Thin Recipes

Thin Recipes -- where losing is winning!

You are here: Home / Archives for All Posts / From Asia

Try this Tofu Recipe; You Won’t be Disappointed

October 13, 2011 By Fran 2 Comments
No Gravatar

Eating-TofuTofu.  What is it?  Why is it?  So many people exclaim — AH! It has no taste!  when they hear the word tofu, but I return the resistance with information that tofu is great because it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with and if you are in the mood for something uncomplicated by complex flavors, tofu can do that for you as well.

Oh, and by the way, tofu is made from coagulated soy milk that’s pressed into a block.  It’s smooth and slick and kind of fun to play with.  You have to be a little gentle when cutting it so that it doesn’t break apart, but there’s no real talent needed, just som patience.

I was leafing through the book Plenty, looking for the recipe for an eggplant recipe I’d had my eye on and came across a recipe for Black Pepper Tofu.  I’ve eaten tofu before, but my experience cooking with tofu has been limited to making miso soup or to adding tofu into fried wontons like this batch of wontons I made for a CNN iReporter fpiece.  The one thing I haven’t done, however, is make tofu as the prominent ingredient, the one that everything else revolves around.

Asian-Stile-Fried-Tofu

Plenty, the plush covered book filled with — well, Plenty of vegetarian recipes has opened my eyes to meatless recipes that are not only delicious, but are beautiful to look at as well.

As a side dish, this tofu will serve 8 and cost you 6 Weight Watchers Plus Points or 201 calories.  I made several changes, as follows:  I used 1/2 the amount of vegetable oil, I added a teaspoon of fresh Sichwan peppercorns and the only soy sauce I had in the house was regular soy, not sweet or light.  As a result, you’ll note that my tofu is not as dark as the dish in the book, but the taste is something I’ve been craving ever since.  It’s not a light in points or calorie dish, so I haven’t made it again, but it is in the plan — soon and I hope you try it soon too.

Eating-Black-Pepper-Tofu

I think it would make a great small plate in an around the world “tapas” type event.

Filed Under: All, All Posts, From Asia Tagged With: Asian, Cook, Food, Fried, Fry, Tofu, Weight Watchers

Weekend at the Outer Banks

September 17, 2011 By Fran Leave a Comment
No Gravatar

What could be better than a house on the beach, a large kitchen with unlimited appliances, multiple dishwashers, grills and refrigerators full of fresh food?  Stormy skies and eleven women — seven who have worked together at Williams Sonoma  at one time and appreciate good, wholesome food — and drink, together for the weekend to celebrate an upcoming wedding, that’s what!

We came into the secluded, northern-most point of North Carolina’s Outer Banks in three vehicles, each packed to the gills with bags — most of them filled with food.  And that didn’t stop us from getting more.

Angry-Seas

We stopped at the local Harris Teeter for more supplies and headed in shifts out to the 4×4 area where our rental house is located.

You can’t get here in anything other than a 4×4 or on a boat and trust me, you wouldn’t want to be on a boat this weekend.  As you can see above, the sea is angry.

Guijillo-Chiles

And just what does this combination do for me?  It gives me a wonderful excuse to head into the kitchen, and even better, it’s a very open floor plan up here so I don’t have to be in the kitchen alone.

We had barbecued chicken and caprese salad for dinner along with various and sundry desserts, snacks and adult beverages, but I was focused on the 6 lb. pork butt that was in the fridge, waiting for me to marinate in the braising sauce for the Tacos al Pastor.

Heirloom-Tomatoes

Pepper-Tops

I’ll post recipes when I get back, but for now, feast your eyes the food!

Tacos-al-Pastor-Prep

Recipe will follow when I’m back in “civilization.”

A-Bridal-Cozie-in-the-Trash

Night one, down!

Filed Under: All Posts, From Asia Tagged With: Alcohol, Almonds, Bachelorette Party, Celebrate, Cook, Diet, Drink, Food, Nuts, Outer Banks, Weight Watchers

No Calorie NO oodles and Peanut Sauce

July 23, 2011 By Fran 27 Comments
No Gravatar

No-Noodle-DishHave you ever heard such a thing?  Noodles with no calories.  Yes, I said ZERO calories — No Fat.  No Net Carbs.  No Soy.  No Gluten!!  How can this be?  Have I lost my mind?  Is there such a thing as a food with NO Calories?

Well, I’m putting my faith in the packaging and it says ZERO.  From what I’ve read, it is fact.   These calorie free noodles from the No Oodles company are made from yam fiber have no nutritional value other than a negligible 1g of carbohydrates.

I spotted these noodles on a trip to Whole Foods and as soon as the NO calorie label caught my eye, I knew a package was coming home with me.  When I opened the package and took a look, my initial reaction was that they looked just like rice noodles or as they’re also called, Glass or Cellophane Noodles.

No oodle-Packaging

Actually, my first impression was that they were a little yammy Asian unfamiliar smelling, but I read the package and followed the directions which said to rinse them in cold water for a minute and it quickly dissipated and smelled like … well … absolutely nothing and frankly, tasted like nothing.  But that’s not a bad thing when the sauce takes center stage.

Calorie-Free-Noodle-Recipe

I didn’t know what to do with them.  The noodles are bright white and rather flimsy and in an already cooked state, but hold up to handling.  It left me a little at a loss for what kind of preparation to use.  I couldn’t imagine them in a Western style dish so I did what came to mind … Noodles in Peanut Sauce.  Yes, these no calorie noodles suddenly ended up costing me some Weight Watchers Points, but it was well worth it.  Here’s how it stacks up:

  • 1 Package of NO 0odles = 0 Points Plus
  • Sauce = 4 Points Plus

A couple of ounces of Udon noodles in place of the NO oodles would have cost an additional 5 Points Plus making the dish 9 Points+.  That said, this dish has won me over and I’ll be heading to the market to pick up another package of No Calorie NO 0odles on Saturday.  During my search for information on No Oodles, I found a site that offers No Calorie Rice as well!  I can’t wait to try it, although I don’t know what to think about the texture.  I’ll keep an open mind.

Peanut-Sauce-on-Noodles

If you were to try No Calorie Noodles, what would you do with them?

 

 

 

No Calorie NO oodle Recipe
#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews
Print
Recipe Type: Side Dish
Serves: 1
These noodles have ZERO calories! The ingredients add just 4 Weight Watchers points or just 133.9 calories!
Ingredients
  • 1 Package NO oodles, rinsed according to package directions
  • 1 tablespoon Peanut Butter — creamy or chunky
  • 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar — if you don’t have Rice Vinegar, any White Vinegar will work
  • 1 teaspoon fresh, minced Ginger
  • 1 teaspoon fresh, minced Garlic
  • 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce — or according to heat preference
  • 1 Green Onion, sliced
Instructions
  1. While the noodles are draining, heat a small saucepan on the stove.
  2. Add all other ingredients and stir to combine
  3. When the peanut butter is “melted” remove from the heat
  4. Let sit for 2 minutes
  5. Pour over noodles and combine
  6. Serve
Serving size: 1 package Calories: 133.9 Fat: 8.2g Carbohydrates: 10.4g Fiber: 1.2g Protein: 6.0g
Notes

These delicious noodles will cost you 4 Weight Watchers Points +

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe
1.2.4
Filed Under: All Posts, From Asia Tagged With: No Calorie NOodles, Peanut Sauce, Weight Watchers Points Plus, Yams

Have You Ever Had a Steamed Egg?

June 30, 2011 By Fran 4 Comments
No Gravatar

Somehow, I developed a craving for steamed eggs a few days ago.  I don’t know where the sudden desire to have this custard-like dish came from, but as you’ve seen happen around here and on Frantasticfood, when a dish or a type of food gets under my skin, it takes a whole lot of scratching before I get rid of the itch.  And that’s what happened with Steamed Eggs last week.

I have only had these smooth, creamy eggs in Japanese restaurants and frankly, I don’t remember when I last had the dish, so craving it is a conundrum.

But that didn’t stop me.  I was bound and determined to make this dish properly so I set about looking up recipes, pulling my Asian cookbooks off the shelf and surfing FoodGawker and Tastespotting for the perfect recipe and set about making it happen.

Right, easier said than done.  It’s a basic recipe.  Nothing more than whisking eggs with water (or stock in my case), a bit of Mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine) and Soy Sauce and pouring into a ramekin.  The ramekins go into a steamer for a while and voila!  Steamed Eggs.

Not so fast!

Yes, it’s steamed, has green onions, and tastes like Asia — whatever Asia tastes like, but the texture was wrong.  It was too fluffy — bubbly.  I was after that silky smooth consistency and this wasn’t it.

Nor was this.  I would not be defeated.  Although I had a steamed egg for dinner the night before, I HAD to get it right and tried again for breakfast the next morning.

Darn!  Still bubbly.  So I did more research and learned that when they’re talking about steaming the eggs, they mean at the lowest heat possible and not anywhere near water.

I tried it in a steamer, a few inches above the boiling water.  That didn’t work.

Then I tried it in the water, like a bain marie, (water bath) with simmering water, taking care to ensure that the water would not sputter and find its way into the ramekins.

So clearly, it wasn’t where I was steaming the eggs.  It didn’t work above water or in water.  I was getting to desperation time — I was about to pick up the phone to call Jeff Potter — the Cooking for Geeks guy!  Yeah, I wouldn’t know where to get his number, but I did give it considerable thought.  Even if I sent mail to his publisher and they were kind enough to give me his number, I wanted smooth, silky steamed eggs — NOW!   And frankly, while I love the book, I didn’t want to have to run my eggs through the scientific testing process.  It takes too long.  Requires too much documentation.  And this, my friends, is why I am not a scientist.  How I birthed a scientist is beyond me and although I am pretty sure Josh would have a blast putting these eggs through their paces, there was no way I could get my son here in time for dinner and this egg craving wouldn’t wait.

Eating-Steamed-Egg

Now, before you get all wrapped up in the — OMG!  She’s fallen off the weight loss wagon eating all those eggs, and getting all kinds of worried about me, and I do appreciate the concern, let me just tell you that an egg only costs 2 points and it’s filling and packed with protein and the only other caloric ingredient to this dish is 1/2 a teaspoon of sesame oil, so no need to worry about me.   Oh, and … I weighed in with another 1.2 lb. weight loss this weekend!  YES!  See, I did this on purpose.  The dish is so rich it required nothing more than pickled cucumbers and half a cup of steamed rice.  I don’t think I could have gone much lighter before a weigh-in.

Eggs-Mushroom-Green-Onion

Now that we’ve got that off our chests, let me tell you how I made the creamiest, smoothest, silkiest, richest steamed eggs I’ve ever had.

It was about steaming them above the water on a flame that was barely, and I mean barely lit.  Had I turned it down any more, the flame would have gone out.

I took the cover off a couple of times to check and was happy with what I was seeing and after about 25 minutes I placed a thin mushroom slice and a couple of edamame beans on top and continued steaming for about 5 more minutes, just to heat the mushrooms and beans.

And in case you’re wondering, I’m over my steamed egg craving.  I couldn’t even finish the final product.  It was that rich.  Think custard.  Custard with only the faintest hint of sweet and the right balance of salty, without a crust to nestle it into.  Just one egg, chicken stock, soy sauce and mirin with a few slices of green onion, mushroom and edamame.  The next time I venture into steamed egg world I am going to add a couple of shrimp to the bowl and maybe a little bok choy.

Oh no!  I need to stop this steamed egg talk — I’m starting to edit my steamed egg perfection and have a feeling I know what I’ll be having for dinner tonight.

Steamed Eggs
#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews
Print
Recipe Type: Main
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 1
Steamed Eggs are a filling and tasty dish for any time of day
Ingredients
  • 1 Egg
  • 4 tablespoons Chicken Stock or Water
  • 1/2 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Seed Oil
  • 2 teaspoons Mirin (Sweet Japanese Cooking Wine)
  • 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sliced Green Onion
  • 1 thin slice Mushroom (Button, Shitake, Cremini — any will work)
  • Small Pinch of Sesame Seeds
Instructions
  1. In a steamer, or a saucepan in which a smaller bowl will fit securely on top, fill with water, leaving at least 2 inches between the water and the bottom of the steamer and bring to a boil.
  2. While the water is coming to a boil, in a small bowl, whisk all ingredients excluding the mushroom, taking care not to introduce too much air into the bowl by whisking too briskly.
  3. When the water reaches the boiling point, turn to the lowest flame or lowest temperature on an electric stove. You don’t want the water to bubble.
  4. Steam for 20 minutes, checking once or twice to ensure the egg sets.
  5. At 20 minutes, set the mushroom slice on top of the egg with a sprinkling of a few more slices of green onion, cover and cook.
  6. Carefully remove from the water, sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and serve.
Notes

If you’d prefer, you can chill the egg, although I prefer the comfort of a warm steamed egg.

This dish will cost you 2 Weight Watchers Points.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe
1.2.4

 

Filed Under: All Posts, From Asia, From the Coop Tagged With: Asia, Cook, Custard, Eggs, Food, Weight Watchers

A Thin Recipe Week in Review with a Video

June 20, 2011 By Fran 7 Comments
No Gravatar

Tortilla-BreakfastThis was a colorful week.  In many respects.  It started with a bit of an experiment.  An egg poached in a plastic bag dropped into a pot of water. Good idea.  Poor execution.  You’ll see in the video below that I had to do a bit of trim work to try to make the egg look like, well … an egg rather than a white tube with a yellow spot.  I prefer the texture of an egg poached the traditional way — in a pot of boiling water.

Mid week, a spectacular double rainbow accompanied me on the way to work and while friends tell me it marks an auspicious occasion, I’m still waiting for that propitious event.  I’ll let you know when it happens.  I hope you plan to follow me for a while — I have a feeling it might be a while.

In other news, I had a date with the scale this morning, as I do every Sunday morning and I decided I’d better go light for dinner the night before.

Another crack at a quinoa cake with a poached egg and my new favorite condiment — Peruvian Aji Verde  (recipe below) hit the spot, although I’m still not in love with the quinoa cake thing.  I think I’m hoping it will have the taste and texture of a potato pancake, but it’s missing a fairly important component… frying in oil!

Poached-Egg-on-Quinoa-Cake

After the weigh-in breakfast ensued.  It wasn’t a heavy Sunday brunch affair.  Those meals are a thing of the past, but somewhere in the week I apparently overdid it because I managed to put on 4/10ths of a pound.  ACK!  Stop that now!  It could be worse.  To date, I’ve lost an average of 1.1 lbs. a we ek! Sure, more would be great — better even, but I’m still smiling and feeling so much better.

 


I decided to continue on the lean eating after the weigh-in and during my usual trip to Trader Joe’s after the meeting I picked up an interesting Vegetable-Rice Bento Box from the frozen food department.  It wasn’t the best Japanese food I’d ever had … ok, maybe it was among the worst Japanese food I’d ever tested, but it satisfied my hunger.  I’d finally broken down and eaten at the Sushi carousel at the mall the day before and while it is a cool idea, it was obviously mall food and while not great, like the bento box, my 4 small plates satisfied me without an overabundance of food.  I’d forgotten to take a look at the rate sheet and had no idea how much I was paying for each plate.  The waitstaff tallies the number of plates in each color category to come up with your total and I didn’t want to spend a ton on lunch in either points or dollars since I was a big points-spender at breakfast before heading to the mall.

A home made waffle and a bit of maple syrup accompanied by a couple of rashers of turkey bacon added up to a whopping 11 point breakfast.  That left me with just 18 points for the rest of the day.  Not a killer.  Just something to keep in mind and I guess it was just too much for the day before a weigh-in, although really … does a gain happen in real time?  Right, I don’t think so either.  That waffle and syrup may yet find their way to the scale.

I’d say it was a deliciously colorful week and I’m looking forward to what next week will bring.

Peruvian-Aji-Verde-Sauce

Have you had Aji Verde?  How about Peruvian food?  It’s my current favorite cuisine!

Peruvian Aji Verde
#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews
Print
Recipe Type: Condiment
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 2 mins
Total time: 12 mins
This tangy, slightly spicy sauce is great with just about anything.
Ingredients
  • 1 large bunch fresh Cilantro
  • 1/4 cup Flat Leaf Parsley
  • 1/2 small Onion
  • 3 fresh Jalapeño Peppers, ribs and seeds removed
  • 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 teaspoons Cider Vinegar
  • Zest of 1 Lime
  • Juice of 1 Lime
  • 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1 clove Garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Water
Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a blender, food processor or mortar and pestle until smooth. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time if necessary.
  2. Refrigerate unused sauce.
Serving size: 2 tablespoons Calories: 14.2 Fat: 1.4g Carbohydrates: 0.8g Fiber: 0.1g Protein: 0.2g
Notes

This sauce is so versatile, you’ll find yourself using it on almost everything once you’ve gotten a taste of it.

This condiment has a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 1. Be careful, you’ll find yourself wanting to drink it!

For added body, add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise. Surprisingly, the addition of mayo will not increase the points value. The calories will just about double, however to 32.2.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe
1.2.4

 

Filed Under: All Posts, Breakfast, From Asia, From the Sea, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes, Totally American Tagged With: Aji Verde, Breakfast, Cook, Dinner, Food, Lunch, Peru, Recipe, Video, Weight Watchers
RSSTwitterFacebookYoutubeFlickrStumbleUpon
my foodgawker gallery
Follow Me on Pinterest
February 2019
M T W T F S S
« Jul    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728  

Return to top of page

Copyright © 2019 ·Delicious Theme · by StudioPress · Logo + Custom Edits by Lakia Ross Creative · Log in