Pork Scallion Pot Stickers

It's been a while hasn't it!?!?!?  My kitchen and I haven't been spending much time together lately... Mostly because I spend my time shuttling back and forth between the bf's house and social engagements with my girlfriends.  I might have time to cook one night a week at my house... and that seems like a lot of work to get groceries and cook myself a meal.  I've been eating a lot of lean cuisines lately to bridge that gap.

I am over the moon with these pot stickers.  The recipe makes a lot of dumplings, so it's good to freeze for leftovers.

Pork-Scallion Pot Stickers (as adapted from Food & Wine)

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 cups finely chopped green cabbage
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 5 large)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more for dipping
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 package round gyoza wrappers
• 1 cup water

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients, except for wrappers and vegetable oil. 

Mush it all together.  Though you might want to... No taste testing... this is raw pork people.  

Fill each wrapper with about 1 tablespoon of filling.  Don't overfill.  Then use water/vegetable oil to draw a circle around the outer edges of the wrapper.  Fold over to make half circles and press closed.

Like so.

These can either be steamed or fried.  In the name of science, I tried both.  However, I liked the fried ones way better.  I steamed in a steamer for about 4 minutes each side.  Make sure you flip after four so that the dumplings don't stick to the bottom of the steamer.

Or you can fried them up in a few tablespoons of EVOO.  About three minutes on either side.  Just make sure the pork is cooked all the way through.

I think this recipe made about 60 dumplings for me.  I froze them on a cookie sheet, separately, and then put into a tupperware.  This was to ensure the didn't all freeze up together in a giant dumpling mess.

Spicy Asian Marinated Steak

My bff and college roommate gets a subscription to Cooking Light.  She rips out the recipes she likes and then passes the magazines on to me.  Lucky for me, she doesn't eat the same things I do!

Anyways, I love this recipe.  You will too.  Just a heads up that it calls for a day of marinating.  So plan ahead.  It's ridiculously easy.

Spicy Asian Marinated Flank:

• 2 tablespoons less-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed

Throw your steak into a ziploc bag, add all of the ingredients and close.  Give it a good mixin' and a shakin'.  Place in the fridge.  Pour yourself a glass of hard earned wine.  Maybe throw up your kicks on the coffee table and get to some DVR-ing.  Life should always be this easy.

At some point, be sure to flip over your ziploc bag and give a good shake.

The next day, take out the steak and discard the marinade.  I know, all those ingredients just to be thrown away!  I actually used my leftovers on some pork, so I got two uses out of my mine.  Now, if you have a grill, heat it up and grill away.  Now if you live somewhere where your grilling is limited due to it being buried under snow or you don't have access to a grill because city living entitles you to zero outdoor space, then it's time to pan sear it. 

Heat your pan, then add a tablespoon or so of EVOO.  I did mine about medium high.  Once the oil is HOT, add your steak.  

 

Remember the golden rule when searing:  DO NOT TOUCH.  Let it sear.

 

I'm serious!  Don't touch!  As you can see in my pictures, my oil is starting to smoke.  I'm worried about ruining by best IKEA frying pan.  (insert sarcasm and gift ideas here)  But I soldier on.  There's searing to be done.

 

After five minutes or so, flip.  As you can see, I was hoping for a better sear, but the meat was not flat on the bottom. 

And, at this point, I definitely set off the smoke alarms in my apartment.  Again. 

Five minutes on the other side and PRESTO:  Sear has been achieved.

 

Once your steak is done, let it sit for five minutes or so.  This allows the juices inside to set.  If you slice right away, then will drain all over the plate and you'll miss out. 

I served mine with the world's easiest side.  I cut up a red pepper, purple onion, sugar snap peas and some garlic.  Saute the garlic very briefly, add in your vegetables and saute until soft/crisp.  I LOVED this side dish.  It doesn't need anything fancy, the vegetables just do right by each other. 

 

Slice the meat and serve.  Check out that perfectly seared steak.  I was very impressed with my skills!



Those are homemade sweet potato fries in the back. Amazing.  Recipe to come later.



 

 

Asian Shrimp with Brussel Sprouts

This is another recipe that I discovered in Real Simple's January 2011 magazine.  I was drawn to it because of the Brussel sprouts.  I've only had them twice before - once post college when we were having regular YP dinner parties every few weeks and once more recently. My girl Molls cheffed 'em up back in the day - and I remember being hesitant, but pleasantly surprised at this strange, tasty new vegetable I just tried.  And when I had them recently, they were a little over EVOO-ed, but I still thought they had decent flavor.  I feel like Brussel Sprouts get a bad rap.... sometimes rightly so.  I think they have to be cooked perfectly and they aren't such a bad little vegetable.  (Raw is a completely different story.  ewww.)

Asian Shrimp with Brussell Sprouts: (as adapted)

• 1 cup long-grain white rice 
• 1 pound shrimp, chopped in halves 
• 3 tablespooons canola oil, plus more, if necessary 
• 1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced 
• 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks 
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar 
• 1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced 
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced 
• 2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
• 1/4 carrots (optional)

Get your skillet pan going on medium heat and heat up some of you oil.  Once hot, in go the sprouts, ginger and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar and 3/4 cup of water to pan and cook another 2 to 3 minutes until the sprouts are crisp tender.  Unfortunately, I don't know what that means.  In all honesty, I cheffed this up after shoveling and I was a few brews deep.  It was 12 inches.... can you blame me for being a little thirsty??

(On a side note: Southern Tier's Double IPA's are insanely tasty... but with a 8.2% ABV, they creep on you.)

Either way - it looks like this.  The sauce needs to thicken.  I threw a little cornstarch into mine to help speed it along (about 1 to 2 tablespoons).

Don't these look pretty?

Once the sauce has thickened, throw in your shrimps and your chili.  Cook until the shrimps are pink. And, in the grand finale, toss in your sesame oil and scallions and top with smashed peanuts.  If that's your thing.  It's clearly my thing.

I served over a bed of brown rice.

As you can see from the picture below, the vegetables are overcooked - hence the loss of their brilliant colors as shown above.  That's okay.  I believe it tasted pretty good... but by then, I had already moved on from wicked strong beers to a bottle of wine.  

Help me Rhonda.

The leftovers the next day made for a quick and easy lunch.

Chinese Dumpling Soup

Lots of ingredients, but a very simple soup to prepare.

Amy has been on a soup kick lately and I couldn't help but want to chef up some soup for my own kitchen and freezer.  It's so fabulous to make up a giant batch of wholesome soup and freeze it for a later date. 










Chinese Dumpling Soup (from Food Network):
8 cups low-sodium chicken or mushroom broth
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned or cut into match sticks
1 tablespoon soy sauce, preferably dark
1/4 cup Shaohsing rice cooking wine or pale dry sherry
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar/or 2 tablespoons black vinegar
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
2 carrots, thinly sliced on the bias- about 1 cup
24 frozen Chinese dumplings, pork, shrimp, or 1 pound package
3 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
4 cups bag baby spinach
chopped cilantro (optional)
Asian chili paste (optional)

Put the broth, ginger, soy, wine, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and salt in a soup pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Adjust the heat so the broth simmers and cooks to lightly flavor with ginger, about 10-15-minutes.

Add the carrots, and simmer until tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Just before serving, add the dumplings, cook for 3 minutes, stir in the scallions and spinach and cook until the greens wilt, about 1 minute. 
 

 

I added a teaspoon of sriracha to my soup and I thought it added wonderful taste and a touch of spice.  It was so hearty and warm and filling... what a fabulous easy soup.  And behold, leftovers! The big guy is an upcoming lunch and the two medium pals went straight into the freezer.
 
 

The Most Amazing "Salad". Ever.

My favorite restaurant in Boston is Houston's.  I think it's now called Hillstone, but to me, it will always be Houston's.  Nearly four years ago, I went to dinner with a few coworkers and ordered their Thai Beef Noodle Salad.  I was probably trying to watch my weight, hence the salad order (even though any good calorie counter knows that salads are disguised  caloric terror attacks), but what came out to me didn't even contain a single piece of lettuce. 

Instead it had thai noodles.  And mango.  And avocado.  Juicy cherry tomatoes.  Delicious pieces of fillet - perfectly seared. Cilantro.  And was that Mint?  Swooooooon.  All mixed in a sweet dressing, with just the right amount of spicy-ness.  Every bite was an amazing flavor party in my mouth. 

I have never felt the need to order anything else from Houston's since.  Why bother?  I've tried their ribs, sushi, fish - but nothing will ever come close to their Thai Beef Noodle Salad.  This dish singlehandedly gets me in the door every time I think about having a fabulous meal out.  I have been there on first dates, birthday dinners, parents in town dinners, random weekday nights.... sometimes the craving call just needs to be answered.  Sometimes you just need to make up a reason to go and "celebrate".

The dish costs a $18 so it is clearly not an everyday purchase.  I have searched high and low for a copycat recipe to make at home.... and finally, I stumbled across it on Epicurious.com.

And it was pretty freaking amazing.  I share it's glory with you:

Dressing:

3 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha or similar chile paste
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil (I subbed vegetable oil with success)

Salad Ingredients:
1/2 pound filet mignon, cut into chunks
1 ounce Chinese egg noodles, cooked al dente
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 shredded carrot
1 diced mango
1 avocado
1/3 cup diced tomato
2 sliced scallions
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
1/2 cup combination of chopped cilantro, mint, and Thai basil
 
This salad is a labor of love, as there is a ridiculous amount of chopping involved.  Best to have a sous chef with you in the kitchen to do some of the manual labor.  (Besides, then you have someone to help with all the dishes.  I am learning this the hard way.) 
 
Chop up all your salad ingredients, keeping in mind that precise measurement isn't all that crucial.  At the same time, throw a pot on the stove and chef up those chinese egg noodles.  I went to Chinatown to purchase mine, but if you can't find them, I think angel hair pasta would substitute as a "good enough".  Once they are cooked al dente, strain through cold water to chill.  Set aside.
 



A little work goes a long way in the prep of this dish.

  
Once all your ingredients are prepped, fire up either a hot pan or the grill and chef up some steak baby!  Simple is better here - some salt/pepper and high heat.  I like my steak medium rare.  Once the steak it ready, you're ready to make the final step:  The Dressing. 
 
Throw all your ingredients into a bowl.  Noodles should be light, cabbage should be plentiful.  Tomatoes, avocado, mangoes away to your hearts content.
 
Let the pictures do the talking......
 



The colors.  The freshness.  Yum.

  

 
This was worth every bit of effort and every dime spent in recreating.  Utterly Fabulous.

Sweet Chili Broccoli

Frozen vegetables make fabulous side dishes. Almost every meal I have is complimented by a side of heaping side of greens - mostly because it's a healthy way to fill out a dinner. 99.9% of the time, I end up using my steamer and a sprinkle of ground sea salt - it's that simple. Bam - side dish done.





(Actually, let's be real - sometimes it's even simpler. Sometimes the steamed vegetables are the actual entree. I can't help myself. I favor simplicity. I watch my calories. I love fiber. Some people eat cereal and Bud Light for dinner. I, on occasion, eat steamed frozen vegetables and a glass of wine. Call me low maintenance.)



But I'm hungry. Mama wants to keep it simple. I don't feel like defrosting meat. I don't feel like making anything starchy. I have a bag of frozen broccoli in my freezer calling my name. Knowing I could challenge myself a bit beyond the steamer, I search the fridge in hopes of some inspiration.

Sweet Chili Garlic Sauce? Don't mind if I do. Let's chef up a side that has an Asian influence to it.

1 teaspoon Peanut Oil

1/2 teaspoon Chili Garlic Sauce

Broccoli (Frozen or fresh).

I had these ingredients on hand for a pad thai receipe I cheffed up quite a while ago. I did my shopping at the Kam Man in Quincy, MA. (an experience worth it's own post....)

Simply, an inch of water in your pot. Steam frozen broccoli (or you could use fresh broccoli too). Boil water, cover pan.  Cook until soft.  Firm, but not too firm.  Not too soggy either.

Add 1 teaspoon peanut oil and 1/2 teaspoon sweet chili garlic sauce.  Mix sauce into oil - turn on burner to medium high. Allow it to heat and start to sizzle.

Once the sauce is heated, add broccoli and mix around. Stir fry around enough to coat all the broccoli in sauce. (Tip - sauce coats about 1 cup of broccoli.)

Done! Eat up. Despite the lack of beef, this dish ended up reminding me of a beef and broccoli dish at a chinese restaurant. Fresh broccoli, little bit of kick.











Satisfying, light dinner for Moi.

Calories:

175: entire serving

Pad Thai

My love for Pad Thai dates back to my dates of living in Sydney (which is hands down one of the greatest cities on this planet).  I was far, far away from the land of hot dish and green bean cassarole and I was ready for a tastebud adventure.  I can't remember which of my fabulous friends introduced me to this very basic thai noodle dish, but I can remember it was love at first site.  Peanuts, scallions, delicious noodles.... hello lover.

About a year ago, I found a recipe on eatingwell.com for pad thai and decided that I had to make it.  I went to the Kam Man in Quincy to stock up on all the strange ingredients required to chef up such exoticness.  I remember being appalled financially when I got to the register, but these ingredients have lasted a very long time and have come in handy for many other dishes. 

So let's get to it.  This recipe requires the ability to move quickly.  So I suggest you get your ingredients prepped and ready to go.  

Pad Thai (from eatingwell.com)

4 ounces dried rice noodles
2 teaspoons peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces small shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup sliced scallion greens
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Lots of ingredients needed for Pad Thai.

Substitutions:

 I chose to sub in wheat angel hair vs the rice noodles.  I didn't like the rice noodles I did last time, so I decided to play it safe this time around.  If you go rice noodles, soak for 20 minutes in hot water until softened.  If you go pasta noodles, boil water and cook as directed.  

I also chose to sub in chicken vs shrimp for budget reasons.  Shrimp doesn't have to be cooked beforehand, but obviously the chicken would need to be chopped and cooked before adding.

(Side note:  you're about to notice my cooking vessel is a frying pan.  I had a wok, which was amazing, but was left behind in the move.  You make due with what ya got.  let's all pour one out for things that were once had and are no longer. :( )

Once you have the noodles ready, start your engines.  it's go time.  And it's fast.

Heat your peanut oil on medium high until hot.  Add garlic and let brown quickly.  This takes a matter of 30 seconds.  

Next, your lightly beaten egg needed to be scrambled. Scramble around until cooked.

Once your egg is lightly scrambled, add in the shrimp first, stir frying until pink and then the noodles, stir frying until soft.  If you go my route, I threw them in at the same time and stir frying around until warm.

Next add in your scallions and bean sprouts and remaining ingredients.  The bean sprouts in this recipe are a filler.  You use less noodles, add in bean sprouts and VIOLA! instantaneously healthy.  No flavor lost.  Stir fry around.  You see I am struggling here with my tiny tiny little frying pan.  With a wok this was way easier to mix around the flavors and stir fry - I made a sick mess of my stove trying to do so with this pan. 

 Perfection.  Healthy, homemade Pad Thai.

Cry for me!  The pitfalls of cooking for one are clearly evidenced above.  This clean up was brutal.

Don't forget to add your smushed up peanuts as a topper.  I clearly used a can of soup to smash my peanuts.  Yum.  So good.


Calories count: 325, servings, 4.
(Disclaimer, mine only last two servings.)