soy sauce

Ham And Vegetable Fried Rice

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At the end of this week I was working on the last of our Easter ham and originally thought that the idea of putting it in a fried rice was a little odd.  But this wound up being a really tasty dinner and one that comes together pretty quickly.

Ham and Vegetable Fried Rice | Hottie Biscotti

This recipe from The Food Network was the one I followed, changing up a few things here and there.  I used less vegetable oil and added some sesame oil, added more vegetables and added some plain soy sauce and Soyaki sauce from Trader Joes.  Since no two people like their stir fries exactly the same, you can change up the vegetables and the amount and type of extra sauce you use.  When I served this I put a bottle of soy sauce on the table and Ben added a little more to his while I was happy without it.  Serving this with a bottle of sriracha as well wouldn’t be a bad idea if you want some heat.

Ham and Vegetable Fried Rice | Hottie Biscotti

A wok is ideal for cooking a stir fry, but you can use a large skillet.  This wok is a cheap one from IKEA and has served me well for the last couple of years.  Make sure to prep everything ahead of time.  Cut all the vegetables and meat, whisk the eggs, and have the rice ready to add the pan.  Once you start cooking a stir fry it comes together fast, and you don’t want to get flustered or burn something while you grab something you’ve forgotten.

Ham and Vegetable Fried Rice | Hottie Biscotti

This is a little bit of a cheater stir fry since you’re using a bag of frozen veggies instead of fresh, but it sure does help shave off some prep time!  And it’s still better for you than ordering take-out.  Enjoy.

Ham and Vegetable Stir Fry

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil, divided
  • 5 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
  • 3 cups cooked, chopped ham
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 green onions, sliced, white and green parts separated
  • salt
  • 1 16-ounce bag frozen stir fry vegetables
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 3-4 cups cooked Jasmine rice
  • soy sauce to taste
  • Soyaki sauce to taste

Directions

  1. Heat wok or skillet over high heat, add in 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil and 2 teaspoon of sesame oil.  Add in ham and cook, stirring or shaking pan occasionally, until ham is lightly browned.
  2. Add in the chopped onion and cook until it starts to become translucent.  Then add in the garlic, ginger, and the whites of the scallions and a pinch or two of salt.  Stir fry for about 1 minute.
  3. Add in the frozen vegetables and stir everything together, then cover for 1-2 minutes.  Stir again until vegetables are just about defrosted.  Transfer everything to a large bowl.
  4. Wipe the pan clean, then return to medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon each vegetable and sesame oil to the pan.  Add in the eggs and scramble until almost set.  Remove from the pan to the bowl with the vegetables and ham.
  5. Wipe the pan clean and return to high heat.  Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons sesame oil.  Add the rice and break up any large pieces.  Let cook without stirring for 2 minutes, then add in the vegetables, ham and eggs.  Cook everything together and add some of the soy and/or Soyaki sauce to taste.  I added almost a tablespoon of each.  Serve.

 

Peanut Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables

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One of the great things about having a pantry that’s on the small side is that it is next to impossible to lose track of food, only to find it years later.  I don’t have to get elbow-deep in my canned goods to find a can of tomatoes.  My small food storage also keeps me from stocking up on things I don’t need…I do have a snack bowl on top of the cabinet for my assortment of gummy candies and what remains of Carson’s Easter goodies.  But candy is a need, right?

Anyway, when I came across this recipe on Eatingwell.com I knew that I had about 3/4 of a box of thin spaghetti because I see it every time I get something from the pantry, so I added this to my meals for the week.  I was already planning to buy chicken for chicken parmesan, so I was able to buy a 4 pack of chicken breasts and know that they would all get used that week.  That makes me happy.

The recipe calls for a bag of vegetable medley, but I just used veggies that we like; broccoli, red bell pepper, snap peas, frozen edamame and carrots.  Since I was using more like 11-12 ounces of spaghetti, I increased the amount of vegetables I used to about 20 ounces.  I really like there to be a lot of vegetables in pasta dishes, so you may not want to use as much as I did.  I used 1 medium sized broccoli crown, 1 red bell pepper, 5 small carrots, 1 small bag of snap peas, and 8 ounces of frozen edamame.  I kept the sauce pretty much the same, but did end up adding more soy and a drizzle of sesame oil at the end.  The sriracha is spicy.  I like spice, so I used 2 teaspoons of the stuff and definitely felt the heat.  If you are not a fan of spicy foods, use 1/2 a teaspoon in the sauce, taste it and add more if you’d like.

A mistake I made with this was adding all of my vegetables at once.  The carrots were a little under cooked, so if you’re using carrot slices, don’t slice them too thick and make sure to give them a head start in the boiling water.  The broccoli, bell pepper, snap peas and edamame cooked easily in the 3-4 minutes of cooking time.

To make this meal even faster to fix, use shredded rotisserie chicken.  Buy bagged vegetables that are ready to go, or chop your veggies the morning of or the night before.  You can even make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it.  The heat from the cooked pasta and hot water will loosen it up as it will be stiff coming out of the fridge.  You can serve this warm or cold.  We ate it both ways and it was delicious.

Peanut Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables

Adapted from Eatingwell.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 10-12 ounces thin spaghetti
  • 16-18 ounces of vegetables (broccoli, snap peas, bell pepper, carrots, edamame) carrots, broccoli and bell pepper cut into pieces
  • fresh chopped cilantro, optional

Sauce

  • 1/2 cup chunky, natural peanut butter
  • 2-3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1-2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce (Sriracha), or to taste
  • 2-3 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions

  1. Cook the chicken.  In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil, salt water, then add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove chicken from water and let cool slightly before shredding into bite size pieces.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook for 4 minutes, add carrots if using and cook for a minute, add the rest of the vegetables and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water then drain and rinse with cool water.
  3. Make sauce by whisking peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sriracha and sesame oil in a large bowl.  Stir 1/2 cup of pasta water into the sauce.  Toss in pasta, vegetables and chicken.  Add in more pasta water to moisten pasta to your liking.  Mix thoroughly so that all the veggies, pasta and chicken are coated with sauce.  Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Baked Asian Turkey Meatballs with Soy Ginger Sauce

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The lovely aroma of fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions and cilantro filled my kitchen when I made these for dinner a few nights ago.  Those ingredients alone make my mouth water.  I am almost always up for Chinese or Thai food, but thinking about how a lot of that stuff is prepared makes me have second thoughts a lot of the time.  It’s usually too oily and greasy and even if I opt for a dish with lots of veggies, it is often soaked in overly salty sauce.  And then I somehow find myself ordering egg rolls, fried spring rolls, or maybe an order of crab rangoon…oh, the deep fried goodness of it all.  These meatballs don’t quite measure up to the pleasures of pad thai and sesame chicken, but the flavors are there, and all without the guilt.

My dinner plans were to make these meatballs from this recent Smitten Kitchen post, Scallion Meatballs with Soy Ginger Glaze.  But after reading through the recipe I decided to look for a baked meatball recipe (instead of pan fried) with more substance that would serve as a meal and not a glorified appetizer.  That search led me to this recipe from Skinny Taste, Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce.  So I combined the two, and with a little tweaking here and there I wound up with these.

Serve these meatballs with some rice to soak up the delicious sauce.  We ate them with white rice, but brown would be a great choice, and a healthier one.  Simple steamed broccoli is a perfect side dish.  There is so much flavor in the meatballs that you don’t really need anything else.  I used a mixture of turkey and beef because I had an extra 1/2 pound of lean ground beef from another recipe I wanted to use, but use all turkey if you like.  Enjoy!

Baked Asian Turkey Meatballs with Soy Ginger Sauce

Meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup panko crumbs
  • 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 tbsp peeled ginger, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 4 scallions, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 tsp sesame oil

Directions

  1. Combine ground turkey, beef, panko, egg, salt, scallions, ginger, cilantro, and soy sauce.  Mix with your hands until combined well.
  2. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture.
  3. Bake at 400°F until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.

Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce, reduced sodium
  • 1/2 cup white wine (or mirin)
  • 1/4 cup peeled ginger, chopped

Directions

  1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar melts completely.
  2. Reduce heat to a medium-low and add soy sauce, wine and ginger.
  3. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced, 20-30 minutes.  You can simmer it longer to get a thicker sauce.
  4. Serve sauce on top of meatballs and rice.  You can strain the sauce to get rid of the ginger pieces, but I left mine in the sauce.