Lazy Sushi Bowl

This is another great Asian dish!  It has a lot of ingredients and takes some time, but it's really good.  My friend, Lacey, and I made it for dinner one night, and then I took the rest for lunch the next day.  This is a great way to have a sushi-feel at home without having to actually roll the sushi.  You could definitely add seared tuna if you want fish.  Most of these ingredients can be found on the international aisle at the grocery store.

 

Picture from: Veggie Wedgie

Lazy Sushi Bowl

(From Veggie Wedgie)

serves 3

Ingredients:
-1 cup sweet brown rice
-1 cup shelled edamame beans
-1 cucumber
-1 small avocado
-2 spring onions
-1 tsp fresh ginger juice
-2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tsp wasabi paste
-1 tbsp sesame oil
-2 tbsp black sesame seeds
-2 nori sheets

Directions:

Cook brown rice with water as instructed in the package. Blanch edamame. Chop avocado and cucumber very small. Mix ginger juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, oil and wasabi. Pour over cucumber and avocado and let it marinate while the rice is cooking. When the rice is done, mix everything together and toss well. Before serving sprinkle with black sesame seeds.  For the nori, you can either use scissors to cut it up in small pieces and garnish the plate.

Garlic Parmesan Edamame

I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it along with the sushi bowl recipe that I'll also be posting.  So easy and so yummy!!  If you generally like edamame, you'll love this!

Picture from: Keeping up with the Joneses

Garlic Parmesan Edamame

(recipe from Keeping up with the Joneses)

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) pkg frozen edamame in shell
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste

Steam edamame in microwave until slightly warm and not frozen. The kind I buy at Sam's comes in microwave steaming bags, but 28 cooks says you can throw the edamame in a ziploc bag with about a tbsp of water, seal it, leaving a small opening for steam, and heat it on high for 2 minutes (*I acutally tried this, and it works!). Drain and set aside.

In a small food processor or blender, combine olive oil and garlic. Process until well-combined. Heat a wok over medium high heat. Add edamame and toss for a few seconds. Add garlic oil and saute for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Add breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and salt and toss until well coated. Serve immediately. Eat like regular edamame, eating the pods and leaving the shell.

Potstickers

Obviously, I've been on an Asian food kick lately!  I've had a few recipes that I wanted to try, so last week I finally got around to it.  These potstickers are amazing!  But, they're also pretty time-consuming, so just be prepared.  I didn't use the bok choy, so I can't say for sure how that would turn out.  The wonton wrappers were pretty easy to use - you can find them in the produce section usually.  Mine were square, so I ended up with triangles instead of semi-circles like in the picture.  The first night we made them, we followed this recipe, but I will say that I was very worried about the frying and steaming in the same pan - so be VERY careful if you try to do this.  We went ahead and made all of the potstickers and kept half in the fridge overnight.  The next night we didn't fry them, we just steamed them in a large pot with a steamer tray.  This seemed much safer - but of course this makes them more like dumplings and less like potstickers, but they still have the same flavor.  I found the sauce recipe on a different website and definitely recommend making it to serve with the potstickers.


Photo from: blogs.babble.com

Potstickers from: blogs.babble.com
Ingredients:
1 cup finely shredded bok choy or napa cabbage (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 lb. lean ground pork
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. soy sauce (or to taste)
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 pkg. wonton or gyoza wrappers, thawed if frozen
canola oil
chicken or veggie stock, or water

If you’re using it, toss the cabbage with salt in a medium bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Pick it up in your hand and squeeze out the excess liquid, draining it as well as you can. Add the pork, green onions, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar and sesame oil and mix it all up with your hands.

To fill wontons, place a small spoonful of filling in the middle of each wrapper; moisten the edges with water (just use your finger) and fold over, pressing the edge tightly to seal. Place seam side up on a cookie sheet, pressing lightly to flatten the bottom. Cover with a tea towel to prevent them from drying out. (Dumplings can be prepared up to this point, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen.)

When you’re ready to cook the potstickers, heat a drizzle of canola oil in a largeish skillet set over medium-high heat. Place half the dumplings at a time in the skillet and cook for a minute or two, until deep golden brown on the bottom, shaking the pan a few times to keep them from sticking. Don’t crowd the pan too much.

Pour about 1/4 cup stock or water into the pan. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes – this will allow them to steam, cooking them through.

Makes 2 – 3 dozen potstickers.

Each: 45 calories, 1 g total fat (0.2 g saturated fat, 0.4 g monounsaturated fat, 0.3 g polyunsaturated fat), 3 g protein, 5.9 g carbohydrate, 5.2 mg cholesterol, 0.4 g fiber. 20% calories from fat.

Potsticker Dipping Sauce
From: goodcheapeats.com

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh minced ginger (I buy this is a tube so I always have some)
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 Tablespoons sugar

Combine all ingredients in glass dish.  Serve with potstickers.

Bang Bang Shrimp

Bang Bang Shrimp is the name of a great appetizer at Bonefish Grill.  I was a little leery when I saw this recipe because generally copy-cat recipes aren't nearly as good as the original.  But, I have to say that I can't tell a difference between these and the ones served at the restaurant!  They are so good!  I followed these directions exactly, and they turned out perfectly.  We generally keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, and they worked great for this.  Warning: the sauce can be really hot, so use sparingly until you're sure you like it!


Photo from: fakeginger.com (and they really do turn out like this!)

Bang Bang Shrimp
from: fakeginger.com
Yield: 2 – 4 as appetizer
Ingredients:
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

For the sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4-5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

For the egg mixture:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk

For the breading mixture:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil

For frying:
8 to 12 cups vegetable oil

Instructions:
1.Combine beaten egg with milk in shallow bowl; set aside.
2.Combine flour, panko, salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil in another shallow bowl; set aside.
3.Bread the shrimp by first coating each with the breading mixture. Dip breaded shrimp into the egg and milk mixture, and then back into the breading. Arrange the coated shrimp on a plate and pop them into the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This step will help the breading to stick on the shrimp when they are frying.
4.While you're waiting on the shrimp, combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl; cover and set aside.

5.Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Use amount of oil required by your fryer.
6.When oil is hot, fry shrimp 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on rack or paper towels.
7.When all shrimp has been fried, drop the shrimp into a large bowl. Spoon about 1/4 cup of sauce over shrimp and stir gently to coat.

Couscous and Broccolini Salad



Photo from Stone Soup

I found this recipe on pintrest and decided to make it over Spring Break. I've tried several different variations, and they always turn out well.  Below is the original recipe from Stone Soup.  Under that you'll find my variations.  It has a wonderful Asian feel and is so fresh and light.  I've had it for lunch, but it would make a great side for a larger dinner.  If you've never tried broccolini before, it's kind of a mixture between broccoli and asparagus and spinach.  You'll be able to fit in much more broccolini than you think, so even if you think the pot is full put a little more in!

Couscous and Broccolini Salad
1 bunch broccolini, chopped
1/2 cup couscous
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
small handful flaked almonds

1. Bring a cup of water to boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Add broccolini and cook for 4 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat. Add couscous, soy, vinegar and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Stir to combine and season.
4. Stand, covered for another 4 minutes.
5. Fluff couscous with a fork. Taste and season.

Substitutions I've tried...
Broccolini - Spinach!  (you could also use broccoli or asparagus)
Cup of water for couscous - white wine... it adds a lot of flavor
Flaked almonds - sesame seeds (it helps to keep the Asian food feel if you don't like almonds)
Sherry vinegar - rice vinegar or red wine vinegar (the broccolini is kind of bitter already, so don't overdo the vinegar)

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Satay Dip

Just before Christmas, Kent and I were at a friend's house, and I noticed that she had The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook sitting in the kitchen.  I picked it up to look at some of the recipes and immediately knew it was a cookbook I needed - I love everything Ina Garten makes!  I was looking for a new chicken recipe a few weeks ago and was sure that this cookbook would have a good one.  I'm really excited about this one because the grilled lemon chicken recipe is a good standard recipe, but the satay dip (a thai sauce) makes it taste completely different.  I kept the chicken breasts whole with the dip on the side when I served them, but Ina suggests cutting the cooked chicken breasts into strips and putting them on skewers to make an appetizer with the dip.  If the satay dip is not your thing, the chicken works beautifully on its own or as part of another dish.

Grilled Lemon Chicken
Ingredients:
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
3/4 cup good olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. minced fresh tyme leaves (1/2 tsp dried)
2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts

Directions:
Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Pour over the chicken breasts in a nonreactive bowl.  Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.  Cook on the grill and serve! 

Satay Dip
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. good olive oil
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
2/3 cup small-diced red onions
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger root
1/4 tsp. creshed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. good red wine vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (I used sunflower seed butter.)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. dry sherry (I used a white wine that I already had open.)
1 1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

Cook the olive oil, sesame oil, red onion, garlic, ginger root, and red pepper flakes in a small, heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat until the onion is transparent (10 - 15 minutes).  Whisk in the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, sherry, and lime juice; cook for 1 more minute.  Use as a dip for chicken - it can be served warm or cool.

Asian Asparagus Salad

Kent made this dish last night (while I was on the way home from an amazing Beachelorrette Party!). I love asparagus but sometimes get tired of cooking it the same way. This is a great recipe for fresh asparagus and the dressing gives a wonderful flavor! We had the asparagus with a grilled honey and ginger pork tenderloin (recipe to come later). It is really more like side dish than a salad and is super crisp. This would be a great dish to pair with anything Asian or even a meat dish that might be a little bland. This asparagus recipe will spice up your plate!

Asian Asparagus Salad
Ingredients:

1 pound asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions:

In a saucepan, cook the asparagus in a small amount of water until crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes. Drain well and place in a large bowl.

Combine the soy sauce, oil, vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger and cumin; pour over asparagus and toss to coat. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Drain before serving. Yield: 4 servings.

Shrimp Fried Rice

This is one of my favorite dishes that Kent makes. It is always so good!! You can get uncooked shrimp from the seafood counter in the grocery store or buy it frozen - in this recipe the shrimp are usually just as good if they are frozen. It works best to make this recipe in a large wok. But if you don't have one, use a large frying pan. We always make it in a frying pan, it just gets a little crowded at the end!

Shrimp Fried Rice
Ingredients:
4 cups leftover rice (or cooked rice allowed to cool completely)
1 cup peeled, deveined shrimp without tail
¾ cup carrot, chopped
¾ cup celery, chopped
1 cup bean sprouts
¾ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 eggs
½ cup scallion
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
4 tbsp Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil over high heat and stir fry the carrots, celery, onion, and bean sprouts for about 2-3 minutes, remove from pan/wok to plate. Add another tbsp of oil and allow it to heat up. Stir fry shrimp until they are about 75% cooked, remove from pan. Lower heat to medium/medium-high and add another tbsp of oil. Cook garlic for a minute, then crack eggs into pan and stir fry. Return pan to high heat and add rice. Stir fry rice, mixing with garlic and egg. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, carrots, celery, onion, bean sprouts, scallion and stir fry for 4-5 minutes, mixing ingredients through the rice. Add shrimp and cook until pink.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This is a wonderful recipe and is so easy to make - I promise! Kent thinks they taste a lot like the lettuce wraps at P.F. Changs. I think they taste a little different (because of the hoisin sauce). Either way, they are so good!! This recipe definitely makes enough for a meal for two or works great as appetizers.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
1 large head iceberg lettuce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb ground chicken
3 medium-size cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped scallions, green parts only (from 1 bunch)
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
4 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil
3/4 cup finely chopped water chestnuts

Directions:
Using a small paring knife, cut the core out of the head of the lettuce and discard it. Pull the lettuce apart, rinse it, and drain well on paper towels. Place the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add in the chicken, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the scallions, ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and water chestnuts. Cook the chicken filling over medium-low heat, stirring, until it bubbles and is heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Keep the filling warm if you are serving it immediately. Serve with lettuce leaves. Enjoy!

Hot and Sour Soup

I decided that it would be fun to have a Asian inspired theme week! So, I'll start by posting a new recipe that I tried this weekend. I will say that it was very time consuming, but also very tasty! It takes a while to make the chicken stock - so I might suggest using a store-bought stock and then heating it on the stove with the ingredients listed in "Chinese Chicken Stock" recipe that follows. Whole chickens are sometimes expensive, so if you do make your own stock look for sales in the poultry section and buy whatever is least expensive - I ended up buying a cut chicken. I also didn't have the BBQ pork, so I took out some of the chicken from the stock as soon as it was cooked through and used it in place of the pork. But if you happen to have leftover BBQ - this would be a great way to use it! This soup is very spicy and flavorful. Even though some of these ingredients are different, they are easy to find (Asian specialty section of the grocery store) and can be used in other Asian dishes.

Hot and Sour Soup
(Recipe by Tyler Florence)
4 dried Chinese fungi (about 1 ounce), such as wood ears or cloud ears (*I used shitake mushrooms)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon red chile paste, such as sambal oelek
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
1/4 pound barbecued pork, shredded
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch sugar
2 quarts Chinese Chicken Stock, recipe follows
1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Chopped green onions and cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions
Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.
Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Chinese Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.

Chinese Chicken Stock:
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
1 bunch green onions, halved
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3-inch piece fresh ginger, whacked open with the flat side of a knife
1 onion, halved
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
About 3 quarts cold water

Directions:
Put the chicken in a large stockpot and place over medium heat. Toss in the green onions, garlic, ginger, onion, and peppercorns. Pour about 3 quarts of cold water into the pot to cover the chicken by 1-inch. Simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, skimming off the foam on the surface periodically.
Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and pass the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the solids and excess fat. Cool the chicken stock to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, or chill it down over ice first.
Yield: About 2 quarts