Ali Cooks: Crunchy Thai Cashew and Catfish Quinoa with Ginger Peanut Sauce

This is kind of intimidating.  I've blogged before.  I've taken pictures of food that I've made before.  But I've never really combined the two so intentionally before.  And here I am:  Typing out my first blog post entry on my new blog devoted to my cooking and baking adventures.

 

Yes, many an adventure has been had in the kitchen already.  However, I have posted enough photos on Facebook and experimented enough in the kitchen to know that now is a pretty good time to get this going.  I do have a concern because I will be moving in a month...and that could have a drastic effect on my posting frequency, but there's no rules--right?!

 

Wait, I like rules.  Maybe I'll make a couple loose ones, just so that y'all know it's me.  (Oh, and I feel totally justified in using that 'y'all' up there.  I'm still living in Texas.  So no calling me out on it!)

1)  I will post a food photo in each post.

2)  I will include the recipe that I used (with any modifications of my own) along with attributions in each post if there is a recipe.

3)  I will share each new post on Facebook once.  (This seems to be where a lot of people discover things these days.)

4)  I will always reply to comments that are left for me under each post!

I think that's good for now.  I can always add more (this is MY blog!), but I don't want to start out with all kinds of restrictions.

So here we go...

Saturday morning arrives (ahem, yes, that would be yesterday), and I realize that I wanted to cook a yummy dinner that both Brian AND I could eat.  This is a super-difficult task.  But I was ready for the challenge (...or so I thought...)

I knew I wanted to use up some quinoa, especially because the roomie Aeryn had graciously given Brian and me a box and a half to make use of.  So off to FoodGawker.com I went to my tagged 'Favorites.'  (I'll blog in a future post allll about FoodGawker and how much I love it!)  The website was recently revamped, and I easily searched for all of the quinoa recipes that I had saved.

I read aloud a couple to Brian.  The first few were nixed right away.  But then we stumbled upon this gem:  Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing found at http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/04/crunchy-cashew-thai-quinoa-salad-with-ginger-peanut-dressing/  I should clarify though.  We did quite a bit of tweaking.  And I intended to add catfish to whichever recipe we chose anyway, so there was that consideration, too.  Luckily we hadn't gone to the grocery store yet!

I'll post the recipe with my modifications below.  Here's the end result though (not bad, in my opinion!).

 

There were a few hiccups along the way, of course.  The quinoa didn't cook quite right.  So...it was watery, and I technically had to boil the water twice.  Luckily, once added all together, the excess H2O evaporated a lot, but here's how juicy it all was before the final product:

 

You're probably wondering how it tasted...  Ok, so I LOVED it!  I don't get to eat a lot of really flavorful sauces and ranges of flavors because of my dietary restrictions, but because Brian had just bought some Asian sauces for stir fry last week, this was able to happen AND I didn't eat anything that's off limits for me. 

 

The hard realization was that Brian's not the biggest fan of some of the ingredients nor the range of textures, so I got a lil too excited initially and then a lil too disappointed after all was said and done.  I can't blame the guy--it's not like he decided beforehand he wasn't going to like it!  But he definitely ate enough to make me more than satisfied in his tasting attempt!

BEFORE the quinoa was added.

 

All steamy and cooking the flavors together.

 

My favorite part of the recipe:  A good mix of peanut, catfish, and sesame/soy sauce flavors.

 

Crunchy Thai Cashew and Catfish Quinoa with Ginger Peanut Sauce

*Adapted from AmbitiousKitchen.com

 

Ingredients:

6-8 thawed catfish 'nuggets'

~2 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 cup chives, chopped

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup basic, chopped

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

cashew pieces (varies)

 

Sauce:

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon olive oil

 

Instructions:

 

First, make your sauce so that it can act as a marinade for the catfish.  combine the peanut butter and the maple syrup in a microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for 20 seconds and then add the remaining ingredients, stirring until smooth.  Place the catfish in the bowl or another container and ensure that each piece is completely submerged.  Place in fridge while prepping remaining ingredients.

 

Chop veggies/herbs first so that you're all ready to add to heat when needed.  Start the quinoa by following the instructions on the box/package.  (Should be about 3/4 cups of quinoa dry.)  Add the catfish and all of the sauce to a frying pan and turn the temperature to Medium High heat.  Introduce the carrots, red peppers, and green onions to the fry pan, scooting everything around once the mixture starts to sizzle/bubble.  Once the fish seems fairly cooked on both sides, feel free to dice it up in the pan, being careful to not scratch the bottom.

 

Add in the basil, parsley, and a handful of cashews, turning the heat down to Medium Low.  Let the mixture simmer a bit and then add the quinoa to the pan.  stir everything together and turn the heat down to low, allowing a lot of the liquid to cook out.

 

Serve hot--and add more cashews if you'd like more of a crunch.  (Seemed to serve about 5-6 people.)

 

 

And there you have it:  My first post to this lovely lil space I like to call 'She Who Cooks & Bakes Aplenty.'  Who knows when I'll be back with more culinary adventures...  Hopefully soon!  Let me know what you thought of my blog post, the recipe, and the overall concept/look of my blog!