Japanese

Sesame-Glazed Salmon with Ginger Rice

Ingredients for Salmon:

  • 32 ounces salmon filets (~6-7 filets)
  • Olive oil
  • 5-6 tbsp. ginger, grated
  • 4 tbsp. sesame oil
  • 8 tsp. GF tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
  • 4 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 lime, squeezed
  • Zest of 1 lime, grated
  • 4 tsp. ground cumin

Ingredients for Rice:

  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 2 kaffir lime leaves
  • 1/8 cup ginger, grated
  • 2 tsp. black sesame seeds

For the salmon, preheat the oven to 235°F. Combine grated ginger, sesame oil, tamari, brown sugar, garlic, lime, set, and cumin to form marinade. Place salmon and marinade in gallon-size ziplock bags. Rub in marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. After, remove salmon from marinade and save the marinade. Brush salmon with olive oil and fry each side for 1 minutes in a pan over medium-high heat. Place all salmon on a baking sheet lined with foil and pour over saved marinade. Bake salmon for 10-12 minutes. Remove carefully and enjoy! For the rice, cook rice as per packet instructions or in a rice cooker with lime leaves in the water. Once cooked, add grated ginger and black sesame seeds to taste. Best served in a bowl – domed rice on the bottom with fish on top. Enjoy!

Looking for more salmon recipes? Check out Saumon à l’ail

*Recipe adapted from “The Gluten-free Kitchen” by Pamela Moriarty

IMG_8976IMG_8975

Nectar

“Enjoy the little things”

… And it’s already Memorial Day Weekend! Gosh time flies by. Hope you’re soaking in the sun and getting a little extra vitamin D that the prolonged winter deprived us of. Celiac Awareness Month is coming to an end, so I’m going to try my best to sneak in a few more posts before the month’s over.

Nectar is one of my all time favorite restaurants. I haven’t had the opportunity to dine there as often as I would’ve liked, but I have been there enough to know that the summery contemporary decor + the excellent Asian-inspired food (with a French flair) make it a wonderful place to dine. The venue is perfect for a spring time party- you can use the patio and open the window-paneled doors for a breeze. The buddha statues bring through the Asian theme while the bright orange decor is a nice contrast that gives it a modern edge. For the private event I hosted there recently, we adorned each tableset with sandalwood fans and mini take-out boxes with handmade French chocolates.

IMG_2626

As for the service, we had a terrific server named Bob managed to keep straight a variety of allergies and dietary restrictions. The group had one gluten-free gal (guess who?!) and three pescatarians, one strict vegetarian, one peanut-free, and one nut-free gal. Quite a crew, right? But that just attests to how on top of everything our server was.

Anyways, the food. Absolutely delicious. For an appetizer, they modified their crispy goat cheese salad to a “true leaf organic greens salad with pickled root vegetables.” The crispy goat cheese was lightly fried in a glutinous batter. However, the pickled root vegetables were quite interesting (for the better). I can’t quite think of anything just like it. Maybe the closest thing- which is still a bit of a stretch- would be a spicy Indian pickle called achar. But this was a more of a sweet Japanese version if that makes any sense. For the main course, I ordered a classic: a spicy tuna roll. When there is sushi, you get sushi. Need I say more? And for desert, the chef was extremely accommodating. The private party menu had said dessert was a “fantasy finish.” Now honestly, what does that mean? Well considering we had no idea what to expect, I was delightfully surprised. There was a slice of gltuen-free chocolate hazelnut bread, a vanilla mousse with apricot jam, and a strawberry sorbet.

DSCN4116

Hopefully you’re tempted enough to give this place a try. Enjoy the long weekend!

Cheers,

Anika

Teikoku

I dined at a wonderful Japanese restaurant to celebrate my friend’s birthday two weeks ago. Why I haven’t written this post until now, honestly I couldn’t tell you! I had a great meal and a delightful evening, so I don’t want to postpone any longer.

It can be tricky when you’re dining with friends and not hosting the group. You may be unfamiliar with the restaurant, its service, and how accommodating they are or can be. I was fortunate enough to have my friend call the restaurant before hand to scope out the options. Whether it’s the host or yourself, someone should contact the restaurant to ensure that gluten-free choices can be prepared.

Teikoku had a gluten-free menu with many options! The menu also accommodated for those with peanut or shellfish allergies. We started off ordering warm edamame with sea salt. I think I ate about ninety percent of it (we were a group of eight); it is my favorite appetizer of an Asian cuisine! For an entrée, I had a Vegetable Mix House Roll that consisted of avocado, carrot, asparagus, and cucumber. If you haven’t tried sushi before, I would highly recommend it. If you have eaten sushi and weren’t a fan, I would recommend giving it another chance at his restaurant. And if you love sushi, by all means order it!

Although the veggie roll was excellent, the cherry on the cake was the homemade gelato. I ordered the Mocha, but I was very tempted to go for the Green Tea or White Chocolate Raspberry! I would say it’s even better than Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino Ice Cream (believe me, that’s saying something!).

Please do try out this restaurant! And recommend it to your friends who are peanut-free and shellfish-free as well!

Cheers,

Anika

Azie

For a dinnertime end-of-the-year celebration, my family chose to dine at Azie. Azie serves a unique contemporary Asian cuisine and is conveniently located on the mainline (of Philadelphia). I personally like to think of the restaurant as having a French-Japanese cuisine- but don’t hold me to it. Nothing can quite match the exquisite dishes prepared at Azie.

The waiter was very helpful in bringing out a gluten-free menu for me. He also was kind enough to ask the chef whether the specials would be all right for me. Although he was accommodating, he didn’t quite understand the concept of being intolerant to gluten. The special appetizer was raw tuna, avocado, and oranges in a honey miso glaze. After asking the chef, our waiter said, ‘Yes, its okay, its okay. But in the honey miso sauce, we can’t be sure. There may be little bit. Very little. But otherwise okay.’ His ignorance regarding gluten-free diets was not a problem, since I myself simply said, ‘No thank you!’ to the appetizer. But its just a heads up- the staff may seem like they have a grasp on gluten-free eaters, but take precautions!

For the entrée, I ordered one of their special. You may think this is a rather daring choice as the waiter ignorantly said the glutinous appetizer was mostly gluten-free. But this time, the waiter reassured us with bringing the chef out to confirm. So, I feasted on a grilled striped bass served with a mandarin orange salad and edamame risotto. I was not a big fan of the risotto, but the fish and salad were excellent! The fish was fresh and juicy, so I would have to recommend ordering seafood from this restaurant.

Last but not least, the dessert. I didn’t have a whole lot of choices. But being gluten-free, you should try to get use to that. (Or don’t! If you’re passionate, take a stance and starting contacting restaurants that you don’t think provide an adequate amount of GF dessert choices!) I decided to have a refreshing raspberry sorbet once my meal was finished. It was a great way to end the celebrations and congratulations!

Cheers,

Anika