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Tag: green onion

Fish Stew with Coconut Milk

This is a great stew to make through the week since it doesn’t take very long. It is also good to incorporate fish into your diet and this is a great way to eat delicious fish in a delicious stew! I served it with some forbidden rice- recipe coming tomorrow…

  • 1 to 1½ pounds filets of firm white fish, cut into large fillets
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Marinate fish with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Keep aside for about half an hour.

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onions, chopped
  • 4 green onion, chopped
  • 1 large red pepper, chopped
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 14 ounce can coconut milk
  • Salt

Add the oil to a large saucepan. Add the onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the green onion and red pepper and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and smoked paprika. Saute for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the cilantro and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the fish fillets and simmer until cooked through, making sure not to overcook the fish. Adjust seasoning and serve with rice.

Mexican Stew

  • This is a great one-pot meal to make .. especially since it has started to get cold…
  • 1 pound chicken thighs
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 2 to 3 large yellow potatoes and cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons roasted cumin
  • 2 cups chicken broth

Sauce

  • 2 poblano peppers, sliced in half
  • 1 anaheim pepper, sliced in half
  • 1 small garlic head, wrapped in aluminum
  • 1 small yellow onion cut in half
  • 2 to 3 green onions
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped
  • ½ cup chicken broth

Place the peppers, garlic, onion and green onions onto a lined baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the salt. Roast in the oven for half an hour, or until the vegetables are soft. Take out and blend in the blender with the cilantro and ½ cup broth until smooth.

Heat a saucepan and add the oil and roasted cumin. Add the carrots and celery and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the green sauce, 2 cups broth and the chicken thighs. Mix well and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour and a half. Serve hot with bread.

Chinese Style Fish

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. read more …

Besan Ki Roti- Homemade Spiced Gramflour Bread

Besan Ki Roti 1 This roti is ideal for breakfast or brunch. I grew up eating it for brunch on the weekends.

The bread is made with whole wheat flour and chickpea flour. The chickpea flour gives the bread a delicious nutty flavor and has protein as well.

The two flours can be paired with onion, ginger, green onions, cilantro and a bunch of spices- sky is the limit. You can make it as spicy as you want with a lot of chilies and cayenne pepper or keep it mild.

In this case, I added coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Once the dough is made, it is important for it to rest for a bit before the bread is ready to be rolled.

Rolling the bread can be difficult so don’t worry about the shape. Roll it out into whatever shape is the easiest. Once it is rolled out, cook it on a non-stick pan (it is the easiest to handle). Cook on both sides until golden brown. You can cook longer to make the exterior crusty. Either way, the bread is delicious.

Traditionally it is served with pickles and yogurt (to alleviate the heat from the bread). It can also be served with a fried egg on top- my favorite.
read more …

Chicken with a Tamarind Glazed on a Crisp Noodle Cake

Tamarind Chicken with Noodle Pancake1One of my favorite places to eat in our area is Khun Thai. It is a Thai restaurant in Millburn, NJ. We have been going there for many years now and all the dishes are really good.

One dish I always get (most of the time) is a grilled beef with a tamarind sauce. It is served with grilled vegetables and sticky rice. I find it very satisfying and relatively healthy. I always ask for extra tamarind sauce on the side. I wish they would sell the sauce in a jar- I would buy tons of it. It is salty, savory with a bit of spice- absolutely perfect in my book.

We went for dinner the other day to Khun Thai and yes I had the same thing. While I was eating it, I decided to make my own version at home. I knew I won’t be able to make an exact replica but it will be make take on the tamarind sauce.

I was reading the latest Food and Wine and a chef was featured who cooks with a lot of Thai and Chinese flavors. He made a chicken with a tamarind glaze on top of a noodle cake. I decided to use that as an inspiration and came up with my own version. I started with chicken stock and tamarind concentrate. I added a bit fish sauce- which is a great thing to keep in your pantry. It gives Asian dishes great nutty, salty flavor.

The noodle cake was very easy to make and a lot of fun to eat. My daughter loved it. I sauteed broccolini to serve with the meal. It was perfect- it looked gorgeous on the plate and the sauce was delicious. It definitely was not the same as the restaurant but it was still good.

Try it- you will love it, guaranteed…

Glaze

  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (available at Whole Foods)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons honey (to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro stems, finely chopped
  • 1 medium shallots, finely sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 1 green onion, green and white parts separated

Add the chicken stock, tamarind, honey, fish sauce and chili sauce to a small saucepan. Add the cilantro stems, shallots, garlic cloves and white part of the green onions. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat till it reduces to 1 cup. Keep aside.

  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken pieces
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Tamarind Chicken with Noodle Pancake

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides, about 3 minutes each on high heat. Sprinkle salt generously on both sides. Add the tamarind sauce in the pan and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes basting once. Take the chicken pieces out on a plate and boil the liquid till thickened, about 3 minutes. Place the chicken back in the frying pan and place it under a high broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, till the pieces are golden brown.
Serve on top of a crispy noodle wedge and some sauce on top. Garnish with the green parts of the green onion.

Crisp Noodle Pancake

  • 4 ounces dried thin egg noodles
  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Crisp Noodle Pancake

Boil the noodles according to instructions. Drain and spread onto a cookie sheet and pat dry. Heat a non-stick frying with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the noodles, spreading them thin covering the pan surface. Take a spare lid and press down and cook for 8 to 9 minutes on medium heat. Invert the pancake onto a plate. Heat the same pan with the remaining olive oil and slice the pancake back now browning the other side. Cook for 8 to 9 minutes on medium heat. Once both sides are golden brown and crisp, slide the pancake onto a cutting board. Slice into 4 wedges and serve with the chicken.

Sauteed Broccolini

  • 1 pack or a pound of broccolini
  • 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Sauteed Broccolini

Blanch the broccolini in boiling water for a minute. Take out and shock in cold water to retain the color. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil. Saute the blanched broccolini on medium high heat, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Serve with the chicken and noodle pancake.

A Great Idea For Leftovers: Wonton Soup and Sauteed Dumplings

wonton-soup2

My daughter loves dumplings! She really didn’t start eating them until I practically forced her to try them at several different occasions. Now, she wants to go eat dim sum every weekend. We go to a local Chinese restaurant to have the delicious dumplings. We sit down and the dumplings start coming our way immediately- we are literally done in 15 minutes- no joke! Sia covets everything stuffed with shrimp. My favorite is a chive dumpling- it is absolutely delicious. It is shaped like a fat disk and I can’t get enough of them. 

Packing lunch for Sia has always been a challenge. She does not like/eat sandwiches. She likes proper food- that’s what I get for not giving her a sandwich when she was really young. Anyway, I am always struggling to come up with different ideas. Once she started eating dumplings- I began buying them from Trader Joes and Whole Foods. They come in all different varieties- some that include veggies in them as well. I cook a few for her and put them in her thermos- she loves it!

Sia has been asking me how they make the dumplings at the restaurant. I usually explain the procedure to her, but, I am not sure if it actually registers- the glazed look on her face is usually not a good sign. She kept wondering why we haven’t made them at home yet- I really didn’t have an answer for her- there really was no reason we couldn’t. Especially since I have watched many people use them to make dumplings on television as well as fresh raviolis!  So, when I saw the wonton skins at the store the other day, I grabbed them. I decided to use all the leftover proteins I had in the fridge and make a wonton soup- which she loves; as well as the classic sauteed dumplings. Well, she was thrilled to be able to watch me put the dumplings together and most importantly, she loved the way they tasted-mission accomplished. I can’t wait to make my own raviolis now!

read more …

Egg Paratha

egg-paratha Parathas are essentially a tortilla like flat bread made out of whole wheat flour. It is very common to have them for breakfast in India. They are typically stuffed with vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower or even a daikon. It can also be prepared plain layered with butter or ghee and eaten with yogurt. In this dish, a whole wheat tortilla or any choice of flat bread can be used.  I grew up eating egg parathas for breakfast. I am not sure how common they are amongst other Indians, but we would have them once in a while for breakfast or even lunch. It is almost a whole meal- whole wheat bread with an egg. The egg is nicely spiced with salt and cayenne pepper.  The cilantro gives the dish great flavor and color. Typically a regular onion is sauteed with a green chili- I like to use green onions because of their mild flavor and beautiful color.  The soft layer of egg goes very well with the crispy paratha.  The spice level can be increased by adding more cayenne pepper in the egg mixture- I love it spicy, so I add more cayenne and more serrano chilies to the frying pan- my mouth salivates as I write about this dish!!!- even though I just finished eating the most flavorful biryani I have ever had!  Stay tuned for the recipe and explanation on Monday… as usual, I digress…

Egg paratha goes very well with ketchup or even a tomato chutney and a cup of hot masala chai– perfect combination! We usually look forward to having this breakfast dish on the weekends.

  • 1 large egg, beaten well
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ¼ cup green onion, chopped
  • 1 serrano chili, chopped
  • 1 round flat bread, a tortilla, a prepared roti or paratha

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the green onion and Serrano chili. Saute for a minute or two on medium heat. In the meantime, beat the egg well and add the salt, cayenne pepper and cilantro. Have the tortilla or the paratha ready. Pour the egg mixture on to the onion mixture in the frying pan. Rotate the frying pan to spread the egg mixture evenly. Plate the paratha on top of the egg mixture and press down with a spatula. Cook on medium heat till the egg below the paratha is well cooked- about 3-4 minutes. Flip the egg paratha over and brown the other side.