This is not one of those recipes that hide the taste of tofu and you don't even know it's tofu. This is for tofu lovers.
Tofu and tuna patties (for 3-4 people): Extra firm tofu in water (1 package) Chunk light tuna (1 small can) Eggs, beaten (2) Onion, diced (1/2 cup) Salt (a pinch) Pepper (a pinch) Soy sauce (1 Tbsp) Vegetable oil (1 Tbsp)
1. Wrap tofu with paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes. This gets rid of extra moisture. Mash tofu well. 2. Combine all the ingredients except for oil. 3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat. 4. Form small patties and sear them (squeeze them to get rid of any extra moisture). Flip them when it's nice and brown. Lower the heat to medium low. Put a lid on and keep searing for 2-3 minutes. Drizzle soy sauce or ponzu over it to serve.
Make sure you use a non-stick pan and don't flip it until brown crust has been formed. If you don't do those, the patties will fall apart.
Celery salad has chopped celery, walnut, and red onions. For dressing, combine whole grain dijon mustard, mayo, rice vinegar, salt, pepper, and a drop of soy sauce.
Tonight, I made a vegetarian dish from Cooking Light. It being vegetarian and African, I really didn't know what to except but it was really good! It was very easy to make too. Peanuts and sour cream make the stew incredibly rich. I did add more salt than what was called for though.
It says refrigerate sour cream for 2 hours, but I only refrigerated it for the time the stew was cooking. Cooking stew probably took 30-40 minutes. If you want to cut time, you can chop potatoes smaller. I don't think it's a type of soup that get richer as it cooks more.
I'm a big fan of Thai curry, and I never thought it was so easy to make. I used to shrimp for this curry, but you can use chicken breast too.
Thai shrimp curry (for 3 people): Black tiger shrimp, shells removed and cleaned (1/2 pound) Canned sliced bamboo shoot, drained and rinsed (1 small) Red bell pepper, seeded and sliced (1) Green curry paste (little less than 1/4 cup) Coconut milk (400ml can) Water (1/2 cup) Salt Basil (7 leaves)
Combine green curry paste and coconut milk in a pot. Heat over medium high heat. Once it boils, add shrimp, bamboo shoot, bell pepper, and water. Cook until bell peppers are tender. Add a pinch of salt and basil leaves. Serve over cooked jasmine rice.
If you don't like it to be too spicy, add less green curry paste.
For Asian slaw, add shredded cabbage, julienned carrot, chopped cilantro, and chopped peanuts. For dressing, combine 1.5 Tbsp of soy sauce, 1.5 Tbsp of rice vinegar, and 1/2 Tbsp of sesame oil.
This is an easy Japanese dish to make that goes well with rice. I used pork here, but you can use chicken if you like.
Pork and bamboo shoot cooked in miso (for 3 people): Pork, sliced (1/2 pound) - I used a fairly lean cut, but any cut would work Canned bamboo shoot tips, cut into half (1 large) - If you can't find tips, regular sliced bamboo shoots are fine too Carrot, peeled and sliced diagonally (2 small) Miso (2 Tbsp) Brown sugar (1 Tbsp) Dashi no moto (1/2 tsp) Rice cooking wine (2 Tbsp) Water (1 cup) Vegetable oil (1/2 Tbsp)
1. Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat. Saué pork until the color starts to change, then add carrot and bamboo shoot tips. Sauté for 2 minutes. 2. Add everything except for miso. Once it boils, stir in miso. Let miso melt into the soup and cook on medium heat until there is almost no soup left, stirring every minute or so.
On the side, I made daikon radish salad with plum dressing. Julienned daikon is great for salad. Any Asian dressing would go well with it.
Lasagna is one of those things that look very complicated to make but actually pretty easy to make. This recipe is as simple as it gets...
Lasagna (for 4 people): Lean ground beef (1/4 pound) Diced onion (1 medium) Minced garlic (3 cloves) Olive oil (1/2 Tbsp) Canned whole tomatoes (28 oz can) - chopped Salt Pepper Dried parsley (2 Tbsp) Chopped fresh basil (10 leaves) Dried lasagna pasta (6 sheets) - enough to make two layers that cover a casserole Cheese (a lot!) - I used a combination of shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
1. Boil water with salt for pasta. Cook pasta following the direction on the box. 2.Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Sauté onion with a pinch of salt until tender. Turn the heat up to medium high and add ground beef and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauteé well until meat is mostly cooked. Add tomatoes and garlic in. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add parsley in the last 5 minutes and add basil in the last second. 3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the meat sauce in a casserole just enough to cover the bottom. Add cheese to cover the sauce. 4. Layer it with pasta. 5. Add the meat sauce just enough to cover the pasta. Add cheese and layer it with pasta. 6. Add the rest of the meat sauce. Add more cheese. Bake for 10-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is lightly brown.
Serve it with a big bowl of salad.
I know that typically lasagna has ricotta cheese in it, but I'm not too crazy about that texture. Of course, you can add ricotta with other cheesy cheese like mozzarella.
If you put this salmon patty on buns, it's a salmon burger, but I matched it with couscous instead and topped it with tomato-caper salsa.
Salmon patties (makes three): Canned salmon (15 oz can) Egg white (1) Bread crumbs (1/4 cup) Salt (a pinch) Pepper (a pinch)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together well and form 3 patties. Heat pan with 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Grill patties until both sides are nice and brown then bake the patties in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the patties are heated through.
This is a recipe that involves several steps and takes time to make. I tried to do some shortcut with this recipe by microwaving the chicken rather than boiling it, but it didn't turn out too well... Chicken got too tough. I think I either microwaved it for too long or it just doesn't work with microwave.
For green salsa, I used tomatillo salsa that I made before and froze. Salsa is one of those things that are good for freezing that you don't really think of. Because fresh salsa stays fresh for only a day or two, it's better to just freeze leftover salsa.
This is one of those quick, easy recipes that are perfect for weekday dinners. Nice thing about it is, everything can be cooked together in the oven. Spring onions are sweet and great for roasting.
I placed chicken drums, spring onion (cut into quarters), and red potatoes (cut into quarters) in a casserole and coated them with salt, pepper, and olive oil. They were baked with 2 springs of fresh thyme (rosemary would be good as well) for 40-45 minutes in a 375 degrees oven.
I think it would have been better if I seared the chicken and potatoes before putting them in the oven. That would have created nice crust and cut down the baking time too. If you prefer white meat, you can use chicken breast rather than drums.
I wanted to try making stir-fry with oyster sauce and found this recipe. It was so good! I added mushrooms and bamboo shoot to the original recipe. It was actually a little sweet for me, so maybe the amount of sugar can be reduced.
Beef and broccoli stir-fry (for 4 people): Beef shank (10-12 oz) - half frozen (if you put frozen meat in the fridge in the morning, it'll be half frozen by the time you come home) Marinade mixture: Soy sauce (1 Tbsp); Potato starch (1 Tbsp); Rice cooking wine (1 Tbsp); Sugar (2 tsp) Sauce mixture: oyster sauce (3 Tbsp); Soy sauce (1 Tbsp); Potato starch (1 Tsp); Rice cooking wine (1 Tbsp); Water (1 Tbsp); Sugar (2 tsp) Sesame oil (1.5 Tbsp) Minced peeled ginger root (1 Tbsp) Diagonally sliced green onions (1/3 cup) Water (1/4 cup) Broccoli florets (3 cups) Canned sliced mushrooms (15 oz can) - drained and rinsed Canned sliced bamboo shoots (8 oz can) - drained and rinsed Vegetable oil (1/2 Tbsp)
1. Slice beef shank as thinly as you can. Combine the marinade mixture and marinade beef shank in the mixture for 10-15 minutes. 2. Heat wok or pan over high heat with sesame oil. Stir fry beef until it's cooked but with some pink parts. Take the meat out. 3. Turn the heat down to medium. Add minced ginger and sliced green onions. Stir fry for 30 seconds then add water and broccoli florets. Put the lid on and steam for 3 minutes or until broccoli florets are bright green. Combine the sauce mixture. 4. Put the meat back in. Add sliced mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir fry until there is no pink part in beef. Add the sauce mixture. Stir fry until the sauce is nice and thick.
This is not a usual weekday recipe. It takes a while to make, especially the part where you have to roast the chiles. Maybe there are some already-roasted chiles in the store... Anyway, it takes some time, but it's really really good. I made it over the weekend and kept it in the fridge.
I didn't put corn or pine nuts, but it was still really good. I actually think both of those things would have added more texture to the dish though... I think also it would be even better if I put some rice in the stuffing. It's vegetarian, so if you want some meat, you can put ground beef or chopped chorizo.
Teriyaki fish is an easy and healthy dish to make that goes well with Asian salad.
Teriyaki fish (for 2 people): Horse mackerel (2 whole or 4 fillet pieces) - You can use any kind of firm fish like tuna or salmon Vegetable oil (1/2 Tbsp) Rice cooking wine (2 Tbsp) Mirin (1/2 Tbsp) Soy sauce (1 Tbsp)
1. Combine all the ingredients except for the fish and vegetable oil. 2. Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. Sear fish with the skin side down until it gets grill marks. Flip the fish and sear until it's cooked through. 3. Add the soy sauce mixture and cook until it thickens.
Radish is little bitter, so I marinated it with miso dressing.
Shopping list: Sanma/mackerel pike (2) - grilled sanma dinner with celery kinpira Grated daikon radish (optional) - grilled sanma dinner with celery kinpira Sliced celery (2 stalks) - grilled sanma dinner with celery kipira Julienned carrot (2 small carrots) - grilled sanma dinner with celery kinpira 1/2 pound tomatillos (about 10 small) - tomatillo salsa 1 garlic clove - tomatillo salsa 1/2 to 1 serrano chile - tomatillo salsa 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro - tomatillo salsa 1/4 cup coarsely chopped onion - tomatillo salsa 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice - tomatillo salsa 3 (1-ounce) slices white bread - herbed chicken breast 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - herbed chicken breast 3 large egg - herbed chicken breast, hot and sour soup 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese - herbed chicken breast Cilantro sprigs (optional) - herbed chicken breast Lime wedges (optional) - herbed chicken breast Sugar snap pea, trimmed (about 1 cup) - beef and sugar snap pea stir-fry Boneless beef shank (6 oz) - beef and sugar snap pea stir-fry Beef broth (3 cups) - hot and sour soup Daikon radish, peeled and cut into small sticks (about 1 cup) - hot and sour soup Celery, cut into small sticks (about 1 cup) - hot and sour soup Green onions, chopped (3 Tbsp or as needed) - hot and sour soup Store bought pizza dough (1 package) - spring onion and sausage pizza Spring onion (1 large) - spring onion and sausage pizza Portabella mushroom (1) - spring onion and sausage pizza Sausage (1 large) - spring onion and sausage pizza Fresh thyme (2 springs) - spring onion and sausage pizza Shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup) - spring onion and sausage pizza
Recommendations for sides: Grilled sanma dinner with celery kinpira - miso soup and rice Herbed chicken breast with tomatillo salsa and queso fresco - roasted sweet potatoes Beef and sugar snap pea stir-fry with hot and sour soup - rice Spring onion and sausage pizza - salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Things that may or may not be in your fridge/pantry: Salt Pepper Soy sauce Mirin Rice cooking wine Rice vinegar Potato starch or corn starch Garlic chili sauce Sesame oil Sesame Chili pepper Ground cumin Ground red pepper Olive oil Vegetable oil
Spring onion is sweet onion that is available only in spring. Roasting it is a nice way to enjoy its sweet taste, but pizza is also a good option. I wanted to keep it simple to accentuate the taste of spring onion.
Spring onion and sausage pizza (for 3-4 people): Store bought pizza dough (1 package) - I used whole wheat pizza dough Spring onion (1 large) Portabella mushroom (1) Sausage (1 large) - I used spicy kind, but you can use any of your favorite sausages Fresh thyme (2 springs) Olive oil (1 Tbsp) Salt (1/2 tsp) Pepper Shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 2. Peel off the first layer of spring onion. Cut it into half and then slice it (not too thinly). Take off the stem of Portabella mushroom and slice it. Slice sausage. 3. Roll out or stretch out the pizza dough on a cookie sheet or baking sheet. I like to line the sheet with aluminum foil. Top the pizza with sliced spring onion, Portabella mushroom, and sausage. Put thyme leaves on the pizza. Drizzle olive oil over the pizza. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the pizza. Bake for 10 minutes. 4. Add cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes. In the last 5 minutes or so, turn the heat up to 425 degrees. Watch carefully so the pizza won't get burned.
I like to add cheese after 10 minutes or so because it burns really easily and it just needs to melt and brown little bit. I would recommend not rolling out the pizza dough too thinly because the onion sweats down quite a bit and the dough can get soggy.
I served it with salad with balsamic vinegar dressing.
Stir-fry is a nice quick dinner. With the time that you save, you can make soup for the side.
Beef and sugar snap pea stir-fry (for 2 people): Sugar snap pea, trimmed (about 1 cup) Boneless beef shank (6 oz) Vegetable oil (1 Tbsp) Salt (a pinch) Rice cooking wine (1 Tbsp) Garlic chili sauce (1 tsp) Soy sauce (1 Tbsp)
1. Boil sugar snap peas until they get bright green and rinse under running cold water. Slice beef shank as thinly as you can. 2. Heat a wok or pan with oil over high heat. Once it gets smoking hot, put beef in. Add salt. Stir fry until the color of the beef starts to change. Add cooking wine. Once the wine evaporates, add sugar snap peas. Stir fry until beef get nice and brown. Add garlic chili sauce and soy sauce. Mix well and serve right away.
Hot and sour soup (for 2-3 people): Beef broth (3 cups) - I only had 1 cup of beef broth, so I mixed it with water, but it was fine. You can also use chicken stock. Daikon radish, peeled and cut into small sticks (about 1 cup) Celery, cut into small sticks (about 1 cup) Rice vinegar (1/2 cup) - If you don't want it to be too sour, you can put in less. Soy sauce (1/4 cup) Chili pepper (1/4 tsp) Egg, beaten (2) Potato starch or corn starch (1.5 Tbsp) Water (1.5 Tbsp) Green onions, chopped (3 Tbsp or as needed)
1. Bring beef broth, vinegar, soy sauce, and chili peppers to boil. Add daikon radish and celery. Once the soup comes to boil, turn the heat down to medium. Cook until the vegetables are tender. 2. Drizzle in eggs into the soup. Close the lid for a minute until the eggs are cooked. 3. Mix potato starch and water together to make slurry. Drizzle the slurry into the soup while stirring. Once the soup thickens little bit, turn the heat off and add green onions.
I used daikon radish and celery because they were in my fridge, but you can add any other vegetables like bamboo shoot, pak choy, spinach, chopped string beans, etc. Make sure you taste the soup before you add all the vinegar and soy sauce, because you might want to add less or more depending on how salty your stock/broth is and how sour you want the soup to be.
This dinner was surprisingly easy to make. The original recipe tells you to make crust with bread crumbs, but I skipped all that step and just grilled the chicken after rubbing the spices on. It worked really well. Tomatillo salsa was very good. I had never used tomatillos before, but I want to try using them in other dishes too.
Grilled sanma or mackerel pike is one of my favorite Japanese dishes. Frozen mackerel pike is available at any Japanese or Korean store any time of the year, but the best time for mackerel pike is in the fall. Grilled fresh mackerel pike in the fall is just amazingly good and is one of the foods that I miss from Japan.
1. Preheat the oven to high broil. Wash sanma really well and pat dry. Salt both sides really well. Place the fish on an oven-safe plate or baking sheet. 2. In the middle rack of the oven, place the fish on the plate. Broil until the skin is nice and brown. Drizzle soy sauce over the fish and serve it with grated daikon radish.
It takes practice to be able to eat grilled whole fish cleanly, but once you get used to it, it's pretty satisfying to be able to get a big piece of fish off the bone.
1. Heat a pan with sesame oil over medium high heat. 2. Saute sliced celery and julienned carrots until they begin to get tender. Don't saute them for too long. You want the vegetables to have some crunch. 3. Add soy sauce and mirin. Once they evaporate, add sesame and chili pepper. Saute for 10 seconds or so.
Kinpira is a Japanese dish, typically sauteed vegetables with a sweet soy sauce flavor. A variety of root vegetables can be used for kinpira.
Every week, I try to use ingredients from the local market that look unfamiliar. This week, it was scallopini and beet. When I bought scallopini, I thought it was some type of zucchini, but it apparently is a type of squash... I also found yellow and red beets at the market with the leaves. I made salad with the root and boiled the leaves and dressed them with Japanese sesame sauce.
Shopping List: Spanish mackerel (1 fillet cut into 2 pieces) - mackerel cooked with miso Julienned ginger (about 1/4 cup) - mackerel cooked with miso Konbu seaweed (about 2 inch piece) - mackerel cooked with miso Good sausages (enough for 4 people) - simple sausage and tomato sauce pasta Canned whole tomatoes (28 oz can) - simple sausage and tomato sauce pasta Onion (1 medium, diced) - simple sausage and tomato pasta Your favorite pasta - simple sausage and tomato pasta Sole/flounder fillet (2) - sake steamed fish with ponzu Chopped green onions (about 3 Tbsp, green part) - sake steamed fish with ponzu Pork loin - pork with red currant sauce Shallots - pork with red currant sauce Gralic - pork with red currant sauce Boneless, skinless chicken breast (1 large) - spinach Parmesan chicken Frozen spinach, thawed (about 1/3 cup) - spinach Parmesan chicken Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup) - spinach Parmesan chicken Beet (2 large) - beet salad Tomato (1 medium) - beet salad Red onion (1/4 medium) - beet salad
Recommendations for sides: Mackerel cooked with miso - broiled beet leaves with sesame sauce, miso soup and rice Simple sausage and tomato pasta - salad Sake steamed fish with ponzu - salad with Asian dressing or miso soup and rice Pork with red currant sauce - grilled scallopini and roasted red pepper marinaded with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil
Things that may or may not be in your fridge/pantry: Cooking wine Miso Ponzu (as needed) - If you can't find ponzu, you can substitute it with 3 part soy sauce, 2 part rice vinegar, 1 part freshly squeezed orange juice, and 1/2 part sesame oil Sugar Bay leaf Olive oil Salt Pepper Dried or fresh thyme Cider vinegar Beef broth Red currant jelly Corn starch Red wine vinegar Dijon mustard
This chicken recipe is simple, healthy, and delicious!
Spinach Parmesan chicken (for 2 people): Boneless, skinless chicken breast (1 large) Frozen spinach, thawed (about 1/3 cup) Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup) Salt Pepper Water (1 tsp)
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 2. Wash chicken well and pat dry. Make incision on the side and make a big "pocket." Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. 3. Squeeze any liquid out of the thawed spinach and mix well with grated Parmesan cheese. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Stuff the pocket with the spinach mixture. 4. Place chicken on an aluminum foil and put 1 tsp of water on the chicken. Fold in the edges of the foil. Place it on an oven-safe plate or casserole. Bake for 20 minutes.
Beet salad (for 2-3 people): Beet (2 large) Tomato (1 medium) Red onion (1/4 medium) Red wine vinegar (1.5 Tbsp) Dijon mustard (1 Tbsp) - I like to mix regular (smooth?) and whole grain Olive oil (1.5 Tbsp) Salt Pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice beet into 1/4 inch thick pieces and peel them. Put them in an oven-safe casserole and sprinkle salt and pepper on them. Bake for 40 minutes or until tender. So, considering how chicken is also cooked in the oven at a different temperature, if you don't have a lot of time to cook, you can just boil the beet instead. I just like roasting vegetables... 2. While the beet is being roasted or boiled, slice red onion as thinly as you can. Slice the tomato into 1/4 thick slices. Combine Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar. Whisk in olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and mix well. Let red onion and tomato marinade in the red wine dressing. 3. After the beet is cooked, put it in the marinade mixture while it's hot. Mix well. Chill in the fridge before serving.
I had never really thought about eating beet until the other day I had beet salad for lunch at a restaurant. Beet is actually really good! It has a very unique taste that is really hard to explain... I got wonderful red and yellow beet at the local market and decided to make salad. When I cut into the red beet, the inside was white but with red rings, very interesting and fun. I like to put colorful things on my dish to boost my already-boosted appetite:)
I didn't feel like adding another side today, but you can have roasted or mashed potatoes.
Tonight, I did another one of the recipes from Cooking Light magazine.
Pork was rubbed with coriander and salt then seared. For the sauce, chopped shallots, thyme, and minced garlic were sauteed in the same pan. Then cider vinegar, beef broth, and red currant jelly with black peppers were added. To thicken the sauce, corn starch was used.
Pork was OK. The sauce had an interesting taste with the vinegar, but it probably would have been much better with better quality red currant jam.
On the side, I made delicious marinaded vegetables. I burned the skin of a red pepper on the stove, put it in a closed container to steam it little bit, then peeled and sliced the red pepper. I grilled fun-shaped zucchinis (yellow, light green, and dark green) and roasted them in the oven to finish off. While the vegetables were still hot, I put freshly-squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Ponzu is citrus-flavored soy sauce. It has a very refreshing taste and goes well with a lot of things. Simple steamed vegetables can turn into Asian hot salad with ponzu. Another one of my favorites is hot tofu with ponzu.
Sake steamed fish with ponzu (for 2 people): Fish fillet (2) - it's best to use relatively firm fish that's not too fatty like sole or flounder. Salt Pepper Rice cooking wine (2 tsp) Ponzu (as needed) - If you can't find ponzu, you can substitute it with 3 part soy sauce, 2 part rice vinegar, 1 part freshly squeezed orange juice, and 1/2 part sesame oil Chopped green onions (about 3 Tbsp, green part)
1. Wash fish fillet really well and pat dry. Place fish fillet on a large microwavable plate. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Put rice cooking wine over fish. 2. Cover the plate with plastic wrap loosely. Microwave for 6-8 minutes until fish is cooked. 3. Put green onions over the fish. Microwave for 10 seconds. Put ponzu on the fish or use it as dipping sauce.
I had miso soup, broiled daikon from the other night, and rice with the fish. Steaming fish with sake helps to get rid of the distinct smell of fish and is also a very healthy and easy way of cooking.
I come home pretty late on Tuesday nights, so I made this pasta sauce over the weekend and kept it in the fridge. If you find really good sausage, this is a really nice way to enjoy that sausage flavor. I found a wonderful German butcher near my home that sells all sorts of sausages and smoked meats. I went there to sharpen my knife but couldn't resist getting one of their sausages...
Simple sausage and tomato sauce (for 4 people): Good sausages (enough for 4 people) Canned whole tomatoes (28 oz can) Onion (1 medium, diced) Bay leaf (1) Olive oil (1 Tbsp) Salt Pepper
1. Heat a dutch oven with olive oil over medium-high heat. Grill sausages until both sides are nice and brown. Take the sausages out. 2. Turn the heat down to medium-low then add diced onion. Add a pinch of salt and saute until onion is really tender. 3. Add back the sausages then add tomatoes (crush them as you put them in), bay leaf, 2 tsp of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Cook your favorite pasta and put the sauce over pasta.
I made the sauce really simple, but you can add garlic, chili peppers, Parmesan cheese, etc. to make it more interesting.
Tonight, I cooked Spanish mackerel with miso. It's a popular Japanese dish called, saba no miso ni. I think the key to making this dish well is putting a lot of ginger at the right timing.
Mackerel cooked with miso (for 2 people): Spanish mackerel (1 fillet cut into 2 pieces) - You can usually find Spanish mackerel at an Asian store Julienned ginger (about 1/4 cup) Konbu seaweed (about 2 inch piece) Cooking wine (2 Tbsp) Water (3/4 cup) Sugar (2 Tbsp) Miso (2 Tbsp)
Cut parchment paper into a circle of the size of your deep pan. Make a small hole in the center. 1. Make two incisions forming a cross on the skin of the fish. 2. Boil water and cooking wine with konbu in a deep pan. Once it boils, put fish pieces in with the skin side up. 3. Once the edges of the fish start to get white, put gingers in. When it boils, turn the heat down to medium-low and skim off any foam on the soup. Add sugar and put the parchment paper in. Push down the paper as deep as it can. It should be touching both the soup and fish. This helps the fish get cooked evenly without submerging it in soup. Cook for 8 minutes. 4. In a small bowl, combine miso and some of the soup , and thin out the miso. Add the mixture into the pan. Cook for 7 minutes, putting soup over the fish with a spoon every minute or so. Once the soup reduces, throw away the parchment paper. Cook until the sauce thickens.
It was actually little sweeter than I hoped. Perhaps, only 1 or 1.5 Tbsp of sugar is needed.
On the side, I served broiled daikon radish, broiled beet leaves with sesame sauce, and rice. It's one of those dinners that makes you feel so healthy after eating.
Shopping List: Crab (1 6oz can) - crab fried rice Jasmine rice (1 cup uncooked) - crab fried rice Green onions (3 stalks) - crab fried rice Egg (2) - crab fried rice Chicken breast (1 large) - almond crusted chicken Sliced almonds - almond crusted chicken Center-cut loin pork chops - seared pork with mango salsa Mango - mango salsa Fresh mint - mango salsa Lemon - mango salsa Thinly sliced onion (1 cup) - fried fish in vinegar marinade Julienned Carrot (1/2 cup) - fried fish in vinegar marinade Chopped cilantro (a bunch) - fried fish in vinegar marinade Rice vinegar (1 cup) - fried fish in vinegar marinade Tuna (15 oz) - fried fish in vinegar marinade
Recommendations for sides: Crab fried rice - Asian soup like seaweed soup, miso soup, or sweet & sour soup, or salad with Asian dressing Almond crusted chicken - roasted asparagus and couscous Seared pork with mango salsa - roasted sweet potatoes Fried fish in vinegar marinade - rice
Things that may or may not be in your fridge/pantry: Salt Pepper Soy sauce Vegetable oil Sesame oil Dijon mustard Honey chili powder allspice chili powder crushed red pepper Sugar Chili peppers Potato starch
Tonight's dinner has a Southeast Asian flavor to it.
Fried fish in vinegar marinade (for 3-4 people): Thinly sliced onion (1 cup) Julienned Carrot (1/2 cup) Chopped cilantro (a bunch) Rice vinegar (1 cup) Sugar (2 Tbsp) Salt (2 tsp) Soy sauce (2 tsp) Chili peppers (1/4 tsp) Tuna (15 oz) Potato starch (as needed) Oil (as needed)
1. Mix everything well except for the fish, potato starch, and oil. 2. Cut tuna into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Put potato starch on the fish pieces. 3. Heat oil in a pot. It just needs to be about 1 to 1.5 inch deep. When the oil gets hot enough so when you put a wooden chop stick into the oil, little bubbles shoot out of the tip of the chop stick, put the fish in. Fry until the edges get brown. 4. Put fried fish on paper towel to get rid of excess oil. While it's still hot, put it into the marinade mixture. You can serve right away or let it marinade for a while.
For vegetables, you can also put sliced red/yellow peppers. To make it even more Southeast Asian, you can add some fish oil. This dish goes well with rice.
Tonight's dinner was very colorful. All the bright colors definitely boost your appetite.
The recipes were taken from Cooking Light magazine.
Basically, you rub a mixture of chili powder, salt, and allspice onto center-cut loin pork chops then sear them. For mango salsa, peeled and chopped mango is mixed with fresh mint, lemon juice, sugar, and crushed red pepper.
For roasted sweet potatoes, toss cut sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, cumin, and ground red pepper. Then bake them in the oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
I served salad on the side.
So, the pork chops were not as tasty as I thought they would be. The spices didn't really give enough taste to the pork. Maybe more salt had to be added...
This dinner was really simple and quick. Couscous is a great source of carbohydrate for quick dinner because it takes only like 10 minutes to make!
For chicken with almond crust, use the smooth side of a meat tenderizer to pound out chicken breast so the thickness would be even. Salt and pepper both sides. Brush on honey Dijon mustard on both sides then put sliced almonds. Sear chicken breast with olive oil.
Actually, the almonds didn't really form a crust like I hoped because they got stuck on the pan. Maybe if I used a non-stick pan, they might have stayed on the chicken... not sure.
I also roasted asparagus in the oven and cooked couscous.
This fried rice was really good! If you have never made fried rice, definitely use Jasmine rice. It makes great fried rice. I like the subtle taste of crab, but if you want, you can use sausage or ham instead.
1. Cook Jasmine rice. Chop green onions and separate green and white parts. Strain crabs. Beat eggs. 2. Heat a work with vegetable oil and sesame oil on high heat. Once the wok gets smoking hot, put the white part of green onions in. Stir-fry for few seconds, then add crabs. Stir-fry for few seconds, then add eggs. Keep stirring like when you make scrambled eggs. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. 3. Once the eggs start to get cooked (but not completely), add rice in. Stir fry really well so everything gets mixed well. Add a pinch of salt. Stir fry. Then add soy sauce from the side. Stir fry well. Add the green part of the green onions. Stir fry and serve.
This is a really quick meal because the wok gets so hot that everything cooks quickly. To make good fried-rice, you want to make sure that you have everything in front of you when you start stir-frying.
For this week, main dishes are really quick and easy to make like grilled pork, chicken skewers, and seared swordfish. But putting little more work into making sides or sauces really can make the dinners wonderful. You can also try to add vegetables in season for sides. I used spring onions that I found at the farmer's market and grilled it and marinaded it with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Recommendation for sides: 9-spice pork - sauteed spinach with garlic Chicken skewers - Asian slaw Non-fried "fried" fish - Boston lettuce, tomato, and avocado salad dressed with balsamic vinaigrette Stuffed cabbage - grilled fennel and spring onions in lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper marinade
Things that may or may not be in your pantry/fridge: Brown sugar Salt Pepper Paprika Chili powder Garlic powder Cumin Whole grain dijon mustard Ground allspice Ground red pepper Cooking spray Ground red pepper Dried oregano Nutmeg Bay leaf Canned tomatoes, whole or diced Olive oil Soy sauce Mirin Sesame paste or ground sesame
This stuffed cabbage was probably the first real food that I made, which means I've made this dish many many times since then. Every time, I do something little different, but tonight's stuffed cabbage was really really good.
Stuffed cabbage (for 4 people): Cabbage (1 medium) - You need 8 nice size leaves. Ground beef (1 pound) Onion (1-1/2 medium) Carrot (1 large) Celery (1 stalk) Button mushrooms (1/2 cup sliced) Bacon (3 pieces) Olive oil (1/2 Tbsp, 1/2 Tbsp) Salt Pepper Dried oregano (1 tsp) Garlic (1 clove, 2 cloves) Nutmeg (1/2 tsp) Bay leaf (1 large) Grated Parmesan cheese - freshly grated is the best Egg (1) Bread crumbs (1/4 cup) Canned tomatoes, whole or diced (2 cups) Water (2 cups)
1. Boil a potful of water. Make incisions on the stem part of the cabbage and take off 8 leaves, being careful not to tear them. Boil cabbage leaves in the boiling water until tender. Be careful not to boil them too much. You just wanted them to be soft enough so you can roll them up. 2. Dice 3/4 of the onion finely. Peel and dice 1 clove of garlic. It's easy if you use a food processor. Saute the oinon in a pan with a pinch of salt, diced garlic, and 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil until tender. Let cool. 3. Peel and cut the carrot into 1/3 inch thick pieces. Cut the celery stalk into 1/3 inch thick pieces. Slice the rest of the onion. Slice bacons into 1/3 inch pieces. 4. Mix sauteed onion, egg, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, ground beef, a good pinch of salt, pepper, dried oregano, and nutmeg. Mix really well with hands until the mixture is kind of sticky. Divide into 8 equal portions. 5. Spread a cabbage leaf out. Place one portion of the meat mixture on the cabbage leaf and wrap it up. You want to roll up the leaf, tucking in the edges of the leaf. Make 8 stuffed cabbages. 6. Peel and dice 2 cloves of garlic. In a large dutch oven, heat 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil and diced garlic. When you start to smell the garlic in the air, put bacons in. When you start to smell the bacon, add the sliced onion. Keep sauteing until the onion is really tender. Add carrots and celery. Saute for a minute or two. 7. Place all the stuffed cabbage in, making sure they are not on top of each other. Put canned tomatoes, water, and a bay leaf. Once the soup comes to boil, turn the heat down. Add a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper, and mushrooms. Simmer for as long as you can until the cabbage is really tender.
For the side dish, I grilled fennel and spring onions and marinaded them with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Very simple, but really flavorful. Stuffed cabbage goes well with rice, but you can serve it with baguette or pasta. Enjoy!
I find that the easiest way for me to cut up fish is to take full advantage of the kitchen scissors for each step and also get rid of the head with guts rather than cutting open the fish and trying to clean the guts away first. Of course, if you bought fish that has already been cleaned, this is not an issue. Cutting fish takes practice, and quite frankly I'm still learning how, but I think it's worth it because then you get access to many more kinds of fish than if you are restricted to already-filleted fish.
Tonight, I made non-fried "fried" fish salad. It's a nice alternative to frying because frying takes a lot of oil, which means more cleaning hassle and calories.
Non-fried "fried" fish (for 2 people): Fish fillet (2 large) - I used flounder that I had in my freezer, but you can use salmon, cod, sablefish, or really any fish you like. Bread crumbs (about 1 cup) - I used panko (Japanese bread crumbs), but regular bread crumbs may be a better choice for this particular recipe, since the crust is really crunchy. Flour (as needed) Egg (1) Cooking spray Salt Pepper
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. 1. Cut fish fillet into 1 inch pieces. Pat dry and salt and pepper both sides. 2. Put cooking spray on a pan and toast bread crumbs on medium-high heat until they're golden brown. This process is very important. 3. Coat fish pieces with flour and then beaten egg. 4. Put toasted bread crumbs on the fish pieces. 5. Put the fish pieces on a cookie sheet or baking sheet, making sure that the pieces are not on top of each other. Bake for 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish fillet until they start to produce nice smell.
I put these "fried" fish on Boston lettuce bed with avocado and tomatoes. For dressing, I used balsamic vinegar mixed an equal part of olive oil and a touch of honey. Balsamic vinegar goes really well with the fish. I also served couscous on the side.
1. Soak 6 skewers in water for as long as you can to prevent them from burning. 2. Slice chicken breast into 6 strips and put the strips into mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and sesame paste. Let stand for about 10-20 minutes. Put chicken strips onto the skewers. 3. Grill chicken skewers on a hot skillet/pan both sides for about 2 minutes.
Today, I decided to make cilantro pesto, using the recipe from Cooking Light website. I was kind of skeptical about the idea of having cilantro, ginger, and Parmesan cheese all together, but actually it was really really good. You should definitely try it. I used it as a sauce over seared swordfish, but you can use grilled chicken also.
Put all ingredients except for olive oil in a food processor. Process until finely minced and drizzle in the olive oil with the processor on.
Sear fish pieces on a really hot skillet until both sides have grill marks, but not cooking all the way through. I also served salad and rice on the side.
This recipe was adapted from a recipe in Cooking Light.
9-spice pork (for 4 people): Pork loin (4 pieces, 1/2 inch thick) Brown sugar (1 Tbsp) Salt (1 tsp) Paprika (1 tsp) Chili powder (1 tsp) Garlic powder (3/4 tsp) Cumin (3/4 tsp) Whole grain dijon mustard (2 tsp) Ground allspice (1/8 tsp) Ground red pepper (1/8 tsp) Cooking spray
1. Combine all the spices. Rub the mixture onto both sides of pork loin. 2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat an oven-safe grill pan over high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add pork and grill it until it gets nice grill marks or brown. Flip the pork and finish cooking in the oven until cooked throughly.
I served it with sauteed spinach with garlic. I also served pumpkin soup that I made over the weekend with real pumpkin.
Things that may or may not be in your fridge/pantry: Flour Panko bread crumbs Salt Pepper Chicken stock Dried basil Dried oregano Vegetable oil Olive oil Dashi no moto Soy sauce Mirin Miso Cookine wine Sugar
This miso marinaded fish is time consuming but is delicious especially with a bowl of rice.
Miso marinaded fish (for 2 people): Snapper or perch fillet, preferably with the skin on (2 pieces) - I think cod would work fine also Salt Miso (3 Tbsp) Cookine wine (1 Tbsp) Soy sauce (2 Tbsp) Sugar (1/2 Tbsp)
1. (Night before) Place fish on a strainer in a bowl. Sprinkle salt on and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rest in the fridge overnight. Combine all the ingredients from miso to sugar in a ziploc bag and mix well. Store it in the fridge. 2. (In the morning) Pat dry the fish pieces and place them in the ziploc bag. Make sure the fish pieces are coated with the miso mixture. Let the fish marinade in the fridge for at least 5-6 hours. 3. (Before dinner) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wipe off miso mixture from the fish with paper towel and place them on aluminum foil in a casserole or oven-safe plate with the skin side up. Bake for 10 minutes. Then boil for a minute or two on the top rack until you smell the miso.
On the side, I served broiled spinach dressed with sesame sauce, pickled celery, and broiled daikon radish with fried tofu. You could just do the fish, rice, spinach, and maybe miso soup.
The fish can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days, but the longer it sits, saltier it gets, so if you're worried about the fish getting too salty, you could marinade the fish for like only 3 hours.
This recipe was adapted from the recipe in a cookbook by Harumi Kurihara.
Tonight, I decided to make pasta with whatever that was in my fridge and freezer. It was actually pretty good!
Anchovy pasta (for 2-3 people): Your favorite pasta (enough for 2-3 people) Canned anchovies (5-6) - I had them in my freezer Cherry tomatoes (2 cups) - I had them frozen too, in a ziploc bag! Artichoke hearts in a can (5) - from my fridge... Dried wild mushrooms (few pieces) Garlic (2 cloves) Olive oil (1 Tbsp) Salt Pepper Fresh basil - optional
1. Boil a potful of water and start cooking pasta. 2. Cut anchovies into halves. Cut artichoke hearts into quarters. If you're using cherry tomatoes that you have frozen, put them in water to defrost then cut them into halves. Soak dried wild mushrooms and cut them into bite sizes after they're soft enough. Peel and finely chop the garlic. 3. Heat olive oil in a pan. Saute garlic and anchovy until you smell garlic then quickly add artichokes and wild mushrooms in. Add cherry tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well. 4. Add cooked pasta into the sauce and mix well. Put sliced fresh basil and mix well.
You could actually put any type of vegetables in as long as you keep the garlic, anchovy, and tomatoes in as the base. You could add like olives, spinach, broccoli, etc.
Last week, I had clam chowder at this soup place chain, and it was OK but it tasted too "creamy" (like whipping cream, I mean) to me and there were only few clams. So, I thought, if I make it at home, I can make it a lot chunkier and tastier. My clam chowder tasted great, but it didn't thicken quite like the way I hoped it would. I think I needed to add more flour, so if you're trying this recipe, you should add maybe 2-3 Tablespoons more flour. The taste was good though!
Clam chowder (for 3-4 people): Canned clams (6.5 oz) Fish stock + clam juice (2 cups) - I combined the juice that the clams were in with the fish stock I had 2% milk (2 cups) Onion (1/2 medium) Celery (2 stalks) Yukan gold potatoes (2 medium) Garlic (2 cloves) Flour (2 Tbsp) Olive oil (1 Tbsp) Salt (2 tsp) Pepper
1. Dice the onion and celery stalks. Peel and dice the potatoes. I wanted the soup to be chunky, but you can cut the vegetables small. Peel and finely dice the garlic. 2. Heat olive oil in a pot/dutch oven and saute onion and celery with a pinch of salt over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and keep sauteeing for 1 minute. Add diced potatoes and saute for 1 minute. 3. Add flour and mix really well until there is no lump and everything is well incorporated. 4. Add fish stock + clam juice and milk. Sprinkle in 2 tsp of salt and a pinch of pepper. Simmer until the soup is thickened to desired consistency.
Tonight, I took a recipe from Cooking Light and made it slightly easier. The original recipe calls for fresh herbs, but I just used dried ones that I had, and it worked just fine.
Sundried tomato stuffed chicken (for 2 people): Skinless, boneless chicken breast (1, 6 ounce) Shredded mozzarella cheese (3 Tbsp) - the original recipe calls for feta cheese Sundried tomato (1/4 cup) Salt Pepper Chicken stock (1 Tbsp) Dried basil Dried oregano
1. Preheat oven at 425 degrees. 2. Boil water in a pot and add sundried tomatoes in. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. I used already cut, small sundried tomatoes, but if you're using big ones, slice them. 3. Combine sundried tomatoes, basil, oregano, and cheese. Sprinkle in a pinch of pepper and mix well. 4. Using the smooth side of a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken breast to an even thickness. Cut a horizontal slit and make a deep pocket. Salt and pepper both sides and place it on aluminum foil in a casserole. Stuff the chicken with sundried tomato mixture. 5. Drizzle in chicken stock over the chicken. Seal the aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes then let it rest for 5 minutes before opening the foil. 6. Take out the chicken and slice it.
The chicken cooked perfectly and it was so tender and juicy.
Wild rice pilaf with wild mushrooms (for 2-3 people) Wild rice (1 cup) Shallot (2 large) Garlic (1 large clove) Dried wild mushroom Chicken stock (1-1/2 cup) Water (1-1/2 cup) Olive oil (1 Tbsp) Salt
1. Dice the shallots. Peel and dice the garlic. Wash wild rice well. 2. Heat olive oil in a pot. Turn the heat down to medium and saute shallots and garlic with a pinch of salt until tender. 3. Add wild rice and keep sauteeing until everything is well incorporated. 4. Add chicken stock, water, and a pinch of salt. Throw in few pieces of dried wild mushroom. 5. Bring it to boil then turn the heat down to medium low. Put the lid on and simmer until there is no soup and rice is tender (about 45 minutes).
I found these dried wild mushrooms at a store last weekend and decided to use them. It was a success! They gave a nice flavor to the rice.
I also grilled zucchini and marinaded it with vinegar and olive oil.
Fried pork with eggs - Katsudon (for 2-3 people): Pork loin (7.5 oz) Eggs (3) Flour (as needed) Panko bread crumbs (as needed) - They are not ground as finely as regular bread crumbs Salt Pepper Onion (1/2 medium) Vegetable oil (as needed) Dashi no moto (1/2 tsp) Water (1-1/2 cup) Soy sauce (1-1/2 Tbsp) Mirin (1 Tbsp) Sugar (1/2 Tbsp)
1. Slice the onion roughly. Add all the ingredients from dashi no moto to sugar in a pan and put it on medium high heat. Once it boils, put the sliced onion in. Turn the heat down to medium. Cook until onion slices are cooked. 2. Cut pork loin into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Use the meat tenderizer and pound the meat little bit so all the pieces are about the same thickness. Salt and pepper both sides well. 3. Heat oil in a pot or wok. Make sure you have enough to cover the pork pieces completely (they don't all have to go in at the same time). 4. Form an assembly line of flour, an egg (beaten) mixed with 1 Tbsp of water, and panko bread crumbs. Put a pork piece into flour and coat it with flour. Pat it to get rid of excess flour and put it into the egg mixture, coating it with the egg mixture. Put it on a bed of bread crumbs then cover it with more bread crumbs. Press lightly to put as much bread crumbs on the meat as you can. Set aside. Do the same for all the pieces. 5. Put a wooden chop stick into the oil. If little bubbles shoot out from the tip of the chop stick, the oil is hot enough. 6. Put pork pieces into the oil and fry until they're gold brown. Cut into 1/2 thick slices. 7. Reheat the onion mixture in the pan. Once it boils, put all the pork cutlets in. 8. Beat two eggs and put them in the pan. Put a lid on and cook on medium heat until eggs are cooked. 9. Serve over rice.
The pictures are kind of deceiving because I actually made more fried pork. So just the fried pork is like for 4 people. But I cooked only enough pork pieces with eggs for 2-3 people.
If you're not a big egg fan, you can just have the fried pork with tonkatsu sauce, which is like this Japanese sauce for fried pork. It's kind of like thick Worcestershire sauce. Fried pork is typically served with really thinly sliced cabbage in Japan. It's good. I like it cooked with eggs too though. I highly recommend it.
Shopping List: Italian sausage (2) - chard and yam soup Pork butt (about 6 oz) - simple, delicious stir-fry Canned salmon (6 oz) - salmon quesadilla Ground pork/beef (6 oz) - "dry" curry Sole fillet pieces with skin (2) - grilled sole Black beens (1/2 cup cooked) - salmon quesadilla Lima beans (1 cup cooked) - chard and yam soup Chick peas (1 cup cooked) - "dry" curry Chard (2 cups chopped) - chard and yam soup Yam (1 medium - 1 cup chopped) - chard and yam soup Onion (1 medium) - chard and yam soup, "dry" curry Celery (2 stalks - 1/2 cup diced) - chard and yam soup Canned tomato, whole or diced (1 cup) - chard and yam soup Chicken stock - chard and yam soup, simple, delicious stir-fry, "dry" curry Canned straw mushrooms (1 cup) - simple, delicious stir-fry Canned bamboo shoot (1/2 cup sliced) - simple, delicious stir-fry Canned water chestnut (1/2 cup sliced) - simple, delicious stir-fry Pak choy (6 small) - simple, delicious stir-fry Garlic (6 cloves) - simple, delicious stir-fry, "dry" curry Tortilla (4) - salmon quesadilla Cheese (1 cup shredded) - salmon quesadilla Lime (1/2) - grilled sole
Suggestions for sides: Salmon quesadilla: fresh salsa "Dry" curry: salad Grilled sole: ohitashi and miso soup
Things that may or may not be in your pantry/fridge: Salt Pepper Bay leaf Olive oil Vegetable oil Dried oregano Soy sauce Cooking wine Potato starch Ketchup White wine
Healthy one-week (Mon-Fri) menu with a shopping list for people who are busy but still want to cook dinners. I will have a lot of Japanese food since that's what I know how to cook the best, but I want to balance out the menu as much as I can and also cook all sorts of healthy foods. Don't be intimidated by "Japanese cooking"! It's just one way to cook healthy meals.
I'm a working woman whose passion is food. I like to eat good food, and that's why I don't want takeout or frozen dinners! I also want to be healthy... I'm one of those crazy people who like to run on a treadmill (like it much more than jogging outside!).
