Tyler's Hong Kong Salmon Cakes With Baby Bok Choy

Tyler's Hong Kong Salmon Cakes With Baby Bok Choy

Well, it's nice to finally be posting a new recipe. Life just gets crazy sometimes doesn't it? We're trying to find a new place to live in the suburbs to downsize and cut our living expenses for a while, I was sick for most of the month of February and my youngest son moved back home to re-group! I think I've been a bit overwhelmed. But I have been cooking in the midst of all of this and think I might just be in the "calm before the storm" so hopefully I can share with you some of what's been cooking in my kitchen.

As many of you know, my husband works for a food company and quite often brings me home a whole box of god-knows-what that forces me to find 12 different things to do with in this case, salmon. I have already posted the BBQ Salmon Tacos that M made so there's one! Now I found this very easy, healthy and super flavorful recipe of Tyler Florence's that we really liked a whole lot! I used the salmon filets that he called for but I imagine you could use the canned stuff in a pinch. There's two!

I found that 24-oz. of diced salmon gave me about 10 human sized patties. I just didn't care for the idea of 4 giant salmon burgers. I also used panko bread crumbs because that made sense to me and I was very happy with the results. Here is the original TF recipe and you can modify it how you see fit. Enjoy!

















Recipe: Hong Kong Salmon Cakes with Baby Bok Choy
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Serves: 2 to 4

Ingredients
Salmon Cakes:
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 to 2 red or green chiles, minced
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless salmon fillets, cut in small cubes
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (4 slices white bread with crusts removed pulsed in the food processor)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 lemon, juiced
1 large egg white
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons peanut oils

Bok Choy:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2-inch piece fresh ginger
2 heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro leaves, and sliced green onion, for garnish

Directions
To make the salmon cakes: Heat 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, shallot, ginger, and chiles; saute for a few minutes to release the flavor. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

In a mixing bowl, combine the salmon, bread crumbs, cilantro, mayonnaise, lemon juice and egg white. Scrape the garlic/ginger oil into the salmon mixture; season with salt and pepper. Fold the ingredients together gently but thoroughly, taking care not to mash the salmon too much. Using your hands, form the mixture into 4 salmon cakes, they should be moist and just hold together.

Coat a non-stick skillet with the 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and bring it to a slight smoke over medium heat. Fry the salmon cakes until brown, about 4 minutes on each side, turning carefully with a spatula. Keep warm on a plate lined with paper towels.

To make the bok choy: Return the skillet to the heat and coat with the 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and heat until almost smoking. Split the piece of ginger open with a knife then whack it with the flat side of the knife. Lay the ginger pieces in the oil, cut-side down to let it start to perfume. Pan-fry the bok choy, cut-side down, for a couple of minutes to give it some color. Add the water and cook another minute to steam the bok choy; carefully remove it to a plate. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Cook and stir for 3 minutes until the sauce is the consistency of syrup.

Serve the salmon cakes with the bok choy, and drizzle the brown sauce over the whole thing. Garnish the dish with the toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, and green onion.