Turkey with Fried Wild Rice

In my home, I make my own wild rice mixture instead of buying it in the store. Doing so is economical, and I can choose the type of rice for my rice mixture. The ratio of rice types is equally added so it can be cooked in the same ratio of water. It is also traditional in Asian households that the leftover cooked rice will be used in numerous ways to make tasty dishes. Like my mom always said to us kids, "Do not waste food because we do not know when or if there will be a next meal".  After Thanksgiving, the leftover turkey can easily be turned into a wonderful Asian fried rice dish. Here is one of them.

Ingredients: 
6 cups of cooked wild rice
3 cups leftover turkey, diced
3 eggs, beaten
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup total of diced carrots, peas, and corn
1 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup chives or green onions, chopped
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1/4 cup corn oil or peanut oil
Sauce ingredients:
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp blackstrap molasses or sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne

Directions:
Bring a small pot of water to boil and blanch the carrots, peas, and corn. Drain and set aside.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
In a wok, add 1 tsp of oil and fry the eggs as an omelette. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on the eggs while making the omelette.

You might need another tsp of oil before all the eggs are done. Let the eggs cool and then slice them into thin strips.

In the same wok, add 1 tbs of oil. Heat oil until hot. Add shallots and garlic, stir, and cook for a minute. Add turkey and the sauce ingredients with the blanched carrots, peas, and corn. Reserve some of the sauce for seasoning the rice later.

Stir and cook turkey for 2 minutes.

Move turkey mixture to the side of the wok (if the wok is big enough) or you can remove turkey mixture onto a plate.

Add the rest of oil into the wok. Add wild rice and continue cooking the rice on moderate heat. Season the rice with the rest of the sauce.

Adjust the seasoning for personal taste by adding maybe a little more soy sauce or salt. If desired, fish sauce can be added it at this point using 1 tsp at a time.

Move the turkey together with the rice. Add half of the egg strips, green onions or chives, and bean sprouts. Mix well. Remove from heat.

Place the rice on a serving plate or bowl. Top with a few more egg strips and cilantro.

 

Easy Fried Eggrolls

I have posted many recipes for making eggrolls. This eggrolls recipe is quite easy because most of the ingredients that need to be used are lying around in the refrigerator.  I can call it Thai or Chinese eggrolls because the ingredients are lighter than those used in Vietnamese eggrolls. Eggrolls are nearly everyone’s favorite dish even though the simplest ingredients can be used to make them tasty.

Ingredients:
Filling ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground chicken
6 oz. white crab meat, drained
1 cup each of shredded carrots, cabbage, and bean sprouts
3 funguses, dry Chinese mushroom
2 oz. bean thread noodles (a.k.a. cellophane or glass noodles)
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 eggs
2 green onion chopped
Seasoning ingredients:
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs soy sauce or fish sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
*Paste ingredients:
1 tbs cornstarch
1/3 cup water

24 sheets of eggroll skins (look for this product in the freezer section at the grocery)
Oil for deep frying, about 2 cups

Directions:
Soak the funguses in hot water for 15 minutes. Remove and squeeze out the water. Finely chop about 1/2 cup presoaked.
Soak the bean thread noodles in cold water for 15 minutes and roughly chop.
 In a mixing bowl, combine all the filling and seasoning ingredients (adjust to personal taste). Mix well.

*In a small bowl, mix 1 tbs cornstarch with water and microwave for 1 minute. This combination makes the paste to seal the eggroll skins.
Lay an eggroll skin on a working surface.

 Place 2 tbs of filling/seasoning combination on an eggroll skin.

 Wrap an eggroll skin over to cover the filling to form a baton.

Seal with the cornstarch paste.

Repeat this process until all the fillings are wrapped.

Heat oil (about 2 cups) until hot.  Fry the eggrolls for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Serve with Vietnamese or Thai dipping sauce.**Or ***

**To make a simple dipping sauce, the ingredients ratio is the following:
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup fish sauce
1 tbs rice vinegar
2 tbs lime juice
Adjust the sweet and sour to personal taste. Add minced garlic and red chili when serving.

***To make Japanese sweet dipping sauce:
Japanese sweet dipping sauce ingredients ratio:
1 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
5 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs bonito flakes
Combine the vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in a saucepan and bring to boil. Cook until sugar dissolves. Add the bonito flakes and turn the heat off. Set aside for 20 minutes. Drain the sauce through a fine sieve with the paper towel. Add chili, garlic, or even wasabi. Reserve the sauce for later.

 

Brased Eggplant with Ground Chicken

Japanese dishes are always made simple with fewer ingredients but are still delicious. This tasty dish is one of them.  The people of the world who have the greatest longevity and happiness are the Japanese. I think we should learn to eat like them.

Ingredients:
2 eggplant
2 cup ground chicken or 1/2 lbs
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp vegetable oil
1tbsp sake
Sauce ingredients:
1 cup kelp broth
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp blackstrap molasses or sugar
Black pepper and chili flakes to taste
Thickening sauce ingredients:
1 tsp potato starch
2 tbs water

Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onions

Directions:
Wash the eggplant and then remove the end stalk. Cut the eggplant in half and then cut each half into diagonal pieces.

In a sauté pan, heat vegetable oil and then add the onion and garlic.

 Sauté for 1 minute and then add the ground chicken. Sauté the chicken until no longer pink.

Add eggplant and sear them on all sides. Add sake.

Add the sauce ingredients and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 to 15 minutes.

Combine the thickening sauce ingredients and add it to the eggplant sauce. 

 Cook further until the sauce has thickened. Serve and sprinkle with some chopped cilantro and green onions.

Steamed Fish with Cabbage Rolls

Different cuisines have their own cabbage rolls recipes.  I love them all.  I prefer the Asian style cabbage rolls because they are easily made. They are elegant to present to guests or family.  Any white fish, such as halibut, tilapia, or cod is perfect.  The every day cabbage is what I like more than Napa cabbage or even lettuce used in some recipes. To spice the cabbage rolls, slice some Thai red chilies and cook with the sauce. This dish is not just easy but also healthy and delicious.

Ingredients:
½ lb. cod fillets
1/2 tsp salt
Marinade ingredients:
1 knob of fresh ginger, minced (about 2 tsp)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs cooking wine
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbs kelp broth
Sauce ingredients: 
1/2 cup kelp broth
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp cornstarch (mix with 1 tbs water)
Cabbage wrappers ingredients:
12 to 14 fresh cabbage leaves
3 dried shitake mushrooms
Green onions, chopped
Cilantro
Directions:
Soak the shitake mushrooms in hot water for 15 minutes.  Squeeze out the excess water and slice thinly.
Bring a pot of water to boil and blanch the cabbage leaves for 40 seconds. Remove from the boiling water, rinse under cold water, and drain well. Carefully remove the tough stems from the leaves and trim each leaf large enough to wrap around the fish. Set aside.

Cut fish into 1 in. wide, finger-length batons.

 In a bowl, combine the marinade ingredients, add the cut fish, and refrigerate for one hour.

To make the fish rolls:
Place a trimmed cabbage leaf on a plate.

Place one fish and a few mushroom slices, and sprinkle with chopped green onions on top of the cabbage leaf near the bottom.

Fold the bottom edge of the cabbage leaf up. Bring toward the center to cover the filling and roll into a neat parcel. Place on a steamer dish with the folded open side facing downward. Continue wrapping in the same manner until all the fish are wrapped up.

Bring a steamer pot with water to boil.  Place the cabbage rolls on a steamer, cover, and steam on high heat for 10 minutes.

Mix the sauce ingredients, except the cornstarch, together in a small saucepan and bring to boil. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and cook a few minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

Pour sauce over the fish on a serving plate. Sprinkle with cilantro on top and serve.

Kabocha Squash Soup with Chicken

Kabocha squash has a taste like butternut squash but with fewer calories. In Japanese restaurants, kabocha is used to make the famous Japanese tempura. This root vegetable is in the winter melon family, and for Asians it is considered a very healthy food.  There are many recipes that use kabocha. Most of them roast the kabocha with some garlic and ginger. Other Asian family recipes frequently use kabocha to make a stew or soup. I love to make soup from kabocha because it is stomach filling with full healthy benefits.  I Will introduce this simple kabocha soup with chicken. If adding extra calories is not a concern, then use the chicken legs with bones and skin.  It is tastier.

Ingredients:
1/2 Japanese kabocha squash, peeled and cut into cubes
1 carrot, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 cup daikon, cube
Soup ingredients:
1 chicken breast, sliced

6 cup kelp broth*
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 cup chopped white onion
Oil for stir-frying
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
 
Green onions, chopped or cilantro for garnish

Directions:
*Cut a piece of 5” x 5” Japanese kombu kelp. Wash kelp and place in a pot with 6 cups of water. Let kelp soak for 1 hour. After soaking the kombu, turn the heat to low and slowly bring to boil. When the water starts boiling, remove the kombu and save for a smoothie or whatever your heart desires. The remaining liquid is a kelp broth.
In another soup pot, add a tbs of oil. Stir in garlic, ginger, and onions.

 

Cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add chicken and stir to cook for 2 minutes.

 Pour the kelp broth over the chicken and bring to boil (skim off any residue that arises to the top.  Add kabocha, carrots, daikon and celery. Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Adjust the seasoning. Serve with some chopped green onions or cilantro on top.