This umami filled dish of noodles takes some preparation in slicing the vegetables but otherwise is very easy to put together. The seeds or nuts add a little protein so if additional protein is desired, some fried tofu, chicken, beef, or pork can be added. And the vegetables can be changed to fit your family’s likes and what you have on-hand. Mushrooms, bell pepper, bean sprouts all would work well.
First, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a small baking pan with parchment and sprinkle with:
1/2 cup raw seeds such as pepitas or sunflower, or nuts if you can have them (peanuts, cashews, almonds, etc.)
Bake for 5 minutes and then toss with:
2 teaspoons sriracha
1 tablespoon soy sauce substitute
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Following package directions, cook:
6-8 ounces rice noodles
When cooked, drain, rinse and set aside. In a 12″ skillet with high sides, over medium high heat:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
When the oils are hot, add:
1/2 large (or medium) onion, thinly sliced
3-4 stalks celery, sliced on an angle
3/4 cup chopped or shredded carrots
2-3 baby bok choy, sliced, including greens
Stir to combine and cook approximately 5 minutes until tender but not mushy. Add:
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 small can diced or sliced water chestnuts
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
Cook an additional minute or two. In a small bowl combine:
1/2 cup soy sauce substitute
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon tahini (or seed butter like sunflower or pumpkin)
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Whisk to incorporate ingredients and then add to pan of vegetables. Let the vegetables simmer with the sauce for several minutes, 2-3 before tossing in the noodles and, if more heat is desired, add:
1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
Separate into four serving dishes and top with the seed mixture and:
2 scallions, greens only, sliced
Top with sliced, sauteed meat if desired and enjoy!
This was a hit at my house last night so I thought I’d pass on the recipe. Another very easy, quick recipe for a delicious dinner. I recommend serving it with a small side salad! Serves 4.
In a high-sided 10″ skillet, heat over medium high heat:
1 tablespoon olive oil
When shimmering add:
1 small onion, diced
1 small sweet pepper, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic (roughly 2 cloves)
Cook until the onions soften, about 4-5 minutes. Push the onions and peppers to the side and add:
1 pound ground turkey (94% preferably)*
Salt and pepper to taste (1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper)
Cook, breaking up the turkey and stirring frequently until the turkey is cooked (no longer pink), about 5 minutes. In a small bowl combine:
1/2 cup sugar-free ketchup (I use Organicville made with agave nectar)
1/4 cup sugar-free barbecue sauce (again, I use Organicville made with agave nectar)
1/2 tablespoon sriracha sauce (sugar-free preferable, I use Yellowbird Blue Agave Sriracha)
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
2 teaspoons mustard (I used stone ground)
1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (Optional)
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce (Optional)**
When turkey is cooked, pour the sauce into the pan and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve on gluten-free buns, dairy-free cheese optional.
*This recipe could easily be made vegan by substituting a large can of any type of beans, such as Great Northern, kidney, etc. or some diced firm tofu.
**The recipe I used as a template called for Worcestershire Sauce which has soy in it so for flavor and spice I substituted the sriracha, chili garlic and fish sauces. If your family has no problems with Worcestershire Sauce, go ahead and use that instead.
Super quick and easy, especially if you buy the pre-shredded cole slaw mix at the supermarket. The only other thing that needs dicing is the small onion and that doesn’t take long. This dish is a little sweet, spicy and tangy and the ground turkey, unless you really overcook it of course!, stays moist and succulent in the sauce. I apologize for not sprinkling the finished dish with scallion as it should be but I didn’t have any in the house and wasn’t up to going to the store today. Excellent even without them! As usual, feel free to mellow or increase the spices to fit your family’s tastes.
First, in a deep skillet (3″ or so), heat over medium high heat:
1-2 tablespoons date sugar depending on how sweet you like it
1/4 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or 1 teaspoon siracha)
Whisk to combine. Remove cover from the turkey mixture and add in sauce, stirring constantly until it thickens which should be about 5-10 seconds. Remove from heat to a serving dish, top with toasted sesame seeds and/or sliced scallions. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.
*If cabbage isn’t a favorite in your family, add a small can of sliced bamboo shoots and a can of sliced water chestnuts. Or some thinly sliced bok choy would also work.
**See recipe under sauces. I generally have several 1 cup jars of it in the freezer.
I’m always looking for new ways to cook fish to make it more interesting and succulent. Here’s one that’s really mouth wateringly good! And so easy to make and quick to make. In less than 45 minutes, you can have dinner ready with this one. While I used Halibut, any dense white fish will work like haddock or cod. Make sure your fish steaks are at least an inch thick.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray that will comfortably hold the fish (I used my 5″x 8″ dish). Dry with paper towels:
2 halibut steaks (6-8 ounces each)
Place them in the prepared baking dish. In a small bowl mix:
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons date syrup (honey, agave, etc., would also work)
3 tablespoons soy sauce substitute (see recipe under sauces)*
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon lime juice (juice from 1/2 lime)**
1 teaspoon grated or finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon chili sauce (or 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce) [Optional]
Whisk to combine and pour over the fish. Sprinkle over the fish:
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Bake 20-30 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. After about 15 minutes, open the oven and baste the fish with the surrounding sauce. When cooked, remove fish from oven and let sit for a couple of minutes before serving. Garnish with:
thinly sliced greens from 2 scallions
**zest from 1 lime (zest before slicing and juicing the lime)
*Of course, use soy sauce instead of the substitute if there’s no allergy to soy. Use 2 tablespoons soy and 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce in place of the soy substitute sauce.
Serve over rice to soak up the tasty sauce.Makes 2 servings.
I have jars of jam in my freezer and since I don’t eat much toast or other things where jam would be good, I’ve been looking for recipes to use up these jams. Here’s one I found for my plum jam. If you do a search on my blog, you’ll find a recipe for strawberry jam (sugar-free of course) which you can use to make sugar free plum jam which is the base for the oriental spicy plum sauce for these pork chops. I served these chops with sauteed bok choy (find recipe under side dishes).
First, preheat oven to 350 degrees then make the plum sauce by combining in a small saucepan:
1 1/2 cups plum jam
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons date sugar
1 tablespoon dried onion (flakes or granules, both work)
1/2 teaspoon spicy chili sauce (or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Whisk to combine and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, over medium high heat. Once it boils, remove from heat.
In a 12″ skillet, over medium high heat, heat:
1 tablespoon olive oil
When shimmering, add:
4 pork chops, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness
Sear on all sides, including the outsides, until browned. Place in a 9×9″ baking dish (or whatever size fits your pork chops) and cover with the spicy plum sauce. Bake, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes depending on the thickness of your pork chops. Serves 4.
Like ribs, wings are high on my favorite foods list. I usually just bake them and barbecue sauce them (see recipe under Appetizers and Snacks) but I wanted to do something a little different today so I found three or four recipes for Asian wings and took what I liked from each to get you this divinely mouth-watering succulent wing recipe. In fact, I enjoyed them so much I went to the store and bought another package of wings just so that I could make them again! If you want to make them a meal, serve with cooked rice and some sauteed bok choy (see recipe under side dishes).
First, if your wings are whole, cut off the mini pointed section (the wing tips) and then cut the wing between the mini wing and the drumette. Throw the wing tips in the garbage and the other two parts into a gallon food storage bag. You should have about 2 pounds of wings.
Second, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a medium size baking sheet by spraying it with non-stick spray. Next, add to the bag:
1 tablespoon all-purpose gluten-free flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika (more or less depending on your taste)
Seal the bag and shake to coat the wing sections. Place each piece on the prepared baking sheet. Best to make sure they don’t touch. Bake for 30-40 minutes. While the wings bake, prepare the sauce. Mix together in a small saucepan:
1 teaspoon avocado oil
1 teaspoon ginger juice (don’t have ginger juice? Peel and finely mince a thumb size piece of ginger)
1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons chili sauce (depending on the heat level you want in your wings)*
2 tablespoons honey
2-4 tablespoons date sugar, depending on how sweet and sticky you want them
1/3 cup soy sauce substitute
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
Whisk together and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Remove from heat and set aside.
When the wings are cooked, remove from the pan to a medium size bowl and pour over the sauce.** Mix together with a serving fork or large kitchen spoon. Add:
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Move to a plate and garnish with:
1/2 cup sliced scallion greens
Serve hot.
*I used 2 teaspoons and it was quite spicy but not overly hot, just the way I like it. And the addition of the sesame seeds and scallions help cool the wings a little.
**I used only half the sauce for my 1 1/2 pounds of wings.
When I worked at Arizona State University, the chair of the department and I shared the same birthday so we’d go out for lunch annually on our birthday. There was a little Chinese restaurant near campus where we’d devour several orders of pot stickers and a soup bowl of hot and sour soup. I’ve been checking every grocery store I go to and I couldn’t find gluten-free wonton wrappers but a check on-line found a recipe. So, although this process is somewhat lengthy, the dumplings are well worth the effort.
First, make the wonton wrappers by combining:
1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 white rice flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon guar gum
Whisk together the dry ingredients then stir in:
1/2 cup boiling water
Dough will start to come together. Add:
2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
Stir to combine, kneading with hands if necessary. Form into a ball, cut in half. Place one half under plastic wrap to stay moist while working with the other half. Roll the dough into a log then cut into 12 pieces, about 1 tablespoon each. Roll the pieces into balls and place in a sandwich bag until ready to fill. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
Next, make the filling. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse:
8-10 scallion whites
6 ounces shitake mushrooms
1/2 cup shredded carrots
Pulse until well ground. Put into a medium bowl with:
3/4 pound ground turkey (or pork)
3 teaspoons date sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce substitute (see recipe under sauces)
1/2 teaspoon ginger juice (or freshly grated ginger)
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Combine, cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to fill the wontons. Using a bamboo steamer (or a steamer basket or pot but you won’t be able to cook as many at once), place over water on the stove. Take one dough ball, place between two pieces of plastic wrap, and using a small rolling pin (or any can), roll out to about a 3″ circle. Place about 1 tablespoon filling in the middle. Using the plastic wrap, bring the sides of the wonton wrapper together in the middle. Pick up the ball and gently press the edges together to seal the dumpling (these can be either round or rectangular). If the dough is dry, wipe the edges with a small amount of water to moisten and seal. Place in the steamer and repeat until the steamer is filled, without the dumplings touching the edges or each other because they will stick as they cook. Bring the steamer water to a boil and cook the dumplings 10-12 minutes. Serve with a sesame garlic sauce and garnish with the scallion greens.
Here’s another recipe adapted from the Chicken Bible. It’s somewhat spicy due to the abundance of freshly grated ginger as well as just a 1/4 teaspoon Vietnamese chili sauce.* The original recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes so use those if you can’t find a chili sauce that works for your family. I also cut back slightly on the amount of freshly grated ginger – the original recipe called for 1 tablespoon but I used only about 1 teaspoon and it was sufficient for my tastes. This is a recipe that may sound difficult and complex but if you follow the steps, it’s really quite easy to make and oh so worth the effort – just as good as any dish in your favorite Chinese restaurant.
First, cut up everything:
1 pound bok choy (I used three medium sized baby), cut off the stems and cut into bitesize pieces and then separately chop the greens and put them in a separate bowl
2 small sweet red peppers, cut in thin slices
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced as thinly as possible (if the breasts are partially frozen, they will slice much easier although the hand holding the meat will get quite chilly!)
1 garlic clove minced
about 1″ of fresh ginger peeled and grated to produce roughly 1-2 teaspoons
2-3 scallions, slice at an angle, add the white parts to the bok choy stems and peppers and set the greens aside in a medium bowl
Next, mix together in a medium bowl:
1 tablespoon soy sauce substitute
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon date syrup
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch (or arrowroot)
Whisk together and add the sliced chicken. Mix to ensure all the chicken is coated with the marinade. Refrigerate until needed.
Third, put on a pot of water to boil:
6 quarts water in a large pot
When the water comes to a bowl, add:
1 teaspoon sea salt
9 ounces of noodles (I used brown rice pad Thai noodles)
Cook for only 3 minutes until el dente (or the amount of time on the package of your noodles). Drain and add to the bowl with the green scallion slices. Mix to combine. In a 12″ non-stick skillet, heat over medium high heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Add the noodle/scallion mixture and spread out in the pan. Use a strong spatula (or I used a bacon flattener) to flatten the noodle mixture in the pan (see photo below). Cook 5-7 minutes until browned and then using a large spatula, flip and brown again on the second side 5-7 minutes. Remove to an oven proof plate and stick in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.
Now, in a small bowl mix together:
2 tablespoons olive oil
the minced garlic
the grated ginger
In another small bowl make the sauce by combining:
1/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce substitute
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon date syrup
1/4 teaspoon chili sauce or red pepper flakes (or hot sauce!)
1 teaspoon cornstarch (or arrowroot)
Stir to combine. Set aside until needed. Pour into the empty skillet and heat:
2 teaspoons olive oil
Add:
sliced chicken (and marinade)
Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly and turning frequently until the meat is cooked, about 2 minutes. Remove to a dish and set aside. Into the same skillet heat over medium heat:
the olive oil mixture with the garlic and ginger
When hot, add:
the bok choy stems
red pepper slices
scallion whites
Cook over medium high heat stirring frequently until they just begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add:
the bok choy greens
Cook just until the greens begin to wilt, add the cooked chicken along with any juice in the dish. Whisk the sauce mixture to be sure it’s still combined and pour over the chicken in the skillet. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens about 30 seconds and the chicken is reheated. Remove the noodle cake from the oven and cut into wedges. Serves 2.
*I had a lot of difficulty finding a chili sauce that didn’t contain either sugar or soy. I finally located one (at the 4th store I checked!) – Tuong Ot Toi Viet-Nam Chili Garlic Sauce. It’s VERY hot so the amount used should be to the level of your taste buds. I don’t mind spicy but super hot is not to my liking therefore the recipe calls for just 1/4 teaspoon.
cookingwithoutallergens 