Triple Green Curry

This southeast Asian curry has got a triple dose of green. First, you start with a blended green curry paste made with shallots, spices, and chilies. Second, you cook some nutritious green veggies (broccoli and bok choy) in a delicious coconut broth spiked with the curry paste. Third, you sprinkle fresh green herbs (basil and mint) over the whole thing at the end.

Triple Green Curry
From Cooking Light

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1-3 small serrano chiles, seeded (depending on how heat-tolerant you are)
• 2 large shallots, coarsely chopped
• 4 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets (about 1 head)
• 2 cups sliced baby bok choy
• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 14-oz can light coconut milk
• 14-oz package water-packed organic firm tofu, drained and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Combine first 7 ingredients (through shallots) in a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.

Cook broccoli florets in boiling water in a large Dutch oven 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove broccoli from water with a slotted spoon; drain and rinse with cold water. Drain and set aside. Return water to a boil. Add baby bok choy to pan; cook 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain and set aside.

Heat Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add cilantro mixture to pan; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add sugar and next 4 ingredients (through coconut milk) to pan. Bring to a boil. Add tofu; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes or until slightly thick. Add broccoli, bok choy, and juice. Cook 1 minute or until heated, tossing to combine.

Place 1/2 cup rice in each of 4 bowls. Spoon 1 1/2 cups tofu mixture over each serving. Sprinkle basil and herbs over each serving.

Asian Slaw with Warm Ginger-Lime Dressing

I love it when I make something new and immediately know that it's so good it's getting added to the regular rotation. That's what happened with this totally amazing warm Asian slaw. After reading the recipe, even before I actually made it, I could just imagine how the ginger, lime, and soy would combine into total deliciousness. Served over brown rice with some sauteed tofu cubes, this is a great weeknight meal -- quick, easy, and satisfying. It's especially speedy if you use bagged slaw mix from the supermarket.

Asian Slaw with Warm Ginger-Lime Dressing
From Vegetarian Times

• 4 cups thinly sliced savoy cabbage
• 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, unpeeled, cored, and cut into matchsticks
• Kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

Combine cabbages, carrots, and apple in a large heat-proof bowl. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Whisk together soy sauce, lime juice, 2 tablespoons water, and brown sugar in a small bowl.

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt, and cook 7 to 8 minutes, or until onions are browned and bottom of pan has brown bits. Add ginger, and cook 30 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture to deglaze, and cook 15 to 25 seconds, using spatula or spoon to scrape up brown bits. Remove from heat, and spread onion mixture over cabbage mixture. Toss with tongs until slaw is well combined and cabbages begin to wilt.

Add cilantro leaves, and toss to combine. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve garnished with peanuts, if using.

Thai Curried Noodles with Broccoli and Tofu

This dish is just easy comfort food in a bowl. Noodles, tofu, and broccoli swimming in a curried coconut broth with a squeeze of lime. What's not to like about that? Did I mention you can make it in about 20 minutes? Yeah. That's right. My work is done here.

Thai Curried Noodles with Broccoli and Tofu

From Vegetarian Times

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 2 tablespoons red or yellow Thai curry paste
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 15-oz can light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 1 package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 5-6 oz dry fettuccine
• 5 cups broccoli florets
• Lime wedges

Heat oil in medium pot over medium-high heat. Saute shallots in oil 2 minutes. Add curry paste, curry powder, and turmeric; cook 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk, broth, and brown sugar, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in tofu and simmer for 10 minutes.

Cook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions. Add broccoli to pot for last 2 minutes of cooking time. Drain, and add to tofu-curry mixture. Mix well and serve with lime wedges.

Veggie Pad Thai

Happy Cinco de Mayo everybody! There's nothing like celebrating a Mexican holiday with some Thai food, am I right? (Okay, that makes no sense, but it's not like Cinco de Mayo is a real Mexican holiday anyway, so whatever.)

This is a really easy recipe for pad thai you can make at home. It's not exactly an authentic pad thai recipe, as it skips all of those hard-to-find ingredients (tamarind paste, anyone?). But it tastes pretty similar and is delicious in its own right.

Veggie Pad Thai
Adapted from Everyday Food

• 8 ounces dried rice noodles
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
• 3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Vegetables (optional), such as zucchini, broccoli, bell peppers, etc., chopped
• Fresh cilantro
• Chopped roasted, salted peanuts

Cook or soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, and soy sauce.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with a rubber spatula, until eggs are almost set, about 30 seconds. Transfer egg mixture to a plate.

If adding vegetables, add them to the skillet along with 2 additional teaspoons oil. Cook until tender. Add noodles and soy sauce mixture to skillet; cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft and coated with sauce, about 1 minute. Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently. Serve noodles topped with scallion greens, cilantro, and peanuts.

Variations: Vegans can omit the eggs. Just cook the vegetables with the scallion whites and garlic.

Fried Udon Noodles

Sometimes I make a dish fairly frequently (in other words, more than twice -- I don't usually repeat things) but forget to blog about it the first few go-rounds. Then I'm making it for, like, the third or fourth time, and I'm shocked that I haven't put it up on the blog yet. This is one of those. There's not a lot of description needed. It's just a really easy and yummy noodle dish from my homegirl Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Life. Perfect for a weeknight, especially when you're craving something comfort food-y. Great with baked tofu, whether you make it yourself while you cook the noodles or happen to have some pre-made on hand.

Fried Udon Noodles
Paraphrased from The Kind Life

• 8 oz package dry udon noodles
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 head of green cabbage, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• Baked tofu, for serving (optional) (if making yourself, see instructions in this recipe)

Cook the udon noodles in boiling water according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the sliced cabbage and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Add a little water if the cabbage starts to stick or burn. Remove to a plate. Heat the other tablespoon of oil and add the sliced onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add a little water and scrape up the paprika to make a thick creamy sauce coating the onions. Add the cabbage back to the pan, along with the noodles. Toss to combine, adjust salt and pepper if needed, and serve (with baked tofu if desired).

Asian Vegetable-Rice Bowl with Fried Eggs

There's a definite division of cooking labor in our apartment. While I handle most food preparation tasks, Joe is the go-to guy for anything involving eggs: scrambling, frying, hard-boiling, even pickling. That's not to say that I can't cook an egg, or that Joe isn't great at cooking all sorts of other things (he is); it's just that he has a comparative advantage in the egg preparation category.

So last night I did most of the legwork for this very yummy meal: manning the rice cooker, prepping veggies, mixing up a sweet-spicy Thai chili sauce. But I saved the very last task for when Joe got home from work -- frying four eggs, which he did to the perfect degree of doneness. And then our meal felt like a collaborative joint effort, which added to the deliciousness in an intangible, but definitely real, way.

Asian Vegetable-Rice Bowl with Fried Eggs and Chili Sauce
From Real Simple

• 1 cup short-grain brown rice
• 1/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
• 3-4 teaspoons Sriracha or Asian chili-garlic sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 bunch broccoli, florets broken apart and stalks sliced thinly
• 2 red or yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin sticks
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable/canola oil
• 4 eggs

Cook the rice according to package instructions. In a small bowl, combine the sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, sesame oil, and vinegar; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 450 F. After the rice has been cooking for about 20 minutes, place the broccoli, bell peppers, and carrots on a large rimmed baking sheet; toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Roast, tossing once, until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Heat the remaining teaspoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet and cook, covered, 2 to 3 minutes for slightly runny yolks. Serve the vegetables and eggs over the rice and drizzle with the sauce.

Confetti Fried Rice with Baked Tofu

There's a Chinese restaurant across the street from our apartment called Tasteful Delight (does that sound dirty to you, or is it just me?). Their food is nothing spectacular, but for some reason on especially cold nights the whole street just smells so intensely of whatever it is they're cooking in there. Like, fried goodness and hoisin sauce and brothy noodles and pork.

Needless to say, the temptation to stop in on my way home is often great. But, unsurprisingly, their food is really unhealthy. So when the craving for a little Tasteful Delight strikes, I try to make some healthy Chinese food at home. This dish, adapted from (you guessed it) Appetite for Reduction, is so quick and easy, especially if you use leftover rice. (I made something with rice last night, so I just made a few extra cups and stuck them in the fridge for this very purpose.) And it's so pretty with the shredded veggies -- that's why I called it confetti rice. You might even say that this dish is a tasteful delight.

Confetti Fried Rice with Baked Tofu

• One block of firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes to an hour
• Soy sauce
• 1 cup dry rice or about 3 cups leftover cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/3 cup minced shallot
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• Zucchini, grated on the large holes of a box grater
• Carrot (or 2 smallish carrots), grated on the large holes of a box grater
• Scallions, chopped, for garnish

Preheat your oven to 375 F. If your rice isn't cooked yet, cook it according to package instructions and let cool spread out on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes. Slice the pressed block of tofu into 8 equal rectangles. Spray a baking sheet with some cooking spray and lay the tofu rectangles on it. Brush soy sauce onto both sides of the tofu. Bake for 20 minutes; spray the tofu with a little more cooking spray, flip, and bake 10 more minutes. For extra chewiness, put the tofu under the broiler for 3 minutes at the end.

Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil in a large saucepan or wok over medium heat. Cook the shallot, garlic, and ginger about 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and carrot and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and drizzle with about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix thoroughly and cook until heated through, about 2 more minutes. Serve with the baked tofu and garnished with the scallions.

Japanese Grilled Eggplant

So for the blog I usually tend to stick with recipes for complete meals, whether it's an entree, a soup/stew or salad. But I made a great side dish tonight that I had to share.

It's a Japanese-style grilled eggplant that Joe and I both loved. I served it along with the soba noodles with spinach I blogged about a couple weeks ago. They complemented each other perfectly and made a tasty, healthy Asian-inspired vegetarian meal.

Japanese Grilled Eggplant

• 2 large or 4 small eggplants
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ginger root, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup scallions, sliced

Preheat an outdoor grill or stove-top grill pan and spray lightly with some cooking spray. Slice the eggplants on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Grill, turning as needed, until lightly charred and tender, about 7 to 9 minutes. Remove to a serving plate.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, ginger, and garlic until blended. Drizzle over eggplant and then sprinkle the eggplant with scallions.

Soba Noodles with Spinach

I know I've done a good job with dinner when we've finished eating and Joe looks down at his plate sadly and says, "I'm sad that this is gone." This Japanese-inspired soba noodle dish was one of those dinners.

I've actually never made soba noodles at home before, but it was easy and yummy as can be. Soba noodles, like quinoa, are great for vegetarians because buckwheat (the main ingredient) contains all eight essential amino acids. Yay complete proteins! The recipe does include a bunch of Asian ingredients that you might not have in your pantry, but I definitely recommend stocking up on them anyway -- then you'll have them on hand to whip up delicious boyfriend-approved meals at the drop of a hat.

 Soba Noodles with Spinach

• 8 ounces uncooked soba noodles
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 cup scallions, sliced
• 8 cups leaf spinach (one big bag)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced

 Cook noodles according to package directions (do not overcook, or noodles will be gummy). Drain and place in a large bowl. While noodles are still warm, add vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and scallions; toss well to coat. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the sesame oil. When oil is hot, add garlic; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spinach to pan; cover and cook until spinach wilts, about 3 to 5 minutes. Toss spinach with noodle mixture and serve.

Variations: Vegans could substitute brown rice syrup for the honey. This noodle dish would be great with a side of Asian-marinated grilled tofu (here's a sample marinade recipe from Epicurious).