Stir-Fried Pork with Bell Peppers and Green Beans

There are varieties of vegetables and also different kinds of meat used for stir-fried dishes. Each of the vegetables or meats has its most suitable way of being prepared.  Most of the time, I prefer lean meat, such as chicken or turkey, but today I am using pork instead. I like the Chinese stir-frying method, but today I will make this stir-fried dish more the Japanese way. I will use sake to marinate the pork and simple stir-fry sauce. Red and yellow bell peppers are both rich in vitamin C. They cook quickly but do not lose their valuable nutrients. Therefore, they are a good supplement for vitamin C to help the body heal faster.
 
Marinade ingredients:
1/2 lb pork sirloin
1 tsp salt
1 tbs sake
2 tbs cornstarch
 Vegetables:
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 cup green beans
Two button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
Stir-fry sauce ingredients
½ cup chicken broth
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs blackstrap molasses
2 tbs sake
1 tbs oyster sauce
Juice of one lemon
 
Garnish with green onions and cilantro

Directions:
Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Slice the pork thinly (about 1 inch long and 2 inches wide) and mix with the marinade ingredients. Let pork marinate for a few hours.

Cut both of the peppers into quarters (remove the membranes and seeds). Slice into thin strips.
Bring a pot of water to boil and blanch the green beans , bell pepper and set aside.

Heat a wok or skillet. Add the pork and stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Add garlic, red onions, and mushrooms and continue to cook for 2 more minutes.

 Add the green beans, both bell peppers, and the sauce. 

Bring to boil and cook until the sauce has thickened. Turn off the heat and serve with green onions and cilantro.

 

Moroccan Honey Barbeque Sauce

Lately, I learned about the benefits of honey, and I now try to use honey in many of my recipes to replace the sugar slight. The barbecue sauce is one of the favorite sauces. Unfortunately, store-bought BBQ sauce is loaded with sugar I am Vietnamese so the taste of Westerners’ BBQ sauces is not quite to my taste.  For that, I have created quite a few recipes for this special and popular sauce. Today, I am introducing an easy Moroccan BBQ sauce that uses honey instead of sugar. I love the Moroccan  spice, and it is easy to create at home. You can go to many web addresses for homemade Moroccan spice or look at my recipe for Moroccan spice posted on January 13, 2016. The BBQ sauce ingredients in my recipe can be doubled or tripled because the sauce can be kept for months in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup oil
1 cup red onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Moroccan spice store-bought or homemade
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1 can tomato sauce
Fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp smoke liquid

Directions:
In a saucepan, heat oil and cook onions, shallots, and garlic until fragrant. Add Moroccan spice, black pepper, salt, and cayenne.

Stir the spices to mix with oil. Stir in tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute and stir in honey, tomato sauce, and the rest of the ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes . The sauce is ready (if the sauce looks too thick, add some water).

To make simple BBQ-baked chicken legs
5 lbs chicken thighs and drumsticks
2 cup Moroccan BBQ sauce
3 tbs olive oil
Directions:
For easy clean up, line the baking sheet with foil. Brush the olive oil over the sheet. Place the chicken on the baking sheet skin side down.

 Bake in a preheated oven set to 400°. Bake for 30 minutes. While the chicken is baking, bring the BBQ sauce to simmer. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, use tongs to turn the chicken over and brush the sauce all over the chicken.

Put the baking sheet back into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Take the chicken out and brush the other side of the chicken and bake for another 10 minutes.

 

Continue to brush the chicken (for the last 5 minutes you can turn your oven to broil). When your chicken starts to turn brown at the edges or the sauce has thickened, remove and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

 

Honey Nuts Muffins

Honey is a natural sweetener which is currently a very attractive subject in the medical world. I always use honey as much as possible in all my dishes as a substitute for sugar. Besides a healthy choice for baking, honey keeps baked goods moist longer . As we know, sugar is a source of boosting energy levels, but substituting honey for sugar is the best to provide increased energy needed for a long working day. With all the health benefits from honey, I will now introduce very tasty muffins for breakfast, but not for just a regular breakfast because these muffins include honey and nuts that are two powerful ingredients with the potential to increase energy. I am very pleased with this recipe and now you can have it.
 
Ingredients:
2 cups muffin mix*
1 cup chopped mixed nuts
1 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil, melted coconut oil, or soft butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Line the muffin tin with 12 muffin tin paper liners.

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Combine all the wet ingredients in another bowl and beat well. 

 Stir the wet liquid into the dry ingredients and beat a few pulses or use a spatula to mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients counting from 1 to 30 (the trick that I learned from some grandmother baker).

 

 Do not overmix the batter.  Spoon the batter two thirds full into the paper tin liners.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the muffins are well risen and golden brown. Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
 

* You also can mixed 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tbs baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
 

Simmered Salmon in Dashi Vinegar Ginger

Cooking with vinegar is a healthy choice. The vinegar can tenderize the meat and take away any fish odors. Basically, this poaching method from Japanese cooking that the Japanese women do in their kitchens is simple and healthy. Sardines work best for this recipe, but any kind of fish works well too. As I have been mentioned throughout my recipes, dashi is the best broth that cooks need to have on hand. Dashi is easy to make and lasts a few days in the refrigerator. The konbu left after making dashi can be served with this dish. However, I created this recipe with the ingredients that I have. The Japanese cuisine looks sophisticated to the world’s eyes with its presentation and sometimes can intimidate the beginner cook. For the non-Japanese cook like me, I have tried many recipes and feel a sense of harmony while preparing Japanese dishes. Even though I am not master in food preparation, the taste of each recipe provides sufficient nourishment and sensory pleasure to my family and friends. Today’s dish is a healthy easy simmered fish. Use this method to create poaching liquid and add different kinds of fish to suit your taste and budget.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz salmon fillets
1 knob of fresh ginger, julienned
2 shallots, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup sliced seaweed (cooking konbu)
Poaching liquid ingredients:
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup dashi broth*
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
2 tsp mirin
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne, chili flakes, or 1 fresh hot chili
 
Garnish with green onions and cilantro

Directions:
Place salmon in a shallow saucepan. Add the poaching liquid to the saucepan. Add the shallots and a ginger to the pan.

 Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to place directly on top of the salmon.

Continue poaching the fish for 15 minutes. Transfer the salmon onto a serving plate and top with seaweed and the garnish.

 

 

 

 

*The dashi broth recipe was posted on January 15, 2016.

Brussels Sprouts Tofu Stew

Brussels sprouts can provide some special ways to lower cholesterol. The fiber in Brussels sprouts does a better job of binding together with the acid in the digestive system. It also has the depth of benefits to help fight cancer. Brussels sprouts are now known in the top list of vegetables that we should consume daily to provide for top-notch health. You can go to this website to learn more about Brussels sprouts benefits:

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/11-health-benefits-of-brussels-sprouts.html.

For all the benefits of Brussels sprouts,, I will now introduce a the recipe that will increase benefits for our health. Besides Brussels sprouts, it also contains both tofu and mushrooms. I think this trio of powerful ingredients in this recipe will satisfy all critical eaters. It a wonderful recipe for vegans. If you are strictly vegetarian, then use leek instead of shallots and omit the garlic.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Brussels sprouts
One 14 oz. firm tofu
12 oz. button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
Stew liquid ingredients:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbs blackstrap molasses
1 tbs honey
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbs mushroom seasoning
1 cup coco Rico

Directions:
Remove the outer leaf of Brussels sprouts and cut the roots. Wash well.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp olive oil. Blanch Brussels sprouts for 1 minute and drain.





Cut tofu into cubes (about 1 inch). Add 1/4 cup of oil in a nonstick skillet and fry the tofu until crispy. Remove and set aside.

Cut each mushroom in half. Leave the small mushroom uncut.

Heat about 2 tbs of oil in a heavy saucepan. Add shallots, ginger, and garlic and stir until fragrant. 

Add the stew liquid ingredients and bring to boil. Add the tofu, Brussels sprouts, and mushrooms.

 

Adjust the seasoning with salt or soy sauce and more sugar, if needed. Simmer until all the liquid has thickened (about 40 minutes). Serve with hot cooked rice.

 

 

 

 

Asian Minestrone with Fish

Lately, I have been cooking soup using dashi – the basic Japanese broth. This broth is made of seaweed and dried fish flakes. It only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to make this Japanese broth, which uses a simple method. I love this broth because it is healthy and makes it easy to create a soup.  Japan is surrounded by ocean waters, so it is not surprising that it’s cooking is based on kelp ,
(kombu) and  fish bones(bonito fish flakes). However, dashi broth is not for soup only. The Japanese kitchen uses this broth for most of its recipes – from soup to stir-fried dishes or dressings, you name it.  It provides the backbone to the Japanese cuisine. There are many ways to make dashi broth using various ingredients, but for the basic broth, there is just about three basic dashi broths that every cook needs to know. I am sharing these broth recipes today, which also uses the broth to make vegetable soup. I added fish to this broth recipe, but by using the same method of making this soup broth, tofu or just vegetables can be substituted for vegans.

Ingredients for making dashi broth:
1 piece of konbu (just about 5 inches in length)
5 cups water
A handful of dried bonito flakes

Directions:
In a pot, soak the konbu with 5 cups of water for 1 hour. After one hour, place the pot over low-medium heat and bring to just simmering. Remove the konbu (at this point add 1/2 cup of cold water and the fish flakes). Bring the broth back to simmering. Turn the heat off.  Let the bonito flakes settle to the bottom of the saucepan. Strain the dashi through a fine sieve lined with a piece of paper towel (this broth is ready for making soup).

 

 

Ingredients for the vegetarian dashi broth:
Omit the bonito flakes. Soak about 3 dried shitake mushrooms.
I always make this Dashi by using kelp, shitake mushrooms, and bonito flakes. I like it this way because it gives more flavor to the broth. You can experiment for yourself to create your own version of dashi broth because it is worth it.
Other ingredients for the soup:
5 cups dashi broth
Two 4 oz. of cod fillets or any white fish, cut into cubes
1 tbs olive oil downtime
2 shallots, finely chopped
Fresh ginger, about 1 tsp
1 small carrot, diced
1/2 cup daikon, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup Napa cabbage, finely sliced
1 cup kale, chopped
1 cup white cabbage
1 tsp salt
4 tbs miso paste (either dark or white)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan in low heat. Add chopped shallots and ginger. Cook until soft and fragrant.

Add the carrots and daikon. Sauté until soft. Follow with kale and white cabbage.

  Add the dashi broth and bring to boil.

Simmer and add fish and the Napa cabbage.

 Take out about 1/2 cup of broth and mix the miso paste until dissolved.

Pour the miso paste into the soup and turn the heat off. Now the soup is ready to serve.