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Eleanor Hoh

Mango, Pineapple Salsa

June 27, 2019 By Eleanor Hoh 5 Comments

Thank you Mom! This Mango Pineapple Salsa is so popular and well received that even chefs who cook for celebrities wanted my “recipe”. I’ve adapted your cucumber, tomato pickle by adding fresh mango and pineapple and voila, it’s now a Mango, Pineapple Salsa. The combination of sweet mangoes and juicy, sweet pineapple is a winner! Refreshing and addictive!

It doesn’t matter proportion, whatever fruit you like most, add that.

My mom’s cucumber pickle always showed up at the table when she made spicy curries, the pickle is supposed to help “cool us down”.

It is the easiest Mango, Pineapple Salsa ever!!!

  • Cube everything, toss to mix
  • add rice vinegar, Celtic Sea Salt and lime juice if you have it
  • use a slotted spoon, keep turning, let sit covered in fridge for about 4-6 hours ON THE DAY you want to eat it. NOT overnight, that’s too long.

NOTES:
Mangoes – best are Ataulfo, also known as Champagne mangoes and for good reason, they are sweet, creamy and perfect, I get mine from Costco. Feel free to use whatever mangoes you want. Locally grown with sweet perfumes, umm. Don’t use pithy ones, they’ll wreck your experience.

Pineapple – use ripe, otherwise it’s too sour and also not juicy.

Cucumber – I love Persian cucumbers, Hot House cucumbers are crunchy with less seeds. Cut out seeds, they make pickles too watery.

Tomatoes – ripe ones are better, any kind whether plum, on the vine or Beefsteak work.

Celtic Sea Salt – I stumbled upon this brand years ago and discovered it’s the BEST! This brand has over 70 minerals that our body needs to function optimally. I absolutely LOVE the flavor, never salty but adds FLAVOR. I’ll be posting a blog about how important salt is soon.

Marukan Rice Vinegar – I’ve used Marukan for years, but my mom used the Chinese white rice vinegar. Add in a third way up the big bowl AFTER you’ve cubed ALL the veggies and fruits. This way you’ll be able to see how much you need.

When ready to serve, drain juice into clean jar for other salads or add to sauces or soup, delish.

Serving Suggestions:
This Mango Pineapple Salsa is a great side for BBQ meats whether they’re ribs, pork or lamb chops, steaks and goes especially well with fish.

Best is with my signature Spicy Hoisin Ribs! Perfect for 4th of July or any occasion!

If any leftover Mango Pineapple Salsa, add to your lunch salad and eat this up as soon as you can, it’ll get very soft and watery.

Ingredients:
2 mangoes
1 pineapple
1/2 red or yellow onion
4 Persian cucumbers
4 ripe plum tomatoes
2 scallions
handful of cilantro for last minute garnish (optional)

Seasonings:
Marukan rice vinegar
Celtic Sea Salt fine ground
1/2 lime or lemon juice (optional)

Directions:
1. Core and cube veggies and fruits and place into a big bowl.

2. Add vinegar, salt and lime juice. Use slotted spoon and keep turning.

3. Cover with plate or Saran wrap and leave in fridge.

4. Use slotted spoon and turn a few times before draining juice prior to serving.

\Enjoy and be prepared for friends asking you for this salsa recipe, send them over here! Would love to hear what other combinations you create as your Mango Pineapple Salsa in comments.

Note: I receive a commission from Amazon affiliate links on this post.

Filed Under: blog, pickles Tagged With: mango pineapple salsa, mango salsa, pickles, salsa

Dreamy, Creamy Curry Coconut Seafood Soup

March 12, 2019 By Eleanor Hoh 12 Comments

I love challenging myself to come up with a dish using ingredients I already have!  And this Dreamy Curry Coconut Seafood Soup came about after my first attempt at a dinner party with this one-dish soup.  It is so fast, making it a super weeknight dinner!

Some helpful notes…
Use the same technique as with stir frying, cook each vegetable SEPARATELY as they don’t cook at the same rate. 

Use a wide shallow bowl, I got these beautiful orange ones at West Elm and they are perfect for presenting any dish. My new favorite bowls. I have them in white and gold because they ran out of orange.

Use WHATEVER vegetables you have, that’s the beauty of being a Wok Star! None of my cooking is about specific ingredients. 

Use a good brand of curry powder, it makes a world of difference, don’t use curry sauce!   I love Baba’s from Malaysia, a brand of curry powder my mom introduced me.

Start with 1 tablespoon for 3 bowl pot which is what I did for 2 people. Everyone has different taste profiles, so adjust according to how spicy you like it.  Just know when you add coconut milk, it will dilute the spiciness, so adjust after that as well.

This dish was originally inspired by a Curry Shrimp soup I loved at Lillikoi Organic Living in South Beach. If you ever get a chance, pop in there for their version.

When you like a dish at a restaurant,  claim it for yourself, put your spin on it and use what you like and expand on it. That easy, that’s what being a Wok Star is all about. It’s more about the cooking PROCESS than specific ingredients and measurements.

This post is about shifting your cooking mindset…
Cooking is about FLAVORS, TEXTURES AND COLORS, in that order. If you focus on those, everything else will fall into place. I repeat this a lot in my cooking class. Keep practicing and the process will become second nature.  And when that happens, you’ll look forward to CREATING instead of avoiding cooking because it’s drudgery. 

What makes cooking EASY is if you stock some basics then you’ll be able to create some pretty fantastic dinners! This brings me to a much needed blog on stocking basics, that’ll be next. 

Dreamy Curry Coconut Seafood Soup: shrimp, salmon with snow peas and mini sweet peppers. 

I poached salmon and shrimp ahead and reheated broth to pour over when guests arrived. It worked out so well, all about the planning.

Snow peas, mini multi colored sweet peppers and scallions. Crunchy textures and added a pop of color.

Here’s a step by step for Dreamy Curry Coconut Seafood Soup…
Ingredients:
Salmon cut into big chunks
Shrimp
Brussels Sprouts
sweet corn
mini sweet peppers
G&G
Scallions

Flavorings:
TSP (tamari, sherry, pepper white)
Curry powder (see note above)
Coconut Milk

Garnish:
chopped scallions
chopped Cilantro
Lime wedges


Method:

    1. Start by using the bowl you will serve in as a measuring vessel for the broth and add 1 extra bowl because broth tends to boil down over time.
    1. Next, add flavorings to broth: G&G;  TSP and curry powder, mix well.
    1. Poach tilapia on slow simmer so they don’t break. Use slotted spoon to transfer to serving bowl.
    1. Poach shrimp till just pink, spoon around tilapia in bowl.
    1. Blanche SEPARATELY Brussels Sprouts, sweet corn, sweet peppers in boiling broth and take out with slotted spoon and place around seafood in bowl.
  1. Reheat broth to rolling boil. Depending on how many guests you are feeding (1 can of coconut milk for more than 4 people), I only put in about 4-6 tablespoons of coconut milk for 2 of us so it’s not so rich and heavy.

Present garnishes in separate bowls on a nice tray with a flower arrangement.

Garnishes:

  1. Put garnishes in separate bowls in case guests don’t like a certain one (I learned that one!)
  2. Squeeze lime wedge over your soup, lime is amazing, it helps to ‘wake up’ all the flavors and make them shine and accentuated. However, don’t overdo it because then it becomes too sour and ruin the other flavors. You can also swirl in some coconut cream. Sprinkle chopped scallions and cilantro for a complete fresh flavor blast.
  3. I’ve now added my new fav find…Crispy shallots or Crispy Red Onions from Asian market. They have NO MSG or processed chemicals, only fried in either soy bean oil or coconut oil. 

I remember my mom taught us how to shallow fry shallots in oil. They are sprinkled on many dishes in Malaysia especially noodle dishes, they give a nice crunch and superb flavor, salivating just thinking about these, ha, ha. Peeling shallots and cutting them thin, then frying is so much work, I was elated when I discovered them already fried in a jar from the Asian market.

There is nothing more rewarding than hearing your hubby say how much he enjoyed my Curry Coconut Seafood Soup, dreamy and creamy. 

Now, dream up your own version and share with us in COMMENTS below or ask me questions!


Filed Under: blog, Easy Weeknight Dinners, seafood, soup Tagged With: "coconut milk", "curry seafood soup", "healthy cooking", "one dish meals", "weeknight dinner", seafood, soup, Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

SOBEWFF Dinner at Novikov Miami hosted by Chef Charles Phan

February 26, 2019 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Food Network Cooking Channel and South Beach Wine and Food Festival (SOBEWFF) are doing a fantastic job with their dinner series, I love their tag line – Eat, Drink, Educate.  Guest chefs from all over the States are matched with Miami restaurants who share similar cuisines. Having dined at both Novikov Miami and The Slanted Door, Charles Phan’s San Francisco restaurant at the Ferry Building back in 2004, I was curious to see how their dishes complemented each other. Seamless and flawless are two words that come to mind! 

I got a chance to chat to Charles Phan before the craziness started and glad we took our photo then, cause I noticed some splashes of what looked like caramel sauce from his delicious Spanish Mackerel, ha, ha!

SOBEWFF just celebrated their 18th year!  It started as a one day affair and now spans over 5 days with 100 events.  Food lovers gather in South Beach from all over the world, so it’s not surprising most events were sold out. 

About Charles Phan in a nutshell…
Phan was an architecture student for 3 years before dropping out to help his mom at her sewing shop prior to becoming a restauranteur with NO KNOWLEDGE of running a restaurant or cooking professionally, the closest thing he did was bussing tables. 1995 was when he opened The Slanted Door in its original location in the Mission, San Francisco.  24 years later, Phan owns and operates 5 restaurants with one opening soon in Las Vegas.  I see he has applied his architecture into styling and cooking his food and into his restaurants.  He enjoys merging modern Chinese, Vietnamese, French food using classic techniques to tell “stories” about his dishes. 

About Novikov…
Head over for the full scoop of my Miami Spice lunch at Novikov here.  

Nothing is ordinary at Novikov Miami, this unique sculpture greets you as you enter!

The ambience with the curved outdoor patio and pendulum lights, the gorgeous breeze coming off Miami River made for a perfect setting.

Top: Phan’s Mung Bean Dumplings and Gau Choy Gow Pan-Fried Wild Shrimp & Garlic Chive Dumplings. I could’ve devoured 100 of them! Paired perfectly with Ferrai-Carano Dry Sangiovese Rose 2017.

From Novikov: Marinated & Grilled Chilean Sea Bass Skewers with Ginger, Jalapeno & Cilantro. I probably had six of these, so good. Paired  with Ferrai-Carano Dry Sangiovese Rose 2017.

From Phan: Refreshing Green Mango & Cucumber Salad, Thai Chile & Garlic Fish Sauce Dressing paired with Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc 2017.

From Phan: Spanish Mackerel with Caramel Sauce paired with Ferrari-Carano Pinot Noir 2016.

From Novikov: Tender morsels of Wagyu Skirt Steak, Yuzu Chimi, Garlic Crisp & Micro Herb Salad. Paired with Ferrari-Carano Cabernet Sauvignon 2015. We sat next to pescatarians so they gave us theirs, ha, ha. Oh our tummies and taste buds were so happy.

From Novikov: Dessert – Crunchy Sesame Ice Cream Cone. Gorgeous end.

NOTE: this was a media dinner but doesn’t sway my judgement.

Filed Under: Asian themed restaurants, blog, Food Network, Foodie event, Miami Events, SOBE FEST Tagged With: "Asian fusion", "Charles Phan", "Food Network Cooking Channel", "Miami Foodie event", "Novikov Miami", SOBEWFF

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