Multipurpose Spicy Asian Marinade Recipe

This (for now) is a recipe I haven't tried -- yet.

So why am I posting it? Since it got a 4-fork rating on Epicurious -- the highest possible -- I definitely want to try it. Also, it got great comments. Bonus: it's sugar-free! But there's no pinnable image on the original, so I can't post it to my "recipes to try" Pinterest board from there.

Various reviewers said...

"I ground chicken thighs in the food processor, marinated as directed, and then browned the meat for delicious and simple lettuce wraps. I think I will go to this marinade again and again."

"I marinated some shrimp in this for about an hour, and then sauteed them with the remaining marinade; they were so flavorful!"

"Used this over asparagus. Cut the spears into 2" long pieces, marinated it a bit and then sauteed the asparagus in oil, reserving marinade. After removing asparagus from pan, I added reserved marinade along with a cornstarch slurry to thicken for a sauce."

"I used this marinade with scallops and veggie kabobs. It was fantastic!"

The author comments...
"This all-purpose marinade can be used for chicken or turkey breast, pork cutlets, firm-pressed tofu, and seafood. If you prefer to omit the chile, use smashed fresh ginger instead."

Recipe: Spicy Asian Chicken Marinade

by Spices of Life, by Nina Simonds , via epicurious

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine or sake
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried chile flakes or hot chile paste (or 5 to 6 slices of smashed fresh ginger)
• 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil (or canola oil)

Combine all ingredients and use as directed in your recipe.

photo credit: formalfallacy @ Dublin (Victor) via photopin cc

Seven simple salad dressings

One of the easiest and most delicious things you can do to put healthier food into your body is to learn some recipes for homemade salad dressings. Once you start, you'll probably never buy the bottled stuff again! Homemade dressings just taste so much fresher. And you can be sure there's no corn syrup or {insert evil sweetener of your choice here} in it! I usually use Splenda, but use whatever you want. Most "Lite" salad dressings you buy in the store are low fat, but that just means a higher percentage of the product is carbs, and most likely, sugary ones.

Here are seven of my favorite homemade salad dressings I've posted here in the past. For a healthy body, happy taste buds!

Buttermilk Ranch (made with Greek yogurt)

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Tex-Mex Dressing (three ingredients!)

Ginger-peanut Salad Dressing

Almost-Panera's Asian Chicken Salad Dressing

Lemon (or Citrus) Poppyseed Dressing

Caesar Salad Dressing

Update: bonus recipe...

Creamy Italian Dressing

Asian lettuce wraps

This is another one of those dishes that you can prep early in the day, and throw together in minutes come dinner time. Also low carb and low fat!

Recipe: Asian lettuce wraps

Makes 4 servings

about 1.3 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 large onion, sliced thin
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 T. lower sodium soy sauce
1 pkt. Splenda or equivalent sweetener
1/4 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (less for mild; more for hot)
1 T. fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 cups coleslaw mix with carrots, (or more)
butter lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves, for wraps
fresh cilantro and chopped cashews, for garnish, optional

This is the slaw mix I use:

Brown the turkey and onions in a large skillet; when the turkey is mostly browned but still showing some pink, drain the fat. Meanwhile, combine the sesame oil through the crushed pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Add the ginger, garlic and coriander to the pan; stir-fry for a couple minutes.

If you're prepping ahead of time, you can stop here and refrigerate the meat and sauce. When ready to serve, just reheat and proceed. Also, since I was just cooking for two of us, I pulled out half the meat and put it in the fridge for lunch the next day. Be sure to only add half the sauce and cole slaw to the pan if you do this.

Add the cole slaw and the soy sauce mixture. Cook and stir constantly for one or two minutes.

(I'm warming up leftovers the next day in the photo above; that's why the skillet's smaller.)

Serve the meat mixture with lettuce leaves to fill, and roll up to eat. Offer cilantro and cashews for topping, if desired.

Ginger-peanut dressing

Here's a simple salad dressing that rivals any restaurant Asian salad! My favorite salad combo to serve it with -- and the one shown above -- is, for each serving:

- one heart-of-romaine head, chopped (I save the bottom 4" to use as dippers with hummus, etc.)
- one regular or two small green onions, sliced thin
- one or two handfuls of slaw mix with carrots
- chopped bell pepper to taste
- chopped nuts of your choice and to taste: peanuts, cashews or almonds
- chopped cilantro to your taste
- optional: 1/2 to 1 whole cooked chicken breast

Just toss all this together and serve immediately, or cover and chill till you're ready to serve.

Just before serving, drizzle on the dressing. This recipe makes enough for about four servings.

Recipe: Ginger-peanut salad dressing

1/4 c. rice vinegar
2 T. minced fresh ginger root
2 T. sugar-free peanut butter
1 T. honey
2 pkts. Splenda
1 small garlic clove
1/2 t. sesame oil
1/2 c. canola oil

Combine all ingredients except for canola in a blender and process till smooth. With the blender running, drizzle in the canola oil.

Best if chilled for a couple hours before serving.

Recipe review: Zucchini Noodles with Peanut Sauce

One of my go-to recipes when I'm cooking lunch for myself is Pantry Pasta from the ever-so-helpful cookbook, Desperation Dinners, because everything you need to make it is stuff you usually have in the pantry.

But I've loaned my copy out to a friend, so today I tried this very similar dish from Kitchen Confidante. It's pretty similar in ingredients and the quick-and-easy factor. And it's tasty, too! I just finished eating it and my tummy is very happy.

I've used zucchini and summer squash as a low-carb alternative to pasta many times -- most frequently when I'm craving spaghetti, or want something noodle-y in my chicken soup. (And as an alternative to pizza crust.) But today I didn't want to mess with making the squash noodles (which means I'm feeling very lazy; they're not that hard!), so I just used some pasta I had on hand and cooked it al dente.

Like most Americans, I'm accustomed to and usually prefer pasta that's been cooked till it's uniformly soft. But al dente means "to the tooth," and requires pulling the pasta out when the outside is soft but the inside still has a bit of resistance when you bite into it. The reason I cook it this way is because this lowers the glycemic index a bit.

I made the peanut sauce as posted by Kitchen Confidante, with a few minor changes:

• I sauteed about a tablespoon of finely diced onion in a bit of canola oil, and added the rest of the sauce ingredients to that, whisking it all together over low heat and eating the finished dish warm.
• I added a pinch of ground ginger.
• I used chicken stock instead of water. This adds flavor and also a bit of protein to the dish.

This dish could easily be made vegetarian by swapping out tofu or some type of pea or bean for the chicken, and using vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock.

It was quick, easy and delish! And I look forward to trying it again with zucchini noodles.

Amost-Panera's Asian chicken salad

I love the Asian Chicken Salad at Panera, so I experimented and came up with the recipe that comes pretty darn close. Just this week I discovered that you can get the actual Panera recipe online, but I actually like this version better.

And it's so, so simple! Instead of finding a source for the won ton fries (or frying them myself), I just use Ramen noodles. So much easier, and probably lower fat, too. If that's too many carbs for you, you could just leave them off and put on extra almonds.

Almost-Panera's Asian Chicken Salad


4 hearts-of-romaine heads
2 handfuls cilantro leaves, chopped
4 cooked chicken breasts, sliced thin (grilled, roasted or poached)
4 green onions, chopped
1 pkg. ramen noodles
1/2 c. sliced or slivered almonds

optional: sesame seeds for garnish

Dressing:
3 packets of Splenda OR 2 T. sugar*
3 T. rice vinegar
1 T. sesame oil
1/4 c. vegetable oil


Prepare the dressing 30 minutes ahead of time by combining the first three ingredients in a food processor or blender. With the blender running, drizzle in the vegetable oil. Set aside.

How to chop romaine: 
This is how I like to do it: Start by making one slice down the length of the head, starting about 5” from the stem, going all the way to the loose end. Rotate the head one quarter turn and make a second slice in the same manner. (I like to slice right down the center of the rib.) Then chop perpendicular to the first slices, starting at the loose end and working toward the stem end. Stop 4 or 5” from the stem, and save the uncut part for another use.

Slice the green onions. You may leave the cilantro leaves whole or chop them, whichever you prefer.

In a large bowl combine the lettuce, cilantro, and green onions. Let chill at least 10 minutes. (Longer is better; the lettuce absorbs someof the cilatro and green onion flavors.) Break up the ramen noodles into bite-sized pieces and set aside. At this point, you may hold everything till serving time, if you wish.

To serve, add the chicken, almonds and ramen noodles. Serve in salad bowls and offer the dressing in a pourable container so your guest can add as much dressing as they want. You can also pour the dressing over the top of the salad, toss, and serve immediately.

*You can use either Splenda or sugar with no compromise in taste, but using sugar makes it cling to the greens better.