Pad Gra Pao (Thai Stir-fried pork with basil)

Pad Gra Pao ready to eat!

Pad Gra Pao is a delicious Thai pork stir-fry featuring salty, sweet, and spicy notes that is a regular in our weeknight meal rotation. Erin introduced Mark to this dish a few years ago, having become a fan of it herself during her time in Thailand and Southeast Asia. When we visited Thailand a couple summers ago, I (Mark) had the chance to try the dish from a local vendor and was shocked by how similar the version we make at home was to the version we had in Thailand. The main difference between our version and what we enjoyed in Thailand is the spice level: we use fewer chili peppers.

The recipe we use originally comes from Leela at SheSimmers. The main difference in our version is that we typically use only regular soy sauce and use fewer Thai chili peppers. Regardless, it is still delicious. Every time we make this dish it turns out slightly different depending on the spiciness of the chile peppers, the amount of garlic or shallot we use, or the exact mixture of sauce ingredients. However, it never disappoints and this stir-fry is a staple in our weeknight diets.

Ingredients

The aromatics - garlic, shallot, Thai chile pepper, and Thai basil

The sauce - oyster, soy, and fish sauces

• 1 pound ground pork
• 5-7 garlic cloves
• 2-3 Thai chili peppers
• 1 large shallot
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves, packed
• Thai Jasmine Rice for serving
• Fried egg for serving

Directions

Minced aromatics ready for sautéing

1. Finely chop or mince garlic, chili peppers, and shallot together. If you have a mortar and pestle, pound these ingredients together into a coarse paste.
   
   

   

   Sautéing the aromatics

   
   
   
2. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, then add garlic, chili peppers, and shallot mixture. Fry until fragrant.
   
   

   

   Stir-frying the pork with the aromatics

   
   
   
3. Add meat to pan and break it up into small pieces as it cooks.
4. When the meat is nearly cooked, add remaining ingredients (except basil), and stir well to incorporate.
   
   

   

   Adding Thai basil to the stir-fry

   
   
5. Once meat is cooked through, add basil leaves and stir a few times, then remove pan from heat and continue to stir basil in until it wilts from the residual heat.
6. Serve over Thai Jasmine rice and then top with Thai-style crispy fried egg.

Notes

• Feel free to substitute ground beef or chicken for the pork for a variation on the dish. I don't think we have ever tried, but tofu crumbles might also work for a vegetarian (protein-wise) variation.
• The soy sauce can entirely regular soy sauce or a combination of thin/light soy sauce and dark sweet soy sauce in 2:1 ratio.
• The Thai-style crispy fried egg can be replaced with a sunny-side-up or over-easy egg.

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Enchiladas (chicken, shrimp, or vegetarian)

Enchiladas!

Enchiladas are an easy and delicious dinner that comes together quickly enough to enjoy on a weeknight. These particular enchiladas are filled with a mix of onion, pepper, corn, black beans, and an optional protein of your choice. The seasoning mix of cumin, marjoram, and chipotle powder provides notes of warm spice, herb, and smoked pepper to create a full-flavored filling that won't disappoint!

This recipe makes 6 enchiladas, but can easily be doubled to serve a larger group or to make extras for leftovers. Enchiladas make excellent leftovers for lunch or dinner. A typical serving is one enchilada, as these are fairly large, so a pan of 6 enchiladas is enough for three meals for the two of us.

Serves: 6

Time: about 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ red bell pepper, diced (about ½ cup)
• ½ medium yellow onion (about ½ cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 x 15 ounce can black beans, drained
• 1 x 4 ounce green chilis
• ½ pound chicken or shrimp, cooked and cut into ¼"-½" pieces (about 1 cup total)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp marjoram
• ½ tsp chipotle powder
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro (leaves and thin stems)
• 1 x 16-19 ounce can green enchilada sauce
• 8 ounce bag shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 6 tortillas

Directions

Sauté pepper, onion, and garlic (we added some hatch chili pepper this time)

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté onions, bell pepper, and garlic for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant and vegetables are beginning to soften.
2. Add corn, drained beans, and green chili and sauté for another 2 minutes.
   
   

   

   Enchilada filling, removed from heat and ready to stir in cilantro.

   
   
3. Add chicken or shrimp, cumin, marjoram, and chipotle powder, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute or two until combined and warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
4. Grease a 9"x13" glass pan so enchiladas will not stick to pan.
   
   
   

   

   Filled, rolled, and topped enchiladas ready for the oven

   
   
5. Roll enchiladas: take a tortilla and spread a small sprinkle of cheese down the center then fill with one-sixth of the enchilada filling. Roll tortilla then place in greased pan seam side down. Repeat until pan is filled (a standard pan will fit six enchiladas perfectly).
6. Drizzle enchilada sauce over the enchiladas then top with remaining cheese (or as much as desired).
7. Bake enchiladas in a 350℉ oven for 20 minutes. Cheese should be fully melted and gooey. After baking, remove from oven and let sit to cool slightly before serving.
8. Serve with chopped cilantro, guacamole, sour cream, and hot sauce.

Notes

• We love garlic and typically use 4 or 5 cloves. This gives the dish a touch more garlic kick, but by no means makes it overpowering.
• Chili pepper and paprika can both be added to the dish if desired. Cayenne pepper could also be added to give the filling a bit more kick, but add sparingly at first!
• Try adding a little poblano or hatch chili pepper to the dish for an additional twist. We recommend keeping at least ¼ cup of regular bell pepper in the mix for its natural sweetness to balance the flavors of other chili peppers.

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Salmon in Creamy Dijon Chive Sauce with Roasted Potatoes and Lemony Zucchini

Salmon in Creamy Dijon Chive Sauce with Roasted Potatoes and Lemony Zucchini

Salmon is one of our favorite fish and when prepared properly makes an excellent choice for a quick and easy dinner. This meal features Atlantic Salmon in a simple pan sauce accompanied by roasted potatoes and zucchini. The recipe is originally from Hello Fresh (yes, we occasionally use meal prep boxes, too!), which designs most recipes to have reasonable prep time. While not every meal we have had from these services was a favorite, we found this meal to be very good and recently made it again on our own.

Atlantic Salmon is not a common fish used in our house due to the abundance of fresh pacific coast seafood found here in Seattle. However, it works very well in this meal and, when raised responsibly (like all fish), can be a good protein choice in your meal. We managed to find a nice piece of fresh, farmed-raised Atlantic Salmon at the grocery store this past week and put it to use in this meal.

The rest of the meal is straightforward: cut up some Yukon Gold potatoes and zucchini and roast on a single pan in the oven. The zucchini is finished with a little lemon zest, tying its flavor together with the salmon's sauce.

Ingredients

• 10 oz Atlantic Salmon (fresh if possible), cut into two equal pieces
• 12 oz Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 Zucchini
• 1 Lemon
• 4 Tbsp Sour Cream
• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
• ¼ oz fresh chives (or green part of 1 green onion)
• ¼ cup water
• [optional] 1/2 tsp vegetable stock concentrate
• 2 Tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• Salt and pepper
• [optional] garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450℉ and adjust rack to upper third of oven. Spray a sheet pan with a little cooking spray (or spread a little olive oil over it) and set aside.
2. Cut potatoes into ½" thick wedges. Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise then cut into ½" thick half-moons. Zest lemon, then cut in half. Cut one half of lemon in half again. Mince chive (or slice thin rings of green part of green onion). Juice the half of lemon into a small dish and set aside.
3. Toss potatoes with a little olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder. Spread potatoes on one half of prepared baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes in oven.
4. Toss zucchini with a little olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
   
   

   

   Adding zucchini to roasting potatoes after 10 minutes

   
   
5. After potatoes have roasted for 10 minutes, remove sheet pan from oven, add zucchini to empty half of pan, and return to oven. Roast for 12-15 minutes, until potatoes and zucchini are browned.
6. When potatoes and zucchini are finished roasting, remove pan from oven and toss zucchini with lemon zest (you likely will only need about half the zest from a single lemon).
   
   

   

   Cooking salmon

   
   
7. While potatoes and zucchini roast, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and ½ Tbsp of butter in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Pat salmon dry and season with salt and pepper, then add salmon skin side down to the pan and cook until skin is crisp and fish is mostly cooked through, 5-7 minutes.
   
   

   

   Cooking salmon after flipping

   
   
8. After 5-7 minutes, flip fish and cook about 2 minutes more, or until salmon is cooked through. Salmon should flake easily when cooked.
   
   

   

   Sauce cooking (I added the green onion early, oops!)

   
   
9. Wipe out pan used to cook salmon and return to medium heat. Add stock concentrate, ¼ cup water, mustard, and juice from half the lemon. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
   
   

   

   Sauce after incorporating sour cream and butter

   
   
10. Turn off heat and stir in sour cream, half the chives, and ½ Tbsp butter. Season with salt and pepper. Sauce should be a drizzling consistency.
    
    

    

    Finished meal!

    
    
11. Plate each portion of salmon onto a plate and then divide potatoes and zucchini between plates. Drizzle sauce over salmon and garnish with remaining chives. Squeeze a bit of lemon over the dish or serve remaining lemon wedges on the side of each plate.

Notes

• Be careful not to overcook the salmon! Cooking salmon properly takes time to learn how to do. The times above are best estimates for "standard" sized pieces of salmon (i.e., from the head end of the fillet, about 1" to 1 ¼" thick). Salmon dries out when overcooked, so if this happens, fear not (!), and next time make sure to remove from pan right when it flakes.
• The sauce is also delicious on the potatoes!

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Tilapia, Pesto Zucchini Noodles, and Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

Tilapia, Pesto Zucchini Noodles, and Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

While many of our initial blog posts have focused on "food projects" that are oftentimes time-intensive, we also prepare and eat quick and easy meals most days. In contrast to those projects, this post contains the recipes for one of our standard favorite weeknight meals. It comes together in about 30 minutes or less with minimal prep work. The recipes can also be tweaked based on your individual preferences, so think of these recipes more as a template instead of a strict guide.

The meal in this post comprises three pieces: pan-cooked tilapia, pesto-sauced zucchini noodles or pasta, and roasted carrots and parsnips. We love tilapia because it is a mild-flavored white fish that cooks quickly in a pan and works well with a variety of different flavor profiles. Even with the abundance of fresh fish in the Seattle area, we almost always have a bag of frozen tilapia fillets on hand. They defrost in about 10 minutes in cold water and cook up in about another 10 minutes. As with any seafood product (really any food product), make sure you understand where your fish is coming from. When raised properly, Tilapia can be both a health- and environment-conscious fish choice.

The key to this meal is timing. Roasting the vegetables takes the longest and then the pasta and fish cook while vegetables roast. I firmly believe that the hardest part about "easy" weeknight meals is getting the timing right. Cooking two or three different items and having them finish cooking about the same time takes practice, so don't be discouraged if everything isn't ready at exactly the same time when you make this recipe.

Special Equipment:

• Spiralizer: used to create "noodles" from zucchini (we have the OXO Good Grips one)

Ingredients

• 2 tilapia fillets, skinless, individual portions
• 1 large carrot
• 1 parsnip
• 1 zucchini
• 2-4 oz long pasta (fettuccini, linguine)
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• olive oil
• garlic powder
• chili powder
• 1-2 Tbsp of pesto

Roasted Carrot and Parsnip Rounds

Directions - Carrots and Parsnips

1. Preheat oven to 400℉
2. Wash and peel carrot and parsnips. Cut on the bias into ¼"-½" thick rounds. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet (optionally, spray baking sheet with cooking spray to lightly coat).
3. Roast carrot and parsnip rounds in oven for about 20-25 minutes. Check and toss with spatula after 15 minutes. Cooking time will depend on thickness of the rounds.

Spiralized zucchini noodles

Zucchini noodles, pasta, and pesto

Directions - Zucchini Noodles with Pesto

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil for pasta. Cook pasta according to package, drain, and set aside in colander.
2. While pasta cooks, wash zucchini then spiralize to create noodles. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut noodles into shorter lengths.
3. A few minutes before pasta finishes cooking, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini noodles and saute until softened a bit, about 3 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent browning.
4. Add cooked pasta to pan, mix briefly then remove from heat and stir in pesto to thoroughly coat noodle mixture.

Seasoned Tilapia fillets

Pan-cooked Tilapia

Directions - Tilapia

1. Pat dry tilapia fillets with a paper towel and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder.
2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tilapia fillets (seasoned side up) and cook for about 4 minutes. Flip fillets and cook another 4 minutes. Flip again and cook until fish is opaque and flakes easily.

Directions - Timing

1. Preheat oven and start carrots and parsnips first.
2. While vegetables roast, boil water for pasta and spiralize zucchini.
3. When vegetables have about 10 minutes remaining, start cooking tilapia.
4. When tilapia and vegetables have about 3 minutes remaining, begin cooking zucchini noodles in skillet.
5. Remove carrots and parsnips from oven when done, as they can sit on the hot baking tray out of the oven while the other items finish cooking.
6. If fish finishes before zucchini noodles, remove from pan and put on plates for serving. Tilapia is more forgiving than salmon in regard to overcooking, but like all fish it will dry out if overcooked.

Notes

• The basic template for this recipe is: fish, pesto pasta, and vegetables. Feel free to customize each component to your tastes!
• We often omit the roasted vegetables and instead have only fish and zucchini / pasta with pesto. The zucchini noodles and regular noodles make a nice combo pasta-vegetable side.
• Tilapia takes well to many seasoning profiles. Try lemon-garlic-herb or blackened seasonings for new twists.

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