July 25, 2011 · 4:24 pm

Meatless Monday: Summer Tomato Salad

Tomato season just started and if you’re not already out in the markets buying the season’s best local varieties, well it’s about time you got going!

I grabbed these beautiful bright guys at a local market in New Jersey, and grew the fresh herbs at home. You can add your favorite fruit to this tomato salad or simply eat it as it. Either way, it’s a refreshing starter to any weekday dinner.

Recipe: Rina Oh

Summer Tomato Salad
Yields 4 servings as an appetizer
Prep time: approximately 10 minutes

Ingredients
8 ounces plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of pureed apricot
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon fresh mint, chopped
½ teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
½ teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
1 pound of fresh cherry tomatoes
1 cup mango, diced
Mint leaves and fresh oregano for garnish

Directions
1. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine yogurt with apricot puree and fresh herbs. Add lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Lay yogurt mixture on plate and top with fresh tomatoes, mango dice and finish with fresh herbs.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Food2, July 2011, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes

July 18, 2011 · 4:14 pm

Meatless Monday: Cold Buckwheat Noodles with Pickled Plums

The most memorable cold soba dishes I’ve come across have played off the juxtaposition of varied textures and flavors.Top them with sweet, fresh fruit for example, and you’ve added a whole new dimension. Top them with sweet, pickled fruit though and you’ve really spiced things up.

Today’s recipe pits spicy chili paste against the sweet and sour jolt of pickled plums, and pairs soft buckwheat noodles with crunchy cucumber slices. The range of ingredients may sound a tad foreign, but that’s no reason to be discouraged, especially not when the result is as tasty as this. Go ahead, give it a try — it’s the perfect balance to these otherwise insufferablly hot summer days.

Pickled plums in cold buckwheat noodles

Yields 2 servings

Ingredients

For the pickled plums

2 cups rice wine vinegar

2 cups water

1 cup pomegranate juice

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup kosher salt

Peel of an orange

8 plums, halved with pit removed

For the cold buckwheat noodles:

4 ounces dry buckwheat noodles

1 tablespoon red chilli paste

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teapoon sugar

1 cup pickled plums, thinly sliced

1 cup seedless cucumber, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Place vinegar, water, sugar, salt and juice in a medium saucepot and bring to a roiling boil on the stovetop. Place plums and orange peel in a large container and pour the liquid over fruit. Allow to cool at room temperature, about 2 hours and then refrigerate.

2. Cook buckwheat noodles as per package directions in boiling water and rinse in cold water immediately when they are tender.

3. Bring all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and lightly whisk together.

4. Dress noodles with spicy sauce and stir in sliced plums and cucumbers.

Preparation time: 10 minutes 
Cooking time: 10 minutes

1 Comment

Filed under Food2, July 2011, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes

July 11, 2011 · 4:09 pm

Meatless Monday: Spiced Tofu and Kimchi Tacos

As far as summertime bites go, few other foods hold a candle to tacos. They’re light and airy, and the perfect complement to otherwise hot and heavy afternoons, and depending on your mood you can fill them with anything from fresh avocado and lime to sauteed vegetables and hot sauce. But as satisfying as a duo of stuffed corn tortillas can be (especially when paired with tangy margarita, or two), their most redeeming quality may just be how easy they are to prepare.

When making tacos, I try to pair flavors that accentuate one another. Since tofu benefits from it’s amazing ability to lap up anything it’s cooked with (in this case, a hodge-podge of spices), and kimchi works wonderfully in balancing out puingent spices like cumin and oregano, I brought them together along with creamy avocado and a hint of tangy lime juice, and it was such a satisfying mouthful I had to share.

Recipe: Rina Oh

Spiced Tofu and Kimchi tacos
Yields 12 tacos

Ingredients
1 package of fresh corn tortillas
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound extra firm tofu, crumbled
4 jalepeno, diced
1 cup cherry tomato, sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup Napa cabbage kimchi chopped
Fresh lime juice (optional)

Directions
1. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil and add tofu and jalapeño in a medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring frequently until jalepeno is tender. Add herbs and spices and cherry tomatoes. Cook for an additional 3 minutes and add soy sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Toast corn tortillas and assemble tacos by adding tofu, topped with avocado and kimchi.

This recipe takes less than 15 minutes in preparation and cooking time!

1 Comment

Filed under Food2, July 2011, Korean Food at Home, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes

July 4, 2011 · 3:41 pm

Meatless Monday: Sexy Grilled Fruit Salad

Treat your grill like an outdoor kitchen and you’ll be conjuring up home made recipes with the best seasonal fruits and vegetables in no time. Fruit can go well beyond the cold and raw recipes we’ve all grown accustomed to. It just takes is a bit of experimentation.

In this recipe, I used green tomatoes and cactus for the salsa verde and Chamelon Gaya melon, watermelon and oven roasted beets for the salad.

Recipe: Rina Oh

Sexy Grilled Fruit Salad
Yields 2 servings as an entrée or 4 servings as an appetizer 

Ingredients
1 pound of beets, oven roasted and carved into melon balls
1 Chamelon Gaya melon, seeded and carved into melon balls
1/4 watermelon, carved into melon balls
3.5 ounces of plain goat cheese
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

For the salsa verde
2 pounds green tomatoes, peeled and finely diced
3 cactus leaves, peeled and finely diced
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Roast beets in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately one hour or until tender. Remove from heat, peel skin and set aside.

Place Gaya and watermelon on skewers and drizzle a few drops of olive oil. Repeat steps with beets.

Coarsely chop remaining beets, add basil, olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Form goat cheese into balls.

For the salsa verde, bring all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and place inside a medium skillet over the stovetop on low heat for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Salsa is finished when all the liquid evaporates and tomatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Food2, July 2011, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes

June 27, 2011 · 1:53 pm

Meatless Monday: California Carrot and Spaghetti

Growing up, your mom must have told you that eating carrots would sharpen your eyesight. And she was right — carrots are packed with loads of vision-healthy vitamin A. But the benefits of Bugs Bunny’s favorite veggie extend well beyond its promises of enhanced eyesight. Carrots just so happen to be rich in dietary fibre, antioxidants and minerals, too.

Sure, the vegetable’s most prolific proponent may have preferred his carrots raw, but chances are it’s only because he never tried them cooked until soft, soaked in creamy almond milk and tossed with spaghetti.

California Carrot and Spaghetti 

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients
1 12 oz package of whole wheat spaghetti, cooked per package directions
1/2 lb. California carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup almond or soy milk
2 tablespoons enoki mushrooms
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large skillet, combine olive oil, carrots, and orange juice, and cook over medium heat until carrots are tender (approximately 20 minutes). Stir in milk and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until milk is reduced by half. Stir in enoki mushrooms after the heat is turned off.

2. In the meantime, cook spaghetti as per package instructions, and then toss lightly in olive oil and carrot sauce. Drizzle a bit of sesame oil if desired, and garnish with parsley and purslane or other seasonal wild weeds!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Food2, June 2011, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes

June 20, 2011 · 6:39 pm

Meatless Monday: Arugula and Mango Salad with Spicy Pickled Fennel

Have a favorite seasonal vegetable that you think you’ll miss in a couple of months? Try your hand at pickling, and you’ll be able to enjoy it long after the summer ends. Here’s a quick and easy pickled fennel recipe that takes less than 30 minutes in preparation time, plus a tasty salad to showcase it in.

 

Arugula and Mango Salad with Spicy Pickled Fennel
Serves 4 as a starter and 2 as a main course

Ingredients

For the pickled fennel:
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons Asian ground red pepper

For the salad:
1 10-ounce bag of baby arugula
1 mango, cubed
1/2 cup pine nuts

For the lemon vinaigrette:
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. For pickled fennel, combine all ingredients except fennel in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Place fennel in a bowl, and pour boiling mixture over it. Allow mixture fennel to cool at room temperature in the pickling liquid and then refrigerate for two hours. Drain before using.

2. For vinaigrette, combine lemon juice and olive oil and whisk together to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. To assemble, dress arugula with vinaigrette, then stir in diced mango, pine nuts, and pickled fennel.

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Food2, June 2011, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes

June 13, 2011 · 11:20 pm

Meatless Monday: Summer Potato Salad with Strawberry Yogurt Dressing

Recipe: Rina Oh

I made a stop at a local farm in Chester, NJ this past week and picked my own bunch! I also purchased fresh red leaf lettuce, and got inspired to use both in a sweet and savory salad. Here’s to kicking off a healthy summer!

Ingredients:

For the salad:
5 medium Idaho potatoes, diced
2 Kirby cucumbers, peeled and diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 medium mango, diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons mint, finely sliced
1 head red leaf lettuce, ends trimmed
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, halved

For the dressing:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
Pinch of salt
Pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook potatoes until fork tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Combine strawberry, yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper and water in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine potatoes, cucumbers, celery, mango, 1 tablespoon of the sliced mint, salt and pepper. Stir in Strawberry Yogurt dressing.

4. Serve salad in lettuce leaves. Garnish with the remaining mint.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Food2, June 2011, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes

June 6, 2011 · 6:43 pm

Meatless Monday: Chilled Adzuki Bean Soup with Fried Kimchi

Soup isn’t just for the wintertime. This chilled bean bowl is loaded with antioxidants and flavor, making it perfect for a healthy weekday lunch or light dinner.

 

Kimchi is a common side dish in Korea, served with just about every meal. The most traditional variety is made with Napa cabbage. In this recipe, it’s fried with immune-boosting enoki mushrooms and purslane, and used to garnish the soup and give it a spicy kick. Kimchi is widely available in supermarkets, but you might have to hit an Asian market to find enoki mushrooms and purslane. White or oyster mushrooms make good substitutes for the enokis, and radish sprouts or watercress can replace the purslane.

Fun fact about adzuki beans: They were first cultivated in Korea around 1000BC.

Chilled Adzuki Bean Soup with Fried Kimchi
Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dried adzuki beans
1 cup dried oats
8 cups water
Vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 cup Napa cabbage kimchi, drained and dried with paper towels
1/2 cup enoki mushrooms, roots trimmed
1 cup zucchini, diced
3 tablespoons salt for boiling zucchini
1/4 cup purslane greens
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot, and cook onions over medium-high heat until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add water, adzuki beans and oats, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low, and cook until beans are tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and cool for about an hour, and then for an additional two hours in the refrigerator.

2. Blend chilled soup in batches until smooth.

3. Pour vegetable oil into a wok or deep skillet, about 2 inches deep. Heat to 350 degrees. Fry kimchi until kimchi is crispy and translucent, about 30 seconds. Repeat with mushrooms. Drain on paper towels.

4. In a medium-sized pot, bring salted water to a boil. Cook zucchini until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

5. To assemble: Pour adzuki bean base into a bowl and mix in zucchini. Garnish with fried kimchi, mushrooms and greens. Drizzle sesame oil on top.

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Food2, June 2011, Korean Food at Home, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes

June 4, 2011 · 8:25 pm

A few days before the James Beard Awards 2011

Alan Richman, dean of Food Journalism at FCI

I’ve just finished a six week course earning a specialized training certificate in the Craft of Food Writing at the French Culinary Institute taught by famed food writer Alan Richman– who possesses 14 unprecedented James Beard Awards in food journalism.

the aspiring food writers taking notes in class

In the class we learned how to properly format editorial pitches, write featured articles, service pieces and write restaurant reviews concluding the lessons with critiquing each other’s work. Some notable guest speakers included Gabriella Gershenson, Andy Kramer, and Steven Shaw.

Ching Huang, Susur Lee, Rina Oh, and Ming Tsai at the Lucky Rice Talk + Taste Event on May 8th

A few weeks later I got a chance to meet some serious star chefs, Ming Tsai, Susur Lee, and Ching Huang from the Cooking Channel at the Lucky Rice Festival Talk + Taste event on May 8th at Astor Center. I helped prep Ching’s steamed chicken with Chinese mushrooms, gogi berries with dried lily bulbs and vegetarian crispy beancurd rolls. The day concluded with Ming Tsai’s black bean Orecchiette made with spicy pork and broccoli. The demo room was filled with 150 guests as we ended the hard day’s work sharing a six pack of Singha beer with Ming Tsai. He charmed the cooks with his locker room stories after strolling in about an hour before the demo began.

Rina Oh and Ming Tsai

Ming Tsai is an Emmy award nominated television host of Simply Ming and co-hosted the James Beard Awards the day after the Talk and Taste event. Preceding the events that day, Chef Ming sent out about 400 covers at his famed restaurant Blue Ginger in Massachusetts, then hopped on the next flight to NYC to attend the demo and host the JBA the following day. Not too shabby for a busy celebrity chef who still manages to cook the line. I’m taking a rain check to venture out with Ming Tsai when he returns to New York and promise you my dear readers that I’ll have an exclusive interview with him very soon.

 ***

Leave a Comment

Filed under Hot on the Blog, June 2011

May 23, 2011 · 3:16 pm

Meatless Monday: Creamy Leek Cavatelli with Crostini

Looking for a date night dinner? This creamy pasta dish is simple, sophisticated, and sure to impress any guest.

This dish is made with Béchamel, a classic French sauce made by whisking hot milk into a roux made with equal parts flour and butter. The technique results in a thick, creamy coating, making pasta dishes both heartier and more elegant.

Creamy Leek Cavatelli with Crostini
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb. dried or frozen cavatelli pasta, cooked al dente
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 leeks, white parts only, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups milk, heated
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

For the crostini:
1 French baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces on the bias
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks, shallots and garlic, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are translucent, about 3-5 minutes.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat and add flour. Stir or whisky, making sure to break up any lumps, until frothy, about 1-2 minutes. Add heated milk a little bit at a time and cook over medium-low heat, whisking or stirring, until liquid is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 6-8 minutes.

4. Stir in leek mixture, cavatelli pasta and grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

5. Brush olive oil onto bread slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated oven for about 5 minutes.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Food2, May 2011, Meatless Mondays, Rina's Food2 recipes