Thai Noodle Soup

This is a very easy soup that anyone can make. Crisp tender vegetables, silky Thai noodles and a flavorful vegetable broth for the basis for this recipe. Pair it with some egg rolls or pot stickers and you'll have yourself a satisfying lunch or dinner.

Click here to view the video demonstration with additional tips.

For this recipe, you'll need the following:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T butter
• 2 cups of shredded cabbage
• 2 stalks of celery chopped
• 2 carrots julienned
• 4 green onions finely chopped
• 2 T peeled and chopped fresh ginger
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 T garlic chili paste (available in the Asian section of your grocery store)
• 1 T brown sugar
• 4 cups of vegetable stock (or chicken stock if you prefer)
• 1 3 oz package of chicken flavor Ramen noodles
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil and butter. Once the oil and butter mixture is hot, add the cabbage, celery, carrots and green onions. Stirring frequently, lightly saute (sweat) the vegetables for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not let the vegetables get too soft.

Next, add the ginger, soy sauce, garlic chili paste and brown sugar to the soup. Stir until evenly distributed.

Once everything is evenly distributed, add the vegetable stock. When the soup starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium low. Add 1/2 of the flavor packet included with the Ramen noodles.

Break the Ramen noodle cake into quarters and add it to the soup.

As the noodles cook, use a spoon or spatula to break apart the noodle cake pieces. Continue to simmer the soup until the noodles are just tender. Be careful not to over cook the noodles.

Once the noodles are tender, season the soup with salt and pepper. Be careful when seasoning this soup with the salt. The garlic chili paste and the half of flavor packet we already added contain a fair amount of salt.

Enjoy!

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Seared Ahi with Asian Slaw

Tender succulent ahi spiced and barely seared topped with a little wasabi mustard. I serve it on a bed of Asian slaw. Cool, crisp and delicious, it compliments the ahi perfectly. It’s a little bit of heaven on a plate. This makes a beautiful presentation for any occasion and will impress your guests. In addition, I’ll show you how to serve it as finger food for your next party.

Click here to view the video demonstration with additional tips.

For this recipe, you'll need the following:

• Olive oil
• 1 TB chopped fresh ginger
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped fine
• 2 TB seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 2TB sesame oil
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
• 1/2 red bell pepper cut into match stick size strips
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro, depending on your taste
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 TB minced red onion
• 1/2 jalapeno finely chopped
• Cajun seasoning or cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 piece of sushi grade ahi
• Wasabi mustard
• Sriracha sauce (optional)

Begin by making the dressing. In a hot pan, add a little olive oil. To that, add 1 TB of chopped fresh ginger and 1 clove of garlic chopped. Lightly sauté it just to bring out the aromatics. We don’t want to brown it. After about a minute, remove it from the heat and let it cool. After the ginger garlic mixture has cooled, place it in a small jar or shaker container. To that add 2 TB of seasoned rice wine vinegar and 2 TB of sesame oil. Shake the dressing to blend.

In a medium size bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, cilantro, green onions, red onions and the jalapeno. Toss it with the dressing and set it aside.

Toast the sesame seeds in a hot pan until they're golden brown. Season your ahi with the Cajun seasoning making it as mild or as spicy as you like. Press the seasoned ahi into the sesame seeds forming a nice crust on both sides.

 Heat about 1/4 inch of vegetable in a hot pan until it's almost smoking. Carefully place the ahi in the pan and sear it for 20-30 seconds on each side. Remember, we are just searing the ahi, we are not cooking it.

To plate this dish, cut the ahi into small slices and arrange it on top of some of the Asian slaw. To spice it up a bit, top it with some wasabi mustard and a little
Sriracha sauce.

Enjoy!

I welcome your comments. Click here to add your thoughts.

 

Tropical Cole Slaw

This dish takes your standard cole slaw and whisks it away to the tropics. The mango, cilantro and sliced almonds put this dish above the rest. Its best made a day ahead of time but can still be served on the fly if needed.

For this recipe, you will need the following: 

Cole Slaw Ingredients

½ small head of cabbage, cored and shredded

3-4 carrots, peeled and julienned

5 green onions, thinly sliced on the bias

½ cup chopped cilantro

½ cup sliced almonds toasted

½ cup golden raisins

1 mango, peeled and diced to ¼ inch

Dressing Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup honey

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 tsp pepper

Place the raisins in a sauce pan adding just enough water to cover them. Bring them to a boil, then remove from heat. Allow them to sit at least 5 minutes to plump up then drain the water off. In a large bowl, combine the raisins with the rest of the cole slaw ingredients.

In a small bowl, add the dressing ingredients and whisk to blend. Pour over the cole slaw ingredients and mix thoroughly to evenly distribute the dressing.

Enjoy!