Category: appetizer

Gochujang Chicken Strips – Air Fryer Version

photo of breaded chicken strips on a plate with red chili sauce in a bowl

These chicken strips are really easy to whip up in an Air Fryer. With a bit of spice and a crunchy exterior, they’re pretty addictive!

The majority of the recipes I post are recipes that someone else has created; most of the time I make some changes to the recipe, and sometimes I follow the recipe to the T. This one I made up myself, and I have to tell you it’s a good one!!

It’s been far too long since I last posted a recipe on here, but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in my Master’s program. I haven’t been taking any photos of my food makes for a long time, so when I made up this recipe last night I again didn’t take a photos. I did remember what I put in the recipe, and it was so good that I had to make it again tonight, and this time I took a few photos.

What’s so great about this recipe, you ask? Well . . . these chicken strips are really tender thanks to the air fryer cooking method, and the chili coating brings a ton of flavour to them. Plus there’s no added oil, other than a little bit that you spray on the cooking surface.

Gochujang is a Korean chili paste that has a little heat, a little sweetness, and is slightly fermented. You can find Gochujang paste at any Korean grocery store; I get mine at Kim’s on Broadway in Vancouver.

I was a holdout on the Air Fryer purchase, but the more I read peoples’ opinions on it and heard from friends what they liked about it, I figured I should look into it. I do not like to have a ton of machines, and the Air Fryer machine is quite large, so I bought the Air Fryer lid for the Instant Pot that I already own. Since then I’ve done a lot of roasted veggies, Agadashi Tofu, and a few different chicken strip recipes. All have been excellent, and all have taken so little time that I am motivated to try more recipes. I made this recipe, start to finish, in less time than it would take me to preheat my oven.

I served these with Air Fryer roasted cauliflower last night, and tonight I made breaded zucchini in the Air Fryer. Air Fryer fries are also awesome! I dipped the chicken in a sweet chili sauce, but feel free to use your sauce of choice or no sauce at all.

What you need:

  • 1 chicken breast
  • 2 tablespoons Gochujang paste
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Mirin
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup Panko crumbs

What you do:

  1. Combine the Gochujang, soy, mirin, and garlic in a bowl.
  2. Put the Panko crumbs in another bowl.
  3. Cut the chicken breast into strips.
  4. Place the chicken in the Gochujang mixture and coat all sides.
  5. Using a fork, place a piece of chicken in the Panko crumbs and coat all sides.
  6. Spray the Air Fryer with oil spray, then place the chicken on the Air Fryer rack in a single layer, with a little space between each piece.
  7. All Air Fryers will work differently, so get to know the cooking times on your machine. For my Instant Pot Air Fryer lid, I cooked the chicken at 400F with no preheating. First I cooked it for 4 minutes, then flipped the chicken and cooked it two minutes more. If you are testing your machine out, you could try cooking for a shorter amount of time so you don’t overcook, then add a minute at a time. Make notes about your cooking times.
  8. Enjoy them while they are hot!
photo of Trader Joe's soy sauce, Mitkusan mirin, Korean Gochujang paste, and a clove of garlic
photo of two bowls, one with chicken coated in a red paste, the other with chicken coated in panko breadcrumbs
photo of chicken strips in an instant pot air fryer

Lemon-Cilantro Hummus

Well it’s been about eight months since I’ve posted a recipe; working full time and working on a master’s degree doesn’t leave a lot of time for hobbies. I’m still cooking of course, and finally took a photo of something, so thought I’d share this yummy and delicious hummus recipe.

If I had more time I would have cooked my own chickpeas, but happy to have a time-saving can of them in my cupboard!

For the smoothest hummus you can take a few minutes to remove the peels from the chickpeas. It really does make a difference! But of course you can just throw them in there with the skins on.

This is best made in a food processor, but if you have a blender or immersion blender, those could do the trick. I suppose if you had a lot of time you could do it with a potato masher . . . ? Let me know if you try that!

I purposefully didn’t add amounts here. In the procedure below I suggest how much I added, but this is a really good recipe for “adding to taste;” add a little, then a little more if needed. I like mine lemony, and I like to serve it right away . The leftovers are excellent, but the batch fresh out of the food processor is the best.

I have been eating this hummus with crackers and as a dip for veggies.

What you need:

  • can of chickpeas, drained, and preferably with skins removed
  • tahini
  • garlic, crushed
  • cilantro, clean and chopped once or twice, stems and all (unless there are some really thick, woody stems)
  • salt
  • lemon
  • cumin

What you do:

  1. Pour the chickpeas into the bowl of the food processor.
  2. Add a dollop of tahini. I used about 1/4 cup.
  3. Put the lid on the food processor and blend it up for about a minute.
  4. Add a clove of crushed garlic (or more if you love your garlic), a whole bunch of cilantro (mine wasn’t a huge bunch), a little salt, half a lemon to start, and a pinch of cumin to start. Let that process until the cilantro is well chopped, and the hummus is creamy.
  5. Taste your hummus and see what you’d like to add more of. I almost always add a bit more lemon.
  6. Add a bit of water to make it the consistency you like and process again until it is really smooth, and you have the right balance of flavours. If you are going to refrigerate your hummus, keep in mind that it gets firmer when it’s been in the fridge for a while, so adding a bit more water can be a good idea.

Fava Avocado Spread

I’ve been growing fava beans on my balcony all winter. Planted in November, and beginning to harvest at the end of May. I didn’t think I would be harvesting so late, but it is so worth it! The beans are creamy and have lovely flavour. And check out the photo at the bottom of the page to see the gorgeous green of the bean after shelling!

This recipe is more of a guide. What I thought was going to be a massive crop, ended up being only 8 pods (for now), which yielded 18 beans. So I ended up making a really small portion of this spread, using less than half of an avocado.

In the photo I’ve got some delicious corn crackers, but we actually preferred the fava-cado spread on a piece of bread. The crackers had a lot of flavour on their own, so the milder bread allowed the flavours of the fava and avocado to shine through.

A word on growing fava beans: Yes, you can grow them in summer, but when I did that they got infested with aphids. Growing them over winter, in Vancouver, was pretty easy. I just had to wrap them up a bit when we had a cold snap. So after half a year of growing, I finally get to eat them! This is the first harvest, but there are a lot more pods still growing . . . hmm, what should I make with the next harvest?

What you need:

  • avocado
  • fresh fava beans
  • lime
  • salt
  • bread or crackers

What you do:

  1. To prepare the fava beans, get a pot of salted water boiling. String the pods and remove the fava beans. Boil the beans for 3 minutes. Drain the beans and then put them in a bath of ice water right away. This will help them to stop cooking, and retain their gorgeous bright green colour.
  2. Now you can slide the beans out of their skins, revealing the gorgeous green colour!
  3. Mash the fava beans together with some avocado (I used more fava than avo). Use an immersion blender if you like. Season with a little bit of salt and a squeeze of lime.
  4. Serve with bread or crackers right away. Not as good after refrigeration.

Oven-Baked Falafel

These oven-baked falafel are super tasty, and my official taster is looking forward to eating them again! Deep-fried falafel are delicious, I don’t enjoy cooking with boiling oil, and I think baking is healthier.

This photo was taken before the tahini sauce, hot sauce and pickled turnips went on – oops! Somebody was eager for the photos to be done so the eating could begin. I’ve also served these with some hummus and a cucumber, tomato and herb salad.

I found an aleb falafel, a falafel shaping device, for under $10 at a local Middle Eastern store. You can use a spoon or your hands to form them if you don’t have an aleb falafel.

falafel shaping device

This recipe is especially easy to make if you have a food processor, but you could also give it a try with a potato masher. It’s quite simple: all the ingredients go into the food processor bowl, you whiz it up, form the balls, and bake them. While they are baking you can prepare sauce and veggies.

These falafel freeze quite nicely!

What you need for the falafel:

  • 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or equivalent home-cooked
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/ 2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley
  • 1 cup cilantro (I like to use the stems too)
  • 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika or Aleppo pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • olive oil for brushing on top of falafel before baking

What you need for the tarator sauce:

  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup water
  • salt to taste

What you do for the falafel:

  1. Heat the oven to 375F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Add the chickpeas, eggs, bread crumbs, onions, parsley, cilantro and garlic to the bowl of the food processor and process until the mixture becomes doughy.
  3. Add the baking powder, seasonings and olive oil and process again until all the ingredients are combined.
  4. Form falafels with an aleb falafel (I lightly oiled mine before use), or scoop with a tablespoon and form into flattened balls with your hands.
  5. Use a pastry brush to brush a little bit of olive oil on the tops of the falafel, to help them brown nicely. Browning = flavour!
  6. Bake for about 25 minutes, then check to see if it is done; mine needed more time. You will know when it is done if a knife inserted in the centre comes out pretty much clean.
  7. While the falafel are baking you can make the sauce.

What you do for the taratour sauce:

  1. Mix the garlic in with the tahini.
  2. Add a little bit of lemon juice and mix well. Add lemon juice and water a little at at time until the sauce is creamy but not too runny.
  3. Add salt to taste.
  4. Enjoy!!

Lemony Hummus

You can make your own hummus! It’s so easy, delicious, and saves you money! Whether you use canned chickpeas or cook them from dried, it’s easy to make a great hummus. When I make hummus at home, I appreciate knowing exactly what goes into it, and adding more or less of whichever flavours I choose – and for me it’s all about the lemon right now!

This recipe is a variation of the hummus recipe I make often, but in this one I’ve added lemon zest along with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Plus a bit of cumin and hot sauce to perfect it.

You can use canned chickpeas, or prepare your own from dried chickpeas. I highly recommend removing the skins from the chickpeas to make a really creamy hummus. If you use split dried chickpeas, they are already skinless, so you will not need to remove the skins, but the flavour is a little different than the regular chickpea. Of course, you can always keep the skins on, but your hummus will not be as smooth. If you’ve got the time it’s worth a try, and removing the skins can be somewhat meditative.

One of my favourite meals that includes hummus is hummus kawarma, a Lebanese dish with lamb. Of course hummus also great with fresh pita, or as a veggie dip. I also love to toast day-old pita brushed with a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt to make crackers, and then dip them in hummus.

What you need:

  • 1 & ¼ cups dried chickpeas (or one 540mL can)
  • 1/3 cup tahini 
  • 4  or more tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • cumin, to taste (start with 1/4 teaspoon)
  • hot sauce (optional) to taste
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
  •  Salt to taste
  • 5 or more tablespoons ice-cold water 

What you do:

  1. Cook the chickpeas ahead of time, so they are cold when you use them to make the hummus. If you are using canned chickpeas I highly recommend removing the skins. This is a bit of work, but here’s what I do: I drain them, then put them in a large bowl with water. Then I rub some of them between my hands, and a lot of the skins come off that way. Then I go through them and pull off most of the remaining skins.
  2. Place your drained chickpeas in a food processor or blender. Process them until you have a thick paste. Add the tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, cumin, a little hot sauce, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; blend this. With the machine still running, drizzle in some of the ice water and let it mix for several minutes. You will get a very creamy paste. Taste to see if you want to add any more lemon juice or any of the seasonings. Add more water if you think it needs it to be smoother; I like to add a bit more water than I think I will need, as hummus tends to thicken up a bit when refrigerated.
  3. Cover and refrigerate if you are not using it right away, but remove from the fridge at least half an hour before you want to eat it. A little drizzle of good quality olive oil is a nice way to top it off when serving.

Enjoy!

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

This flame-roasted tomato salsa is excellent any time of year, even in the cooler seasons when it is challenging to access super tasty tomatoes. It’s really easy to whip up, but you do need to plan ahead so that you will have some roasted garlic on hand. I’ve started roasting a bunch of garlic bulbs and freezing them so I can make this awesome salsa anytime I want. I have served it with tortilla chips, but my favourite way to eat it is on beans and rice.

Recently I’ve been buying a lot of the Las Margaritas fresh salsa – it is just so good! But I can only find it in one store, and it is often sold out. So the difficulty finding it, combined with the nearly $8.00 price tag, made me start looking for a way to make it at home.

And . . . I found it! In the Thug Kitchen Cookbook! Yay!

I only made one change to the recipe, and it was a tiny one. I used sweet onions, and typically use them in all my recipes that call for onion because they don’t make me cry as much, plus I think they taste better. The most recent time I made this salsa I didn’t have any green onions, and it was still really good without them.

If you are looking for a fresh tomato salsa you can find one here, and this is a link to a creamy avocado salsa called gaucamolata. This roasted tomatillo salsa is also really flavourful.

What you need:

  • 1 can (398mL / 14.5 oz.) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1/3 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1-3 Serrano peppers, minced (depending on how much heat you like)
  • a whole head of roasted garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
  • juice of 1/2 lime
  • salt to taste

What you do:

  1. Chop the onion, green onions, cilantro and Serrano pepper.
  2. Put all the ingredients (except for the salt) in a blender, or use an immersion blender to whiz everything up. Leave it a little bit chunky.
  3. Add salt to taste.
  4. Enjoy!

 

Mushroom Pâté (Instant Pot Version)

This week I bought an Instant Pot, so I’m now busy trying recipes to get a sense of how it works. I’ve tried out a few recipes, and I’m learning how to tweak them in ways that I enjoy. You can totally make this in a pot on your stove too!

This one is a delicious winner! It has a nice creamy texture and lovely flavours of mushroom, white wine, butter and olive oil. So nice on a piece of toasted bread or crostini! It satisfies those umami cravings. For me this was a part of a picnic spread of cheese, mushroom pate, bean salad, and some veggies.

I made a few changes to the original recipe: In my instructions I have clarified a few details that were not well-described in the Instant Pot Recipe Booklet, and some that were omitted. I used a combination of dried mushrooms instead of just porcini. I also cooked off some of the moisture after pressure cooking because it seemed to liquidy. I added pepper at the end instead of before cooking (I think cooked pepper tastes more butter), and I topped up the liquid in the dried mushrooms with white wine instead of water – yum! I transferred my mushroom mixture to a food processor instead of using an immersion blender because I wanted to make sure I had a really creamy paté; I’m sure the immersion blender does a nice job too – and who doesn’t love fewer dishes!!! I also used a high quality olive oil to add in the last stage. I might also drizzle some on the top in the future!

Next time I will add a sprig of rosemary to the pot before it cooks – doesn’t that sound delicious?

The recipe serves 4-6 people. Or two. If you are self-isolating or just selfish.

What you need:

  • 3/4 cup dried mushrooms, rinsed
  • boiling water
  • 1 tablespoon butter (use olive oil for vegan recipe)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 shallot, sliced
  • 500 grams (1 lb) cremini or white button mushrooms (thinly sliced)
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine (plus a little more)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
  • freshly cracked pepper, to taste
  • 3 tablespoons good quality Parmesan cheese, finely grated (use vegan Parmesan for vegan recipe)

What you do:

  1. Place the dry mushrooms in a measuring cup. Pour boiling water over them until it reaches just over 3/4 cup. Push the mushrooms down, then put a tight lid or plastic wrap over the measuring cup.
  2. Slice the shallots and mushrooms.
  3. Add the olive oil and butter to the Instant Pot, then sauté the shallots for a minute. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until they are golden brown (mine didn’t get golden, and it was awesome anyways).
  4. Pour the 1/4 cup wine in and allow to evaporate.
  5. Add the mushrooms and their soaking liquid, along with an extra splash of wine. Add the salt and bay leaf.
  6. Close and lock the lid, and then set the Pressure Cooker to 12 minutes. When the time is up, use the Quick Pressure Release.
  7. At this point I sautéd off a bit of the liquid – you can decide if you think this is necessary. Discard the bay leaf.
  8. Once slightly cooled, add the cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese. Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend until smooth.
  9. Enjoy on crostini or whatever form you choose!

Chili Lime Pepitas

chili lime pepitas - trustinkim.com

Here’s a tasty and simple way to spice up some pepitas/pumpkin seeds. It’s a nice little appetizer, or a snack with your favourite beverage. Vegan, gluten-free and all that!

It’s super simple:

  1. Squeeze some lime onto a bunch of pepitas in a baking dish.
  2. Sprinkle on some salt and Ancho chili powder, or any chili powder that you have on hand.
  3. Throw them in the oven at about 250F for 10-15 minutes, until they get a bit crispy. If you hear them popping you know it’s time to take them out. Just make sure you move them around in their baking dish once or twice through the process.
  4. Yum! Once they are cooled you can store them in an airtight jar for a few days – if they don’t get gobbled up right away!

Savoury Cheddar Muffins

savoury cheddar muffins - trustinkim.com

A new favourite! These savoury muffins were super delicious fresh out of the oven, served with a nice bowl of soup. They have cheddar, spinach and spring onions in them, and they are nice and light. They also work well as a breakfast or snack muffin.

Of course they were best eaten fresh out of the oven, but I heated one up the next day and that one was really good too! I’ve got a few in the freezer for when I need a last minute addition to a meal. 

I found the recipe on myfussyeater.com, and only changed a few things: I omitted the red peppers, and I added a bit of salt to the tops of the muffins. As well, I never buy self-raising flour, so in my version printed below I have included ingredients to substitute for self-raising flour. The recipe called for medium eggs, and I only had large so I used those – seemed a fine substitution to me. Also, I didn’t have quite enough butter so I topped it up with olive oil. I used more spring onions than the recipe indicated.

What you need:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup (150mL milk)
  • 1/2 cup (150mL) butter, melted
  • 2 cups grated aged cheddar
  • 3 spring onions, chopped
  • 2 cups spinach, chopped
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
  • freshly ground pepper
  • salt for the top of the muffins

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
  2. Line muffin tins with 12 liners, spraying them if they are not parchment.
  3. In a large bowl whisk the eggs, then stir in the milk and the melted butter (let it cool before adding it or it will solidify when you add it). Mix in the grated cheese, spring onion, and spinach.
  4. Sift in the flour and baking powder, then add the salt and pepper and the crumbled stock cube.
  5. Hand mix until just combined; I added a little bit more milk because mine seemed way too dry.
  6. Scoop the batter into the muffin tins and crack a little bit of salt on top of each.
  7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If you insert a toothpick or skewer into the middle of a muffin it should come out dry.
  8. Cool completely before freezing, but enjoy them while they are warm!

Bruschetta

bruschetta - trustinkim.comTomatoes, freshly picked from the vine – is there a better taste of summer? Bruschetta is a tasty way to serve up some of these treasures from the garden, or the garden of a friend, or a Farmer’s market. Best made only with fresh summer tomatoes, but in a pinch, cherry tomatoes are often a best bet in winter.

I haven’t given amounts for this recipe because it’s easy to make, and you can alter amounts according to your taste and how much you want to make. Each tomato tastes a bit different, so the seasonings will depend on how much flavour is in our tomatoes.

What you need:

  • baguette
  • 1 clove garlic
  • the freshest tomatoes you can get
  • fresh basil
  • sweet onion
  • balsamic vinegar
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt

What you do:

  1. Slice and lightly toast the bread. You can toast it in the oven, toaster, or on the BBQ. The BBQ is a good option if it’s really hot and you don’t want to turn on your oven.
  2. Slice the garlic in half and rub it on the toasted bread. Set the bread aside.
  3. Mince a little bit of the onion, then chop the tomatoes and toss them into a bowl. Tear up or chop the basil and add it to the tomatoes.
  4. Drizzle a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the tomatoes, along with a pinch of salt – give it a toss. Taste and add more of each of these ingredients as you see fit.
  5. Just before serving, top each slice of bread with tomatoes. Alternatively, you can leave the tomatoes in a bowl and people can top their own.