Category: Asian Influence

Mama Makes Asian Meatballs with Noodles + Veggies

1/24/2021

This is one of my all time favourite ways to eat vegetables. The first time I had this was at The Naam Restaurant in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The Naam is an iconic restaurant featuring vegetarian cuisine and has been in operation for more than 50 years. The Naam is so well established that they have their own line of sauces that can now be purchased at the grocery store. I enjoyed this dish so much at the restaurant, that I went home and tried to recreate it.

My recipe is not vegetarian, as it includes the meatballs that were made from the wonton mixture. However, if you are looking for a vegetarian meal, simply exclude the meatballs.

Ingredients: 1 cup each sliced carrots, sweet pepper,
onion, mushroom, celery, cabbage,
  bean sprouts (optional), tomatoes (optional)
   bottled Naam Miso Gravy
   rice noodles
meatballs from wonton recipe

Slice your vegetables julienne style, add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan and stir fry. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add 1 tsp sesame oil along with your favourite Naam sauce. For this recipe I prefer the miso gravy. Stir well. Turn heat off and cover.

Two of my favourite
Naam sauces
miso gravy and peanut sauce. DELICIOUS!

I often prepare homemade bone broth, but store bought broth is great. It's inexpensive, tasty and has a long shelf life.

Cook your meatballs in broth for added flavour. It's okay to cook them in salted water if you don't have broth.

Simmer the meatballs until they are cooked. Notice how the colour of the cooked meatball is different from the colour of the raw meatball. Drain and save the broth so you can enjoy wonton soup with it.

While the meatballs are simmering, prepare rice noodles according to the instructions on the package. It usually only takes about 5 minutes to cook rice noodles.

When the meatballs are cooked, place them gently into the prepared vegetable dish.

Ready to serve. Cover with a lid to keep warm while waiting for noodles.

Plate your drained rice noodles.

Add your veggie and meatball combo. Surprisingly, this dish is nice garnished with a sprinkle of freshly shredded parmesan cheese or gouda (cheese is optional).

Enjoy this scrumptious dish.

Thanks to The Naam Restaurant for the delicious sauce.

That's it for now! Have the BEST day.

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Mama Makes Fried Wontons and Wonton Soup

1/19/2021

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Remember those wontons I made a couple of weeks ago? Here are two follow up recipes with ideas on how to enjoy them.

Fried Wontons and Dipping Sauces

Dipping sauces

*1/4 cup each of sour cream, water, cream cheese, and mayonnaise.
*1 tsp smoked chipotle chili spice or 1/2 tsp each of paprika and chili powder
*salt and pepper

Make your sauces first so they are ready when your wontons are. You can make the sauces a day or two ahead if you want to.

*1/4 cup each tamari and rice vinegar,
*1 tbsp hoisin, 1 tsp ground ginger
*a few drops sesame oil
*salt and pepper

Fried Wontons

Ideally, you would fry your wontons in a deep-frier. We don't eat fried food very often, so I don't have a deep-frier. For me, a fry pan works.

Have all the utensils ready before you start. Prepare paper towel on the counter to drain the wontons once they are cooked.

Heat 4 cups of cooking oil in fry pan. Use good quality oil with a high smoke point. Peanut oil is good for fat frying. Don't use olive oil.

Use a cooking thermometer and heat to 350-400 degrees. Bring the oil to temperature before adding wontons.

Avoid burning yourself by carefully placing the wontons into the pan. Place the wontons away from your body. Don't plop the wontons into the hot oil.

Cover the cooking wontons with a splash guard. In a fry pan, cooking with oil in this way gets very messy. The floor around the stove top will even get oily. This is where a deep-frier comes in handy. All the splashing and mess is contained. However, if you don't have one, make do with what you've got.

Using the splash guard to protect yourself from spitting oil. Quickly turn the cooking wontons using tongs.

Cook until golden brown.

Remove quickly from the hot oil.

Lay on paper towel to drain oil. Plate and serve immediately with dipping sauces. Great with cucumbers and radishes as a side.

Wonton Soup

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in pan.

Add 2 cups chopped veggies. In this picture, I'm using a blend of shredded kale, broccoli, carrots, and cabbage.

Stir fry the veggie combo.

Turn the heat to low and cover the pan to sweat the veggie mix until tender. I can see I need a new lid. I've had this one for a long time!

Meanwhile, prepare your broth in a pot. I often make my own bone broth, but in this case I used store bought. It's inexpensive, convenient and has a long shelf life.

Bring broth to a gentle boil.

Place wontons into broth and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the wontons are cooked.

The wonton noodle will appear well shrivelled when it is ready.

The veggies will be wilted, but not overcooked.

Spoon veggies into serving bowl.

Add the cooked wontons.

Pour the hot broth over the mixture.

Garnish with tamari and minced green onion or Chinese parsley.

Cooked prawns are often enjoyed in wonton soup for an added pleasure.

Chinese New Year is coming up on February 12, 2021. Prepare your wontons now and celebrate with a culinary delight that you made yourself. One more recipe is coming soon. It's a way to enjoy those pork meatballs I made alongside the wontons. It's delicious, as well as healthy and nutritious.

That's it for now. Have the BEST day!

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Mama makes Wontons

1/5/2021

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This is an original recipe. I'm not a chef, but I am a gourmet cook. I learn from others and experiment with food. I don't usually use a recipe. I put foods together that I know will complement one another and taste good. The main rule of cooking that I follow is, don't put in too much of something. You can always add more, but you can't take it out once it's in there. Too much sugar, salt, or spice can wreck a dish that may otherwise have been perfect. This recipe is inspired by a friend of mine, born in China, who showed me how she makes these tantalizing delectables. They are simple to make, versatile, freeze well, and the recipe makes LOTS. For my vegetarian friends, keep reading because although this recipe is made with pork, it can be meatless. I don't cook with garlic because my stomach can't tolerate it, but garlic is a natural flavour in this recipe.

Ingredients: * ground pork (about a pound)
* 1/2 cabbage (about 4 cups), finely chopped
* 1 cup each, finely chopped celery, carrot, mushroom, sweet pepper, onion
* salt, pepper, ground ginger, Chinese five spice (optional), garlic (optional),
tamari, sesame oil, broth
* store-bought wonton wrappers

Fresh ingredients are always best, but powdered is fine. A chef would say to use sea salt, but I personally can't taste a difference. If you are using fresh ginger, you will need about 3 inches of ginger root. Tamari is gluten-free soya sauce. Regular soya sauce is acceptable to use. I am a bit of a "fly by the seat of my pants" style of cook, so I don't always know exactly how much of something I've used. For some recipes (usually baking), we need to be precise, but this is a forgiving recipe, and approximations are okay. If you choose to use garlic in this recipe, don't overdo it. You want the subtle flavours to meld and not be overwhelmed. When I stopped cooking with garlic, I learned how delicious the natural flavours of vegetables are.

Getting started:

Depending on what I'm making, I will physically chop the ingredients. For this recipe, a food processor is great to use because it will grind the vegetables more finely than regular chopping, and it is a time-saver.

Place the finely ground ingredients into a large bowl. Drain the celery and the sweet pepper, as those two veggies have too much water and will make the mixture too wet.

Add one tablespoon (Tbsp) salt.

Add one teaspoon (tsp) pepper and one tsp Chinese five spice.

Add 1/3 cup tamari, one Tbsp sesame oil, and one egg.

Get in there with your clean hands and start smushing. Keep smushing. Smush well.

I heard a chef on TV say that if you stir the meat in one direction, it will align the protein fibres and your meat will be more moist. Who knew?

Mix until all ingredients are well blended.

Notice the bowl of water. Dip your finger into the water and outline the edge of the wrapper to moisten it. This action will enable the wonton wrapper to do its thing and stick together.

Variation, make your wontons tortellini style, like a stuffed pocket. This method uses a more generous amount of the meat mixture.

If you get tired of wrapping, then make meatballs! They store well in the freezer, are versatile and great to have on hand to serve as an appetizer or to use as a side dish.

Fill the prepared wonton wrapper with about one teaspoon of the pork mixture. Squeeze the wrapper together at the top, being careful not to trap air. The moistened edges will stick together.

Remember to dampen the edge of the wonton wrapper with water. Being careful not to trap air, place the top wrapper on and press securely.

This recipe made about eight dozen wontons, one dozen stuffed pockets and 19 meatballs.

Place the wontons onto a tray lined with parchment paper or waxed paper. This tray will go into the freezer to firm up the wontons before placing them in freezer bags.

Place the filled wrappers into the freezer before putting them in freezer bags. This step prevents them from sticking together inside the bag.

Once frozen, into the freezer bags, they go. Best enjoyed in a broth soup or deep-fried for a crispy treat with dipping sauce. Cook them for about eight minutes in gently boiling broth and ensure the meat is cooked through before consuming.

I'll follow up soon to show you my favourite way to eat up those meatballs. It's one of my favourite recipes and it's easy! Stay in touch.

I promised a vegetarian option. I've not made this, but I noticed that when I shredded the mushrooms in the food processor, they took on a meat-like texture. If you increase the mushroom amount (2 - 4 cups) and make that your base, I think it would work nicely as a meat substitute. If you add mashed cooked legumes or chickpeas (1 - 2 cups), that would add substance and a source of protein. You could also add gluten or ground psyllium to bind the mixture. If you're feeling adventuresome, give my idea a try.

Contact me: Feel free to contact me to discuss any questions you have about my recipe. Post in the comments section on this page or email me (see Home Page). Let me know if you try it and how it turned out. Post pictures if you'd like to. I'd love to hear from you and I hope you have a successful cooking venture.

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Mama Cooked Today!

Mama Makes Asian Meatballs with Noodles + Veggies

Mama Makes Fried Wontons and Wonton Soup

Mama makes Wontons

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