Thai Veggie Wraps with Fried Rice

I've been spending one day each week this year eating only vegetarian meals. I don't spend much time planning the veg meals and they just seem to happen. Because we had a vegetarian friend over for dinner, I decided to spend a little more time. I know that there is shrimp on the board, but I only added it to Abby's wraps.

I used Thai wraps that I get at my Asian food store and have to soak in cold water for a couple of minutes to get them to be pliable so I can use them. The ingredients I used in these particular wraps brought a lot of crunch and heat. In order: Mint, blanched green beans, diakon radish, kumquats, ginger, jalapeno, carrots, fennel bulbs, scallions and a little touch of basil. I served them with two sauces, one hot chili and the other sweet chili.

I enjoy fried rice a lot but don't order it out much. I prepare mine with soy sauce, sambal, scallions, ginger, and a dash of fish sauce. I also use an egg to bring it together. The flavors complemented the wraps well and made the meal feel more fulfilling.

Salmon en Papillote

Aside from salt caving, cooking fish en papillote (parchment) is my favorite way prepare fish. I got some really fresh sockeye from the market and whipped it up fairly quickly last night. I learned from my dad a long time ago that placing the fish on aromatics or citrus really brings out the best in the fish and esentially steams it while heating through convection. This time I used Blood Oranges, Lemon, Ginger and Shallots. I was surprised at how much the ginger influenced the aroma.

After adding the fish on the lemons, I sprinkled the skin with togarashi (A commonly used Japanese 7-spice blend that typically includes red chile pepper, roasted orange peel, yellow and black sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, seaweed, and ginger)

 I also made couscous with blood orange, scallions and mint, which was really light. I lightly sauteed brussels sprouts as the veg.  I admit that the plating is a little ridiculous, but on a cold day the brightness was really nice. The fish didn't look great without the skin, but tasted good.