Asian Noodle Vegetable Soup

I don't know about where you live, but in Carolina we're enjoying a transcendentally beautiful Spring. However, every now and again we get a really chilly night. After coming back from a run on a particularly nippy evening, I needed something to warm me up a bit. Looking through my cupboard for something to warm me up, I ran across a package of cellophane noodles (also known as bean threads), and decided to have a go at it.


This just kind of a thrown-together vegetable broth, but on that chilly night, it hit the spot just right. You can pretty much throw in anything you want or happen to have around, and I think you'll be fine.


Asian Noodle Vegetable soup

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• about 1/4 finely diced onion
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  
• 2 cups water
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• 2 large, thinly-sliced carrots
• 3 sliced celery stalks
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3.75 oz package of cellophane noodles (bean threads)

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the onion and stir until translucent. Then, add the garlic and ginger and stir until golden.

Add the water, broth, and soy sauce. Raise the temperature and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the carrots and celery, and simmer about 5 minutes until slightly soft. Add the peas, and allow them to heat through (don't overcook the peas). Add the sesame oil, and stir vigorously.

Reduce the heat, then add the noodles. Let them soak, stirring frequently, until soft (maybe 8 minutes, or so). Taste for salt, and add some if necessary, but I didn't think it needed any.

Asian Coleslaw

This is a little twist on the traditional southern sidedish (which I love, mind you, but I still don't mind a twist on it every now and again). It has a definite sweetness to it, and a nice crunch from the peas and the cashews. It makes a bit batch, though, so you could easily half the recipe for smaller-scale partying.

Asian Coleslaw

for the salad

• 1 head savoy cabbage, cut into quarters and the hard stem cut out
• 2-3 stalks celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1/2 pound snow peas, ends trimmed
• 2 11-ounce cans mandarin oranges, drained
• Salt and pepper
  
• about 1/3 cup cashew halves

for the dressing

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

In a food processor with the slicing disc, thinly slice the cabbage and celery. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. With the food processor shredding disc, shred the carrot, and transfer to the bowl. With the metal chopping blade, pulse the green onions until uniformly chopped. Add to the mix. Add the peas (retaining a few to put on top) and half of the oranges. Salt and pepper the vegetables well.

In a small mixing bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients, and whisk together. Immediately before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and mix well to coat evenly. Top with the remaining peas, oranges, and cashews.

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

There was a little Thai place in a city where I used to live that was pretty much the definition of a dive. It was just a few tables thrown into a small room, and the owner's little children just kind of wandered around the restaurant (and I'm pretty sure they stole my friend's chapstick once). However, I kept going back, and the soup was pretty much the reason why.

The first soup on the menu was listed as "sweet and intoxicating" (I think technically it was called tom kha gai, but I always just called it "sweet and intoxicating soup" and that was good enough for me.) It was a blend of coconut, vegetables, chicken, and other stuff that I'm not exactly sure of, but it was good. I know that there may be some out there who be offended at the decidedly American-looking list of ingredients: shouldn't it contain galangal and kaffir lime leaves and those little red chilies that will burn your eyebrows off and nam prik phao and lots of other stuff I can't pronounce? Well, it probably should, and if you're a Thai soup purist, I'm sorry. I don't believe in authenticity nearly as much as I believe in awesomeness. And this, my friends, is awesome.


Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

• 1 quart chicken broth
• 3-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced very thin
• 1 medium jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed
• 3 tablespoons lemongrass puree
• Zest of 1 lime (finely zested)
• 2 cans coconut milk
  
• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1/2 medium sweet onion
  
• 1 can pineapple tidbits in pineapple juice
• scant 1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
• 2 teaspoons cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon basil leaves
  
• Juice of 2-3 limes
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• about 1/2 cup enoki mushrooms, roughly chopped
• salt, to taste
  

Place the chicken broth in a large soup pot with the ginger, jalapeno, and lemongrass. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and let simmer for 10 minutes to flavor the broth, occasionally stirring vigorously with a whisk. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, discard what's left in the strainer, and place the broth back in the pan.

Add the coconut milk, chicken, onion, pineapple, sugar, and herbs. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the chicken is cooked (about 10 more minutes, or so). Shred the chicken, then add back to the pot.

Add the lime juice, pepper, tomato, and mushrooms. Stir until warmed throughout. Season with salt as needed.

Baked Egg Rolls

So, I kind of have this moral aversion to deep-frying things. Although there is a very soft place in my heart for onion rings, sweet potato fries, coconut shrimp, thick french fries with the peels still on them, and Chick-Fil-A, I will probably never in the the entirety of my life ever deep fry anything at home. The first time I walked through a Krispy Kreme donut store where they have the big windows where you can see the gallons of boiling oil in which the fry those things . . . ughh, it kind of grossed me out a lot. I also envision the process being really messy. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's a big hurdle for me. Maybe I'm terrified of getting killed by spilling boiling oil all over me (which apparantley is a real concern in deep frying a whole turkey for Thanksgiving). Well, whatever the reason, I am pretty much always looking for alternatives to dropping perfectly healthy vegetables and goodness in boiling fat. I just don't see how this can turn out well.

However, there is a concession which must happen. These eggrolls aren't going to fool anyone. No one is going to think they're the real thing. However, I wonder how much "real" there really is in the "real thing" sometimes, so who cares. The trick is to have something warm, tasty, and good that you can pick up with your hand and will stay intact the whole time. These things deliver on all of those fronts. Good luck.


Baked Egg Rolls
enough for a crowd

Ingredients

• 2 large, chopped garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (white and green parts separated)
  
• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1 head savoy cabbage, chopped into thin strips
  
• 4 large carrots, shredded
• 1 can bamboo shoots, diced
• 1.5 inches fresh giner root, grated
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 packages (40) egg roll wrappers
  

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a a wok or skillet. Toss in the garlic and the white part of the onions. Sautee a few minutes. Add the pork and cook until brown.

In a bowl, combine the pork mixture, cabbage, green parts of the onions, bamboo shoots, carrot shavings, and ginger. Mix well. Pour the oil and soy sauce over, coating well.

Take an eggroll wrapper, wet one surface lightly with a little water, and place a heap of the mixture in the middle. There's a little bit of an art to getting the right amount in there, so experiment. Fold over one corner, then the two sides, then tightly roll to the last corner. Press on the seams to make sure they're in place. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.

Spread the eggrolls out on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve with sweet-chili sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or something similar.

Hawaiian Haystacks

It's entirely possible that those of you who have never lived in Utah have never heard of these before. I'm not gonna' lie, either, most of the ones (even the native Utah variety), while being "yummy" and filling, have left a lot of room for improvement. Typically they consist of cream of chicken soup with boiled chicken over rice, cheese, and some toppings. Well, some Thai-inspired tweaks and we had ourselves a party going on.



Hawaiian Haystacks

Ingredients
for the chicken

• 1.5 pounds boneless chicken pieces
• 1 small yellow onion
  
• 1 can's worth of pineapple juice (save the pineapple)
  
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• salt and pepper
  
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 - 3 tablespoons yellow curry powder

for the toppings

• 1 can pineapple tidbits
• 1 diced red pepper
• 1 bunch green onions, cut up
• 1 large can mandarin orange segments
• flaked coconut
• 1 cup blanched peas
• chopped fresh cilantro
• salted cashews

• White rice
  

Put the garlic, onion, chicken, salt, pepper, and pineapple juice in a crockpot on low for several hours (do it in the morning and forget about it until you come home). About an hour before serving, shred the chicken, then add the soup, coconut milk, and curry powder. Switch the heat to high, and let sit until ready to serve. Stir well, and add additional curry powder as needed for the desired level of kick.

Serve the gravy over a bowlful of white rice, then top with the toppings.

Ginger Cole Slaw

My mom got a new Cuisinart food processor for Christmas, but she was a little unsure of whether or not she'd actually use it. Loving my own, I opened the fridge and just started shredding, dicing, and chopping everything I could to show her how amazing this new appliance is. Finding myself with piles of beautifully processed vegetables in just moments, I then thought that maybe I should do something with them. This resulted. Not exactly traditional Christmas morning cuisine, but this is a great summer dish.

Many cole slaws are little more than shredded cabbage drowned in mayo. It doesn't have to be that way. Liberate your cole slaw from it's tacky, KFC fate. This recipe makes enough for a party, so invite your friends.


Ginger Cole Slaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 head green cabbage (play around a little, too; it could be bok choy, savoy cabbage, etc.)
• 1/2 head purple cabbage (you could use a bagged cole slaw mix, but having the bigger, fresher chunks of chopping it yourself is much more appealing)
  
• 1 - 2 cups carrot
• 2 or 3 stalks of celery
• 2 apples
• 1 8 0z can pineapple tidbits, drained but juices retained
  
• 1 handful dried cranberries
• 1 handful cashew halves
• 5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 5-6 tablespoons vinegar (some flavorful, fruity kind like apple cider, raspberry, etc)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 - 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  
• 1 tablespoon dried, ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  

This recipe isn't worth doing for me unless I have a food processor. It goes much faster. You can do it by hand if you're up to it, though.

Using the slicing disk, shred the cabbage, apples and celery. Using the shredder disk, shred the carrots. Toss the vegetables, apples, cranberries, and pineapple in a mixing bowl. In the food processor with the blade attached, mix the oil, vinegar, ginger, salt, mustard, and a few tablespoons of the pineapple juice (add more juice if it's too thick). Pour over the vegetables and stir mix until well coated. Add the cashews right before serving: you don't want them soggy.