A salad fit and mighty as a main dish protein salad bowl featuring shredded chicken, quinoa, red cabbage, Brussel sprouts, snow peas.
Quinoa is nutritious whole grain that can be easily added to vegetable salads and make salads a meal. Make Smoked Salmon Turmeric Quinoa Bowl, Broccoli Cauliflower Celery Quinoa Bowl, Biryani-Inspired Quinoa Pilaf, Asparagus Quinoa Bowl.
Happy New Year 2025 to all. Hope 2024 has been great and 2025 will be better.
Always love a delicious duck dish come winter time, and Costco's Maple Leaf Farm Roast Half Duck has always been my family's favorite and go-to. Not only these ready-cooked duck make delicious duck protein bowls, they also make meal prep. a breeze. There is also no need to worry if the kitchen oven can fit and roast a whole duck.
I revisited one of our winter favorites - duck, brussel sprouts and sweet potato, and made this Duck with Roasted Asparagus, Steamed Gai Lan Chinese Broccoli and Purple Sweet Potato dish.
Edible Chrysanthemum/ Crown Daisy or Shungiku is a floral-fragrant vegetable. They are often added to hotpots and enjoyed like any other "hotpot- friendly" vegetables such as Napa cabbage, Bok Choy, cabbage.
This lovely great-tasting vegetable also serves as natural flavor enhancer in salad bowls and makes this delicious Edible Chrysanthemum Chicken Salad Bowl.
It can also be prepared as a chilled side-salad or appetizer-salad, make healthy sushi or Korean Kimbap/Gimbap or steamed with fish and/or tofu.
Our family enjoy duck dishes but we do not have it often since duck is almost like a "luxury" menu item on the dinner table as it is not easily available in the regular grocery stores or supermarkets. Thankfully, there is ready-cooked vacuum-packed roast duck and we will stash a few packs in the freezer whenever it is on sale; then prepare them as special menu item during festive occasions such as Christmas, New Year or Lunar New Year.
Not only they are better quality than those Cantonese-style roast found in most of the Chinese deli here, these ready-cooked vacuum-packed roast duck also makes meal prep a breeze when it comes to preparing duck dishes such as this Lunar New Year special menu item Roast Duck with Kumquat, Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower.
Kumquat 金吉 literally meaning "golden luck" symbolizes prosperity and good fortune, aligning with auspiciousness for Lunar New Year.
Cold-weather season means soups, braise, stews and roasts.
Roast such as this lamb roast paired with healthy steamed vegetables.
Winter Weather recipes:
Braised Quail, Fennel and Tomatoes
Homestyle Korean Spicy Stew
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.
The plan was to put together something quick, by simmering store-bought meatballs and store-bought pasta sauce in a pot, then make a one-dish meal of pasta with meatballs.
Everything was as planned, just a slight twist of adding (leftover) frozen cubed mangoes to the pot of simmer. That would only make it better, with reminiscent moments of sweet and tangy meatballs.
Make this Mango Tomato Sauce Meatballs and serve with Lettuce Fried Rice.
If you enjoy one-pot dishes, you may also like Braised Quail, Fennel and Tomatoes or Easy and Simple One-Pot Pasta.
Pen Cai (literally translates to “basin dish”) is a popular festive dish customarily enjoyed during Lunar New Year. A "basin dish" is a way to describe a brimming pot layered with premium seafood e.g. abalone, scallop, fish maw and meat e.g. roast pork. In short, a dish loaded with luxurious ingredients and delicacies to symbolize abundance and prosperity.
A menu mainstay in many Cantonese/Chinese restaurants during Lunar New Year, many home cooks now also make their own version at home.
Inspired by this concept, we made our own budget home version of "Pen Cai" with Chinese deli take-out leftovers (e.g. braised pork ribs, deep-fried-then-braised yuba/tofu sheets, fried prawns/shrimps).
Though not truly premium and luxurious, our home edition does not pale in flavors (and deliciousness). More importantly, it is very easy to prepare (compared to restaurant-style Pen Cai which might take an hour , minimum) and enjoyed by everyone at home.
Alternatively, this Abalone Scallops Veggie Hotpot Soup also makes the cut for Chinese New Year celebration.
Dry? Lack of flavor? That's often associated with ground turkey of lower fat content; but these turkey burgers made from lean ground turkey are not. Instead, they are moist, juicy and so delicious because they are made to be - using onions, zucchini and roasted mushrooms, and a secret ingredient (not-so-secret following this post) - Feta Cheese!
Swap out regular chicken for these healthy and delicious Homemade Zucchini, Feta Cheese Turkey Burgers/ Patties in protein bowls.
They make great burgers and sandwiches as well.
With inflation, the price of Maple Leaf Farm Roast Half Duck has also gone up at our local Costco. Last checked - two individual 14-oz packages (total 28oz, approx. 4 servings) is now $19.99. We will not be buying it anytime soon; perhaps until the next special occasion when there is a reason to splurge.
But honestly speaking, even at $20 ($5 each serving), it is still cheaper than any duck entree in restaurants.
Meantime, depending on my freezer stash of remaining ready-cooked vacuum-packed roast half duck to make delicious protein bowl - roasted duck with freshly steamed vegetables, and sweet potatoes; or go lighter without potatoes and opt for roasted tomatoes.
A turkey lunch or dinner plate with all things "Thanksgiving" - turkey, green beans, Brussel sprouts, pomegranate, persimmon, sweet potato. These ingredients are all in-season during the month of November.
Honestly not much effort (oh, isn't that all we want ? ) putting together this meal plate, so that we can all enjoy delicious food without breaking any sweat. Besides ready-cooked turkey breast that was store-bought, the vegetables and sweet potatoes were prepared and cooked at home - veggies steamed, and sweet potatoes roasted.
Usually, when you see duck-based dishes here, the duck is either (most of the times) Cantonese-style roast duck store-bought from Chinese restaurants/eateries or (only tried once) duck breast from the grocery store and cooked from scratch at home.
Visualize my delight when I found ready-cooked vacuum-packed roast half duck in the store recently, so be sure you will be seeing more duck-based veggie/ grain bowls soon.
Not that I have tried many ready-cooked/store-bought duck products but this one does meet my expectations. Not only it is effortless to prepare, ready in minutes, it also taste like a lean mean piece of gourmet bone-in roast duck - very delicious, gamier flavor compared to chicken, yet still lean and very tender. The size of this half-duck is also perfect, about 12oz (not as huge as the typical Chinese-style roast duck). It can be easily split into two servings, shared by two; or jolly well be enjoyed by one, when in indulgent mood.
Now, pick it up by the bone, gnaw on the duck drumstick and thigh!
If I can continue getting this from the store, NO WAY I am getting greasy roast duck from the Chinese restaurants anymore!
Just a teaser post today. Check back later for more.
Duck does not usually go into my dishes, as it is not easily available in our supermarkets. Even when it's available, it's sold whole; which is too much to handle especially when feeding a small family. If only duck can be sold like how chicken is sold in different cuts e.g. drumsticks, wings, thigh meat, breast meat, so that smaller portions can be used for cooking.
With leftover duck from Mango Duck Salad, this Duck Breast with Steamed Veggies is quick and easy to prepare.
Meatballs are worth making a batch because they are so versatile. Use them in soups e.g. Chives and Meatballs Soup, stews e.g. Lion's Head Meatballs Braise with Napa Cabbage, and of course, perfect add-ons to grain bowls and veggie bowls!
Steamed assortment of vegetables, roasted sweet potatoes, with quinoa and homemade meatballs
Remember these homemade meatballs? It is going to be an easier recipe today, keeping it homemade and simplified from the last time.
The fuss-free preparation tips and tricks from the previous recipe, such as oven-roasting the (batch of) meatballs and making uniform bite-size meatballs to manage cooking time, carry over to this recipe.
Atop the bed of gently steamed bean sprouts, broccoli and cabbage sits this healthily prepared steamed duck breast, topped with sweet mango, crisp cucumber and colorful bell peppers.
This warm Sliced Duck Breast Salad can be enjoyed as a side-dish; yet also satisfying as a one-dish salad entree.
It is personal preference to either cook the bean sprouts and Napa cabbage or keep them raw. Even when the bean sprouts and Napa cabbage are cooked, they are only gently steamed, so their inherent crisp and moist textures are not compromised. At the same time, the steamed vegetables bring a little warmth into the salad (that is how I prefer) when tossed with the sliced duck breast.
Grain bowls and salad bowls - coupled with plant-based proteins such as beans/legumes, tofu, tempeh, or meat options like chicken, or even seafood - are still part of the family meal plan. However, soups and stews, porridge and congee start to have a presence at the dinner table more often during the winter season as these hot and warm dishes says nothing but comfort, just like this Mushroom Turkey Pasta with Marinara Sauce.
Store-bought jarred pasta sauce is convenient and saves a lot of cooking time in the kitchen. However, I hardly use jarred pasta sauce because it is usually too high in sodium and lacks fresh tomato flavor; until I came across several good reviews on Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce.
Isn't that just meatballs? Why is it called Lion's Head Meatballs 红烧狮子头? This Shanghai casserole dish has such a name because the typically over-sized meatballs is like the "head of the lion" braised with surrounding Napa cabbage that resembles "the lion's mane".
For the recipe today, I have tried to simplify the preparation and cooking, hoping to achieve a healthier yet delicious dish.
First, for those who avoids deep-frying at home, this lion head meatball recipe shares a over-roasted meatball version that eases up stove-top deep-frying. Second, the meatballs are of standard meatball size (not over-sized) so that cooking or baking time can be easily managed. For example, if you deep-fry a gigantic meatball, it takes a much longer time to cook through the meat compared to smaller meatballs.
I am still into salad and grain bowls; but there is always more reasons to make soup, braise or stew (braise or stew - what's the difference?) in this cold weather. Nothing beats a warm and hearty pot of vegetables and beans, worth the effort just so for the extra comfort and satisfaction in the chilly nights.
Today, the extra effort goes to this pot of Braised Quail, Beans and Tomatoes. Frankly I was intimidated when I set my eyes on the pack of frozen quail in the store. Would it be too gamey? I have never handled quail in the kitchen. Not that I have not tried game meats such as quail, squab or bison, but I will order them in eateries/restaurants where they have been prepped by professional chefs.
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.
Tis' the season for warmth and comfort. Think stews, braises and soups; and Chicken Adobo fits the bill.
I must be missing out much on Filipino cuisine. This is the first time I tasted Chicken Adobo and I tasted it from my first Chicken Adobo cooking attempt. Two firsts! Well, nothing to fuss about or make a big announcement of. But when it is a classic dish from a specific cuisine, I better make sure the reference is from a reliable source.
