Category — Asian Recipes

For about 4 years, I have been using a recipe adapted from David Chang’s recipe for short ribs that was printed in the New York Times. (This was in 2006, before David Chang and Momofuku were super famous–at that time I didn’t even know who he was.) It is one of my favorite recipes for a dinner party and everyone loves it, but I felt like I was in a bit of a rut. I needed something spectacular to christen my new and much improved kitchen, so I decided to go with a Thomas Keller recipe for short ribs.

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I am in LOVE with cold peanut noodles, but they always have a ton of peanut butter and sesame oil in the sauce which is incredibly caloric, and noodles aren’t exactly low cal either. My muffin top is big enough already so if I want to eat these I feel I have to make them a slightly different way, wherein the noodles are augmented by lots of colorful vegetables and the caloric parts of the sauce are cut down a bit. After much experimentation, this is the happy medium I came up with!

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Recently a friend was coming over for dinner, and asked if he could bring some fish over for me to cook. I loved this idea because a) fish is hella expensive, and b) I loathe going to the store. He very kindly went all the way across town to Yum Yum Fish Market to get the most delicious, high quality, enormous hunk of tuna for me to make this. (Future dinner guests: take note. If you come to my house, a large piece of high quality fish is an excellent hostess gift.)

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This technique from SteamyKitchen.com is one of my favorite ways to cook salmon. It’s easy and adaptable, and seems almost impossible to screw up or overcook.

Basically, you cook salmon at a really low temperature for about 30 minutes, which cooks it thoroughly while allowing it to retain it’s tenderness and doesn’t let it get dry and chalky. The recipe gives several suggestions for different flavor combos, but today I brushed the salmon with a honey-mustard mixture and cooked it on a bed of oranges and parsley.

You can find Jaden’s technique for low and slow salmon right here, at Steamy Kitchen.  Mmmm. Thanks Jaden!

Before I say anything else let me tell you that THIS WHOLE DINNER HAS UNDER 200 CALORIES and is VERY TASTY AND FULFILLING!!! OK, I’ll stop yelling at you now so you can look at the picture.

Now I have never been into dieting or counting calories, but from time to time, often around the start of swimsuit season, I begin to eye my middle section and think that it’s starting to look like Costco up in here with all these muffin tops. This extra unwanted pudge is most likely a result of my personal interpretation of the food pyramid, which, if I’m being honest, looks about like this:

From this pyramid you may deduce a few things. Such as: I am a food hedonist and I really don’t like to deny myself anything. I like to eat animals and gorge on starches. I loves me some wine and meat… and butter, heavy cream, and cheese are all vying for the role of “Karen’s BFF.” So, my goal is to change up my pyramid a bit while still maintaining my lust for life and all of its edible/drinkable wonders. This will mean reinforcing some good habits and rewiring some bad ones. I am aiming for a pyramid that’s more like this:

I’m also in love with this iPhone app called LoseIt! which lets you set calorie goals and then log all of your exercise and  food. It’s great at helping me figure out what some of my good and bad habits are! Tonight my goal was to eat something really tasty, filling, and low calorie, since I had totally crammed a huuuuge bagel with ginormous snowy peaks of cream cheese for breakfast, and I had a fair bit of wine last night (I’m going to let you interpret the phrase “a fair bit” however you wish…) I decided it would be fun to challenge myself tonight.

I wouldn’t have believed it was possible until I did it. But I am here to tell you: I am virtuous. I ate my veggies. I got my balance. My pyramid is turning a corner. I am still full, hours later. And I did it all for 190 calories. But don’t be afraid! I have sacrificed NO deliciousness for this meal. It’s the real deal: and I didn’t even have any wine or butter or bacon to go with it.

Asian Chopped Salad with Tuna and Mint

serves one.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
• 5-7 mint leaves, chopped finely
• 1 1/2 cups spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped finely
• 1 three oz. can solid white albacore tuna in water, drained
• 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• salt and pepper

Method:

• Combine veggies, mint, and tuna in a bowl and toss.
• Mix together lemon juice, ginger, oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss dressing with salad.
• Bask in the imagined glory of how thin your thighs would look if you ate like this every night!

The calorie breakdown, with the amounts in the recipe, in case you’re interested…

• 1/2 carrot: 13 calories
• 1/2 cup sprouts: 4 calories
• 5 mint leaves: 3 calories
• 1 1/2 cup spinach: 15 calories
• 2 scallions: 6 calories
• 3 oz. tuna: 80 calories
• 1 tsp. lemon juice: 4 calories
• 1 tsp ginger: 2 calories
• 1/2 tsp rice vinegar: 3 calories
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil: 20 calories
• 1 tsp vegetable oil: 40 calories
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce: 1 calorie
• GRAND TOTAL >>> 190 CALORIES!
  

Adobo is one of my favorite easy recipes and one of the tastiest ways to enjoy pork. In this case, Adobo refers to a common Filipino dish that combines just 4 ingredients: soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper, and garlic, to create a spicy, tangy sauce. A lot of Adobo recipes are saucy to the point of being more like a stew, but I like this one because it produces a rich, reduced, almost caramelized coating over the pork.

What’s surprising about this combination is that once everything is cooked together it doesn’t taste how you would expect it to taste. To wit: the pepper is spicier than you expect, the garlic is mellower, the soy sauce isn’t as salty, and the vinegar isn’t as pungent. It all marries together in a sauce that is greater, and more complex, than the sum of its parts.

There are probably thousands of Adobo recipes out there, and as you may have guessed I’m totally not Filipino so I make no claims to authenticity. I will, however, make claims to deliciousness! I like to serve it over rice to neutralize the spice of the sauce.

Pork Adobo
serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. boneless pork roast
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 cups white wine vinegar
• 2-3 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tblsp vegetable oil
• 12-15 cloves garlic, sliced as thinly as possible

Method:

• Trim the major fat off the pork roast and cut into 1/2 inch chunks.
• Put pork, soy sauce, vinegar, and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil, ensuring all pork is submerged in liquid. Lower heat to medium and boil 30-45 minutes.
• Heat oil in saute pan over medium high heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pork pieces to oil. Saute 10 minutes, stirring or flipping often, to brown on all sides.
• Add garlic to pan and cook 30 seconds, stirring. Add adobo sauce and cook about 10 more minutes, until sauce thickens.
• Serve over rice.

Sometimes you just need a perfect side dish that’s sweet, spicy, and salty all at the same time. This is a quick and easy way to makestring beans sing in an Asian-inspired side dish.

If you prefer to walk on the mild side… cut the sambal down. And if you don’t own any fish sauce, don’t stress, just leave it out.

Sweet Spicy String Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 Tblsp + 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 Tblsp honey
• 1 tsp sambal
• 1/4 tsp fish sauce
• 12-16 oz. string beans or green beans, trimmed and washed
• 1 small clove garlic, sliced as thinly as possible

Method:

• Combine soy sauce, honey, sambal, and fish sauce in a bowl and mix together.
• Put green beans in large saute pan with 1/4 cup water. Turn heat on high. When water starts to bubble, cover tightly and cook 5 minutes.
• Remove lid and add sauce. Toss to coat and continue cooking on high, tossing every few minutes. Continue cooking about 5-10 minutes, until sauce has thickened and coats the beans.
• Add garlic slices and cook, tossing, about 1 more minute.
• Remove from pan and serve immediately.

Ah, that elusive concept known as “healthy lunch.” Despite my best intentions I find that in the middle of the day it’s hard for me to resist the charms of foods like pizza with ranch dressing, giant burritos, or 9 pounds of hummus and falafel with 17 slices of pita. The other day I took a little time to make a healthy, flavorful, simple noodle bowl with whole wheat fettucine and a whole lot of hot sauce. Not only did I feel physically energetic and alive for the rest of the day, but also smugly virtuous. Win-win!

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowl for One

Ingredients:

• 4 oz fresh whole wheat fettucine
• ½ tsp vegetable oil
• ¼ cup chopped white, yellow, or red onion
• 1 Tblsp torn cilantro leaves
• ~10 cracked coriander seeds
• 1 pack liquid chicken broth concentrate or 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• juice from 1 small lime
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• sambal oelek or sriracha to taste

Method:

• Cook fettucine in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and reserve about 2 Tblsp pasta water.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a small sauté pan. Add onion, cilantro, and coriander seeds and sauté until soft and fragrant, and onion just starts to brown.
• Add broth and coconut milk, plus a large pinch of salt and about 3-4 grinds of pepper, and reduce over medium high heat until thick and creamy.
• Add fettucine and reserved pasta water to pan and cook over medium high heat until sauce coats the noodles, about 3-5 minutes.
• Turn off heat and stir in lime juice and scallions.
• Pour into bowl and top with sambal oelek or sriracha to taste. If you put the amount shown here you will be in for some serious heat!
• This recipe can easily be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

I bought some fresh ahi tuna yesterday and envisioned searing it and serving it over some tasty Asian noodles, but that didn’t happen. We wanted to eat a light dinner tonight because we’re going to a “holiday” party (yep, in January) and are unsure of the potential food options at the event. I made a mixture in the food processor and seared half of it onto the tuna, then tossed the rest with some microgreens. A lovely, tangy, fresh and healthy meal!

Note: I’m calling it “Vietnamesque” instead of “Vietnamese” because I don’t want to front or anything. You know, because I just made it up and I’m not Vietnamese.

Vietnamesque Seared Ahi Salad
serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tblsp packed mint leaves
• 2 Tblsp packed cilantro leaves
• 1 shallot
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 3 Tblsp slivered almonds
• 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tblsp sesame oil
• 1 Tblsp vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 small ahi tuna steaks
• about 2-3 oz microgreens (or greens of your choosing- I found the microgreens at Trader Joe’s)

Method:

• In a food processor or blender, combine mint, cilantro, shallot, jalapeño (if using), ginger, and 2 Tblsp almonds. Pulse until chopped.
• Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, 2 tsp sesame oil, vegetable oil, salt and pepper and pulse until well-blended and saucy but not perfectly smooth.
• Heat 2 tsp sesame oil in a flat pan. Meanwhile rinse ahi steaks and dry very well. When oil is hot, use tongs to sear all sides of the tuna. (If tuna is less than 1/2 inch thick, you can just sear on each side. If it’s thicker than that, you should sear the edges as well as the large flat sides, by holding the fish on edge in the pan with the tongs for ~30 seconds each side.)
• When done, smear about 1/4 of the sauce on one side of each tuna steak and flip over to cook for about 10 seconds. Mixture will brown almost immediately. Remove fish to cutting board, sauce side up.
• Toss microgreens with remaining sauce. (Start with one Tblsp and add more as desired.) Arrange on plates.
• Slice tuna in large pieces and lay over greens. Crush remaining Tblsp of almonds in your hand and sprinkle on top. Serve immediately.