Salmon Tofu Cake

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Brrr!!  It’s finally starting to feel like winter around here!  Talk about dramatic weather change.  The temp went from the 80s to the 30s overnight!  I am not complaining.  With Christmas just around the corner, t-shirts are no bueno.  I don’t even wish for a white Christmas anymore.. a nice breeze does wonders for me.

On a cold, rainy day, I inevitably crave one food…”전” which is a Korean pancake.  Unlike in the States, these pancakes are mostly savory as opposed to sweet.  There are all kinds of pancakes – green onion, seafood, potato, kimchi, zucchini…to name a few.  There’s nothing more comforting than the smell of pan fried pancakes (and of course eating them) on a gloomy day.  Perfect hibernation food ;).

I hope to share more of these traditional pancakes in the near future, but for now, can I interest you in some salmon tofu cakes?  These are more like crab cakes you’d see here in the States as the traditional Korean pancakes are much thinner and crispier (which was my original intention..but you know, sometimes ideas don’t always turn out the way you want them to).  A lil disappointed was I?  Yes, bc I thought that this recipe was a failure.  However, to my surprise, these pancakes turned out to be a keeper ;).  Don’t you just love when that happens?

These cakes can be served as a side dish with some rice or enjoyed as a snack.  I tend to graviate towards the latter option.  These make for a perfect combination snack, containing both protein and carbs.  Never eat just carbs.  Your blood sugar level will spike and crash, leaving you less satisfied and craving more food.  Eat a piece of fruit with peanut butter, dip veggies in hummus, add granola to yogurt, top crackers with cheese…or make salmon tofu cakes!  You like my lil segue?  Smooth, eh?

Salmon Tofu Cakes

Makes about 12 cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 can of salmon (or canned tuna)
• 1/2 pack of firm tofu
• 2 slices of bread (I used whole wheat)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil

Dipping sauce: soy sauce, a slice of garlic, splash of vinegar

Directions

1. Squeeze out all the water from tofu and salmon.  (Very important step!)
2. Chop all the vegetables and bread.
3. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
4. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop the mixture and form tightly into individual patties.
5. Coat a nonstick pan with a generous amt of vegetable oil (Olive oil does not work very well here.  If you want crisp, golden brown cakes, don’t hold back on the oil).
6. Cook on med-high heat until outside turns golden brown, approx 4-5 min.  Flip and fry.
7. Serve with dipping sauce.

I don’t normally eat canned salmon, but this one (wild Alaskan salmon) from Costco is pretty awesome!

Simple dipping sauce but it does its job.  A perfect complement to the cake ;).  Hope you’ll give this recipe a try!  And I promise to share the recipes for some of those traditional pancakes that I mentioned….soon!

 

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