Green Papaya Salad (Achara)

This a very popular pickled salad in the Philippines.  It is usually served with rice and your favorite grilled or fried fish and meat.  Try it with the Filipino fried chicken or barbeque.  It is so easy to make.  You can find green papayas at most Asian grocery stores.  Adding the red chillies provide some heat.  Reduce or add the number of chillies to adjust to your taste.  They can be removed if you do not want it spicy.

Ingredients:
1 green papaya (cut into julienne strips)
1 carrot (cut into julienne strips)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar
1-2 red chillies (cut into very thin strips)
1/2 red bell pepper (cut into julienne strips)
1/2 cup raisins and/or sultanas
3 shallots (minced)
1 inch ginger (minced)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

In a small sauce pan, heat the vinegar, sugar and salt.  Once sugar and salt has disolved, remove sauce pan from heat and allow to cool. 

In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.  Pour sweet vinegar over the vegetables in the bowl and mix well.  Store in an airtight container for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Serve with rice and your favorite fried or grilled foods.

Vegetable Jambalaya

I am always trying to find vegetarian recipes.  I have friends who are vegetarian and it is always nice to surprise them with a special vegetarian dish.  I also like to bring a vegetarian dish to the office pot luck so that the vegetarians can enjoy as well.  This is a really beautiful and impressive looking dish.  The flavors are wonderful.  The original jambalaya calls for spicy sausage, but with this recipe, you don't miss it.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown rice
3 tblsp oilive oil
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 red onion (large chopped)
1 eggplant (diced)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
1/2 can of baby corn on the cob (sliced in half)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 small broccoli head (broken into florets)
2/3 cup vegetable broth
8oz can chopped tomatoes
1 tblsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
1/2 tsp chili flakes
Salt and pepper

Cook brown rice following package instructions or your normal cooking process.  When done, fluff with a fork to loosen and set aside.

In a large skillet or pan, heat oil and add onions and garlic.  Cook stirring constantly for 3 minutes until onions are translucent.  Add creole seasoning and chili flakes.  Stirring constantly, cook for approximately 1 minute to heat the spices.  Add eggplant, bell peppers and broccoli.  Continue stirring for another 2-3 minutes.  Stir in peas, corn and tomatoes and mix well with the other vegetables in the pan.  Add the vegetable stock and tomato paste stirring until tomato past is incorporated.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and let cook  covered in low heat for approxmately 15 minutes stirring occasionally.  Stir in the brown rice and mix well.  Cook for another 4 minutes. This is best served warm, so serve immediately.

Steamed Rice

There are two ways to make the perfect steamed rice.  On the stove or in a rice cooker.  I personally prefer using the rice cooker since it cooks the rice perfectly everytime. No guess work. 

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain rice or jasmine rice
2 cups water
Salt (optional)

Place rice in a mesh sieve and rinse well with cold water to remove the extra starch. 

To cook rice in a rice cooker, place the rice and 2 cups of water into the rice cooker, cover and turn on. When rice cooker clicks to "warm". Leave on warm for approximately 5 minutes. Turn rice cooker off and let sit for another 3-5 minutes, fluff rice with fork and serve with your favorite toppings.

On stove top, combine rice and water into a 3 quart sauce pan. Cook using medium-high heat until water starts to boil.  Allow rice to continue to boil until almost all the liquid has been absorbed.  Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for for 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat and fluff with fork. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Note: if using salt, add to the sauce pan or rice cooker at the beginning of the cooking process.

Asparagus and Tomato Rice Salad

This is a very pretty salad. So easy to make and so refreshing and wonderful during warm days when you don't want anything heavy or need something to go with grilled meats. A great way to use leftover rice. Try it out. 

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked long grain rice

1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 cup blanched asparagus spears (cooled)

3/4 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing

1 tblsp Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tblsp fresh parsley (chopped)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, add salad dressing, mustard, lemon juice and parley; mix well.  In a large bowl, gently mix tomatoes, rice and asparagus. Add the dressing mixture and stir gently until evenly coated.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with platic wrap and store in your refrigerator for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Note: if you are watching your glycemic index, use basmati rice.  Basmati rice works great with this salad.

Eggplant with Chilli Sauce (Terong Belado)

This is another Indonesian favorite that can be found in street stalls.  It is great with rice and with the Kashmiri pork chops.  The small eggplants with stems make a great presentation when cut in half but are still connected. Again, adjust the amount red chillies to suit your taste.  If you don't like it spicy, remove the chillies completely or just add one (1).

Ingredients:

4 small eggplants or 2 large eggplants

4 tblsp oil (coconut, peanut or olive oil)

1 onion (minced)

6 cloves garlic (minced)

1inch fresh ginger root (minced)

3 red chillies (seeded and minced)

14oz can of diced tomatoes (drained)

3 tsp sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper to taste

1 handful of cilantro (chopped) for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas 4). Butterfly eggplants, be sure not to cut all the way through. Brush the cut eggplants with half of the oil.  Bake in the oven for 40 minutes (for large one, until soft and tender).

In a small food processor, add onion, garlic, ginger, red chillies to create a paste.  In a pan, heat the oil.  Add the paste and cook for approximately 2 minutes stirring constantly.  Add the tomatoes, sugar and lime juice. Continue stirring for another 3-4 minutes; add salt and pepper to taste.

When eggplants are done, remove from oven,  using the back of a small spoon, push down in center of each eggplant half creating a pocket or identation.  Spoon the sauce into the dip or pocket.  Fill each generously.  Garnish with the chopped cilantro and serve with basmati rice or a pulao.

Charred Chili Relleno

This is a great vegetarian dish I made  for lunch when my friends Nita and Vera came over to prepare gifts for the volunteers of My Friend's Place.  They absolutely loved it! My husband came back for more and Nita (the vegetarian) wanted the largest stuffed pepper. It is definitely in my repetoire of "must do again".

Ingredients:

4 large poblano peppers
3 cups frozen corn kernels
4 tblsp peanut or vegetable oil
1 red onion (finely chopped)
1 jalapeno, (seeded and minced)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
3 tomatoes (chopped)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 cup shredded Chihuahua cheese, Asadero or Monterey Jack

Preheat broiler on low.  Place poblano peppers in a shallow pan and lightly coat with  2 tblsp of the oil. Place the poblano peppers in the broiler for 15 minutes, rotating occasionally. Remove from the broiler and allow to cool. Remove outer skins carefully without tearing the peppers (keep whole).
In the meantime, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot add  the onions and until edges appear char.  Reduce heat to medium and add cumin, garlic and oregano.  Continue to stir and heat through.  Add corn and jalapeno and continue to cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Return heat to medium-high and add tomatoes; season with salt and pepper. Cook another minute or 2 then turn pan off.

Split the charred peppers open on one side only, not in half with small sharp knife. Remove the seeds with a small spoon. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish and stuff each split pepper with lots of the corn mix, top each pepper with 1/4 cup of cheese and place back under broiler to melt and char the cheese. Serve with Cilantro Lime Rice (included in this blog) or Spanish rice.

Eggplant, Bitter Melon and Okra Stew (Pinakbet)

This is a classic Philippine dish that uses shrimp paste.  You can find shrimp paste at your local Asian grocery store.  Indonesian and Thai also have shrimp paste. If you cannot find the Philippine version (bagoong), then feel free to use one of the others. The fried pork belly adds a nice texture to the vegetable and rice dish.

Ingredients:
8oz of fresh okra
1 Bitter melon (an acquired taste; can be omitted) - cut in half, remove seeds and cut into bite size pieces.
8oz of fresh string beans
1 eggplant cut into bite size pieces
1 cup of calabasa (hard squash) - remove seeds, cut into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 medium onion (minced)
1 14oz can of plum tomatoes (chopped), save the juice
1-2 tblsp shrimp paste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 tblsp of canola or olive oil

In a large deep pan, heat the oil.  Add onions and garlic, fry until aromatic and the onions are translucent (do not allow garlic to burn).  Add the chopped tomatoes and the juice. Continue stirring until tomatoes are heated through (approximately 3-4 minutes). Add the okra and hard squash. Continue to stir for 1 minute, add the string beans, bitter melon and eggplant.  Continue stirring for 3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and the shrimp paste stir until mixture is well combined; allow it to come to a boil. Lower heat and cover.  Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender but not soft.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon rice into a plate or bowl, add the stew and a slice or two of fried pork belly. 

Note: To make the fried pork belly, slice the pork belly into a thin strip. Season with salt and pepper.  Fry in hot oil until it is crisp outside and inside is a pale pink. To make this vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken. Omit the fried pork belly.

Cauliflower and Carrot Curry

Ingredients:

4 carrots (cut into 1/2 rounds)

1 medium onion (minced)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tblsp madras curry
1 tsp cumin
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 cup thawed green peas
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tblsp vegetable or olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a dutch oven or deep pan, heat the oil on medium. Add carrots and onion, stirring constantly until onions are a light golden color (approximately 5-6 minutes).  Add the garlic and continue stirring for approximately 1 minute.  Add curry and cumin, stirring continuously for another 30 seconds to bring out the flavors of the spices.  Do not allow the spices to burn (add a little more oil if needed.)  Add the cauliflower and vegetable stock.  Simmer until broth starts to bubble; add coconut milk.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for approximately 12-15 minutes.  Add the green peas and cook for another 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon rice into a bowl and top it with the curry vegetables.

Curried Rice Salad

There are days you don't want hot rice to go with your meal. A cold salad is what you are looking for. The first time I made this I thought "what a wonderful find". I made it for a holiday lunch that included my two best friends Nita and Vera and their husbands. Since Nita and her husband were vegetarians, I wanted to fix something really nice. This was it! They absolutely loved it.  I tried it with ham at another time, but I really like the vegetarian version best. But,  feel free to add 2-3 oz of chopped ham and make it into your one dish meal for a light lunch or dinner with a lovely glass of white wine. This is great served at room temperature.

Ingredients:
1 cup long grain or basmati rice
2 1/2 cups water
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tsp of grated lemon zest
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
1 red bellpepper (diced)
1/2 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
2/3 cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp mayonnaise
3tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp of ground ginger
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (cut in half optional)
1/2 cup dark raisins
2 tbsp sliced almonds
salt to taste

In a large sauce pan or rice cooker, combine rice, water, garlic, lemon and salt. Rice cooker: cook rice according to cooker instruction. Sauce Pan: bring to a boil in high heat, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until rice is done (15-17 minutes). Remove from heat and stir to allow rice to cool.

In a large pot, boil water and blanch snap peas, bell pepper, and peas for approximately 30 seconds. Drain and submerge in cold water or ice bath to stop cooking process.  This allows the vegetables hold its bright color.

In a large bowl, whisk yogurt, lemon juice, mayonnaise, curry powder, ginger and season with salt. When blended. When rice is cool, add to the yogurt mixture with snap peas, bell pepper and peas. Stir and combine well.  Before serving stir in raisins, almonds and cherry tomatoes.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf

If you are looking for something that is healthy and watching your glycemic index, this dish is for you.  Oh....and even better, it is delicious!  I combined it with the Kashmiri pork chops and yummmm! I've made it with and without the wild rice and it is still delicious.  I did a mix of wild mushrooms, but if that is not available, any mushroom mix (cremini, white button, etc.) works great as well.
Again, save time and use your trusty rice cooker, if you don't have one, I recommend investing in one if you fix rice at least twice a week. Check out the ones that are on my google ads.

Ingredients:

2/3 cups wild rice
11/2 cups vegetable stock
2 tblsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 onion (minced)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1 1/4 cups basmati rice
10 1/2 oz mixed mushrooms (sliced)
1 1/2 tbs chopped thyme
1 bay leaf
toasted pine nuts for garnish
minced parsley for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan cook wild rice in plenty of boiling water for 25 minutes. Drain. Add wild rice and vegetable stock to rice cooker.

Heat butter and olive oil in a frying pan, add onion, bay leaf and garlic. Cook until onions have softened, but not brown (approximately 3-4 minutes).  Add the basmati rice and stir until rice is well coated; add the mushroom and continue to stir for approximately 1 minute. Transfer contents of pan to the rice cooker. Stir to mix well and turn rice cooker on to finish the cooking process.

When rice is done, salt and pepper to taste, then toss with pine nuts and parsley.

NOTE: If you do not have a rice cooker, combine everything in a pot on top of the stove and bring to a boil. Stir the contents and cover tightly. Reduce the heat to simmer and continue to cook for another 15 minutes or until stock has been completely absorbed and rice is tender.

Eggplant and Red Bell Pepper Stir Fry

We love eggplant at my house. In London, my husband got really tickled that every where we went, this wonderful vegetable was called aubergine.  There are so many different versions: large, baby, Japanese, Indian, and white, just to name a few. I could probably do a blog on eggplants alone. I try to find just as many ways to prepare eggplants.  I found this in an old Chinese cookbook and revised to fit the American palate. This is really great and so easy to prepare.  It goes great with Chinese barbeque or fried pork chops and of course rice.

Another really pretty dish to make.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive or canola oil
3 garlic cloves (minced)
2 regular eggplants or 3 Japanese eggplants (cut diagonally)
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 red bell pepper sliced into strips
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a deep pan. Add garlic and stir fry for approximately 1 minute. Add the eggplant, continue to stir fry for another 30-45 seconds until the eggplant is coated with oil and garlic.  Add the bell pepper strips and continue to stirring.  When the eggplant pieces appear softened, add soy sauce, vinegar and sugar.  Continue stirring and allow to cook for another 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  When done, remove from heat, toss lightly with cilantro.

Vegetable Pulao

This is a wonder dish that my friend Nita shared with me. I served it with a Morrocan style game hen. The flavors complimented each other, creating a wonderful "fusion".

Ingredients:

1 cup - mixed vegetables ( carrots, peas, beans and potato)

2 tbsp - fenugreek

2 cups - basmati rice

3 cups - water

2 tsp - cumin seeds

1 tsp - cardamom

1/2 tsp - cinnamon

1 tsp - red chili powder

2 - bay leaves

1 - onion (sliced in rings)

1 - tomato (chopped)

1/4 tsp - tumeric

2 tsp - coriander powder

4 tbsp - butter

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup - coriander leaves (roughly chopped) optional

Heat butter in a pan until melted; add the onions and cook until translucent. Add cummin seeds, cardamom, cinamon, chili powder, tumeric, fenugreek, bay leaves and chili powder; stirring constantly (approx 2-3 min or until onions are brown). Do not allow the spices to burn. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Once tomatoes are done, add the vegetables. Continue stirring until vegetables are hot. Add rice and mix well. Add water and allow it to boil. Stir the pulao and reduce the heat to low or simmer and cover until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender (approximately 15 min.) Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy.

Note: you can control the "heat" by reducing the amount of chili powder and replacing it with paprika. If you prefer a much spicier dish, increase the amount of chili powder to taste.

Rice Cooker: The final cooking stage can also be completed in a rice cooker. If you are planning on using one, move the rice mixture to your rice cooker and add the water. Stir and cover and let the rice cooker finish the cooking process.