Lovely, lovely laksa

I apologize for the smartphone photo. I had not planned on blogging this,
but it just came out so tasty, I could not help myself.

Red curry laksa with shrimp

(Malaysian-style rice noodle soup)

This is a dinner that was planned for another day. But with a head cold setting in, I needed something with spice and flavor, but not a lot of heat.

This soup, a Malaysian style dish, has plenty of aromatics in the lemongrass, garlic and ginger. There is turmeric, which adds flavor and gives it a lovely golden-orange color.

And, one of my favorites is in here: red curry paste.

There is so much going on here, yet it all works perfectly together. And perfectly with the base of broth and coconut milk.

Thinly sliced onion and red pepper swirl around the bowl with light, thin rice noodles, and shrimp add some meatiness.

To finish the soup, I wanted more fragrant goodies, so I topped it all with little tears of fresh mint and basil.

The smartphone picture does not do justice to the beauty of the dish, but it was getting late. And I really just wanted to eat.

But first, to give it a sniff. It was all there. Fragrant perfection.

And the more I ate of it, the more my head cleared. At least for the moment.

I can only that if it smelled and tasted this good with my impaired senses, it would really sing when things are firing on all cylinders.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 4-inch lengths then split

1 14-ounce can coconut milk

4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1-2 tablespoons red curry paste (add 1 tablespoon first, then adjust to taste)

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated finely with a microplane or chopped as fine as possible

 1 large red bell pepper, quartered, seeded and thinly sliced

3/4 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

3-4 ounces thin rice noodles (called rice vermicelli or rice sticks)

fresh mint and/or basil for garnish

Directions

Heat canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add onion, garlic and lemongrass. Cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft, but not browned.

Add the coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, red curry paste, honey, coriander, turmeric and ginger. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add red bell peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Use tongs to carefully remove lemongrass pieces, or, if you leave them in, be careful when serving to leave them out of the bowl.

Add shrimp and rice noodles and continue to simmer about 3-4 minutes, until shrimp are cooked and noodles are soft.

Serve immediately. Sprinkle with fresh mint and/or basil.

Steak bun - nope, not a sandwich!

Looking for a cool dish for a hot day, I came across this recipe for a Vietnamese noodle salad in the newest issue of EatingWell.

It did involve a fair amount of chopping and prep at the front end. But nothing was complicated and I was able to get this together in about 35-40 minutes.

It turned out to be a good option for a warm day.

The recipe from Eating Well called for pan-cooking the steak. I opted to grill it. I think I made the right choice. First of all because it meant not having to clean that pan later. Also because I prefer grilled steak.

I also added a hit of Sriracha chili sauce to the dressing because I like a little heat. That is up to the maker, I suppose.

Here is my version.

Steak bun (Vietnamese noodle salad)

makes about 6 servings

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 large NY strip steaks (1-1 1/4 inches thick), trimmed of fat
6 ounces wide rice noodles (I used the Thai rice noodles from Trader Joe's since I had them.)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
4 cups shredded napa cabbage
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 cup slivered fresh basil and/or mint (I used a combination of these and it was good.)
1/2 cup finely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
1 tsp Sriracha or chili paste (I started with a little and added until I got the heat level I wanted)
Salt and pepper

Heat grill over high heat.
Season steak with salt and pepper.
Cook, turning once, until cooked through to your liking. Let rest on a clean cutting board for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook rice noodles according to the package directions, until just tender. Drain the noodles and rinse under cold water.

Whisk vinegar, fish sauce, sugar and Sriracha to taste in a large bowl until the sugar is dissolved.

In a large bowl, toss the dressing with the noodles, cabbage, carrot, radishes, herbs and peanuts.
Then plate up your portions.

Slice the steak into thin strips and serve it on top of the noodle salad. (I cooked two steaks, but each portion only had about half a steak each sliced on top of it since they were big steaks. Then I had some left to eat later without any meat.)

Grilling the meat was the way to go. The EW version also mentions sirloin as a possibility.
I think this would be good with grilled chicken or shrimp, too. Or even just as a meatless option.

Sweet-spicy peanut slaw

So I obviously have been absent from the food blog for a while.

If you read the other blog you know why: I am knocked up!

It has taken me a while to get my appetite back for anything other than cereal or cheese and crackers.

Not to mention not having the energy to do any cooking.

But I am into the second trimester and the appetite and energy are returning.

So I hope to try some new recipes and post here more.

Up now...I think it is clear that I am fond of certain Asian flavors. I use sesame oil and rice vinegar and Sriracha chile sauce in a lot of things. A favorite way to use them is in a light slaw that is great with grilled meats (or even on its own!).

Sweet-spicy peanut slaw
(makes 4 side-dish servings)

1/2 a nappa cabbage (about 6 cups) cut into thin strips
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 carrots, grated
4-5 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp Sriracha (or other chile sauce) - this can be adjusted to suit your own heat level

Toss cabbage, cilantro, carrot, green onion and peanuts in a large bowl.

Whisk together sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, ground ginger and Sriracha.

Add dressing to cabbage mixture and gently combine to coat.

That's it!

cool cous cous and edamame

This came to me in a moment of laziness.
I was ready to make dinner Monday night, but did not have the gumption to get myself to the market.
A quick tour of the pantry yielded a box of cous cous. In the freezer I found some precooked soybeans in the pods and a pork tenderloin.
Hmmmm...
Yeah, I can work with these.
I set the pork to thaw in a sink full of cool water then got to thinking about how to make it all work together.

My inspiration was two yummy salad options from the Corner Bakery. At my branch of this chain they have an option of getting a trio sampler of some of the salads. Two that I really like are the ginger and asparagus cous cous with dried cranberries and almonds, as well as a mixture of edamame with asparagus and tomatoes in a tangy Asian-inspired dressing.

Somehow toward the end of my meal they are commingling on the plate so that I get cous cous and edamame together. Which is fine. It tastes pretty good.

So I decided to take what I liked about those salads and combine them, being limited to what I had at home.

Here you have it:

Cool cous cous and edamame
(with toasted almonds)

3 cups cooked plain cous cous, cooled
(for me this was 1 1/3 cup dry cous cous cooked to package directions)

1 cup slivered almonds, toasted in a saute pan until golden brown

1 lb frozen edamame in the pods, cooked and shelled
(should yield about 1 1/4 cups beans)

3 tbsp minced shallot

combine all of the above, stirring or tossing gently to mix

for the dressing

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp ponzu sauce
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp red chili paste, such as Sriracha

combine all of the dressing ingredients, stirring until sugar has dissolved

Pour dressing over cous cous mixture and gently stir or toss to coat.

Enjoy!

If there had been a red pepper in the fridge, I would have diced some of that up and added it for a little more color and flavor. But this was pretty good as is.

I served this on a bed of chopped romaine lettuce.
To make it more of a dinner for the manfriend and me, I added some slices of grilled pork tenderloin.
Since the cous cous dressing had some tang and spice to it already, I kept the meat simple, just marinating it in a mixture of 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tbsp sesame oil.
Then I grilled it.

This was awesome. I like a combination of cool and hot like this.
And the lettuce underneath gave it an extra layer of crunch.

I had leftover cous cous over more lettuce for lunch today. Still good.
And so, so, so easy to make.

Vietnamese-style summer rolls

OK, I will not claim that these are authentic Vietnamese Summer rolls.

But they were good. And, other than the chopping, they were easy to make.

Vietnamese-style Summer rolls

1 medium carrot - julienned

1 small cucumber - peeled, seeds removed and julienned

1/2 cup bean sprouts

4 to 5 green onions - julienned

1 bunch cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon soy sauce or Ponzu sauce

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)

1 package thin rice noodles - optional - (I used mee krob type)
Cook about a handful of these according to package directions and let cool.

8 (8-inch) rice sheets (plus more in case some tear)

Warm water, for soaking rice sheets

So here, we go... a little picture show on making summer rolls.

First get all your veggies cut up and ready to go.

As I pointed out in the previous post, I find this ceramic blade slicer very handy.

I sliced the veggies thin, then used a chef's knife to cut the julienne strips.

Thin, thin, thin.
This did not work for the green onions though. I just used the knife for that.

Once all the veggies are chopped, combine the carrots, cucumbers, green onion and bean sprouts. Toss with soy or Ponzu sauce.

Assembly goes pretty fast, so you want to have all your ingredients on hand.
Have veggies, noodles and cilantro ready.

The rice sheets are dry and stiff and must be reconstituted in warm water.
I used a small sautee pan of warm water, just from the tap. No need for boiling. You will be working with your hands in this, so it should not be too hot.

Soak one sheet at a time in the water until the sheet is soft and pliable. If there are any large holes or tears, discard and start with a new sheet.

Carefully remove sheet to a work surface and spread it out as flat as possible.
This is where you need to work somewhat quickly so the sheet does not get too dry and stick to the surface.

In the center of the sheet, sprinkle some cilantro leaves.

Add a small portion of the noodles on top of that, then top with some of the veggie mix.

Fold one end then the other over, like above. Then fold a third side all the way over the veggie mixture. From here, roll it up tight like a little burrito. The last side should basically stick to the outside of the roll and seal itself.

To serve, I cut them in half and served with a few things: peanut sauce, hot mustard, red chili sauce and Ponzu mixed with a little honey.

These were vegetarian (no fish sauce in mine), but I think they would be good with some cold, cooked shrimp in there.

This was an experiment, but it was a fun one that turned out to be a tasty one, too. Use what you like, basically.
These were great as a starter. And with the leftover ingredients, I was able to quickly assemble a couple for my lunch the next day after diving.

OK. That's all I got for today.

sweet and tangy grilled pork tenderloin (with red onion reduction and tangy Asian slaw)

I'm giving you the money shot, right up front. No having to wait for it until the end this time.



It was such a nice day Sunday that I decided to barbecue.
I went to an old fallback, the pork tenderloin. I find it hard to screw up this cut of meat.
And for a change I measured the ingredients for the marinade I like. Usually I wing it and it is always similar, but never exactly the same twice.


This is a fairly cheap cut of meat. The tenderloin I got was 1.35 pounds and cost about $6.75.
It made dinner for me and the manfriend and enough left for him to take for lunch the next day.

I get the ponzu sauce from the Asian food aisle at my market. I have found recipes online for how to make it myself, but the stuff in the bottle is easier.

When I am out of ponzu (or if the store is out) I use soy sauce and lemon or lime juice instead (about equal parts). It is not exactly the same. But it works for me.

Oh, and I use a gas grill.

Here you go:

sweet and tangy grilled pork tenderloin

(with red onion reduction and Asian slaw)

1 cup ponzu sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp hot chili sauce ( I use Sriracha)
1 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp sesame oil

1 pork tenderloin

1/2 red onion
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)


Whisk together first 5 ingredients ingredients.
Transfer about 3/4 cup of the liquid to a small sauce pan and set aside.

Trim any excess fat or silverskin from the meat.

Put tenderloin in a dish or zip-top bag and pour marinade over it.

Let pork marinate at least an hour, turning meat every 15-20 minutes to evenly distribute flavors. The longer you marinate, the more intense the flavors will be. I would not marinate the tenderloin for more than 4 hours. This is a pretty strong flavor.

Begin heating grill to medium-high heat.

For the reduction
(I started this, then put the meat on the grill so they cooked at the same time)

Heat the reserved liquid over medium heat and add wine.
Slice the half onion as thin as possible and add to liquid.
Keep cooking on medium heat until liquid reduces and you are left with almost a relish of the onions.
If it starts to boil rapidly, turn heat down a bit. I should just be at a high simmer.
There should be more onion that liquid and what liquid there is should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
Once this is done, turn it off and set it aside to be used as a garnish for the tenderloin.


To cook meat
Place the tenderloins on the grill and cook for 18-20 minutes, turning a few times. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part will read 155 degrees F when the meat is ready.

Remove from grill and let meat to rest for 5-10 minutes before carving.

Slice meat into medallions and serve with a bit of the onion reduction on top or on the side.

I served this with side dishes of sweet potato "fries" and a quick Asian slaw.

For the slaw
1 small Napa or Savoy cabbage, cut into quarters, cored and thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 small bunch cilantro, washed and roughly chopped
(I try to use mostly leaves, but cilantro is an herb that can be used stem and all)
1/4 to 1/2 red onion (depending on your taste), thinly sliced into strips
1/4 cup honey roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Your favorite Asian style salad dressing or Chinese chicken salad dressing (I like a brand called Feast from the East that I found at Costco.)

Toss all the veggies together with enough of the salad dressing to make it how YOU like it. I like mine lightly dressed.

Serve with a bit of the chopped peanuts sprinkled on top.

Asian-spiced meatballs with snow peas and hoisin sauce

I made these two weeks ahead and froze them, cooked.

Meatballs
1 pound ground pork (I have used ground turkey in the past, but pork is a richer flavor)
6 sweet Italian sausages, removed from casings
3 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 can water chestnuts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons red chili sauce (Sriracha type sauce)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro


Hoisin Sauce
splash of sesame or olive oil
1 jar prepared hoisin sauce (Most grocery stores will have this in the Asian-food aisle.)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons white wine

Snow Pea garnish
48-50 snow peas of approximate size (I knew I needed 48 since I made the meatballs ahead of time and bought the snow peas a couple days before the party. You can guess how many you will need. The recipe should make about 4 dozen meatballs.)

wooden picks to hold snow peas to meatballs


For meatballs:
Preheat oven to 400.
Combine all the ingredients. I find the best way is to use my hands. It feels a little gross, but then I know all the stuff will be really well-mixed.
Form meatballs into 1-inch balls and place in large roasting pan.
Roast 20-25 minutes, turning every 5-7 minutes so they can brown on all sides.
Once cooled, these can be frozen. Thaw before reheating.
To reheat them, I put them in a skillet with a splash of chicken broth and steamed them for about 5 minutes.

For the sauce:
Heat oil in sauce pan and add garlic and ginger.
Sautee for just a couple minutes over medium heat, but do not let it brown.
Add store-bought hoisin sauce and wine.

That is it for the sauce. I made this three days ahead and stuck it in the fridge.

For the snow peas (Make this part the day of your event):
Bring large pan of salted water to a boil.
Add peas and cook until bright green and flexible. This should be 30-60 seconds.
Rinse with cold water.
Drain and set aside.


To assemble:
Warm hoisin sauce in microwave or on stove.
Pour onto platter in thin, even layer.
Fold each snow pea in half and attach it to a meatball with a wooden pick.
Place the meatballs on top of the sauce.
Serve.

I think that is it.

This one sounds more complicated than it is. Especially since I did in stages. But that really makes it easier. Then you just have to heat the meatballs and sauce and serve them.

I think these meatballs would be good in some type of brothy soup with bok choy. I may have to experiment.