Pork Lettuce Wraps

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon red chili paste

Filling:
3 Tablespoons sesame oil, or olive oil (This was a lot, especially using ground pork.  I would use 1 TB sesame oil and 1 TB of olive oil in the future.  I ended up draining a lot of fat off the pork before adding the onions, etc.)
1 lb. fresh ground pork, finely ground
1/4 cup shallot or onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup canned water chestnuts, diced  (I didn't have water chestnuts so I used matchstick carrots, roughly chopped)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

12-16 Butter lettuce leaves or Boston Bib (may use Iceberg)

Instructions:
Rinse the lettuce leaves. Drain well. Pat dry with paper towels. Place in a plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

In a small bowl stir together 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1/4 cup warm water until dissolved. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, lime juice, sesame oil and chili paste. Mix well. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium/high heat. Stir-fry the pork quickly in the oil breaking the meat up as much as possible. Add the onions, garlic, and water chestnuts and continue to stir-fry until the pork is cooked through and the onions are soft. Add the brown sugar, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Cook until the liquid has evaporated. Should only take a couple of minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 8 as a side dish or 4 as a main dish.

** You can buy the chili paste at most grocery stores...Sambal Oelek Ground Fresh Chili Paste, Huy Fong Foods, Inc.

Egg Roll in A Bowl...

1 lb. ground turkey breast
1/4 onion
1 TBS. minced garlic
1 bag of coleslaw mix
3 TBS. soy sauce
2 tsp. rice vinegar
2 TBS. sweet chili sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Brown ground turkey then drain and set aside
Brown onion and garlic for 3 minutes and then add coleslaw mix.  Cook on medium until coleslaw is tender.  Add back in ground turkey and add in the rest of the ingredients.  Cook for a few more minutes.  My kids like to drizzle more sweet chili sauce on their bowl of food before eating.  You can serve with rice and mixed vegetables.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps...

1 lb. Ground Turkey
1/2 diced Red Pepper
Handful of Matchstick Carrots
Soy Sauce
Sweet Chili Sauce

Brown Turkey, Red Pepper, and Carrots.  When done drain any liquid in the pan.  Add soy sauce and sweet chili sauce to taste and let simmer on low for 10 minutes.  Spoon meat into romaine or green leaf lettuce, wrap and eat.

Beef with Broccoli

1.5 lb flank steak, thinly sliced into 1/8-in (3-mm)-thick strips
3lbs lbs broccoli, cut into bite-size florets (Buy three lbs. of broccoli, it will be less once you cut off the florets)
2 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic

BEEF MARINADE
3 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cooking oil
Freshly ground black pepper to season the beef

STIR-FRY SAUCE
6 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 teaspoons chicken broth
4 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)

1 In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the Beef Marinade. Add the sliced beef and let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

2 In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the Stir-fry Sauce.

3 In a wok or large sauté pan, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.

4 Discard the water in the pan and dry the pan well. Set the pan over high heat and when hot, add the high-heat cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry for 15 to 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry 30 seconds. Flip the strips and fry the other side.

5 Pour in the Stir-fry Sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat well.

6 Serve over steamed Jasmine (or white) rice. 

Quick and Easy Korean Beef

recipe from Six Sisters Stuff

Korean Beef
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 – 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers (depending on how spicy you like it)
salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, diced
Rice, cooked
Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.

Easy Panang Curry

1 can (8-oz) bamboo shoots, drained

1 large red pepper

1 large carrot, very thinly sliced

1-2 tablespoon coconut oil (other cooking oils are fine)

1¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into very thin bite-sized slices

1 (13.66-oz) can of coconut milk (not lite)

3-4 tablespoons Red Curry Paste

1½ teaspoons sugar, or to taste

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Steamed rice for serving

1. Rinse the bamboo shoots and strain well.

2. Cut the pepper into thin strips and the carrot into very thin slices.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the chicken and cook, stirring often, until it is cooked. Remove the chicken from the pan.

4. Put the coconut milk, curry paste, and sugar in the pan. Whisk it until the curry paste is blended well into the coconut milk. Heat it until it’s gently boiling.

5. Stir in the chicken, bamboo shoots, carrot, and red pepper. Reduce the heat so the curry is just simmering, and cook for 5 – 10 minutes.

6. Stir in the fish sauce and serve over steamed rice.

Shelly's notes:  The spiciness will depend on your curry paste brand.  Mine was not spicy at all so I ended up adding some Sriracha to give the sauce a slight kick.  Taste the sauce after each addition of a TBSP of curry paste and keep adding more until it tastes good to you.  I was terrified of the fish sauce when I first unscrewed the bottle...it is very strong smelling; but it really does finish the dish and doesn't taste "fishy" when you are done!     

Asian Chicken Kabobs

Marinade:
1/3 c. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sesame oil
4 tsp soy sauce
1 c. pineapple juice concentrate (found it with the frozen juice concentrates)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp fresh minced garlic

Kabobs:
2 small zucchinis
1/2 red onion
green or red bell pepper
1 lb chicken breasts
mushrooms

Combine marinade ingredients in a shallow baking dish and mix well. Place wooden skewers in water to soak 10 to 15 minutes.

Cut zuchinni and onions into 1" x 1" pieces and set aside. Cut chicken into 1-ounce cubes.

Alternately skewer vegetables and chicken.

Place kabobs in marinade, turning to coat evenly. Marinate covered for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Transfer kabobs to grill or broiler and discard marinade. Cook on medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.

Shelly's notes: We LOVED this marinade! I think next time I do this I will just use the marinade for chicken kabobs...and do something different for my veggie side dish. I just don't love veggies cooked kebab style!! But the marinade was delish and would be good for grilled chicken breasts too. I served this with Coconut Rice.

Sweet and Spicy Noodles with Chicken

{fav family recipes blog}

I found this recipe and went out on a limb and tried it. We loved it! TIP: Easy on the red pepper flakes. Next time I make it I think I will add 1/2 the red pepper flakes and then if I need more add them to each serving.

2-3 chicken breasts cut into chunks and cooked (I like to cook it with some peanut sauce tossed into give the chicken some added flavor.)

1 lb. spaghetti noodles-cooked and drained

In a small sauce pan brown 4 tsp. minced garlic in some olive oil then add:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3 TBS. soy sauce

1 TBS. red pepper flakes

Toss the chicken, noodles and sauce together in a large fry pan or wok on medium heat. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes so the noodles can absorb some of the sauce. Serve hot!

Coconut Rice

2 c. white or Jasmine rice

1 can coconut milk

2 c. water

1 tsp. Kosher salt

Splash of white vinegar (optional, but it helps with the texture)

1-2 tsp. white sugar

Large handful of chopped green onions

Black pepper to taste

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, sugar, and onions in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add black pepper (if desired) and additional salt if necessary. Serve with any Asian or tropical-inspired food.

Orange Thai Beef Skewers

adapted from ourbestbites.com

• 1/4 C soy sauce
• 1/4 C seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 T honey
• 1T sesame oil
• 1 t ground ginger
• 1 t coriander ( I substituted a few chopped cilantro leaves)
• 1 orange
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2-4 t Sriracha chili sauce (you can buy this in the Asian foods section at most grocery stores...look for a rooster on the bottle.)
• 1 1/2 lb flank steak

First make your marinade in a bowl or large Ziplock bag: Juice the orange and add the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, coriander/cilantro, and garlic. Then add Sriracha to your liking. 2 teaspoons was mild enough for my family.

Take the flank steak and slice it across the grain into about 1/4" slices, then add them to the Ziplock/bowl and marinate in the fridge at least 4 hours. Preheat your grill, then take your skewers (pre-soaked in water for at least 30 mins. if you're using wood/bamboo ones) and thread on the strips of meat, just like you're stitching. Place them on the grill. These cook really fast. Overcooked flank steak will be tough and chewy, so don't over do it! They should only take about 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve piping hot off the grill!

I served these skewers with another fabulous recipe I adapted from ourbestbites.com, Coconut Rice.

Asian Sesame Chicken and Broccoli

Asian Sesame Chicken and Broccoli

8 oz. angel hair pasta
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts - cut into thin strips
3/4 c. Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing (on the salad dressing isle)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. each: ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/3 chopped dry roasted peanuts (optional)

Cook pasta according to package, adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 minutes of the past cooking time.

Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with cooking spray and cook the chicken. Stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and red pepper.

Drain pasta and place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture and mix together (lightly). Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.

*Note* If you are nervous about the crushed red pepper flakes, just add 1/8 of a tsp. starting out. You can always add more after the fact.