Pork Potstickers

Chinese take-out is delicious, but it can also be made simply at home. Pan-fried dumplings are of my favorite things to order. I am happy to eat them as a main course or appetizer. It’s even simple and impressive to make for a dinner party.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Pork Potstickers

Yields about 24 dumplings

Ingredients for the dumpling:

• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium
• 2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (can substitute another teaspoon of soy sauce if wanted)
• 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 (12 ounces) package wonton wrappers (You will only use about half of the package.)
• vegetable oil

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

Place the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, green onions, garlic, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, and ginger into a medium sized bowl. Whisk ingredients to combine well. Next, add the meat, and mix gently until all is combined.

Fill a small bowl with water, and set up your assembly station. Place a spoonful of the filling into a wonton wrapper one at a time. To seal the edges, dip your finger into water and wet all the edges of the wonton wrapper. Press the edges tightly to close. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Place 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Place dumplings into pan. (Be sure not to crowd it because you don’t want them to get stuck together.) Then add enough water to the pan to reach about one-fourth of the dumplings height.

Place a lid on the pan, and let it sim­mer for about 5–7 minutes.

While the potstickers are simmering, place all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together until everything is combined. Set aside for serving.

Remove lid (most of the water should be gone). As the water evap­o­rates, the crust will start to brown on the bot­tom. Allow to fry until the bot­tom of the dumplings are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Repeat if all of the dumplings did not fit in the pan.

Serve warm with the prepared sauce and a side dish of rice or veggies.

Enjoy!!

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”
– Harriet Van Horne

Healthy Tilapia Escabeche

Escabeche is a common dish in the Philippines. It’s usually served as a whole fish, lapu-lapu or tilapia, that is deep fried with a sweet and sour type sauce. In this recipe, I used fillets instead of a whole fish and baked the panko breading on instead of deep frying. The roots of this dish are Spanish and Chinese with Filipino flair and local produce.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Healthy Tilapia Escabeche

2 Servings

Ingredients:

• olive oil cooking spray
• 1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs (can substitute regular panko bread crumbs)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tilapia fillets
• salt and black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 inches ginger, peeled and julienned
• 1 green bell pepper, julienned
• 2 stalks celery, julienned
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
• 4 green onions, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 cup jasmine rice, cooked

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cover a small baking sheet with foil, and spray with nonstick olive oil cooking spray. Place the panko on a plate, and beat the egg in a small bowl. Season tilapia fillets with salt and pepper on each side.

Dip each piece of fish into then beaten egg bowl and then into the bread crumbs, be sure to shake off the excess at each dipping.

Place the breaded tilapia on the prepared baking sheet, and spray with cooking spray again. Place the sheet in the oven, and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and set aside.

While the fish is in the oven start on the sauce. Place the vinegar, 1 cup of water, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a measuring cup. Stir to combine.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until they have softened. Next, add the vinegar mixture and ginger.  Bring the mixture to a boil, and then add the rest of the vegetables.

Take the remaining 2 tablespoons of water and corn starch and combine them in the already used measuring cup. Whisk the ingredients together so that there are no lumps. Add this to the sauce, and cook until it reaches the desired thickness.

Place 1/2 cup of rice on each serving plate. Top with the fish fillet, and pour the sauce and vegetables on top.

Serve warm.

Enjoy!!

“A person who does not remember where he/she came from will never each his/her destination.”- Filipino Proverb

Pulled Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches

Banh Mi Sandwiches are delicious. The city we live in does have a Vietnamese restaurant, but it lacks the banh mi sandwich on the menu. What’s the next best thing? Make it at home! To make it convenient, I used my slow cooker with this one again.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Pulled Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches

4-6 Servings

Ingredients for the pulled pork and pickled carrots:

• 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 3/4 cup white vinegar, divided
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 jalapeño, sliced*
• 1 piece (2-inches) ginger, peeled and sliced into discs
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast (I used one that was 2.5 pounds.)
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly shredded

*The choice of spiciness is up to you. You can choose to include all the seeds, half the seeds, or no seeds. I chose to include half of the seeds on ours.

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/6 cup water
• 1/6 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes

Ingredients for the sandwich:

• 4-6 hoagie rolls, sliced
• reserved sauce from pulled pork
• banh mi sauce
• mayonnaise, optional
• 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• pickled carrots
• 1/2 cup white onions, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• garlic chili sauce (Sriracha), optional

Directions:

First, place your slow cooker lining in your slow cooker, if you like to use them. (I like to spray a little nonstick spray in there just to make sure it won’t stick.)

Place the soy sauce, 1/4 cup white vinegar, brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, jalapeño, ginger, and garlic in the prepared slow cooker insert. Stir to combine well.

Season the pork generously with salt and black pepper on all sides. Place the pork in the liquid. Cover the slow cooker, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.5 hours.

Once the pork is cooked, remove it from the liquid, and shred the meat. Strain the sauce and set aside.

While the pork is cooking in the slow cooker, you can work on the pickled carrots and banh mi sauce. In a medium bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and granulated white sugar, and stir well until dissolved. Next add the carrots, and toss. Allow the mixture to sit for at least 45 minutes. Drain well, and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve on the sandwiches.

To make the banh mi sauce, add all the ingredients to a small bowl. Whisk until everything is combined thoroughly.

Once everything is prepared, assemble the delicious sandwich.

Spread the reserved pork drippings and banh mi sauce on both sides of the cut sides of the rolls. Add the mayonnaise at this point if you are using them. Layer the pulled pork, cucumber, pickled carrots, onions, jalapeños, and cilantro. Finally drizzle with garlic chili sauce.

Close the sandwiches and taste yumminess.

Enjoy!!

“Eating slowly is good for the stomach; plowing deeply is good for the fields.” – Vietnamese Proverb

Coconut Curry Tilapia

I realized last week that I haven’t made Asian food in a while for dinner. I particularly enjoy Thai food. This is a light fish dish with a Thai coconut curry sauce.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Coconut Curry Tilapia

2 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless tilapia fillets
• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• sea salt and black pepper, freshly ground
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 3 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
• 1/2 (13.5 ounces) can of light coconut milk*
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (can substitute another soy sauce, but fish sauce really makes this dish)
• 1/2 cup jasmine rice, cooked, for serving

* Pint-sized tip: To avoid wasting the remaining coconut milk, you can place it in a sealed plastic (ziplock-type) bag and store it in the freezer. Thaw it in the refrigerator before you use it in your next recipe!

Directions:

Preheat oven to the broiler setting, and line a small baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray to avoid sticking.

Place the tilapia fillets onto the baking sheet. Using 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, rub each fillet on both sides, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a medium sauté over medium heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place the lemon zest, ginger, and curry paste in the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, and then lower the heat to low. Slowly pour in the coconut milk, and mix until fully combined. Add the lime juice and fish sauce and stir. Allow the sauce to reduce by half, stirring every once in a while to avoid sticking.

While the sauce is reducing, place the tilapia in the oven for 5-7 minutes to cook.

Serve the fish with jasmine rice and a generous amount of sauce.

Enjoy!!

“Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime.”
– Chinese Proverb

Healthy Shrimp & Broccoli Stir Fry

This week is dedicated to my love of seafood. Since the husband does not share my affinity for it, you know I had to take advantage of a week when he would be gone. This recipe is a quick and healthy way to enjoy some shrimp.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Healthy Shrimp & Broccoli Stir Fry

2 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 head of fresh broccoli, rinsed and trimmed to florets
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili sauce
• jasmine rice, for serving (can use rice of your choice)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in garlic and sauté until fragrant. Next add the broccoli florets and allow to cook for about 2 minutes.

Pour chicken broth over the top. Cover pan and cook for 15 minutes or until the broccoli is slightly tender.

Add in remaining ingredients. Cook just until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Serve warm over rice.

Enjoy!!

“Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it.” – Bubba, Forrest Gump

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro is one of our fave restaurants. My husband loves the lettuce wraps in particular. Unfortunately the closest one to us is 70-ish miles away. I make this recipe whenever we need to satisfy our cravings and we don’t have time to make the drive!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground chicken (can substitute ground turkey)
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, divided
• sea salt
• black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 carrot, minced
• 1/2 can (about 4 ounces) of water chestnuts, drained, rinsed, and minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
• 1 small container of baby brown mushrooms, minced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1.5 teaspoons roasted garlic-red pepper sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 stems of green onions, chopped
• 1 head of Bibb lettuce, cleaned and leaves removed
• crispy wonton strips, for serving (optional)

Directions:

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown ground chicken for 5-7 minutes.

Season the browned chicken with 1.5 tablespoons of the soy sauce, salt, and pepper.

Add the carrots and water chestnuts, cook until softened, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.

Add the mushrooms and bell peppers, sauté until softened, stirring, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the hoisin, remaining 1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper sauce and red pepper flakes. Stir to coat, and cook for an additional 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in green onions.

Serve with lettuce cups and garnish with chinese wonton crunchies if desired.

Enjoy!!

“Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.” – Aesop