Wokkin’ Wednesdays: Quick Peanut Satay Tuna w/ Udon

Ms. Ray has nothing on me with this recipe. I can seriously have it tucked in my bowl with chopsticks in hand in 15 minutes or less. This is the ultimate “I need to eat now!” noodle dish.

There really isn’t any ‘recipe’ that you need to follow for this noodle bowl supper.  And, to be honest, I probably wouldn’t make it the same way twice.  This dish is about what you have on hand and how to best use ingredients that are already in your fridge.

What I had available was: red, green and yellow peppers, grated carrots and mushrooms.  I already had a bottle of peanut sauce and one serving of udon noodles left.  But wait. Where’s the tuna?  Ah… my secret weapon!

Say hello to spicy tuna in a can.  Currently, I can only find these gems in Canada now.. so I usually stock up whenever I go home to visit.

Peanut Satay Tuna with Udon

• 2 cups of veggies (peppers, carrots, onions, mushrooms, broccoli… etc)
• one can of spicy peanut tuna
• 2 tbsp peanut satay sauce
• 1 serving udon noodle (small or large, your choice - its what you have on hand!)

Bring a pot of water to boil, salt and cook udon according to package directions.

Meanwhile, prep veggies.  Heat wok, add 1 tbsp of cooking oil (I’m currently using canola). Stir-fry your veggies until al dente. Yes, like pasta.  I like my veggies to retain a bit of crunch.  Next, toss in tuna and sauce.  Heat through.  Add drained udon and mix up.

That’s all there is to it!  Happy wokking and see you on another Wednesday!

Wokkin’ Wednesdays: Sweet n Sour Pork

There are certain dishes that you always reach for when you are at the Chinese buffet.  For me, sweet and sour pork is definitely one of those.  The crunchy batter, the tender pork all coated sweet sauce that tingles with heat.  *sigh*.  I’m wanting to make it again, just thinking about it.  Especially when you toss in some peppers and pineapple. Yum yum yum.

As I learned while making the Orange Zest Chicken , it really is all about the prep work.  This experience with a ‘busy’ recipe went much quicker once I knew the game. Prep EVERYTHING first.  And then its mere minutes til chopsticks are in hand.  I started my rice in the cooker just before I started cooking the pork.

Sweet and Sour Sauce -  { Adapted from Rasa Malaysia}

• 1 1/2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tsp plum sauce
• 1/8 tsp Chinese rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp water

Marinade

• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp rice wine

Frying Batter

• 1/2 cup water
• 2 oz. flour
• 1 oz. corn starch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 egg
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 pinch salt

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb pork tenderloin (bite size pieces)
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1/2 red pepper
• 2 stalks scallions (white parts only, 2″ pieces)
• 1/2 cup pineapple (bite size pieces)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• oil for frying

I began by cubing my pork and letting it sit in the marinade for 20-30 minutes.  This gave me time to assemble the sweet and sour sauce and dice my veggies.  Next, I mixed together the batter. 

Once the batter was finished, I tossed all my pork cubes into it and swirled them around to coat.  I used the wok for shallow frying and even used the oil from the previous frying event.   I only cook about 4-6 pieces of pork at a time, for roughly 1 minute per side.  I use a fork to flip.

Once the pork pieces were all cooked and draining on paper towel, I drained the oil from the wok.  Then gave it a quick wipe with paper towel and drizzled 1 tbsp of canola.  Once hot, quickly cook garlic for 1 minute.  Then toss in peppers and pineapple, about 2 minutes. Next, pour in the sauce. It will thicken quickly. Once thick, stir pork into the sauce and veggies, add scallions.  Serve immediately.

I paired mine with long grain brown rice and it was amazing.  My only comment from making this recipe is that you could easily double the sauce.  I like sauce. I like my rice to mingle with the sauce.  So if you like sauce too – double the quantity!

Wokkin’ Wednesdays: What’s cookin’ in your wok?

Now that I’m in the possession of an amazing iron wok from the Wok Shop, I’m on a mission to use this wok as much as possible.  About a year ago, I found a 1st edition copy of The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo online.  I believe it was on Slashfood that I read a blog that spoke highly of this book.  And I want to use this book as a foundation to learning how to cook real chinese cuisine. I do feel really inspired to create asian dishes with my wok.   Or maybe asian fusion would be a better category, because I’m so prone to recipe tweaking.  I’m also going to use food blogs as another resource in my attempt at creating an asian fusion recipe bank. 

Now, of course, all of this will be more fun if I had friends to join in and help me! And I do! Linda, from One Scoop at a Time , is a west coaster I met while at BlogHer Food ‘09. And she, too, is an avid wok user.  We’ve decided that something needs to be done to encourage more wok-style cooking.  Now, from her perspective, woks can be used to make ANY kind of dish – not just chinese or other asian creations.  And, I am beginning to see that.  A wok is very versatile, quick and simple to clean.  All excellent characteristics to have on a busy weeknight.

So, I invite you to join our special event.  Either weekly, monthly or when you have a chance.  I can’t promise that I’ll always have a post every wednesday, but I do promise to provide you with interesting and healthy dishes that I’ve made with my wok.

Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup

At the cocktail party hosted by Campbell’s/Swansons at BlogHer Food ‘09, they served the most amazing butternut squash soup that I’ve ever encountered.  It was amazing. And, as my luck would have it (and I was quite lucky that weekend), I won a Campbell’s gift basket that contained a cookbook. And on page 71 of that cookbook, was my dearly beloved butternut squash soup.

Now, I’m going to come right out and say it:  I didn’t like my soup. But, I’m not giving up on it.  For I made a few changes to the original recipe, because it was what I had available to me at the time. In the future, I will make certain that I have all the required ingredients on hand. Ok. End of disclaimer; on with the soup!

Butternut Squash Soup (with Sage Butter) - {adapted from Swanson Homemade Soups}

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2-2.5 lb butternut squash: peeled, seeded and cubed (1″)
• 2 md granny smith apples ( I had Mac’s in the house)
• 1 lg onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander (I ground whole seeds; possibly too old)
• 3 cups chicken broth

Using a 6qt soup or stock pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Toss in squash, onion and apple; cook until the squash is almost fork tender. This took about 10 minutes or so.  Next, sprinkle in coriander; stir. Cook for 2 minutes.

 Add broth and heat to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until squash is tender.

*Recipe calls for removing squash with slotted spoon and processing in food processor until smooth. Then add liquid back into puree until desired consistency. I did not do this.  I used an immersion blender to puree the soup in situ. Then I wasn’t happy about the smoothness, so I then put it through the f/p anyhow.  So, this is me, telling you, to go ahead and listen to the recipe and not me. For next time,  I’ll do it the way I am told.

Finally, the recipe says to garnish with fresh sage leaves (which I didn’t have on hand). Also, in a side note, it recommends frying 12 sage leaves in 1 tbsp of butter until crisp. Then, drizzle each serving with fried sage leaves and sage butter. I’d really like to try this next time.

Salter Nutrition Scale – CHEFs Catalog

At the BlogHer Food ‘09 after-party, more treat bags were handed out to the lucky first party-goers. In those bags, was a bounty of goodies supplied by CHEFs catalog.  While I was overly excited about the 4-piece spatula set, I was more excited about the $25 gift card.  (Even more so, when KB donated her card to me!) So, after much drooling over the catalog and all the ooohing and aaahhing, I finally chose to purchase the Salter Nutrition Scale from CHEFscatalog.com.

The scale arrived this morning on my front door-step.  Santa came early!  The scale is very slim.  I appreciate the switch between metric and imperial measurements.  And while I may not need all 900 programmed food codes,  there are times that I definitely would like to know the nutritional details of my bulk food items.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This baby bok choy is only 120 grams. When I poke in the key code #820 for boy choy, it calculates the calories, salt, fiber, fat and protein. Obviously, I need to start eating more boy choy. Which is fine by me.

And so now, I go forth, able to make bread and other delicious food items with precision.  UK recipes can no longer scare me now!

Recipe: Orange Zest Chicken with Asparagus

I’m not too sure yet, but I’m tempted to change the title of this blog to “Adventures of a White Girl in Asian Fusion”.  Catchy, yes? Its so easy to be excited when you have the proper cooking utensils and I must say, the new wok is fast becoming a treasured piece in my collection.  On Monday night, I tried a new dish that I found on Rasa Malaysia that seemed a little challenging but a good step forward. I did make an addition, obviously, b/c I can’t leave well enough alone. In an attempt to promote a well-rounded meal, I added asparagus to the dish. Thus, Orange Zest Chicken with Asparagus was born in a wok on Monday night.

The most important thing that I learned through making this dish is be prepared.   I had everything prep’d before I started the cooking procress. And while it seemed a little hectic in the beginning, the cooking phase was actually quite easy and quick.  I first started by making the orange sauce that would be added at the very end. Next I made the batter for the chicken and then I prep’d the ingredients that would be fried together at the end.

Orange Sauce

• 1/4 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
• 3 tbsp chicken broth
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 4 tsp sugar
• pinch white pepper powder
• 1 tsp corn starch

Mix well and set aside.

Batter

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup – 1 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp canola oil
• salt

Mix batter well. Dunk chicken in batter to coat. Sit until time to cook chicken.

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

• 1 chicken breast, cubed
• 1 cup asparagus, blanched
• 1 inch ginger, zested
• 2 cloves garlic, zested
• 4 dried chilis (soak in hot water, remove seeds)
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 2 tsp canola oil
• Oil for deep drying

I used vegetable oil (about 1/2 cup) in the wok to shallow fry the chicken. I scooped out 5-6 pieces of chicken from the batter bath and dropped it into the wok. Once golden brown on one side, I turned the chicken pieces over.  Complete process until all chicken pieces are cooked.  Set aside on paper towel to drain.

Clean wok of oil. I actually saved the frying oil for another occasion in a mason jar. Its your choice.

Next, heat 2 tsp canola in wok. Quickly cook minced (I use a zester to grate) ginger and garlic. Next toss in chilis and cook for 1 minute. Add orange zest and chicken. Stir for one minute. Next add orange sauce, continuing to stir until sauce thickens slightly.  Serve over steamed brown long grain rice.

Recipe: Veggie Stir-fry (1st dish in the wok!)

It’s a Sunday night and my desire for cooking has been nil for the past week. Which seems counter-intuitive, after my foodie weekend in San Francisco. But, with a wok, you can’t go wrong with a stir-fry, right? And I’ve always tonnes of veggies in the fridge. So, veggie stir-fry it was tonight.

It took me an hour to properly season the wok, according to the directions I received from the Wok Shop.  I just didn’t have the brain-power to think of something more incredible than just veggies.  And, truth be told, I’ve been lacking in my veggie consumption lately. In the fridge, I was able to scoop up 5 fresh veggies.

Once the veggies were all prepped, I heated the wok with some oil and started the stir-fry with cooking broccoli and carrots.  Using foot long chopsticks is fun! Then I added in the onions, green peppers and mushrooms.  Then I threw in my favourite ingredient into any stir-fry:

Water chestnuts are the bomb! I then finished the stir-fry off with a little teriyaki sauce. And that was my first experience with my new cast iron wok. I think I’m in love.

Veggie Stir-fry

• 1 cup broccoli, small florets
• 2 carrots, diagonal slice
• 1 cup red onion
• 1/2 cup green pepper
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup water chestnuts, sliced
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

P.S.  I realize now that I need a better oil dispenser. Using a big jug – not a clever idea!

The Wok Shop – San Francisco, CA

During my trip to San Francisco, it was a priority for me to visit the Wok Shop on Grant St. in Chinatown. I read about this shop on one of my food blogs almost a year ago now. (Tried to find the original post, but can’t remember where it was from!)  And, as luck would have it, the Wok Shop does have a virtual store on Amazon.  But I put off purchasing online b/c of the cost of shipping. Did I really need an authentic wok that bad? mmm …  No, I guess not.  Etc., etc.

All that nonsense changed as soon as I decided to go to San Francisco with Sassymonkey for the BlogHer Food ‘09 conference.  Getting a wok was the ONLY priority I had. I didn’t care about doing anything else but.  And, wouldn’t you know, Chinatown was only 4 blocks or so from our hotel. Wok Shop, here I come!

The owner of the store, while super busy with end-of-the-day store business, stopped what she was doing to help me choose my wok.  I told her I’m using electric heat now, but eventually will switch to gas.  So she pointed to the not-so-pretty iron wok.  And, then I fell in love.  Sigh.

I am now the proud owner of a wok set from the Wok Shop.  I’ve the 16″ iron wok, with cover, steaming rack, wok chuan, cleaning whisk, and traditional cooking chopsticks.  I think I’ve gone to heaven!  The owner also through in a curly cue cleaning brush and a bamboo back scratcher. Can’t go wrong with freebies!

As soon as I publish this post, I’m going to season my wok, and crack open The Key to Chinese Cooking and see what trouble I can get myself in to. I’ll keep you posted… (wow, I just did a blog pun!).

ALL DONE!

Post-BlogHer Food ‘09: Part 1

It’s been one week today that I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural Food Track conference hosted by BlogHer. And, yes. It was wonderful.  I will agree with other attendees, that the best part of the conference was the people. I met food bloggers that I’ve been reading for years, and food bloggers that I’ve started reading since the conference. My only regret from the conference was that I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I should have.

It wasn’t until last night and today, that I was able to sit down and more thoroughly pick through the swag that I scooped up while at the conference. Last night I cracked open my Cabernet Sauvignon from St. Supery Winery in Napa Valley.  Its quite lovely. (For those ladies in Napa, what bottle did you get?) And I’m having another glass now, while I’m writing this post.  If only I could have the same company from that delightful evening.

Today, I sent my email off to Jaden at Steamy Kitchen to redeem my coupon of a free copy of her new cookbook.  How exciting is that? I also filled out the postcard for Ree’s cookbook based on recipes from her blog, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  I’ve also replied to Stacy DeFino for my copy of Rocco’s cookbook.  Yikes! Can you imagine that I met this guy in person? And he agreed to have a photo shot with a stuffed lobster?  The last, and probably most exciting, cookbook that I acquired while in San Francisco was David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop. Its been on my amazon wish list for over a year.  But I’ve not had great luck making ice cream, so I didn’t venture forth and get it.  Until last Saturday, that is. Knowing that I could have David sign it. And that was highlight #1 of BlogHer Food ‘09, as my previous post mentioned.

I’ve compiled my coupons from the trip and will happily go grocery shopping tomorrow for Jell-O, Smuckers and Eggland’s Best eggs.  The last remaining coupon(s) that I must use are two $25 gift cards to CHEFs Catalog. Wowsers. Spending $50 at a kitchen supply store is like having Christmas come in October.  I started browsing the site today. Immediately, I went towards the Le Creuset section, b/c I’m hooked on enamel cast iron and I want to add pieces to my existing cobalt blue 9-pc set.  I’m really wanting a 6.75 qt oval dutch.. um.. but its $260.  Yikes!  Then I started browsing the catalog that they sent out, and I’ve seen many gadgets that I have thought about and would appreciate in my kitchen. For starters, the batter dispenser (p.12/C)? Hell, yeah! Perfect sized pancakes? Cupcakes? Muffins? I think I’m seriously thinking about that item.  Oh, what about the yogurt maker (14/E).  I have yogurt almost everyday, so wouldnt this be a money saver? Can you make greek-style yogurt using this machine? Thats my only concern.  But also, there is a beautiful glass kitchen scale, with all the bells & whistles (p.47/J).  Oh, the dilemna! Then I seen the KitchenAid immersion blender (54/D).  For someone that makes as many soups as I do, this is a dream purchase! (Although, I do have my moms basic immersion with 2 speeds… and yes, I suppose it does the trick… but?!).  And there is more… of course.   Any of you have suggestions? What are you getting with your gift card?

This concludes Part 1 of my Post-BlogHer Series. Tomorrow, I’ll finish with the series with shout-outs to those wonderful people that I met during the conference and what I learned during the info sessions.

Highlights from BlogHer Food '09

It’s 9pm on Sunday night. I’m wiped out! It’s been a busy weekend in San Francisco but a memorable one for sure! I’ve had so many exciting moments that I don’t think I’m able to just pick one. So I’ll give you a list (not necessarily in proper rank):

1. Meeting David Lebovitz and getting a signed copy of Perfect Scoop
2. Sticking my hand into my chocolate dessert
3. Having Rocco DiSpirito give me a shout out at lunch!
4. Winning the Campbell’s gift basket (Thanks, Rene!!)
5. The bounty of swag from the conference.

The conference was a wonderful experience. I met many inspiring, amazing women that I can only hope to stay in touch with. And yes, I’m already looking forward to BlogHer Food ‘10!