Salmon Quinoa Potato Patties - A meal in one

I am sure many mommies out there are like me, constantly thinking of what food that are both healthy and delicious to feed our kids. And sometimes when we need to pack their recess food to lunch boxes, it can get a little tricky too. Fear not, let me introduce you this delicious treat, almost a complete meal on it's own. Perfect for snacking or packed for picnic or school. Best part? The little ones doesn't know they are eating something wholesome as well.*wink wink*

This delicious snack I am talking about is Salmon Quinoa Potato patties. What started off as an experimental recipe, turned out to be pretty awesome if I do say so myself.   

I can almost guarantee that you and your little ones are gonna love this! So good on it's own or with any kind of condiment you fancy. Yeah...who needs crab cakes when you have these haha!

Recipe for Salmon Quinoa Potato Patties (Makes about 14-15 5cm diameter patty)

200 g salmon steak

150 g organic quinoa ( I used tai-coloured version)

3 medium to large potatoes 

8 shallots, peeled and sliced thinly

2 spring onion, chopped fine

Marinate for Salmon:

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Seasoning:

1 tsp chicken powder seasoning

1/3 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

3-4 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• First, boil the potatoes in a pot f water till it is fork tender. It will take about 15~ minutes, so in the meantime you can prep other ingredients
• Season the salmon steak with the marinate ingredients. Let it marinate for a good 30  minutes.
• In a frying pan, add about 3 tbsp cooking oil over medium low fire. Add the chopped shallots and stir fry till light golden brown. Dish out and drain on paper towels.
• Next you boil a small pot of water and add in the quinoa and give it a swirl. Gently boil the quinoa till it is soften, about 10 minutes. Once done, drain out the quinoa and set aside for use later.
• To check if the potato is done, use a toothpick to poke it. If it spears through easily, then you can remove the potatoes out of the boiling water.
• Run the potatoes under cold water. when it is easier to handle, peel the skin away. Next mash the potatoes till creamy.
• Pan fry the salmon steak till just cooked. Remove and place in a bowl. Flake the salmon with a fork.
• In a large mixing bowl, add in the mashed potatoes, fried shallots, flaked salmon, and the boiled quinoa. Also add in the seasoning and mix everything together.
• Scoop about 2 heaping tablespoon amount, place in your palm and shape it into a patty. Repeat till all of the mixture is used up.
• 
• Dunk the patties into the prepared egg wash mixture. 

• Then carefully pan fry the egg coated patties on a preheated pan at low fire.

• Cook on both sides till golden brown, dish out and place on paper towels.

Check out that stack of deliciousness! Crispy exterior and creamy savoury interior, and taste great too. :9 You can serve it with chilli or aioli or just have it as is, you will love it. 

Thanks to Shermay for sending over some of her fine Cilicuka and of course her new concoction Sambal Hijau. Perfect condiments for me to enjoy with my potato patties, yum.

Hope you all will give this recipe a try. Easy to prepare and can be frozen for future consumption as well. Most importantly, the kids love it. Perfect for recess and can be served as a simple and quick lunch for the kids to enjoy.

A last shot for good measures, teehee. Nope, the kids won't know they are eating quinoa and salmon..they just know this is potato cakes haha!

Do drop by my FaceBook for the step by step video which I did for this recipe. Enjoy!

Have a good one guys!

Lo Bak, Braised Pork with tofu and egg (卤肉饭)

I do have to apologise for disappearing for the past month. Besides being away on vacation, I have been busy with my elder kid's PSLE result and secondary school selection *sigh* Time is flying pass so damn fast, it's freaking me out!

I did not disappear entirely but I am still very active on my Instagram @Honeybeesweets and FB  @Honeybeesweets Kitchen platform. Do hop over to check it out if you realise I am not posting up here as often and wondered if I am still alive haha.

In order not to neglect this lovechild of mine, I finally decided to put up a short post which I did too on both my IG and FB. That is my Braised Pork with tofu and egg recipe. I might have posted this before but this time I went with a healthier twist. I used pork tenderloin verses pork belly! I know I know, many of you cooking experts out there will be frowning at the change. But guess what, I totally enjoyed it, had seconds and all these minus the fats. How's that?

Recipe for  Braised Pork with tofu and egg (serves 3-4 pax)

250-300g pork tenderloin

2 eggs

8 shallots, peeled and sliced thin

3-4 slices of ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked

1 cinnamon stick

1-2 star anise 

1 block of firm tofu, cut into smaller cubes

Marinate
1 tsp quality 5 spice powder (my favourite is Pok Oy brand from Penang!)

1 tsp Soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/2 sesame oil

1 tbsp corn flour

Seasoning

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (绍兴酒)

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2-3 tbsp caster or brown sugar

200-300 ml Chicken stock or water

1) Boil the eggs in boiling water for 6 minutes. Remove when time and let cool before peeling.

2) Slice the pork into small bite size. Marinate pork with all the marinating ingredients and let sit for 10-15 minutes.

3) In another pan, add 3 tbsp of cooking oil. Fry the sliced shallots till golden brown. Dish out on paper towels to drain. (Do not over brown them or they will taste bitter )

4) Using the same cooking oil in the pan over medium Low fire , add in garlic, ginger slices, cinnamon stick and star anise. Stir and cook till fragrant. 

5) Next add in the marinated pork meat and stir well to cook. Add in the reserved mushroom water to prevent drying up. Then add in the chicken stock / water in.

6) Next add in all the seasoning ingredients. Follow by the reserved fried shallots. Stir well.

7) Peel the hard boiled eggs and add them in the pot along with the cubed tofu. Give it a stir and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes. 

8) The liquid will slowly reduce to a thick gravy. Serve with steam rice or noodles. Enjoy!

If you are interested to see a video on how I cook this dish. Do hop on over to my Facebook page HoneyBeeSweets Kitchen to check it out.

Thank you for reading guys! Post again soon