Korean Spicy Tuna (Gochu Chamchi)

 

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Korean Spicy Tuna (Gochu Chamchi)
(Serves 3 to 4 people)

2 (150)gr can Korean Hot Pepper Tuna (Sajo or Dong Won brand)
1 large onion, chopped
3 to 4 Korean peppers, sliced
1 tsp minced bottled garlic
1  to 1.5 tbsp gochujang paste
1 tsp gochugaru powder, fine ground
2 green onions, sliced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
Ground black pepper

Oil for cooking

In a medium pan, add 1 tbsp cooking oil over high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the peppers and cook for a couple more minutes. Stir in the gochujang and gochugaru. Stir fry until the all vegetables are coated. Add tuna, sugar, and green onions. Season with black pepper. Stir and cook for a few more minutes then add sesame oil. Stir to combine then taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve over rice with a crispy egg and shredded nori. Drizzle additional sesame oil, if desired.

patty, cake, or burger?

I've been slightly pescatarian lately. I don't know if it's because of laziness or if it's because I'm trying to eat healthier. All I know is that I've been eating a lot of fish as of late and I don't know when it's going to stop.

Take these tuna burgers, for example. I could very well have baked or pan-fried some chicken to put on my salad, but canned tuna seemed way easier and more interesting to make. I liked that I could put veggies in my protein and that it was going to take me 10 minutes to make. See what I mean? Lazy or healthy?

When I made these patties (or is it cakes? or is it burgers??), I was originally going to make an actual burger like the title suggested, but I didn't really have any bread in the house. So instead, these "burgers" turned into patties that topped some spinach and arugula. I added some tomatoes for sweetness and slivers of red onion for bite. To finish this off, I made a thin, spicy ramoulade that doubled as a topping for the patties and a dressing for the salad.

Would I make these patties again? Maybe. When I made them, I knew that they were going to be slightly dry (which they were). I think if I added more breadcrumbs so that it had a slightly more cakey consistency, they wouldn't be so bad. Despite that, the flavors were actually quite tasty so I might play around with the recipe and see if I can improve the texture. Until then . . .

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Tuna Burgers
(slightly adapted from Spright)

2 (5.oz) cans chunk light tuna, drained
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 large carrot, grated
1/2 green onion, sliced
1 tbsp nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 pinch cayenne powder
2 pinches of salt
2 pinches of pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plain bread crumbs

 
Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a medium bowl; mix with a fork or your hands until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Using your hands, take small handfuls of the mixture and form them into patties.

Pour the olive oil into a medium-sized pan and bring it to medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place the patties in the pan.

Cook each side of the patties for 4-5 minutes, turning them over carefully with a spatula or tongs. Place on a paper towel for a few minutes on each side to drain excess oil then serve.

mom-inspired tuna pasta.

My favorite breakfast that my mom makes is ginisang sardinas, which is basically sautéed mackerel sardines in tomato sauce that's served with a side of hot, steamy rice. Her version, though, is slightly different in that she adds additional tomatoes, adds one or two bay leaves, and is heavy on the onion. Finished with a few squeezes of calamansi, and you have a great hefty meal to start the day.

I didn't really fully appreciate her cooking until I got married and started living with my husband. To date, I've only made a handful of Filipino dishes that were either a hit or miss with the hubby. I miss her cooking and I guess that nostalgia (and the fact that the husband is iffy on Filipino food in general) makes me shy away from making Filipino dishes on my own.

Today I was feeling a little homesick. Eating at the table with my mom's generous cooking and having a conversation about the day's events were the norm during dinner time. This was family time and I was missing my family. So to ease that, I decided to make her sardines, but in a more "inspired" version and with an Italian twist.

I started with using an almost 2 to 1 ratio of tomatoes to onions. Adding a good amount of garlic and olive oil followed, then finished it with some lemon juice for acidity and lots of parsley for herbacious freshness. Since sardines in tomato sauce isn't something that we regularly keep in the house, I used chunk light tuna that's always a staple in our pantry. Toss that together with some hearty rigatoni, and dinner was served.

While it's a far cry from my mother's sardines, the flavors were there and the bite from the rigatoni added a pleasant counterpart to the fish. Fusion pasta . . . mmmmmm. As an added bonus, this made for a quick and tasty meal that was ready in less than half an hour. Mom, here's to you!
 

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Tangy Tuna Pasta
(makes about 4 servings)

2 cups dry rigatoni pasta
2 cans chunk light tuna, lightly drained
1 clamshell grape tomatoes, halved (or 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped)
1 large onion (about 1 cup), thinly sliced
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 large dried bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

 
Prepare pasta as directed then reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and bay leaves to the pan. Cook until the tomatoes have softened then add the tuna and a third of the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Sautée for 5 minutes, stirring lightly, then add the drained pasta. Cook for another few minutes. If the mixture is too dry, add some of the reserved pasta liquid as needed.

Remove pasta from heat, discard bay leaves, then stir in lemon juice. Toss in the remaining parsley then adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste. To serve, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and additional parsley for garnish.

something fishy goin' on...

I've referenced Boudin Bakery a lot. It's no wonder that since working there, I've been much more proficient in making sandwiches. Hell, my family turned into sandwich freaks for a while when I was still employed at Boudin!

Now, sandwiches are comfort food for me and the hubby. It's fast, it's healthy, and it's always good. In fact, when my hubby was sick back when we were dating, I would make him a lot of tuna salad based on Boudin's recipe. It's been evolving since then and I've finally got it down to the way I like it.

It starts off with the basics of tuna salad: tuna, mayo, onion, and celery. Then I upped the parsley, added a little bit of this and that to round out the taste, then add a bunch of my favorite sandwich salad seasoning: dill weed! Call me a Trekkie, but I got the idea when I watched the movie, Star Trek: Generations (the part when James T. Kirk was making scrambled eggs for his wife).

Turns out, adding dill was an excellent idea! It adds a little somethin'-somethin' to the tuna to make it extra special. Add some shredded romaine lettuce and a couple slices of juicy tomatoes and we're in business! If sandwiches aren't your thing, you can always dallop a scoop on salad or add some pasta for an awesome picnic pasta salad. Want something hot? I've found that these make excellent tuna melts. The possibilities with tuna salad are endless!

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Herbed Tuna Salad
(Makes about 2 cups)

3 cans chunk light tuna, drained well
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dried dill
1 tsp Tapatio hot sauce
1 tsp sweet relish
1 tsp yellow mustard
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3/4 to 1 cup light mayonnaise

 
Combine all ingredients except mayo and mix well. Using 1/4 cup at a time, add mayonnaise until preferred consistency. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed. Refrigerate and let marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving.