Cooking healthy (and tasty) meals can be easy, even for a first-year student. Check out Bonnie Stern's recipe for this rice bowl with grilled tofu, sweet potatoes and peanut sauce.
In an interview with "The Sriracha Cookbook" author Randy Clemens, he told me that when they did the photos for his book, he was surprised that everyone devoured a big bowl of tropical fruit salad with sriracha-sesame vinaigrette.
Clemens, 26, a California-based culinary school grad, came up with endless dishes on which to add some sauce, including grits, cornbread, butter, sour cream, and salt.
He said that the sauce is popular all over Thailand and Vietnam. One Thai brand he particularly likes is called Shark, which has a sweetness plus a kick.
IN the last 20 years or so, pad Thai has gone from being virtually unknown in this country to being a restaurant and takeout staple. It’s easy to see why: the tangy, crunchy, slightly sweet noodles are irresistible. But it’s difficult to understand why more people don’t make it at home, since pad Thai is essentially a stir-fry (in Thailand they refer to it as a Chinese noodle dish). It requires little more than chopping and stirring, and comes together in less than a half-hour.
I was also able wrestle away some of the sweet potatoes from Apolinaras this time (and by wrestle away, I mean hide in the back of the cabinet!), and decided to whip up a soup with them since it’s been so rainy and windy in Boston lately. I decided on a Thai twist because I was craving the sweet potato curry from Sugar and Spice, so I simmered the sweet potatoes with fresh ginger, lemongrass, red curry paste, lime juice, and coconut milk. The lovely orange hue made me smile and the flavor did not disappoint – yum!
Cookbook author Page Bingham says that in the Shan region, a dish like this shrimp preparation is eaten with the fingers - red chilies and all. If the dish seems too hot, use fewer chilies, and when it’s time to serve the shrimp, push the chilies aside.
Great Thai food relies on fresh ingredients. Kaffir lime leaf, culantro, galangal, fish sauce, and chili-bean paste are available at Asian markets. Some of the ingredients - lemongrass, galangal, and lime leaf - are for flavoring only; they're not eaten. Typical Thai table condiments such as sugar, fish sauce, dried crushed chilies, and vinegar allow diners to adjust the four main flavors: sweet, salty, hot, and sour. If you like, substitute boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/4-inch slices, for the shrimp.
We wanted a vegetarian-vegan tofu recipe with butternut squash, coconut, and almonds, because these are ideal foods for pregnancy and breastfeeding. It had to be blissfully delicious, as well as nourishing and filling (i.e high calorie!) We came up with a recipe which is loosely based on Thai vegetarian cooking. It's fancy enough for company, but easy to make. The coconut milk, tofu, and toasted almonds can be prepared ahead of time.
Almost everything here - except tamarind pulp and dried shrimp - comes from the supermarket. Do all the chopping and assemble the ingredients on a tray. You'll also need a deep wok or skillet.
Perfect for those in South Beach Diet Phase 1. In later phases, you can add cooked soba noodles. Substitute chopped scallions if you don't like cilantro.