asian

Sweet Potato Sushi Bowl

December 5, 2012 by Erica

Introducing my new favorite dinner, the sweet potato sushi bowl. That boring rice post yesterday was just a way to make sure you were prepared for this.

Make. It. Tonight. (!!!)

This weekend was officially deemed Asian Cooking Weekend in my apartment. I actually didn’t get through all the dishes I wanted to, but luckily I made this sushi bowl a priority. After we ate it, I couldn’t stop smiling. It is just SO GOOD that I couldn’t believe it had come out of my kitchen! It tastes like high-end sushi and really requires minimal effort.

So what’s in this little beauty?

Seasoned rice, roasted sweet potato, avocado, sliced veggies, seaweed, sesame seeds, and green onions, all topped with a gingery sauce. Just tell me that doesn’t look like salmon! And it’s just sweet potato, chopped up like this:

… and then marinated and roasted.

If you like sushi, seriously make this tonight. If don’t have an Asian market nearby, you are excused until tomorrow night. There are a few things in here (sesame oil, nori, and mirin) that you probably can’t find in your grocery store, but I can’t emphasize enough how worth it the extra trip will be. (Don’t skip the nori whatever you do – it’s what makes it taste like sushi!)

If you’re like me, this is also an excellent chance to use those Asian-looking dishes you bought for absolutely no reason and have been occupying shelf space ever since :)

Sweet Potato Sushi Bowl

Serves 4

Time: about 1 hour (less if rice is cooked ahead of time)

Ingredients:

For the sushi bowl:
1 ½ cups dry brown rice
1 large sweet potato
2 Tbsp low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 avocado, sliced
8 radishes, sliced
4 cups shredded napa cabbage
6-8 green onions (light and dark green parts), thinly sliced
2 4×8 in sheets nori (seaweed)
2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

For the sauce:
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
juice of 1 orange
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
¼ cup mirin (Japanese rice wine)
2 tsp sesame oil

Instructions:

Cook rice according to these instructions. (This could also be done ahead of time and then reheated.)

Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.

Peel sweet potato and slice into pieces 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick (see photo above). Toss in a ziploc bag with 2 Tbsp soy sauce. Lay flat and let marinate 5-10 minutes, turning once or twice to get the soy sauce all over. Spread out on the baking sheet, pouring any soy sauce left in the ziploc over top, and bake for 15 minutes, until tender.

While the sweet potato is roasting, blend or whisk together all sauce ingredients. (I used an immersion blender.)

Toast sheets of nori at 350 degrees for a few minutes, until fragrant. (I like to do this in my toaster oven, but you could also do it just before or after the sweet potato.) Chop or crumble into small pieces. Still at 350, toast sesame seeds for several minutes until golden brown and fragrant.

When rice is done, mix it with about half the sauce, a quarter of the nori, and a quarter of the green onions.

In bowls, layer the rice and napa cabbage and arrange the avocado, radishes, and sweet potato on top. Top with additional nori, green onions, sesame seeds and sauce.

Enjoy with green tea!

Tastes best on the first day made.

Weekend + Gingery Peanut Soba Noodles

November 12, 2012 by Erica

Good morning. How was your weekend?

Mine was SNOWY.

We got over a foot of snow here in Salt Lake, and about 4 feet up in the mountains! That means skiing next weekend for sure. Hooray!

Friday night Nate and I braved the storm to go out for dinner at Sage’s Cafe, our favorite vegan restaurant (slash only vegan restaurant we’ve tried) in Salt Lake.

We ate so much food! We split the bruschetta to start. This is my entree, the picadillo vegetariano. It was delicious and full of spices – I will definitely be recreating it at home sometime soon. Nate got a pasta ragout special that was also yummy. And then we had dessert – brownie and ice cream with peanut sauce for me, chocolate raspberry cake for Nate. We should have split a dessert… mine put me over the edge!

It snowed pretty much the rest of the weekend, so I holed up inside and cooked and baked up a storm. So much fun! And also very tiring. But it means I have plenty of food to share with you this week! Luckily I did bundle up and make it to yoga and the gym, although it was still probably not enough activity to offset all the sampling I did while cooking :)

Speaking of cooking, let’s get to the recipe part of this post.

These noodles actually weren’t part of my weekend cooking extravaganza; I made them last Thursday night. Healthy, tasty, and ready in 20 minutes flat – if that’s not a recipe for weeknight success, I don’t know what is! They are my favorite thing to whip up when I get home in the dark after work and yoga and we have no leftovers and I am HUNGRY. And the best part is that while I’m at it, I get to use up any extra vegetables that are lurking in my crisper causing guilt.

There’s really no wrong way to make this dish. I usually aim to have about equal parts noodles and vegetables. You can throw any veggies you like in here, and even better if they are ones that often appear in Asian dishes (I happened to have broccoli, carrots, a red pepper, and some frozen edamame this week). You can also add cubed tofu in for protein, which I usually do but forgot this week. Roasted peanuts and green onions on top are also yummy if you have those lying around. But what reallllly makes this dish is the sauce! I love love love peanut sauce and could eat it on pretty much anything. Thank goodness Nate feels the same way!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Gingery Peanut Soba Noodles

Hands-on time

15 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

20 mins

This perfect weeknight meal is healthy, tasty and ready in 20 minutes flat.

Author: Erica

Yields: 4

Ingredients

5 oz soba noodles
8 oz extra-firm tofu, cubed (optional)
Chopped vegetables - I used:
1 red bell pepper
2 carrots
2 crowns broccoli
1 cup frozen edamame
1 Tbsp reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Sauce:
1 knob ginger, chopped or grated (about 2 Tbsp)
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp rice wine
1/3 cup reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce
1/3 cup warm water
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
chopped fresh cilantro for sprinkling

Instructions

First, prep the vegetables, ginger and optional tofu. (If I don't do this first, I tend to let the noodles cook too long.)
Next, heat water for the soba noodles. Once boiling, add noodles and remove from heat. Let soak for several minutes, until tender but not mushy. This really takes almost no time at all, so keep a close eye on them! Strain and rinse in cold water, then set aside.
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add vegetables and saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in tamari, sesame oil, and optional tofu and continue sauteing a few more minutes until tofu is heated through and veggies are slightly softened.
While vegetables are sauteing, mix the peanut sauce. Add all sauce ingredients (ginger through red pepper flakes) to a small bowl and (ideally) blend with an immersion blender. Whisking will also work fine - just make sure to chop the ginger as finely as possible beforehand.
To serve, divide soba noodles among individual bowls. Add vegetables and top with peanut sauce and cilantro. Enjoy with a big mug of green tea!

Notes

Peanut sauce from Eat, Live, Run http://www.eatliverun.com/peanut-soba-noodle-bowls/

Have a good start to your week!

Asian Orange Ginger Dressing

November 5, 2012 by Erica

Sometimes a girl just needs a salad for dinner. Like after Halloween. Or eating this cake.

Those aren’t Nate’s favorite nights, I have to say.

This orange and ginger dressing is more exciting than your standard salad dressing, though. Even Nate gives it the thumbs-up (and then asks about dessert). I like to make it to top a grain and veggie salad (the recipe for that is below, too), but it would also be delicious on a spinach salad, noodle dish, or even tofu (I’m going to try that next!).

I recommend it when you want something super flavorful and a little different from the norm… and when you plan on eating cake later.

Asian Orange Ginger Dressing on Grain and Veggie Salad

makes about ¾ cup dressing

For the dressing:
zest and juice of 1 orange
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Tbsp freshly grated/chopped ginger
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
1.5-2 Tbsp reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce

For the salad (adapted from Oh She Glows):
1 cup uncooked quinoa, drained and rinsed
1 cup uncooked wheatberries, drained and rinsed
1 cup shelled edamame
1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped or grated
1 red pepper, diced
½ head broccoli, stems removed and chopped into small pieces
½ cup chopped parsley

Directions:

Cook quinoa and wheatberries according to package directions. (I prefer to do this the night before.)

Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl. If you have an immersion blender, this is a great time to use it. If not, you can use a regular blender or simply mince the garlic and ginger extra fine, then shake or whisk. Taste and adjust – you may like a bit more tamari or a bit more oil.

Toss veggies and cooked grains in a large salad bowl. Serve dressing alongside.

Enjoy after a weekend of cake! This will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

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