I’d never heard of bibimbap before but it looked so delicious I knew I had to try it. There are a lot of components but none of them are too difficult to put together. This is mainly chopping and cooking glorious amounts of fresh veggies. You really could use just about any kind of veggies you like in here so it’s easily customizable. I would suggest however, that you try to the cucumbers as they added a delightful fresh spiciness to the mix. Have I mentioned I’ve already made this twice?
I’ve been looking for a tasty way to replace traditional noodles in my diet and this is a nice alternative. I got me a new fancy spiral vegetable slicer (thanks Mom!) and it worked great for this. I wouldn’t say cucumber is an equally good replacement for real noodles, but for a person that doesn’t much care for cucumber, I thought they were pretty tasty, not to mention a lot easier on the ol’ waistline. So try this out next time you want a side of noodles with your meal. You won’t be disappointed!
Heat a small saute pan over medium heat, then toast the sesame seeds until light brown, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Peel the cucumbers, then turn them into noodles with a julienne peeler. Gently pat dry with paper towels then place in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, mix the tahini, sunbutter (or other nut butter), oil, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), vinegar, red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger with a fork until smooth. If the sauce seems too thick to easily coat the noodles it can be thinned out with up to 1 tablespoon water.
Pour the dressing over the cucumber noodles and toss gently with a rubber scraper until evenly coated. Mound on a plate and sprinkle with the sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
Serves 2
Adapted from The Clothes Make the Girl
Shrimp & Mango Roll
It’s been years since I last tried my hand at making sushi rolls. They turned out okay but were just never as good as the ones I could get at my favorite local sushi place and didn’t seem worth the hassle.
Upon first glance this recipe looked super easy and fast and it had ingredients that weren’t too hard to get. Tiny salad shrimp and smoked salmon? I can do that. Did I mention these don’t use rice? Yep. No sushi rice to cook. Just seafood and veggies. Best part? These were seriously so delicious. Especially the shrimp & mango roll. Just as good as something I’d get at a restaurant. The only change I made was to use half an avocado for each roll instead of 1/2 for two rolls. It just wasn’t enough to coat the nori well enough. I have a feeling I’ve found a new staple around here.
Salmon Roll
It was Saturday night and we were hungry. I didn’t have any meals planned out so I went to my Pinterest board to see if there was anything I could make with stuff I already had. I’d seen an easy looking recipe for some sort of Ramen noodle stir-fry a couple days before and was happy to see that I could scrounge up enough of the ingredients to give it a fair go.
I made a couple minor adjustments, which I didn’t think hurt the final result at all. First, I didn’t have any cabbage so I didn’t use that, but I would definitely add it next time because cabbage in stir-fry rocks. I also decided to use 3 packages of noodles instead of just 2 because darn it I really like noodles and I typically eat 2 packages myself when I eat them as normally prepared. Plus I figured extra noodles were a good substitution for the missing cabbage! Oh and I also used leftover turkey because we still had some left. Nice change from turkey soup and the like. I just threw it in after the veggies were done cooking so it could heat through. I wouldn’t hesitate to omit the meat completely or substitute some tofu instead.
I must say I was incredibly happy with how this turned out. It had a ton of flavor but wasn’t overwhelming. Even Sylvie liked the noodles. This one is going in my keeper file for quick easy pantry meals.
While I have a go-to recipe for potstickers, this recipe is a fabulous veggie-based alternative. They are a bit time-consuming to put together (they ARE potstickers after all…), but the end result is well worth the effort. They were full of flavor and tasted so fresh and light. I made mine with asparagus, quartered brussels sprouts, and snow peas (in the pod) and I was very pleased with the combination. We inhaled them in no time flat and I’m sure you will too!
Despite the scary-looking long list of ingredients, these chicken wraps were actually quite quick and easy to make. Turns out there’s just a handful of ingredients repeated several times for different components. I did all my chopping and prepping while the chicken marinated so when it was time for the chicken to cook, I was all but done. Bonus was these tasted fabulous. That peanut sauce was to die for!
I’ve made this pad thai twice in the last week. The first time around I didn’t really stir my noodles while they were cooking so they got all stuck together and didn’t cook very evenly. And I also used some peanuts that weren’t exactly fresh. But, it still tasted really good and I wanted to see how it would turn out if I didn’t screw it up. So I made it a second time. I made sure to stir the noodles intermittently while they cooked and I used fresh peanuts. And it turned out awesome!
This recipe was super easy to make and pretty fast. I couldn’t find tamarind so I just used the suggested lime juice, water, and brown sugar, which actually cut the prep time in half. The cayenne pepper gave it a nice kick (probably want to cut it down for kids) and the shrimp added a nice mild flavor. I noticed the noodles didn’t cook much after their initial soak, so I’d suggest soaking them until they are just a hair underdone before tossing them in with the sauce. This one was definitely a winner and I’m sure I’ll be making it again soon.
SERVES 4
“Although pad thai cooks very quickly, the ingredient list is long, and everything must be prepared and within easy reach at the stovetop when you begin cooking. For maximum efficiency, use the time during which the tamarind and noodles soak to prepare the other ingredients. If tamarind paste is unavailable, substitute 1/3 cup lime juice and 1/3 cup water and use light brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.”
SAUCE
NOODLES, SHRIMP, AND GARNISH
FOR THE SAUCE:
Combine the water and tamarind paste in a small bowl and let sit until the tamarind is softened and mushy, 10 to 30 minutes. Mash the tamarind to break it up, then push it through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl to remove the seeds and fibers and extract as much pulp as possible. Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients and set aside.
FOR THE NOODLES, SHRIMP, AND GARNISH:
Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Remove the boiling water from the heat, add the rice noodles, and let sit, stirring occasionally, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the noodles and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the shrimp, sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt, and cook without stirring until bright pink, about 1 minute. Stir the shrimp and continue to cook until cooked through, 15 to 30 seconds longer. Transfer the shrimp to a clean bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden brown, about 1½ minutes. Stir in the eggs and cook, stirring constantly, until scrambled and barely moist, about 20 seconds.
Add the noodles and the salted radish and dried shrimp (if using) to the eggs and toss to combine. Add the sauce, increase the heat to high, and cook, tossing constantly until the noodles are evenly coated, about 1 minute.
Add the cooked shrimp, bean sprouts, ¼ cup of the peanuts, and all but ¼ cup of the scallions and continue to cook, tossing constantly, until the noodles are tender, about 2½ minutes. (If not yet tender add 2 tablespoons water to the skillet and continue to cook until tender.) Transfer the noodles to a serving platter, sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup peanuts, remaining ¼ cup scallions, and cilantro (if using) and serve with the lime wedges.
From: The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2013
I’m a sucker for both noodles and Asian food, so this recipe had no choice but to be made. It was really simple to make and gave me a reason to use those chopsticks I have laying around in the utensil drawer. Mmm… (This would also be delicious as a vegetarian meal without the chicken).
Although our preference is for fresh Chinese noodles, we found that dried spaghetti works well, too. Because dried pasta swells so much more than fresh pasta during cooking, 12 ounces of dried spaghetti can replace 1 pound of fresh noodles.
Process the soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of the sesame seeds, the peanut butter, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and hot sauce together in a blender or food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream (you should need about 5 tablespoons); set aside.
Position an oven rack to 6 inches from the heating element and heat the broiler.
Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the noodles and salt and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 4 minutes for fresh and 10 minutes for dried. Drain the noodles, rinse them under cold running water until cold, then toss them with the sesame oil.
Set a wire rack over a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and lightly coat the rack with vegetable oil spray. Lay the chicken on the rack and broil until lightly browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Flip the chicken over and continue to broil until the thickest part of the chicken registers 160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 5 minutes. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside.
Transfer the noodles to a large bowl, add the shredded chicken, sauce, scallions, and carrot and toss to combine. Divide the mixture among individual bowls, sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, and serve.
From: The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2013
I was a little nervous using short ribs for this recipe because I’d never used them before. But my concern was all for naught because these tacos turned out freaking awesome. I took a few shortcuts such as using garlic and ginger from a jar and shredded both the carrot and cucumber in my food processor (and squeezed out the excess moisture afterwards). This one is definitely going into my keeper pile. Go make it right now!
I LOVE pot stickers. They are probably one of my favorite foods, especially this recipe. While they are incredibly easy to make, they are a little time consuming. But the end result is totally worth it. I used my tiny scoop this time and it made the filling process go much faster.
Also, do not skip the dipping sauce… it takes like 5 minutes to make and really adds a lot of flavor. You could eat these alone or pair them with one of my other favorite Asian dishes: Spicy Peanut Ginger Noodles.
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