Mapo Tofu (Asian Cuisine)

This recipe can be made vegetarian as well. Omit the chicken and add extra tofu and vegetables to your liking. 

RECIPE: Mapo Tofu

Ingredients
1 pack ground chicken (I used turkey in this instance)
1/2 TBSP minced ginger
1 TBSP minced garlic
red pepper flakes to tatse
1 pack Tofu cut in 1"cubes
4-5 Button mushrooms, sliced
1 TBSP Sunflower oil (anything you have on hand will do)

For the Sauce:
2 TBSP Garlic Bean Sauce
3 TBSP Soy Sauce
3 TBSP Mirin
2 TBSP Sugar
6 TBSP Water
1/2 TBSP Sesame Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Corn Starch:Water, 1 TBSP:1 TBSP
Green Onions, cut on bias

Method

1. Heat 1 TBSP oil. Saute ginger and garlic. Add some red pepper flakes to it.
2. Next up, add the minced meat and cook till it is opaque and a little browned.
3. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook a little.
4. While it is cooking, prepare the sauce. Add to the chicken and mix it up.
5. Add the corn starch, water mix and stir till it thicken a little.
6. Lastly, add the tofu and carefully toss it all. Garnish with green onions.

It could not be any simpler to whip it all up and serve with some steamed rice.

Mango Chutney

There would hardly be anyone who has never tried some variation of this most versatile condiment. Well, I ran out of mine (mom's handmade real stuff) that had traveled some 10,000 miles to get to me. Since making that journey was impossible I had to try and replicate the best I could. Real test will be when the kids come home and tell me if it compares to what their grandmother makes.

The versatility of Mango Chutney knows no bounds. I have served it with Cheese and crackers, as an accompaniment with an Indian meal, as a topping with roast pork, in a panini, on a ham sandwich and on a bruschetta with brie. I am sure I am missing a few other innovative ways it can be served.

RECIPE: Mango Chutney

Ingredients

2 Medium, Raw Mangoes, peeled and cubed
1 Lemon, juiced

4 TBSP White-wine vinegar
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 tsp roasted Cumin seeds
1/4 tsp Onion seeds (also called nigella)
6 Cloves
8-10 Peppercorns
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 Cup Dark Brown sugar

1-2 inch piece Ginger, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed 
2 tsp lemon zest

Method

1. Place tha Mango cubes on a glass bowl and pour the lemon juice over it. Toss and set aside.

2. In a sauce pan, add 4 TBSP of white wine vinegar and the next 7 ingredients. Turn heat to high, once it is boiling turn the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. It should gwt fairly bubbly and thick.

3. Now add the Mango pieces, ginger, garlic and lemon zest to it. Toss it all and again let it cook for 15-20 minutes. The mangoes will turn a little translucent and pulpy. 

4. Let it cool completely and transfer to a storage glass jar. Ready to use as needed. I would store it in the refrigerator.

Hope you enjoy making it and leave me comments on how it turned out for you.

Thanks and Happy Monday!

Green Tea Pound Cake

Think outside the tea bag for a minute. I love the flavor of tea in cakes and desserts. I have to make my Earl Grey Tea Cake and Chamomile Almond Torte for ya'll soon (like you would let me forget). 

One of my all time favorite desserts is the green tea ice cream and I never pass an opportunity to devour some.  So, got me to the brilliant idea of baking a green tea cake. Lets see if it turns as good as I think it will.

Ideally, one would use Matcha or Sencha powders in the batter but since I don't have any I will be splitting open my tea bags and using it in my cake. You can blitz it in a coffee grinder to make a fine powder but I am keeping the leaves as it for a mild texture in my cake.

RECIPE: Green Tea Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 1 Cup All-purpose flour
• ½ tsp Baking soda
• ½ tsp Sea salt
• 2 tsp Matcha/Sencha tea bags split open
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Sunflower oil
• 1/4 Cup Apple sauce
• 2 large Eggs
• 1/4 Cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp Vanilla flavor

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease grease a loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, oil, apple sauce, eggs, yogurt and vanilla until smooth.

3. Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt and green tea leaves into the larger bowl, mixing as you go in make sure it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

4. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan.

5. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

6. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes before turning out of the pan.

7. Before serving dust with powdered sugar and serve with sliced, fresh strawberries or with fresh blueberries and a dollop of Mascarpone and of course a pot of freshly brewed green tea.

 Makes about 10 servings with roughly 172 calories per slice. Its a dessert after all. Hope you enjoy making it and leave me a comment with your favorite baking with tea recipe.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 10.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 172
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6 g	10 %
Saturated Fat 1 g	5 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 37 mg	12 %
Sodium 17 mg	1 %
Potassium 37 mg	1 %
Total Carbohydrate 26 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 0 g	2 %
Sugars 16 g
Protein 3 g	6 %
Vitamin A	1 %
Vitamin C	2 %
Calcium	1 %
Iron	4 %

"Dump it" Breakfast Loaf

You all know what crazy mornings look like. Everyone is in a mad rush to get out the door and no time to make breakfast. This recipe works great and makes a perfect to go breakfast if you do a little pre-planning and make it the day before. There is no recipe as such, just find stuff in the fridge and dump it in a loaf pan. Seriously, its that easy and different each time depending on what I have.

RECIPE: 'Dump it" Breakfast Loaf

2 Cups left over Mushroom and herb Risotto from a previous meal
1 grated Zucchini
1/2 grated Sweet Potato
6 Egg whites
1 diced Serrano pepper (optional) or red pepper flakes
herbs like parsley or cilantro
salt and pepper to taste.
1 Tomato, slices

Method

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Dump everything in a mixing bowl and stir together. Pour mixture into a loaf pan and garnish with tomato slices. Bake it in the oven for 45 minutes or till the egg sets.

Now this proportion yields about 5 slices and its roughly only 160 calories per slice.

Hope you try your variations and don't forget to share them with me. Hope you enjoy making it.

Make life easy: A little planning and forethough

The long weekend was hectic with Valentines and Monday being a school holiday. I knew I had a lot packed into my 4 day week with school commitments for my boys, after school activities and personal commitments. Where am I going with this?

This blog post is about putting a little planning and forethought in the way you shop and cook to make weekday mealtimes a little less stressful. Yes, I can always stop at a fast food drive through on the way back from our activities and I actually enjoy doing that once in a while but doing that often leads to a massive guilt trip and it’s a health compromise.

I made the grocery list with the boys and shopped with them Monday, makes for a fun outing as they love to pick the “just right” produce and bag it for me J. It’s a mini lesson on reading labels for them too. My 11 year old picked up a can of chicken soup because it looked super fun with alphabet pasta. The label said “For Kids” and used words like natural and healthy. That got us to reading the label and he figured out there was not much healthy in there with 27% of your daily intake of sodium.

When I know I have some busy days ahead of me I make a few dishes in advance and portion them out into individual boxes and use them as needed. These make for perfect balanced and nutritious meals on the go. You can heat it up at home after a long day of running around or take them with you for lunch etc. Today on the menu was,

Chicken Piccata, Mushroom and Herb Risotto and Sautéed Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms. (Click on the links for recipes).

The younger audience loved it too :)

Sautéed Asian Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms

Recently saw this recipe featured on an episode of Americas Test Kitchen and am totally obsessed with it. I have used a very similar sauce to make a variation of Mapo Tofu in the past and love the sweet/tangy Asian flair to it so decided to make it today. It is fairly simple and takes a few minutes from start to finish.

RECIPE: Sauteed Asian Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms

Ingredients

Sauce,
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp Sherry, cooking wine
2 tsp Brown sugar
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp, sesame oil

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (to saute vegetables)
1 bunch Asparagus, cut
1 box Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced

Method

1. To make sauce, combine the water, sherry, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil.
2. In a cast iron skillet heat the vegetable oil on medium heat for a few minutes till the oil is very hot and the chopped vegetables. Stir occasionally and let the veggies brown a bit. 
3. Add the sauce and let thicken, stir occasionally till the liquid is almost dry.

Enjoy!