Explore Your Asian Pantry: Beef and Noodle Soup

This soup uses ingredients that everyone should have as part of their Asian pantry. It also has the common Asian flavor combination of savory, sweet, sour and spicy.

Tip:  Before slicing the steak, place it in the freezer for 20 minutes. The semi-frozen steak will be easier to cut.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. skirt steak sliced in 1/4 inch strips

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. mirin

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

1 tsp. Chinese five spice powder

1Tbsp vegetable oil

2 shallots, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed

4 c. beef broth

2 c. water

2 c.green cabbage, chopped

3 oz. dried rice noodles

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped

Lime wedges

Directions:

1.       In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, mirin, and five spice powder. Add the chopped steak, stirring well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove beef from marinade (save the marinade) and pat dry with paper towels. 

2.       Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add beef and stir constantly for 3 minutes, or until well browned. Remove beef from pot.

3.       Add shallots, garlic, ginger and jalapeño, stirring for 4 minutes.

4.       Stir in remaining marinade, beef broth and water. When simmering, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.

5.       Stir in the chopped cabbage, browned beef, and rice noodles. Cook for 10 minutes.

6.       Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and a lime wedge..

Turkey Sausage and Spinach Frittata

Yield: 5 servings

Ingredients:

8 eggs

1/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp. cottage cheese

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 

3 links Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine

3 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp. chopped chives

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cottage cheese, red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper until well blended .  
3. In an oven safe skillet, brown sausage over medium heat. Remove sausage and drain on paper towels.
4. Return skillet to heat and add the olive oil. Sauté the onion for five minutes, or until translucent.
5. Add spinach and cook until slightly wilted, about two minutes.
6. Stir the egg mixture and browned sausage in with the onion and spinach . Cook until eggs begin to set, about five minutes
7. Place skillet in the oven and bake for fifteen minutes, or until frittata is puffed and golden brown.
8. Cool for five minutes, sprinkle with chives, slice into wedges, and serve.

Open Faced Egg Ricotta Sandwiches with Spinach Salad and Crispy Shallots

This sandwich needs a snazzy name!  Add a comment below if you have any suggestions.

I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light.  I love it because it's fast, easy, pretty healthy, and delicious.  You can get it on the table in under twenty minutes if you have all your ingredients out and prepped.

It's definitely a knife and fork meal.  Don't expect everything to lay perfectly on top of the bread.  

Yield:  3 sandwiches

Ingredients:
1/4 c. and 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided (you could use your Chile-Garlic infused oil if you made it!)
1 large shallot sliced thin, rings separated
1 c. ricotta cheese
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
Zest and juice of one lemon, separated
3 slices hearty white/country bread, 3/4-1" thick, toasted
3 c. baby spinach
2 Tbsp. olive oil (or Chile-Garlic infused oil mentioned above.)
3 eggs
salt
pepper

Directions:
1.  Heat the 1/4  c.oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the shallots and fry, stirring occasionally until golden-brown.  Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt.
 
2.  In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, and 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper. 

3.  Heat the 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Fry the eggs until the yolks are just set, but slightly runny. 

4.  3.  In a medium bowl, toss the spinach with the lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. 

5.  Spread the ricotta mixture on the toasted bread.  Mound it on there, like the cheese is shaving cream, and the bread is your face (or legs, depending on gender.)

6.  Place 1/3 of the spinach on top of the ricotta.

7.  Top with an egg and  sprinkle of shallots.  

5 Steps to Chile-Garlic Infused Olive Oil

It's really easy to create infused oils; so easy that you can do it in five steps.  This chile-garlic infused olive oil is great for sautees, salads, and anytime you use olive oil in a savory dish. 

Ingredients:
1 c. olive oil
5 garlic cloves peeled,
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:

1.  Heat the olive oil on medium heat for 5-7 minutes.  You should start to see an occasional bubble rise to the surface.

2.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes.

3.  Simmer (small bubbles around the edge of the pan) for 15 minutes, until the garlic cloves turn light golden brown.

4.  Strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer.  Those browned garlic cloves taste great spread on some toast!

5.  Store the oil in the refrigerator for up to a month. 

Grape Tomatoes - Cook 'em Until They Pop!

I have a confession....I hate raw tomatoes.  I've tried them over and over again and just don't like the flavor or texture.  It could be because I was traumatized once when  my sister shoved a tomato wedge in my mouth as a kid....

However, if tomatoes are cooked, roasted, or sauteed, I absolutely love them.  One of my favorite ways to cook grape tomatoes is to saute them until they burst.  They start to break down, and the flavor intensifies.

In the recipe below, adapted from Cooking Light, pork chops are browned, then shallots, garlic, and tomatoes are cooked with some balsamic vinegar, just until the tomatoes begin to burst.  The combination of flavors is incredible.

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided 
4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut loin pork chops, (about 1/2 inch thick) 
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2 c. thinly sliced shallots
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 c. grape tomatoes
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil.
2.  Sprinkle chops evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add pork to pan and cook 5 minutes on each side. Remove pork from pan. 
3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, shallots, vinegar (don't stand directly over the pan when you add the vinegar!), and garlic to pan; saute 1 minute, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. 
4. Combine tomatoes, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl; toss gently to coat. 
5. Add tomato mixture to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tomatoes start to burst. Sprinkle with basil. Serve tomato mixture with pork.