Tag: ontario

Fish Taco Recipe

  • Salmon Taco

Who said tacos are just for Tuesday’s? Fish tacos are an easy delicious meal that we typically incorporate weekly into our dinner schedule. Since I was a little girl tacos have always been my favourite meal, but I honestly never even had “proper” tacos until recently. Growing up my mom was never much of a chef. Now don’t get me wrong, we were always fed and happy, but my moms flavour profiles were always very bland when it came to cooking. She would make the typical tacos with ground beef, and a good ole Old El Paso taco kit, you know what I’m talking about. While this was great as a kid and I never complained, as I’ve gotten older my palate has definitely become more high quality.

The tacos in this recipe taste much more fresh than classic ground beef tacos in my opinion, and the colours are stunning. I’m truly so happy that my daughter is going to grow up eating such a diverse variety of flavours and colours. Having her be health cautious, as well as appreciative of the foods she is able to eat is extremely important to me.

  • Pineapple Salsa

The pineapple salsa is probably my favourite component of these tacos. I’ve always been a fan of mixing sweet and savoury and this salsa does just that for these tacos. The salsa and the cabbage also give the tacos really beautiful colour, which I believe is a must for a balanced meal. I always say, eat the rainbow.

“Eat the rainbow”

Ingredients:

  • Fish Taco Ingredients

Method:

Cut a slice off of the purple cabbage and using a peeler, peel the sides of the cabbage so you get nice strips. You could also use a knife here but I liked the thinness of the peeler and the consistency it gives you. Once you have enough cabbage peeled, season with salt and pepper heavily, drizzle olive oil and white vinegar of our choice. Stir around to distribute evenly, allow to marinate while you prepare the salmon.

Slice salmon into thin strips, season with your choice of seasoning. I used cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper, but you can use what ever you have on hand.

  • Seared Salmon

In a large nonstick skillet on high heat, warm a couple tablespoons of an oil of your choice (I used olive oil this time). Make sure the pan is hot, and place each strip of salmon on the pan ensuring there is space between each piece. Let a nice sear develop on the salmon and flip to the opposite side to get an additional sear there. When salmon is done, remove from the pan and place on a serving platter

  • Cooked Salmon

Follow the directions on the tortillas you bought to heat them up. I prefer corn tortillas as they add a more authentic Mexican touch. Heat up a cast iron skillet and warm each side until a few dark brown spots form. This takes some time so I suggest enlisting a helper or doing this step first and wrapping in tinfoil and placing them in an oven on low heat to keep their temperature.

Slice the avocado, wedge the limes, place everything out on the table, and start assembling the tacos! You can also add your favourite hot sauce. I like serving this with my homemade peach and habanero hot sauce.

  • Assembled Taco

So there you have a relatively easy fish taco recipe. I dare you to be a rebel and make these any day of the week, because once again, tacos are not just for Tuesdays! Make these delicious tacos tonight for dinner, and tag us on Instagram @thehungrybunchh so we can see your creations!

Earls Copy Cat Poke Bowl

  • Prepared Ingredients

Poke Bowls are something I have been really inspired by for the past 4 years. I worked at a place in downtown Toronto that solely did sushi burritos and poke bowls. They had a spicy cajun salmon with a miso ginger dressing bowl, a shrimp and pineapple bowl, and a sunshine Ahi tuna bowl. Ever since then I have been on a Poke bowl kick. It is a light and refreshing meal that offers variety of textures and flavours so each bite is an exciting experience. There are so many ways you can switch this up. When I started making it I would dice up jicama root as a crunch factor.

You can use any protein, fruit or vegetable you prefer. Once my friends started opening up to the idea of poke bowls I started trying to recreate the one from Earls that everyone likes so much. Its a great recipe that is good for anyone who is new to the raw fish game. It has simple and crisp ingredients that are familiar to the amateur pallet. It is quick to make and refreshing to eat. Perfect for a sunny Sunday afternoon meal. Poke was originated in Hawaii, one of my favourite places, so it only makes sense that I am obsessed with this dish.

“Each bite is an exciting experience”

I have found a local place that offers sushi grade Ahi Tuna, fresh or froze. The quality of this tuna is actually so good that a neighbouring sushi restaurant sources their tuna from them. If you are local to burlington and would like to know which place I get my tuna from leave us a comment and I’d be happy to share.

Crispy Onions

Once the tuna was in our possession we went on a mission to get the other ingredients. A crunch factor that we had been missing the other times we’ve recreated this dish was crispy onions. we found them at a local grocery store and they are amazing. This item could be made at home but it would defeat the simplicity aspect of why we enjoy this dish as much as we do.

A quick PSA before we get started, I have not listed amounts as the bottom. This is due to the fact that it is all so personal, if you want more tuna, add more tuna. If you really like mango, add a lot of mango, if you hate it, don’t add it! My favourite thing about cooking is there are no rules! I am hesitant to add a list of quantities to follow because maybe my tastebuds are different from yours, I really encourage everyone to be confident and go with your gut.
Now that we have all the ingredient, its time to get started!

“My favourite thing about cooking is there are no rules!”

Yellowfin Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl

  • Ahi Tuna
  • Radish
  • Avocado
  • Mango
  • Cucumber
  • Dried Seaweed
  • Cilantro
  • Crispy onions
  • Sushi Rice
  • Japanese Mayonnaise (recipe below)
  • Sesame Oil
  • Soy Sauce

Method:

Prepare sushi rice as directed on packaging.
Dice up Ahi tuna and place in a container, add soy sauce and sesame oil as desired. Marinate in the fridge for up to a day.

Sushi Rice

Dice mango and cucumber, slice avocado, chop cilantro, slice dried seaweed and cut radish however you prefer. Place all ingredients in separate bowls or piled on a butting bored.

To make Japanese mayo, either make your own mayonnaise to start with or use a store bought one. Both options are fine. Add in rice wine vinegar and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add more sugar or vinegar as needed. The mayonnaise should be slightly sweet and tangy. Loosen out the mayo as needed with water.

To assemble poke bowl add rice in the bottom of a bowl, drizzle with Japanese mayonnaise.
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and crispy onions.
Add even amounts of each ingredients listed above around the edges of the bowl.
Place Tuna in the middle of the bowl and top with dried seaweed strips.
Top with as much soy sauce as you would like and dig in!

  • Completed Poke Bowl

Hibachi Teppanyaki & Bar (Alycia’s Review)

Hibachi
1940, Appleby Line, Burlington, ON L7L 0B7

This past Thursday I went to Hibachi for my nephews’ birthday. I have been to this restaurant about 4 times since it’s been open. It is a fun restaurant that offers dinner and a show that is exciting for children and adults of all ages.

We booked a reservation for 6pm. These reservations are only available in 30-minute increments. There were 9 of us total. 6 of us came on time and the other 3 of us were trailing behind. This restaurant does not allow anyone to sit down until the entire party is present. I understand the thought process behind this but in actuality, it is not ideal when dealing with children. My nephew turned 7 and my niece is 4. Around 6:15 patience were wearing thin. The kids are getting fussy and my sister is starting to get increasingly more irritated.

Hibachi Table

Finally around 6:30 the rest of our party arrived.  We get escorted to our table and were given our menus. Because we were sitting at the Hibachi table our menu was limited. You get your choice of appetizers of course, but when it comes to the main courses you only can order the teppanyaki set. This includes a choice of vegetables, tofu, chicken, shrimp, salmon, shrimp, striploin steak, scallops, filet mignon, lobster tail or a combination of proteins of your choice. Each Teppanyaki set includes a miso soup, green salad with ginger dressing, grilled vegetables, white rice (upgrade to fried rice for a charge) or noodles. It also includes 2 sauces. One is a ginger base sauce and the other is for seafood.

The women who came to take our order, in my opinion, was well over her head. She was speaking to us but wasn’t capturing our attention. I found myself having to repeat her questions to the rest of my family. What do you want to drink? I had to ask every single person in our party. Granted my family is hard to handle, we are loud, have short attention spans and a lot of them aren’t great at listening.

  • Onion Volcano
  • Fried Rice
  • Shrimp & Chicken

Once our drink orders were painfully placed, we then tried to order our meals. No appetizers were ordered. My dad is really picky and was already in a bad mood because we weren’t allowed to sit down until everyone showed up. All he had was an order of vegetable spring rolls because he didn’t like the idea of the teppanyaki set. The rest of our party ordered a variety of proteins. Both types of steak (filet and striploin) chicken and shrimp.

The show is always great. It’s engaging and fun. The kids really enjoyed themselves. There is something about watching people make my food in front of me that I really enjoy. Our cook came to the table and went over every ones order to make sure it was all written down correctly. He also went over what doneness we would like our steaks, then the show began, fire, laughter and a game of catch. When the show was over and all our food was served, we dived in and chowed down.

My Meal, Striploin Steak, Chicken Fried Rice, Vegetables & a Green Tea

For a birthday celebration they offer a free dessert, a hat and a free photo of your party. The kids had a blast and so did I. The food quality is good and the show they offer is really entertaining. I would say that the service is just a little subpar. I think a friendlier server would have improved this. I got the feeling that we were more of an inconvenience then a valued customer. Overall we had a good time and I would definitely go again.

Overall Review of Hibachi Teppanyaki & Bar 3.5/5

Shrimp & Scallop Pot Stickers: Recipe

Pot Stickers, Right Before They Hit The Pan

I have always been a huge fan of any type of Asian foods. As a kid I was constantly going to dim sum, pho or sushi with my nanny at the time, and let me tell you this was long before the big sushi or pho craze. These childhood memories had a huge impact on my pallet as an adult. I’m obsessed with any type of Asian food and even more obsessed with trying to recreate my favourite dishes. As a culinary school graduate, line cook and aspiring chef, I love a food challenge and these pot stickers are something I wanted to see if I could recreate successfully.

The first time I made these, I made my own won ton wrappers from scratch. They were amazing! and I highly recommend anyone who is up for the challenge to search up a recipe and try making them. The only down side is they greatly extend the process, so for this recipe if decided to leave them out. The result of the store bought won ton wrappers are just as tasty and make life a little bit easier.

“I find a lot of people take food too seriously”

I think the outcome of this recipe is outstanding and they are always a crowd pleaser. It’s also really easy to adjust these to make them any way you like. Replace the scallops with ground pork or omit the meat protein all together and replace it with mushroom and tofu. Also, feel free to switch up the vegetables or seasonings. I didn’t have cabbage at the time so I used Brussels sprouts instead. There are no rules when it comes to your food, experiment with what you have on hand. Relax and enjoy the process. I find a lot of people take food too seriously; this is a fun and tasty way to have a creative outlet.

Serve these little pockets of flavour at your next dinner party with friends or family. You could even make it into an event by laying out all the ingredients and letting people pick and choose the fillings they want to make their own custom pot stickers. It’s a fun and exciting way to get your guests involved in the process and experiment with something new!

Ingredient Prep

Shrimp & Scallop Pot Sticker Ingredients

  • 350g scallops
  • 500g shrimps (peeled and deveined)
  • 1/2 sweet onion (fine dice)
  • 1 cup brussels sprouts (shredded)
  • 1 bunch green onion (sliced)
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 1/2 cup carrots (fine diced)
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • won ton wrappers

Method:

Place shrimps and scallops in a food processor with a blade attachment; pulse until you get a paste like consistency. Pour into a large bowl and let that chill in the fridge. In a medium to large skillet on medium high heat, sauté onions and Brussels sprouts in a few tbsp of an oil of your choice (I chose avocado oil) cook until translucent. Lightly season onion and Brussels sprouts, add in carrots and continue to cook for 5 minutes then add peas and keep on the heat until peas look bright green. At this point season the vegetables again, taste and add salt and pepper accordingly. Place the cooked vegetables in the fridge to cool.

Once all the vegetables are cooled down, add to the bowl with the shrimp and scallop mixture, pour in the sliced green onions and the other seasonings (soy sauce, fish sauce etc.) fold with a rubber spatula and season again with salt and pepper. Add in the corn starch and fold again, mixture should be able to form a patty in your hands, if the mixture is too loose, add more corn starch a little bit at a time, until you reach the right consistency. Heat a skillet again with a couple drops of oil and place a small patty of filling in the pan and cook on each side until cooked through. This is your chance to make any changes that might be necessary. Taste your little patty and make the appropriate adjustments to the seasoning.

Pot Sticker Filling

At this point I like to grab a small bowl with a little bit of water. You also have options here, you can choose to leave your won ton wrappers as is and just fold them in half to make little triangle pot stickers, or you can cut them into a circles and pleat the edges like in the pictures shown. Both ways are acceptable for homemade pot stickers, whichever way you choose is the right way.

Now you need to make a little work station for yourself; have the stack of won ton wrappers to one side of you, the bowl of filling with a small spoon in front of you and the small bowl of water on the other side of you. Place one won ton wrapper directly in front of you, dip your finger in the water and rub half of the won ton wrapper. Scoop in about a tablespoon size of filling directly in the middle of the wrapper, fold in half and either seal as is or start to pleat the edges. Congratulations! You have successfully completed your first pot sticker. Now continue this process until you have the desired amount of pot stickers (this recipe makes a lot, about 5-6 dozen. You can assemble them all and freeze what you don’t want to eat right away or just freeze the filling. You could also half the recipe if you don’t want that much. There are a lot of options; you just have to get creative.)

Now for the fun part, heat a couple tbsp. of oil in a large skillet (I used avocado oil again) also add a generous amount of sesame oil, use as little or as much as you would like depending on your personal preference. With the skillet on high heat, add in your pot stickers one at a time, leaving a little bit of room between them. You do not want to over crowd the pan! Leave the pot stickers for a minute or 2, check the bottom of one or 2 of them. Once you notice you’ve got a nice golden brown colour forming its time to pour in some water. Use about 1/3 cup of water. Pour all over the pan and quickly cover with a fitted lid or another pan that is the same size. Let them steam for about 3-4 minutes; until the filling and wrappers are cooked through. Now transfer to a plate and serve! I dabbed my pot stickers off on a paper towel because I used a little too much oil and I didn’t want it to leach onto the plate.

Dabbing Off Excess Oil

Serve these delicious pot stickers right away with your favourite sauce. Sweet chilli sauce is my favourite, but you can use soy, hoisin or any other Asian inspired sauce you love.

Finished Product With Sweet Chilli Sauce

Sotiris | Authentic Greek Cuisine (Alycia’s Review)

3135 Harvester Road, Burlington, Ontario

Living in Burlington Ontario (as I do) there are limited restaurants that offer authentic Greek food and even fewer that do it well. I visited this establishment with my boyfriend and his parents on Thursday night. This is a place I have frequently ordered takeout from but have never actually sat down and ate inside. When you pull into the parking lot at Sotiris, its usually quite full. This, in my opinion, is always a good sign at any food establishment.

Upon arrival we are greeted by an empty front desk, no signage or poster to say “please wait to be seated” as we stand there for the better part of 5 minutes, we are finally acknowledged by a waitress and are told that she must check with her manager before she seats us, despite the fact that I had made a reservation. We are directed through the large dining room to our table for four. Our waitress for the evening quickly comes over to take our drink orders; 2 beers, 4 waters and 2 black coffees, simple enough. We also placed our appetizer order at the same time, 1 order of fried calamari and a dip trio consisting of tzatziki, taramosalata (a personal favorite of mine) and melitzanosalata with pita. Once our drinks were delivered, we were unfortunately short 1 coffee. Once that error was corrected we were asked again if we would like any appetizers… we told our waitress that we already placed our order with her. She responded saying she was sorry and just confused, and that she already rang in our order. The appetizers came promptly and were quite delicious. The calamari was crisp and golden brown without any excess grease, it also comes with a small ramekin of their tzatziki. Our dip trio was excellent, besides maybe being a few pitas short for my liking.

Fried Calamari, Pita and Dip Trio

When we were almost done our apps, the waitress swiftly came by to drop off 4 Greek salads and a basket of garlic bread, despite the fact that we had not ordered our entrees yet. Upon noticing our confused looks she quickly responds with “oh I just assumed you would all want these salads” which we didn’t dispute. (My assumption is she ran another tables order to us by mistake) We placed our main course orders (grilled seafood platter for 1, Greek platter for 1, Caesar salad with gyro and an order of moussaka) when our mains arrived in a very timely matter, my salad was a Greek salad, not a Caesar. She quickly took my salad away and brought back the correct order and told me she took another tables food by mistake (a little bit of an over share if you ask me) once we were all settled she looked at my boyfriends mother and asked if her moussaka was warm in the middle or not? She checked, and it was in fact, cold. The platters were lukewarm at best. I cant be positive that this was a kitchen mistake, as the moussaka was, or if it was a matter of the food sitting in the pick up window too long. Despite the food temperatures, all our food was amazing.

Sotiris offers a beautiful ambience that mimics its authentic Greek cuisine. This is a family run restaurant that can allow for a refreshing break from all the franchises that litter the food culture of Burlington. If you are looking for white glove service, or decent service at all, this is not the place for you. If you’re looking for great Greek food, or are in the mood to try something a little different that you have never tried before, then I would recommend ordering takeout.

Sotiris Menu

Overall Review of Sotiris: 2/5