Excuse the crappy cell phone picture, I will endeavor to replace it soon but wanted to post a new recipe because, well, it’s been too long. I make a fair amount of Asian-inspired food. Whether it’s my Black Bean Salmon or my Kung Po Chicken; something is usually steaming in my wok once a week. Unfortunately I’ve always had a hard time pairing a good green vegetable side dish with my Asian creations. Imagine the conundrum I face internally when not only am I going to eat some evil soy products and a buttload of life-shortening white rice, but if I don’t even have something green next to it? Quelle horreur! The following fantasticly delish and retardedly easy salad is a blessing to my healthy conscience. It’s not exactly health food with two tablespoons of sugar in the dressing, but overall the good outweighs the bad in this salad – and I’m done obsessing over miniscule amounts of anything in my food.

Asian Green Salad
1/4 cup oil (better with a light-tasting oil, like sunflower or peanut)
1/4 cup asian vinegar (lots to choose from, I like the Japanese seasoned stuff)
2 Tbsp brown sugar

6 cups romaine lettuce or mixed greens
1 cucumber, sliced (peeled and seeded if that’s how you roll)
a handfull of chow mein noodles
a handfull or two of cashews

Mix the oil, vinegar, and brown sugar in a small bowl until the sugar has disolved. Toss the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and then pour the dressing over the salad and toss to mix. Serve immediately, because the noodles will go soft after a while (though some may like this).

1 lb chicken breast (about three breasts)
2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp mixed peppercorns, coarsely ground
1 Tbsp oil
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 Tbsp oyster sauce

Slice the chicken into thin strips. Toss with the ketchup and soy sauce and let marinate at least fifteen minutes. Slice the peppers into long thin strips.

Heat the tablespoon of oil in a wok. Spread the chicken pieces out on a plate and sprinkle the peppercorns over it evenly. Add the chicken to the wok and stir-fry 3-5 minutes, until chicken is mostly cooked.

Add the pepper strips to the pan and stir-fry five minutes. Add the oyster sauce and heat through, another two minutes. Serve hot over rice.

Makes 4 Servings.

8 oz dry Soba noodles
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/8 c fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted

Dressing:
1 Tbsp hot chili sesame oil
2 Tbsp dark rice vinegar
2 Tbsp mirin
1/8 tsp sea salt

Cook the pasta according to package directions; rinse and drain. If you are pressed for time you can run cold water over the noodles to chill them.

In a medium bowl, toss the cooked noodles with vegetables and sesame seeds.

Combine the ingrediets for dressing in a small bowl, then pour over noodle mixture and toss well. Serve chilled.

10-12 bamboo skewers
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 c soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp oil

Soak the bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes.

Slice chicken breast into long strips abotu 3/4 inch wide, thread onto skewers and place in a shallow glass dish.

Mix the soy sauce, honey, and oil. Pour over the chicken, turning the chicken skewers to ensure all of the chicken is coated with the marinade. Cover dish and marinate for at least 30 minutes (but can be refrigerated overnight if you want).

Drain the chicken and save the marinade. Grill over medium-high heat, turning often and brushing with marinade, until cooked through.

Serve hot with your favorite sauce.

Serves 4

This is a super-easy and healthy soup; great as a side-dish to a Chinese meal or on it’s own. It’s so fast I’ve actually made it in the morning to take in my lunch to work! This is a completely invented recipe and there is lots of room to personalize it with your own favorite ingredients. You can easily make this a vegetarian soup by using meatless broth and won tons.

6 cups weak chicken broth (I use 6 cups of water and 2 boullion cubes)
1 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp black rice vinegar (Chinkiang)
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
12-16 frozen won tons
1 – 2 cups baby spinach, sliced or chopped
2 green onions, sliced

In a pot combine the broth, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. Heat to a rolling boil.

Add the frozen won tons to the pot and bring back to boiling. Simmer for twelve minutes, or until won tons are cooked through.

Right before serving, turn off the heat and add the baby spinach and green onion to the pot. This will wilt the greens so they are soft, but the taste of the greens won’t overpower the other flavors in the dish.

Makes 4-6 Servings

2×9 oz packs medium egg noodles (yet-ca-mein)
3 Tbsp sunflower oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 small green chili, seeded and chopped very finely
3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
4 Tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper
4 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Place the noodles in a large pan of biling water, then immediately remove from the heat. Cover and leave to stand for six minutes, stirring once halfway through the time. At the end of six minutes the noodles will be perfectly cooked. Alternatively, cook the noodles following the package instructions.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Mix together the sunflower oil, sesame oil, crushed garlic, and peanut butter in a mixing bowl until smooth.

Add the chopped green chili, sesame seeds, and light soy sauce to the other dressing ingredients. Add the lime juice, according to taste, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain the noodles thoroughly then place in a heated serving bowl. Add the dressing and chopped fresh cilantro to the noodles and toss well to mix. Serve hot as a main meal accompaniment.

Nutritional Information:
300 cals, 7g protein, 21g carbohydrate, 1g sugars, 21g fat, 3g saturates

This is a medium-to-hot spicy dish, you can very the heat by how many dried chilies you use. My man loves this dish; chicken in a thick and rich spicy sauce. My daughter doesn’t eat this because of the spice, even if I try to make it milder. I often double the recipe, if only to avoid fights over the leftovers!

1 pound 2 oz. chicken thighs
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
2 tsp cornstarch
2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 scallions, cut into short sections, separate the green and white parts
4-6 small dried red chilies, soaked and seeded
2 Tbsp crushed yellow bean sauce
2/3 cup Chinese Stock or water

Cut or chop the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and marinate iwth the pepper, sugar, soy sauce, wine, and cornstarch for 25-30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pre-heated wok and stir-fry the chicken for about 1-2 minutes until lightly brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, transfer to a warm dish, and reserve. Add the garlic, white parts of the scallions, the chilies, and the yellow bean sauce to the wok and stir-fry for about 30 seconds.

Return the chicken to the wok, stirring constantly for about 1-2 minutes, then add the stock or water, bring to a boil, and cover. Braise over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring once or twice. Garnish with the green parts of the scallions and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information:
218 cals, 23g protein, 8g carbs, 4g sugars, 9g fat, 2g saturates

1/2 lb (225g) Beef, sliced thin against the grain

Marinade:
2 T Soy sauce
1 T Rice wine vinegar
1/2 t Sugar
1 Clove garlic, minced
1 t Minced ginger root
1 T Cornstarch
1 T Sesame seed oil
1 T Oyster sauce (optional)

2-3 c Broccoli flowerets

Combine sliced beef with marinade in a heat proof dish with a rim. Place in steamer and steam for 10 minutes. Remove cover and arrange broccoli around outer edge of plate. Cover and steam 10 minutes more. Serve with hot white rice

10 oz Chicken breast, cubed
1/4 t Salt
1/2 Egg white
1 t Cornstarch paste
1 Green pepper, cubed
1/2 t Peanut oil
1 Green onion, sliced
6 Slices ginger root
2 T Soy bean sauce
1 t Rice wine
1/2 c Peanuts, unsalted
4-5 Dried red chilies, soaked and sliced

Place the chicken in a bowl with the salt, egg white, and cornstarch paste. Mix well. Heat the oil in a wok and add chicken, stir-fry for one minute. Remove and keep warm. Add the green onion, peppers, chilies, and ginger root. Stir fry for one minute and then add the chicken, bean sauce, and wine. Blend well and stir-fry another minute. Stir in the peanuts and serve hot.

Yield: 4 servings

Per Serving:
Calories: 223.5
Fat: 11.75g
Carbs: 8 g
Fibre: 2.25 g
Protein: 23 g

Bun Dough:
2 2/3 c Flour
2 t Baking powder
3/4 c Sugar
2/3 T Lard or vegetables oil
2/3 T Vinegar
1 Egg white
1 lb Yeast dough, previously prepared

To prepare yeast dough: Dissolve 1 tablespoon dry yeast in 1-1/3 cups luke warm water. Mix well with 2-2/3cups of flour and knead until smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 5 hours.

8 oz Barbecue Pork
2 Pieces green onion, each 2-inch long
3 Cloves garlic
3 T Sugar

Seasoning Mixture:
1 T Soy sauce
1 T Oyster sauce
1 T Sesame oil
1 t Salt
1/2 t Ground white pepper
2/3 c Water
2 t Cornstarch, dissolved in 4 tsp. water
3 T Vegetables oil

Combine all the ingredients for buns in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and knead well until smooth. Press into a large ball and let stand for a while.

Cut barbecued pork into 3/5-inch (1.5cm) squares, 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick. Crush green onions and cloves of garlic.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a wok. Stir-fry green onions and garlic until the oil is well-flavored. Add sugar, continue stir-frying until sugar becomes amber colored.
Remove green onions and garlic from the pan. Add pre combined Seasoning Mixture. When it comes to a boil, pour in the dissolved cornstarch so it will thicken.
Transfer this sauce to a bowl and cool completely. Then add pork pieces. Mix well.

Divide dough for buns to 20 portions, one portion weighs about 1-2/3 oz. (50 g).
Flatten each piece to 2 1/2-inch (6 cm) diameter patty. Place 1 Tbs. pork filling in the center of each patty. Fold dough over the filling and pinch tightly to seal.
Place 2-inch (5 cm) square parchment paper at the bottom of each bun. Place buns in a heated steamer and steam over high heat for 15 minutes.