Posts Tagged ‘Ginger’

Asian Style Tofu Wrap-Around

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Tofu RrapOrganic/natural tastes best.

This recipe is Tofu at one of its best. An appetizer/wrap that can also be a main dish. I’ve had kids clean their plates and ask for more – even knowing that it’s tofu.

An all round taste pleaser – light, spicy, savory.

You’ll need:

2 Tablespoons Peanut Oil
2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil
2 Garlic Cloves or to taste, finely minced
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger, finely minced
1 Small Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 Can Water Chestnuts, water discarded, finely chopped
6 Whole fresh Scallions sliced crosswise into small rounds
1 Pound brick Tofu, soft or firm, crumbled by hand
2 Tablespoons or to taste Organic Soy Sauce or to taste
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce or to taste
2 Tablespoons Mirin Cooking Wine or to taste (found in Japanese/Oriental markets
or section of supermarkets and natural food stores)
2 Tablespoons Cilantro, finely chopped
1 Fresh & crisp Head Lettuce, leaves gently taken off
(Can also use Napa cabbage, leaves cut to scoop size or celery cut
Into 2” long pieces or your choice of veggie scoop)

Large heavy skillet (not nonstick)
Takes about 20 minutes to put together then refrigerate to cool
Ground meat or poultry can be substituted for Tofu. Adjust seasonings to taste.

To prepare:

Heat skillet over medium flame. Add oils, garlic, and ginger and sauté till fragrant about 2-3 minutes. Add red bell pepper and water chestnuts for another minute. Add crumbled tofu and continue breaking up with spatula mixing continuously until consistency resembles ground beef, about 5 minutes. The tofu/veggie beads will separate as the water evaporates. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Mirin and continue stirring till mixed through. It should be salty, spicy, slightly sweet. Adjust to your taste. Add scallions and cilantro and stir another minute to mix through. Place in a serving bowl and refrigerate till cool. You can serve by putting bowl of tofu mixture in the middle of a platter with lettuce leaves for people to wrap themselves and other raw veggies all around or fill the veggies yourself. Either way this is definitely a fun favorite finger food.

Wildly Broiled Salmon

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Organic/natural ingredients are best.

salmonMarinate and broil.

That’s all.

The sake and ginger are unbelievable together.

It’s wild!

You’ll need:

1 Pound Wild Salmon Fillet
1 Tablespoon minced Fresh ginger
1 Medium Clove Garlic finely minced
1 Tablespoon finely chopped Scallions
3 Tablespoons Organic Shoyu Soy Sauce or to your taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons Medium to dry Japanese Sake OR Mirin
(Japanese cooking Sake found in Oriental Section of markets)
Unflavored bread crumbs or panko with a little salt
Rinsed off Capers add a delightful dimension of taste sprinkled on top of finished fish.(optional)

Oven on broil with oven rack on 2nd level
Medium glass or ceramic baking dish oiled

To prepare:

To marinate the salmon, place ginger, garlic, scallions, shoyu, salt, pepper, and sake in baking dish, mixing all together. Add fish skin side down to coat. Puncture top of fish with fork prongs and turn over flesh side down. Fork holes allow marinade to become infused in the flesh. Let stand for about 15 minutes at room temperature. Can marinate longer if desired.

Turn on broiler and allow oven to heat. Turn over fish so flesh side is up. Lightly sprinkle bread crumbs or panko over fish and broil till just done, for about 5-6 minutes or until flesh is flaky and opaque. You can even take it out a minute before as it continues to cook from residual heat. You want the salmon to be succulent and moist.

Enjoy it with a bright green salad with fruity vinaigrette dressing and/or a light fresh tomato/garlic pasta dish or light grain. If sprinkling top of salmon with capers, sprinkle lightly just before serving. This preparation is so fast that if an unexpected guest arrives (and you have enuf salmon or even another meaty fish – I always buy a little more. You never know… and the leftover is terrific flaked into a lunch salad the next day) you’ll have it ready with maybe a shorter marinade time, just a few minutes later to even more accolades!

ABOUT: Wellness Chef Helen Sandler
Lecturer, personal chef, teacher, wellness coach, & speaker, Helen promotes a healthier lifestyle through common sense, organic / natural approach to a happier, positive life.

Helen Sandler is used to being an innovator and at the cutting edge of whole foods whole grains awareness. After graduating from SUNY, New York with a teaching degree, she began to follow her real passion for healthy cooking which took her from Los Angeles to Boston to attend the cooking school of the late and great master Japanese natural chef, Aveline Kushi. Later that passion took her to Kyoto, Japan to continue her studies, where she spent four more years learning the art of healthy Japanese cooking (Seishoku).

As Wellnes Chef Helen she is the featured authority at CTNgreen /wellness with articles in the library there and the virtual paperless magazine at CTNGreen Magazine



970-618-0731
helskitchen@gmail.com