Tofu Stick in Soy Sauce

I hope you all in the US are having a great and safe Labor Day weekend…

Yes, this is something that you might have never seen…and I must admit that it does not look that pretty. As a matter of fact, when my husband saw these sticks for the first time he was like “what the heck are these?”

These sticks are made by drying tofu skin. Yes, what I mean by tofu skin is by boiling soy milk, a film forms (like in milk) and these films are collected and dried under various shapes (sheets or sticks). Since it is in its dried form, it can be stored longer, much longer than the fresh ones available in the refrigerator section of most Asian grocery stores.

Okay, you are right, the name “tofu skin” does not give justice to this product because tofu should be like cheese, coagulated from soy milk, and tofu skin is made with only soy milk without any coagulant…anyway, it is not up to me to challenge its name.

The tofu skin is very popular in Asian dishes especially for vegetarians as they can mimic any kind of meat (chicken or fish) although I always question, why do vegetarians want to mimic chicken or fish? Moreover, these tofu skin absorb all kinds of flavor, therefore they can be very tasty and the texture after cooking is kind of chewy and at the same time tender…it is hard to explain, so if you have a chance try it!

Ingredients:

I package of dry tofu stick

2 tablespoons canola oil or light olive oil
1 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 pinch ground all spice
Chili oil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Soak the tofu stick in lots of water for 8 hours or overnight to rehydrate the sticks. Change the water a couple of times.

Drain the tofu sticks and cut into 1 ½ inch length and dry using paper towel.

Heat the oil on a frying pan and brown both sides of the tofu sticks (which are not sticks anymore). Set aside.

In a medium pot, place the water, soy sauce, sugar, ginger and all spice and boil. Add the browned tofu stick. Add salt and pepper and chili oil to your taste. Let it boil and lower the temperature to simmer for approximately 10 minute.

Remove from the heat. Serve warm or cold.

I hope you enjoy this simple Asian inspired recipe…check on Pork and Dry Tofu and Pan Fried Tofu recipes.

Did you know that tofu skin has high content of fiber and is cholesterol free? Because it is a product of soybean, tofu skin is high in protein and can be a substitute for gluten fee pasta.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week !

Candied Pecan

Somehow I love candied pecan on my salad, especially when using dark green leaves. This recipe is quite similar to the Roasted Cinnamon Almond, which I like to munch on as a snack, but do not like on my salad since the texture of almond is kind of “hardy” as compared to pecan or walnut.

This is a very simple recipe and it is always good to have it handy so you can add a handful of these candied pecans to your salad, on your ice cream or just as it is…delicious!

Ingredients:

4 ½ cups pecan
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Method:

Preheat the oven at 250F.

Add the vanilla extract to egg white and mix until slightly frothy. In another bowl mix the sugar, salt and the cinnamon, set aside.

Add the mix of egg white to the pecans and mix until all the pecans are covered with the egg white.

Add the sugar mix to the almonds covered with egg white and mix gently until all the almonds are covered with sugar.

Spread the almonds in prepared trays (I used 2 baking sheet) and bake for 1 hour at 250F, flipping the almonds every 30 minutes, so the pecans do not stick to the baking sheet.

Remove the pecans from the oven, let them cool completely and store in an airtight container.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for candied pecans…if you like this, you might want to check on Maple Candied Walnut or Roasted Cinnamon Almonds.

Did you know that adding pecans to your diet might protect your nervous system? Moreover, pecans contain vitamin E and phenolic substances, which are antioxidants that contribute to the well-being of your cardiovascular system.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [dot] Me and have a great week!

Spherical Yogurt with Strawberry Coulis

This is a fun recipe to try using molecular gastronomy. The yogurt are made into almost spheres that pops.

This is one of the most fun thing I have ever done in my kitchen…as you might know (or not), I am a Pharm.D/biochemist by training, therefore I feel very comfortable in the lab, so when I heard about molecular gastronomy I was like “I need to try this…how come I have never thought of using my lab skills in the kitchen?” Anyway, to make the long story short, I did some reading through the internet and got myself some edible “reagents” and today I am so excited because I am sharing with you my very first “experiment”. I am expecting more “reagents” therefore I will have more posts to share in the future.

If you are interested, you can read all about molecular gastronomy by searching the internet, which by the way, I still do not understand why it is called this way, since every method done in the cooking process requires change of molecules.

This recipe is very simple, it is adapted from here with lots of changes…in spite of the recipe calling for plain yogurt, specifically not to use non-fat or low fat yogurt, claiming that fat-free or low fat yogurt contain less calcium, which is critical for this recipe. I went ahead and still used fat free yogurt. I personally don’t think that the calcium content of whole yogurt and non-fat yogurt would be that different being that calcium is water soluble and not fat soluble. Moreover, the difference in these yogurts should be the content of fat and not calcium.

Well, it was very interesting…when eating these spherical yogurt you feel the pop and a thin gelatinous membrane, almost like the salmon roes in sushi or the little balls filled with juices at frozen yogurt store.

Oh! One more thing…this method is called Reverse Spherification.

Ingredients:

Alginate Bath

200 ml of filtered water
1 g sodium alginate

1 cup non-fat yogurt

Method:

Prepare the alginate bath by mixing the sodium alginate in water, until the sodium alginate is totally dissolved. You can use an immersion blender. Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, let the solution rest in the refrigerator for approximately 24 hours or until all the air bubbles disappear.

When ready to start the process of spherification, place the sodium alginate solution in a bowl and in another bowl place clean and filtered water.

Scoop the yogurt using a half sphere measuring spoon and carefully pour it into the alginate bath. Make sure that the yogurt spheres do not touch otherwise they will stick together (which I experienced)

Leave the yogurt spheres in the alginate bath for about 2 minutes and carefully remove them using a slotted spoon.

Place the yogurt spheres in the clean water bath. Remove the yogurt spheres and serve with fruit salad, or berry coulis.

I served my yogurt spheres with strawberry coulis.

I hope you enjoyed this fun recipe…for more Molecular Gastronomy recipe please look here.

Did you know that spherification is the process of shaping liquid in spheres by a thin gelatinous membrane? The main “reaction” is the forming of the gelatinous membrane by combining alginate and calcium.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [dot]me….have a colorful day!

Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushrooms

Have you noticed the change in my blog’s header? I have wanted to update the header for a while but did not have the time nor the inspiration to do it until recently, when a friend asked for my blog address. I said in a very comfortable manner “simplerecipes[dot]me”. She then asked me right away “what? simplerecipes[dot]me[dot]com?”. I then had to explain that instead of [dot]com it is [dot]me . She was very confused…she is not the first person and will not be the last person that will give me a puzzled or suspicious look after I say [dot]me. So here I am, with a new header look…I hope I did not confuse you…even more…actually nothing has changed, my domain name is still the same but just now it is stated in the header. By the way, last week I had the chance to change the Simple Recipes Facebook cover as well.

Okay, enough of blog’s header explanation…today I am sharing with you a dish that I often make. It is a very simple recipe to enhance any green vegetable. In this one I use bok choy…it is great as a side dish and pairs very well with fish or chicken. It is so simple and yet very tasty. The addition of shiitake mushrooms gives the bok choy a real novel taste.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of bok chop cut into approximately 1½ in
3 garlic cloves chopped
5 to 6 dry shiitake mushroom
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Soak the shiitake mushrooms in one cup of warm water until soft. Squeeze the water out of the mushrooms and slice them. Reserve the water.

In a wok or fry pan heat the olive oil and add the garlic stir and add the mushrooms. Sauté until the mushroom are slightly golden. Add the bok choy and stir fry until the leaves are tilted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from the heat and serve hot or warm.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe of Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushroom.

Did you know that shiitake mushrooms are native to East Asia? Moreover, these mushrooms have been used medicinally by the Chinese and it can be found nowdays throughout the supermarkets across the World. Shiitake mushrooms are a very good source of vitamins B2, B5 and B6 and they are low in calories.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [Dot] Me and have a great week!

Kimchi Rice

This recipe was inspired from the one that I saw on Sissi’s blog, With a Glass, Kimchi Fried Rice, since then I wanted to make this kimchi fried rice. Well, I got a big jar of kimchi from Costco and here I am, for the very first time cooking with kimchi.

What is kimchi? Kimchi is a fermented dish which uses cabbage or radish, made with a mix of garlic, salt, vinegar, chili pepper and other spices. Yes, it is true, you might need to acquire the taste of it…especially the smell. Can you believe the kimchi is used in almost everything from soups to pizza topping and hamburger…yes, you read it right!

Anyway, once you get acquainted with the smell and taste you might even crave for it.

I pretty much adapt my “regular” fried rice recipe and just added kimchi to it.

Ingredients:

2 eggs, scrambled
2 chicken breasts cut into small cubes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ tablespoon soy sauce
2 ½ tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tablespoon corn starch
1 small onion chopped
2 cups of cooked left over rice
2 ½ cups of frozen Soycutash from Trader Joe’s (or any frozen mixed vegetables)
½ to ¾ cup kimchi cut into bite size

Method:

Marinate the chicken breast with the garlic, soy sauce, ½ tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper and corn starch. Let it sit for 5~10 minutes.

Quickly bring water to boil and cook the frozen vegetable as directed in the package, do not overcook. Drain and set aside.

In a wok sauté the chicken in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, browning slightly. Once the chicken is cooked set aside. In the same pan add one more tablespoon of olive oil and add the onion until slightly golden. Add the kimchi and mix gently, then add the rice, stir until well mixed.

Once the rice and kimchi are well blended, add the scrambled egg, veggies and the chicken. Stir gently until uniform. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot.

Did you know that kimchi in Korea is considered in “super food”? Kimchi is loaded of fiber, vitamins A, B and C and the main claim is due to the “healthy bacteria”, lactobacilli the ones that are found in yogurt, therefore helps digestion.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [dot] Me and have a great week!

Sunny Portabella Mushrooms

Is it Portobello or Portabella mushrooms? On my package was written Portabella, therefore I am calling this huge earthy mushrooms Portabella…the funny thing is that is Portuguese, the term “bello” is for male and “bella” for female…but I guess mushrooms do not have gender…

I am sure that you have seen many of this recipe…but it is the first time that I made this…baked eggs in the portabella mushroom caps. I got the mushrooms from Costco therefore made it twice. My husband loved it! It is a real simple recipe…does not require any pan or stirring, and you serve right off the oven with a side of green salad…so healthy and tasty.

Oh! Before heading to the recipe, the new issue of Desserts Magazine is out and it is free for one more week, check it out if you love desserts, and this issue is loaded with summer treat.

Ingredients:

2 Portabella mushrooms
2 large eggs
4 slices of cold cut of your choice (prosciutto, mortadella, ham)
Pinch of oregano
Pinch of thyme
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven at 375F.

Brush olive oil in an oven safe pan or silicon mat.

Wash and pat dry the mushrooms and remove the stem and some of the gills. Place the mushrooms on the oiled oven tray covered with aluminum foil or silicon mat

Sprinkle some oregano and thyme and layer 2 sliced of cold cut of your preference, I used mortadella (picture) and prosciutto.

Gently crack one egg in each mushroom cap, and again sprinkle more herbs, salt and fresh pepper. Make sure to not add too much salt since the cold cut contains lots of salt.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the eggs are set. Do not over bake, the color of the egg yolk is very deceiving as it will give you the impression that is not done. You can decide if you like to bake longer by carefully touching the egg yolk and determine the “softeness” of it.

Remove from the oven and serve.

I hope you enjoy this simple and tasty recipe!

Did you know that Portabella mushrooms are low in calories, low in sodium and has not cholesterol? Moreover, these mushrooms are packed with minerals such as potassium, riboflavin and zinc and contain lots of fibers.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [dot] Me and have a great week!

Brandied Cherry Froyo

I always liked chocolate filled with cherry and brandy, so I thought why not making a frozen yogurt with brandied cherry? It sure sounded much more tempting than plain cherry.

Yes, it turned out awesome…and nobody got drunk in spite of the amount of brandy that was added to the cherries. The alcohol was totally gone with the cooking, but the flavor and aroma of the brandy was detectable in every cherry. So now imagine a spoonful of the creamy yogurt with cherry in every bite…yum!

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh cherry
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup brandy

2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons brandy (optional)

Method:

Make sure that your ice cream maker bucket is in the freezer overnight before you start the process.

Remove the pit of the cherries (I just bought a cherry pitter and it is great!) and place in a medium pan with the sugar and brandy. Cook over high heat until boiling point, then lower the heat to medium low and continue to cook for approximately 12 minutes until the cherries are slightly soft, and still somehow whole (not mushy) and syrupy.

Remove the brandied cherries from the heat , let it cool and place in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

In a medium bowl, mix the yogurt, all the brandied cherry and brandy (optional). Once the cherry and the yogurt are all well blended turn on the ice cream maker and pour the yogurt mix into the frozen bucket.

Churn until the mixture is creamy for about 10 to 15 minutes depending on your ice cream maker.

Serve immediately (best option) or place in the freezer.

If placed in the freezer, remove the frozen yogurt 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

If you like this frozen yogurt recipe, you might want to check on Mango Frozen Yogurt with Agave Syrup, Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt or Strawberry Frozen Yogurt.

Did you know that cherries are very low in calories and rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals? Cherries are rich in pigments which contain antioxidant properties, therefore beneficial to prevent many diseases such as cancer, heart disease, pre-diabetes, hypertension, etc…

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [dot] Me and have a great week!

Quinoa Salad with Mint

I hope all of my friends from US had a great holiday weekend…we had a wonderful time with family and friend with lots of BBQ and to finalize the party we saw the fireworks from the rooftop…it was a beautiful day…

I got this idea after having quinoa salad at the Stonefire Grill. Although the one that is offered at the restaurant comes only with lemon, mint and green onion, I decided to dress a little more when making my version of the quinoa salad.

This simple recipe for quinoa salad is refreshing and so good…super simple to put together…just prepare the quinoa as described on the package and have cucumber, tomatoes and lots of fresh mint. It is great as a side dish for any kind of meat, poultry, or even as a whole meal.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup cooked quinoa, cooled
2 tomatoes seed removed and chopped
1 small cucumber, seed removed and cut into small pieces
Fresh mint to taste
Fresh lemon juice to taste
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl and refrigerate for ½ to 1 hour before serving.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for quinoa salad…if you are looking for more recipe with quinoa, you might want to check on Red Quinoa with Chicken or Bell Pepper Stuffed with Quinoa.

Did you know that FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations) has officially declared the year of 2013 as “The International Year of the Quinoa” ? Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain and its amino acid balance is close to the idea, similar to milk.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes [dot] Me and have a great week!

Red and Blue Bubbles

Before you ask…yes, this is another molecular gastronomy recipe. The technique I used is called “reverse spherification”, and was based on Surprise Bubbles.

The fascinating thing is that this technique is so simple that these colored bubbles were mainly made by my niece and nephew, 14 and 11 years old…

They had so much fun making and then eating these popping bubbles filled with grape juice…more specifically white grape juice. Initially we started with the non-color ones (original color of the white grape juice). Since it was kind of hard to see and manipulate the translucent bubbles, we decided to color them by adding a few drops of food coloring into the alginate solution. Erica chose red and Nick blue…and off we went, each one with their bowls of colored alginate bath and water…I played with the non-color ones.

They first removed the frozen half sphere from the freezer and dropped in the alginate bath for 3 minutes. Then they scooped the bubbles from the alginate bath and placed them into a bowl of water to remove the excess alginate. After “collecting” lots of bubbles we just ate by “popping” one at the time in our mouth…a very fun experience, especially because these bubbles were like 0.3oz size and you sure feel the bubble exploding in your mouth and the refreshing juice.

Ingredients:

½ cup white grape juice or any juice of your preference
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon calcium lactate

400 ml of filtered water
2 g sodium alginate

Method:

A few hours (or 24 hours) before the spherification, mix the grape juice with sugar and calcium until the calcium is dissolved. Carefully spoon in a silicon mold and freeze.

Drop the frozen juice in the alginate bath and let it sit for 3 minutes.

Scoop the bubbles using a slotted spoon and rinse them in a bowl of water.

Remove from the water and they are ready to be served.

If you enjoy this Molecular Gastronomy recipe you might want to check on Spherical Yogurt or Honey Caviar.

Did you know that “spherification” is simply a gelling reaction between calcium and alginate which is a gum like substance removed from brown seaweed. So by adding calcium, we just replace what the manufacturers removed from the seaweed, therefore the gelling texture.