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Inspired eating from celebrity chef Ming Tsai
Ming Tsai is the owner and chef of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Mass., and author of three cookbooks. He hosts Public Television's cooking show, "Simply Ming," and was the long-time host of the Food Network's hit "East Meets West with Ming Tsai."
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds hanger steak, trimmed
3 red onions, halved and sliced
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sambal oelek*
1/4 cup mayo
Sliced pickled jalapeños, for garnish
4 hoagie rolls or ciabatta rolls, toasted
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Canola oil for cooking
Your favorite chips
*Found in the Asian section of your grocery store
Season the hanger steak with salt and pepper. In a large cast-iron pan, coated lightly with oil, sear the hanger over medium heat and cook until brown on all sides and medium inside, about 10 minutes. When steak is halfway done, add onions to start caramelizing them, then season with salt. When steak is done, remove to a cutting board and let rest for five minutes. Continue cooking onions until well caramelized, about five minutes. In a bowl, mix together the Dijon mustard, sambal and mayo. Slice steak and build your sandwich: spread sambal-Dijon mixture on both halves of roll, add onions, pickled jalapeños and steak. Slice sandwich and serve with your favorite chips and a few extra jalapeños, if desired.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 1-pound package raw chicken sausage with fennel
1 1/2 cups coarsely ground coriander
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
3 fennel heads, roughly chopped, save fronds for garnish
3 ribs celery, roughly chopped
2 cups jasmin rice
4 cups chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Canola oil for cooking
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove sausage from casings and roll into balls. Place ground coriander in a pie plate and roll sausage balls in coriander. Place an oven-proof casserole over high heat, add oil to coat and sear sausage meatballs until dark golden brown and delicious, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove sausage meatballs to a plate. In the same casserole, add the onions, fennel and celery and season. Sweat until softened and reduced in volume, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add rice and stir to combine. Add back the sausage meatballs and pour in chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and bake in oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until rice is cooked through. Let rest 15 minutes covered, garnish with fennel fronds and serve family style.
Serves 4
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 lemons, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, finely minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 slices of bacon
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1x1-inch cubes
4 to 8 long satay skewers, soaked in water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooking spray
Prepare a hot grill, sprayed slick. In a bowl, combine the cilantro, lemon zest and juice, garlic, lemongrass and extra virgin olive oil. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Assemble the kebabs by first skewering one end of the bacon and following with chicken cube. Weave the bacon in between the chicken and tomato as you thread each onto the skewer. Lay the kebabs in a dish and take 1/3 of the gremolata and rub all over kebabs. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes. Season the kebabs with salt and pepper and grill until bacon is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Plate using a satay plate and serve with remaining gremolata in dipping bowl.
"This is a variane of tion on omy favorite recipes from my childhood," says Tsai. "My mom used to make a version with hoisin, which is delicious, but I've further simplified her recipe to use kitchen staples that every home has all the time. A departure from the standard spaghetti and meatballs, but familiar enough to entice even the pickiest eater, I guarantee this will become a family favorite."
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 large onions, diced into quarter-inches
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 pound ground beef, naturally fed
1 pound ground pork, naturally fed
4 pounds whole Roma tomatoes (canned is fine)
1/4 cup naturally brewed soy sauce
1/2 bunch Thai basil, leaves only
1 pound spaghetti, blanched in salty water
Extra virgin olive oil for cooking
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Coat a stock pot over medium-high heat lightly with olive oil and sautÈ onions and garlic until translucent, about two minutes. Add the meat, season and sautÈ until browned, about five minutes. Add the tomatoes with liquid, naturally brewed soy sauce and basil and bring to a simmer. Taste for flavor and simmer until reduced by 20 percent, about an hour. Combine blanched spaghetti with sauce in pasta pot and eat.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 whole 4 lb. free range, kosher or organic chicken
4 tablespoons Chinese (Coleman) mustard, rehydrated with water to form a paste
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for cooking
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 large yellow onions, cut into 1-inch dice
1 pound medium-sized Yukon gold potatoes, washed and halved
3 large fennel bulbs, cored, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 bunch celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Whole roasted chicken could not be easier to make, and the addition of the mustard rub punches up the flavor and gives it a little kick. To further simplify, I recommend keeping a jar of whole, peeled garlic cloves in your fridge—they are significantly better than the jars of chopped garlic, and are much more hassle-free than whole heads of garlic. The beauty of this dish is it's a whole meal in one pan, basically. Toss together a green salad, and this dinner is done.
Serves 4
"This is a super-quick, healthful, allergy-friendly recipe I make all the time for my kids, one of whom has peanut and treenut allergies. I like using rice noodles because they're not only tasty and easy to prepare, they're also gluten-free, so wheat-allergic people can enjoy this, too."
Ingredients
1/2 pound rice noodles
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 slices naturally raised, thin-sliced deli ham (low-sodium would work), torn into bite-size pieces
1 package spinach, stems removed, leaves torn (can use frozen, just defrost and squeeze out liquid)
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
First, rehydrate the rice noodles by pouring hot water over them and letting them soak until fully softened. Drain noodles in a mesh strainer. Heat a wok or large saute pan over high heat, add canola oil and swirl to coat pan. When oil shimmers, add onions and season lightly with kosher salt (the ham will add salt to the dish, too). Saute onions until softened and translucent, about three minutes. Add ham and stir-fry until heated through, about one minute. Add spinach and stir-fry until wilted and heated through. Add strained rice noodles and toss thoroughly to heat through. Pour lemon juice over noodles and toss to coat. Check flavor and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Serves 4
Believe it or not, this recipe for fried rice is good for you. The key is getting your pan super-hot so that you use as little oil as possible. Plus, canola oil is actually a healthy fat, so you can feel good about serving this to your kids. I like using turkey and cranberry, two very "fall" ingredients, because they're unexpected, yet familiar enough for kids to happily chow down on.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons canola oil
3 eggs, beaten lightly
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 pound ground turkey
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts sliced thinly, separated
5 cups leftover cooked rice*
1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Kosher salt, if needed
Heat a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. When the oil shimmers, add the eggs, which will puff up. Allow to set, about 5 seconds, and using a wok spatula or similar tool, push the sides of the egg mass toward the center to allow uncooked egg to reach the pan and solidify. Flip the mass, allow it to set, about 5 seconds, and slide onto a paper towel-lined plate; do not overcook. With the edge of the spatula, break the eggs into small pieces. Set aside. Dump out any remaining oil. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil to the wok and swirl to coat the pan. When the oil shimmers, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the turkey and the white parts of the scallions and cook through, breaking up any large chunks, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cranberries and toss thoroughly until heated through. Add the soy sauce, white pepper and reserved eggs and toss. Correct the seasonings, add salt if necessary, transfer to a platter and garnish with the scallion greens. Serve immediately.
Copyright 2007 Ming Tsai
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