The weather in Toronto is warm and crisp this week, the humidity is all but gone, which is a lovely change to the close weather we were having over the last couple of weeks (sadly, it will turn ‘oven-hot’ again tonight). We turned the A/C off and opened windows, taking full advantage of all the fresh air, but someone forgot to tell the birds that 3:30am is far too early to get up and start chirping. Did they not get them memo?
Here is one of the culprits, I’m sure (I didn’t want to scare him so I took the photo through the screened window). This Blue Jay (not to be confused with our team*) and his partner were at the feeder by the kitchen window the other day — the small bird feeder. The partner was smart and was picking up the seeds from the ground. Can you see how ridiculously he is balancing to get to the seeds (his feet are hanging onto the feeder just below his neck and he is balancing with his tail); clearly this feeder is not his size!
This incredible weather also means that we can enjoy our meals al fresco under the canopy of the arbor in our garden. Our lives are a little topsy turvy as JT recently started a new job that has him working some nights until 8:30 which leaves me to prepare ‘dinners’ that will mainly be used as lunches for us both the following day. I guess this forces me to eat, because I can get caught up in various chores around the house or blogging and simply forget to eat (I can be pretty focused). In general, I come home, cook ‘dinner’ eat it and prepare our lunches for the following day. Then I sit and blog. Sometimes I cook something I can blog about, this is one of those times.
Sissi at With a Glass reminded me of Surimi Crab (yes, fake crab) and that it does have a place on the luncheon menu, as long as you buy good quality brand and pair it with a tasty side or salad (Sissi and Maria at A-Boleyn made fresh rolls out of them which for me ended up to be rather unattractive when I tried to make them, practice makes perfect!) So an Asian inspired Surimi ‘crab’ salad was to be on the menu on this day. Surimi ‘crab’ is low in fat, contains some omega-3 so it is a good low fat dinner/lunch option.
Incidentally, we are presently redesigning the packaging for Clover Leaf Surimi (we do all of their packaging, the photos in the link are NOT our’s, they were provided) so it’s apt that I post a recipe for it. Sadly, my photography skills do not compare to the skills at our studio, but then again, nor does my camera! The plate, however, is a hand-me-down from the studio!
We are heading out to Illinois and Wisconsin this weekend (it’s a long weekend for us too, in Canada we celebrate Canada Day on July 1) to visit our friends Paul and T, so I want to use up the fresh goods in the fridge so I don’t have to toss them (or worse yet, so they don’t walk out on their own!). Much of this recipe is what’s in my fridge right now, I was trying to go without purchasing new produce. The measures are eyeballed, go with your tastebuds. The trick to this salad (or slaw) is to cut all of the vegetables uniformly so you can get a little bite of everything. To keep this salad over a few days, separate the wet (cucumber and mango) from the rest and mix as required. The ratio should be about 1/3 wet to 2/3 dry.
Surimi “Crab” Salad
Serves 4 (2 for lunch and 2 for dinner, 100 g protein portions each)
Ingredients:
- 4oo g Surimi Crab, flake style
- 1./2 Jicama or Yambean, finely grated on a mandolin
- 1/2 celeriac or celery root, finely grated on a mandolin
- 6 radishes, finely grated on a mandolin
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 5 mint leaves, finely chopped
- 10-20 Thai basil leaves, finely chopped
- 2 regular basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 English cucumber, finely grated on a mandolin
- 1 slightly unripened mango, finely grated on a mandolin
Directions:
- Combine the Jicama to the basil leaves and mix well. I use my hands so all the ingredients are evenly distributed in the salad.
- Combine the cucumber and mango. Keep the wet from the rest so that the salad doesn’t wilt in the fridge. Mix only as required.
Dressing Ingredients:
This is just eyeballing, make the dressing to your own taste.
- Trim off bits of mango from the stone (keeping away from the stone) that you weren’t able to grate with the mandolin (you’ll be surprised how much fruit is left over).
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 lime cordial
- 1-2 tsp fish sauce
- 1-2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes (or to taste)
Dressing Instructions:
- Add all the ingredients to your immersion blender container and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust as required.
Assemble Instructions:
- Combine 1/3 wet ingredients with 2/3 dry and mix well. Add a few tablespoons of the dressing and mix again.
- Plate, adding about 100 g surimi crab.
- Garish with sesame seeds, if desired, I forgot.
Notes:
- I use Rose’s Lime Cordial as a short cut for lime juice and honey. I find it has the right balance for sweet and sour for my taste buds.
- About a 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro is a wonderful addition. I didn’t have cilantro at home (my plant died) and in order not to buy anything new to make this meal, I omitted it.
- Red cabbage also makes a great addition to this salad (see above for why it’s not in the recipe)
- Mango has the same toxic ingredient as does poison ivy, therefore you want to ensure you remove ALL of the skin and stay about 0.5 cm from the stone. This ingredient causes stomach upset.
- If you run out of mango, I have successfully substituted dried apricot (reconstituted with a little water) or even tamarind paste, both make exceptional dressings but you will need to adjust the salty and sour bits to taste.
*Sports reference provided for my friend Jed, the Sportsglutton
[…] in our household. In fact, a month doesn’t go by without a version of this slaw surfacing (here, here, here, here, here, here and here) offering up left-overs for the entire week. Yes, we love it […]
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Hello Eva, I love the picture of the bird, the caption made me laugh
Do you think the recipe would work with chicken? it looks so good and the dressing sounds really tempting
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Thanks Sawsan. We made this recipe with chicken and it was excellent! I usually shred BBQd chicken on the salad. Very tasty indeed.
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Hi Eva! I hope you had a wonderful long weekend! I wish our July 4th is a long weekend too… Love light salad like this. I came to realize that I’m allergic to crab (and I love crab) so I’m relying on imitation crab if I have to eat a lot. This sounds refreshing and lovely!
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Thanks Nami, I actually don’t mind a statutory holiday in the middle of the week, but a long weekend is really something!
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Wow, lime cordial in your dressing — it sounds intriguing. This salad is perfect for the weather we’ve been having. Hopefully JT enjoyed this dish also? I can only imagine how much you’re missing coming home to his wonderful dinners! It just takes a little time to readjust to new routines.
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It’s a bit of a shortcut Barb, but the sweet and sour is a good balance for my taste.
And yes, I miss my personal chef a lot! JT loves the salad.
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I was just thinking of Sissi when I read the title of your post! This does look like the perfect, light summer meal Eva and haven’t we be spoiled with the glorious weather?! I’m glad you’ve been taking advantage and enjoying your meals in the beautiful outdoors. I hope you have a great upcoming trip and enjoy your Canada Day weekend! p.s. that Blue Jay looks pretty darn cute to me! 🙂
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This looks so delicious!
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I had no idea mango had toxic qualities! Wow. Glad I know now. This salad is definitely one I would enjoy and I need to get in the habit of preparing lunches. We were in WI and MN this past weekend. Hope you’re enjoying your trip to our neck of the woods!
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Thanks Kristy. Some people have a stronger reaction than others, but it will give you an upset tummy if you consume the skin.
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What a refreshing summer salad!
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Thanks for dropping by and your comment.
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I love that you snapped a photo of your little Blue Jay!! I would have loved to have seen him close up.. and that salad too.. nice and close;) I will hope you have cooler weather on the way….
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Thanks Smidge, it was pretty hot in Toronto too, but I’m not complaining, it’s better than the cold and snow.
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Eva your posts make me think back to when we had beautiful weather and we could eat outside. At the moment we can’t really (well we can, it doesn’t get as cold as it does in Canada)!
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Hi Lorraine
I’ve been watching your weather on my iPhone and your winters are actually quite bearable, likely similar to the one we had this past year which was rather mild. I could live with that!
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Hi Eva,
Lovely sounding salad. Glad somebody is enjoying pleasant weather as it is still a rather chilly 13C here in South Wales now…hope you are having a good time in Wisconsin. I lived there for a year and went to High School in Manitowoc !
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What a coincidence, GD. It’s a lovely rural state.
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Like Charles above I’m not a fan of surimi either. Great idea combining jicama with celeriac, never thought of doing that, thanks for the idea. Have a great trip. You are not going to believe this, but I am writing this from Toronto. Visiting with families.
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Thanks Norma! OMG! How cool is that, hope we can meet for a coffee later this week!
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Was the sports reference made “only” for me? Surely every follower and friend of yours is a diehard sports fanatic. 😉
Also I concur with John about “warm and crisp”…a first for me too.
Happy Canada Day!
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I gave the sports reference for you Jed because your blog does indeed focus on sports whereas the other gentlemen who follow my blog are food focused; not to say the others don’t like sports!
We’re gearing up for the Molson Indy in Toronto, will you be writing a post about that?
Thanks Jed Happy Independence Day!
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“Warm and crisp”? I don;t recall ever seeing those words used together, at least nor around here. Our weather shot right past the days where you could eat comfortably outside. As you’re about to see, it’s been pretty warm around here and will remain so for the next few days. No matter. Your salad would be every bit as good eaten indoors. I bet your salad dressing would be wonderful with just about any seafood salad, or, like Charles suggested, with shrimp. Have a great visit with your friends!
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Thanks John. Warm and crisp, allow me to explain: the temperatures were high, 26C but really low humidity which seemed to me to be warm and crisp because there was no haze on the city, the skyline looked crisp, not blurry with heat. It is an odd combo of words indeed! 😉
Yes, the salad is amazing inside or out and with a variety of seafood or even chicken, for sure!
We’re having a great time, thanks!
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Well, as I mentioned to Sissi – I’m not a fan of surimi at all, but I can appreciate the prettiness of your dish, and it sure looks good. I’ll just pick off the surimi, or maybe substitute it with shrimp 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend Eva!
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Thanks Charles; I’ve made this dish with grilled chicken, grilled scallops and grilled shrimp and each work incredibly well with the salad. It’s a very satisfying meal, indeed!
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This salad looks lovely my friend – very light with beautiful flavours 🙂
I’m sure I could convert my brother from all red meat to sea food with it!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Thanks CCU, the flavours of the salad are indeed incredible, & it works well with chicken too!
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Looks like a great summer dish.
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Thanks Greg.
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What a healthy looking salad underneath those big luscious chunks of surimi. I thought there were noodles underneath but it seems like you julienned your jicama and cucumber very thinly. Knowing my ‘fondness’ (not) for most veggies, I’ll be making some substitutions in this recipe in the future. 🙂
I love all the fresh herbs you used. All I’ve got now is greek oregano, genovese basil and some rosemary but I have hopes for the thai basil and thyme seeds that are sprouting now. I need to lay my hands on some mint seeds and I’m too lazy to order them from a seedling company or to go to a bigger store that might carry them … none in Food Basics … but I’d like to do something with mint and sorbet.
Have a great holiday weekend. I’m staying in with my A/C.
PS: Still haven’t made the other surimi dish (es) I was planning on but they’re in the works.
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Thank you for your comments Maria; be careful with mint, don’t plant it in the ground, it’s very invasive! It’s lovely to have fresh herbs, isn’t it?
A/C is wonderful during these incredibly hot spells.
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Thank you for the warning, Eva. Due to my ‘infirmity’ no digging in the garden is taking place. It’s all in pots and planters. Or scavenged paper coffee/water cups to start the seeds … cause I recycle. 🙂 I just have to make a run for a new big bag of potting soil.
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That’s my extent of gardening too, Maria. Have a great loooong weekend!
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Eva, most of all thank you so much for mentioning me and linking to my blog. This looks like a very light and luscious summer meal and I will certainly remember the celeriac and surimi combination. I have never thought about it! Thank you for this wonderful idea! (I bet it would be great in a spring roll. Yes! actually this is what I’m going to make next week!).
I still envy your possibility to dine outside… (By the way I hate birds! They eat my herbs on the balcony!).
Congratulations for the design!
PS It’s really weird, but when I open your home page I still see the Strawberry Soufflé… I can see this post and the previous one only by clicking at the link from your newsletter I receive. Am I the only one? (I have tried with two different browsers).
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Thanks Sissi, it was entirely my pleasure for the mention, thanks for the inspiration! No, others have mentioned the issue with the post; now I know what happened with the post, I forgot to make it ‘sticky’ it’s fixed now, hopefully it works like it should!
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This is a delicious looking salad! With crabs and all the ingredients, must have packed a whole lot of different delicious crunch! And a great idea with the lime cordial, I’ll keep this in mind!
What a lovely view to wake up to, I guess the bird must be really hungry for breakfast, at wee hours in the morning!
Wish you a beautiful Sunday!
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Thanks Joyce, yes the birds must be hungry, although they are at our feeder out back all day!
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I love it when you it’s warm enough to eat outside too. Sadly, our last summer was so cold we didn’t have dinner outside once. Normally we’re out there at least four months of the year. It was such a weird summer. That blue jay is gorgeous. We don’t get those birds here so it’s lovely to see what flies around your garden. Enjoy the weekend Eva xx
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We’ve had summers like that too, Charlie, it just sucks to be honest. We’re in Wisconsin this weekend and the weather is glorious! We’re outside all the time. After reading your remarks about your summer, I will surely not take our weather for granted at all.
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A delicious crab salad. I must admit, as so-called salad fan, that I haven’t tried any salad with crab yet. This is definitely a must-make! 330am…ha…early birds catch the worms…I guess they did know ;-))
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Thanks Angie, I do love a good salad any time of year, but particularly in the summer. I hope you try this slaw/salad, it’s one of my favorites!
Early birds indeed!
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