Thursday, January 14, 2010

Asian Inspired

I love Asian food of all kinds…Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai…you name it and I like it and for me, spicier is better. So, here are some of my favorite recipes for when I feel like just staying in but have a hankering for Asian inspired cuisine.

The first recipe is actually a combination of 2 separate recipes. The marinade comes from a recipe that I cut out of the July 2005 issue of Cooking Light. I have never made the sauce that accompanied that recipe but I am sure it’s delicious. The sauce recipe came from the Weight Watchers recipe forum on the Weight Watchers site. I got it years ago and I have no idea where it originally came from. First I’ll post the recipes as they are and then I will add my note at the end.

Chicken Sate with Peanut Sauce

Sate:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 8 strips
1 tbs. light brown sugar
2 ½ tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. bottled fresh ground ginger (such as Spice World)
1 tsp. grated lime zest
2 garlic cloves, minced.

Combine the chicken with the marinade ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes. Thread chicken onto skewers and grill or broil until cooked through.

Peanut Sauce:

¾ C fat free sour cream
1 tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbs. reduced fat peanut butter
2 tsp. dark sesame oil

Whisk ingredients together and serve with sates for dipping.

Notes: Now first off I will say I use chicken tenderloins for this (I buy them at Costco). The only things I did differently with the marinade was I used fresh ginger and I let it sit more than 10 minutes. For the sauce, I do not use fat free sour cream. I used reduced fat and I also use a smaller amount, probably closer to ½ cup or maybe a little less. If you use the full amount, you lose the peanut flavor. But this is a favorite of the whole family. Even my kids love it. If you want the full recipe from Cooking Light, you can find it here.

The next recipe is a flank steak marinade I got from my next door neighbor back in CT but I have no idea where she got it. It seems to be Korean in origin but that do I know! Again, I’ll post the recipe as is then add my notes.

Flank Steak Marinade

3 1/2 tbs. brown sugar
1 tbs. maple syrup
1/2 C light soy sauce
1 ½ tbs. mushroom soy
6 tbs. roasted sesame seeds, ground
4-5 tbs. sesame oil (I use 5...I love the stuff)
2 cloves garlic,minced
2 scallions, finely chopped

Pour all ingredients into a Ziploc bag with a flank steak and marinate for AT LEAST 2 hours but preferably overnight…the longer the better.

Notes: I have never used mushroom soy. I just leave it out. I know it can be found in Asian markets but in CT I didn’t have access to them and here in FL, I just haven’t gone to one yet. Sometimes I grind the sesame seeds, sometimes I don’t. I also usually just crack the garlic and thrown it in so I can pick it out before I grill it. I use scallion when I have them but I’ve also used chives, regular onion and dried onion. No one has complained.

I also wanted to share links to 2 recipes by Tyler Florence. I’ve made them both and while they take a little effort, it is SO worth it. The first are his Shrimp and Pork Siu Mai Dumplings. The second is his Shrimp and Egg Fried Rice. I have made both for guests and got RAVE reviews.

So the next time you feel like Asian food but don’t feel like going out, try these. I hope you like them.

1 comment:

Sarah said...

Yum. Looks good!