Asian

Fried Rice

This is a flexible recipe. Use whatever meat you may have as leftovers, ham, bacon, or cooked shrimp would work too. You can use any vegetables you choose. Play with it and find what you like best. It’s a great get rid of leftovers recipe.

 

3 c. cooked white rice (cooled is best)

1 c. diced leftover pork (or meat of your choice)

1 onion diced

1 c. frozen peas

2 eggs

Vegetable oil

2 T Soy sauce

Black pepper

1.       Heat 2 T. oil to medium high in a large skillet. When oil is hot add the onions and cook until soft (3-4 minutes).

2.       Add rice, meat and peas. Stir until mixed. Cook stirring occasionally until mixture is hot (5 minutes).

3.       Push to edge of pan so that you have a little ‘bowl’ in the center of the pan. Break the eggs into the ‘bowl’ and carefully scramble them. When eggs are close to cooked, stir them into the rice mixture.

4.       Pour soy sauce over the rice. Stir to mix it in.

5.       Serve and enjoy. You can garnish with sesame seeds or chopped green onions.

 

Beef or Pork Satay

1 ½ lb boneless beef (sirloin, top round or flank steak) or pork (butt or leg)

1 clove garlic minced

2 T soy sauce

1 T vegetable oil

1 t. coriander

1 t. cumin

Basting sauce (below)

Peanut sauce (below)

1.       Cut meat into ½ inch thick strips. In a bowl stir together garlic, soy sauce, oil coriander and cumin. Add meat. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 ½ to 2 hours. Meanwhile make peanut sauce (below). Soak skewers in water for 30 minutes if using wood ones.

2.       Heat grill.

3.       Thread meat on skewers making an ‘S’ with your meat.  Grill till done to your likeness (8-10 minutes for medium rare for beef, 15 minutes for pork). When meat is nearly done, brush on basting sauce.

4.       Serve with peanut sauce.

*If you really don’t want to mess with making kebobs or grilling, you can stir-fry the meat in a bit of oil in a hot pan. It’s not as good as grilled, but still pretty good. Pour the basting sauce on the meat when its almost done in the frying pan.

 

Basting Sauce: 3 T lemon juice, 2 T soy sauce, ¼ t cumin, ¼ t coriander

 

Peanut Sauce

1 c water

 2/3 c. peanut butter

2 cloves garlic minced

2 T brown sugar

1 ½ T lemon juice

1 T soy sauce

¼ t crushed red pepper

1.       Put water, peanut butter and garlic in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until  it boils and thickens.

2.       Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Let sauce cool to room temperature.

3.       It can be made ahead and heated in the microwave or on the stove.

 

 

CARROT-GINGER DRESSING   6 T water ¼ c. canola oil 3 T rice vinegar (white will work too) 2 t. soy sauce 1 ½ t sesame oil 1 carrot, shredded in the small holes of the grater 2 t. sweet or red onion minced 1 ½ t fresh ginger (do not substitute  with powdered) ½ t salt ½ t sugar ¼ t pepper

HONEY SEASME DRESSING 3 T soy sauce 2 T rice wine vinegar 1 T honey 1 t sesame oil 1 t toasted sesame seeds   Place all in a jar, shake to combine. Serve with baby spinach.

 

Meal planning suggestions.

 

 Make Satay or red pork tenderloin (marinade package found at the commissary) with a side of white rice and salad or steamed vegetables. Double your recipe for the rice, but still cook for only 20 minutes. Save some meat from that dinner and the left over rice, and the following meal make fried rice, with a side of salad or with more veggies added to the fried rice recipe and make it an entire meal.

 

Favorite Asian food tips and products.

 

-I love Char Siu (red Chinese pork). At the commissary I buy two pork tenderloins (around $8) and marinade both in NOH Foods of Hawaii Chinese Barbecued Char Siu Seasoning mix. This is sold at the commissary and at Asian markets. I will grill or broil both tenderloins. Eat one for dinner, save the leftovers for fried rice or noodle soup, and freeze the other for another day. Cook once eat three times.

 

-When starting cooking Asian food there may seem like a lot of ingredients to buy. Keep it simple and start by buying what you will use over and over again. My list is:

                -soy sauce

                -sesame oil

                -Fresh ginger

                -garlic

                -cumin

                -coriander

                -sesame seeds

                -rice wine vinegar

-When buying fresh ginger you don’t have to buy the entire root. Break off what you need and put the rest in back in the basket at the grocery store. Ginger is cheap!!! Don’t worry about wasting it or if it goes bad. You can buy more for less than a dollar.

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

8 oz lean steak

2 cloves garlic, crushed/pressed

Dash of hot chili pepper flakes of hot sauce

½ inch fresh ginger, grated

½ t Chinese five-spice powder

2 T soy sauce

1 T vegetable oil

5 ½ oz broccoli (about one crown)

1 T soy sauce

2/3 c beef stock

2 t corn starch

4 t water

 

-Using a sharp knife cut the beef into thin strips.

-in a ziplock bag mix together garlic, chili pepper, ginger, Chinese five-spice powder, and 2 T soy sauce. Add meat. Close and let sit for up to 4 hours.

-heat 1 T oil in a large skillet. Add broccoli and stir fry over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. Remove broccoli from pan in a bowl. Add 1 T oil to the hot pan, and add meat. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the steak is browned.

-Return broccoli to the pan. Add 1 T soy sauce and the stock.

-In a small bowl mix cornstarch and water. Pour mixture into the pan. Stir the food until the sauce thickens.