I came across this baked tilapia dish on the kitchn, and thought it would work well as a salad. Man, was I right! Not only that, but the asian-flavors marinade, made with white wine, soy, and sesame oil, makes a great warm salad dressing. This is a super-quick, super-simple meal that we’ll definitely be adding to the rotation.

Chris says:

This might be one of my favorite ways we’ve prepared tilapia.

Lisa says:

I agree — it’s so delicious. That sauce is awesome.

Chris says:

I didn’t even think about using it as the salad dressing until I pulled the pan out of the oven. It just smelled incredible — the wine, the ginger… so aromatic.

Lisa says:

I love the green onions and extra cilantro on top.

Chris says:

Me too. I don’t think I’d change a thing!

Lisa says:

It worked out perfectly. I definitely won’t complain if we have this again…

Ginger and Cilantro Baked Tilapia
2-3 tilapia fillets - about 3/4 pound
1 jalapeno pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 inch grated ginger (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon spicy sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Scallions, chopped for garnish
Extra cilantro, to garnish
1 package/bag Mixed Baby Salad Greens

Heat the oven to 475F. Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a glass baking dish.
Chop the pepper and garlic, and grate the ginger. Put in a small food processor with the soy sauce, white wine, sesame oil, and cilantro. Mix until blended. Pour the sauce over the fish, pressing the solid ingredients down into the fish a bit. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through.
Divide the salad greens between two plates. Remove the tilapia with a spatula and place half on top of the greens on each plate. Drizzle the fish with the marinade left in the pan. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

2 Servings

Tonight Lisa made this Chicken & Shrimp Laksa, a curry laksa, adapted from a recipe in Asian Flavors. This Malaysian dish consists of wide rice noodles, chicken, and shrimp in a nicely seasoned coconut broth; stir-fried bean sprouts and snow peas add crunch, color, and texture to the soup.

Lisa says:

I think it needs just a little salt and a little bit of Sriracha.

Chris says:

Those noodles really soak up that broth; seems like it thickens as it sits. I like it.

Lisa says:

It would be really good with mushrooms and carrots… next time I’ll add those in.

Chris says:

Yum! And we’ll have to find shrimp paste; our anchovy-paste-and-fish-sauce substitute probably wasn’t quite as intense.

Lisa says:

Well there you go, now we have an excuse to make it again.

Chicken and Shrimp Laksa
2-3 tbsp peanut oil
4 red shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp minced fresh lemon grass
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
1 red chili, seeded an finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 3/4 cups light coconut milk
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
16 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
9 oz flat rice noodles
6 oz snow peas, sliced lengthwise
4 oz bean sprouts
scallions

Soak the rice noodles until they are tender. Heat half the oil in a large saucepan and fry the shallots over low heat until softened. Add the garlic, lemon grass, shrimp paste, red chili, and coriander and continue to cook over low heat for two to three minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, coconut milk, and sugar and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken, shrimp, and noodles and leave over a low heat until the chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a wok and stir-fry the snow peas and bean sprouts for two minutes or until they start to soften.
Spoon the laksa into serving dishes and stir in the snow peas and bean sprouts. Garnish with scallions, and extra chili peppers.

4 Servings

Jeremy and Autumn came over for dinner one night this week — Lisa made these fresh rolls, which filled us up much more than the tiny seafood salad I made. The peanut sauce was also really, really good.

Chris says:

Yay, I love these; we haven’t made them in a while…

Lisa says:

I’m glad I made as many as I did. That dinner you made was barely enough for one, let alone four!

Autumn says:

How’d you get the tofu to not get all mushy?

Lisa says:

Apparently the trick is to roll it in a bit of flour first. It works really well!

Jeremy says:

These are tasty, thanks!

Chris says:

Um, did the four of us just eat 17 of these things?

Vietnamese Summer Rolls
———————–
12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 ounces rice noodles/sticks
4 Ounces firm tofu
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp oil
16 round rice paper sheets
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add shrimp; cook until pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Slice cooked shrimp in half lengthwise. Set aside. In a medium bowl, cover rice noodles with hot water by 2 inches; let soak for 15 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Set aside. Cut tofu into sticks, roll in flour and lightly fry in oil. Place on paper towel to drain.
Fill a shallow dish with warm water. Working with 1 rice-paper wrapper at a time, soak in water for 30 seconds; immediately lay flat on a work surface. Place 3 reserved shrimp halves, cut sides up, on bottom third, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Place 1 piece of tofu over shrimp. Top with 1/4 cup assortment of rice noodles, carrots, cucumbers, mint, basil, and cilantro. Fold bottom of wrapper over fillings; roll over once, tuck in sides, and finish rolling.
Place finished roll on a plate; cover with a damp paper towel. Repeat process with remaining ingredients. Serve with peanut dipping sauce.

Lisa made a stir-fry tonight — no particular recipe, she just used all the vegetables we had on hand — and we finally got to put Jenn’s fantastic plates to use! Lisa marinated the chicken in soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil, and shallots, and then stir-fried with carrots, onions, tomatoes, spinach, chard, water chestnuts, zucchini, and broccoli. Simple, fast, and mighty tasty.

It’s been pretty warm here lately, so we’ve been planning recipes that rely heavily on grilling outdoors as to not heat up the kitchen. This grilled chicken and noodles dish was delicious, and the marinade smelled fantastic. I’m always pleasantly surprised at how little oil goes into a lot of the Vietnamese and Thai recipes we make at home. We’ll definitely be making this one again. The recipe below is adapted from Williams-Sonoma Asian Cooking, and the nuoc cham is from Authentic Vietnamese Cooking.

Vietnamese Grilled Chicken with Rice Noodles
——————————————–
1.5 lb chicken breast
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/6 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp chinese rice wine
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp peanut oil
1/4 lb rice vermicelli, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
Nuoc Cham (see below)
1 thai pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/8 cup very finely julienned carrots
4 or 5 cilantro sprigs

Cut the chicken breasts into large pieces and set aside in a shallow bowl. In a mortar, combine the garlic, shallot, cilantro, lime leaves, salt, and pepper and grind together with a pestle to form a paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce, rice wine, soy sauce, and peanut oil. Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Set a grill to high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the grill, turning until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Lower the grill heat to medium, cover, and continue to heat the chicken until cooked through.
Just before the chicken is ready, bring a saucepan full of water to a boil. Add the rice vermicelli and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Drain, place in a bowl, and toss with 1/8 cup of the Nuoc Cham.
Divide the noodles between two serving plates and arrange the chicken on top. Garnish with the chili pepper, carrots, and cilantro sprigs. Serve with the remaining Nuoc Cham for dipping.

Serves 2.

Nuoc Cham
———
Makes about 2 cups
2 1/2 tbsps sugar
1 1/2 tbsps water
1/6 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Thai chili, minced

Whisk together the sugar, water, fish sauce, and lime juice in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the garlic and chili, then let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Makes approx. 1 cup.