Zesty Hoisin Chili Sauce with Veggies

Zesty Hoisin Chili Sauce with Veggies (adapted from Food.com, Yield: 1 cup for the sauce, Total Time:  10 minutes – for the sauce)

Ingredients for Sauce

·         6 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

·         4 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

·         2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

·         2 Tbsp. honey

·         5 tsp. Thai sweet chili sauce

·         3 ½ tsp. lemon juice

·         2 tsp. dried ginger

·         4 Tbsp. chopped parsley

We picked up our bi-weekly CSA bag and it had eggplant, onion, and bok choy in it.  To me, that screamed stir fry!  I found a recipe that included ingredients that I had in the house (well, for the most part, if you look at the original recipe, you’ll see that I adapted it).  I also picked up a crook neck squash from my mom, so I decided to use that too. 

The sauce is simple to make and I doubled the recipe (above outlines the doubling) so as to accommodate the veggies and some steak that my husband was cooking for himself.  As I was working with the recipe, I found that the above combination worked just right for me, though you may want to cut back on the soy sauce or chili sauce based on your preferences.  My husband added a bit more soy sauce to his plate – not sure why, I found this a little salty as is.  There was a just a slight kick from the chili sauce – the “back of the throat” kick you don’t recognize until you’ve already swallowed.  Good!  Other than the salt, not one flavor overpowered the sauce.  I definitely plan on making it again, and may add just a bit more honey and cut back on the soy sauce by 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp.

I cooked my veggies to a mushy state (per the request of my husband) and they soaked up the sauce very quickly.  I love how it permeated each and every bite.  I hope that you try this recipe, it is delicious!

Le Shio - Wilmington, DE

http://www.leshio.com/

Le Shio is a very unassuming restaurant from the outside.  It is in a strip mall in Wilmington, DE, stuffed between a Radio Shack and a Dress Barn.  Even though you could pass right by and not realize it is a restaurant, I strongly urge you not to.  The food is worth a stop at this Asian Fusion restaurant.  The décor has a modern/industrial feel to it, one large room with white walls, a sushi bar at back before kitchen (with some available seats), a bar to the right after you walk in, and a number of booths and tables spread throughout the large room.

I ordered the Vegetarian Sushi Set (a selection of 24 pieces of maki sushi) that came with a cup of miso soup or a house salad.  I opted for the salad and also ordered Edamame as an appetizer.  The edamame was served in a small bowl and was enough for my husband and I to share.  Nothing special about it, just your standard edamame pods.  The salad was in a very small dish and consisted of a bit of lettuce and a tomato slice.  It was served with an aged ginger dressing – which was creamy and delicious, pretty sweet.

My sushi set consisted of three rolls cut into eight pieces each.  Asparagus, Oshinko (a pickled vegetable), and one with Avocado and Carrots.  Each one was rolled in seaweed and covered in rice.  They were tightly rolled and easy to pick up with chopsticks – they also held together well when dipping them in soy sauce.  The sushi was, of course, served with ginger and wasabi.  I added a bit too much wasabi to my soy sauce, but that’s OK.  Nothing too bad happened!  Overall, I really liked the sushi set, the Avocado and Asparagus rolls had a crisp texture because of the fresh vegetables.  Quite enjoyable!  I don’t remember ever having Oshinko before – it was good!  At first I thought it was Yellow Squash, but the texture was a little creamier.  I definitely recommend trying it.

I like Le Shio, though not quite as much as my sushi-loving husband.  If you are looking for vegetarian sushi, I recommend it go to the top of your list.

Veggie Burgers

Veggie Burgers (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, 8 servings, 1.5 hours)

Ingredients

·         2 tsp. olive oil

·         ½ small onion, grated

·         2 cloves crushed garlic

·         1 cup shredded carrots

·         1 small summer squash, shredded

·         1 small zucchini, shredded

·         1 ½ cups rolled oats

·         ¼ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

·         1 egg, beaten

·         1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

1.      Heat the olive oil in a skillet over low heat, and cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until tender.

2.      Mix in the carrots, squash, and zucchini. Continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes.

3.      Remove pan from heat, and mix in oats, cheese, and egg. Stir in soy sauce, transfer the mixture to a bowl, and refrigerate 1 hour.

4.      If grilling, preheat the grill for high heat.

5.      (from Original recipe) Place the flour on a large plate. Form the vegetable mixture into eight 3 inch round patties. Drop each patty into the flour, lightly coating both sides.

6.      If grilling, oil the grill grate, and grill patties 5 minutes on each side, or until heated through and nicely browned.

a.       If cooking stovetop, lightly oil a sauté pan and cook patties for about 4-5 minutes on each side over medium-high heat.

I tired these two ways – one with coating in flour and one without.  I liked the ones without flour better – they had a better flavor.  I used my food processor to shred the vegetables, it made things much easier.  I also cut up the carrots into smaller pieces so that they wouldn’t overwhelm the burger mix.  They browned nicely on the outside and stayed soft and tender on the inside.  I thought that they tasted OK, but I have had better homemade burgers.  I wanted to try one without beans, but the ones with are tastier (in fact, this was really light on any taste whatsoever).  They were good with ketchup!  (My husband liked them, though, which is odd.)