Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Chinese Inspired, Entrées, Meats, Soup/Stew
Sunday Apr 17, 2011
This dish is delicious. I had some lovely stew beef pieces in my freezer which I bought from Eataly in NYC. If you haven’t been to this huge space filled with delicious food- you must go. I admit, it is overpriced but there is a certain thrill about being in a place surrounded with amazing cooked food and ingredients to cook delicious foods. I love spending a few hours in there and buy fresh pasta, meat and cheese from there. A while ago I bought Prosecco jelly to be served with cheese. I was very curious to try it and it was delicious…
Anyway, I wanted to make a stew and decided on an Asian style dish. I started thinking of the spices and came up with Chinese five spice powder, a cinnamon stick and tamari for the savory component. I also chose shitake mushrooms, green onions and ginger- and also mirin. It is used in Japanese cuisine and is a sweet rice wine- it has a very distinct flavor- perfect for what I was looking for. Well, the stew was amazing. I decided to serve it with some soba noodles and sauteed Chinese broccoli.
Try this different kind of stew- you may never make your old one…
Click here for the recipe… »
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Chinese Inspired, Entrées
Tuesday Apr 5, 2011
This is my husband’s favorite thing to order in Chinese restaurants. It is a Szechuan dish and so not really available in a lot of the restaurants. The dish is also on the greasy side- like any other that we tend to order in the restaurant. As usual I try to make it at home. It doesn’t taste exactly the same but it tastes good and I know it is healthy.
Usually the dish is made with ground pork and soft tofu with a delicious sauce. I used my usual ground turkey, which is my ‘go to’ ground meat. It is much healthier- I use dark turkey meat so the taste is really good.
I marinated the meat with some tamari and corn starch. The corn starch was to thicken the sauce while cooking the dish. I then prepared a sauce consisting of black bean sauce, chili garlic sauce, ketchup and vinegar. I made a delicious sauce and got the tofu ready. I decided to make the dish a one pot meal and added some peas to it. I thought it was a good addition to the dish and I didn’t have to worry about serving a vegetable on the side.
Try this dish- it is easy, quick and super delicious….
Click here for the recipe… »
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Chinese Inspired, Vegetarian, kid friendly
Wednesday Mar 30, 2011
This was a great discovery and a huge success in my house. A friend told me about tofu noodles she bought at the Asian store. I found them in Whole Foods with the other tofu products. It is tofu shaped as noodles in a liquid- similar to the liquid in a tofu package.
I brought them home; drained them; rinsed and cooked them in the microwave for a minute. They were then ready to be used like regular cooked noodles. I also had a big bunch of Chinese broccoli- one of our favorite vegetables to eat. It reminds me of broccoli raab- which is my favorite thing to eat.
I simply sauteed the Chinese broccoli with garlic and oyster sauce. I then added the noodles and some salt- and that was it. It was the quickest dish- almost comparable to the fish I made with it. Both the dishes were super easy and quick to make.
My daughter devoured the noodles and wanted more. I wish I had made two packages instead of one… she would have eaten the whole package if I had let her. It is definitely going to be a staple in my house…
Try these noodles- they are healthy and delicious….
Click here for the recipe… »
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Chinese Inspired, Entrées, Seafood/Fish
Tuesday Mar 29, 2011
I don’t end up ordering fish dishes in Chinese restaurants- mostly because majority of the dishes are deep fried. It is generally a whole fish, deep fried in a delicious sauce. Since I gravitate towards healthier food and even though I love anything fried, I stay away from it.
I do love fish cooked in delicious Chinese flavors- so, as usual I realized I can make it better at home- yes, I realize what you are thinking- she is not too modest… at all. I think if you have the right recipe, anyone can churn out better food in their kitchen than what they get outside.
I bought delicious bronzini from the Asian store and decided to make it simply with some key ingredients- tamari, black bean sauce, ginger, garlic, etc. I browned the fish quickly and mixed up a sauce in no time. This dish was ready in less than ten minutes. This is an ideal dish to make through the week.
I wasn’t sure if my daughter will like the dish since it was the first time I made anything Chinese using fish. Well, she loved it and wanted more… if I had made a bigger quantity, she would have eaten more.
Try this dish- it is healthy and delicious and best of all, it cooks in no time….
Click here for the recipe… »
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Chinese Inspired, Entrées, kid friendly
Monday Jan 24, 2011
Here is another healthy dinner for you to make. I have made chicken and broccoli before but this version is a bit quicker and healthier. I used frozen broccoli instead of fresh- you can use either one. I happen not to find fresh broccoli so I used the frozen.
I drizzled a bit of oil on the broccoli and roasted it to get rid of excess moisture.
In the meantime I mixed up a quick sauce and instead of my usual chicken thighs, I used chicken breast. I sliced the breast pieces really thin and marinated them. Obviously chicken breast has less fat and is healthier than thighs. Personally I prefer the taste of dark meat but to be healthy- I used the breast.
Overall the dish was delicious and I served it with brown rice- enjoy!!!
Click here for the recipe… »