Braised pork trotters is one of the Chinese New Year dishes enjoyed during this festive season as pigs are auspicious animals in Chinese culture and symbolize strength and good fortune.
This dish is prepared using store-bought boneless pork trotters, tossed with noodles symbolizing longevity equivalent to being in good health and paired with "lucky" vegetables combo.
American-Chinese food. Takeout. I'm guilty of both. Once in a long while, Panda Express takeouts will appear at our dining table. It's out of convenience but honestly, my family does not think the food taste THAT bad - price-wise, checked; food quality, checked; in short, value for money.
Shown below, leftover Panda Express Chicken Teriyaki paired with gluten-free high-protein noodles to make this noodle-style salad.
This assorted vegetables pasta/noodle salad bowl is a great summer option when you want something light yet able to fill in protein, the meatless way. When I use protein-based pasta/noodles (e.g. Explore Cuisine Bean Pasta), I prefer to make the entire dish vegetarian - allowing the plant-based protein to take center-stage.
Today, this Greens and Bean-Pasta Noodle Salad Bowl, is made with greens variety- broccoli, green beans and leafy kale. The vegetables are totally interchangeable, depending on what you have, so feel free to get creative.
Vegetarian option
Other vegetarian meatless recipes made with Explore Cuisine Bean Pasta:
Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl
Gluten-Free Bean Pasta with (more) Beans and Veggies
Bean Pasta with Vegetarian Tofu Curry
This home-style "Mee Goreng" or Stir-Fry Noodles has been customized to my preferences. It's not glossed in dark sauce and has more vegetables in proportion to noodles. It also does not use the typical yellow noodles usually found in Mee Goreng. More accurately, this should be called Udon Goreng.
That is home-style, and home-cooking at its roots, with the perks to cater for your personal preferences and to be able to create a healthier and more nutritious dish without losing traditional flavors.
In Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia, Mee means noodles, Goreng means Fried. This "Mee Goreng" or Fried Noodles, is a deviation from the authentic hawker classic without the use tomato ketchup and kecap manis (sweet soy sauce).
To create my own quick tomato ketchup, I have used fresh tomatoes, a little sugar and soy sauce. To simulate the flavors of kecap manis, I have also used dark soy sauce and brown sugar.
A variety of vegetables, raw and/or cooked, has become my blank canvas, and can easily build up to a healthy and delicious dish.
Today, it is a noodle salad made from assorted vegetables of lettuce and red cabbage, and soba noodles. This can jolly well be a meal when you are eating light.
Salmon or no salmon (for vegetarians), it is all up to you.
When I came across the term "Alimentary Yakisoba", I was puzzled for a while, not knowing what "Alimentary" meant until I tried to find out later that it meant "relating to nourishment or nutrition". But, is there a reason why "alimentary" is tagged with "yakisoba"? I wonder if there is a special connotation or meaning.
This dish uses "Yakisoba" noodles but you can replace with your favorite noodle variety e.g. Ramen or Udon. As the base-sauce for this noodle stir-fry is developed from simmering five-spice tofu (Hodo brand) and mushrooms, the noodles are infused with the five-spice flavors from the simmered tofu which makes it essentially Five-Spice Stir-Fry Noodles.
There is nothing special about this pot of udon noodles. Though prepared with quite the basic everyday ingredients that you find in a working kitchen, this simple homecooked one-pot noodles is still very flavorful and satisfying that you slurp till the very last strand of noodle.
It does not have to be special. It just have to be pure comfort. A bowl of noodles with tender-cooked vegetables in light fragrant broth is absolutely warm comfort in the chilly months of winter.
With some "help" from advanced meal prep. e.g. dicing the carrots and celery, choosing the "easier" onion i.e. green onions to slice, this pot of noodle can be put together very quickly, start to finish in one same pot!
Explore Cuisine bean-powered pasta is not only great in taste and texture; it also provides a good amount of protein and fiber per serving. Their Organic Edamame Spaghetti and Organic Black Bean Spaghetti contain 24 g of protein per 2 oz serving - almost three times more than regular pasta and twice that of chickpea or lentil.
To enjoy the best of both worlds, I used two different spaghetti - Edamame Spaghetti and Black Bean Spaghetti, to create this dish - Edamame and Black Bean Spaghetti with Steamed Vegetables in Vegetarian Tofu Green Curry
Beans on beans, pulses or more pulses. What do you say? Plant-protein power! Made from organic edamame and mung bean, Explore Cuisine's gluten-free fettuccine* carries the leftover bean "sauce" very well and makes a nice warm veggie pasta lunch on a cool breezy day. Alternatively, make a quick chickpea salad, toss it with pasta and save this pasta salad or Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl for the hot summer days.
This bean fettuccine* on its own tastes very flavorful, warm or at room temperature (cooked and allowed to cool a few minutes). Personally, I enjoy the natural bean flavor of this pasta as it shines through without any sauce, just like this Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl.
The weather has been erratic. Cold and rainy two weeks ago, hot in the 80s last week, and the forecast is for some rain bringing us back to the 60s this week. This does not make it easier for those who want to prepare and enjoy salads on warm and dry days, and cozy up on stews when it is cool and rainy.
Sometime ago, my friend gave me a few packets of Ramen noodles and told me "if you do not know what to cook any one day, cook this". She was definitely not referring to the weather indirectly, when she said this. When we say - we do not know what to cook, it actually means - we do not want to cook. All those excuses - no time, no energy, lack of urge or inspiration, or simply, just feeling lazy.
But yet, we want to stay home (takeout option is out then!) and have something homecooked like this super easy, quick and delicious Noodles with Stir-Fry Spinach, Mushrooms and Fried Egg.
Now, get someone else to cook, if we can find that "someone". Else, fall back on my friend's words.
Made with two gluten-free ingredients - organic edamame and organic mung beans, this vegetarian-friendly protein-rich (24g protein per serving size) pasta alternative boasts high nutritional value. Explore Cuisine bean pastas* are all certified gluten-free, vegan and kosher.
There are some other brands of gluten-free chickpea and lentil pasta in the market that cooks soft and mushy, but this bean pasta from Explore Cuisine* does not. In fact, within 4-5 minutes, this pasta cooks to al-dente which was what I wanted for my noodle salad. The "beany" taste is also a pleasant surprise - in a beany good way! If you have tried fresh yuba (tofu skins) before, this bean pasta tastes similar.
Happy Lunar New Year of the Dog!
Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year, and here's wishing everyone Good Heath and Happiness.
We start the year strong and healthy with this Prosperity Salad which has been adapted and modified to suit our family preferences. Raw fish (生鱼 Sheng Yu ) - which is why Prosperity Salad is also known as Yu Sheng in Mandarin. Fish 鱼 and abundance 余 also both sound alike in Mandarin, thus the tradition of having Yu Sheng is often interpreted as abundance, good fortune and prosperity in the new year.
First and foremost, one of the most symbolic ingredient - raw fish has been omitted from the salad as we do not consume raw fish at home. That said, it also means this salad is vegetarian.
No fish, but the colors galore and vegetables aplenty in this salad marks abundance in the best way (examples of ingredients and its symbolism here). Besides, with or without fish, it is the same act of using chopsticks to toss and lift the salad up high that symbolizes the shoring in of better luck and lifting of our high spirits and vigor in the new year. In other words, the higher you toss, the better luck you have.
In this salad adaption, I have also brought in long strands of noodles (means long-life noodles) which symbolizes longevity and good health.
A poached egg would be perfect, just like this Mushrooms Spinach Saute with Noodles and Egg; but well, life is not perfect.
So I made this easy noodle bowl that is perfect for no-time-to-make-dinner, almost-wanted-takeout-night. Indeed, it is simple home-cooked fare, without the high-in-sodium, high-in-grease burden for late night dinner.
I saw some really beautiful organic romanesco broccoli in Whole Foods Market and got into impulsive mode. Well...impulsive good.
It was a Sunday and there was no plan to cook. But with this fresh-looking vegetable, should I? Maybe, a semi-homemade meal will do. A meal that will not take a toll especially on a slow and lazy Sunday. On the way back home, we got hold of a store-bought roasted duck, went home and within 30 minutes, lunch was served.
Pumpkin Noodle, or specially Pumpkin Rice Vermicelli is as familiar as Pumpkin Rice to many of us. However, you may have noticed that I have used pasta, in replacement of rice vermicelli in this recipe; well, not just any pasta but Angel Hair pasta. That is the only pasta, that in my opinion, comes closest to rice vermicelli.
Widely known as no-carb or low-carb noodles and a great alternative to pasta - that did not appeal to me as I cannot do without carbs.
Now, I should have tried Zucchini Noodles earlier since I like how this present itself as a vegetarian side-dish, nicely paired with steamed rice or plain noodles. For the latter, simply toss (real) noodles with the thin zucchini ribbons, and the mix-in is flawless.
As long as zucchini/Italian squash is in-season, fresh and tender, I am quite sure this dish is going to be a regular at meal times. You may also try Stir-Fry Zucchini, Zucchini Fritters, or Zucchini Pizza.
No fancy equipment e.g. Spiral Slicer
Pass the peeler over the side of the zucchini lengthwise to produce long and thin "noodles". As the zucchini "noodles" are so thin, the dish cooks quickly, in a matter of 5 minutes or less. Zucchini "noodles" can be enjoyed raw in salads or cooked/sauteed to make them more tender.
The wrappers ran out before the filling! With the remaining kimchi fillings from making kimchi wontons (boiled dumplings), I made meatballs (mini ones!) and they are such a flavorful addition to this noodle dish which otherwise would have been a vegetarian combination of carrots, mushrooms, mung bean sprouts and spinach.
Did you forget that these are actually kimchi meatballs? Not only can kimchi be used as a condiment or pickle paired with steamed rice or noodles for a meal or complement grilled meat, it is also an (flavoring) ingredient that can be used for cooking - kimchi wonton, kimchi jigae, kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancake.
I usually like to stir-fry the baby spinach first, set it aside, then add them later (last) when a stir-fry is just about to be done. This way, I can use more spinach, and shrink down its volume first. In addition, in a stir-fry which often needs quick-fry, and in which time and speed of frying action is important, frying vegetables separately would allow better control during the stir-fry itself.
It might be hard for you to imagine how tasty this noodle dish is as you cannot smell and taste the deep seafood flavors, just by looking at this plate. Trust me, as it is absolutely delicious and scrumptious. Simply think Singapore-style Fried Hokkien Noodles, Prawn Noodles or Penang Prawn Noodle Soup; in order to make the passable grade - all MUST be cooked and simmered in prawn stock.
Freshly made prawn stock is just one criteria. Sometimes, pork ribs and other ingredients are also added to the stock especially in the soup version to make it tastier with layered depths of flavors.
As I did not have enough shrimp heads leftovers to make a deeply-flavored seafood stock, I borrowed the umami essence from another formidable seafood ingredient - scallops. The result is amazing as the noodles is simmered in the shrimps-scallop essence.
I recalled my first likeable and impressionable encounter with udon noodles in a Chinese restaurant. You have heard me right - a Chinese eatery, not Japanese. That Stir-Fry Udon Noodles in Black Pepper Sauce was absolutely delicious.
This is not Stir-Fry Udon Noodles in Black Pepper Sauce. However, that taste of chewy al-dente udon noodles in a savory meat sauce was equally satisfying.
This bowl of soup is all part of the Brassica oleracea family which includes cabbage, brussel sprouts and broccoli (broccolini to be exact).
If there is only one essential tip to share for making this soup a success, it is to not over-cook the brussel sprouts and baby broccoli when they are added into the soup.
