Tag: chili garlic sauce

Stir Fry Quinoa with Bok Choy and Corn

1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons salt

Heat a medium pan with the olive oil. Add the quinoa and sauté on medium heat for a minute. Add the chicken broth and salt and bring to a boil. Simmer on medium heat for about ten to fifteen minutes or till the quinoa is cooked through. Take out of pan into a plate to cool.

2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 serrano chilies, chopped
5 to 6 baby bok choy, whites and greens separated and chopped
2 ears of corn, kernels sliced off
½ cup cilantro
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons tamari

Heat a wok like pan with the oil. Add the garlic and chilies and sauté on high heat for a minute. Add the whites of the bok choy and corn. Saute on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bok choy greens and cilantro. Add the chili garlic sauce and tamari. Saute on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the quinoa and sauté for another 3 to 4 minutes. Check for seasonings and serve warm.

Shrimp and Spinach Stir Fry with Black Bean Sauce

Shrimp and Spinach Stir Fry I am always looking for new recipes to make with shrimp. It is such a favorite in our house that I know what ever I make, it will be a hit- well almost everything.

I remembered a dish we have at a local Chinese restaurant- Hunan Spring. It is a black bean and shrimp dish.

I decided to replicate it and went looking for black bean sauce. I actually wanted the dried black beans to make it from scratch but since I didn’t give myself ample time, I had to make do with the prepared black bean sauce. I also bought fresh Florida pink shrimp from Freeman’s fish market.

I decided to buy a bag of baby spinach to add to the dish- it is so much easier to have a dish with protein and a vegetable together. All I had to do was make some delicious brown rice. My secret to brown rice is sauteing it with a mixture of butter and olive oil and then cooking it with chicken broth. It gives the rice tons of flavor and makes it scrumptious.

As I predicted, the dish was a hit. Everyone loved it. Sia had it with a glass of milk and Anil and I had it with a red- I know a white would have gone a lot better- but I really felt like drinking a red. My rule about pairing wine and food is that you should drink what you feel like with you have cooked. It will definitely taste good!

1 pound large shrimp, cleaned and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
2 teaspoons salt

5 ounces baby spinach
2 medium white onions, sliced thin
¼ black bean sauce
2 tablespoons garlic chili sauce
Salt
3 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Place the shrimp in a large ziplock bag. Add the garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 teaspoons salt. Mix well and marinate for 2-3 hours.

In a wok like pan, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the sliced onions and sauté on high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the marinated shrimp and sauté for a minute. Add the black bean sauce and garlic chili sauce. Mix well and add the spinach. Saute till the spinach wilts down. Taste for seasonings and add salt if necessary. Serve hot with brown rice.

Ground Turkey and Green Beans Stir Fry

Ground Turkey and Green Bean Stir Fry I bought green beans with the eggplants the other day at the farmer’s market. They had been sitting in my fridge and I wasn’t sure what to do with them. Usually pasta comes to mind but I was trying to cook different cuisines since we had quite a lot of pasta in Italy- not that there is anything wrong with that.

I thought about making a stir fry with tofu and green beans. I haven’t cooked with tofu in a while and we all love it. I was feeling quite lazy to prepare the tofu- I take the excess water out, cut it up and then saute it in a non-stick pan. I decided to scrap the tofu and use ground turkey instead. There is a dish my husband really enjoys called ma po tofu that has ground meat and is cooked in a black bean sauce. It is quite tasty and I have made it a few times but I didn’t have black bean sauce at home- oh well. I made my own sauce and sauteed the turkey meat with ginger and garlic. I then added the green beans and the sauce.

It was a quick and easy dish. I made healthy brown rice with it. I saute the rice in a little olive oil and butter and then cook it in chicken broth- it is absolutely delicious! You don’t miss white rice at all. I also buy the Indian basmati brown rice from Trader Joes, so it has a longer grain and is closer in terms of looks to white rice.

My daughter really enjoyed it and surprisingly said nothing about the green beans- I guess she likes them now. She even took leftovers to school the next day. I refrained from drinking any wine as I have indulged a bit too much on my trip and over the summer. Just plain water was good enough with the delicious meal!

1 pound ground turkey breast
½ pound green beans, trimmed
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ginger, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce

3 tablespoons tamari
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

Mix all the ingredients and keep aside.

2 teaspoons corn starch
2 teaspoons water

Mix the corn starch and water and keep aside.

In a large wok, heat the olive oil. Add the ground turkey meat and cook over high heat, separating the meat while stirring constantly for about 5 mintues. Add the garlic and ginger. Saute for 2-3 minutes on high heat. Add the green beans and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sauce and the corn starch mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes, mixing well. Cover the dish and cook on low heat for 5 minutes or till the beans are cooked. Serve with brown rice.