Pork Dumplings

This recipe came from a friend, and it's a winner!  So good!  You would never think that dumplings are so easy to make, literally a 30 minute meal!  

Ingredients:

Ground Pork

sesame oil

soy sauce

scallions

pot sticker wrappers 

rice vinegar

sugar

Pork Filling: 1-2 lbs of Ground pork, scallions, drizzle of sesame oil and soy sauce.  Mix in a food processor.  Blend until smooth.  Add 1/2 spoonful of pork mixture to a dumpling or pot sticker wrapper, wet around edges and pinch edges together to seal tight.

Dipping sauce: soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar in that order and 
decreasing in quantity, to taste. Add sliced scallions.

Cook dumplings in a pan with a lid. Fry one side in oil and don't overcrowd. When one side is browned, turn over and fry the other side.  Next, addd 1/2 cup water and put lid on to steam for 2-3 min shaking them around often. 
Remove lid and fry any remaining water off.

Serve with a favorite veggie and dipping sauce, enjoy :)

Slow-Cooker Asian Baby-Back Ribs

I found this yummy recipe in Real Simple magazine...definitely a keeper!  SO GOOD!  I know...another crock pot meal....who would've thunk?

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 pounds baby-back ribs (2 to 3 racks), cut into 8 pieces
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 scallions, sliced

Directions

1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, oil, ginger, and cayenne. Add the ribs and turn to coat.

Cover and cook until the ribs are tender, on low for 6 to 7 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours (this will shorten total recipe time).

Twenty minutes before serving, heat broiler. Place the ribs, meaty-side up, on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Strain the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a medium bowl. Brush the meaty side of the ribs with half of the cooking liquid and broil, basting twice with the pan juices, until shiny and glazed, 3 to 4 minutes.

I get this magazine in the mail, but here is the link. Check it out! Slow-Cooker Asian Baby-Back Ribs with Udon Salad  The salad looked yummy as well, but wanted to stay away from extra carbs at least one night in the week!  But this is a great weeknight meal.

I paired the ribs with roasted sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and sugar snap peas sauteed with scallions and some of the sauce from the ribs.  Turned out very tasty!

Coconut Curry Shrimp

This was a tasty new dish!  If you have never tried cooking with curry, this recipe is a good one to start with!

1/2 lb shrimp

1 red pepper, cut into small pieces

1/2 small cooking onion, chopped

1 - 15 oz can of coconut milk

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. freshly grated ginger

1 large minced garlic clove

salt and pepper

brown rice

basil

Cook rice as desired.

In a large pan, saute red pepper and onion.  Add coconut milk, curry powder, and ginger and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Let simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes.  Add shrimp to sauce when rice is almost done.  Cook until shrimp are pink.  Serve over brown rice.  Top with fresh chopped basil leaves.  

Enjoy:)

Asian Noodle Salad with Eggplant, Sugar Snap Peas, and Lime Dressing

• I am always looking for new ways to incorporate eggplant into my recipes, this is a good one, but watch out it has quite a kick!

Ingredients:

• 
  
• 4 Japanese eggplants, unpeeled, cut on diagonal into 1/3-inch-thick slices
• 2 bunches green onions, trimmed

• 
  
• noodles (I used spaghetti)
• 1 8-ounce package sugar snap peas, trimmed

• 7 tablespoons hoisin sauce (I made my own...see recipe below!)
• 3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 4 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat).  Grill eggplant and green onions until tender, turning often, about 7 minutes for eggplant and and 5 minutes for green onions. Transfer onions to cutting board; cool slightly. Slice  onions.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender but still firm to bite. Add sugar snap peas to noodles; cook 1 minute longer. Drain well. Transfer noodle mixture to large serving bowl. Add grilled vegetables.

Whisk last 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Toss noodle salad with dressing; season with salt and pepper.

Hoisin Sauce 

INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter or black bean paste
1 tablespoon honey or molasses or brown sugar
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil
20 drops chinese hot sauce, habenero or jalepeno
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Chinese Broccoli Slaw

1 package of ramen noodles

3/4 cup butter

1 package of broccoli slaw

1/4 cup peanuts

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

3-4 green onions, chopped 

1/4 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Crush ramen noodles in package.  Melt butter in a frying pan, when melted, add noodles.  Fry until golden brown and heated through.

In a bowl make dressing.  Mix soy sauce, canola oil, sugar and vinegar together.   In a separate bowl, add slaw and dressing.  Add noodles, peanuts, sunflower seeds and chopped onions before serving.

Enjoy :)

Stir-Fried Asparagus and Basil with Spicy Orange Sauce

This dish was VERY tasty and VERY spicy...I may have added more hot pepper flakes than I intended, oops!

1/2 cup orange juice

2 TB soy sauce

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

asparagus - about 1-2 cups cut into 1 inch pieces

red bell pepper - 1 cup cut into bite size pieces

water chestnuts - 1 small can

4 tsp. peanut oil - use canola oil if you don't have peanut oil

2 large garlic cloves

1-2 tsp. fresh grated ginger

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1 cup brown rice

Combine orange juice, soy sauce, and pepper flakes.

Cook rice as directed.  Use a little less water than needed, and add some sauce to the rice to cook in!

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick wok or skillet set over hight heat.  When the oil is hot, add asparagus, pepper and chestnuts.  Add garlic and ginger to center of wok.  Cook until fragrant, about 15 minutes.  Add most of the orange juice mixture, toss to coat well, and cover  Cook until the asparagus are tender.

Mix rice and veggie mix.  Enjoy!!

Chicken Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

All these years I thought Jason was crazy for liking peanut sauce...now, I am a believer!  I have no idea what made me want to finally try it, but it was surprisingly DELICIOUS and full of bold flavors.  Give it a try!

Meal #3 from 1 roasted chicken!

Sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp. ground ginger

3 minced garlic cloves

Mix all ingredients together.

Vegetables

1 head of broccoli

1 green pepper

handful of sliced baby carrots

1/2 small onion

Lo Mein Noodles

1 cup diced/shredded chicken

Cook noodles as directed on package.  In a wok, cook vegetables in 1-2 TB of vegetable oil.  Set vegetables aside when cooked to your liking.  

When noodles are done, drain then stir fry in pan with vegetable oil until a little browned.  Add vegetables, chicken and sauce.  Heat through and let all the flavors mix together.

Enjoy :)