Category: Asian

Stir Fry Two Ways…

Asian, vegan, Vegetarian

I know I have been AWOL lately. Lots of reasons including practice hours, homework, work, husband out of town, etc. etc. On top of the normal reasons most of us struggle with cooking, I have decided to become a Pescatarian, only eating seafood and vegetarian meals. I decided to do this for a few reasons; feeling better about the food I am putting in my body, better for the environment, makes me feel better, and I just really don’t want to eat meat anymore. So, I will still cook meat for my family, especially when all four of us will eat together, but I will incorporate my spin on what I am making for me. I think that the family is going to be eating a lot more fish meals, which is a good thing.

Anyways, tonight I made stir fry two ways; one with chicken and one with tofu. The girls tried the tofu and didn’t mind it, but I don’t think I have converted them quite yet 😉

The sauce was made of hoisin, teyiyaki, fish sauce, and half a bottle of ginger mandarin marinade I found in the fridge. A little of this and a little of that; no real measurements. I marinaded the tofu and chicken in separate bowls with the marinade for 30 minutes.

I cooked the the chicken in a bit of oil first before adding the veggies. In the wok with the tofu, I added everything together. I sauteed everything together until all the veggies and chicken were cooked through. I also cooked up some sushi rice to have with it, but noodles are yummy here, too. It was super tasety, and I have plenty of leftovers to bring to lunch or have for dinner this week.

Leftover Chinese- Crispy Fried Rice

Asian, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Pantry Raid

Summer is finally upon us! As a teacher and a mom who loves spending the summer with my kids, I am super excited that the school year is over. Now we can kick back and relax and get back to the lazy days of summer. I still have a few teacher meetings to go to this summer, but it’s not going to be that bad!

A few days ago was the last day of school, so the last thing I really wanted to do was cook dinner. We decided to order out Chinese food. I ordered the veggie fried rice with extra broccoli and my husband ordered spicy basil chicken. The girls gobbled up all the Edamame, wonton soup, and fried potstickers.

Today was a lazy day where we woke up on the late side (9:30 instead of 6:30), went to the farmers market, and had lots of samples and iced coffee and smoothies. The girls also downed an e ntire container of raspberries and half a loaf of cinnamon sugar bread.

I took all the Chinese leftovers (veggie fried rice and basil chicken), mixed them with one egg and about a cup of breadcrumbs. I only had regular breadcrumbs, but Panko would work. Then in a hot pan with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil, I fried up this big pancake. You can make little ones, but this is lazy cooking summer! Plus it’s just me eating it, so any extra leftovers will go to my best friend Brutus 😉

I added a bit of yum yum sauce to my bowl for the sauce. Delicious!!!

Teriyaki Pork and Cauliflower

Asian, Pork

Hey friends! Happy Sunday! I have a few recipes to share with you this weekend… Here is dinner from last night…

I used a couple of short cuts- NO SHAME IN THE SHORTCUT GAME!

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Love this sauce! Found at Publix.

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Rice is rice. Why not make it easier to cook? 

So I added the sauce to a pork tenderloin and a head of cauliflower. I cooked it in my braising dish. You could also do this in a sheet pan with a lip or a large cast iron pan. But this pan is my favorite right now and I am cooking everything in it 😉img_4920 I cooked it in the oven at 375 uncovered until the pork was 145 internally and the cauliflower was tender, about 40 minutes. I let it rest for 10 minutes before I sliced in to it. While I let the meat rest, I cooked the rice…

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Mongolian Beef and Broccoli

Asian, Beef, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads

Evening guys! My husband saw a recipe like this on You Tube and wanted me to make it for dinner. I added some broccoli to the recipe and topped it on some sticky sushi rice. Delicious!

Ingredients

1 large flank steak or 2 skirt steaks, sliced thinly against the grain
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (I didn’t realize ours was not, so it was a tad salty, but still tasty)
1/4 cup sesame oil (next time I might add a bit more)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
3 teaspoons minced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 package of broccoli (could use snow peas or whatever veggie you like)

 
Directions

In a large bowl or zip top bag add the sliced steak and cornstarch. Toss the beef for an even coating.

In a small mixing bowl combine soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, water, ginger, and garlic. Add the sauce to a large heated wok or heavy pan and bring to a boil.

Pour the sauce back in the bowl for now. Add a bit of oil to the pan and let it heat up again.

Add the steak in a single layer and cook on each side for about a minute until the edges just start to brown. Do this in batches so your beef browns and does not steam. Once the steak is cooked, remove and set aside on a plate

Add a bit more oil the the pan and cook your broccoli for about 3-5 minutes until tender. I like mine to get a little crispy and still have a bit of a bite to it.

Add the steak to the pan as well as all of the sauce. Mix well and allow the sauce to thicken for a couple of minutes.

You could top with some sliced green onions, but my family is not typically a big fan of green onions.
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Ramen with Fall Veggies

Asian, Vegetarian

I forgot how much better I feel when I eat vegetarian! I am super spunky and have loads of energy! Don’t worry; I haven’t abandoned meat. I will still eat bacon, chicken (fried nuggets are my favorite), and as much seafood as I can. I am still eating pork and beef as well, just limiting myself to a couple times a week. Last night I made this yummy Purple Carrot meal. I left out the Thai sweet chili, because I wasn’t feeling masochistic. I also left out the scallion, because it is not my friend. “The scallion and green pepper are super yummy, but they are not good for my tummy.” This is a solid principal that you learn when you eat a plant based diet. Too many veggies are not really a good thing sometimes!

Here is how this went down…

Ingredients–

prepared butternut squash-  a bitch to break down. Spend the extra money for someone to do it for you!

Handful of Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and halved

3 stalks of Swiss Chard, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 servings of fresh ramen noodles (but lets face it, just use the kind in the package bc they are super cheap. Throw out that flavor packet).

2 tablespoons of tamari- (or soy sauce)

1 tablespoon of red miso paste (in the Asian section you can usually find a small container).

1 lime

2 teaspoons of smoked nori spice (I don’t know what is in this blend. It just came in a little package. I would guess if you went to Super H Mart (local Asian Supermarket), you could easily find something similar.

 

Directions-

Preheat the oven to 425 to roast the squash- salted and a touch of oil. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until for tender. Boil salted water for the ramen.

Trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Stack and thinly slice the Swiss chard leaves and stems. Mince the garlic.

Cook the noodles. Fresh- 2 minutes Package- follow the time. Drain and cool under cold water to stop cooking process.

In the same saucepan you cooked the noodles, cook the garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add one cup of water, tamari, red miso paste, and whisk well to dissolve the miso. You really need to commit to the whisk. Once it looks mostly combined, add 1 1/2 cups more water and bring to a boil.

Add in all your veggies, smoked nori spice, half of the lime juice and noodles. Combine together. Serve with the other half of lime cut in half.

Guys! It was SO good! It is supposed to serve 2, but since I am the only one eating it, I get 3 meals out of it!

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