An Asian Dish from a French Cookbook?

After a busy week, and more leftovers than I originally expected, as well as an extreme Thai craving, I was left with last Friday's planned meal to make tonight for dinner. Sometimes we just don't stick to the plan. I thought this recipe, for Shrimp with Cellophane Noodles, was intriguing, and after tasting it, I was right!

This was a really quick one to pull together, and that was a good thing, because I was pretty tired by the time I got home this evening. I peeled my shrimp and de-veined them quickly. The best part about buying frozen shrimp is that they are usually "e-z peel" which means it does not take a ton of work to clean them up. It's a wonder those are the ones that are usually on sale too - less work, less cost - it makes no sense but I'm not complaining.

I placed some dried mushrooms into a bowl of warm water, allowing them to reconstitute while I brought together the rest of my ingredients. I also put a pot of water on to boil for my noodles. I couldn't find cellophane noodles at my regular grocery store this week, and didn't have a chance to get to my favorite Asian market, so I made do with some Chinese noodles instead. It worked out just fine, although I think the cellophane noodles may have absorbed a bit more of the sauce...we'll just have to try it again!

While my noodles cooked, I heated some peanut oil in wok, sweated some onions and then added those reconstituted mushrooms, chopped, along with some garlic. Thirty seconds later, I added the shrimp to the wok with a mixture of Chinese Five Spice, cayenne pepper, and sugar. As the shrimp began to turn pink, I seasoned the mixture with a generous amount of white pepper and salt, and then poured in some tomato puree. I know, weird, right? There's all these Asian influences, and then...tomato puree!? That was left to simmer for about two minutes, while the shrimp finished cooking.

Meanwhile, I pulled those noodles out of the boiling water and doused them with a splash of sesame oil. After splitting the noodles up between the bowls, I topped them with the shrimp and tomato mixture, with a cilantro garnish. The pop of spice that the cayenne pepper brings, and the notably Asian flavor of the Chinese Five Spice really makes this an intriguing dish. As I worked, I wondered if it would be any good - it seemed so simple, but all over the place - but everything came together so nicely, and made for a really delicious one-dish meal! Yum!!

There's no new menu this week because I realized that we've got a bunch of things in the freezer that I need to use before adding more things to my collection...so we're gettin' creative this week!

Vegetarian Goodness

Tonight, we had friends over for dinner...and massages. Yes, we have a friend that's a masseuse! I made dinner to coincide with their arrival so we could enjoy a nice meal together before massages. Because they are vegetarians, I reached outside my comfort zone to make something we could all appreciate. I decided to make a Kung Pao tofu dish from the Whole Foods Market cookbook. From the same book, I chose a side dish of Emerald Sesame Kale.

Once everything was prepped, this dish pulled together extremely quickly, so I'm glad that I prepped things ahead of time. The kung pao sauce consisted of brown rice syrup, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, tamari and cayenne pepper, so I got those mixed up. In another bowl, I mixed some teriyaki marinade with a pound of extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

While the tofu cooked in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, and my rice cooker went to work with some brown Jasmine rice, I started on the base of the dish. Some sesame oil and canola oil get heated in a wok and to it, you add crushed red chili flakes, minced ginger, minced garlic, and some chopped peanuts. After 3 minutes of sauteing time, the tofu gets added to the wok along with some sliced scallions. After another minute, I added half of the kung pao sauce and allowed it to thicken. Once thickened, it is then okay to add the rest of the sauce, as well as the green and red peppers, allowing them to cook until firm-tender.

As for the kale, it was so simple. While the Kung Pao Tofu was cooking up, and the rice was coming to a finish, I threw some chopped kale into a pot with some minced garlic and minced ginger and allowed it to cook for about 4 minutes. After tossing it with a bit of tamari and some sesame seeds, it was ready to go!

The kale, the Kung Pao Tofu and the brown rice came together nicely, in a timely manner. It was a really delicious, hearty meal, with a great kick to it. So, next time you've got some vegetarian friends coming for dinner ... or just want to have a "Meatless Monday," give this recipe a try! The flavors were great, the dish was lovely, and I'm full! :)