I've had this recipe on my tablet for a while, meaning to either ask Nexx to write up an entry or to just put it up myself. It's a great side dish, though I'm damned if I can remember just what we served it with.
I have, in learning about Asian food, come to enjoy the lightness and tang of some side dishes and salads. An easy snack is slicking cucumbers adding black sesame seeds and stirring them up with some ponzu. Ponzu, if you have not experienced it, is a citrus-based sauce. A lot of what you see in stores is actually ponzu shoyu, which means there is soy sauce involved, but it's commonly called ponzu.
I love cabbage, maybe it's the Polish ancestry. I love a good coleslaw, kraut, or golabki. I have on occasion made "lazy pierogie" which is fried cabbage and onions stirred up with medium-sized pasta shells.
But I digress (surprise, surprise). The following recipe is easy, tasty and light, which is perfect for summer days ahead. I think I'll serve it alongside next time Austin grills some salmon with an Asian-themed sauce.
Napa Cabbage Salad (serves 2)
10 leaves of Napa cabbage
1 dried kombu
60 g bonito flakes (which are also delicious stirred up with rice and soy sauce. A great way to use up leftover rice)
15 g of ponzu
Slice off the bottom 5 cm of the cabbage leaves and set them aside for another use (soup comes to mind). Pour boiling water on the kombu and let it rest while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Cut the cabbage leaves horizontally into strips about 1 cm wide (figure half an inch). Cut the kombu into strips about 2 cm long and 5 mm wide. Mix the cabbage, kombu, bonito and ponzu in a bowl. Serve chilled.
Delicious, light and nicely crunchy. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label asian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asian. Show all posts
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Friday, February 15, 2013
KM Chang or Kate's lettuce wraps
I love a lot of the food at PF Chang's, and their lettuce wraps are to die for. After ordering them for the nth time, I wondered if I couldn't make my own, especially cutting down on the sweetener. As in, use none at all. After an afternoon of mental dissection, I came up with:
1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 T sesame oil (I plan to cut this by 1 next time)
3 T soy sauce
3 T rice vinegar (I plan to increase this by 1 next time. Make sure you are using a rice vinegar that has no sugar or salt added)
1 cup chopped shitake mushrooms
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 T chopped fresh ginger (the younger the better)
1 T chopped garlic
1 can water chestnuts
3/4 cup green onions in 1" pieces (about a bunch)
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
Leaves of your favorite lettuce. I used butter, or Boston lettuce because my stomach doesn't like iceberg very much
add 1 T of sesame oil to a saute pan on medium heat. Sear the chicken on both sides, add the chicken broth, half the soy sauce and half the vinegar and simmer until about half of the liquid is gone and chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken from pan.Add other T of sesame oil, the mushrooms, water chestnuts and ginger. stir well to combine then add the rest of the soy & vinegar and red pepper. Stir constantly for about five minutes, until fragrant.shred or dice chicken, return to pan, stirring to coat. Add green onions, stir until they are bright green.
Serve in lettuce leaves.
..............................................................................................This is a recipe that came out better than it had any right to. It was a bit heavy with the larger amount of sesame oil, so I think adjusting that down and adjusting the vinegar up will lighten it up nicely. Next time, I think I may also serve some bean sprouts on the side to add if we want some additional crunch, though the water chestnuts do a good job of that.
My sweetie took some great pictures, which I will add as a separate post.
1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 T sesame oil (I plan to cut this by 1 next time)
3 T soy sauce
3 T rice vinegar (I plan to increase this by 1 next time. Make sure you are using a rice vinegar that has no sugar or salt added)
1 cup chopped shitake mushrooms
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 T chopped fresh ginger (the younger the better)
1 T chopped garlic
1 can water chestnuts
3/4 cup green onions in 1" pieces (about a bunch)
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
Leaves of your favorite lettuce. I used butter, or Boston lettuce because my stomach doesn't like iceberg very much
add 1 T of sesame oil to a saute pan on medium heat. Sear the chicken on both sides, add the chicken broth, half the soy sauce and half the vinegar and simmer until about half of the liquid is gone and chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken from pan.Add other T of sesame oil, the mushrooms, water chestnuts and ginger. stir well to combine then add the rest of the soy & vinegar and red pepper. Stir constantly for about five minutes, until fragrant.shred or dice chicken, return to pan, stirring to coat. Add green onions, stir until they are bright green.
Serve in lettuce leaves.
My sweetie took some great pictures, which I will add as a separate post.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
From the Wing-It School: Ginger Beef
I don't recall if I've mentioned this, but I'm taking Project Management classes online. It takes up a great deal of my time and a lot of focus. I haven't created anything new in the kitchen for a while.
Today, during the break between classes (next one starts in June), I had a chance to do so. My sweetie was born in Tokyo, and I wanted to make something appropriately Asian. He said his mom would enjoy today's results, which pleased me to no end.
I did go hunting for recipes. I'd had in mind to make ginger pork or beef, but all the recipes I found had sugar or honey, which I am told is nowhere near authentic. One had balsamic vinegar. I didn't get that at all. I love balsamic, but if I'm going to incorporate it into meat, it's counter-intuitive to me to combine it with soy sauce, never mind sugar.
The following serves two, but can be easily expanded:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar (make sure you get one with no sugar or sodium added)
red pepper to taste
2 T sesame oil, divided
5 green onions, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces
3/4 lb beef shoulder steak cut into 1/2" slices
(1 cup of mushrooms, which I was out of, but will incorporate next time)
1/4 cup ginger cut into matchsticks (you could go up to 1/3 cup if you have serious ginger fans in the house. Also--get as young a piece of ginger as possible, it's more fragrant, tastier and easier to cut)
sesame seeds for garnish
2 cups cooked rice (I like brown, Ken prefers white. What we had in the house was leftovers from take-out)
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar and several grinds of red pepper.
Heat 1 T of the sesame oil in a wok or deep pan on medium heat. A saute pan will work nicely. I have a pan with deep curved sides that also does the job. Add the ginger and stir for about five minutes (this is when I cut up the green onions). Add 1 T of the sauce and stir frequently for another three minutes.
If I'd had mushrooms, this is where I would add them, with a couple of T of the sauce, stirring for about a minute.
Add the other tablespoon of oil. Chase sweetie out of the kitchen (the smell of cooking sesame oil makes both of our mouths water), then add the meat. Stir in the other T of oil, adding more sauce as the liquid gets absorbed into the meat and vegetables. When you only see a little bit of red left in the meat, throw in the green onion and stir.
Put rice onto plates. When the onions are bright green, but not wilted, your meal is done. Spoon over rice, add a bit more sauce, red pepper to taste (or, if you have access to Shichimi Togarashi, a Japanese red pepper blend, go for it). Top with sesame seeds, enjoy!
I think I'll try this with pork in a few weeks. Stay tuned!
Next week: an unusual sweet
Questions? Comments? Death threats? Let's hear them!
Today, during the break between classes (next one starts in June), I had a chance to do so. My sweetie was born in Tokyo, and I wanted to make something appropriately Asian. He said his mom would enjoy today's results, which pleased me to no end.
I did go hunting for recipes. I'd had in mind to make ginger pork or beef, but all the recipes I found had sugar or honey, which I am told is nowhere near authentic. One had balsamic vinegar. I didn't get that at all. I love balsamic, but if I'm going to incorporate it into meat, it's counter-intuitive to me to combine it with soy sauce, never mind sugar.
The following serves two, but can be easily expanded:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar (make sure you get one with no sugar or sodium added)
red pepper to taste
2 T sesame oil, divided
5 green onions, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces
3/4 lb beef shoulder steak cut into 1/2" slices
(1 cup of mushrooms, which I was out of, but will incorporate next time)
1/4 cup ginger cut into matchsticks (you could go up to 1/3 cup if you have serious ginger fans in the house. Also--get as young a piece of ginger as possible, it's more fragrant, tastier and easier to cut)
sesame seeds for garnish
2 cups cooked rice (I like brown, Ken prefers white. What we had in the house was leftovers from take-out)
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar and several grinds of red pepper.
Heat 1 T of the sesame oil in a wok or deep pan on medium heat. A saute pan will work nicely. I have a pan with deep curved sides that also does the job. Add the ginger and stir for about five minutes (this is when I cut up the green onions). Add 1 T of the sauce and stir frequently for another three minutes.
If I'd had mushrooms, this is where I would add them, with a couple of T of the sauce, stirring for about a minute.
Add the other tablespoon of oil. Chase sweetie out of the kitchen (the smell of cooking sesame oil makes both of our mouths water), then add the meat. Stir in the other T of oil, adding more sauce as the liquid gets absorbed into the meat and vegetables. When you only see a little bit of red left in the meat, throw in the green onion and stir.
Put rice onto plates. When the onions are bright green, but not wilted, your meal is done. Spoon over rice, add a bit more sauce, red pepper to taste (or, if you have access to Shichimi Togarashi, a Japanese red pepper blend, go for it). Top with sesame seeds, enjoy!
I think I'll try this with pork in a few weeks. Stay tuned!
Next week: an unusual sweet
Questions? Comments? Death threats? Let's hear them!
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