We all know that tofu has MANY health-giving benefits. Did you know:
· Regular consumption of tofu can help lower cholesterol.
· Tofu is an excellent source of vegetable protein and iron.
· Tofu is also a great source of calcium and is often enriched with more calcium so it can help counteract bone loss.
· Tofu, a soy product, contains phytoestrogens which help alleviate menopausal symptoms.
The big problem that many grapple with is how to make it taste good. The flavor is bland, and the texture is mushy. What to do?? I share ALL my secrets in this video!
Fortunately, tofu will acquire of the taste of the ingredients it’s cooked with. (As you see in the video, if you first press the tofu to remove excess water, it will absorb even more flavor.) Marinate it in a pungent, garlicky hoisin marinade OR a fragrant 5-spice sauce rub. Both mixtures are really easy to prepare and once baked, grilled, or pan-fried, the tofu becomes delicious and meaty. You can then substitute it for any meat or seafood in a stir-fry or serve it plain with cooked vegetables and grains If you go to the recipe section of the website, there’s an easy meal-in-one Hoisin-Drenched Tofu with Stir-Fried Vegetables that’s excellent with a whole grain for delicious, healthy meal. It tastes great reheated too.
On the eve of January 22, Chinese the world over will gather to usher in the Year of the Dragon. New Year is unlike any other festival of the lunar calendar. Preparations begin weeks in advance: Houses are cleaned from top to bottom. All accounts with tradespeople are settled and the cooks in the family pause to plan the New Year’s feast. In Chinese astrology anyone born during the year of the dragon is special and it is considered to be a year filled with good fortune- a wish we all need in these challenging times.
On New Year’s eve, the whole family gathers for a huge banquet and certain foods are de rigeur for the holiday. There may be spring rolls which symbolize bricks of gold bricks. Dumplings are often boiled, steamed, or pan-fried when they are said to resemble golden coins. Noodles symbolize and impart a wish of longevity. They are also the Chinese equivalent of a birthday cake and since everyone is a year older, the New Year is also a type of birthday celebration. Many Chinese families prefer to serve only vegetarian dishes for New Year’s meal. Bowls of oranges and tangerines are put on display to be eaten and they also imply a wish for happiness and prosperity.
Jennifer Che, of the popular website TinyUrbanKitchen.com and I got together to make TWO recipes: Jennifer made homemade dumplings from scratch (Her recipe is on her website and we have on ours to PLUS I made a simpler, but no-less-delicious recipe from my new book Simple Asian Meals :Gingery Faux Won Ton Soup with Bow Tie Pasta.
Here’s wishing you all a healthy and happy New Year filled with good fortune! ENJOY!!
Pad Thai is one of those recipes that I generally stay away from because EVERYONE has their own version of what it should taste like that is based on what they’ve eaten at their favorite Thai restaurant. I feel there is NO way I could ever compete with that. BUT, when I was working on my Asian Noodles book, I decided it was crazy for me to write a book on the subject and not include a recipe for Pad Thai. After all, isn’t it quintessential Asian noodle dish?
I was determined and I must have tested the recipe at least eight times- maybe more. In fact, I have never tested a recipe as much as this Pad Thai. And even after 15 years and many books later, I still think it holds up. My next book, Simple Asian Meals is just about to be published, but I am working on a revision of Asian Noodles and one recipe that will NOT change is this one for Pad Thai.
Enjoy!! I’m getting a craving for some Pad Thai right now.
In part 1 of “All You Need to Know About Asian Noodles”, I tackled the family of Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai noodles. In part 2, I show and talk about the many varieties of Japanese Noodles. You will be introduced to: ramen, udon, soba, and somen noodles as well as suggestions for substitutions. These days, however, you don’t even have to go to a specialty market since most well-stocked supermarkets now carry many of these varieties. In addition, if you go to the recipe section, you will see not one, but FOUR recipes using all the different noodles. There’s my favorite Cinnamon Beef Noodles, Spunky Stir-Fried Ramen, Scallion Chicken Soba, a favorite meal-in-one dinner of my family’s, and a delicate Shrimp with Snow Pea Shoots Soup.
Remember that in eating the noodles which symbolize longevity, it is believed that you will have a long and healthy life. Enjoy!
For their pasta issue, the newly-revived Gourmet @Gourmet.com asked me to write an Asian Noodle Primer and I was thrilled. One of my favorite dishes from my student days living in Taiwan was Cinnamon Beef Noodles and I became a serious Asian noodleholic when I started writing a book about the topic ” Asian Noodles” which was published in 1997. I spent about four years traveling all over Asia ( especially Japan because I couldn’t get enough of soba or udon).
I decided it would be really useful to do an accompanying video, so here is Part I of ” All You Need to Know About Asian Noodles” with LOTS of recipes.
Not so long ago, miso was an ingredient that was only available in Asian specialty markets, but these days walk into any well-stocked supermarket and there it is with all the other soy products. And more than likely you have a choice of light or dark.
As you will see in the video, I introduce you to the two main varieties, “white” (miso shiro) and red or dark (aka miso) and discuss their various uses. But you might be surprised at the fantastic health-giving properties. For instance:
· It’s packed with vegetable protein.
· The numerous minerals help to strengthen the immune system so it really helps to fight colds and the flu.
· Miso may even help to lower the incidence in breast cancer.
And if you go to the recipe section, there’s one of my favorite versions of a sumptuous, but easy miso soup.
For those wondering how to prepare real Asian cuisine at home with a minimum of time an equipment, award-winning cookbook author and Asian food guru Nina Simonds has delicious answers. Read more
Nina Simonds is one of the country’s leading authorities on Asian cooking. She is the author of ten books on Chinese cuisine and culture, including the best-selling Asian Noodles and A Spoonful of Ginger, which won both the IACP and the James Beard Foundation Book Award for health.
1 Comment Also found in: asian, BBQ, broiled, cooking, five spice, grilled, healthy, hoisin, tofu, vegetarian
