This is an elegantly simple recipe from Jamie Oliver: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/humble-home-cooked-beans-recipe.html. We modified by starting with the following flavor base: sauté 1 oz center cut bacon (cut into matchsticks) until browned, then add 2 minced shallots and sauté until fragrant. We also used: 8 cloves minced (peeled) garlic in lieu of 3 unpeeled cloves; 2 small… Continue reading Italian-style home-cooked borlotti beans
Oven-roasted string beans
Preheat oven to 425. Trim ends off 1 lb string beans. Dry well, then toss in a large mixing bowl with enough neutral oil to lightly coat (we used grapeseed oil) well as salt and black pepper to taste - here, we used about 1 ½ tsp oil and ½ tsp each salt and black… Continue reading Oven-roasted string beans
Burmese okra-shallot stir-fry
Okra and shallots stirfried with fresh hot pepper and fish sauce. Heat a large wok, add 3 Tbsp peanut oil, and add 1/8 tsp turmeric. Stir for a minute, then add 1 cup shallots (cut into ¼ inch crosswise slices) and sauté until translucent and starting to brown. Add 1 Tbsp microplaned ginger and sauté.… Continue reading Burmese okra-shallot stir-fry
Burmese traveler’s eggplant curry
A delicious stew infused with dried shrimp powder. Heat a Dutch oven, add 3 Tbsp peanut oil, add 1/8 tsp turmeric and stir, and then sauté ½ cup minced shallots until softened (about 4 mins). Add ½ cup minced tomato and 1 tsp microplaned ginger and sauté for a few mins. Add 1 lb Asian… Continue reading Burmese traveler’s eggplant curry
Chinese-style lettuce wraps with minced chicken, tofu, and shiitakes
We tried this recipe from Andrea Nguyen: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2012/08/chicken-tofu-and-shiitake-lettuce-cups-recipe.html. We used 6 oz chopped water chestnuts in lieu of pine nuts as well as five fresh shiitakes instead of two dry. We also used romaine lettuce instead of iceberg. (June 2016) Source: Andrea Nguyen, author and teacher, Vietworldkitchen.com.
Quinoa-oatmeal with apples and toasted walnuts
Recipe here: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/quinoatmeal-apple-toasted-walnuts. We forgot to soak the grains overnight, so we let them sit in boiling water for 30 mins before starting step 2. We also used 1% milk instead of soy, and we garnished with about ½ tsp honey per serving. This makes two servings for breakfast. (June 2016)
Chinese long beans stirfried with salted black beans (don sher chaw gan do)
This is a quick stirfry with umami flavor and nice mouthfeel. Recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World, available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0609809237/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_SWotxb52HA55Y (May 2016)
Chinese cold tofu salad (liang ban dofu)
This dish involves poached, crumbled tofu tossed in a garlicky soy sauce-vinegar dressing (chiang yow tru chiang). Both the tofu salad and dressing recipes are from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World. First, prepare the Chinese soy sauce salad dressing (you will need only 3 Tbsp for… Continue reading Chinese cold tofu salad (liang ban dofu)
Chinese-style chicken cashew lettuce wraps
This is not exactly authentic, but the flavor and texture contrasts were good. Recipe here: http://shewearsmanyhats.com/chicken-cashew-lettuce-wraps/ (May 2016)
Asian-style honey soy oven-roasted chicken
We tried this recipe: http://shewearsmanyhats.com/on-the-dark-side/. To make it a little healthier, we reduced the oil to 3 Tbsp and the honey to a ¼ cup (4 Tbsp). (May 2016)
Cooking Adventures 