My Therapist Cooks

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asian cooking

Thai Quinoa with Red Curry Drizzle {meatless monday}

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This has to be our answer to Monday.  IMG_1410

Healthy to offset any damage we did over the weekend.  Flavorful so that we aren't so sad to be eating plain chicken breast with steamed veggies.  Vegetarian for Monday or any day.  Vegan, too.  Also.  Coconut curry drizzle.  

Is there anything else to say, really?  Besides the fact that I'm catering a big event at city hall tonight and am super nervous and also have spent two days making brownie bites at an incredibly slow pace?  You should know that, I think.  

But this quinoa.  It's simple, delicious, and healthy.  What could possibly be wrong with it?  I served this cold as a salad, but the bites I tried right after it was cooked when it was still a little bit warm were great too, so eat this at any temperature that floats your boat!  The GREAT thing about this is that you could make the quinoa way ahead of time and keep it in the fridge, then just toss the veggies and seasonings in whenever you feel like eating this for an even faster version.  

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Low Carb Asian Mixed Grill + 2 Dipping Sauces

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This is like weekend food light.  As in...it's the weekend and it's warm and grilling is so much fun! but also we don't want to eat all the foods and feel grody, do we?  IMG_1369

No.  So we make a delicious meal of grilled foods with some fancy dippers that take no time at all, then call it a day.  

Let's do this. 

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Asian-Style Ground Beef

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You guys kind of went nuts with these Sloppy Joes I made a few weeks ago, and, that makes me happy. Because I did to so....we're bff!  Thank G. Sloppy joe with toppings

I've made the mixture a few times since I showed you this recipe, and I CAN'T get enough.  You can do anything with it!  The flavor lends itself to, um, ANYTHING, so I think we should play around with how dang good this stuff is. I love the rich beefy flavor that comes from the oyster sauce and other ingredients, and I tend to go a little nuts with hot sauce so....just YES. Extra toppings on Joe

Since today is Thursday and Thursday just kind of...needs...ground beef, here are some things you could do with the mixture if you aren't feeling sloppy joes.  

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Vegan Asian-Style Quinoa with Tofu

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This has got to be low carb too, yes?

Yes.  Let's just go with it. 

Quinoa in a bowl

This is delicious, kids.  Yesterday after I introduced the whole vegan-week thing (thanks for the lovely response to that!), I got to thinking about what I could make vegan.  It was HARD.  My go-to flavor components are cheese and butter so...YEAH.  About that.

The more I pondered, the more I realized that a LOT of Asian-style dishes are already vegan, or very close to it.  There isn't a ton of random animal-derived junk to contend with replacing, and minus a few fish-based ingredients which can be eliminated easily, there are TONS of major flavors in Asian-style cooking that are totally plant based. 

So, that's what's up first.  Asian-style quinoa with raw veggies and crispy tofu.

I KNOW.  It doesn't sound contrived.  It sounds just like....something I would already eat?  That's the point - not to fake out anyone, not to hide crap and call it meat when it's really...not...but to eat real, fresh food that tastes GREAT and just happens to be vegan. 

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Thom Kha Soup {tangy coconut thai soup}

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Spoonful of soupTHIS SOUP.

People.  It's so great.

At my last job, I worked in a town that had a ton of grody fast food options and an amazing Thai/Sushi restaurant.  It was a miracle.  It was delicious, and I ate there a lot.

As part of any meal, a soup similar to this one was served almost as soon as you sat down in this lovely little refuge from fast foo.

It was tangy, creamy, and had different vegetables in it every time you ate it.

I made this version at home last week, and it was DELICIOUS.  There are a few important ingredients often used in Thai cooking, like lemongrass and coconut but, for the most part, the ingredients are really simple!  This only takes about 25 minutes, too.  You'll love it.

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The Dinner.

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Tonight is probably a good night to make a crap ton of rice and fry it, don't you think?

Here's how I do it when I make mine!

You can use anything you need to get rid of, and it's so delicious!

One time, I go a little nuts and made an Italian version with spinach, crumbled cooked sausage, and fresh chopped tomatoes.

WHOA.  That was good.

An Asian-style is lovely too, though, and can be altered any way you like!

It's good, is what I'm saying.

What's your favorite fried rice ingredient?

4-Ingredient Sesame Crusted Fish

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FOUR INGREDIENTS!

That's better than the Food Network Show Five Ingredient Fix.

Because, you know, this is only 4 ingredients.

You know that I love Asian food, but some of the things I make are a leeetle bit on the weird side, or they have hard-to-find ingredients, which is a bummer.

This is not one of those recipes.

This is sesame-crusted fish!

This has 4 ingredients!

This has no measurements!

This is GREAT.

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More Japanese Food This Week!

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You know at Asian restaurants how they have fried dumplings with spicy soy sauce that are super delicious and fabulous and if ONLY you could make them at home your life would be complete?

Well, the fried ones aren't good for you.

Sorry, it's true.

BUT, you can make them at home, and you can steam them so they're super duper healthy!

And yummy.

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Braised Bok Choy

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There's a restaurant in Tokyo (is it still there? anyone?  nope, it isn't.  I Googled it.  ) called Fujimamas that is amazing.  Was amazing.  That's all.  It served Asian Fusion food with a Japanese emphasis (duh) and was one of my favorite places to go growing up.  One of my favorite dishes was grilled shark with baby bok choy and avocado and WHOA was it good.  I'm not actually sure I ever ordered anything else there, come to think of it!

Fujimamas is one of my first memories of eating bok choy, and it was a great decision each time I ordered the dish.  I got some baby bok choy from the farmers market a few weeks ago, and while I didn't try to recreate the dish, I did try to recreate the flavors of the sauce with the veggie - this is spicy, easy, and super healthy!

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Spicy Asian Green Beans

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Once upon a time, when he was an edgy comedian and lived in DC, Jay decided to be a vegetarian for a little while.  I'm not sure why, but during this time he developed a fondness for Asian-style green beans.

You know that stable at Chinese buffets where there's garlic and green beans and brown sauce?  Those.

I love them too, so the other night we decided to make some!

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Leftovers - Fried Rice

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I love Asian food.  All of it.  I was lucky enough to live in Japan for 4 years growing up, and I'm pretty sure it was while living there that I decided I needed to cook all the time and eat everything in sight.

My really healthy parents are so proud.

While I was in college I lived in Japan again, but with a host family in Osaka instead of Tokyo, where I had lived before.  My host mother, Keiko, was a fabulous cook and had mad skillz when it came to cooking a few things on Sunday and preparing several meals throughout the week using several ingredients or incarnations of the same thing over and over again while still making each meal different and special.  This saved her time and money, which was essential since she worked 12 hours a day and had to feed 3 kids, me, and a rude husband each night!

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