Crock Pot Hot and Sour Soup

 

Crock Pot Hot and Sour Soup

2 cans chicken broth

1 cup chopped cooked pork

4 oz fresh mushroom caps, thinly sliced

1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots, cut into thin strips

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 oz firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2 in pieces

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp cold water

Chopped cilantro or sliced green onions

1. Combine broth, pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, vinegar, soy sauce and chili paste in Crock-Pot slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH 2 to 3 hours, or until done. 

2. Stir in tofu and sesame oil. Combine cornstarch with water; mix well. Add to soup and mix in well. Cover; cook on HIGH 10 minutes or until soup has thickened. To serve, sprinkle cilantro or green onions.

Hot and Sour Soup

Thanks for the recipe Amber. It was delicious!

Hot and Sour Soup

sliced mushrooms (as many as you like)

2 tablespoons canola oil

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced

1/4 pound barbecued pork, shredded

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 tbsp sugar

2 quarts Chicken Stock

1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips

3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Chopped green onions, for garnish

Directions:

Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, cayenne, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions before serving.

Thai Crockpot Chicken

I just love Asian dishes. Adam and I have made this dish a few times now. We got it from the Crock Pot cook book. It's so yummy and so easy and the ingredients are things that I have in my fridge and cupboards at all times.

Thai Chicken

2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces
1 cup hot salsa
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (I used the powder)
Hot cooked rice
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Place chicken in Crock Pot slow cooker. Combine salsa, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and ginger; pour over chicken.

2. Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 9 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

3. Serve chicken and sauce over rice; sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.  

Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad Cups

There were a lot more of these, but there were only two left that I could take pictures of. These are so cute! They are a little smaller than a muffin in real life. I'm excited about this new recipe!

These were so amazing and a definite keeper. They are so cute and easy to eat. They are packed with wonderful flavor and it is defiantly an added bonus that they are healthy! There is no guilt about eating these. I was thinking that this would be the perfect appetizer to serve at wedding receptions or any type of shower. I actually got this recipe from watching the Today show a few weeks ago and they have constantly been on my mind to make. It's a recipe from Candice Kumai who was on Top Chef. You should try them, you will love it!

(With the red cabbage, it was really expensive at the grocery store I went to, so I just bought a salad mix bag and picked out the red cabbage from that and it was the perfect amount for how much I was making, and it was a lot cheaper that way.)

Chinese Chicken Salad Cups

Servings: 48 cups (I fourthed this recipe and it was the perfect amount for Adam and I for two meals eating it as our side.)

For dressing

1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil (I used regular sesame seed oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

For salad

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces)

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

48 wonton wrappers

Dark sesame oil (I just used sesame seed oil)

1 1/2 cups chopped Napa cabbage

1 1/2 cups finely chopped red cabbage

1 medium carrot, coarsely grated

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup Asian almonds (optional)

To make the dressing: Place the sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan often, until they're fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer the sesame seeds to a medium bowl. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and ginger and whisk to combine. Add the peanut butter and whisk until completely smooth. Set aside.

To make the salad: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat a ridged cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and grill until both sides have grill marks and the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside until cool.

Press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup of a 24-cup nonstick mini muffin pan (the ends will peek up above the cups). Brush with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before gently lifting the wonton cups out of the pan. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers, sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Chop the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. Place them in a large bowl and add the cabbages, carrot, scallions and cilantro. Toss with three-fourths of the dressing. Fill each wonton cup with 1 heaping tablespoon of salad and top with the Asian almonds and extra cilantro. Serve immediately with the remaining dressing on the side.

Note: When you make salad, be light with the dressing. Save a little to serve on the side — this keeps things light and lets your friends do up their salads with as much or as little dressing as they like. The salad and wonton cups can be made a few hours ahead of time, just hold back on filling the wonton cups until right before serving so they stay nice and crisp.

My Attempt at Sushi

I have been wanting to make my own sushi for quite a while because it is one of my favorite things to eat. Adam got really sick off of some unagi a few years ago and so he won't touch any type of sushi. He is still in Chicago, and with him starting his new job making him around for dinner a lot more, I thought that tonight would be the perfect night to try it. As you can see, it is not the most pretty assortment of sushi ever, considering I used way too much yummy rice that I didn't make sticky enough and I used an old folder as my bamboo rolling mat, but let me tell you, it was delicious! I ate ever bit of it. I filled it with some of my favorite things that I like to have in my sushi rolls. It's like a California roll with a cream cheese twist.

Sushi - California Roll

Serving- 1 roll

Lemon juice
1/2 avocado
1 sheet nori (toasted seaweed)
1/4- 1/2  batch sushi rice, recipe below
Toasted sesame seeds
1/4 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into thin matchstick-size pieces
1 stick imitation crab, sliced in half long ways
Cream cheese
1/2 tablespoon scallions (optional)
Pickled ginger, for serving
Wasabi, for serving
Soy sauce

Prepare all your filling ingedients for the sushi and get them sliced and prepared how you would like. Pour some lemon juice on the avocado to prevent it from browning. Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap (in my case, I covered a folder). Cut nori sheets in half crosswise (which I forgot to do and that's why mine turned out so fat, but it's your choice if you want to cut it.) Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat. Wet your fingers with water and spread rice evenly onto the nori until it is fully covered. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds. Turn the sheet of nori over so the rice side is down. Spread desired amount of cream cheese across the middle of the nori. Sprinkle cream cheese with scallions. Place cucumber pieces, avocado, and crab sticks in the center as well on top of the cream cheese. Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder. Pull away the mat and set on a plate. Cut roll in to 6-8 pieces. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.

Sushi Rice

1 cup uncooked sushi rice
1 1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon oil
pinch of salt

Rinse uncooked rice in strainer until the water flows clear. Place on a medium sized skillet and add the cold water. Bring to a boil at high heat. When it is at a boil, lower heat to low, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes not lifting up the lid. When the twenty minutes are up, remove from heat, keeping it covered, and let it sit for another 10 minutes. Take the lid off and let it cool until it is handable. In a small sauce pan, heat the vinegar, sugar, and oil until the sugar disolves. Pour over the rice and add a pinch of salt and stir until the rice becomes more dry again.