Crispy Baked Tofu Bites, by Diane

I found this recipe from @plantyou, one of my favorite instagram accounts for healthy meal ideas and ways to use food scraps. These were a really crispy good snack/lunch! I made a few swaps that I included in the recipe below rather than posting hers.

First, I decided to swap the cornstarch for sweet potato starch, which I had leftover from my Taiwanese Chicken Cutlets, because it's extra crunchy when used as a coating. I also added my favorite chili crisp by Laogonma for flavor and a little bit of heat (this stuff is gold!!). The wet ingredients soaked up pretty quickly leaving me with no batter to coat the tofu, possibly from the addition of the sweet potato starch or possibly because I left the wet ingredients for about 5 min before I coated the tofu. As a result, the "batter" was sort of crumbly, so I sprayed the tofu cubes with avocado oil and tossed it in the crumbs and hoped for the best (it did actually all stick to the tofu in the end though)! Next time I'll coat the tofu in the wet ingredients before I toss in the starch and see if that helps, which I noted below. Finally, I used my air fryer, although her recipe uses the oven, and they did also turn out really crispy! 

Ingredients:

1 block firm tofu, pressed for 20 min and sliced into cubes

2 tbsp EVOO

2 tsp cornstarch (I used sweet potato starch)

2 tsp seasoning (I used goya here)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp chili crisp

Directions:

1. Add EVOO, seasoning, and soy sauce in a bowl and whisk to combine.

2. Toss in tofu cubes to coat well, then add in starch and toss again.

3. Bake in air fryer @ 400 for 15 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Shrimp Cakes, by Diane

 

I saw this recipe from tiffycooks.com and really wanted to make these as healthy lunches this week. These were so quick and easy, and a great riff on lunches. They tasted like the inside of shrimp shumai dumplings! I'll definitely make them again, served with a side of sweet chili sauce! Yum! They would even be good as burgers between some crispy lettuce wraps. 

I came up with a hack I really liked here to replace the dashi powder which had msg. I know from experience making my Rabokki that dashi broth is really just kelp, green onion, and anchovy boiled with water and strained. So, I found asian seafood soup packets at my local asian grocer that had anchovies, kelp, onion, burdock root, dried tuna, and chili flakes. I removed the whole anchovies and placed the rest directly into the food processor to create a powder with the same taste- perfection! 

Also- she pan fried these but the air fryer was convenient and healthy!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs raw shrimp, peeled

3 scallions, green parts only

1.5 tbsp dashi powder (this had msg so I used some ingredients from an asian seafood soup stock instead)

1 tsp white pepper

3 tbsp arrowroot flour

1 tbsp oyster sauce

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in food processor and pulse until well combined and mashed.

2. Form into patties, place into air fryer that has been sprayed with nonstick spray and cook at 350 for 18 minutes. Flip halfway through.

Chinese Marinated Ramen Eggs, by Diane

 

I made these for a healthy snack this week as a fun twist on hard boiled eggs. I LOVE these eggs in ramen, they are my favorite part! I overcooked these by a minute, and wished they would have been more jammy, but know what to do for next time! They had a cool flavor and I was happy overall with how they turned out- yum! Marinade recipe by see_jay91 on instagram, egg recipe by justonecookbook.com

Ingredients:

12 eggs

2 star anise pods

1 scallion, green and white parts, cut into 1/3rds

4 inches ginger, sliced into thick coins

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

1/2 cup shao xing wine

2 tbsp rock sugar

1/3 cup chinese soy sauce

1/4 cup chinese dark soy sauce

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, toast the star anise pods until fragrant. Add scallion and ginger, toast lightly for 2 min.

2. Add in stock, water, wine, and sugar and stir to combine, bring to a simmer.

3. Add in soy sauces, stir to combine.

4. Chill marinade in the fridge until completely cooled.

5. To make the eggs, bring a large pot of water plus 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp vinegar to a rolling boil. Add in eggs with a slotted spoon straight from the fridge. Set a timer for 7 minutes at the time of the addition of the first egg and cook until that ends.

6. Remove the eggs directly into an ice bath for 15 min, then peel.

7. Add the peeled eggs to the marinade, cover the top of the liquid with a paper towel, and cover with lid. Let sit for 24 hours minimum. 

Easy Asian Rice Cakes, by Diane

 

I've seen these posted on several accounts over the years, and decided to make them the other day as a side dish to a Korean menu I made for family friends. This was quick and easy, and really flavorful! The sauce would also pair well with regular noodles as well. 

Ingredients:

1 small pack rice cakes, frozen

2 tbsp chunky peanut butter

2 tbsp sweet soy sauce

1 tbsp chili crisp oil

2 scallions, green parts only, sliced

Directions:

1. Boil the rice cakes until completely cooked through and soft- not mushy or chewy!

2. While the rice cakes boil, mix the remaining ingredients together in a sauce and taste to adjust. 

3. Pour sauce over rice cakes and serve immediately!

Goddess Bowl, by Diane

 

I created this bowl specifically because of my Flower Child Sweet Potatoes, and I added the remaining ingredients from there. I called it a Goddess Bowl because I felt so damn healthy and glowing when I ate it for dinner tonight! I always see these creative bowls on instagram but avoid them because of all the prep of the ingredients, and this one did require a bit of prep. But now I have healthy easy bowls for the week and I'm pretty pumped about that! I used roasted mushrooms and beets along with my Burnt Broccoli and grilled chicken here, and for the rest of the week I have some greens I want to serve it over along with a dressing I want to create (I just ran out of time tonight!).

Ingredients:

Red and golden beets, cubed and roasted

Flower Child Sweet Potatoes

Burnt Broccoli

2 cups baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into rings

1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced

Salt

Coconut oil

Directions:

1. Saute onions in a large pan with a sprinkle of salt and coconut oil over medium heat until browned, then add in mushrooms with another sprinkle of salt and cook until done.

2. Assemble your bowl with the mushroom mixture, sweet potatoes, broccoli, beets, and chicken.

Flower Child Sweet Potatoes, by Diane

These sweet potatoes are my favorite side at a local restaurant called Flower Child. They are red chili glazed, but not spicy. They melt in your mouth!! I was lucky enough to find their recipe posted online, and decided to make these stat! So easy, healthy, and definitely will be on rotation in the future. Yum!

Ingredients:

For the potatoes:

2.5 lbs sweet potatoes, cubed and roasted, at room temperature

1/2 cup sesame vinaigrette

1 cup kale, shredded

handful toasted sesame seeds

For the vinaigrette:

3/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 tbsp sriracha 

1/3 cup tamari

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 cup grapeseed oil (I used coconut oil)

Directions:

1. For the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients except the oils and use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Slowly incorporate both oils, bit by bit, with the blender until smooth and emulsified.

2. Warm the vinaigrette in a large sautee pan until simmering. Add the room temp sweet potatoes, kale, and sesame seeds.

3. Toss to incorporate until liquid is gone and remove from heat.