Onigiri Salmon Salad - Japanese Rice Sandwich

These portable packages are loaded with any tasty morsel you can wrap in sticky rice. My Origiri filling is a favorite tuna, salmon, chicken or turkey salad. Origiri is a favorite of Japanese school lunches, and found in most markets there. And check out this fun photo-filled blog post with a lot of Onigiri colorful fun shapes and other tasty fillings.

You need to make Sushi Rice, but I have your back -- here is my video recipe:



After you've made Sushi Rice, it's time to make a quick and simple salad to fill the rice ball with. I like the ease and cheap prices of canned protein. For this recipe I made a Onigiri Salmon Salad, but you could use any cooked meat, like chicken or turkey (canned, fresh cooked, or store bought roasted bird.)

The Salmon Salad for my recipe is just mayo and a 5 ounce can (or pouch) of salmon. Just drain it and lightly mix with mayo. You roll a fist sized ball of sushi rice, press in a space to add the salad, and finally top it with more rice and seal it up.

That's the stripped-down version. Wrap it with a small square of dried seaweed to give it extra flavor, thus making it easier to handle. You can sprinkle on some sesame seeds, too.

I don't know if you've notice these packages of seaweed snacks lately, I get mine at the 99c only Store, and in different flavors too! They are similar to communion wafers, and they dissolve on your tongue like one. (Also like those paper sheets of breath mints - except tasting of the sea and salt.) The thin rectangles of dried seaweed are the perfect size for wrapping the finished Onigiri. Although crisp and brittle, the seaweed moistens and bends to adhere perfectly to the rice ball.

Normally you dampen your hands and form the rice ball. It's a bit messy -- so a cleaner way is tear off a sheet of plastic, wrap the rice and form a ball.

My Onigiri Salmon Salad makes great party appetizers -- just set out a tray and see how quick they go. So now that you've mastered making Sushi Rice (or at least have a handle on it) try out my latest Japanese fast food recipe.

Ingredients (about 6 rice balls)

• 1 cup brown or white rice - use my Sushi Rice recipe. Click here for the recipe text with photos. For this recipe I used brown rice. (But white rice gets stickier, so it holds together better - maybe better to use white rice if you are doing this for the first time?)
• Cooked salmon - I used a 5 ounce can drained (stored in water, not oil.) You can use fresh salmon (just saute it until done.) You can also use cheap canned tuna, or any favorite cooked fish. Okay to substitute with cooked chicken or turkey (canned or homemade.)
• 1 tablespoon mayo - okay to use more, or less,  to taste.
  
• Dried seaweed - optional. I used pre-cut (about 2 by 4 inch) dried seaweed snacks. Okay to use any size really, just cut them to size with scissors.

Directions
Cook and prepare Sushi Rice. Allow to cool and reach room temperature.

Drain one can of salmon. Place in a bowl and flake salmon into smaller pieces. Remove bones, if any. Add 1 tablespoon of mayo. Mix well.

For assembly, place a sheet of plastic wrap on a dry surface. Pile on about half a cup of cooked rice in the middle of plastic sheet.

Press into the middle of rice mound to make space for the salmon/mayo. Add about a tablespoon of salmon mixture.

Pick up the four corners of plastic to start forming a ball. Add just enough rice on top of salmon mixture to cover it. Now you can close up the rice ball with plastic wrap. Lightly roll and squeeze the ball. You can keep it round, flatten one side, or form a traditional triangle shape.

You can serve or eat the rice ball right out of the plastic wrap; or use a piece of dried seaweed and partially wrap the Onigiri. The piece of seaweed gives you a dry surface to hold, for easier eating.

Plastic wrapped Onigiri can be frozen or just stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Sardines in Tomato Sauce with Olive Oil over Pasta

In soybean, olive or sunflower oil - lightly smoked, brinned, kippered and tomato sauced - there is more to canned fish than tuna in plain water. I always find small canned fillets cheaply at my local 99c only Store, including: herring, sardine, mackerel and anchovy. In my cupboard you will see all of these. And, the tastiest way I've found to use tinned gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate, is sauteed in olive oil and paired with pasta.

Usually in packages smaller than cans of tuna, anywhere from 2 - 4 ounces, these fat finger-sized  fillets of fish are perfect for a single after-work dinner serving. Sardines in Tomato Sauce with Olive Oil over Spaghetti is my latest budget entree. It's quick and easy to prepare, and most of all, delectable. What more could you ask for from the fugal Blogger du Cuisine.

This recipe is influenced by our local Queen of Pizza, Nancy Silverton, co-owner/chef (with Maria Batali) of always-crowded Mozza Pizzeria. She wrote a book a few years ago called "A Twist of the Wrist," were she created a host of entrees using canned and jarred edibles. I'm too cheap to buy the book, but I check it out from my local library when I need inspiration. While this dish is not in it, I like to think she would approve.

If canned sardines come in oil, all you have to do is pour it in a skillet, oil and all, heat through, then add it over fresh cooked pasta. The sardines I used for this recipe came packed in tomato sauce. I could have heated it in the same way, but thought pouring in a couple tablespoons of olive oil would add just the right amount of richness.

I have a friend who hates the taste of fish (he's an official 99 Cent Player and featured in my video here) -- he doesn't know what he is missing. However, I do understand the apprehension of using canned fish. Fish is always marketed as fresh caught, frozen fresh, or farm raised. That's the best way to get it. While canned tuna is what almost everyone is familiar with; I wanted to try a different tinned protein and found this recipe preparation the best -- especially when I can get it all at the right price!

So next time you run across canned fish on sale, stock up -- and give my Sardines in Tomato Sauce with Olive Oil over Spaghetti a try. It's certainly cheap enough, quick to do, and a tasty change of pace.

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 1/4 to 1/3 package pasta - I used spaghetti, but you could use any type you have on hand.
• 1 can of fish - a 2 to 4 ounce can. I used a 3.75 ounce tin of Sardines in Tomato Sauce.
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil - okay to use less oil. If you are using canned fish in oil, then use that oil instead of adding olive oil.
• 2 tablespoons of dried (or fresh grated) parmesan - optional. To add when serving.
• Water for boiling pasta

Directions
Start pasta boiling in a pot of water according to package directions. I usually shave off a minute or two of cooking time for al dente pasta. Since this recipe is for a single serving, I use a third of a package of pasta (about 6 ounces.) You can add more pasta if you want to.

In a skillet add olive oil and the can of fish. You only need to heat up the fish in oil and tomato sauce for about 2-4 minutes, over a low/medium heat. When fish, oil and tomato sauce starts to simmer, turn it down to lowest heat.

Pasta should finish cooking in about the time the fish with sauce is heated through. Put drained pasta on a plate and top with the fish, oil and tomato sauce. The fish is delicate because it is already cooked so carefully add it last -- so it doesn't shred into unrecognizable flakes (unless you are squeamish looking at whole fish.) Finally top with dried or fresh shaved parmesan cheese (optional.)

Hindsight

This pasta dish is delish with almost any tinned fish you find on sale, except salted anchovies. (They are typically used one or two fillets at a time to flavor a pasta sauce.) If the fish is stored in oil, then try it with just that -- kind of like my John Cassavetes Red Pepper, Garlic and Olive Oil with Pasta (click here to see my recipe.) If you want a tomato sauce (and can't find Sardines in Tomato Sauce,) then add half a small can of tomato sauce (that's 4 ounces, from an 8 ounce can) when heating up the fish in oil. If fish is canned in water, then just add the whole thing, and spoon on a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and tomato sauce.

This is a versatile dish, so you could also saute some onion and garlic first, then add the fish. Add lightly steamed broccoli or spinach for some needed freshness to this pasta dish. You can also saute the fish with some favorite fresh herbs (or dried.) And, feel free to use any pasta you have on hand.

Salmon Olympia - A Wedding Day Entree

Wedding Bells are ringing with The 99 Cent Chef's latest budget dish. All heads will turn as you walk down the aisle, and into the happy couple's wedding reception, with this luscious entree.

My Salmon Olympia should be a wedding reception dinner favorite -- see how it's all white and pink, topped with lightly toasted breadcrumbs? You know it will look lovely (like the bride) served as the main entree. And, the chintzy chef shows you how to do it on a dime. Plus, the in-laws will be pleased not having to shell out the big bucks for a typical, overpriced, catered seafood entree. For all you professional wedding planners, you don't have to admit where this centerpiece entree comes from -- go ahead and use it.

Of course, you don't have to wait for a wedding excuse to try it out. I made it the other night for my wife and she loved it. See, the honeymoon never has to end!

I always find 4 ounce fish fillets in my local groceries frozen deli case for around a dollar each. I've seen everything from Flounder to Rockfish, and Salmon to Tilapia -- and, my local 99c only Store stocks these 4 ouncers as well. The fillets are typically fresh frozen, so they defrost and bake well.

And, the other ingredients of sour cream, mayo and grilled onions are cheap all the time. Breadcrumbs are probably the most expensive ingredient on this menu, but I also have an easy recipe (click here) for making your own -- if you are as much a miser as I am. You can keep the calorie count down with light mayo and low fat sour cream.

So if you, the best man, and bridesmaids are throwing around wedding recipe ideas, make sure to add The 99 Cent Chef's Salmon Olympia to the list, because you can put all the saved bucks toward the honeymoon trip!

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 2 fish fillets (about 4 ounces each) - any defrosted fish will do. I used salmon.
• 1 whole small to medium onion - chopped
• 2 tablespoons sour cream 
• 2 tablespoons mayo
• 4 tablespoons of bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper to taste - season fish fillets.
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil - traditionally butter is used (about slices), but I used a cheaper and tasty olive oil.

Directions
Heat oil over medium heat and saute chopped onion for about 5 minutes, until soft. While onions cook mix, 2 tablespoon each, sour cream and mayo in a bowl.

Assemble Salmon Olympia on an ovenproof pan. First, add a 2 piles of cooked onion. Add salt and pepper to both sides of  the fish, and arrange fish (skin side down) on each onion pile. Scoop on about 2 tablespoons of mayo/sour cream on each fillet. Finally, sprinkle on dried bread crumbs over the creamy topping.

 Depending on thickness of fish fillet, bake in a oven at 350 degrees for about 20 - 30 minutes. I used a wide spatula to carefully plate each finished Salmon Olympia. 

Hindsight
If your fish has skin, then place skin side down on onions. That way, the creamy topping cooks on the fish, not the skin. Also, you could just remove the skin. For a richer variation, try cream cheese instead of sour cream. Normally, the recipe uses raw onions under the fish fillet, but I like my chopped onions a little more caramelized, so I cook them some, first.

Jewish Scrambled Eggs

The Chintzy Chef hatches a delicious breakfast scramble that will please his Kosher abiding visitors. Jewish Scrambled Eggs are a riff on a favorite of mine: lox with cream cheese. The main ingredients are cheaply bought canned salmon, cream cheese and eggs. And since I am a miser, it is the perfect breakfast budget recipe!

I always find cans of cooked salmon at my local 99c only Store. Of all the cheeses out there, cream cheese is one of the cheapest. Eggs are inexpensive, and my other budget ingredients are red onion and tomato.

 It's quick to do: just saute the salmon, onion, and tomato for a few minutes, then blend in your favorite egg scramble. And finish up with a dollop of cream cheese. It's a hearty way to start your day, but still lighter than a typical breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast.

For my Jewish friends, make sure to open eggs in separate bowls, in case any have a spot of blood in the yoke, thus rendering them non-kosher! And if you like bagels in the morning, then my Jewish Scramble Eggs goes great between two split and toasted slices.

And, click on the following recipes for more lox and cream cheese 99 Cent Chef creations: The Loxaco Video and A Salmon Schmear.

Ingredients (one serving)

• 2 - 3 eggs, depending on egg size.
• 1 tablespoon of salmon - or a few chunks. I used canned, but if you have fresh, use it.
• 1 tablespoon tomato chopped
• 1 tablespoon red onion chopped - okay to use white or yellow onion.
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Add teaspoon of oil over medium heat in your favorite omelet pan. Add chopped onion, tomato and salmon. I like to taste chunks of salmon, so stir gently for about 2 minutes, until onion is soft and everything is heated through.

Prepare eggs for scrambling your favorite way. Do you like a little milk whisked into your eggs? Or do you beat the eggs first? Or, God forbid, do you use an egg substitute? Hey, do it your way. I like to crack open eggs right into the pan, and do a sloppy scramble -- I like to see, and taste,  the difference between white albumen and yellow vitellus.

Cook and scramble eggs until almost firm, about 2 - 4 minutes. Just before done (with a few wet spots,) add tablespoon of cream cheese. Blend all together for a minute or until cheese is melted. Serve with your favorite accompaniment, or toast a bagel and make a Kosher Breakfast Sandwich!

You can experiment with adding, or subtracting, the amounts of cream cheese and salmon. Some may like it less fishy -- although, I think salmon is mild tasting. How cheesy do you want your eggs? You may want to add twice as much as I do. Same goes for onion and tomato; don't worry about exact measurements, it will still be scrumptious.

Also, this recipe is easy to expand for more servings, just double everything for a guest.

And if you have any leftover flakes of salmon it's freezable; so you can make my Jewish Scrambled Eggs any morning.

Peas, Mint & Salmon with Pasta

I like using mint. Just click on any of the following recipes to see how I've used it: Pollo en Mente , Strawberry Parfait , and a minty rum drink, the Mojito . Now you can add a luscious Italian entree: Green Peas, Mint and Salmon with Pasta.

Fresh sprigs of mint and tender green peas go well together. I sweeten the peas even more by steaming them, from their frozen state, in a bath of white wine. I also give this pasta dish another layer of flavor by adding a small can of cooked salmon.

A bag of frozen peas are easily found on sale in the frozen deli case, for barely a dollar a bag. I got some mint from my patio garden -- it's a hearty herb that will take over your garden if you don't keep it pruned back. While mint is the namesake herb for this dish, you could substitute any fresh or dried herb you have on hand.

Ingredients

• 1 small can (about 7 ounces) of salmon - Okay to use salmon in a pouch, or substitute with canned tuna.
• 2-3 cups frozen peas - canned peas would be too mushy, but in a pinch, you could drain and use them.
• Handful of mint leaves (a dozen or so leaves) - okay to substitute with a favorite fresh herb.
• 1/2 cup of white wine - or pasta water. Or, substitute with broth.
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil - or any flavorful oil.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 package of pasta (8 ounces) - I used fusilla, but you can use any pasta you have on hand. Follow package directions.
• Water for pasta. 

Directions
Start water for pasta and prepare pasta according to package direction. I usually shave off a minute or two from cooking time for pasta al dente.

 Over a medium heat, add frozen peas to a large pan, or pot. Pour in a 1/2 cup of wine or pasta water. Bring liquid to a simmer, then lower heat. Cover and steam peas until tender, about 5 minutes. Be sure to try a pea to make sure it is tender enough. Add liquid as needed if it steams away.

Drain a small can of salmon and mix into peas. Some canned salmon comes with a center line of bones, but I've found that they are soft enough to eat, but you can remove any bones you find. Lightly flake salmon into medium sized chunks. Turn up the heat and warm salmon.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the salmon and peas. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix in pasta, and heat through for a couple more minutes.

Finish by sprinkling in chopped (or small leaves) of mint. You can also top with Parmesan cheese. Serve this pasta dish hot, or at room temperature.

Hindsight 
I originally made the pasta dish with 2 cups of peas, but I thought more peas would be better, so I upped the amount in my directions -- especially needed, if you go ahead and use the whole package of pasta. I also would add more olive oil, about a 1/4 cup total. I always think most recipes are too conservative with it, in these times of belt-tightening. And finally, you cannot have too much mint -- if you have it, then add a few more leaves!

The Loxaco, a Jewish Taco - Video Recipe

Wolfgang Puck built his food empire off his signature Italian/Jewish pizza made with lox and cream cheese. And now The 99 Cent Chef has the chutzpah to come up with his own dish worthy of inclusion into the Entrees Hall of Fame - a Jewish/Mexican culinary mashup called The Loxaco!

 Los Angeles is known for fusion food (the collision of disparate ethnic cuisines), epitomized by Roy Choi's Kogi Truck taco, which features Korean spiced short ribs and sour slaw on a corn tortilla (click here to see my video documentary) -- so good! So why not a new taco twist featuring typical ingredients from your local Jewish deli?

I first had a Jewish breakfast sandwich that features a bagel, cream cheese and lox, on a film commercial shoot, and have been addicted ever since. Usually laid out by craft services on a folding table, it seems an unusual first meal, especially with garnishes of sliced tomato and red onion -- Oy Vey! But, mild cured salmon and sweet cream cheese smooths out pungent raw crunchy red onion.

With all my Los Angeles edible influences, It's was only a matter of time before the Chintzy Chef came up with his latest outre entree.

And a lot of the credit goes to a Latino neighborhood (Boyle Heights) bookstore, Libros Schmibros. Thanks to my wife, who's bread and butter is earned through journalism, I've had the pleasure to meet many scribblers, including David Kipen, the proprietor of this lending library/used bibliotheque in East L.A.

When we were invited there to a book launch party for the travelogue "Waiting For Foreign", edited by Veronique de Turenne and J. Michael Walker, I wanted to come up with a unique dish to commemorate the occasion, thus The Loxaco was born - my version of a Jewish Taco.

In my video you can spot some noshing local literati in attendance, including: Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold with wife Laurie Ochoa (co-editor of Slake), Kevin Roderick (LA Observed), and noir scribe Gary Phillips -- who gives my homemade lox a rave review, on camera!

Cold cured salmon, or lox, is so simple to make that it seems like gouging to charge $2 an ounce (that's $32 per pound!) by your local deli and supermarket . All it takes is a coating of cheap salt and sugar, followed by a two day wait for curing in the refrigerator. Cured salmon does loose half of it's water weight, so maybe that's why it's worth so much gelt?

I bought a $5 salmon steak on sale for $7.99 per pound and cut it into 3 pieces for my video shoot: two for curing, and one piece was kept raw. For one, two ounce fillet, I went over my 99 cent price point, but not by much; and anyway I am saving you mucho dinero! And my other Loxaco ingredients, red onion, tomato, cream cheese and taco shells (or corn tortillas), are always a bargain. Plus all the ingredients are Kosher, including taco shells.

Lox makes for a versatile party canape for your next Bat Mitzvah or Quinceanera. I schlepped a package of tortilla chips to Libros Schmibros to stretch my homemade lox. Stacking my Loxaco recipe on some chips, I was surprised how quickly they disappeared. A cured four ounce piece of salmon will easily make a few dozen appetizers, depending how thin you can slice it. And if you want to keep the party theme Jewish, just use bagel chips.

So pull up a chair and watch the haimisher mensch Chef  show you how easy it is to make homemade lox. And as a bonus I take you to Boyle Heights to visit a great neighborhood bookstore, Libros Schmibros.  

*Ess Gezunterhait!

The Loxaco  - Video

Play it here. The video runs 7 minutes, 39 seconds. 

Ingredients for Lox (about 8 Loxacos, or a few dozen canapes)

• 4 ounces of fresh salmon
• 1/4 cup of salt
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• A pinch of dried or fresh herbs make a tasty flavor addition, including: dill, parsley, oregano, etc.
• If you want a smoked flavor, then lightly brush on a teaspoon of liquid smoke before sugar/salting.

Taco Ingredients

• 8 taco shells - okay to use heated soft corn tortillas. Hey, go crazy and wrap Loxaco ingredients in a flour tortilla for a Jewish burrito!
• 1/2 onion - typically red onion, sliced.
• 1 large tomato - or a couple of small, sliced.
• Small tub or block of cream cheese.
• A few sprigs of cilantro - optional.

Directions
I removed skin from the salmon fillet (also remove any bones). Mix 1/4 cup of salt and sugar and pour onto a small plate. Coat all sides of salmon with salt and sugar. Wrap salmon in plastic and store on a plate, or small bowl, in the refrigerator for 2 days. If you leave the skin on you may need an extra day of curing.

Every 12 hours or so, open plastic wrapped salmon and drain off liquid. I re-coated salmon with leftover salt and sugar after one day. The salmon fillet will shrink and turn a deeper orange as it cold cures. It is done when firm to the touch, and the center is no longer raw.

After 2 days (very thick fillets may need an extra day or two) rinse off lox with water to remove extra salty taste. After the rinsing, you can also soak lox for five minutes in a bowl of water to dissolve away even more salt. Pat dry with a paper towel when done. Slice lox thinly. Store any leftover lox (highly unlikely) in the refrigerator in a Ziplock bag or airtight container.

To assemble Loxaco, smear taco shell (or soft warm corn tortilla) with cream cheese; add a slice of tomato, onion and lox, finally topping with a few sprigs of cilantro.

My Loxaco is easily turned into canapes for a party food tray. Just assemble the same way with your favorite chips, including: tortilla chips, bagel chips and fried pork skins -- obviously, the last chip is not Kosher!

Libros Schmibros hours are noon - 6pm. Wednesday - Sunday
1711 Mariachi Plaza de Los Angeles (new location)
Los Angeles, CA 90033  Located in Mariachi Plaza & Metro Gold Line subway station.
phone: (323) 302-9408
website: librosschmibros.wordpress.com 

99 thanks to Bob McGinness for his tasty kitchen camerawork.
Extra thanks to David Kipen of Libros Schmibros, plus all the customers and the volunteers.
*Click on orange type for links to Mexican or Yiddish phrase translations.
For HTML to embed, or to just link video from Youtube, click here.