Shrimp and Pork Stuffed Mushrooms
Combining shrimp with pork is quite common in Chinese cookery and a well seasoned blend of ground pork and chopped shrimp makes for a very popular dumpling filling, as well as a stuffing for many other delicacies as well. Here, the combination is used to stuff mushroom caps, which are then pan-fried and served in a sweet, umami rich sauce.
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Seared Scallop with Truffles
This dish was inspired by several appetizer recipes I have seen featuring Grilled Scallops served on a bed of pureed Parsnip. I am not sure how well they actually pair together (not having tried it), but I have taken the basic idea and used potato with scallion as a ‘bed’ and added a little decadent flourish in the form of sliced Black Truffle. I have only used two large Scallops here, making the result suitable as an appetizer for two, or even just one, but you can certainly multiply the amounts for a larger dinner party.
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Pan-fried Beef Satay Recipe
Satays, or skewers of seasoned meat or fish, are Indonesian in origin but have been adopted by the cuisines of many nations and there are countless varieties and permutations in the flavorings and modes of service. Traditionally, these are grilled treats, being an especially popular ‘street food’, but if grilling is not an option you can do a passably decent job in your frying pan at home.
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Two Sambal Chicken Wings Recipe
When you order Chicken Wings in a restaurant or a bar, they are typically deep-fried and then tossed with some sort of sauce. It maybe a BBQ sauce, or a Teriyaki sauce, or anyone of many ‘Hot’ Sauces, each with varying degrees of Chili heat. Here, Chicken wings are baked, rather than deep-fried, and the flavor sauce is made up two of my own home-made Spice Pastes (known as Sambals), one of which is complex and aromatic, and the other simple and extremely fiery.
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Simple Shrimp Bhaji Recipe
I have previously posted recipes for the lovely little Indian deep-fried snacks known as Pakoras, including one for Tindora Pakora, and another for a delicious Squid Pakora. Bhaji are a very similar sort of preparation and, indeed, there are some many variations on the two, and so much overlap, that the names are almost interchangeable. The little appetizers you see above are a very simple Bhaji preparation using tiny shrimp, and a very simple spiced batter.
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Squid Pakora Appetizer Recipe
Pakoras are an Indian snack consisting of various vegetables, and sometimes meats, mixed with a batter (usually seasoned with spices) and then deep fried. I don’t believe I have ever seen a recipe anywhere that actually uses squid in Pakoras before, but Shrimp are often used, so Squid seemed like something worth trying to me.
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Larb Stuffed Endive Boats
Larb, or ‘Laab’ as it sometimes spelled, is a cold salad of meat, herbs and other seasonings that is not only reckoned to be the national dish of Laos but also quite common in Thailand as well. The meat is often beef or pork, sometimes raw, sometimes cooked, but fish and poultry version exist as well. Often, this is served in a bowl with lettuce or other leaves for wraps, but, here, I have used the basic recipe theme to pre-stuff endive leaves as a simple, but tasty appetizer.
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Yoghurt Marinated Pork Kebabs
This recipe is vaguely Indian in spirit, although not based on any particular dish. Marinating meats with Yoghurt and Spices is common Indian culinary technique, but, here, the aromatics are kept really simple and include just Turmeric, Paprika, and a little Salt and Parsley. After grilling, the skewers may be served as an appetizer, as pictured above, or as a meat dish to be served with rice, noodles, and other accompaniments.
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Tindora Pakora Appetizer
Pakora are Indian snacks made with vegetables and sometimes chicken or other meats. These are deep fried in a batter most commonly made with Besan (chick-pea flour), and, usually, with added spices. Vegetable Pakora are the most common type and the vegetables can either be a single vegetable in chunks, or one can use a variety of different veggies that are shredded and mixed before being dunked in the batter. Here, I am using lovely Indian vegetable known as Tindora, or Ivy-Gourd, which are first split lengthways and then stuffed with a Chili Pickle before being battered and deep-fried.
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Madrasi Grilled Beef Skewers
This spicy little preparation can be made with almost any Indian Masala you like, but I created it as a vehicle for my Homemade Madras Curry Paste. For this post, I have served the skewered Beef appetizer style on a bed of finely shredded cabbage and Jalapeno peppers that were macerated in a little garlic salt before being tossed with some oil and lemon juice. However, you could also serve a larger number of skewers per person as a main dish along with rice and other accompaniments.
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