Mu Shu Chicken

I have been thinking of what meals I've made recently that would be Paleo friendly and this was one I thought of. This dish is traditionally eaten on crepes, but since we're not eating flour I just used lettuce and made a sort of lettuce wrap. I could have also made a coconut flour crepe, but I was really hungry and didn't want to mess with it this time.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups cabbage thinly sliced (Napa cabbage or regular cabbage will work in this recipe)
1 onion thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced (woodear mushrooms would work too)
5 eggs, scrambled
1 bunch scallions,  sliced into long slices
1 cup bean sprouts
2 tbsp. coconut oil
Salt to taste

First slice the chicken breast into thin long strips. Season with salt.    Add 1 tbsp. of coconut oil to a non-stick pan and turn the heat up to high.  Saute the chicken in batches until it is cooked through and browned.  Set aside.  While the chicken is cooking, slice your onion.  The thing I really like about this dish is the charred flavor you get from all of the veggies.  The trick to achieving this flavor is to place your wok over your burner and turn to high.  Add the onions without any oil and let them cook undisturbed for a few minutes.  Take a spatula and stir to saute them evenly, but do not over cook.  Transfer to a holding plate.  Next slice your cabbage and do the same thing with the cabbage that you did with the onions, again remembering not to overcook.  The veggies in this dish should be nice and crunchy.  Transfer the cabbage to your holding plate.  Next add a little coconut oil to your wok and add in the sliced shitake mushrooms.  Cook over high heat until the mushrooms brown.  As your chicken cooks, transfer it to your holding plate.  Next beat the eggs and cook them in a non-stick pan (I used the one I cooked the chicken in).  Once the chicken and eggs are cooked, add all of the contents of your holding plate to the wok.  In addition to this add the eggs, bean sprouts and scallions.  Toss evenly.  Serve immediately.   I served this with some sambal, and typically some hoisin would go well with this, but that isn't paleo so I opted out.

Japanese Cheesecake

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been missing in action for a little while.  I've been cooking, but lately I haven't really made anything quite blog worthy.  Not until this cheesecake at least.  For the sake of 'keeping it real' I am not going to lie.  This thing was such a mission to make.  It wasn't hard at all, but there are a lot of steps and you'll have lots of dirty bowls by the time you're done. But please don't let that deter you. Once you take the first bite,  you'll realize it was totally worth the trouble.  This cheesecake is much lighter than it's American cousin,  creamy and subtly sweet. The texture is almost like a souffle. When you pair it with fresh mango, it's a masterpiece. I made this for mother's day, and although I had a traumatic experience that day,(sliced my finger with a really sharp knife as I was cutting a bell pepper, bled like crazy, and fainted twice- I know what a sissy!) it had the same effect as when you get a lollipop at the Dr.'s office after a shot.  The good news is you won't slice your finger since you don't need any knives to make this!

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
4 tbsp. butter (2 oz.)
3 eggs (separated)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 ½ tbsp. cornstarch
½ cup milk
¼ cup sugar

 Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Next begin separating the egg yolks from the whites and putting them into separate bowls. Put the bowl of egg whites into the freezer until the edges being to freeze. In a large mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese on high speed, until you have a nice creamy, soft texture, scraping the sides of the bowl to break up any lumps. Add the butter to a small saucepan to soften and slightly melt and add the butter to the cream cheese. Blend again for about 3 minutes on high speed. You want to have a fluffy airy mixture. Set this bowl aside.

Next add ¼ cup of sugar to the egg whites and beat until you have a soft meringue. Set aside.

Add the cornstarch, milk, and 1 tbsp. of sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks. Whisk everything well and place the bowl over a double boiler, stirring consistently until the mixture becomes very thick. Add this mixture to the cream cheese and combine well. You’ll want to scrape the sides of the bowl and the bottom to make sure you’ve incorporated everything well.

Now we’ll begin gently folding in the egg whites, about 1/3 of the mixture at a time.

Line your pan with parchment paper. You’ll want to make sure the parchment comes up about 1” above the pan. Pour the batter into your pan and place in a water bath. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 320°F and bake for another 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 40 minutes before removing. Cool the cheesecake and cover the pan with foil. Refrigerate overnight or at least for 4 hours. Slice and serve with some fresh mango.

Mutter Paneer... My Favorite Indian Dish

Mutter Paneer is my favorite Indian Dish. It is from North India and its also vegetarian.  B. and I had it for the first time a few years ago at this great Indian restaurant in Panama City.  It's the best Indian food we've had to date. Paneer is an Indian farmer's cheese, and in this dish, it is cooked in a beautifully spiced sauce with peas.  Simmered to perfection and great for dunking Naan into.   I've seen this dish also made with cottage cheese, but I prefer it with the solid cheese.  It was my first attempt at making this dish and it was really really good.  All I needed was the Mango Lassi to complete the meal.

Ingredients:
2 cups cubed paneer (or solid frying cheese)
1 tbsp. light olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced or grated
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tbsp.  yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 small red chili (minced, for a milder version, remove the seeds before chopping)
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp. cream (light)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt to taste

First begin by cubing the paneer.  In a non-stick skillet, place a little canola oil into the pan and turn the heat up to medium.  Next add in the paneer and begin browning. Turning over once the bottom side is golden brown.  Once all of the cheese is browned, transfer to a holding plate.  Next begin making the paste by adding the grated garlic, ginger, curry powder, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and  cayenne pepper  into the skillet with a little canola oil.  Let the paste simmer on low heat, while you chop up the onion.  Add in the onion to the skillet and pour in the can of crushed tomatoes to the pan.  Next, add the yogurt, cream,chopped chili and salt and whisk everything to remove any lumps from the yogurt.  Let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat.  Add in the lemon juice, frozen peas and the paneer and stir well. Let everything simmer for another 5 minutes and serve.  Garnish with some freshly chopped cilantro.

Side note: In case you're wondering what is in the bowl next to the paneer, it's coleslaw.  I know you may think it is weird, but the sweetness and crunchiness of the coleslaw is so refreshing against the spiciness and creaminess of the curry that they really compliment each other.   All I'm sayin' is don't knock it till you try it.

Spicy Schezwan Eggplant

A  few weeks ago, I asked you what veggie you would like to see more of through the Yuca Diaries' facebook page.  There was an overwhelming response for eggplant.  Secretly I was so happy about this, because eggplant happens to be one of my favorite vegetables.  Did you know that in Italy it is known as the "poor man's cutlet"? It is such a versatile veggie. So I embarked on my mission to cook up a tasty eggplant dish, but to my dismay, I went to four different grocery stores only to find out from the produce manager that the crop had been ruined because of bad weather.  I was overjoyed when I found my beloved eggplant about three weeks later.  So without further ado, here is what I made when I finally got my hands on it.

Ingredients:
4 Chinese eggplants
1/4 cup sliced green onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1″ knob of ginger, minced or grated
1/3 cup canola oil

 For the sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup vegetable stock
2 tbsp. duck sauce
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. chili paste or Asian hot sauce like Sriracha

First slice the eggplant into planks, about 2-1/2 inches long. Add the canola oil to a wok and turn the heat up to high. Add the eggplant in batches. You may have to add a little more oil for the second batch. Saute the eggplant on high heat, stirring occasionally.

Let the eggplant get golden brown on all sides. In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce and whisk until you have an even mixture. Mince or grate the garlic and ginger and transfer to the wok with all of the eggplant.

Make sure the heat is set to high and then add in the sauce, tossing everything around really well. Add in half of the green onions and mix well. Reserve the rest of the green onions for the garnish.

Serve with steamed rice.

Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Satay is one of my favorite Thai appetizers.  When we lived in Miami, our favorite Thai restaurant was called Tani Thai, and had the best chicken satay.  They brought the skewers on these mini hibachi grills where you'd place the skewers to keep them warm while you ate. Fast froward a few years later and we still haven't had satay as good as that one.  I tried making satay last night for dinner with a spicy peanut sauce.  This dish was easy and a great way to use up boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Serve with some refreshing cucumber salad and some Thai fried rice and you'll have a great meal.

Ingredients for the Satay:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 shallots
5 garlic cloves
3 tbsp. palm sugar (you can use dark brown sugar as a substitute)
2 tsp.ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cumin powder
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
2 kaffir lime leaves (If you can't find this, use some lime zest- about 1 tsp. You can also use lemongrass.  Just the tender stalk, minced)
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 bird chilies (if you can't find this, you can substitute with your favorite red chili, just use about 1 tsp and remove the seeds.  You can also use chili paste)
2 tsp. salt

Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, chilies, kaffir lime leaves, and lemon juice to a mini food processor.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and then add in the turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, lime juice and sugar.  Whisk well and then add the oil and salt.  You should have a thick paste at this point.  Slice the chicken breasts horizontally to think out the slices.  You could also pound out the breast to make it thinner.  Begin cutting the chicken into long strips and adding it to a zip-lock bag with the marinade.  Refrigerate for one hour.  Skewer the chicken onto bamboo sticks.  Spray your grill with a little non-stick spray and turn the heat up to medium high.  Place the skewers down on the grill and let it cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes on each side, baste the chicken with any remaining marinade about halfway through the cooking process.

For the peanut sauce:
5 shallots
3 garlic cloves
2 bird chilies (red chilies)
1 tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tsp. ground coriander
3 tbsp. palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1/4 cup boiling water
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup coconut milk

First roughly chop the garlic, shallots and chilies and saute them in a non-stick pan on medium heat with the canola oil.  Add in the grated ginger and cook for about 2 minutes before adding in the peanut butter.  Using a spatula, begin stirring the peanut butter as it melts into the sauce. Next add in the coriander, lime juice, soy sauce , coconut milk and sugar.  Cook everything until the sugar dissolves. Transfer this sauce into a blender or food processor and add in the water.  Blend until you have a smooth and creamy consistency.  Serve with the satay.

Brisket Braised in Coconut Milk

 
Braising is a great way to cook tough cuts of  meat in a way that will yield a melt- in- your- mouth, cut -with- a- spoon, consistency.  I used brisket for this dish, which was braised in velvety coconut milk  along with a few other ingredients for a few hours on low heat until it was super tender. The old adage is true... good things come to those who wait, and this is a great example.

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs. brisket, trimmed of visible fat
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 garlic cloves
2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
1 can coconut milk
3 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 or 2 limes (zested and juiced, adjust to your liking, but I liked mine with the juice of 2)
2 tbsp. red curry paste (I used a Thai curry paste for this)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper or siracha hot sauce
salt to taste
green onion and red onion for garnishing at the end (you don't have to do this, but I thought it added a little extra vibrancy at the end)

The first thing to to is add the canola oil to a large dutch oven and turn the heat up to high.  Cut the brisket into large chunks and pat dry with a few paper towels.  Season with a little salt and add in batches to the dutch oven to begin browning. Make sure to turn the meat around using tongs to brown on all sides.  Transfer to a holding plate when the meat is browned.  Repeat until all of the brisked it browned.  If too much oil is rendered from the meat, make sure to remove it from the dutch oven.  Begin dicing your onions and peppers and grating your garlic and ginger.  Add this to the dutch oven and begin cooking cooking the veggies until they're tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the curry paste to the dutch oven and with a spoon or spatula begin combining it with the onions, peppers and the rest of what's in the pot.  Next add in the coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and the juice and zest of one lime.  Combine everything really well and then transfer the meat and all of the juices that may have accumulated on the plate into the dutch oven.

Give everything a good stir, taste for salt, and then place the lid on the pot.  Cook undisturbed for about 1 1/2 hours.   Check on it at this point.  Add in the cayenne pepper or hot sauce and stir.  The sauce should still be quite liquid at this point but don't worry, it will thicken later with your help and a little time.  Continue to cook the beef for another half hour.  At this point,  begin slicing your green onions and anything you'd like to add to garnish.   Remove the lid and add in the tomato paste and a little more lime juice.  Make sure to dissolve the tomato paste well into the sauce.  Allow the beef to simmer with the lid off to reduce the liquid a bit for another 20 minutes.  Serve with jasmine rice and top with your sliced onions.

Vietnamese Style Chicken Fried Rice

A couple of weeks ago we went to this great Vietnamese restaurant by our house.  I ordered the chicken fried rice, expecting the traditional fried rice you always get at a Chinese take out place.  To my surprise, it was quite different, and very delicious. I have no idea if this is traditional Vietnamese fare, but since I ate it at a Vietnamese restaurant, I assumed it was.   I tried re-creating this dish and I must say it came out really close to the real thing.  Try making this instead of your go-to recipe next time, it was really tasty.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups cooked (day old ) Jasmine Rice
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
3 eggs
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
2 tsp. yellow curry powder
1 tsp. white pepper
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1  tsp. sugar
1 tsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. canola or peanut oil
1 bunch scallions

First chop up the onion and garlic and saute with a little canola oil on high heat  until they become tender, using a wok or deep non-stick skillet.  Once cooked, transfer to a holding plate.  Next rinse the chicken breasts and pat them dry.  Slice the chicken into thin slivers and transfer to the wok with a little more canola oil, tossing around to cook though. Add the chicken to your holding plate.  Scramble the eggs into the hot pan and cook through, making sure to leave them sort of runny because they will continue to cook once you mix them in later.  Add the eggs to your holding plate.   Next add a little more oil to the pan and add the rice in, stirring up.  I used day old rice, and it was cold from the fridge, so I used my hands to break it up.  Once the rice gets hot evenly throughout the pan, add in the chicken, eggs, onions, garlic and peas.  Make sure to stir everything really well.  In a separate bowl, create a seasoning liquid by mixing the curry powder, white pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar and add to the wok.   While everything  is cooking, chop up the cilantro and scallions and add them to the rice.  Taste the rice to make sure it's seasoned well, and add more soy sauce if necessary.  Reserve a little bit of the cilantro for the garnish and serve.

The Healthy Bowl from Beverley Hills Cafe

I've mentioned here before how there are a few restaurants I really miss from back home. One of these is The Beverly Hills Cafe in Miami. Actually not in Miami, because it closed, much to our dismay on our last trip to Miami. B. and I used to go there often; we just couldn't get enough of their hot rolls, great salads, dressings and for me, the healthy bowl. A rice bowl with lots of veggies and your choice of protein from steak, chicken, shrimp or salmon. Beverly Hills cafe specialized in casual American cuisine- so this is an Americanized take on an Asian dish. Not any dish in particular, just Asian elements like Teriyaki sauce, and bean sprouts etc... So here's my attempt below.

Please note, you can make this dish vegetarian by omitting the steak and using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock for the rice.

For the Yellow rice:
2 cups parboiled rice
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 onion finely diced
1 red pepper finely diced
2 tbsp annatto oil or 1/2 tsp. saffron threads
1 tsp salt

First dice up the onions and red pepper. Add the annatto oil to a pan (with a lid for steaming later). Or if you're using saffron instead, add 2 tbsp. of olive or canola oil to the pan and then transfer the onions and peppers and sauté. Wash the rice well in a sieve and remove all of the excess water. Transfer the rice to the pan and sauté on high heat, mixing in the peppers and onions. Next add the stock, the saffron threads and salt, and stir well. Let the rice cook on high heat until about half of the liquid has absorbed, then cover with a lid and turn the heat to low.

For the Teriyaki sauce:
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used z sweet and a dash of honey since we're trying to cut the amount of sugar we're eating)
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, grated
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Add all of the ingredients to a small sauce pan (except the cornstarch and water which you'll add at the very end to thicken up the sauce a bit) and let it simmer until you have the consistency of a glaze or the sauce coats a spoon well. Mix the water and cornstarch and add to the sauce to thicken it a little. Use half of the sauce for the flank steak and reserve the rest for drizzling on top later.

For the steak:
1 lb. skirt steak

Trim the steak of any visible fat, rinse and pat it dry. Transfer it to a meat cutting board and place a piece of plastic wrap over the top, large enough to cover the whole piece. Use a meat mallet to pound out the steak and really tenderize it. Flip the steak over and pound on the other side. Brush one side of the steak with the Teriyaki sauce and place face down on the grill. I used my outdoor grill for this dish as the flame-grilled flavor reallyis closer to the original dish. Let the steak cook undisturbed for about 6 minutes. Flip it over and brush the Teriyaki sauce on the other side. Let the flank steak cook for another 4-5 minutes on this side. Let it rest for about 8 minutes before slicing on the bias.

Vegetables:
1 carrots
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups sliced red cabbage
1 red pepper
1 green onion bunch
1 cup bean sprouts

Peel and cut the carrot into small pieces. Slice the cabbage into thin shreds and cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Steam gently until the veggies are cooked, but still have a little bite. Slice the green onions and red peppers and set aside.

To assemble:
Scoop a bed of rice on a serving platter. Next place a layer of vegetables in the middle. Next add the steak and drizzle with a little Teriyaki sauce. Lastly top with crunchy Asian noodles and serve.

Chicken Pad Thai

So I know this has nothing to do with Thanksgiving but I couldn't help myself.  I have been craving Asian food lately like it's going out of style.  Pad Thai was always so intimidating to me.  Like it would be so difficult or unattainable at home, but alas, I was surprisingly mistaken.  Like the broccoli beef, this was quite easy.  The most tedious part was chopping all of the veggies, but I personally find chopping vegetables therapeutic- weird I know...

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package flat medium width rice noodles

1 carrot
1/2 red pepper
1 bunch scallions
1 tbsp. minced ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
4 eggs beaten and cooked
1/2 cup bean sprouts
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. siracha (asian hot sauce with the rooster on the front)
1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
canola or peanut oil for stir frying
4 lime wedges

Begin by thinly slicing the chicken breasts into slivers.  Season with a little salt and set aside.  Add 2 tbsp. of canola or peanut oil to a wok and turn the heat up to high.  Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and saute until the chicken is cooked through.  Transfer to a holding plate. In a separate pot, add some water and bring to a boil.  Peel the carrot and slice into thin matchstick pieces.  Slice the red pepper into thin strands and add to the wok with a little more oil and the carrot.  Saute on high heat for a few minutes, until the veggies still retain a bit of bite, but don't get soft.  Transfer to the holding plate.  The water should be boiling by now.  Drop in your rice noodles and cook them for about 4-5 minutes.  Making sure that they're al dente since you'll continue to cook them a bit in the wok later.  Transfer the noodles to a colander and rinse with cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking together.   Add a little more oil to the wok, and scramble the eggs.  Cook them until they're a soft scramble- you want them slightly on the wet side.  Put them on the holding plate once cooked. Slice the scallions on the bias and roughly chop your cilantro and set aside. Now it's time to  create the sauce for the pad Thai.  In a separate bowl, add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, siracha, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar and rice wine vinegar.  Combine well with a whisk and set aside. Add a little more oil to the pot and transfer the noodles to the wok.  Gently stirring around.  Dump all of the cooked ingredients on your holding plate and the eggs and begin gently tossing everything around.  Next add the sauce and continue to toss.  Add the scallions, cilantro and bean sprouts- reserving some cilantro and scallions for the garnish.  Once everything is combined well, transfer to a plate.  Garnish with the cilantro and scallions in the middle and top with the crushed roasted peanuts.  Serve with lime wedges.  Enjoy!

Beef with Broccoli

This was an easy meal with lots of crunchy broccoli and tender flank steak.  It only took me about 30 minutes to make- perfect for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. flank steak
1 onion
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
3 garlic cloves grated
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
canola oil for stir-frying

First thing to do is add a little canola oil to a wok.  Slice the flank steak against the grain and lightly dredge in cornstarch.  Once the wok is hot, add the beef and quickly sear the meat.  Do this in batches to avoid over crowding the wok and creating a braising effect. In a separate pot, add 1/4" of water and ever so lightly steam the broccoli.  Remember, you'll add it back in later so it should be a little firmer than you'd like at this point.  Once all of the beef is cooked, remove from the wok and set aside. Finely slice your onion, and grate the ginger and garlic.  Next add a little more canola oil to the wok and transfer the onions, garlic and ginger.  Cook on high heat stirring frequently. Next transfer the broccoli and steak.  In a separate bowl, combine the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil. Stir well and dump this sauce into the wok, tossing around all of the ingredients.  The cornstarch on the beef will add as a thickener.  Cook for about 2 minutes before removing from the heat.  Serve with steamed white rice.  Enjoy!

Vietnamese Style Chicken Soup- Chicken Pho

I caught the most awful flu this week.  I was stuck in bed most of Monday and all day Tuesday.  I couldn't breathe and my throat was killing me.  The only thing that was appetizing to me in that condition was a brothy, gingery, soup.  Since we moved to Dallas, we kept seeing signs for "Vietnamese Pho" (pronounced "Fuh").  For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Pho is a Vietnamese soup where a clear broth is poured into a bowl and lots of toppings are added.  There are all kinds of toppings, but one of the more common ones is the one with really thin rare beef.  I have never had Pho, so I can't quite title this dish "Chicken Pho" because I have no idea what the original should taste like, but if my inclinations are right, it probably was very similar to this recipe.  Although, I did kind of use a shortcut by using store-bought broth instead of making it from scratch. But hey, under the circumstances, I'm sure you'll forgive me right?

Ingredients for the broth:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Quarts chicken stock
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp. fresh chopped ginger
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white pepper

For the Toppings:
Sliced chicken breasts
Thinly sliced red onion
Chopped cilantro
Thinly sliced red pepper (or red chilies)
Fresh chopped ginger
Sugar snap peas or snow peas
Thinly sliced carrots
Scallions
Lime juice
Cooked rice noodles (about 1/2 cup per person)

Optional condiments:
Hoisin Sauce
Siracha hot sauce

First thing to do is add the chicken stock to a pot and bring to a boil.  Add the chicken breasts into the broth and let them cook.  Next add the ginger, coriander seeds, fish sauce and soy sauce.  Let everything cook undisturbed for about 30 minutes.  You'll notice that a foam from the chicken  will rise to the top of the broth- we'll have to strain the broth before serving.   Remove the chicken breasts, and rinse them well.   Once cooled, slice into really thin pieces and set aside.   In a separate pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and cook the rice noodles until they're al dente.  remove, and rinse with cold water to remove excess starch and to prevent the noodles from sticking.  Peel the carrots and cut them into long thin strips. Add some more water to a pot and blanch the carrots and sugar snap peas. Sliced the onions, red pepper,  and scallions and chop up the ginger and cilantro. Now run the broth through a fine mesh sieve and return to the pot (clean out the pot before adding the broth back in).  Bring the broth back up to a boil.  Add the toppings to a bowl and then scoop the boiling broth over the top.  Add any of the desired condiments I mentioned above and lots of lime.

Please note, traditional Pho usually has star anise added to the broth, but I am not a fan of licorice tastes so I omitted it.  Also, the traditional broth takes hours to make and is usually made with bones and skin, but I prefer the cleaner tastes of the chicken breasts. Lastly, one topping that is usually present in Pho is bean sprouts, but I didn't have any on hand.

This was one of those meals that I immediately feel like eating again, even though I just had it a few days ago.  Especially since the weather has been considerably cooler.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

My mom asked me to make the lettuce wraps I recently posted, so I decided to make an Asian inspired meal.  In addition to the lettuce wraps, I made jasmine fried rice, Veggie egg rolls, and these lighter and healthier Vietnamese style spring rolls.  Like a doofus, I forgot to take a picture of the dipping sauce, but I included the recipe below as well.  Enjoy!

For the spring rolls:
1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced green cabbage
1/2 cup thinly julienned carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 package rice paper
2 cups rice noodles (i like thin noodles like vermicelli- make sure to use rice noodles!)

Slice all of your veggies and set aside.  Next add about 5 cups of water to a pot and bring to a boil.  Break the rice noodles in half before adding to the pot.  Stir to make sure the noodles don't clump together.  After the noodles are cooked, drain them and add to a bowl of ice and water to shock them , and cool them before putting them in the roll. If the noodles are too hot, they'll wilt the veggies and the beauty of these spring rolls is how fresh and crunchy the veggies are.  Once the noodles are cold, drain them and set them aside.  Now we're ready to begin assembling the rolls.  Take a bowl and add warm/hot water to it.  Make sure the rice paper fits completely into the bowl you use.  Take a piece of rice paper and soak it for 5 seconds.  Transfer to a flat surface and place a mixture of each veggie in the center of the wrap, as well as some noodles.  Fold in the two vertical sides and then roll the  wrap horizontally.  Make sure you have a tight roll, otherwise all of the ingredients will fall out.  It's the same concept as folding a burrito.

For the spicy peanut sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 garlic clove grated
1/4 tsp. Sriracha
1 cup boiling water

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and zip until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Grilled Asian Citrus Skirt Steak

 
This dish is perfect if you're entertaining because it looks a lot more difficult than it really is.  It was super easy to make and packed with the fresh flavors of garlic, ginger and lime. How can you go wrong with that?

Ingredients:

1 (2-lb) skirt steak
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tsp. dark brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup orange segments
2 clove garlic, minced or grated
1 tsp ginger minced or grated
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 red onion sliced into long thin strips
1 bunch scallions, washed and sliced lengthwise
2 tsp. fresh lime juice

Trim the steak of any visible fat. Lay the steak on a flat surface- I used my meat cutting board. Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay over the steak.  Use a meat mallet to pound out the steak- this step is important as it will really make the steak tender.  In a large ziplock bag, combine the hoisin, sugar, soy sauce, 1 clove of garlic, ginger, and sesame oil.  Add the steak to the bag and coat it well.  Marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Once you're ready to cook the steak, add a little canola oil to a grill pan and turn up to med-high heat.  Place the steak on the grill pan once it's hot.  You want a strong sizzle when you place meat down.  While the steak is cooking, slice up the scallions, red onion, and segment the orange- place in a bowl.  Grate 1/8 tsp of ginger and add to the bowl as well.  Squeeze the lime juice into the bowl and combine well with all of the other ingredients.  Flip the steak over and cook for about 3 minutes.  Top the steak with scallion/orange mixture.  Serve with fragrant jasmine rice.

Asian Lettuce Wraps- like P.F. Changs!

Let me just start my saying how surprised I was at how close this turned out to the real deal. Especially since I made this with ground turkey. It tasted just like the famous P.F. Chang’s appetizer. This recipe yields a lot more than the appetizer would, but I was making it as a main course. Needless to say we have enough leftovers for the following day too which was nice. So here’s my recipe.

For the Filling:
2.5 lb package of ground turkey or ground chicken
1 small onion
1 large or 2 small cans water chestnuts (drained and diced)
1 bunch scallions
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
2 cups fried cellophane noodles (just add them to hot canola oil and they'll instantly puff up)
1 tsp hot Asian mustard
1 tsp. light olive oil
1 head bibb or butter lettuce. Iceberg works fine too- just make sure its really fresh and cold.

For the dipping sauce:
1/2 cup regular soy sauce
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp. hot Asian mustard
1/4 tsp. hot chili sauce (I used Siracha)

First remove the ground turkey or chicken from the package and transfer to a wok or deep non-stick pan. I think the original P.F. Chang’s recipe uses chicken breasts but I felt this would work nicely too and it did! But feel free to substitute. I've even had them made with tofu and they're not bad either. Using a spatula break up any large pieces of turkey. You want this to be a finer crumble. Remove any excess liquid that the turkey renders. Drizzle a little oil into the pan. Next dice up the onion and garlic and sauteed in the pan with the turkey . While the onions, garlic and turkey are cooking open and drain the water chestnuts. Toss into the pan. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, mustard, and rice wine vinegar. Add this mixture to the turkey and allow it to cook for about 10 minutes on med. low heat. At the very end, chop up the scallion and fold into the mix along with half of the cellophane noodles. Reserve the other half to garnish the top of the filling. Serve with lettuce and dipping sauce.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

I love the velvety texture of this soup. It is a perfect weeknight meal- satisfying and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 qt. chicken stock
4 cups water
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp sea salt
1 carrot
1 small potato
1 bunch green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp fresh chopped basil
1 tsp mushroom sauce
1 tbsp fresh minced ginger
1 tsp fish sauce
1 lime (juice only)
1 cup rice noodles

First add the stock and water to a pot and boil with the chicken breasts.  Once the chicken breasts are cooked, remove from the pot.  Strain the liquid into a bowl and pour back into the pot (this collects and removes the yucky foam that comes from the chicken breasts) Slice one large carrot thinly and on the bias. Peel the potato and cut into cubes. Mince the ginger as well. Add the ginger, carrots and potato to the stock and begin to cook. Mix in the fish sauce, lime juice and the mushroom sauce.  While that is cooking, begin slicing your chicken breasts in to bite size pieces, I cut them into a think angled sliced- I cut pretty much everything on an angle. Once the potatoes are tender, add the rice noodles.  Taste the soup and add salt if needed.  Pour in the coconut milk and combine.  Lastly, cut the green onions on the bias, chop the basil and cilantro and mix into the soup.

Thai Chicken Curry

 

This is my take on the most indulgent and sense pleasing curry I've met lately. If you can get past the long list of ingredients, you'll see it was totally worth making. I have to say that of all the curries, the Thai ones usually tend to be my favorite because I think the flavors go really well together. The coconut milk in most of them adds a subtle hint of coolness, which pairs really nicely with the spicy curry paste. Not to mention all of the fresh herbs used as well. Really the list of ingredients seems intimidating, but you can always omit some of the stuff or substitute. If you can't find mushroom sauce, you can always use Tamari or thick soy sauce. You can leave out the lemongrass too, but I personally really like the flavor it imparts.


Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 yellow onion
1 small red pepper
3 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp ginger
2 cans coconut milk
2 tbsp. mushroom sauce (you can find this at the Asian market or ethic section of your grocer)
1 lemon grass stalk (about 3 " of from the bottom of the stalk)
1 tbsp. red curry paste
2 tbsp. gourmet quality curry powder (like not McCormick)
1 tsp. Thai fish sauce
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 limes
2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter (totally optional for my peanut allergic friends)
1 bunch cilantro
5 basil leaves
1 bunch scallions
1 tbsp.  extra virgin coconut  oil

First take your chicken breasts, rinse them well and slice into short strips. Take a wok or deep pan, add 1 tbsp coconut oil and turn on high heat. Once the pan is Super hot, throw in the chicken and saute.

Begin dicing your onions and slice your red pepper in thin and short strands. Next grate or mince the ginger and garlic. Once the chicken is cooked, put in bowl or dish and set aside for a little bit. Put the wok back on the stove and turn the heat to high. Once the pan is hot, add the onions, red pepper, garlic and ginger and saute for about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, Stirring occasionally so that it doesn't brown.

To this, add the two cans of coconut milk. Take your lemongrass stalk and with a meat mallet or rolling pin, smash it down a bit to release the flavor and toss into the wok. Now we are ready to add the curry paste and peanut butter. Make sure you incorporate this really really well. You DO NOT want to have a clump of straight- up curry paste smack you in the back of the throat-just take my word on this one (my sinuses are still running this morning!) Next add the fish sauce, mushroom sauce, curry powder, and brown sugar and blend really well again. You should have the heat on low so that you're lightly simmering. Allow the sauce to cook for a few minutes. While the sauce is doing it's thing, squeeze in the lime juice and blend.

At the very end, take your cilantro, basil and green onions and wash really well. Roughly chop the cilantro and basil and throw it into the mix. Slice your scallions on the bias and put in 3/4 of the bunch, saving the rest for the garnish.

Serve with fragrant jasmine rice.

Sweet & Sour Chicken served with Brown Rice & Steamed Edamame

Chicken Breast is one of those things a lot of people have on hand, but if you're anything like me, you can get stuck making the same way all the time. I thought I'd try making something new and exciting. I came up with Sweet & Sour Chicken served with brown rice and steamed edamame. It was really tasty, and I tried lightly pan frying instead of creating a thick batter and deep frying, like most recipes call for.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup rice flour
1 can pineapple chunks (juice reserved)
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice (from the can)
1 onion
1/2 small red pepper
1/2 small green pepper
1/3 cup canola oil

The first thing you do is wash and pat the chicken breasts dry. Next cut into cubes and put on a plate. In a large freezer bag, add the rice flour and cornstarch and coat the chicken well. Add the canola oil to a large saute pan and allow it to get hot. Add the chicken in batches shaking off the excess cornstarch mixture. Allow the pieces of chicken to cook, untouched for about 3-4 minutes before turning. Repeat this process until all of the chicken is cooked. Set the chicken aside. In a mixing bowl combine the pineapple juice, ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar and whisk all of the ingredients together. Cook in a pan on med. heat and stir occasionally. This should cook for about 12-15 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, cut your onion and peppers into large cubes saute in a hot pan with the pineapple chunks. Add the chicken to this mixture after cooking down the veggies for a few minutes. Lastly, add the sauce and combine well. I served this with steamed edamame and short-grain brown rice.

Seared Ahi with Nori Rice Cakes

This dish is a whimsical interpretation of sushi and a little less complicated.  I

For the Tuna Marinade:
3 cloves of Garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup light tasting olive oil
1 lime
3 Tbsp. Sriracha
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbsp Mirin

Run the garlic through the micro plane and mix all of the ingredients. Leave the tuna marinating over night or at least 4 hours.





For the Rice Cakes:

1 1/2 cups Sushi Rice
2 cups water
2 green onion stalks
1/2 red onion
3 toasted nori sheets
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 hass avocado

Prepare the rice according to package directions. After the rice has cooked and set a bit, transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Next finely slice the red onion and add to the rice. Slice the green onion on the bias (small pieces) and add to the bowl. Next take the sheets of Nori and with a pair of kitchen shears, begin to cut little it into little pieces. Add to the rice. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine well. In a non-stick frying pan, add 1/2 a tsp. of olive oil to the pan and turn the heat to med. high. Take a ring mold and lightly grease the sides so that the rice does not stick. Begin putting the rice mix into the ring mold and press down to make it compact. After it is well formed, add it to the pan. Let the cakes cook until a crisp layer is formed. Gently flip the rice cake over and cook until the other side crisps. Transfer to your serving dish. Slice an avocado and place on top of the rice cake.

Lastly, take a non-stick pan and add 1 tsp. of toasted sesame oil. Take the tuna steaks out of the marinade and sear on either side for about 1-1 1/2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow it to rest for 3 minutes. Sliced thinly and serve next to the rice cakes.

Whatever you do, do not throw away the marinating liquid. it totally makes the dish so much tastier. After you remove the Tuna from the hot pan, take the marinating liquid and cook it down until it turns to a nice deep glaze. The brown sugar in the sauce will cause it to caramelize beautifully. I served this on the side and it wasgood- really HOT, but good. It made my lips tingle. Lastly, sprinkle some black sesame seeds over the tuna and serve.

Mongolian Beef and Salmon- My Attempt at the PF Chang's Favorite

Lately we have been trying to curb our restaurant visits to save some money  so  I've been trying to recreate my favorite meals from different restaurants. This past Friday, (our usual dinner date night) I made Vegetable fried rice with Mongolian Beef (for me) and Salmon for Brandon.


The rice:
2 1/2 cups short grain brown rice
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 small onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 red bell pepper extra finely diced
1 bunch scallions sliced on a bias
1 box of baby bella mushrooms
6 eggs- scrambled
Soy sauce- to your liking


First wash the rice well and drain it well. In a pot or pressure cooker (I use the pressure cooker because it cuts the cooking time in half but this is totally optional) sauté the uncooked rice until nice and toasty. Next add the water. If you are using a regular pot, top with the lid once the water has evaporated about two thirds of the way and bring the heat to low. If you are using a pressure cooker, put the lid on and cook at medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. I then turn off the heat and run the pressure cooker under cold water to release the steam. Next I take a fine mesh colander and dump the rice in there to rinse with water. This removes the excess starch from the rice and helps it to not stick. Fried rice is usually better when made with left over rice, but I didn't have any already made. If the rice is not tender enough I put it back in the pressure cooker and add a bit more water to finish cooking it off. Then I repeat the rinsing process. Phew! Leave the rice in the colander while you make the rest of the dish.

The next thing I did was sauté all of the vegetables on really hot heat with a little canola oil. Make sure to sauté the veggies in batches. You don't want to cook them all at once because then they'll stew and get soggy. First I did the carrots and as they cooked I transfered them over to a large bowl. Next I sautéed the brocoli. then the onions, bell pepper and garlic. I kept adding the newly cooked veggies to the bowl. Next I sliced the mushrooms and sauteed those as well and added to the bowl. Then I scrambled the eggs and cooked them in the pan. With a silicone coated whisk I kept whisking the eggs until they were fully cooked- this eliminated large clumps of eggs. Lastly, removed the eggs and put them into my bowl. I added a little canola oil to the wok and let it get really hot. Then I added all of the veggies, egg and rice and started sautéeing it. Once it was thoroghly combined and hot, I added soy sauce and mixed. And that was that for the rice.

For the Fish and Beef
1 cup cornstarch (for the beef only)
1 cup Tamari or regular soy sauce
1/2 water
2 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp. fresh minced ginger
1 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 bunch scallions
8 oz. Salmon
8 oz. Skirt Steak

The first thing you do for this dish is you cut up the skirt steak into pieces (against the grain and not too small) and set aside. Coat the beef in cornstarch well and brown in a pan with a little oil. Once the beef is cooked through, set aside. Now you will begin to make the sauce by taking the canola oil and add it to the pan along with the sugar. You combine this mix and let it get very hot. but don't let it scortch. Then you run your garlic through the microplane or press and add to the mix along with the ginger- and folks a little ginger goes a LONG way so go easy on this. You can always add more if you like but I think 1/8 of a teaspoon is sufficient. Next you add the soy sauce (I like Kikoman a lot better than any other brand I've tried. It's a lot richer) water and stir. You bring the temperature down a to medium high heat and let the sauce reduce a bit. Once the sauce is reduced, you add the scallions until cooked through. I like my scallions with a little bit of bite so I don't cook them all the way. Add the beef pieces to the sauce and coat well.

For the fish, you'll basically repeat the same steps except I don't dust with cornstarch first. I make the sauce the same way as listed before. I basically just added the fish to a non-stick pan with a little oil. I let it sear well before adding the sauce to pan. Once cooked through I removed the fish and serve. I did the same thing with the steak- I seared it really well and added the sauce. After cooking it for a little while the sauce turns into a glaze that coats the meat. You can do this with chicken too if you prefer.

Curry two ways

This weekend I felt inspired to cook. I discovered an Asian market close to my house and I was able to find lemon grass and fresh coconut. My husband is currently vegetarian so I made two curry dishes, one was curry chicken which I enjoyed (I also added eggplant in mine since my husband doesn't care for it) , and the other was made with tofu and vegetables.

For the chicken curry:
3 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp green curry paste
1 onion
2 baby eggplants
1 red chili
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 basil leaves
1 handful of cilantro
2 scallion stalks
1 lemongrass stalk
1 tbsp. thai fish sauce
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp coconut or sesame oil

The first thing I did was rinse the chicken and cut it into cubes. Next I coated the pieces in cornstarch and pan fried until golden brown. I set the chicken aside. Next I chopped the onion and garlic and sauteed in the wok. I added the coconut oil to the pan and let it get really hot. I like to use coconut oil because it has a really high smoke point. Next I cubed the baby eggplant and sauteed with the onions and garlic. I then cut the lemongrass stalk in three pieces and pounded with a meat mallet to release the flavor. I added it to the pan with the coconut milk, fish sauce and curry paste. Make sure to blend the curry paste in well, otherwise you will have little clumps of green curry in your mouth- not a fun thing considering green curry is extremely hot. Next I cut the chili pepper, removed the seeds, and finely diced it. Next I added it to the pan. Next I peeled and grated the ginger and added to the mix. I then took the coconut meat and grated over a coarse microplane and added to the pan. I let the ingredients simmer over med-low heat for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile I finely chopped the basil, cilantro and kaffir lime leaves and added to the pan. Lastly I sliced the scallion on a bias and threw it into the pan. I mixed the ingredients and served with brown rice.

For the Veggie and Tofu Curry:
1 package extra firm tofu
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp green curry paste
1 onion
2 zucchinis
1 red chili
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 basil leaves
1 handful of cilantro
2 scallion stalks
1 lemongrass stalk
1 tbsp. thai fish sauce
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
1 granny smith apple
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp coconut or sesame oil

Basically I did the same thing with this recipe. The only differences are that I pan fried the tofu which I marinated with soy sauce. I also substituted the eggplant for zucchini. I added one thinly sliced granny smith apple and a quarter cup of pistachios to the mix. I served this with brown rice too.