Asian-dishes

Coconut rice
~Who would've thought to cook rice over the stove? Well, thats what the old folks did back in the days. If you don't have a rice cooker, no worries! I didn't know how to cook rice over the stove until I went away for college. Even though I had a rice cooker with me, it was too much of a hassle to find it tucked away some where in the cabinets...So...I called my mom and asked her how to cook rice over the stove. And VOILA! I now do most of my rice cooking over the stove.

2 c. white or Jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk
2 c. water
1 tsp. Kosher salt
2-3 tsp. white sugar
handful of shredded coconut flakes
Black pepper to taste

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat. Allow to stand 10 minutes. Add shredded coconut flakes, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary.
*For regular white or jasmine rice, double the water for every measurement for rice (i.e. 1 c. rice, 2 c. water) Cook the same way as coconut rice.


Chinese Cabbage Salad

This recipe was given to me by my sister. Her mother in law made it once for us and I have been in love with it since!

Mix:

1 head shredded green cabbage
1 head shredded red cabbage
1 c. toasted slivered almonds
1 c. sesame seeds
2 pkgs. ramen noodles, broken into small pieces
1 whole package of bacon (fry until crispy then break to pieces)
1 bunch chopped cilantro
1 bunch chopped green onions

Toss with dressing blend:


1 c. oil
8 tbs. sugar
2 tsp. pepper
4 tsp. salt
12 tbs. rice vinegar
2 tsp. sesame oil



Thai lettuce wraps
~I got this recipe a few years ago. It is a copy cat of the Thai lettuce wraps from PF Changs. I don't know how well it measures up to PF Changs but it's dang good! Daniel loves it, our friends love it, and so does our family! I hope you do too! (Note: I would make the sauce first before making the meat mixture for the wraps)

3 tbs. oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c. water chestnuts (minced-pea size)
2/3 c. mushrooms (minced-pea size)
3 tbs. chopped onions
1 tsp. minced garlic
Iceberg lettuce (or romaine)
2 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or frying pan. Saute chicken 4-5 min per side or until done. Remove chicken from pan and let cool. Keep oil in pan, keep hot on low heat.

Mince chicken once cooled or cooled enough to handle. On high heat, add 1 tbs. of vegetable oil. Combine chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to pan.

In a medium bowl combine soy sauce, brown sugar and rice wine vinegar for the stir fry sauce. Add stir fry sauce to the saute mixture and cook for 7-8 minutes.

*For the dipping sauce

1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
2 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs. rice wine vinegar
2 tbs. ketchup
1 tbs. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbs. hot mustard
2 tsp. hot water
2 tsp. garlic and red chili paste

Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil. Refrigerate while the meat mixture is cooking. Combine the hot mustard and hot water and set aside. ** add desired mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce for each individual.


Sweet and Sour Chicken
~Our friend Victor came over one evening to cook us some dinner. Aside from cooking his Taiwanese specialty dish, he made us sweet and sour chicken. We loved it and he was so kind to give us the recipe! It's the one I use every time we are craving some chinese food!

Vegetable oil for frying
1-1 1/2 lb. chicken breast cubed
2 eggs
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 red bell pepper-cubed
1 green bell pepper-cubed
1/2 onion-cubed
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4-1/2 c. rice vinegar
2 tbs. cornstarch
4 tbs. cold water

In two separate bowls; have your egg mixture, and the other combine the flour and cornstarch for the flour mixture. Soak the cubed chicken in the egg. Coat them in the flour mixture. When the oil has reached 350 degrees, fry the chicken until golden brown. Put them on a plate lined with paper towels. Place chicken on the side.

In a pot, take about 1/4 c. of oil from frying the chicken on med-high heat. Combine the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion, and chopped garlic. Cook for 8-10 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking make your sauce. Combine the ketchup, sugar, soy sauce and rice vinegar in a medium bowl; whisk them together. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water for the cornstarch mixture.

Once the veggies have been cooked for 8-10 minutes, add the sauce mixture. Next, add the cornstarch mixture. Let veggies and sauce cook for 2 minutes. Fold in the chicken and let it cook for an additional 2 minutes. Put on a serving platter and VOILA!


Dad's Beef and Broccoli
~My dad is an amazing cook! When he lived in Cambodia, he owned his own restaurant. It's ALWAYS so difficult to try and copy his recipe because my dad....he DOES NOT measure anything! He does it by taste. Thanks dad! lol. Growing up, we liked to help my parents prepare for dinner by getting the veggies ready. I always pull up a chair near the stove and stand beside them as they cook their amazing meals! They would pour whatever ingredient they needed but never measured. I always wondered why...Now that I look back at it, I get that trait from them. I cook without measuring!!...at least when it comes to asian dishes. This recipe would come close to my guess of how much of what to put in...as well as other recipes I get from my parents. I think thats why I'm a decent cook...I get it from my mom and dad. :)

1 lb. sliced beef
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 tbs. sugar
1/3 tsp. salt
3 tbs. soy sauce (what i really do here is shake the soy sauce from the bottle. I do three rounds of it-circular motion)
1/2 tbs. oyster sauce
head of broccoli (cut)
1 tbs. cornstarch
2 tbs. cold water

In a wok, cook the beef until the oil from the juice of the beef starts to come out. Add chopped garlic and cook until you can smell the garlic sweat (beef should look like its cooked halfway through). Add sugar, salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and broccoli. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water. Add the cornstarch mix to the beef and broccoli to thicken the sauce. Once broccoli is cooked to desired tenderness and sauce is thickened, take it off heat and put on a serving platter.


Thai Salad "Larb"

2 tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 red onion chopped
3 shallots sliced
half of lemon grass (chopped)
pinch of salt
1-2 thai chili-chopped (optional)
1 1/2 lb. ground chicken, ground beef, or ground pork
5 limes, 1 lemon (all juiced)
2 tbs. fish sauce
2 tbs. honey

Heat the vegetable oil in pan on med-high heat. Sautee the red onions and shallots until slightly soft. Add the rest of the ingredients (including the meat) and let it cook for 1 min. Put on a serving platter and put green mint on top for garnishing. Can be served immediately or refrigerated for 30 minutes. (if you're wondering why the meat isn't suppose to cook all the way, it's because this is a thai salad...the juice of the limes and lemon will continue to cook the meat.)