Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Playing with flavor combinations...

Tonight's dinner turned out to be a pretty interesting combination of textures and flavors. For the side tonight, I made Shredded Carrot-Ginger Pancakes with Asian Dipping Sauce. A mixture of carrots, ginger, garlic, green onions are combined and bound together with a couple eggs along with breadcrumbs. You scoop portions of this on a hot griddle and cook until each side gets a caramelized finish. The texture was not as crisp as I was expecting - it was firm, but lacked a crunch. The bite from the ginger with the sweet carrots was an exciting combination when dipped into a salty soy sauce mixture. Other than the missing crisp texture, the flavors make it worth it to try this recipe again with a bit more oil.

To go along with, I served a Mixed Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette and Crisp Panko Chicken. The vinaigrette made this salad come alive! Gourmet salad greens are coated with a slightly spicy and kinda sweet dressing where again, ginger makes itself known in a pleasant fashion. The coating also helps cut down on the bitterness from some of the salad greens. Green onions bring a fresh flavor while shaved carrots add a pop of color to the salad. For some protein, chunks of chicken breast are coated in panko and chili powder, then baked until golden and crispy.

11 comments:

  1. wow! u really experiment with food and what a fusion,.

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  2. Hi Joe,

    I tried the shredded carrot pancake too. Have to agree with you that it was not as crunchy as I expected. Anyway, just want to let you know that I am one of those who enjoy reading your blog on a daily basis.
    You are such an inspiration!

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  3. The salad sounds wonderful, I LOVE panko breaded chicken.

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  4. This looks like a weekend tryout dish for me. That way I can have it and not worry about mopey fiance complaining about mixing sweet and savoury. He'll just have to fend for himself. HA!

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  5. Joe - Carrots? In pancakes? That's great. Besides more oil, is there anything else you might be able to put in it that would add crunch?

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  6. Hi Joe!
    It's been a while since I stopped in to make comments, but I do check in a couple times a week to see what's cookin! I still love your site and love to see what you're making next! That salad looks awesome, and I love using panko, so will be giving this a try real soon. Thanks for the review! Hope you guys are well!
    Val

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  7. This all sounds wonderful! That salad (minus the chicken) would have made the perfect side to my bulgogi the other night.

    How did you let the pancakes cool off? On paper towels? Perhaps if they were allowed to cool on (cookie) racks they would maintain a crispier texture...

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  8. Double wow. Both these recipes sound great. I love the idea of the chicken, and I could adapt this to my diet with whole wheat panko, so it's a winner for me.

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  9. Yum, your meal sounds delicious! I want to try those pancakes, and the salad look so good! I love panko breaded baked chicken breasts!
    Ana

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  10. Joe, that salad looks amazing. I have to read that recipe for the crispy chicken. Mmmm!

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  11. Foodcrazee - We enjoy trying different combinations!

    Novice Baker - Thanks! I'm still wondering what could make them a bit more crisp...

    Michele - Thanks, I agree about panko chicken!

    Nerissa - Let me know if you give thema shot!

    Maureen - Thank you for the very kind words!

    Ed - I've been wondering the same too... I'm not sure what else we could put in them though - I wonder if something like water chestnuts would work?

    Val - Thanks for checkin' in with us!

    s'kat - I did let them cool on a wire rack, which didn't seem to help much unfortunetly - but thanks for the suggestion :)

    Kalyn - I actually have a jar of Ian's WW Panko that I use sometimes - it is a little more coarse than what I normally use though.

    Ana - Thanks!

    Mona - Thanks - let us know if you try it!

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