Over the weekend, Furman students gathered for a Culinary Club workshop featuring Healthful Asian Cuisine. Special thanks to Furman student Yolanda Jiang for sharing her expertise and leading the workshop. We had quite a delicious feast!
Bok Choy Stir Fry with Cashews
Stir Frying is all about applying heat quickly over a large surface area. We had to prepare our stir fry in several batches so we didn’t pile the vegetables too high causing them to steam instead of stir fry. This was my favorite dish of the day and the first bowl to be emptied!
Prepare all vegetables and sauce first. Cut fresh broccoli into small florets. Separate the leaves of baby bok choy (tender little Chinese cabbages). Wash and slice mushrooms. Peel and grate a few carrots. Finely chop red onion, garlic, and cashews and separate ingredients.
Prepare sauce in a small bowl by whisking together 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce or Hoisin sauce.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, warm 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add 1 tsp. five spice powder (found in spice or ethnic food aisle). Add some broccoli, bok choy, mushrooms, carrots, red onion, and garlic to the pan; stirring frequently. Once the vegetables are lightly caramelized on the outside, add a few tablespoons of water and continue to cook until the water evaporates and the vegetables are tender. Drizzle in some of the soy sauce mixture and stir to combine. If you are making multiple batches, transfer the vegetables to a serving dish and repeat again for the next batch. Top with chopped cashews, if desired.
Five-Spice Chicken and Orange Salad
This was amazing! Very light and fresh! It had a new ingredient that most of us were not familiar with called lotus root. Lotus root is a vegetable that can be purchased fresh or frozen. Yolanda purchased our lotus root frozen at a local Asian market. We thawed it, chopped it, and added it the salad. It has a light crisp taste reminiscent of a cucumber.
Cook chicken: In a medium bowl, toss 1 pound of chopped cubed chicken breasts with 2 tsp. five spice powder (found in spice or ethnic food aisle), 1 Tbsp. or cooking wine, and a little salt and pepper. Warm a little oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and sauté chicken until browned. Add ½ cup of water to the pan, cover with a lid, and simmer until chicken is almost cooked through. Remove the lid and finish cooking the chicken allowing the water to evaporate.
Prepare salad: In a large bowl, combine mixed greens, red bell pepper strips, orange segments, and chopped lotus root (optional).
Prepare dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the juice and zest of one orange with 3 tsp. mustard, 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and a little salt and pepper.
Here was our workshop leader Yolanda Jiang!
zesting an orange on a microplane, be careful to only zest the orange portion and not the bitter white pith:
This was lotus root purchased from a local Asian market frozen. We thawed it and added it to the salad:
Asian Sesame Pasta Salad
Boil soba noodles (whole grain noodles made from buckwheat flour) according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile simmer fresh snow peas in water for a few minutes until tender; drain. Combine pasta, snow peas, shredded carrots, finely chopped red onion. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 Tbsp. honey, 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Toss dressing with pasta and vegetables. Add cooked chicken, shrimp, or tofu to make it a meal.
Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Combine 4 cups of cooked lean ground turkey with 3 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, diced water chestnuts (small can, drained), chopped green onion, chopped cashews, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Fill into whole lettuce leaves.
Korean Zucchini Pancake
Shred 1 zucchini and 1 carrot on a box grater. Wrap the zucchini in a clean towel and squeeze out some of the excess water over the sink. Finely chop ½ of an onion. In a medium bowl, whisk 4 eggs. Add 2 cups of water, whisk to combine. Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, zucchini, carrot, and onion; stir to combine. Warm a little oil in a skillet over medium heat and add ½-1 cup of batter. Lightly brown on the bottom, flip, and cook on the other side. In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. sauce seeds. Slice the pancake into little triangles and serve with sauce.
Miso Soup
Bring a few cups of low sodium vegetable broth to a boil over high heat. Lower to medium heat and simmer. Add sliced brown mushrooms, strips of seaweed sheets (optional), cubed tofu, a few Tbsp. of miso (soybean paste), and a little bit of salt. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Garnish with chopped scallions.
Roasted Eggplant with Sesame Sauce
This was super easy and very delicious! Toss eggplant with a little bit of olive oil and roast on a baking sheet at 425 degrees F until tender for about 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the slices. Meanwhile, sauté 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic, 4 chopped scallions, and a pinch of red pepper flakes in olive oil for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and add 2 Tbsp. radium sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, 1 Tbsp. honey, 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. sesame oil. Pour over eggplant and serve.
Tofu Vegetable Sushi with Brown Rice and Quinoa
Cook brown rice and quinoa with a little bit of rice wine vinegar. Spread over seaweed sheets leaving 1-inch of edge on one end. Wet your hands and press the rice down firmly against the seaweed sheet. Layer thin strips of baked tofu, matchstick vegetables (red peppers, carrots, cucumber, avocado) down the middle and roll up. This is much trickier than it sounds! Serve with a little reduced sodium soy sauce, wasabi, or pickled ginger.
Healthy California Rolls with Brown Rice
Cook brown rice with a little bit of rice wine vinegar. Spread over seaweed sheets leaving 1-inch of edge on one end. Wet your hands and press the rice down firmly against the seaweed sheet. Layer thin pieces of cooked shrimp and matchstick vegetables (cucumber, avocado) down the middle and roll up. This is much trickier than it sounds! Serve with a little reduced sodium soy sauce, wasabi, or pickled ginger.
Shannon and Joe learn the art of sushi rolling:
Frushi (Fruit Sushi) with Cantaloupe, Strawberries, and Pineapple rolled with Brown Rice, Coconut, and Honey
Cook brown rice and toss with a little bit of honey and shredded coconut. Spread over rice sheets (more delicate and neutral in flavor than the traditional seaweed sheets) leaving 1-inch of edge on one end. Wet your hands and press the rice down firmly against the sheet. Layer thin pieces of cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple, and grapes down the middle and roll up. This is much trickier than it sounds!
Our Frushi group decided to improvise and turn these into little Frushi bowls which were equally delicious and a big hit!
Stay tuned for more cooking workshops next year featuring healthful Mediterranean and Indian Cuisine!