 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| FOOD AND DRINK |
| Asian Cooking: Alternative Meals for Your Dining Pleasure By: Sara Duggan |
My son’s best friend is Chinese. This gives us ample time to sample various Asian meals. His Mom just recently sold
their restaurant so is spending more time at home. This allows the kids to play together more often. My son is eating
things that he would never accept from me. If his friend's Mom or his friend offers it to him, it is the most amazing thing
in the world.
My husband enjoys steamed rice (Japanese) and Bulkogi (said: bool-ko-gee) which is a Korean Barbecue Sauce. Just
recently we ate at a Chinese restaurant in town and enjoyed our first bowl of Miso Soup. It is tofu paste soup with
seaweed and scallions. We also tried our hand at making dumplings after seeing an Asian film about the first Chinese
marriage for love. We did okay, but the dumpling soup I had at the restaurant was "the bomb" as my son would put it.
If you take a look at the resource site I listed below, you will see a big difference in what the Asian world perceives to be
a balanced diet. First off you will see that the bulk of the diet is daily physical activity followed by rice, noodles, bread,
millet, or other whole grain. Another thing you will notice is the amount of sweets and meat they eat is minimal
compared to the American diet. Sweets are limited to a weekly treat while meat is only a monthly treat.
Going back to my son’s friend, I can tell you that the main part of his diet is noodles (Vietnamese rice noodles), rice, or
some other type of carbohydrate. He rarely eats meat and the main poultry eaten is chicken with lots and lots of
vegetables. He and my son love the broccoli dipped in heated cream cheese (kind of sweet).
Below you will find some recipes for some of the above mentioned meals but if you don’t feel up to cooking local
grocery chains sometimes carry these foods in the Asian isle. (Bulkogi – Miso Soup – Rice Noodles – Ramen –
Dumplings) Trader Joes actually has Bulkogi ready to cook. We tried this not too long ago and it was delicious, easy,
and fed us for 2 days for just under $12.
MISO SOUP
1 Tbsp Hondashi (instant fish stock)
½ cup shiro (white) miso paste
8 o.z. tofu cubes
2 green onions, thinly sliced
5 cups water
Bring the water to a boil Add the Hondashi and miso paste and stir until miso is dissolved Add the tofu pieces and cook
an additional minute before serving Garnish with green onion slices.
PERFECT STEAMED RICE (http://chilipaper.com/Frecipes/Fsides/Frice/perfect_steamed_rice.htm)
1 Tbsp Butter or Margarine
1 minced Scallion (green onion)
1 cup Rice
1 ½ cups Water
Melt butter in saucepan
Add scallion and saute for 2 minutes
Add rice, and turn over in pan to coat with oil
Add water and bring to a boil
Once the water is boiling, turn heat to medium-low, cover pan and let steam for 18 minutes
BULKOGI
6 lbs short ribs cut into thin pieces, about 2 ½ inches long
Marinade: (yields 1 ½ cups)
2 Tbls toasted sesame seeds
4 large cloves garlic, pressed
1 C soy sauce
2 Tbls sherry (or substitute sweet rice wine)
3 Tbls sugar
2 Tbls sesame oil
2 Tbls water
2 ts fresh ginger, finely grated
½ C chopped green scallions (green and white parts, mixed)
DUMPLINGS(from movie)
Round dumpling wrappers (cold food produce section where tofu is)
Mushrooms (button, pre-cut)
Scallions
Garlic
Round 1:
We heated up the mushrooms and scallions and garlic
We then filled the wrappers as per instructions given
We steamed dumpling
Outcome:
Okay – good taste – good texture – stuck to the bottom of the steamer
Round 2:
Same as above but this time we fried the dumplings
Then boiled them
Outcome:
Not so good – taste was okay but it was like a big jumbled mess of noodle and stuffing mixed with the grease of having
fried them first – by far the least favorite way for us
Round 3:
Same as above however we just boiled them without steaming or frying
Outcome:
Again taste was okay but it ended up being one soggy mess will not try this way again
Round 4:
We purchased frozen Potstickers (vegetable) and boiled them.
Outcome:
Yum! No mess, not soggy, great taste, and very enjoyable.
OUR RICE STUFF by The Duggan Clan
1 cup of rice
1 ¾ cup of water
1 Tbs butter/margarine
1 ts salt
1 –2 Scallions
¼ cup Frozen corn
¼ cup Frozen peas
Bring water and salt to a boil
Add rice and bring to another boil
Cover and lower heat to a low fire
In a skillet, use a bit of butter/margarine to saute scallions, corn, and peas
When rice is cooked add to the veggie mix and saute a bit until well blended
Optional, add a clove of garlic or some pepper or other seasoning
Outcome:
This is very delicious and we’ve been eating this budget friendly meal for years. 1 bag of rice, 1 bag of corn, 2 bunches
scallions and 1 bag of peas usually will last us 2 weeks.
MARINATED TOFU (BULKOGI EXPERIMENT)
1 Firm Tofu sometimes this goes on sale for $1.00 each (10 for $10) You can Freeze Tofu or keep it refrigerated until
date on package. After you open it however you do need to eat it within 7 days.
1 Bulkogi sauce
Cut up the Tofu into slices
Pour the Bulkogi sauce over the Tofu being sure to cover it all (we found that ½ a bottle is the perfect taste for us but
use the entire bottle if you don’t mind a little bit of a bite)
Marinate overnight
You can either eat as is or Bake the Tofu in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 – 30 minutes
Outcome:
Very delicious!!! By far one of our more positive experiments we have done. Low cost treat and high in protein when
buying meat/chicken/turkey/etc. is out of budget. We just ate it plain with some Miso Soup as a side dish.
Hope this helps you in exploring various foods from other lands. If you have a friend who is Asian, ask him/her to help
you cook up your own "special" meal.
Sara Duggan is a mom of 2 boys. She enjoys crocheting and writing in her spare time. For more recipes and articles
visit her at www.mommie-care.com.
their restaurant so is spending more time at home. This allows the kids to play together more often. My son is eating
things that he would never accept from me. If his friend's Mom or his friend offers it to him, it is the most amazing thing
in the world.
My husband enjoys steamed rice (Japanese) and Bulkogi (said: bool-ko-gee) which is a Korean Barbecue Sauce. Just
recently we ate at a Chinese restaurant in town and enjoyed our first bowl of Miso Soup. It is tofu paste soup with
seaweed and scallions. We also tried our hand at making dumplings after seeing an Asian film about the first Chinese
marriage for love. We did okay, but the dumpling soup I had at the restaurant was "the bomb" as my son would put it.
If you take a look at the resource site I listed below, you will see a big difference in what the Asian world perceives to be
a balanced diet. First off you will see that the bulk of the diet is daily physical activity followed by rice, noodles, bread,
millet, or other whole grain. Another thing you will notice is the amount of sweets and meat they eat is minimal
compared to the American diet. Sweets are limited to a weekly treat while meat is only a monthly treat.
Going back to my son’s friend, I can tell you that the main part of his diet is noodles (Vietnamese rice noodles), rice, or
some other type of carbohydrate. He rarely eats meat and the main poultry eaten is chicken with lots and lots of
vegetables. He and my son love the broccoli dipped in heated cream cheese (kind of sweet).
Below you will find some recipes for some of the above mentioned meals but if you don’t feel up to cooking local
grocery chains sometimes carry these foods in the Asian isle. (Bulkogi – Miso Soup – Rice Noodles – Ramen –
Dumplings) Trader Joes actually has Bulkogi ready to cook. We tried this not too long ago and it was delicious, easy,
and fed us for 2 days for just under $12.
MISO SOUP
1 Tbsp Hondashi (instant fish stock)
½ cup shiro (white) miso paste
8 o.z. tofu cubes
2 green onions, thinly sliced
5 cups water
Bring the water to a boil Add the Hondashi and miso paste and stir until miso is dissolved Add the tofu pieces and cook
an additional minute before serving Garnish with green onion slices.
PERFECT STEAMED RICE (http://chilipaper.com/Frecipes/Fsides/Frice/perfect_steamed_rice.htm)
1 Tbsp Butter or Margarine
1 minced Scallion (green onion)
1 cup Rice
1 ½ cups Water
Melt butter in saucepan
Add scallion and saute for 2 minutes
Add rice, and turn over in pan to coat with oil
Add water and bring to a boil
Once the water is boiling, turn heat to medium-low, cover pan and let steam for 18 minutes
BULKOGI
6 lbs short ribs cut into thin pieces, about 2 ½ inches long
Marinade: (yields 1 ½ cups)
2 Tbls toasted sesame seeds
4 large cloves garlic, pressed
1 C soy sauce
2 Tbls sherry (or substitute sweet rice wine)
3 Tbls sugar
2 Tbls sesame oil
2 Tbls water
2 ts fresh ginger, finely grated
½ C chopped green scallions (green and white parts, mixed)
DUMPLINGS(from movie)
Round dumpling wrappers (cold food produce section where tofu is)
Mushrooms (button, pre-cut)
Scallions
Garlic
Round 1:
We heated up the mushrooms and scallions and garlic
We then filled the wrappers as per instructions given
We steamed dumpling
Outcome:
Okay – good taste – good texture – stuck to the bottom of the steamer
Round 2:
Same as above but this time we fried the dumplings
Then boiled them
Outcome:
Not so good – taste was okay but it was like a big jumbled mess of noodle and stuffing mixed with the grease of having
fried them first – by far the least favorite way for us
Round 3:
Same as above however we just boiled them without steaming or frying
Outcome:
Again taste was okay but it ended up being one soggy mess will not try this way again
Round 4:
We purchased frozen Potstickers (vegetable) and boiled them.
Outcome:
Yum! No mess, not soggy, great taste, and very enjoyable.
OUR RICE STUFF by The Duggan Clan
1 cup of rice
1 ¾ cup of water
1 Tbs butter/margarine
1 ts salt
1 –2 Scallions
¼ cup Frozen corn
¼ cup Frozen peas
Bring water and salt to a boil
Add rice and bring to another boil
Cover and lower heat to a low fire
In a skillet, use a bit of butter/margarine to saute scallions, corn, and peas
When rice is cooked add to the veggie mix and saute a bit until well blended
Optional, add a clove of garlic or some pepper or other seasoning
Outcome:
This is very delicious and we’ve been eating this budget friendly meal for years. 1 bag of rice, 1 bag of corn, 2 bunches
scallions and 1 bag of peas usually will last us 2 weeks.
MARINATED TOFU (BULKOGI EXPERIMENT)
1 Firm Tofu sometimes this goes on sale for $1.00 each (10 for $10) You can Freeze Tofu or keep it refrigerated until
date on package. After you open it however you do need to eat it within 7 days.
1 Bulkogi sauce
Cut up the Tofu into slices
Pour the Bulkogi sauce over the Tofu being sure to cover it all (we found that ½ a bottle is the perfect taste for us but
use the entire bottle if you don’t mind a little bit of a bite)
Marinate overnight
You can either eat as is or Bake the Tofu in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 – 30 minutes
Outcome:
Very delicious!!! By far one of our more positive experiments we have done. Low cost treat and high in protein when
buying meat/chicken/turkey/etc. is out of budget. We just ate it plain with some Miso Soup as a side dish.
Hope this helps you in exploring various foods from other lands. If you have a friend who is Asian, ask him/her to help
you cook up your own "special" meal.
Sara Duggan is a mom of 2 boys. She enjoys crocheting and writing in her spare time. For more recipes and articles
visit her at www.mommie-care.com.
STRAWBERRY PIE
1 small package (1.1 oz) sugar-free cook and serve vanilla pudding
2 cups water
1 small package (0.3 oz) sugar-free strawberry Jell-O
4 cups sliced strawberries
In a medium saucepan, stir together water and pudding mix. Heat to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately add
the Jell-O. Stir until dissolved. Set the pan aside and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Place strawberries in the bottom of a deep dish pie plate. Pour cooled pudding mixture over the strawberries.
Refrigerate until chilled. Let it set well before slicing.
BROWNIES
3/4 C flour
1/4C plus 2 T cocoa powder
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C Splenda
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, Splenda, baking soda, and salt and mix well. Stir in applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla.
Spray an 8" square baking pan with cooking spray. Spread batter evenly in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min.
or until the edges are firm and the center almost set.
PUMPKIN "PIE"
1 15oz can pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix)
5 oz evaporated milk
3/4 cup Splenda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 eggs
Combine all the ingredients. Spray a pie pan with a little cooking spray. Pour the pumpkin mixture directly into the
pan. Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes or until firmly set.
Excellent to cook for the holidays!
SUNSHINE FRUIT SALAD
1 can mandarin oranges
1 can pineapple chunks
1 small package sugar-free, fat-free vanilla or banana cream pudding mix
Do not drain fruit and use the pudding mix dry. Combine all ingredients and
blend well. Chill about 1 hour.
BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MINI-MUFFINS
1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup uncooked quick oats
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1 large banana, mashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375. Combine yogurt, milk, oats, vanilla, egg and banana. Set aside for 5 minutes to soften. In
separate bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into yogurt
mixture to moisten. Add chips. Do not beat, will be thick. Spoon by heaping teaspoons into mini-muffin tins. Bake until
golden brown, about
15-18 minutes.
Chaele McMillan is a mother of three and she owns a consulting company and Mom State University,
www.momstateuniversity.com.
1 small package (1.1 oz) sugar-free cook and serve vanilla pudding
2 cups water
1 small package (0.3 oz) sugar-free strawberry Jell-O
4 cups sliced strawberries
In a medium saucepan, stir together water and pudding mix. Heat to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately add
the Jell-O. Stir until dissolved. Set the pan aside and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Place strawberries in the bottom of a deep dish pie plate. Pour cooled pudding mixture over the strawberries.
Refrigerate until chilled. Let it set well before slicing.
BROWNIES
3/4 C flour
1/4C plus 2 T cocoa powder
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C Splenda
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, Splenda, baking soda, and salt and mix well. Stir in applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla.
Spray an 8" square baking pan with cooking spray. Spread batter evenly in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min.
or until the edges are firm and the center almost set.
PUMPKIN "PIE"
1 15oz can pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix)
5 oz evaporated milk
3/4 cup Splenda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 eggs
Combine all the ingredients. Spray a pie pan with a little cooking spray. Pour the pumpkin mixture directly into the
pan. Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes or until firmly set.
Excellent to cook for the holidays!
SUNSHINE FRUIT SALAD
1 can mandarin oranges
1 can pineapple chunks
1 small package sugar-free, fat-free vanilla or banana cream pudding mix
Do not drain fruit and use the pudding mix dry. Combine all ingredients and
blend well. Chill about 1 hour.
BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MINI-MUFFINS
1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup uncooked quick oats
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1 large banana, mashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375. Combine yogurt, milk, oats, vanilla, egg and banana. Set aside for 5 minutes to soften. In
separate bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into yogurt
mixture to moisten. Add chips. Do not beat, will be thick. Spoon by heaping teaspoons into mini-muffin tins. Bake until
golden brown, about
15-18 minutes.
Chaele McMillan is a mother of three and she owns a consulting company and Mom State University,
www.momstateuniversity.com.
| A Few Wonderful Desserts! By: Chaele McMillan |
