Katsudon

I've been making a lot of Asian food lately and today is Japanese cuisine day! I rarely make Japanese food because I don't know many Japanese foods but what I do know, I love. I only discovered katsudon a couple years ago and so after having it again recently, I tried to make it at home. There are many different variations I've seen but the most common and my favorite is pork katsudon. Delicious!

Katsudon

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

1 cup water

1/4 onion, cut into large chunks

1 garlic clove

green onion, white part only

1 dried shiitake mushroom

1 3x3 dried kelp

3 dried anchovy (optional)

2 tbsp bonito flakes

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

2 pork chops, bone in

salt and pepper

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 eggs, whisked

1/2 cup panko 

oil for frying

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced thin

3 eggs, whisked

1 green onion sliced thin

rice for serving

Directions

1. Make a dashi stock for the sauce by combining the water with the onion - anchovy, if using. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the bonito flakes. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and strain the liquid. 
2. Pour 1/3 cup of the dashi stock into a medium bowl, discarding the rest or saving it for next time. Add the sugar, soy sauce and mirin. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
3. Prepare the pork cutlets. Cover with plastic wrap and gently pound with a mallet to tenderize the meat. Remove the plastic wrap and season both sides with salt and pepper. 
4. Pour oil 1/4 inch high in a saute pan. Heat to 350 degrees F. 
5. Dredge the pork in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the pork in the egg than coat with the panko. Carefully lay in the heated oil and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
6. Heat the 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour the dashi sauce mix into the pan. Nestle the fried pork cutlets into the bed of onions. Top with the sliced green onion. 
7. Reduce heat to low and pour the whisked eggs evenly over the pork. Cover and cook until the eggs are almost set, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and serve immediately with rice. 

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

Katsudon is simple and easy to prepare, only relying on a couple ingredients. Therefore, it's important to have a great sauce base and to have good quality pork.

For the dashi stock, you can purchase hondashi which is a powder form of dashi that you just add water to or you can substitute just water. Keep in mind that this will not produce the best dashi stock. I will admit, even my dashi stock does have few ingredients that the basic recipe does not include, but I believe it makes a difference in the end. 

For the pork, I chose to use bone-in chops this time, something that I have never done before for this dish. I always used to use pork butt which is incredibly tender; however, after trying fried pork cutlets with the bone in, I was convinced to go this route. 

Pounding the pork with a mallet tenderizes the meat. To prevent you from tearing the meat a part, cover with plastic wrap (this also keeps your mallet clean!) Just don't go too crazy when pounding; you don't want your pork to be too thin! I kept mine at 1/2 inch thick.

This breading station is a classic used for many, many items including but not limited to zucchini fries, chicken cutlets, chicken mcnuggets, coconut shrimp, mushroom "lollipops", etc etc. It's a classic because no matter what ingredient you fry, it's fantastic with a crispy panko breading!

Make sure your oil is not too hot. Too hot means the outside will cook much quicker on the outside than the inside. 

At this point you have created tonkatsu. You can serve the pork as is with tonkatsu sauce and rice and you have another popular Japanese dish. But you're going to take it one step further and make katsudon!

Saute onions, pour sauce, lay the pork and pour the eggs. Keep your flames on low so that the eggs don't overcook. You don't want them fully set; the idea is to get slightly runny and "wet" eggs when serving. 

Typically restaurants have togarashi, a type of chili pepper, to sprinkle on top that completes this dish. Don't worry if you don't have though because it will still warm your stomach! To me, this is Japanese comfort food at its best. Fried tender pork coated in eggs with a sweet and salty sauce, what can be better? 

Taiwanese oyster omelette

Not too long ago I went on a binge on Taiwanese oyster omelettes. Many restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley carry this item since it's a very popular Taiwanese dish; however, I found one that excelled at making this savory snack. I watched the cooks prepare this dish at numerous locations and all seemed to follow the same steps but this one specific restaurant made their omelettes a bit more crispy than others; a small change with a big impact! After some experimentation, I have recreated this dish at home, coming pretty darn close to what is served at restaurants. Enjoy these omelettes for breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack!

Taiwanese oyster omelette

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Yield: 1 serving or one large oyster omelette

Ingredients

Sauce:

3/4 cup water

1 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 tbsp granulated sugar

3 tbsp tapioca flour

1/2 cup water

7-8 oysters

1 cup chopped A-choy(Taiwanese lettuce) leafs only

2 eggs, whisked

Directions

1. Make the sauce by combining the water with the cornstarch to make a slurry. Set aside. 
2. In a small saucepan, heat the ketchup, sweet chili sauce and sugar over low heat. Add the slurry and stir together. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. For the omelette, combine the tapioca flour with the water to make another slurry. Set aside. 
4. Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Add the oysters and saute for 1 minute. Add the tapioca slurry and reduce heat to medium; cook for 1 minute or until the slurry becomes translucent. 
5. Add the chopped greens on top and saute for another minute. Reduce heat to low and add the whisked eggs. Stir to combine and let eggs set. Cook until golden brown around the edges, about 3-4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, flip the omelette over and brown on the other side, about 1 minute. Serve immediately with the sauce drizzled on top. 

Nutrition Facts

per serving: 349 calories, 13g fat (4.0g saturated, 2.6g polyunsaturated, 4.2g monounsaturated) 38.7g carbohydrates, 1.7g fiber, 21g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

In my opinion, the one main factor that can make one omelette taste drastically different from the other is the ratio of the tapioca flour to the water. Since slurries are used for both the sauce and omelette, it's important to get the ratios correct.

For the sauce, you're looking for a sweeter, thicker version of ketchup. The consistency should be thick and nappe (coats the back of your spoon). I've seen sauces that included peanut butter, soy paste, and green onions but I highly doubt restaurants add these ingredients in their sauce.

For the omelette, if you can't find the Taiwanese lettuce for your omelette, you may substitute it for other greens such as spinach or romaine lettuce . I was unable to locate it so I used other greens, which I am ashamed to say I can't recall at the moment.

Now when I made my omelettes I used the jarred oysters. Jarred oysters tend to be enormous in size so I had to cut them into smaller chunks. After tasting the omelettes, I felt I could taste a murky quality from the oysters which I did not particularly enjoy. When sauteing, the oysters released a brownish liquid which I did not find pleasant.

I recommend using frozen oysters to avoid this. Apparently frozen oysters are much fresher because they are immediately frozen after being shucked. 

The actual cooking process of the omelettes goes by quickly so have all your ingredients ready to go.

Twenty minutes later and you are ready to indulge! Now if you never had a Taiwanese oyster omelette before, I should warn you that they are not like regular omelettes. The tapioca slurry gives a gelatin like quality that is not found in regular omelettes. Trust me, this does not mean it's any less delicious! This is whats these omelettes so special, including the sauce. Try this once and you will fall in love!

Braised pork belly bao

A couple days ago I passed by this restaurant that served at least 15 different kinds of bao. Unfortunately, I was already full from dinner so I didn't have any but ever since than, I've been thinking about baos. After making the braised pork for my crispy pork belly and watermelon salad, I thought that the pork was perfect for bao. Combine that flavorful pork belly with a couple more elements and I have a wonderful pork belly bao! Satisfaction met!

Braised Pork Belly Bao

Cooking time: 1 day for marinating plus 5 hours 30 minutes

Yield: 10-12 bao

Ingredients

1 1/2# braised pork belly

1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

1 large shallot, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup mirin

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1 cup salted peanuts, chopped

2 heaping tbsp brown sugar

10-12 bao buns

fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

1. Marinate and braise the pork as stated in recipe (link above). After braising the pork for 4-5 hours, let cool. When the pork is cool enough to handle, slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. Set aside.
2. While the pork is braising, pickle the cucumbers and shallot. Combine the mirin, rice vinegar and sugar together, mixing until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over the cucumber and shallot in a medium size jar. Let chill for at least 30 minutes or for several days. 
3. Prepare the peanuts by crushing together the peanuts with the brown sugar with a mortar and pestle or with a knife. Crush until the peanuts are well combined with the sugar.
4. Heat the bao buns either in a steamer for 10 minutes or in the microwave for 2 minutes. Assemble the buns with slices of the pork belly, pickled cucumbers and shallots, cilantro, and peanut crumble. Serve immediately.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

For helpful tips on how to prepare the pork, check out my Crispy Pork Belly and Watermelon Salad post. 

All the other components for these bao are fairly simple to make. You can make the pickled cucumbers and shallots several days ahead or just 30 minutes before serving.

I found a mortar and pestle buried in the back of my kitchen (sinful I know!) and had to use it! I used it today to prepare the peanut crumble but feel free to simply crumble the peanuts with your knife and mix it with the sugar. 

You can also use a food processor but you want a bit of peanut chunks in there so don't process the mixture too fine. 

When heating up the bao, you can either use a steamer or the microwave. If you're heating them in the microwave, cover with a damp paper towel, allowing the bao to moisten up while heating. 

Make sure to prepare a lot of these because they will go quick! No sauce is necessary because the pork is so darn flavorful (and tender!). The peanuts add a nice nutty crunch while the crisp tangy cucumbers nicely complements the saltier pork. I'm not going to lie, I already had three and could go for some more...

Crispy pork belly and watermelon salad

Hello everyone! I'm back! I know it's been a while since I posted a recipe on this blog but I've been away on vacation. But now I'm back with a super delicious recipe!

Months ago, I was watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and saw this delectable pork belly and watermelon salad from Fatty Cue in New York. Being on the west coast, I probably won't get an opportunity anytime soon to try this salad at the restaurant so I made it myself. Luckily for me, the recipe was available online so I can make it exactly (or as close to) the original dish. 

Crispy Pork Belly and Watermelon Salad

Recipe courtesy of Chef Zak Pelaccio

Cooking time: 1 day (for marinating) plus 6 hours

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pork Belly:

3 lbs raw, uncured pork belly, skin on

2 cups kecap manis

6 tbsp Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar

3 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

Watermelon salad:

1 5lb watermelon

2 cups rice wine vinegar

3 shallots, thinly sliced

2 Thai chilies, thinly sliced

2 kaffir lime leaves

1 2-inch ginger, peeled and sliced

1 ounce palm sugar or 2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tbsp kosher salt

Dressing: 

3 ounces palm sugar or 6 tbsp light brown sugar

1 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1 4-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

6 cilantro roots and 1 inch of stems, cleaned and trimmed

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

3/4 tsp kosher salt

8 cups peanut oil for frying

1 1/2 cups ap flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

3 scallions, trimmed and sliced

1 cup torn Vietnamese coriander leaves

1 cup torn Thai basil leaves

1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions

1. Pork belly: using a sharp knife, cut x's into the skin of the pork belly, 1/4 inch deep and 1/2 inch apart. Transfer skin side down in a glass or pyrex bowl. Make the marinade by whisking together the kecap manis - lime juice. Pour over the pork belly and marinate for at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours, turning occasionally.
2. Watermelon: cut the rind of the watermelon and cut the flesh into 1 inch cubes. Chill until ready to serve. Cut the white part of the rind into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside. 
3. Pickle the white part of the rind. Combine the vinegar - salt with 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves. Strain the pickling liquid over the diced rind. Let cool and chill for at least one hour or up to 2 days.
4. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
5. Remove the marinated pork belly into a clean baking dish and lay skin side up. Pour 2 cups of the marinade into the dish with 2 cups of water. Add more water if the liquid does not come halfway up the pork belly. Cover with foil and bring to a boil on the stove top. Carefully place the pan in the oven and braise for 4-5 hours or until it can easily be pierced with a toothpick. 
6. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Roughly crush the palm sugar. Pulse together in a food processor with the vinegar - salt. Process until well combined. 
7. Transfer the pork to a rack set over a baking tray to cool. When cool, cut the pork belly into 1 inch chunks.
8. Heat the peanut oil in a straight-sided saute pan or wok (3 inches deep) to 375 degrees F. 
9. Lightly dust the pork belly with the seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Working in batches, fry the pork in the oil until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel lined tray. Repeat with the remaining pork belly. Season with salt.
10. Assemble the salads. Toss the watermelon in the dressing until lightly coated. Portion the pork onto 8 plates, topped with the watermelon, pickled rind, and extra dressing. Garnish with scallions, coriander leaves, basil, and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

This salad has a lot of steps but they can spread over three days. 

On the first day, marinade the pork. You need a sharp knife to cut the slits into the skin of the pork; my knife was not sharp enough so I did have some difficulty hence the crooked lines. 

The marinade requires an Indonesian sauce called kecap manis. I was unable to find this ingredient so I used a substitution of half soy sauce, half palm sugar. You can also use brown sugar or molasses. Heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves than let cool. Mix with the other marinade ingredients and pour the mixture over the pork.

On the second day, cook your pork. My pork took 4 hours and 15 minutes; how quickly yours will be done depends on the thickness of your meat and how strong your oven is. 

You can also cut up the watermelon and pickle the rind either on the first day or the second day.

On the third day, prepare the salad dressing and fry the pork. 

I found that the pork belly was much easier to slice after it has chilled. Chilling the meat allows it to firm up, preventing it from getting pressed down from the pressure of your knife. 

Instead of sesame seeds, I garnished my salad with crumbled peanuts. I also enjoyed mine with fresh mixed greens to make it a full lunch. 

This is probably the most complex salad I've ever made but it was definitely worth it. No wonder Triple D featured this recipe on their show! The salad is incredible! The melt-in-your-mouth pork with the crispy exterior, the tart rind, the sweet watermelon, the herbal basil, and the light dressing all comes together so perfectly. Kudos to the chef! Next time I'm in New York, I must have this dish!

Peanut butter and banana donuts

Yup, that's right! Today is another banana dessert post. Last week I made fried sesame balls with a banana filling and today I'm preparing peanut butter and banana donuts. These donuts are incredibly easy to put together and the end result is much tastier than expected (always a plus!)

Peanut Butter and Banana Donuts

Recipe from tesathome.com

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6-8 donuts

Ingredients

2 cup ap flour

3 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp corn flour

1/2 cup milk powder

1 egg

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp peanut butter, smooth or crunchy

2 bananas, mashed

oil for frying

powdered sugar for garnishing

Directions

1. Mix together the dry ingredients from the flour to the milk powder. Set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, sugar and peanut butter until the sugar is dissolved and incorporated. Sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Add the banana and mix just until combined. The dough will be soft and should hold shape.
3. Shape the dough into 6-8 patties. Cut a circle out of the center of the patties to make donuts. 
4. Preheat oil to 350 degrees F. Add the donuts, one or two at a time. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip and fry on the other side until golden brown, about 1 more minute. Remove from the oil and repeat with the remaining donuts. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

per serving (for a total of 8 donuts): 293.8 calories, 7.1g fat (2.8g saturated, 1.3g polyunsaturated, 2.5g monounsaturated), 51g carbohydrates, 2.3g fiber, 8.2g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

The one issue I had with this recipe was locating milk powder. Since there are no other liquids in the recipe, milk powder cannot be substituted for milk; the batter would be too runny. I had to order my milk powder online in order for me to make these donuts. 

Although I used creamy peanut butter this time, I think I will use crunchy peanut butter next time to give the donuts the extra oomph.

The dough appeared quite crumbly but it does hold together. I added just a dash of soy milk to the batter and it ended up being incredibly sticky and messy to form the patties. Mental note for next time: no liquid necessary!

If you prefer, you can shape these donuts into donut holes instead!

Fry, sprinkle powdered sugar, and serve! When I bit into these donuts I was pleasantly surprised. Although the banana is mixed in with the other components, it doesn't completely fry so you are left with a nice gooey banana "filling". I have to admit, the banana overwhelms the peanut butter a bit but it's still wonderful! I actually ate one of these the next day and they were still tasty. Quick and easy to prepare, my kind of donut!

Side note: I actually realized hours later that I forgot to add the corn flour and baking powder in the dough..silly me! Luckily, these donuts still were yummy. Now I'm curious as to how they would taste with the corn flour and baking powder...time to order more milk powder?

Chicken Madras

Indian cuisine is one of the cuisines that I am the least familiar with. I've made several dishes but how authentic they are is up in the air. Craving Indian food and wanting to try a new dish, I decided to try chicken madras. I cannot believe I've never heard of or tasted this curry before because it is probably the best one I've had up to date! You must try this now!

Chicken Madras 

Recipe from greatcurryrecipes.net

Cooking time: 3 hours

Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients

Curry base:

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 inch ginger, finely sliced

3 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee

3 small onions, finely sliced

1 inch carrot, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup shredded cabbage (optional)

1/4 red bell pepper, diced

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp ground fenugreek 

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tomatoes, finely chopped

water

1 tbsp ghee

1 pinch tumeric

salt and pepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/8 cup curry sauce

2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

2 green chili peppers, finely chopped

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp tumeric

1-2 tbsp chili powder

3 cups curry sauce

1-2 tbsp mango chutney

salt and pepper

dash of garam masala

fresh coriander for garnish

Directions

1. Start by making the curry base. Pulverize the ginger and garlic with a drop of water until you have a paste. Set aside.
2. Heat oil or ghee in a large heavy bottomed saucepan until bubbling. Add the onions, bell pepper, carrot and cabbage and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should be lightly browned but not burned.
3. Add the ginger and garlic paste and cumin - paprika to the pot. Stir together.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and just enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring the water to a boil, cover and reduce temperature to low. Simmer 15 minutes.
5. Remove the curry from the heat and cool slightly. You can choose to blend the sauce for a smoother curry or leave as is. 
6. Melt the 1tbsp ghee in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the tumeric powder and brown, about 1 minute. Add to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Once the sauce starts to bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer another 15 minutes. Set aside.
7. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in the same frying pan used for the tumeric. Add the chicken and brown until almost cooked. Season with the tumeric and stir. Add the prepared curry sauce, cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Set aside. 
8. Heat the vegetable oil or ghee in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic paste, ginger paste and chopped chili. Saute for 15 seconds than add the cumin - chili powder; stir to combine. 
9. Add the prepared curry sauce and mango chutney, stir. Add the cooked chicken and simmer for 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and finish with a sprinkle of garam masala. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve. 

Nutrition Facts

per serving (4 servings):  611.8 calories, 40g fat (6.9g saturated, 16.2g polyunsaturated, 14.2g monounsaturated) 17.7g carbohydrates, 4.5g fiber, 46.3g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

I'm sure when you saw the long list of ingredients and directions, you second guessed if you should make these recipe or not. In actuality, the ingredients are the same ones being used again and the methods are actually quite simple, only time consuming.

I remember talking to a chef about how he learned how to make proper curry in India and how they would spend their time just cooking the onions. I suppose the fact that this recipe requires you to do the same is a good sign of authenticity!

You want to cook the onions and vegetables over medium-low heat so that they don't burn. Lower your heat if they do start to burn. After twenty minutes, my onions are not caramelized but a nice golden brown color, and it smells amazing already!

Half of the time when you are making chicken madras, or any other curry for that matter, is waiting for the flavors to meld together. After adding the seasonings for the sauce, you can already smell the beginnings of a great curry.

I didn't have ghee for this recipe so I used vegetable oil, even when browning the turmeric. Keep an eye on the turmeric since it can burn easily.

After making the curry base, everything else is easy-peasy! I didn't blend my sauce but you can if you prefer. If you don't have enough time to prepare everything in one day you can make the curry ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for up to four days. You can also prepare the chicken beforehand. Just make sure to heat up the curry base before adding it to the final steps (with the sauteed ginger garlic paste, chili and spices). 

I used only one jalapeno for the green chili pepper and 1/2 tbsp of cayenne instead of 1-2. If you have a higher tolerance for spicy, by all means, add more! I can eat spicy but to be on the safe side, I went with less. 

I must warn you! When you are sauteing the chili pepper and chili powder, the air becomes spicy! Even my dog started to bark loudly because it was hard to breathe! Be careful!

For the mango chutney, I was only able to find mango pineapple so I went with that.

Almost three hours later and behold, a beautiful curry!

Wow, wow, wow! Oh and did I say, WOW? This curry is amazing!! I cannot emphasize just how tasty it is. The mango chutney really makes this dish adding a wonderful balance of sweet to the spicy sauce. I used chicken thighs so my meat was nice and tender. Served with warm naan and basmatic rice on the side and I had a lovely meal. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Seafood Cobb Salad

Years ago when I was working in a seafood restaurant, they had this amazing seafood cobb salad that people always raved about. Unfortunately, I never tried the entire dish myself but I did taste the components separately and knew that the dish was a winner. This recipe is my version of that seafood cobb salad with seared tuna, shrimp and crab all tossed in an orange cumin dressing.

Seafood Cobb Salad

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Dressing:

zest of one orange

juice of one orange

1 shallot, minced

1 garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin, ground

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 lemon

1 sprig rosemary

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 tsp black peppercorns

3 dried chili de arbol

1 garlic clove, whole

1/2 small red onion, sliced

6 cups water

12 ounces fresh saku tuna or tuna steaks

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

2 large heads romaine lettuce, chopped into 1 inch size pieces

4 eggs, hard boiled and quartered

8 strips bacon, cooked and chopped

8 ounces canned crabmeat

1 fuji apple, cut into thin matchsticks

2 medium cucumber

Directions

1. To make the salad dressing, combine the orange zest, orange juice, minced shallot, minced garlic, cumin, egg yolk, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Whisk everything together. Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper.
2. To poach the shrimp, combine the lemon - water in a medium pot. Bring the liquid to a simmer at medium-low heat. Add the shrimp and cook until no longer pink about 4-5 minutes. Remove the shrimp and discard the liquid. Let cool.
3. Next, sear the tuna. Season both sides of the tuna with salt and pepper and gently massage the olive oil into the tuna. Bring a nonstick pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the tuna and sear, about 1-2 minutes. Flip and sear on the other side. Remove from heat and let rest for ten minutes. 
4. When you are ready to assemble the salads, slice the tuna into 1/4 inch thick slices. Toss the romaine lettuce in just enough dressing to lightly coat the greens. Portion onto four plates. Top with 3 oz sliced tuna, 1/2 a cucumber sliced, 3 shrimp, 1 quartered egg, 2 bacon strips chopped, 1/4 apple, and 2 ounces crab per plate. Drizzle extra dressing on top and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

per serving: 364 calories, 13.2g fat (3.7g saturated, 2.6g polyunsaturated, 4.7g monounsaturated) 16.2g carbohydrates, 3.4g fiber, 47.4g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

There are many steps you have to take to complete this salad because there are several components. However, everything comes together rather quickly so don't despair!

First things first, the dressing. Make sure you are very slowly adding the oil into the egg yolk mixture. If you add too much oil too quickly, it won't emulsify properly and the mixture will break. Take your time so you don't have to redo the dressing. 

Whenever you are incorporating oil with egg yolk, you are essentially making mayo. Add garlic and you have aioli. This dressing is much thinner than a mayo based dressing because of the orange juice; if you want it thicker, add more oil. 

When cooking the shrimp, you are poaching it, so don't let the liquid come to a rapid boil; you want it at a low simmer. Keep an eye on the shrimp since they can overcook quite easily.

As for the tuna, you want to just sear the outside, keeping the inside raw. If you're not a fan of seared tuna, you can go ahead and poach it in the same liquid you used for the shrimp. You can also choose to grill it, bake, or broil the tuna.

I like to toss my lettuce with the dressing before plating so that you don't have to toss everything together again before eating. Assemble your toppings and you're all ready to go! You can mix up the toppings if you like; the restaurant that served this dish used to have sliced avocado and shaved pecorino cheese as well, but I just didn't have enough space on my plate or in my tummy! 

There are just so many components in this salad that you walk away quite full! Plus there's a ton of protein so hunger be gone! The dressing is light and nicely pairs with the seafood, not masking the flavor of the tuna, crab or shrimp. Healthy, filling, and delicious! My kind of salad!