Week 1: Day 4 (Asian Fusion)

Gingery Beans and Bok Choy
The dinner for this night was actually supposed to include salmon, but I could tell from looking that I wasn't going to like Real Simple's way of making salmon.  They said to season with salt and pepper then cook.  A five-star chef cannot make that taste good.  If you want to eat salmon, eat it with a maple glaze or with pineapple teriyaki.  Salt and pepper is not enough to make any meat spectacular.  So I skipped the salmon and tried making a tuna melt.  Don't try to make a tuna melt.  It will be disgusting.  Chris ate it, but he seems to eat whatever.  He reminds me of my dad in that way. My sisters and I managed to ruin Rice Krispies Treats, falafel, spaghetti, rice, potatoes, and a host of other things, but he still ate them.  We suspect it was because he didn't want to discourage our cooking.

Anyway this review will be about the wanna-be Asian vegetable stir fry.

Ingredients:  B
I think green onions are the same thing as scallions, and I think chives are something separate.  The recipe calls for scallions, so I purchased green onions.  It also calls for baby bok choy.  I just bought grown-up bok choy because I prefer my vegetables to be self sufficient.  That was probably a mistake.  It ended up costing me an arm and a leg.  $6+ for a head of Korean cabbage?  In that case I'll go to a Thai restaurant and buy an entree. Wal-Mart had ginger, but when I decided my stir-fry needed more, I sent Chris to Tom Thumb, and they did not have it.  I didn't have to go out of my way to get things, but they are certainly not every-day stuff, and they were expensive.

Ease of Preparation:  A-
It wasn't hard, and I didn't get injured but the prep work did take time.

Taste:  B-
I used way more bok choy than the recipe called for, so the ratio of ingredients used for taste to ingredients used for volume was smaller.  However, there is not a binding ingredient to make the ginger and onions stick to the bok choy and the carrot, so even if I had used more ginger it just would have sank to the bottom of the pan.I tried to improve the flavor by adding more Sriracha, but that just made it overwhelmingly spicy.  Chris's culinary motto is "Sriracha on everything."  He even puts it on an already perfect Papa John's pizza.  So he probably liked it more than me.  What this recipe needed was white rice.

Leftovers:  B+
This stir-fry keeps well.  Storing it in the refrigerator and microwaving it does not lessen the quality, so it's excellent for taking to work.  I don't like taking Mexican food to work because I absolutely cannot have Mexican food without tortillas, and I absolutely will not have tortillas heated in a microwave, which means no Mexican for lunch.  This stir-fry, however, is perfect when all you have is a microwave.

The bottom line is to only make this stir-fry if you are satisfied with just a subtle hint of ginger.  If you like a stronger presence of spices in your food, try something else.

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 1/4  pounds  skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
• kosher salt
• 4  scallions, thinly sliced
• 2  cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1  tablespoon  finely chopped fresh ginger
• 3/4  pound  green beans, trimmed
• 3/4  pound  baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
• 4  small carrots, cut into thin strips
• Sriracha or Asian chili-garlic sauce, for serving

Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with ½ teaspoon salt and cook until opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a second large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, garlic, and ginger and cook, tossing, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the green beans, bok choy, carrots, ¼ cup water, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve with the salmon and drizzle with the Sriracha.