Beautiful Bok Choy Photo by Jodie Morgan on Unsplash
We love baby bok choy and chinese eggplant. When I saw them looking all fresh and delicious at the Asian market, I couldn’t resist. I grabbed a beautiful red pepper, too and it made for a quick and easy supper. The recipe is from foodandwine.com with a few tweaks of my own.
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. baby bok choy, washed and patted dry
2 small Chinese eggplants* (about 1 ½” x 10″) halved and cut into ½” half circles
1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, cut into 1″ squares
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 big tsp chopped garlic (or two cloves fresh minced)
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 cups basmati or jasmine rice**
3 and 7/8 cup water
1 tsp salt
Rinse rice well and start cooking with water and salt on medium heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
In a large frying pan or wok, heat oil on medium/high heat. You can use peanut oil or canola, but I had Olive oil handy so I just used that. Add ginger and garlic and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.
Add bok choy and cook, moving it gently but constantly so the garlic and ginger don’t burn. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add eggplants and peppers and continue cooking and tossing for another minute.
Add oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce and cook for another minute or so until everything is warmed through. If the bottom of the pan is starting to brown too much, add a couple of tablespoons of water, and scrape up the bottom.
Remove from heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice.
*You could probably substitute a small regular eggplant for the Chinese eggplants. Don’t think it would be the same without the Bok Choy. If you can only get regular bok choy, wash and pat it dry and then slice it into four quarters.
** Jasmine or another long grain rice would be great, but I always have basmati, so that’s what I used.
My son Ali made this soup for dinner at our house a couple of nights ago and I don’t think I’ve ever had better. It was so delicious that I kept taking a little more rice, and then a little more soup until I’d eaten way more than I should have!
This recipe makes a very large pot of soup, but it freezes well and taste even better the next day. Thanks, Ali for sharing this amazing recipe.
Ingredients
2 large onions, sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup Thai Tom Yum Paste*
4 cups chicken stock or veggie broth
4 cups water
6 Kefir Lime leaves*
1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 package fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced (can substitute button mushrooms)
2-4 Tbsp Fish Sauce* (to taste)
4 large or 6 small fresh tomatoes, diced
1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
24 oz. coconut milk
juice from 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups jasmine rice, cooked with 2 tsp salt
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot. Add onions and 1/3 cup water. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes until onions are softened, but not browned.
Add Tom Yum paste, stir well and cook for a minute or two. Increase heat to medium and add chicken stock, water and kefir lime leaves. Bring to a boil and add chicken and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are soft and chicken is cooked through.
Season with fish sauce to taste, and add fresh tomatoes. Continue to cook 3-4 minutes and add cilantro. Remove from heat and add coconut milk. Finally, add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in a bowl with a side plate of jasmine rice. (You can put the rice in the soup bowl first, but we love to take a scoop of rice and dip it in the soup.)
*If not available locally, these ingredients are available online. I’ve also seen the Tom Yum Paste referred to as Hot and Sour Paste. Substitute Tofu for the chicken and add it last with the coconut milk for a vegetarian version.
A great vegetarian skillet supper that was simple, delicious and hearty. I didn’t really have anything much in mind for supper tonight and threw something together from what I had in the pantry and fridge. Maya loved it and I’d definitely make it again.
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp crushed Garlic
1 bag frozen fajita peppers from Trader Joe’s, or 2 fresh peppers cored and sliced into 1/4″ strips
2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix (I used McCormicks.)
1 can black beans, drained but not rinsed
1/4 cup salsa
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cups cooked rice
1 cup Mexican or cheddar cheese
Heat oil in a skillet and saute onions until softened. Add garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add frozen fajita peppers and taco seasoning mix and saute until the liquid from the frozen peppers is mostly gone. Add the black beans, salt and pepper and the salsa. (You can add a little water if anything is sticking to the bottom of the skillet.) Cook for another 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally until the black beans are warmed through. Dump in the rice and fold the bean mixture and rice together, cooking for a few minutes until the rice is warmed. Sprinkle the cheese on top, remove from the heat and cover for a couple of minutes.
Our friend Sharon recently served us this incredibly delicious Vegeterian/Vegan dish and was kind enough to share the original recipe with me, from CookieandKate.com. I made it almost exactly as shown, and then a couple nights later used the leftover peanut sauce as a dipping sauce for oven-roasted sweet potatoes. It is so delicious and uses ingredients you probably have in your pantry already.
INGREDIENTS
Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup soy sauce (Can use Tamari to be gluten-free)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 and 1/2 Tbsp honey (or agave nectar, to taste)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp water
Roasted vegetables
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1 inch long, ½ inch wide chunks
1 red bell pepper, cored, deseeded, and sliced into bite-sized strips
about 2 Tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
1/2 tsp cumin powder (I used more than original recipe.)
1 tsp Sea salt (to taste)
Rice and garnishes
1 1/2 cup jasmine rice (could use any rice, really)
3 green onions sliced into thin rounds (green and white parts)
Handful cilantro, chopped
Handful peanuts, crushed
Sriracha sauce on the side (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix 2 Tbsp of olive oil, salt and cumin. Put the sweet potatoes in a roasting pan and drizzle with about 2/3 of the oil. Drop the peppers in the remaining oil and toss them. You’ll add them to the pan a bit later.
Spread the sweet potatoes out, but leave about 1/4 of the pan empty. Bake for 15 minutes and toss. Then add the peppers in the empty space and continue roasting for another 20 minutes. Check to be sure the potatoes are cooked and the peppers are soft and starting to caramelize.
In the meantime, cook the rice. Add 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice and 1 tsp kosher salt to a pot. Add a bit less than three cups of water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cover and cook for 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Make the sauce: in a bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients. If the sauce is too thick whisk in a little more water.
To serve: Spoon rice onto a large serving dish, and top with sweet potatoes, then peppers, a nice heavy drizzle of sauce, and sprinkle chopped green onions, cilantro and peanuts. Serve any extra sauce in a little pitcher.
To serve it as a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries, just gently stir in the onions, cilantro and peanuts. So good!
Made this for Kumy’s birthday last week while we were away from home. We had kind of limited supplies, but I’d brought a couple of Tbsp of Thai Green Curry Paste, which made it crazy easy. We were all starved and this was the perfect dish!
2 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 Eggplant, not peeled – cut into 1″ cubes 1 green pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 small onion, cut into fat slivers 1 carrot, julienned 1 lb. chicken tenders, cut into small bite-sized pieces 2 Tbsp Mae Ploy Green Curry Paste 1/2 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup water 1 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce (optional – I didn’t have any and it was still good) juice from 1/2 lime pinch red pepper flakes (totally optional – the paste is already very spicy) 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup Thai Basil Leaves, julienned (optional – I didn’t have any and still good)
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet until it’s quite hot. Add eggplant and cook, flipping the eggplant to sear it. Cook for 5 minutes or so, then add the onion, peppers and carrot and saute for another 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is transparent and the peppers are softened. Add the chicken and continue cooking 3-4 more minutes.
Shift veggies to the edges, and add a little more oil, and the green curry paste. Cook the green curry paste for a couple of minutes and add 1/2 cup water, the juice of 1/2 a lime and the salt and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together well and add the coconut milk. Cook for just another 30 seconds to warm the coconut milk and serve over rice.
Would probably be great with chopped peanuts, too.
Update: Last night Maya and the gals made amazing vegan egg rolls, which Samir fried. Since we had a lot of folks home for supper, I made this dish without chicken, and realized it really doesn’t need the red pepper flakes! Taylor made Sherry Trifle, so it was fine dining all around.
Everyone has a dish that is their knock out dish, and Pilau Biryani is mine. I’ve made it for graduations, parties and most recently for a wedding. (5 catering trays worth!) It’s a fairly simple dish, but so ridiculously tasty. I use a spice mix called Shan Pilau Biryani mix, which is available online or in Indian grocery stores.
This makes a really nice big batch, but leftovers never last at our house. I do make the recipe a little differently than on the box, but it’s still pretty close. If you decide to make a half box/batch, try to make sure you get roughly half of the big spices as well. It is also traditional to leave big spices like cardamom, cloves, black peppers , pieces of cinnamon etc. in the dish that you simply pick out while you are eating.
There are basically three layers in this dish: a chicken and gravy layer, a rice layer and an onion layer that all get gently tossed togther just before serving. I often start the onion layer first, since it takes quite a while to get the rich, brown color and sweetness.
Ingredients
1 box Shan Pilau Biryani Mix (See box image below) 3 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces (two portions from Costco) 1 1/2 Tbsp crushed Garlic 1 1/2 Tbsp crushed fresh Ginger (you can also grate the ginger on a ceramic grater, or a microplane) 1 cup water (may need more) 1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred well plus more for serving 3 1/2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained 5 1/2 cups of water 1 Tbsp kosher salt 3-4 large onions, thinly sliced 1/2 cup olive oil
To make the chicken base: In large pot, mix the chicken, spice mix, garlic, ginger and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked and soft. (Probably about an hour.) The chicken will release some liquid, and you want to end up with about 2 cups of gravy (in addition to the chicken of course). So if you end up with too much more, cook it uncovered a little longer. If you have less, add a little more water.
Remove from heat and pour the yogurt over it evenly.
To make the rice layer: In a separate pot, bring 5 1/2 cups water to a boil and add the rice and 1 Tbsp salt. Stir, cover and reduce heat. Cook until just about done, roughly 15 minutes. Layer it evenly over the chicken and gravy. The rice will finish cooking and absorbing moisture in the oven.
If you get a red powder packet in the biryani mix, sprinkle it on top of the rice for nice bits of yellow color. Sometimes it’s not in the box – which is a bummer, but not a fatal flaw.
To make the fried onions: Fry the thinly sliced onions in olive oil, stirring frequently until they are dark golden brown and caramelized. This does take quite a while. Keep the onions and the oil they were fried in.
Alternatively, you can bake the onions. Mix the oil and onions on a large baking sheet and bake them at 275 degrees for an hour or so. The onions may turn pinkish first, for some weird reason, but just give them a stir from time to time and let them continue cooking until they are a warm golden brown color. For my nephew’s wedding, I baked two big bags of onions from Costco. I think you could smell onions frying from two blocks away!
Ladle the fried onions and the oil on top of the rice, and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and gently mix up the chicken and rice portion with a big spoon or saucer, and serve on a big platter. Serve with plain yogurt or a simple raita (spiced yogurt and vegetables.)
For a vegan version, substitute 3 cans of rinsed garbanzo beans, one cup of shelled pistachios, and 1 cup of frozen peas for the meat, adding the peas on top at the end and recovering the dish with foil a few minutes before you mix the biryani.
To make ahead and freeze: Make the chicken and gravy mixture and pour into a freezer-safe baking dish. Make onions and freeze them and the oil you fried them in in a ziploc bag, flattened as much as possible. When you want to serve it, take the chicken and gravy and the onions out and let them thaw. Make the rice and layer the rice on top of the chicken, then the onions and oil. Bake as usual. Works like a charm.
For this soup, you cook the noodles separately, then place them in the soup bowl and add the soup and other toppings right on top of them. Rice noodles can get really mushy if you overcook them, so by adding them to the soup bowl, you never have to worry about mushy noodles!
Rice Noodles
Place rice noodles in a large, heat-proof bowl. Add boiling water to cover and let sit, gently moving them apart with a fork. Check for doneness by biting one to see if it is cooked through. Really thin noodles cook in 7 minutes or so and thicker ones may need 10. When done, drain and toss with a little sesame oil.
4 Tbsp Soy sauce
2 Tbsp Mirin (can use cider vinegar with a little sugar)
2 tsp dark Sesame Oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp Sambal Oelek (Can use Sriracha or any hot sauce you like)
8 cups chicken stock
1 lb. thinly sliced chicken breast
1 head chopped Napa cabbage
Add everything except chicken and cabbage to a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the chicken and cabbage and cook until the chicken is done and the cabbage is slightly softened,7-8 more minutes.
To serve, place noodles in a large soup bowl. Ladle soup over the noodles, and top with cilantro and green onions. Serve with soy sauce and Sriracha to let each person season their soup.
If you live in Omaha, you must go to the Farmer’s Market in Aksarben and pray that the sweet corn lady is there making Elote. Kumy and I had gotten one, and quickly realized that there was noway we were willing to share. (Okay, so there was no way I was willing to share, and I ran back to get another.)
There is nothing better than sweet corn that’s just been picked, quickly boiled and slathered with mayo, fresh lime, parmesan and Tajin Seasoning. This is a version that I make at home. Tajin seasoning is tart, salty, not super hot and easily available in Mexican markets and online. You can make traditional Elote using ears of corn or make a casserole using frozen sweet corn. It’s delicious either way!
Ingredients
6 ears of corn, freshly shucked and washed (or 24 oz frozen sweet corn for a casserole)
Crema:
1/4 cup Mexican mayonnaise (or use regular mayonnaise with a good squeeze of lime in it.) 1/4 cup sour cream 1/2 cup Cotija cheese (or parmesan in a pinch) 1/2 tsp Tajin seasoning 1 clove garlic crushed, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped pretty fine Juice of 1/2 lime
For traditional Elote corn on the cob:
Mix crema ingredients in a bowl.
Cook corn by boiling in unsalted water or grilling. Slather the corn with the crema, and sprinkle with extra cotija and dust with tajin seasoning.
For Elote casserole:
Mix all ingredients except Cilantro in a bowl and pour out into a baking dish. Baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Garnish with chopped Cilantro and an extra sprinkle of Tajin seasoning.
Made this for the first time on Kumy’s birthday last year, with Sriracha-Glazed Salmon. It was quick and very good. Yellow curry paste is available in Asian Markets. I use Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste – which is also available online. You can use coconut milk or coconut cream – both are good, though the coconut cream is of course slightly heavier. (Avoid using cream of coconut – which is sweetened and used in cocktails. Ali made that fateful mistake once on what was otherwise a very promising curry!)
2 cups rice
3 7/8 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 package mushrooms, sliced (Add more if you like mushrooms.)
1 or 2 red bell peppers, cut into bit-sized pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp Yellow Curry Paste
1 cup coconut milk/cream
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute peppers for a few minutes, then add mushrooms and saute a few minutes more. Add curry paste, and stir in well. Add coconut milk or cream and remove from heat. Gently blend in cooked rice. Season with a little salt if needed.
Maya and the gals were all at our house a year or so ago, and so were Sammy and Taylor when I suddenly realized it was supper time! Maya’s friend Madeline loves stir-fried rice and often makes it, so I thought I’d give it a go.
Once you understand the mechanics of it: use cold rice, cook meat, then veggies, then sauce, then add everything back together again, you can use whatever you have on hand. I like it with lots of veggies and meat so I add a lot. It’s pretty easy and it’s delicious – anyway, the gals and our family demolished it!
3 cups rice
5 7/8 cup water
2 tsp salt
Make rice and spread out on a tray or any dish that will fit in your freezer. The rice needs to be cooled down.
olive oil
3 eggs
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (thighs and/or breast)
6 Tbsp soy sauce, divided
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (a great hot sauce – or you could use Sriracha, or Tabasco)
8 cloves of garlic, crushed, or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup diced carrots
1 1/2 cup peas
1 1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup bell pepper
Heat a Tbsp of oil in a wok or large, wide skillet. Scramble eggs with a few drops of soy sauce. Remove and cut into chunks.
Mix chicken with 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Fry the meat, stirring frequently until it looks cooked. Remove from the heat.
Add another Tbsp oil to the pan. Dump in carrots and onions and saute for a few minutes. Add peas and bell peppers and saute for a minute more. Push veggies to the outer edges.
Mix garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, chicken broth and Sambal Oelek in a bowl and pour into the middle of the veggies. Cook for a few minutes.
Add eggs and chicken back in. Stir veggies, sauce and meat together until everything is nice and saucy.
Add rice back in and cook,stirring to toss the rice with the meat and veggies. Check seasonings, and add red pepper and soy sauce as needed.
Little Brown Cookbook 