Home » Recipes » Asian Fusion Recipes » Page 2

Asian Fusion Recipes

Spicy Crab Salad Poke

June 11, 2018 by Lindsay 19 Comments

Imitation crab poke bowl with our own spicy crab salad sushi and homemade poke bowl sauce! This dish has mostly storebought ingredients with a few quick things to prepare for extra fun and special weeknight sushi bowls at home.

spicy crab salad poke bowl with carrots and spinach leaves on top.

...what can I say except, you're welcome?

We've been watching a lot of Moana around here lately. Which is PERFECT for this island fusion bowl to start your week, theme movie + dinner totally unplanned.

Obviously it goes without saying that the Moana-obsessed toddler in this house would turn her nose up in disgust at the lack of only crackers in this bowl, but it's developmentally appropriate to be a total ass about diverse foods at this age, so I forgive her.

People over 2, however, you will adore this. It starts with THE most popular recipe on the site, this spicy crab salad. I know there are many that turn their nose up at anything with fake crab and mayo calling itself sushi, and that's fine. But-however-also, this stuff is popular for good reason: it's delicious, and so simple to make on your own.

I love spicy crab ANYTHING when we order sushi, right next to my all-raw authentic fare, but the ingredients are so simple and cheap that it seems silly to save spicy crab for special sushi nights.

...

Momofuku's Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts w/ Vinaigrette

April 26, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

I almost hesitate to tell you what kind of vinaigrette because half of the earth will immediately be like EW GROSS NO X OUT.

Because, folks, the utter magic of this dish comes from a heavy hand of fish sauce, which I'm perfectly aware freaks people out, even though I don't pretend to understand why. I think most fear is really just fear of the unknown, though, so if you get to know fish sauce, you will love it and not be scared of it. Boom.

The fish sauce in this application alllmost acts like soy sauce, just a salty earthy umami flavor, not fishy at all, similar to Caesar dressing which gets its flavor from anchovy but doesn't taste like fish either. The dressing here also features garlic, hot peppers, and lime juice, and the huge punch of flavor with the stinky-in-a-good-way Brussels is absolutely wonderful.

The Brussels sprouts, for their part, are cooked half in the skillet half in the oven, super quickly, to get some crispy edges + tender but not mushy insides. The sprouts get dark at the edges and bright green throughout, and tons of fresh herbs add to the brightness of the flavors.

My friend Emily introduced me to this dish, and I've made it three times in as many months, which is a lot for us because we cook a bunch of different things AND like Brussels lots of different ways. The last time I made these I actually had leftover dressing and sprouts so the next day I shredded the Brussels on my mandoline and tossed them raw with some of the leftover dressing, and they were GOBBLED up. I may have liked them more than the cooked version of the recipe, I honestly can't tell.

...

Ramen Noodle Salad {vegan}

April 5, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

I know it's supposed to rain and snow this weekend but it's practically Mid-April so we're just going with it, ok? It's time for springy food, cooler food, lighter food.

This is that! Also featuring noodles. I wanted to make a lunch-type salad with a super savory soy-based dressing, tons of crunchy veggies, and noodles, full stop. I went vegetarian on this version but you could definitely add some leftover cooked chicken, and the veggies you use can be mixed up every time you make this based on what you have in the fridge and based on what your preferences are.

I MAINLY wanted to make this because I ordered a whole heap of these ramen noodles on Amazon that came highly recommended AND THEY WERE SO GOOD with exactly one exception: they do not store well at all with no exception. I made this mid-day and it was so good, the noodles were the perfect texture, and by evening when we had this for dinner they were mushy and kind of dissolved in our mouths as we ate, not cute at all. So, while I DO recommend these noodles because that's just how certain noodles behave and the flavor was excellent, I'd say to make this right when you'd like to serve or use a noodle like spaghetti as a substitute which would be equally delicious.

The dressing is the real star here, use any noodle you want, seriously.

...

Beef Bulgogi Lettuce Boats

January 22, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Or lettuce wraps, or low carb tacos, or whatever.

HAPPY MONDAY! Here's your answer to a Monday: highly flavorful, super tender beef, wrapped in veggies because health, but steak because sometimes we need steak on a Monday.

I've talked a ton here about how Jay and I love Korean BBQ, we even went out just the two of us on Christmas Day this year for Korean BBQ in San Diego while Beck napped. It was a fun and strange date, and we had a great time. The combo of sweet+spice+salt+tang all in one marinade is just more than I can manage, and I've been playing around with a few variations recently that we've used over beef. This particular version is a super thinly sliced ribeye marinated in a Korean-style sauce that we make in the blender so it takes zero time. Then the beef is seared in a HOT skillet (or on a grill!) for just a minute or two, then we load it up into lettuce boats with some extra veggies and avocado for creaminess.

The result was just PERFECT. I made this for lunch on Saturday and we both loved it so much. I've also used the beef over a salad, but I think it would be great over rice with stir fried veggies or in regular tacos because OBVIOUSLY. Some of my favorite taco places have a Korean-style taco, and I get it every single time without fail.

There is really nothing to these - they come together so quickly and are super delicious. They AREN'T strictly low carb because there is soy sauce in the recipe (I subbed liquid aminos for Jay) and a little bit of sugar, which honestly the dish needs. But, there isn't a ton of sugar and this definitely fits a low carb diet, and in general meals served in and under veggies are a good idea, even if there is a little bit of sugar involved.

...

Ruby's Potato and Beef Curry

October 26, 2017 by Lindsay 4 Comments

I'm like a damn broken record with the "it's finally cold, need cozy food" repetition, but heartier foods all of a sudden taste so much more satisfying, comforting, necessary. Speaking of comforting, this dish finds a way to cram potatoes, naan, and rice into a single meal without it feeling terribly indulgent (Jay is like, yes it does please stop), and I'm not mad about it one little bit.

This curry is a total knockoff of my brother in law Joe's mother Ruby's standard, this-is-what-we-always-eat curry. Jay's sister Elizabeth and Joe have been together since long before I was around and got married just a few months before we did, so I've been lucky enough to eat Ruby's curry on several occasions. I'm not going to talk about what type of curry this is, because Ruby is Indian (but I don't know where in India she is from and there are a gazillion regions of cuisine to factor in here) AND has lived many places in her life, so I'm calling this a fusion curry. For the purpose of using actual words to describe food, it is a Madras curry, very mild but very flavorful, stewed for several hours with tomato paste until beef chunks fall apart like any good stewed beef does.

So, you'll imagine my disappointment when I made the plan to cook this and discovered that I had used all of my Madras curry powder but also the time to cook was NOW because of nap time and daylight. So I improvised, making this an even more fusiony curry than the usual fusion Ruby rocks. The spice blend that I used is an equal combination of garam masala and yellow curry powder, and I alllllmost couldn't tell a difference besides obviously that I'm not an Indian mom and my curry will never be as good as one.

But, I've learned a few tips and tricks from my sister in law and Joe, who blessedly texted me through this whole process, and the approximation we're left with here is still damn good. So let's curry!

...

Red Lentil Dahl

October 16, 2017 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Creamy red lentils cooked with spices and stock until tender and delicious. This is one of my favorite red lentils recipes and is done in under an hour. This red lentil dahl (or red lentil dal) is vegan and gluten free.

BECAUSE FALL SO ORANGE EVERYTHING.

Finally it is less than 90 degrees here, which means I've been freezing for most of the day, no joke. It was in the mid 80's all weekend, hit 90 more than once last week, and tonight is going to drop down to 47F, riddle me that.

The temperature drop has made me wrestle internally with Beck's sleeping situation; she's old enough for blankets but I have irrational fears of EVERYTHING killing her, so is a sleep sack and our favorite jammies enough? The answer is of course yes because she 1. doesn't sleep outside and 2. sleeps perfectly soundly all night long, but that doesn't stop me from ruminating on the subject for no reason at all.

So we need some red lentils to warm us up and to help us sleep better? Nice transition there.

Indian food is one of our absolute favorites in almost any form; we eat something with Indian flavors (which is a huge range, luckily for me) at least once a week, and one of our favorite things to do on super busy nights is to order Indian takeout knowing that we'll have a delicious dinner asap and leftovers for a day or two.

...

Quick Sesame Ginger Stir Fry

September 18, 2017 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Because stir fry sauces are honestly just unnecessary.

Here's how my life works: I'll go months and months with making lots of healthy foods, have hardly anything processed in my house, then go to Trader Joe's when I'm super tired or hungry and be like I NEED CANNED TIKKA MASALA. Not that there is anything wrong with this thought, but I'm perfectly capable of making it myself, usually have all of the ingredients on hand, and enjoy cooking. It just hits me sometimes that I want premade stuff. Currently I have TWO jars of premade curry sauce in my pantry from two different stores that will probably sit there for 6 months because I can't remember for 2 days that I've purchased something. Luckily I have two.

All that to say....I don't ever buy stir fry sauces. I think they serve a place in the world, but I find that making stir fry is so quick and easy that it's just not worth the extra cost or space in the cabinet to keep sauces around. I love chopping up veggies, whisking sauce together, and seeing dinner finished so quickly because the veggies are just barely cooked so they stay crisp, and the sauce thickens almost immediately from cornstarch.

This particular sauce is very basic in preparation and taste. When I made it the last time, Jay said "this is not a bad thing...but this tastes just like takeout." I consider this a compliment because no matter how big of a health game we talk everyone secretly loves Chinese takeout, right? Don't deny me this belief, I can't be alone in this. But Chinese takeout is one of those things that we eat very rarely for health reasons, so having a similar sauce that you can make super quickly is helpful to curb the sodium cravings.

...

Blistered Shishitos with Dashi Soy Sauce

August 23, 2017 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

This is kind of my apology for the galette from Monday. Not a real apology, because that would indicate that I was really sorry, but a .... if you don't like tons of buttery pastry with your veggies we can still be friends ... kind of apology.

Shishito peppers! Let's talk. They're small green bell peppers eaten often in Asia that are having a MOMENT in the US right now, and have been for a few years. I've seen them for several seasons now at Trader Joe's, and this summer they've been everywhere at our farmer's market, which is my favorite way to buy anything ever, for tons of reasons. Our favorite chain Korean BBQ place in NYC (is there a more redneck thing to type?) has a fried shishito appetizer that we get every single time we are there, and a new rooftop bar in Greenville also has a fried version, BUT their peppers are fried in a super thick batter, and I wanted this to be a way healthier snack or side dish.

Like I said, I see these often as appetizers on menus, but they make a wonderful side dish. I prepared these for a snack, so I left the stems on for maximum dunkability and so we could eat them standing up because duh. When I make them as part of our dinner, however, I cut the stems off before I throw the peppers in the pan so we aren't messing with garbage on our plates - same as when I cook shrimp. Tails are pretty, but annoying.

But these peppers! They're blistered quickly in a super hot pan with just a tiny bit of oil. They're drowned in a tangy, salty, sliiiiightly fishy sauce that is just delicious. I use this powdered dashi that I find at the Japanese food store in Greenville, but you can use some dashes of fish sauce or leave out the ingredient entirely for a vegan/vegetarian option. The flavor becomes fuller and with more umami, not overwhelmingly fishy at all. Add more if you like the hint of seafood that is in lots of Asian dishes!

...

Garlic Beef Fried Rice

July 31, 2017 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Because beef and rice, because Monday, because all of the things.

HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND? We did the kid birthday party thing, went to a splash park with a friend who lives about an hour away, and Jay got home from Ireland last night! He was there for almost a week for a comedy festival and to golf, and to say it was the trip of a lifetime is probably an understatement. I'm asking him to write all about it for you, so stand by for some pretty serious travel journalism coming up.

First, though, fried rice. When I lived in Japan for a semester in college the host family I stayed with ate a ton of fried rice. It's not really a traditionally Japanese dish, but it served as a catch-all meal: one dish, protein + veg + carb, use whatever you need to use up. My host mom, Keiko, was a great cook, and I loved that the fried rice we had was different each time. This is just an example - once you master the method fried rice becomes a great no-recipe quick dinner, especially if you have leftover rice. I find that takeout from Indian and Chinese places always give more rice than is needed for the main dish, so fried rice is a great use-up for the rice a few days later.

This version has very basic veggies and tender juicy ribeye. You can use any steak you like, or swap out chicken or any other protein you like.

...

Low Carb Chinese Cabbage Beef Soup

July 20, 2017 by Lindsay 2 Comments

I do not care about low carb things, let me be incredibly clear.

Legit I'd prefer to eat this with a scoop of nutritionally void white rice in the center.

BUT. There are more people than me in this family and life and world, and other people enjoy eating nutritionally dense foods that taste great and aren't super full of carbs. Like this! Flavorful, simple, light soup.

Soup in the summer might seem strange, but there are always a few times where it's rainy or the AC gets to you (omg the sunburn chills) or a mid-summer sinus infection sets in that soup just seems right even in the hot weather, right? This is the soup for that occasion. Light enough and simple enough for summer but with all the coziness that soup offers.

...

Ginger Lime Cucumber Salad

July 17, 2017 by Lindsay 3 Comments

How's your cucumber plant doing? Mine is fully bonkers. Fully. The number of things we've done with cucumbers in our lunches and dinners (and tbh breakfasts some days) is growing bigger every day, and so far I'm proud to say that we aren't sick of cukes yet because we've made an effort to serve them in lots of different ways. DIY ranch with cucumber sticks is our new "come over for happy hour, I have tons of snacks to get rid of" offering, Greek salads abound, and I'm never above eating an entire cucumber with salt and pepper as a salad.

And this! Marinated cucumbers in a soy-lime vinaigrette with hot peppers mixed in. The sauce is simple and the cucumbers are great after 20 minutes or a night in the fridge, so you can make this ahead of time and serve whenever it's convenient.

Salad is important, and this one is importantly delicious.

...

Curry Rice Soup with Tofu and Bok Choy

April 10, 2017 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

ACCIDENTALLY VEGAN!

This has actually been happening to be a lot recently, and I'm loving it. Nuts, coconut milk, and crunchy vegetables are some of my favorite ways to keep a recipe vegan while still having great big flavor. Sometimes I do it on purpose, sometimes it just works out, like with this soup.

This soup was an "I hate to waste anything ever" invention, and it turned out so well that I've made it a few more times, this time for you! When our house was on the market (RIP to that idea) we ate more takeout than I'd care to admit, and one of my favorite takeout options is Indian. It's a killer excuse to order 3 entrees for 2 people and eat Indian for a few days in a row, which is basically my version of heaven. BUT, they always send so much rice. Enough for rice on rice on rice for days after the curries are gone. I hate wasting food, we had some rice languishing in the fridge, soup was born.

It's silky and creamy from the coconut milk, hearty from the rice and tofu, and has a light quality from the bok choy. I've served this plain or with lime juice and cilantro over top, and either way is delicious. Leftover haters unite!

...

Lemony Garlic Ginger Soba Bowls

March 14, 2017 by Lindsay 2 Comments

I was going to call these "feel-better soba bowls" or something like that but honestly I love stuff like this all the time.

Interestingly, I made these for Jay last week when he had the flu and he decided he didn't like them AT ALL. Because they were too lemony. So, they didn't make anyone feel better because I felt fine. We laughed that I tried this and was like "mmmmmmm so lemony!!!" and he was like "hmmmm. lemony." Same concept, different perspective.

My point is this: These are Asian-style bowls with a garlic/ginger/lemon broth. If you don't like those things this might not be for you. But if you do....heaven. The other benefit here is that we add zero fat to the dish but get huge flavor from the broth, veg from the...veg, and great texture from the soba, which is a hugely underrated noodle in my opinion. It has such a great toothy texture that almost takes the place of meat. Almost.

I used a chicken broth here because I like the flavor, but this would be fully vegan (soba is vegan, yes? no clue.) if you used vegetable broth!

...

Tomato Curry Soup + Crispy Chick Peas {vegan}

March 6, 2017 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

I have accidentally photographed a few vegetarian or vegan soups all with Asian flair.

I'm sorry? I'm having a moment and you're involved? I would say that I'm trying to lose weight but dunking everything with excessive amounts of naan would give me away?

I saw something like this on one of the myriad food blogs I read (I don't know if that's how to use that word, I've been staring at it for awhile), and it sounded so....cozy. Tomato soup but with curry. The one I read had a butter base and no chick peas, but the curry/tomato combo has been on my mind ever since. But! It didn't feel like enough (you're like, this is why you're fat) for a meal, and I don't ever eat soup as a side dish - who has time for that? Croutons are a natural accompaniment, but chick peas + curry are even MORE natural, so we basically have a super smooth slightly creamy soup (from coconut milk!) with chick peas that act like croutons.

Get to it.

...

Garlicky Brussels Pancetta Fried Rice

January 25, 2017 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Dinner!

The most beautiful dinner in all the land.

I made this last weekend thinking that it'd be more of a side dish, and it can be, but then I realized that protein + starch + vegetable = dinner, so the one-skillet main dish was reborn. It's fried rice, but it's not too Chinese-tasting. It's Brussels but not obnoxiously so. It's pancetta, which needs no introduction.

This method for making fried rice comes from my host mom in Japan, Keiko. I lived with her family for 5 months in 2006, and everyday I pinch myself because there's no way it's been that long, right? Also 2006 doesn't feel like 11 years ago, not even a little bit. The method is the best - saute the flavor items for the fried rice, warm some leftover rice in the same skillet, dump eggs right on top, and stir stir stir until everything clumps up and gets nice and crispy. No making omelets and carefully slicing them, no extra dishes, just simple, delicious food.

Also: bagged shredded Brussels are my new boyfriend.

...

Cold Sesame Noodle Salad

May 24, 2016 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

IT'S ANOTHER LEFTOVER RECIPE!

What is it about the laws of the universe that are super duper intent on NEVER allowing you to make the correct amount of pasta to sauce? It's a thing, right?

So this is what you do: since you know this is going to be happening, err on the side of extra pasta, not extra sauce. Then you make this cold salad all summer long with your extra noodles. The dressing is what makes it, and you can use any veggies or pasta type that you like. Toss it all together, lunches for days.

...

Tofu Summer Rolls {vegetarian}

April 18, 2016 by Lindsay 5 Comments

In an effort to maintain consistency in this blog, let me say it: THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE FOOD.

No but really.

A few weeks ago we threw Olivia and Katie an engagement party, and this was the one food they requested. I made my usual other party food, chicken salad, pimento cheese, roasted tomatoes, all that, but this was new just for them. Apparently the girls order them a lot at Asian restaurants, and it seemed ridiculous to me that I'd never made them. They're easy, fun, healthy, and SO delicious. You can make them with almost any ingredient you can think of, and I've had versions with pork, shrimp, different herbs, noodles. All of them are equally yummy, so this is really more about the method - how to prep and wrap, etc. The dipping sauces are super key too - they're ridiculously easy but hugely flavorful.

Let's roll. Get it? GET IT?!!?

...

Bok Choy Farro Salad + Salmon

March 23, 2016 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Spring has sprung.

It's one of my fav things about my birthday, being born on the first day of spring. Or the second day, however you look at it. Our "spring" has already been kind of weird, we had an 85 degree day last week and temps in the 30s the past few nights, and Beck just has no clue how to dress for this weather and I keep telling her layers, but do kids ever listen?

Nope, they don't.

This salad, though is great for all temperatures. It's super easy because you only cook the farro and the salmon, and the dressing reminds you of Asian Chicken Salad but less sweet and less middle school, and raw bok choy needs to become a thing in your life RIGHT this instant. It's like a crunchier, more watery cabbage, in a good way because sometimes raw cabbage can be a little bit raw, amirite?

Plus, seared salmon. Buttery and healthy and sexy.

...

Thai Squid Salad

February 22, 2016 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Super yummy Thai Squid Salad recipe with vermicelli rice noodles and tons of crunchy vegetables. The Thai salad dressing here is sweet, savory, and punchy from lots of lime juice. I make the dressing and chop the veggies in advance, then sear the calamari while cooking the rice vermicelli noodles for a super quick low carb weeknight main dish salad dinner!

LUNCH!

Or dinner. Or part of dinner.

A lot of times we're total go-outers on weekends for lunch - it's a good time for Beck, we like restaurants, and when it's nice we love sitting outside at one of the gazillion options Greenville has for outdoor dining. BUT, in an effort to save money and keep things simpler with the baby, we've been doing more of that at home too - fun lunches on weekends that are a little bit fancy but still healthy and easy to make, because anything complicated totally defeats the purpose of eating in, right?

So this Thai Calamari salad recipe. Super healthy, full of flavor, can be prepped in stages based on what kind of time you're working with. The Thai salad dressing is really the kicker, and you can swap out veggies, seafood, nuts, WHATEVER based on what you have on hand, what you like, what you feel like - you're the boss!

Just make a version of this soon, is my point.

...

Curry Coconut Potato Soup {vegan}

October 15, 2015 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Well, well, well.

Quite possibly one of the best new things I've mad this year, and Jay's new favorite for sure.

The story is this: Jay went vegetarian last year, then decided to eat meat again, then stopped eating meat again. Then the very day he stopped eating meat again he broke his leg, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the tiniest bit annoyed. No problem kid, let me hold your bottle of pee 10 times a day and also make special meals for you.

But obviously I did it and lived to tell the tale and I made an excellent nurse and short-order cook, if I do say so myself.

So ALSO in that time Jay realized that if he just laid around all day and didn't feel like eating because of pain medication he'd lose weight, which is true, but also maybe not the healthiest way to go about such things, so don't think that this is a weight loss advice article. But, Jay did lose some weight over the summer and went back to being a mostly-vegetarian and has really tried hard to stay healthy and eat yummy foods in the process.

And I, now that I'm not carrying around bottles of pee anymore, have tried to make some fun new recipes that taste decadent but that are good for you and easy to make.

That was a really long explanation to tell you this: I made a creamy soup without cream and it tastes like curry and is cozy but not too heavy and you'll love it. Let's get to it.

...