EclecticCook.com » Asia

Asian Noodle Salad

Karen — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:37:27 +0000

My daughters ate raw cabbage and bean sprouts this weekend because I have a food blog. There is no other explanation for it.

Sometime after they started walking and before they lost their first baby teeth, my girls decided to complicate my life by becoming carbotarians. The only foods that could make it to the table without shrieks of protest were those that used to be grains in a former life. Bread, rice, cereals and pasta, our food pyramid was more like a straight line. Through sheer force of will, years of persistence, nagging, threats and yes, even bribery, we have reached the point where vegetables, meats and fruits get eaten with limited objection, for the most part.

I’ve made this noodle salad many times before, and each time I was gently but firmly reminded that while peas and carrots were acceptable in moderation, the cabbage, bean sprouts and green onions would be vetoed immediately and without mercy. Because they otherwise adore this salad, because I strive to maintain family harmony, and because I totally caved in to them, I would make a half recipe “big people” version, and a half recipe “little people” version.

Until this weekend. The following pictures of my youngest daughter depict actual events and are not a recreation. Photos of raw cabbage being consumed. Viewer discretion is advised.

This weekend I learned something very, very interesting; if I want my children to eat something without protest, all I have to do is blog about it. I must take lots of pictures, ask them to help set up the shots and make the food, all without ever hinting at the fact that the dish we are making is loaded with veggies they think they hate.

Maybe I should write a book: “Blogging Away the Picky Eater”. Except for the fact that all I have to offer is the catchy title. I have pretty much zip in the way of actual content. Not that that’s ever stopped anyone before; like former presidents and aging child actors, for example.

Asian Noodle Salad

There is something wonderful that happens in your mouth when Asian flavors like soy, ginger, sesame and garlic combine. The trendy word for it is umami, but since I’m not very trendy and probably couldn’t pronounce it right if I tried, I’ll just call it yummy. Add some fresh tang from the lime, a bit more than a hint of sweet and hot from the honey and chili oil, and the resulting dressing could probably make cardboard taste gourmet. Don’t limit yourself to salad either; the dressing makes a great marinade for chicken or pork.

Salad Ingredients
1 16oz package linguine noodles
½ small head purple cabbage, very finely sliced
1 ½ cups bean sprouts
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup grated carrot (1-2 carrots)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing Ingredients
1/3 cup grapeseed or peanut oil
2 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tsp chili oil
2 tbsp lime juice (about the juice of 1 lime)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced

Cook the linguini according to the package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Allow to drain completely. Put all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust for heat with the chili oil according to your taste. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and mix well. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. Serve at room temperature.

(Printable Recipe)

Asian Beef Sandwich with Ginger Wasabi Mayo

Karen — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:58:51 +0000

Tomorrow is August 17th, 2009, which means that today, August 16th, 2009, is almost done and gone forever and ever and ever. Never to be recaptured. Gone, like a puff of smoke in the breeze….

*cue violins…..or maybe a whole string quartet*

I think that maybe I’m feeling a little melancholy because my rug monkeys are back to school tomorrow, going into grades 4 and 6. Summer just dried up and blew away before I even had a chance to take it in. Yeah, it’s still hot out, bug season is still in full swing, and people are still grilling in their backyards. But the beginning of the school year is a huge red star on the calendar that tells me that the boys of summer are almost gone, and it’s time to get back on some sort of a schedule, stock up on pencils, and make sure the kids aren’t “secretly” reading the book they can’t put down with a flashlight under the covers, after the call for lights out. I know there is good stuff coming up to look forward to, like holidays and family gatherings, school plays and recitals, puberty and boys….ok, not so much the last two, but you know what I’m saying. Still, I think that I will finish this post, put away the dishes in the dishwasher, get lunches ready for the morning, and then sit out on the back patio and take in the summer night sky just one more time. The bugs can keep me company.

Yesterday I found myself with a loaf of focaccia I hadn’t even opened yet, a slab of top round roast, and some carrots that really needed to get used up before they sprouted or mummified, whichever came first.

I thought maybe a sandwich, my favorite summer meal. But what to do with the carrots?

This is the sandwich I came up with, very loosely inspired by that Vietnamese sandwich that seems to be all the rage these days. A soy marinated, grilled, and thinly sliced top round roast, served on a loaf of focaccia slathered with a ginger-wasabi mayo and topped with shaved carrots and cucumbers that were briefly pickled in sweetened rice vinegar.

Turned out pretty darn good, thankyouverymuch.

Asian Beef Sandwich with Ginger Wasabi Mayo

2 lbs top round steak
½ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 chopped scallions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger, minced
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1 loaf of dense bread. I used focaccia, but you can used whatever bread you prefer
Pickled Carrots and cucumbers (recipe follows)
2 tbsp ginger wasabi mayo or to taste (recipe follows)

Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, scallions, garlic, ginger, honey, and sesame oil in a bowl. Place the top round in a plastic freezer bag and pour the marinade over the top. Seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible.Marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Prepare the wasabi mayo at this time as well. Preheat the grill to medium, and cook the beef turning once, for 7-10 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 135°F. Set aside to cool.
While the steak is cooling, prepare the pickled carrots and cucumber according to the recipe below.
When the beef has cooled and the pickled vegetables are ready, slice the beef as thinly as possible. Slice the loaf of bread in half, lengthwise. Spread about a tablespoon of the mayo on each cut side of the bread. Layer the beef on the bottom slice and top with a generous amount of the pickled veggies. Cover with the top slice and cut into individual servings.

Pickled Carrots and Cucumber

2 large carrots, peeled
1 medium cucumber, peeled
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
¼ cup rice vinegar

Using a potato peeler, shave thin slices of the carrots and cucumbers. Add the remaining ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the carrots and cucumbers, and stir to coat with the vinegar mixture. Let sit for 20 minutes, stirring a few times to redistribute the vinegar mixture. The veggies will be tender, but still have a bit of crunch when they are ready.

Ginger-Wasabi Mayo
Adapted from Chef Duncan Gott

1 tbsp wasabi powder
1 tbsp water
1 cup mayo
¼ cup pickled ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Refrigerate overnight before using.

(Printable Recipe)

Fish and Noodles with Lemon Ginger Sauce

Karen — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:54:46 +0000

99 Pieces of Fish in the Fridge: Part I

My husband went fishin’ with the menfolk this past weekend (you have to say fishin’ if you want to sound cool). I stayed home, which was fine with this particular wimmenfolk, because it was 95°F in the shade, and there isn’t much shade in a boat in the middle of a lake. Apparently the fish were really biting, and hubby came home with a ton (well maybe closer to 20 pounds) of fish. I can’t for the life of me remember what species they were other than aquatic and not catfish.

Of course this sent me into a fish cooking frenzy. That first night I made this recipe from Steamy Kitchen, which is adapted from the book Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson . I substituted about a pound of my husband’s fish haul for the tofu and added a tablespoon of fresh cilantro and 3 thinly sliced scallions right at the end. It was fantastic! The lemony dressing works perfectly with the fish. I also served this dish warm. The next time I make it (there will be many next times!) I will probably use linguini noodles, and cook the fish more carefully. When you *stir* fry what turns out to be a delicate fish, you end up with mostly fish flakes and some larger chunks of fish by the time it’s done. Lesson learned. We still ate every last bite.

I had wanted to try this recipe ever since it did the rounds on some the food blogs I read. Check out some of the other versions on Simply Recipes and on The Amateur Gourmet. When I make this dish again, I’ll take some pictures and get them up on the blog. We were hungry, and it was 10 PM, so the camera stayed in the bag this time!

Join us for the next installment of 99 Pieces of Fish in the Fridge: Fish with French Herbs and Spring Veggies.