid. Cook until the fish is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  • Place the fillets on a platter, and pour the pan juices over the top. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and the salsa on the side.

Notes

You can make the salsa the day before and store in the refrigerator.

Terrific Burgers


My mother and aunts thought everything had to be made from scratch. If it wasn’t, there was a look they would get. You might say they were food snobs, which is funny to even think about because they were far from snobs. They were foodies before being a foodie was even a thing.

Well, indeed, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Because even though I am not opposed to shortcuts now and then, I can be opinionated about food.

I have never been a big fan of adding more than a bit of salt and pepper to my burgers. People have told me over the years what they mix into the ground beef, and if I’m being honest, I have been a little judgy.

Burgers would be a recipe that I never saw myself sharing. However, lately, I have been working on my burger recipe. Trying things, I would have never imagined myself trying. As it turns out, I have been doing it wrong all these years. Because the recipe I am sharing with you today is the best burger I have ever made, these are so delicious that I crave burgers at least once a week.

To make the burger experience extra special, toast your buns, split side down, for a couple of minutes on the grill.

Terrific Burgers

Course Main Course
Servings 6 burgers
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2 slices white bread crust removed and cut into pieces about the size of rice (I use kitchen scissors)
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • big pinch kosher salt
  • big pinch black pepper
  • 3 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 pounds 80/20 ground beef
  • 8 hamburger buns

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, add the cut up bread. Pour the milk over and give and stir. Let stand while you get the other ingredients ready.
  • In a large bowl, add the ground beef. Add salt, pepper, garlic and Worcestershire sauce and the bread mixture.
  • Start combining the ingredients by stirring with a spoon. Once the ingredients are distributed throughout a bit, start mixing with your hands. Do not handle the meat too much, mix just until combined.
  • Roll out into 6 balls and place on a parchment lined baking pan. Top the balls with another piece of parchment and mash the burgers down into patties (about 3/4-inch thick). Using your thumb, make an indention in the center of each burger.
  • Grill burgers as desired on preheated grill. Toast buns, split sides down, on grill the last couple of minutes of grilling.
  • Serve with desired toppings.

 

Sav’s Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken

I love exchanging recipes with my close circle of friends. Whenever someone sends me a screenshot or shares a new recipe they’ve tried, I get so excited. There’s just something so thrilling about discovering new ideas about cooking and experimenting with different dishes. So I’m always looking for new recipes to try out in my kitchen!

My daughter, Savannah, is such a fantastic cook. She usually keeps it simple, but everything is fresh and flavorful, and simple is the best anyway. She thinks I am kidding when I tell her she needs to be Not Just Sunday Dinner II, but I am very serious!

She sent me this simple chicken recipe a few months ago. It is so fast and easy that it has become a new go-to dish I throw together after a busy day.

Honey and heat work so well together. With the crunch of the cereal, it all comes together so well to make this a crave-able chicken dish! As written, it can be a bit spicy, so if you are sensitive to spices, you can adjust as desired. We enjoy this chicken served with homemade Ranch dressing, fries, and a side salad.

Sav's Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 6 cups cornflakes
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon hot sauce to taste
  • 2 pounds chicken breasts tenderloins
  • extra-virgin olive oil for drizzline
  • Hot Honey:
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce or to taste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • sea salt
  • fresh thyme or parsley for serving

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cornflakes, parmesan, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Pulse until you have fine crumbs. (You can also crush in a ziplock bag.)
  • Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the hot sauce and chicken, and toss well to coat. Dredge the chicken through the crumbs, covering fully. (For a thicker coating, dip the chicken back through the eggs, then through the crumbs a second time.) Place on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp all around. Just before chicken is done, make the sauce.
  • In a saucepan, warm together the honey, hot sauce, cayenne, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder, plus a pinch of salt. Drizzle the warm sauce over the chicken. Top with herbs, if desired. If the sauce thickens, warm for 5 seconds in the microwave.

Korean Tacos

On a recent phone call with my cousin, we laughed at how her kids tell her she’s turning into her mother. Of course, my cousin loved her mother dearly, just as I loved mine. However, I also notice little things about myself now, like my mom.

I admire too many things to mention about my mother; if I noticed those things in myself, it would be much better. However, it’s the little things that I remember rolling my eyes at that I see in myself now. I am sure my mother would get a good laugh out of this.

After my mother passed and we were going through her house, I found hundreds of clipped recipes from magazines. I no longer get magazines, but my phone is full of screenshots of recipes! I have a stack of printed recipes, and my question is, why? I have Pinterest and other ways to save recipes and articles I want to return to. At least Mama had an excuse. She never had a computer, and the one time I got her a smartphone, she wanted her “dumb” phone back within a couple of days.

Talking to my cousin made me realize I had to do something about all this clutter. So, last week I started with the printed recipes. I have yet to go through all of them, but as it turns out, most of them went into the recycle bin. I have been saving recipes that I didn’t even want to try.

However, I did keep a few, and this Korean Taco recipe was among them. Greg and I tried this recipe over the weekend, and we loved it. It was such a nice change from our usual meals.

I did a little research and took ideas from several different recipes. These tacos have several components, but everything about this meal is simple. The meat cooks in the crockpot. If you want to save a little time in the morning, have the chuck roast cut into cubes, your onion peeled, and quarter and combine the other crockpot ingredients in a separate bowl. Other things you can do ahead of time to make serving easier is prepare the Korean BBQ sauce and Sriracha mayo. You can even make the Quick Kimchi and warm it before serving. You can also prepare the cucumber and red onion beforehand, but I suggest you chop the cilantro just before serving.

Korean Tacos

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 pound chuck roast cut into 2 to 3-inch cubes
  • 1 onion quartered
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • pinch black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • street-size flour or corn tortillas
  • Korean BBQ sauce recipe follows
  • Sriracha Mayonnaise recipe follows
  • Quick Kimchi recipe follows
  • cucumbers
  • chopped cilantro
  • diced red onion
  • sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Add chuck roast and the quartered onion to slow cooker.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, broth, vinegar and sesame oil; pour over beef and onion.
  • Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
  • After 8 hours, using two forks, shred the beef in the slow cooker.
  • Serve shredded beef on tortillas, top with Korean BBQ sauce, kimchi, Sriracha mayo, cucumber, red onion, cilantro and sesame seeds.

Korean BBQ Sauce

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons Sambal Oelek chili paste more or less, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

  • To a skillet, add soy sauce, water, brown sugar, garlic, vinegar,oil, ginger, pepper and chili paste. Bring to a boil.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Add cornstarch mixture to sauce and continue to boil until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and set aside to serve.

Quick Kimchi

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 cup chopped kimchi
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

  • Heat sesame oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add kimchi and sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until caramelized and heated through, about 3 to 5 minutes; set aside for serving.

Sriracha Mayonnaise

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons Sriracha
  • 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Sriracha and lime juice; set aside to serve.

 

Parmesan Panko Baked Fish

 

I grew up in Georgia and have lived here most of my life, except for the few years we lived in Florida. Other than missing my family and friends, Florida was great. My favorite things about living there, in no particular order are the beach was a short drive from the house, we had fabulous seafood restaurants at our disposal, we were able to get the Florida resident discount on Disney tickets, I loved my house, and the fresh seafood market was a huge bonus!

Greg and I are both fish lovers. Even though fresh seafood is less convenient, we still try to fit fish into our diets regularly. We both like fried fish, but I do not fry. So, we mostly grill fish, shrimp, or any seafood. That is until I found this recipe.

I first tried this recipe a few months ago. I immediately shared it with our son, who also cooks fish regularly. We all agreed this was the best recipe we had ever tried. I have been cooking for many years, and this is the all-time fish winner!

The butter and mayonnaise work so well with the Panko and Parmesan. The lemon and other seasonings add more flavor; the end flavor is off the charts! I have yet to try it on all fish, but it is delicious on snapper, grouper, and flounder.

Most of these ingredients are pantry staples at our house. This recipe is about as simple as it gets and comes together fast. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Parmesan Panko Baked Fish

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 4 fish fillets
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup plain panko
  • 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons butter room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • dash Tabasco sauce
  • 2 large lemons zest & juice one lemon, slice the other

Instructions

  • Dry fish well using paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Place fish on pan and set aside.
    Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • In a medium bowl, add the panko, Parmesan, butter, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and juice of one lemon and the zest. Using the back of a spoon mix together.
  • Pinch mixture together and place on top of fish until each piece is covered with the panko mixture.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of fish.
  • Serve with lemon slices.

Notes

This is also delicious grilled!

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