Crock Pot Asian Beef Stew

Crock Pot Asian Beef Stew

I had every intention of adding some mint and Thai basil to this close to the end, but got busy with work, and next thing you know I’m taking photos with a hungry family in waiting and even forgot to use it as garnish. But nonetheless, it was very tasty and just enough spice and seasonings to make this a great twist on your average slow cooker beef stew. Oh, and I also forgot the minced ginger in the sauce, dang it! I’m sure it would have been a nice addition.

You can throw this together in no time, and have it in the slow cooker in less than 1o minutes, then forget about it the rest of the day! (OK maybe you’ll have to think about it if you want to add some fresh herbs at the end, oh, and cook the rice…)

Asian Beef Stew Ingredients Ready to Cook

Crock Pot Asian Beef Stew

1 pound chuck roast (or other beef cut)
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup homemade or low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sambal Oelek (Thai chili paste)
1 teaspoon minced ginger (FORGOT!)
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 to 1 red bell pepper, chopped
Baby carrots (enough for each serving)
Cooked rice, for serving
Fresh mint, Thai basil, or cilantro, for garnish (FORGOT!)

Crock Pot Asian Beef Stew with Side of Edamame

Season the beef with ground black pepper and place in bottom of a 3-quart crock pot. In a 2-cup measuring cup (or bowl), mix the beef broth, Hoisin suace, soy sauce, Thai chili paste, ginger (if you remember) and set aside. Chop up the onions and peppers and add them to the slow cooker along with the baby carrots. Pour the sauce over everything and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 6 hours. Serve with cooked rice (we cooked ours in beef broth for more flavor), and a vegetable of choice. We served with steamed edamame pods.

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Spicy Korean Beef with Carrots and Rice

Spicy Korean Beef with Carrots and Rice

Can you say simple and quick? Like in under 30 minutes quick? And this packs a LOT of flavor with so few ingredients. I’ve been meaning to make this forever it seems, and tonight when I was seriously pressed for time in getting dinner on the table, I pulled up this recipe from the blog Lizzy Writes that I had pinned on Pinterest.

I scoured my freezer, pantry and fridge, and I could not believe it: I had every single ingredient necessary for this! No trip to the store necessary. Badda Boom Badda Bam! Dinner is served. I also added shredded carrots to the mix simply because I had some on hand, and also made steamed, shelled edamame as a side — a perfect accompaniment. Steamed broccoli would also go well with this. So what are you waiting for???

Spicy Korean Beef with Carrots and Rice
Adapted from Korean Beef by Lizzy Writes

3/4 cup dried white rice
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (or ground pork or turkey)
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper
4 or 5 green onions, diced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Start by cooking the rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, prep the veggies and heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the meat with the garlic, ginger, and carrots in the sesame oil. Drain the fat and add the brown sugar, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper flakes. Grind a bunch of black pepper over it all and mix it together.

Turn heat to low and simmer while you toast the sesame seeds in an oven or toaster oven for about 7 to 10 minutes, no need to preheat. (Keep an eye on them!) When rice is done, spoon a portion of rice in a bowl or on a plate, top with the beef mixture, then garnish with chopped green onion and toasted sesame seeds. Wow! So deeee-licous!

p.s. My daughter said she wasn’t that hungry and didn’t want anything spicy because she wasn’t feeling so good. Well. She ate her entire bowl. So there!

Spicy Korean Beef with Carrots and Rice

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Asian Chicken Noodle Soup with Edamame, Mushrooms, and Carrots

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup with Edamame, Mushrooms, and Carrots

I have made several variations of this soup over the past couple of years, and each time I make it I love it even more! I’ve been tweaking the flavorings with each round, and this particular recipe got thumbs up all the way around from my family. My husband was pleased I used spaghetti noodles in this instead of angel hair pasta, and I had every intention of using them but somehow I ended up grabbing the spaghetti, not even realizing my mistake until after they were cooked.  But I have an excuse! My daughter was getting ready to go on her first date to the Homecoming Dance. I was a bit distracted.  🙂

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup with Edamame Mushrooms and Carrots

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup with Edamame, Mushrooms, and Carrots

2 cups frozen edamame
4 ounces dried spaghetti or angel hair pasta, snapped in half
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 cup julienned carrots
3 large green onions, chopped, white and green parts divided
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 or 7 cups homemade or low sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons chile paste (I used Sambal Oelek)
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
Lime wedges
Fresh chopped cilantro
Dark green onion parts, sliced thin

Place the frozen edamame in a bowl to thaw out. Meanwhile put on a pot of water for the pasta and cook it according to package directions. When the pasta is done, remove and rinse, and return to the pot, spray with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking, and set aside. While all that is coming up to speed, prep the ginger and veggies, etc.

Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients

In a soup pot, add the two oils and cook the mushrooms, carrots, white and light green parts of the onion with the ginger and garlic over medium heat. Once the vegetables are soft, toss in the edamame and heat it all up for a few minutes more.

Now add the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and chile paste to the pot. Bring up to a low boil, add in the chicken, then turn down and simmer for about 15 minutes to let the flavors meld. When ready to eat, add a serving of noodles to each soup bowl, then ladle the chicken soup and veggies over all. Garnish with lime wedges to squeeze over, dark green onion parts, and cilantro. Add additional soy sauce according to taste. Winner!

Edamame and Veggies

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Asian Grilled-Meat and Veggie Stir Fry

Asian Grilled-Meat Stir Fry

After a false start to spring last month, we jumped back into “sprinter” and had a couple of weeks of below freezing temps at night, and then last week it jumped straight into summer! It’s been in the mid-80s for a week now, and will continue through the weekend. Next week will return to more seasonal temperatures for this part of the country.

So what’s that got to do with food? Well with such hot weather, we’ve been grilling a lot, and ended up with some leftover grilled meats in the fridge. So for a quick and easy meal, we thinly sliced the grilled meats, then chopped up some veggies, and for some color and texture added edamame. At the last minute I also threw in the last of some fresh spinach hanging around. Whip up a quick Asian sauce, cook some rice in a chicken or vegetable broth, and bingo! It’s dinner! What’s nice about this meal is you can use whatever cooked meats and vegetables you have around (fresh or frozen) and also clean out all those leftovers and bits of veggies in the veggie drawer.

Asian Grilled-Meat Stir Fry

Asian Grilled-Meat and Veggie Stir Fry

1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and diced small
1/2 to 1 pound grilled meat, sliced thin (we had pork and chicken)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 to 3 cups sliced and/or chopped vegetables (we used carrots, edamame, mushrooms, green onion, and spinach)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 cup low sodium homemade chicken or beef broth (we used chicken)
1/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce

Heat a wok or rounded skillet to high heat. Add the sesame oil and ginger and stir for a minute. Add the sliced grilled meats and toss to heat up for a couple of minutes. Remove and tent to keep warm. Add the vegetable oil, then add in the vegetables that take the longest to cook. In our case it was the carrots and edamame. Cook until just starting to soften, then add the garlic and the rest of the quick-cooking vegetables and stir. In a bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, soy sauce, vinegar, chicken broth, and Sriracha. Pour over the vegetables, then add the meats back in. Stir and cook until the broth sauce has thickened. If too thick, you can add more broth. Continue stirring until vegetables and sauce are to your liking. Serve with rice cooked in chicken or vegetable broth and additional soy sauce if needed.

Asian Grilled-Meat Stir Fry

Inside-Out Wonton Soup

Inside-Out Wonton Soup Ready to Eat

I’m on an Asian food kick now. I read on another blog it’s one of the “new and upcoming comfort foods of 2013.” HOWEVER, that is not why I’m suddenly making these dishes, it’s because I finally invested in some of the essential ingredients to make that kind of food I’ve always enjoyed at restaurants, and durn it, I am not going to let them waste away in the fridge, pantry, and freezer. If you have the ingredients on hand, then a whole new world of taste opens up. I am absolutely astounded how well this soup turned out. It was so steenkin’ delicious that I was doing that little happy dance in my head. And oh I guess I better share the family rating. Hubby went back for seconds (his portions were large ) and daughter went back for thirds!  That’s the second time that happened in one week! Woot!

I saw this recipe originally on a FaceBook page I belong to that came from The Cooking Channel website. It was entitled “Deconstructed Wonton Soup.” That piqued my interest, and after I read it I knew it was something I was definitely interested in making. I had made some wontons around Thanksgiving and talk about a pain in the butt to assemble. I was not so interested in assembling a ton of those again. So I googled those words and came across another blog that had a different recipe for it, made almost a year earlier. I liked parts of each recipe, so combined them into my own making. Well, that’s pretty much what I always do with new recipes, unless I am forced to bake something that needs exact measurements. Did I ever mention I don’t like to bake cakes and such? Oh, only about a hundred times? OK, I’ll shut up about that.

This recipe handily fed the three of us, with leftovers of about two servings even after we all pigged out. The soup the next day was good, but the flavors were not as intense, so it’s not something I would recommend doubling for the freezer. The broth was also cloudy the next day, and the wonton wrappers slightly mushy. This is a make it and eat it soup! Bright, fun, and packed full of flavor. I added a chopped serrano pepper, and I could not feel any heat from the soup, and next time I would add a jalapeño instead. But if your family can’t handle the heat factor, the serrano should be fine. The pepper cooks in to a mellow flavor. Oh, and the best part? It took about 45 minutes from start to finish. I’m thinking it will only be about a half hour next time since I won’t be trying to figure it all out. And I’m calling it Inside-Out Wonton Soup because the term “Deconstructed” sounds so… well.. technical and exact. I don’t do that. I wing it. OK I said I would shut about that.  😉

Inside-Out Wonton Soup
Adapted from The Cooking Channel and Farmer Jo

4 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger (peel first)
1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 to 4 green onions, chopped, white and green parts divided
1/2 pound salad shrimp (you know, those teeny things)
1 5-ounce can water chestnuts, finely chopped
3 cups pre-shredded bagged coleslaw mix (purple and green cabbage and carrots)
6 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken or turkey broth
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, plus more for serving
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
12 wonton wrappers, each cut into 4-inch strips (freeze the rest)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Inside-Out Wonton Soup Ready for Garnish

Chop and slice all the ingredients you need to first and set aside. Heat 2 teaspoons of sesame oil over medium heat in a soup pot or dutch oven, add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up and stirring around until no longer pink. Add the ginger, pepper, garlic, white and light green onion parts, shrimp, and water chestnuts. Cook until softened (the water chestnuts won’t soften), about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the other two teaspoons of sesame oil, then add the cole slaw mix and stir around until the cabbage starts to wilt, just a few minutes more.

Pour in the broth, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce. Bring up to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the edamame and wonton strips (add the wonton strips one or two at a time to avoid clumping), bring up to a simmer again, then cook for about another 10 minutes.  Serve in large bowls with the rest of the green onions, cilantro, and soy sauce on the side for people to add to their taste. Brilliant!