Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Sushi Recipe

Let’s face it. You don’t always have five hours to prepare a gourmet meal. In fact, most of the time it’s hard to even find an hour to throw something together.

Here are some fast, easy tricks, tips and techniques to save you time and energy.

Buy a salad mix: Those pre-made mixtures have come a long way. They’re not just lettuce anymore. Dressing, toppings such as almond slivers and dried cranberries, and more make it look like you really spent some time. Open the bag and you have salad.

Prefreeze your Chicken Breasts: It’s always good to have some chicken in the freezer. They’ll thaw in minutes and you’ll have a nice meal ready for the family.

Frozen bread dough: There’s so much assortment these days. From crescent rolls to biscuits to the traditional dinner roll, they’re all available and you’re house will smell delicious while they’re baking. Who has time for yeast anyway?

Frozen fruits: Will save you money and time by allowing you to have strawberries in the middle of winter. Yum.

Shredded cheese: Most recipes call for cheese to be shredded anyway so why not buy it preshredded?

Canned stock and broth: Who really has 24-48 hours to make stock from scratch? Not worth it at all.

Shelf pasta: It’s a really quick simple meal when you’ve got nothing else to make. Also it lasts forever, so you don’t have to worry about it going bad.

Salad dressings: Paul Newman is doing us all a favor by having his face on so many different varieties of salad dressing, plus his version won’t spoil as fast and probably costs less.

Artichoke hearts: As much as I love a good fresh artichoke the work you have to do to get that little heart is sometimes not worth it.

Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes are awesome and lots of recipes call for them nowadays instead of the fresh kind. Plus you can buy them in so many sizes and types.

by: Jane Copeland

Monday, January 28, 2008

Thai Recipe by thairecipe-sushirecipe

The country of Thailand boasts some of the most beautiful physical features of any country on the planet. Those who travel to Thailand and experience Thailand's culture are in for an adventure of a lifetime and a cultural experience that they will not soon forget. Due to the millions of western tourists flocking to its shores every year, Thailand has been able to make an impact on our western culture. Many aspects of Thailand's culture are showing up in the USA and in Europe. Thai boxing and Martial are as well as artworks, crafts and food are some of the most popular parts of Thai culture and have managed to make their way across to gyms, galleries and kitchens of the west.

Among the many valuable cultural contributions Thailand has made around the world, one of the most important and widespread is Thai food and Thai recipes. Thai restaurants with their delicious Thai recipes are all the rage and you don't have to travel very far to experience the culinary extravaganza of Thailand. Thai cooking and Thai recipes are also growing in popularity. Many local colleges and night schools are offering more and more courses in Thai cooking teaching us how to prepare for ourselves some of the best Thai recipes. In this article, we will bring the Thai cooking to you with 2 very healthy and simple Thai recipes that are simple and easy to prepare. All you need are very basic ingredients and equipment to prepare these 2 Thai recipes.

Contrary to popular belief, not all Thai recipes are hot and spicy. Thai cooking and Thai recipes offer a wide range of dishes ranging from very mild to very hot. It all depends on what you own individual tastes are. This first Thai recipe is a very mild and simple noodle dish that is both tasty and healthy. Pad Thai noodles are a staple Thai Recipe. They are an excellent well balanced meal containing noodles, chicken, prawns and egg, all fried in a wok. For 2 servings you will need the following list of ingredients.

100g of wild rice noodles
100g of chicken breast, finely chopped
3 sliced shallots
2crushed garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon crushed dried challis
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon of granulated sweetener
Juice of 1 lime
150g of bean sprouts, rinsed
60g of small prawns
1 beaten egg
2 spring onions chopped
2 inches of finely chopped cucumber
½ red chili sliced and de seeded
2 tablespoons of fresh coriander
15g of salted peanuts

To begin this Thai recipe, soak the rice noodles in boiling water for approximately 5 minutes unless otherwise indicated on the package. You need to stir, separately the strands and when finished drain and rinse in cold water.

Heat either your cooking spray or oil in your wok until it starts to smoke. Then add the chicken, shallots, garlic and crushed chilis. Fry and stir for 3 minutes.

The next part of this Thai recipe is to mix the fish sauce, sweetener and lime juice together and pour it into the pan. Soon after, add the bean sprouts and well drained noodles. Cook everything together for 1 minute and then add the prawns. Cook the prawns with everything else for a further 1 minute.

Next drizzle the egg over the noodles and leave it to set for about 1 minute. The garnish ingredients need then to be mixed. Once mixed, add half to the pan. Mix everything together one last time and then serve in warmed bowls. You may choose to top the remainder of dish with the remainder of the garnish.

This Thai recipe is both tasty and healthy. This Thai recipe serves 2 people with less than 450 calories per serving. This Thai recipe also allows for a vegetarian option. You can use Tofu in place of the chicken as well as substituting a light soy sauce for the Thai fish sauce.

The second Thai recipe that we will discuss is usually served in Thai restaurants as an appetizer. These are Thai fish cakes. This Thai recipe only takes about 20 minutes to make and have a mild 118 calories per serving. For the dipping sauce you will need the following:

2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of granulated sweetener
1 ½ inches of diced cucumber

For the main Thai recipe, you will need:

Grated Zest and juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons of fresh coriander
1 red chili deseeded and finely diced
1 inch of ginger root, peeled and sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped roughly
1 tablespoon of Thai fish sauce
400g of skinless Haddock fillet and diced
1 egg white
60g of green beans, trimmed and sliced
Cooking oil

First mix the sweetener, soy sauce and cucumber with 1 tablespoon of lime juice and 1 tablespoon of coriander and half the diced chili. Mix the lime zest and juice in a food processor with the remaining coriander and chill, lemongrass and fish sauce.

Blend all of these together until finely chopped. Then add the fish and pulse together until well blended. Place the mixture in a bowl and stir in the egg white, corn flour and beans. Stir all of this tougher until finely combined.

Dampen your hands and shape into fishcakes. This Thai recipe should make about 12 fishcakes. Heat your frying pan and oil of your choice.

Cook the fishcakes in 2 separate batches for about 2 ½ minutes on each side. When finished serve with the cucumber dipping sauce from the first part of the Thai recipe.

This Thai recipe makes a delicious and healthy snack or meal. Thai recipes are all the rage in the art of cooking these days. Thai recipes are tasty, flavorful and healthy. Thai recipes are also easy to vary for lovers of other meats or for vegetarians. Try a Thai recipe today, you won't be sorry.

by: Eugene Yeng Aik Ngin

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Easy Recipe Tips and Tricks

Let’s face it. You don’t always have five hours to prepare a gourmet meal. In fact, most of the time it’s hard to even find an hour to throw something together.

Here are some fast, easy tricks, tips and techniques to save you time and energy.

Buy a salad mix: Those pre-made mixtures have come a long way. They’re not just lettuce anymore. Dressing, toppings such as almond slivers and dried cranberries, and more make it look like you really spent some time. Open the bag and you have salad.

Prefreeze your Chicken Breasts: It’s always good to have some chicken in the freezer. They’ll thaw in minutes and you’ll have a nice meal ready for the family.

Frozen bread dough: There’s so much assortment these days. From crescent rolls to biscuits to the traditional dinner roll, they’re all available and you’re house will smell delicious while they’re baking. Who has time for yeast anyway?

Frozen fruits: Will save you money and time by allowing you to have strawberries in the middle of winter. Yum.

Shredded cheese: Most recipes call for cheese to be shredded anyway so why not buy it preshredded?

Canned stock and broth: Who really has 24-48 hours to make stock from scratch? Not worth it at all.

Shelf pasta: It’s a really quick simple meal when you’ve got nothing else to make. Also it lasts forever, so you don’t have to worry about it going bad.

Salad dressings: Paul Newman is doing us all a favor by having his face on so many different varieties of salad dressing, plus his version won’t spoil as fast and probably costs less.

Artichoke hearts: As much as I love a good fresh artichoke the work you have to do to get that little heart is sometimes not worth it.

Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes are awesome and lots of recipes call for them nowadays instead of the fresh kind. Plus you can buy them in so many sizes and types.

by: Jane Copeland