Tag: Asian

Japanese Garlic Chive-Scrambled Eggs

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I probably make these scrambled eggs at least once a month. Easy, healthy, and delicious, they make a perfect breakfast (who am I kidding, I make this for dinner all the time too). You can serve this atop rice, but I prefer these soft and warm eggs by themselves.

Make sure to get Asian garlic chives for these, as the flavor and texture are completely different than your standard grocery store chives.

Japanese garlic chive-scrambled eggs

Ingredients:

1 small bunch garlic chives (about 1/2 pound), cleaned and chopped into 1-inch lengths
4 eggs
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon instant dashi granules (optional)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1. In a bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, soy sauce, salt, and dashi together until blended.

2. Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the garlic chives, sauteing for a couple of minutes until they’re bright green and wilted.

3. Pour the eggs into the pan and turn down the heat to low. Let the eggs cook, undisturbed, until you see the bottom of the eggs turn opaque.

4. Give the eggs a gentle stir, scraping the cooked egg up from the edges off the bottom of the pan, and allowing the raw egg at the top to run underneath. Let this cook until the bottom layer turns opaque and stir again.

5. Repeat step 4 until the eggs have reached your desired doneness (I like for much of the eggs to remain soft and opaque). Remember that the eggs will continue to cook a little after you turn off the heat. Serve warm.

Korean Cucumber Salad

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This dish is one of my favorite banchans to eat. You know, the glorious array of little side dishes that come to your table when you go out for Korean food? Everyone has their favorite banchan. Mine are fish cake, cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, and this ubiquitous cucumber salad.

It’s easy to make at home and it’s perfect on a hot summer day as a cooling side. Make this salad ahead of time and chill it in the fridge for later. I even eat it alone as a snack. Pass the banchan, please.

Korean cucumber banchan

Ingredients:

3 Persian cucumbers (or 1 English cucumber)
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

1. Cut the cucumber lengthwise in half. Cut diagonally into thin slices.

2. Put the cucumbers in a medium bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and mix well. Transfer to a serving dish and serve room temperature or chilled.

Mango Sticky Rice

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Confession time: I ate a lot of mango sticky rice in Thailand a couple of years ago. I mean, a lot. We’d check out a new restaurant in Bangkok or a little hole-in-the-wall in Chiang Mai and you’d think I’d want to try out something new, something different. I mean, we steered savory in general: simmered tofu in fermented soybeans, grilled fish with chili-lime dipping sauce, curried crab — but we always returned to mango sticky rice. I know it isn’t a revelation, but man oh man is it refreshing. There’s nothing on earth like a fragrant Thai mango in season. It’s like custardy perfume, in the best way imaginable.

Back in my kitchen at home, I’ve learned to recreate my favorite Thai snack, and it couldn’t be easier. The only caveat is that mangoes in the U.S. are a distant cry from anything I ever tasted in Thailand. Bay Areans: where is your favorite place to source mangoes? Drop me a line.

Mango sticky rice

Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
4 cups warm cooked sticky rice
2 mangoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise

1. In a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk, sugar, and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, pour 3/4 of the warm coconut mixture over the warm rice and stir with a large spoon until incorporated. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving, then plate alongside sliced mangoes. Drizzle with the remaining 1/4 of the coconut mixture and serve.

Bean Thread Noodles with Oyster Mushrooms and Cucumber

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I could eat noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day and I wouldn’t get bored. But I’m trying to reduce the amount of grains in my diet lately, and this citrusy Southeast Asian-inspired salad is just the answer. It’s light, summery, and best of all, delicious.

Made from mung beans, bean thread noodles are gluten free, grain free, and have a slippery, wonderful mouthfeel similar to Korean sweet potato noodles. Use these in stir-fries, soups, salads — really, anything.

Bean thread nooles with oyster mushrooms and cucumber

Ingredients:

1 pound oyster mushrooms, cleaned
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground chicken
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bundles (about 3 ounces) bean thread noodles, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes and drained
1 green onion, cut lengthwise into thin slices and then cut crosswise into 2-inch lengths
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
Ground black pepper
4 tablespoons lime juice
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
1 teaspoon sugar

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok over high heat and add the oyster mushrooms, stir-frying until cooked through and slightly golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, cut into bite-size pieces, and set aside in a large bowl.

2. Wipe out cooled wok and return to stove. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in the wok over high heat and add the garlic and stir-fry until golden, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and stir-fry, then add the salt and a small pinch of sugar and continue stir-frying until cooked through and slightly golden. Remove from heat and add chicken to the bowl with mushrooms.

3. Bring a pot of water to a boil, cut the soaked bean thread noodles into 5-inch lengths, and add to boiling water for 1 minute, until just cooked through. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain again. Place the noodles in the bowl with the mushrooms and chicken.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the lime juice, fish sauce, chili flakes, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently.

5. Add the green onions, cilantro, and cucumber to the salad and toss again. Arrange noodle salad on a platter and sprinkle lightly with ground pepper.

Green Curry with Rice Noodles and Mussels

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This coconut curry is the kind of dish that tastes too good to be healthy. Brimming with greens and herbs, this meal in a bowl comes together in about half an hour. I love everything about this dish: the vibrant green, the creamy coconut, the salty mussels. Oh, and rice noodles. Gimme all the noodles.

Green coconut curry with mussels

Ingredients:

1 serrano chile, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
2 lemongrass stalks, bottom third only, tough outer layers removed, sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 cups cilantro leaves with tender stems
3 cups basil leaves, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons coconut oil
4 pounds mussels, scrubbed
8 ounces rice stick noodles
1/2 lime
Salt

1. Puree chile, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, and 3 cups water in a blender until smooth. Transfer curry to a bowl. Reserve blender (no need to clean).

2. Puree coconut milk, cilantro, 3 cups basil, and 1/4 cup cold water in blender until smooth; set herb puree aside.

3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add mussels, cover, and cook until mussels open, about 7 minutes. Uncover and transfer opened mussels to a bowl, reserving cooking liquid in saucepan. If any mussels are still closed, cover and cook a few minutes longer, then add to bowl with others; discard any mussels that don’t open.

4. Add curry base to saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

5. In the meantime, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.

6. Pour any accumulated mussel-cooking liquid into curry mixture and stir in herb puree; bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and add reserved mussels and squeeze in juice from lime. Taste and season with salt if needed. Serve warm in bowls and garnish with reserved basil leaves.