Stir-Fry Bok Choy & Mushrooms

Stir Fry Bok Choy & Mushrooms

Ingredients:

A Few Bunches of Bok Choy

A Few Ounces of Mushroom (I used King Oyster here, but you can use almost any other meaty mushroom like Shitake or Portebello sliced)

2-3            Cloves of Garlic

Salt & Pepper

• When stir-frying any veggie dish, you generally want to slice or chop your ingredients into similar shapes and sizes so that it’s visually pleasing and cooks evenly.

1. Wash all the veggies and slice the bok choy and mushrooms into 1-inch pieces.
2. Add a tablespoon of cooking vegetable oil to a hot wok or large sauté pan over medium high heat.
3. Mince the garlic and add to the pan, once you see the garlic sizzle and smell the garlic aroma add the mushrooms and let the mushrooms cook until slightly brown, a few minutes.
4. Add the bok choy, salt and pepper to taste, toss with the mushrooms and sauté for a couple minutes until leaves wilt.  Remove from heat and serve.

• Remember to keep cooking time in mind, whatever will need more time to cook should be added to the pan first.
• You can also use any other green veggie, such as broccoli, chayote, or spinach.  The mushrooms are sort of like a yummy meat substitute. =)  Below is spinach with beech mushrooms and also a little sliced red chili for an additonal spice.

Chunky Salsa

Chunky Salsa

Ingredients:

2            Tomatoes

½           Bunch Cilantro

1            Sweet Onion

1            Jalapeno (2 if you want it spicier)

2            Cloves of Garlic

½           Lime Juiced

Salt & Pepper

1. Dice tomatoes, sweet onion, jalapeno, chop cilantro, and mince garlic.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, add the lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Green Guacamole

Green Guacamole

Ingredients:

2            Avocados

1            Bunch Cilantro

2            Tomatillos

½            Sweet Onion

2            Cloves Garlic

1            Lime Juiced

½             Teaspoon Cumin

Salt & Pepper

1. Half the avocados and carefully remove the seeds.  Score the flesh of the avocados by cutting vertical and then horizontal lines without cutting through the skin then scoop out into a bowl with a spoon.
2. Dice the tomatillos and sweet onion then add to the bowl.
3. Chop the cilantro and add to the bowl.
4. Mince the garlic then add to the bowl along with the lime juice, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Mix everything together and serve

            *To keep avocados from browning, keep one of the avocado seeds in the guacamole.

Vegan Love

Vegan Love

Nope, your eyes do not deceive you, I wrote “love” with “vegan”.  Those who know me know my love of food, almost all food.  I appreciate how so many things from this beautiful and bountiful Earth have been ingeniously used to give us life and sustenance.  It is a testament to human adversity, history, tenacity, and innovation.  Many mistake my love of food, including animal and animal by-products, as a shunning of those who choose to live a vegan or vegetarian life-style.  This cannot be further from the truth.  I admire and respect any who make careful, educated, and well thought out choices for themselves and choose to stand by a principle.  The thing that I detest, are not those who choose to be vegetarian or vegan for a love of your own health or animals, but those who choose to be wasteful, hypocritical, and devalue an animal’s life by wearing a leather belt while speaking of animal rights.  What I consider a further indignity is the person who chooses to act and think out of cultural ignorance, and demeans other people’s way of life by rudely assuming another culture’s food is gross just because it is foreign to them.  Before I veer off into a whole other vent, I’m reminded that I entitled this post, “Vegan Love”.  So instead of the venting, let me refocus on the love. =)

Granted most of time I consider my diet pretty healthy.  80% of the times I cook at home, bring home-cooked food to work for lunch, and its usually healthy well-balanced Chinese food.  Some protein, lots of veggies, and brown rice are common factors. But I do like a good cleansing a couple times a year.  I’m not a physician or scientist or even a nutritionist, I’ve read a few articles and that’s about it, so this is not by any means expert advice, just what I’ve experienced and done in my life to stay healthy.  I feel that our bodies, like other machinery in our lives like our cars or plumbing, must collect some undesirable substances through our daily intake of stuff, good and bad, and that extra gunk in our system can’t be good for us.  So every few months or so, I like to clean it out.  Unclog my organic biological pipes, and the best cleaning method that I’ve done is a strict vegan diet for about 10 days.

The rules are simple: only eat vegetables and drink water.  That’s it.  This cleanse was first inspired by a spiritual fast based on the story of Daniel in the Old Testament.  The first time I did it, it was spiritual based so I was on the diet for 40 days.  Since then, I’ve done it more for a physical cleanse as well as spiritual fast.  The first questions people have are always about what kind of food might be allowed or drinks, like “how bout coffee? can you have soda? bread? milk? pastries?”  I used to answer each question but now I just repeat the simple diet: ONLY eat vegetable and drink water.  If you question it, then don’t eat it.  Of course there are a few grey areas, like avocados and tomatoes.  Are they fruit or vegetables?  I don’t know, but I eat them. 

I also found that Asian cooking is very vegan friendly!  There’s only so much salad someone can eat and raw veggies aren’t my favorite, so I allow myself olive oil, salt and pepper.  The possibilities are quite expansive and I’m challenged to cook and eat veggies I don’t normally try.  The creativity in my cooking improves leaps and bounds and I feel healthier, cleaner, and thinner by the end of the 10 days.  That’s a good thing.

I have asked myself, why not make this a permanent life choice?  All that I have listed are positive outcomes.  My answer is simply that I love food…all food.  It might not be the best for my health, but I WANT to eat animals and their by-products.  I love cheese, bone marrow on toast, chicken broth, sweet seafood, and a tender piece of red meat.  So I opt for a semi-annual cleansing to allow for guilt free consumption the rest of my days, I figure it balances out somehow =) 

Now for some vegan recipes that help me keep my vegan days delicious…see following posts...

Pumpkin Panang Curry Pot Pie

Pumpkin Panang Curry Pot Pie

I love flaky buttery breads, like the top of a pot pie.  Pot pies are really the quintessential comfort food.  Its warm and creamy paired perfectly with the crust, mmmmm….and it’s so hearty!  But oftentimes I find the white cream sauce typically used in pot pies to be too rich and lacking in kick, the kinda punch and kick you get from spice.  So I came up with a curry pot pie that has more than enough flavorful sweat inducing spices along with all the sweet, savory, and sour notes that hit every part of my palette, while also having the creamy and crusty textural qualities of a pot pie.

Cook Time: 45 Minutes            Yields: 4 – 6 Servings

Ingredients:

o      Squash or Pumpkin, Chopped into bite size pieces

o      2 Tablespoons Panang Curry Paste*

o      1 Medium Can (about 14oz) Coconut Milk*

o      2 Shallots or 1 Brown Onion, Chopped

o      4 Sweet Peppers or 1 Red & 1 Green Bell Peppers, Chopped

o      A Handful of Mushrooms (Button or Baby Bella), Quartered - Optional

o      2 Stalks Green Onions, Chopped

o      3 Slices Fresh Ginger

o      1 Lime and Lime Leaf

o      Protein of your choice, shown here chicken thigh meat, cubed

o      Store Bought Frozen Puff Pastry Sheet

o      Cooking Oil

o      Michiu (cooking rice wine)*

o      Salt & Pepper

* Available in most Asian grocery stores or in the ethnic/Asian aisle at a local supermarket

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Marinate cubed protein with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of Michiu.
• Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the squash or pumpkin for about 5 minutes.  Use a chopstick or toothpick to stick through a piece, if it goes through then it's done.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan and cook the protein of your choice. Chicken or pork: brown over medium high heat. Shrimp: sauté until slightly pink over medium heat. Beef: sear over high heat.  Remove from pan and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in an oven safe saucepot and sauté the onion, ginger, and peppers until fragrant (a few min).  Add the mushrooms and sauté until slightly brown.  Then push everything to the edge of the pot making space in the middle, add a little bit more oil if necessary and add the curry paste with a few tablespoons of the coconut milk and mix while heating through.  Add the rest of the coconut milk and lime leaf, mix everything in the pan together and bring to a simmer, reduce to low heat.  Salt and pepper to taste

• Take the puff pastry out of the freezer and let it defrost for about 10-15 min while the curry simmers.  Meanwhile prepare a egg wash by beating an egg in a bowl.
• Add the protein and squash/pumpkin to the curry mixture, turn off the heat and quickly place the puff pastry sheet over the top of the pot like a lid and brush quickly with egg wash then place in oven for about 10 – 15 minutes or when the puff pastry puffs up and browns.  Remove from oven and serve with rice if desired.  When you break through the crust, squeeze some lime in the curry to add a hint of sour and brighten up the dish.

Tip: You can also serve as individual portions by pouring the curry into individual ramekins or oven safe bowls and cutting the puff pastry into circles that fit over each ramekin. Then continue with egg wash and put in oven.

Very simple, very delicious! – Pot roasted, buttery, garlicy and peppery crab

Yes. I love crab. I grew up on an island with abundant seafood, and I learned how to steam a crab at age 10. It’s not hard at all and it tastes much better than the boiled and chilled ones they sell at touristy restaurants. Buy a live crab and follow this recipe, I bet you’ll love it!

Ingredients: 1 live Dungeness (the bigger the better), 3 slices of ginger, 1 stalk of green onion, ½ tablespoon of butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ teaspoon of white pepper powder, 1 cup of ice cream salt

Methods: Use an old tooth brush to clean the crab. (grab the crab from the bottom to avoid claw attack! You can use a tong too.) Boil 2 cups of water in a big pot. Place green onion and ginger slices on your steam basket and put the crab in, stomach facing up. Put the steam basket in the boiling pot and steam for 10 minutes over high heat. Remove the crab from steam basket and place it on a plate. Cut butter from a cold stick and use a fork to cover the crab evenly. Mix salt, garlic powder and white pepper powder and sprinkle evenly on the crab. Put ice cream salt in the big pot (that fits the crab) and stir till very hot, about 2 minutes. Place the crab on top of the heated salt and put the lid on, do not add water at this step. Pot roast for another 10 minutes over low to medium heat.

Once you try it this way you’ll never want to go back to the “boiled and chilled” version. The shell is covered with yummy seasoning and the meat is intensely sweet by roasting on ice cream salt. You’ll get the butter + crab flavor combo without dipping the lean crab meat in artery clogging butter. More flavor, less guilt!

P.S. If you prefer steamed crab, just follow half of the recipe.

Here's a little "How to eat crab" tutorial =)

Garlic Broccoli and Chicken

Broccoli and Chicken

When my mom was teaching me how to cook, she used to simply say that basic Chinese cooking merely involves pairing meat with a veggie and sauté with garlic.  This is a perfect example of that philosophy.  It’s easy, simple, healthy and packed with garlicy flavor. 

Cook Time: 15 min                        Yields: 2-3 Servings

o      1 Head of Broccoli

o      6-8 Oz of Chicken thigh meat (w/o skin and bones)*

o      2 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped

o      Cooking Michiu (Rice Wine)

o      Salt and White Pepper powder

1. Trim the head of broccoli by cutting off each floret and peel the skin off using a paring knife.  Soak all the broccoli florets in water.

2. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and season with a splash of Michiu, salt and white pepper powder (about a teaspoon each).

3. Heat cooking oil in a large sauté pan that has a cover.  Add the garlic and chicken to the pan and sauté over medium-high heat, browning slightly.

4. Drain the broccoli florets and add to sauté pan, toss with the chicken and salt and pepper to taste.  Add about ¼ - ½ cup of water and cover to steam for about 3 minutes.

5. Taste test one of the florets to makes sure that its cooked through but still firm.  If it needs to cook a little more, continue to sauté for a couple more minutes.  Serve with some rice or as a side dish.

You can substitute the chicken with any other meat or seafood, such as beef or shrimp, or just cook the broccoli alone for vegetarian dish.  =)