Easy Chinese, Indian and Thai Food Recipes
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Asian cuisine continues to be hot. And why not? The fresh and exotic flavors are hard to resist, and, contrary to what you might think, many Asian dishes are easy to prepare at home. Ready for a taste sensation? These Asian-style meals are healthy, attractive and packed with flavor, and they take only minutes to prepare.
Beef and Red Bell Pepper Stir-Fry
Simple stir-frying is an exciting sensory experience, as you watch the food cook, smell the delightful aromas and hear all the wonderful sizzling and sputtering that goes with cooking quickly over high heat.
It's best to focus on just one or two main ingredients, using the "holy trinity" of ginger, garlic and scallions as a flavor base (and, if you like it hot, adding fresh chilies). This helps keep flavors true and helps avoid overcrowding in the pan, which causes food to steam and not fry. I like to stir-fry meat or seafood and make a green vegetable separately, which requires hardly any extra work beyond washing another pot.
The sauce is delicious and healthier than anything you'll find drowning in "brown sauce." Don't eat red meat? Try chicken, or shrimp. And if you have a wok, great ‑- use it. If not, a large skillet works just fine. Serve the stir-fry with rice and a boiled or steamed vegetable like asparagus or broccoli.
Serves 4
Next Page: Ingredients and Directions
Beef and Red Bell Pepper Stir-Fry
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (also known as dark sesame oil)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
For the stir-fry:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (reserve 1 heaping tablespoon thinly sliced dark green parts for garnish)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (about a 1-inch piece)
- 1-2 fresh chilies like jalapenos or Thai chilies, to taste, seeded and minced (optional)
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 pound beef top round or London broil, sliced very thin (see note)
Directions:
1. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir well. Set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat for 2 minutes. Add vegetable oil and heat for 1 minute.
3. Add scallions, garlic, ginger and (if using) chilies to pan and cook, stirring often for 1 minute.
4. Add red pepper and cook, stirring often for 1 minute.
5. Add beef and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Pour sauce over stir-fry and mix well. Cook for 1 minute or until beef is just slightly pink in the middle. Sprinkle with reserved dark green scallion slices to serve.
Note: Chilling beef for 20 to 25 minutes in the freezer before slicing helps you achieve very thin slices.
Tips:
- Pat dry stir-fry ingredients before cooking.
- Prep ingredients and have ready before heating the pan.
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Broiled Marinated Salmon
The marinade for this superhealthy, incredibly easy dish calls for a bit of tangy-sweet hoisin sauce, a popular ingredient in Chinese cooking that's available in just about any supermarket, plus a bracing shot of bottled chili-garlic sauce. (If you can't track down chili-garlic sauce, a minced clove of garlic and a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes make an acceptable substitute.) This is a quick-prep dish; mix the marinade first and add the fish, and by the time you fire up the broiler the salmon will be ready to cook. If you place the salmon pieces under the flame with their skin side down, you don't even have to flip them ‑- and they'll be ready in no time. Brown rice and boiled broccoli go particularly well with this dish.
Serves 4
Next Page: Ingredients and Directions
Broiled Marinated Salmon
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce (or 1 clove minced garlic and a large pinch of red pepper flakes)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (about a 1-inch piece)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds, white or black or a combination
- 1 1/4 pounds salmon filet, with skin, cut into 8 pieces
- Vegetable oil
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except salmon and vegetable oil in a bowl and mix well. Place salmon pieces in a large resealable plastic bag or glass mixing bowl and pour marinade over fish to cover. Be sure all pieces are coated.
2. Preheat broiler. While it's heating, remove broiler pan and brush the surface with a small amount of vegetable oil to prevent fish from sticking. When broiler is ready, remove salmon from marinade, reserving marinade for basting, and arrange salmon on broiler pan.
3. Place pan on the middle rack of the broiler, about 4 inches from the flame. Broil fish for 3 minutes. Pull rack out, baste fish with reserved marinade and put back under. Broil 2-4 more minutes, or until top of fish begins to brown and fish is slightly firm, not wobbly, when pressed with a finger. (You really want a bit of color on the fish, especially around the edges, so if it's not browning, try raising the rack to its highest point for the last minute of cooking. Just be sure to watch the fish carefully so it doesn't burn!)
4. Serve each person 2 pieces of salmon with rice and vegetable.
Variations:
- Use skewers of shrimp instead of salmon. (They'll cook a little quicker and should be flipped at the basting point.)
- In warm weather, use the grill instead of the broiler.
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Indian Chicken Curry
If you love Indian food as much as I do, you'll be glad to know that brightly seasoned curries aren't difficult to prepare at home. Aside from cumin seed, this quick and easy version omits the whole spices called for in an authentic Indian curry and requires just a tablespoon of butter, so it remains light and healthy. Lots of finely chopped onion and a generous dollop of tomato paste give body to the sauce, turning it into a rich stew. But don't worry ‑- the onion and garlic mellow considerably, even in the short time the curry is on the stove.
Although thigh or breast meat can be used in this recipe, I find chicken thighs more moist and flavorful. Basmati rice and cooked spinach made good accompaniments.
Serves 4
Next Page: Ingredients and Directions
Indian Chicken Curry
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (about a 1-inch piece)
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or slightly more or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into pieces about 1 1/2 by 2 inches
- 6 sprigs chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)
Directions:
1. In Dutch oven or large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add cumin seed if using, and toast seeds for 1-2 minutes until sizzling and fragrant. Add onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes or until onion begins to brown.
2. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, another 1-2 minutes, until garlic browns.
3. Add tomato paste, turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cayenne and salt, and stir well for 1-2 minutes. Mixture will be thick; add 2-3 tablespoons water to make it easier to stir.
4. Place chicken pieces in pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, stir well and cover pan. Turn heat to low and simmer curry 8 minutes. Taste sauce for salt and add more if necessary. Serve sprinkled with chopped cilantro leaves if you like.
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Basic Fried Rice
We eat a lot of rice in my house, and lately I've taken to cooking extra. When we have enough left over, I make fried rice, which is absolutely irresistible (and makes a great microwaved lunch). Are you picturing an ice cream scoop of greasy take-out fried rice? Forget that. Mine uses far less oil and is much lighter and fresher tasting. White rice, jasmine rice, brown rice, even basmati ‑- this recipe does not discriminate, so feel free to play around with whatever you have on hand. Mix and match different kinds, and experiment with other ingredients. (A few variations of my own follow the recipe.) Just one thing: Don't use freshly cooked rice, because it's too soft and moist to achieve the right texture when fried. A night in the fridge is ideal, but a few hours will do the trick if you just can't wait.
And yes, there is a fair amount of chopping involved, so you may find fried rice more suited to a Sunday afternoon than a busy weeknight... unless, of course, you're fortunate enough to have a budding prep cook or two around the house. Divide and conquer, and you'll be at the table in minutes!
Serves 4
Next Page: Ingredients and Directions
Basic Fried Rice
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 strips bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
- 4 scallions, trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch rings (reserve 1 heaping tablespoon sliced dark green portion for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (about a 1-inch piece)
- 1/3 cup finely chopped carrot (1-2 carrots)
- 1-2 fresh chilies like jalapenos or Thai chilies, to taste, seeded and minced (optional)
- 4 cups cooked rice, at room temperature
- 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
Directions:
1. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Pour beaten egg into pan and swirl egg around to coat entire bottom of pan. When egg is beginning to bubble, about 1-2 minutes, break it up into pieces using a spatula or wooden spoon, and remove from pan.
2. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp, 2-3 minutes. (If bacon begins to burn, lower heat to medium.)
3. Add scallions, garlic, ginger, carrot and (if using) chilies to pan, and cook, stirring often, for 1-2 minutes or until garlic becomes golden. Return cooked egg to pan.
4. Add rice and stir to coat well with the other ingredients. Cook for about 2 minutes to allow rice and egg to become hot. Turn heat down to medium-low, and pour soy sauce over rice. The pan may be quite full (depending on its size), so stir carefully to allow even distribution of soy sauce throughout rice.
5. Taste for salt, and add an additional 1 tablespoon of soy sauce if you like. Sprinkle with reserved dark green scallion slices to serve.
Variations:
- Add chopped raw shrimp (1/4-1/3 pound) 1 minute after adding scallions, garlic, ginger and carrot.
- Add small cubes of firm tofu (about 1/2 cup) 1 minute after adding scallions, garlic, ginger and carrot.
- Stir in small pieces of leftover cooked chicken just before adding rice to pan.
- For a mellower pork flavor, try pancetta instead of bacon.
- For Thai-style fried rice, sprinkle 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce over mixture before returning egg to pan, and squeeze juice from half a lime over rice just before serving.
- To get more of your vegetables, slice raw green beans (about 1/4-1/3 cup) very thin (1/8 inch) and add along with scallions, garlic, ginger and carrot.
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