Noodles with carrots and turnip

Both carrots and turnip were in our CSA basket last week and needed to be used asap so I found this delightful recipe for a stir fry.

• 7 ounces noodles
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil or canola oil
• 1 pound chicken breasts, cut across the grain into slices 1/4 inch thick
• 3/4 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch-long julienne (matchsticks)
• 3/4 pound turnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch-long julienne (matchsticks)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil 

1. Cook noodles and drain. Set aside within reach of your wok or pan.
2. Combine the broth, soy sauce and rice wine or sherry in a small bowl. Combine the garlic, ginger and pepper flakes in another bowl. Have everything within reach of your wok or pan.
3. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or a 12-inch skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the chicken in a single layer. Season with salt and let sit for 1 minute without stirring, then stir-fry for another 2 to 3 minutes, until opaque. Scoop out of the wok or pan and set aside in a bowl or on a plate.
4. Swirl the remaining oil into the wok or pan and add the garlic, ginger and chili flakes. Stir-fry no more than 10 seconds and add the carrots, turnips and sesame seeds. Stir-fry for 1 minute and add the broth, the chicken with any liquid that has gathered in the bowl or on the plate, the salt and the sugar, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the noodles, reduce the heat to medium-high and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the cilantro and sesame oil, remove from the heat and serve.


The recipe called for rice noodles but I decided to use soba noodles instead, everything else I kept the same as what the recipe called for.

John actually put the stir fry together while I was setting the table and I warned him to go easy on the sesame oil and seeds because they add a little heat, since I am a wuss when it comes to spicy things. I look over and he is just dumping both in then adding a little more...

The dish was spicy, good for John but my mouth was on fire.

Crock Pot Asian Pork with mushrooms

It was a low key sort of day before our big day of food touring Vermont tomorrow. I decided to make a crock pot meal since it is easy and requires no work. John was sweet enough this morning when he saw me putting things together he took over so Sarah and I could hang out. The recipe he followed is:
Crock Pot Asian Pork with Mushrooms (Skinny taste)
Servings: 7 • Size: about 3 oz pork + mushrooms • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 224.1 • Fat: 8.5 g • Protein: 25 g • Carb: 11 g • Fiber: 0.4 g • Sugar: 7.3
Sodium: less than 854 mg, since you don't use all the liquid

Ingredients:

• 2 lb lean boneless pork sirloin roast (aka pork center rib roast, pork center loin roast)
• kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Non-stick oil spray (I used Smart Balance spray)
• 1 cup low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (for gf use gf tamari)
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp agave (or sugar)
• 1 tsp hot sesame oil (aji oil)  (or use sesame oil + pinch red pepper flakes)
• 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice (I used McCormick)
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger root
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella)

For topping:

• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:
Season pork on all side with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat, spray with a little oil and brown the pork on all sides for about 7 - 8 minutes.


In the crock pot, combine the broth, soy sauce (or Tamari), balsamic, agave, sesame oil, Chinese five spice, garlic and ginger; add the pork and set the slow cooker to 8 hours on low.

Thirty minutes before the timer goes off, remove the pork and set aside to rest a few minutes; add the mushrooms to the crock pot, cover and cook on low for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the pork using two forks.

When the mushrooms are tender, remove about 1 cup of the broth and reserve if needed. Add the shredded pork to the crock pot and mix well. If adding baby spinach, add at the end and cover a few minutes until it wilts. 

Instead of serving the pulled pork on rolls we decided to stick with the Asian theme and use rice noodles.

It had great flavors, I even had seconds.

Headed to bed early so we can get an early start on our Vermont food tour tomorrow!

Wagamama's

All day I had a hankering for ramen so I suggested to John we go to wagamama's for dinner, he wanted 9 taste a thai food place. So we let Cart have the deciding vote, Wagamama's was the winner!

John and I shared chicken dumpling to start, I had 2 he had 3.

For dinner I ordered the chili ramen I was afraid that it would be to spicy but it was the perfect amount of heat! And delicious, chicken lots of veggies!

John ordered a beef something or other, his was super spicy. Good thing mine wasn't we were going to switch dinners if mine ended up being to spicy.

We off to grab a drink at a newish bar in Innman with Cart, then home for a long day of cooking tomorrow.

Asian Sunday dinner

Another Sunday dinner is upon us, last week I made meatloaf for Cart and previously I made ribs for John. So this Sunday I made 2 types of Asian food for Timmy. The first being soba noodles with vegetables.  But first we started with some appetizers

Amerian pickled veggies

 I found this sauce recipe on line
Sauce:
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp chili garlic sauce

I made some soba noodles and added the sauce then added carrots, peppers, and snow peas. Of course you can always add what ever vegetables you see fit. Mix together and let sit so the flavors come together.

This turned out pretty well, at first taste it had a sweet flavor then a kick at the end.  The second dish was a beef broccoli stir fry that I found from the stir fry book Leah gave John for his birthday.

In it was beef, broccoli and yellow peppers sauteed in a spicy sauce. It was also good but way too spicy, seem I accidentally do this a lot. But it was a good pairing with the sweet noodles if I do say so myself. :)

Lemongrass chicken

Tonight I got back on the horse and made a home cooked meal. A while back I signed up to daily recipes sent to my inbox through MSN.com they occasionally have really good recipes. This one I received a few days ago and it sounded good so I thought I'd give it a try.  Here is what I used:

• 2  dried red chiles (or 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper), seeds removed
• 4 stalk(s) lemongrass, ends trimmed, tough outer stalks removed, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 clove(s) garlic
• 1 1/2 cup(s) light coconut milk
• 2 1/2 tablespoon(s) Thai fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon(s) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 1/2 pound(s) boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 1/2 pound(s) green beans, cut in half on the diagonal
• 3 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 1 1/2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 medium red bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoon(s) rice wine
• 1 cup(s) chopped fresh basil leaves

• To make seasoning: With the machine running, drop the chiles, followed by lemongrass and then garlic, into a blender and process. Pulse several times, until the mixture forms a paste and becomes smooth; set aside.
• To make coconut sauce: In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients; set aside.
• To prepare chicken: Place chicken breasts on a cutting board. With the blade of a sharp knife parallel to the board, thinly slice breasts; set aside.
• In a 3-quart casserole or a large skillet with a lid, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add green beans and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes; drain. Refresh under cold water; drain again.
• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in the same pan over high heat until very hot. Add chicken and stir-fry until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; drain excess fat.
• In the same pan over medium-low heat, warm remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Add seasoning and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium. Add onions and stir-fry 1 minute, then add bell peppers and rice wine; stir-fry 1 minute. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beans and coconut sauce; bring to a boil. Add chicken, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in basil and taste for seasoning; add more salt if necessary. Scoop chicken and vegetables into a bowl and serve with steamed rice if desired.

As I was making it I was a little skeptical how it would turn out, the sauce didn't thicken as much as I was hoping for.

But it ended up tasting ok

Spring Rolls

One more day of work this week and I’m off to my surprise birthday that John has put together for me!! I am so excited and nervous all at the same time, while I do love to be surprised I am also a bit of a control freak so not knowing anything drives me nuts! Today John had to travel to DC for work today which means he won’t be getting home until a little later. Which means I have to have a snack to tie me over until we eat dinner but, I think I snacked a little too much because I’m not very hungry? Opps!

For dinner I decided to make spring rolls again because I have so many left over wrappers. Spring rolls are one of those things were you can pretty much put anything in them so I decided to try a “warm” spring rolls instead of raw ingredients like I did last time. This is the same filling I used when I made the Thai lettuce wraps. Here is what I used:

·      chicken thighs cut into small slivers

·      bell peppers

·      green onions

·      cabbage

·      shallots

·      carrots

·      garlic

·      low sodium soy sauce

·      spicy chili paste

1.     Cook the chicken in the wok until almost cooked through.

2.     Then added in all the veggies, soy sauce and garlic paste and cooked until the veggies are tender but still crispy.

3.     Place the filling in the center of your wrapper and fold in half, fold up the edges and then roll the wrapper the rest of the way

sliced chicken

cut up veggies

all added to the wok

I then attempted to roll the filling in to each of the wrappers; this seemed to prove a lot more difficult and sticky then I remembered. Last time I rolled these I rolled them like a burrito but this time I tried the “correct way” which is folding them in half then folding in the sides and then rolling them up.

I thought the filling was really good but maybe not for the rice wrappers? John however, seemed to like them so I guess it was still a win or he was just being nice.  :)

Spring Rolls

Tonight I was going to try and make the momo's I made in my cooking class the other week but I didn't make the cheese in time and I couldn't find a substitute that would work. So I went to plan B and made spring rolls it was a joint effort between John and I. I julienne all the veggies bell peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, spicy peppers, cilantro and carrots.

John cooked the chicken

We had 3 different types of sauces a peanut sauce (John made this), sweet chili sauce, and regular old soy sauce.

Then we set to the task of rolling the spring rolls it is much harder then it looks! The rice paper comes in hard round burrito like sheets. You have to soak them in hot water for 10-20 sec then quickly pull them out and lay them on a flat surface. We put about a 1/4 cup of filling in each wrapper then started to roll, the wrapper was sticky and very thin so you had to be careful not to tear it while it is sticking to you.

The first few turned out a little funny looking but once we had a few under our belt it became a little easier to wrap. I bet you could tell which ones were the first few we made.  :) They were really good my favorite sauce was the sweet chili and John's was the soy sauce. I recommend giving these a try they are fun to make and pretty healthy considering there filled with mostly veggies.   :)