10-Minute Side Dish: Bok Choy

10 minute side dish, Asian, Low-carb, My Tasteful Life, Paleo, Stir-fry, vegetables

Bok choy with teriyaki glazed Sea Bass.

Bok choy is a Chinese cabbage that lends itself to being sautéed over high heat. It’s a delicious vegetable that you can find in most grocery stores, and I think it’s a great alternative to my regular green side dishes.

I really love baby bok choy because of its delicate taste and texture. But the regular variety is just as good and easier to find. To prep bok choy, remove the lowest, hardest white part where all the leaves connect. Rinse with water and pat dry. Then slice into 1/2″ strips, including the leaves.

The rest is up to you. The recipe below calls for a quick sauté with ginger, garlic and onion, but you can add it to stir fry or even roast it in the oven. Bok choy works with any protein, so instead of green beans or sugar snap peas, grab some bok choy this week. Try it once, and I’m sure you’ll be adding it to your vegetable rotation.

Ingredients

1 large head of bok choy or 3 heads of baby bok choy

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional – reduce or remove if you don’t like heat)

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos

1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Process

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat for 30 to 60 seconds. Then stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add onion and cook for another minute. Then add all of the bok choy.

Cook, stirring regularly, for 6 minutes. Turn heat to high, add the soy sauce or coconut aminos, and the red pepper flakes. Continuously stir for another minute. Turn off heat and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Quick Garlic Beef with Wilted Greens

Asian, Garlic, Greens, Marinade, My Tasteful Life, Paleo, Sirloin, Stir-fry, Swiss chard

Garlic Beef with Wilted Greens over jasmine rice.

This Garlic Beef recipe will surprise you with its taste, speed and ease. I found it in a cookbook I recently picked up, One-Pot Paleo. It’s packed with flavor and healthy greens, and the high heat sears the beef and caramelizes the garlic.

Wilting greens makes it easy to eat large quantities of healthy leafy vegetables. I love the effect of watching four or more cups significantly reduce while cooking over high heat. The balance of protein and vegetables in this dish creates a satisfying and healthy effect you will surely love.

This quick recipe is a weeknight’s best friend, and it works great served with cauli-rice or jasmine rice. The sirloin takes a little knife work, and you want to marinate the beef for at least 30 minutes. But once you turn on the heat, this one-dish meal only takes 10 minutes and feeds 3 adults.

Ingredients

1 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil or coconut oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

4-6 cups mixed leafy greens, such as bok choy, spinach, Swiss chard and baby kale

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos

Process

Thinly cut the sirloin on an angle into 1/8” thick slices.

Combine the beef with the minced garlic, black pepper, and oil. Marinate for at least 30 minutes but no longer than an hour.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and let the pan warm up. Add the sirloin to the hot pan and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Add the onion and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Then add the greens on top of the beef.

Cook, stirring regularly, for another 3 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and soy sauce and turn the heat up slightly to dry out the pan. Stir fry for another 3 minutes, and then remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Introducing Cauli-rice: Your New Paleo Side

Asian, Coconut Milk, Herbs, Indian, Paleo, side dish, Spanish

Paleo cooking is packed with flavor, but one of the things I miss most are side dishes like rice, couscous and potatoes. While I can happily abstain from these less-than-healthy sides, it’s harder to ask my friends and family to adhere to my Paleo regimen.

Therefore, I’ve been trying to be creative and have come to love cauliflower rice – a.k.a. cauli-rice. Cauliflower can be transformed into a rice-like texture by using a good blender or cheese grater. Such a mild vegetable, cauliflower absorbs whatever flavors used in its cooking process.

Basic cauli-rice can be as simple as a large skillet, a grated head of cauliflower, a tablespoon of healthy fats, and 1/3 cup of chicken broth. However, by adding basic ingredients such as garlic, onion, and fresh herbs, you can create flavorful combinations that enhance your main dish while satisfying guests and families alike.

Saffron Cauil-rice

Even if you don’t follow a Paleo lifestyle, you can treat this cauli-rice like risotto. Add some saffron and peas. Or try it with mushrooms, cream and parmesan cheese. The options are endless once you grate the cauliflower and treat it like rice.

Hand-grating the cauliflower may take a little elbow grease, but a blender makes this recipe much easier. The key is to crumble the cauliflower in batches. You also need to pulse the blender to ensure that you don’t over-grind the cauliflower florets.

Below I’ve shared one of my favorite ways to make cauli-rice. This combination of cilantro, lime and coconut works great with all Asian, Indian and Spanish cuisines.

Cilantro and Coconut Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients

1 small head of cauliflower or bag of pre-cut cauliflower

1 tablespoon ghee, coconut oil or olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup onions, chopped

1/4 cup red pepper, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1 lime, juiced

Process

Create the cauli-rice by cutting the cauliflower head into large chunks. In your blender, pulse each section individually until it has a rice-like texture. Remove any large fragments that don’t shred and save them for later or discard.

Once you’ve riced all of the cauliflower, melt your oil or ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add the cauli-rice and spread over the entire surface area of the pan. Press down and let cook for 2-3 minutes, and then mix. Continue to sauté for 5 minutes.

Then add the lime juice and coconut milk, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has been absorbed. Add salt and cilantro, stir and serve.

Summertime Marinades: Snappy Lemon

Asian, grilling, Marinade, Paleo, Shellfish, tips

It’s summer, and it feels like it. That means my grill has been utilized nearly every night of the week. I just think food tastes better because of that open flame, and marinades can truly enhance an entire meal.

The real struggle comes when trying to find new marinades for your favorite grilled proteins. I honestly grill everything from steak to shrimp to vegetables. So I’ve developed a variety of easy homemade marinades that complement any meal.

Over the next few days, I’ll share four different recipes that can be used on practically anything. Experiment and try new proteins that you might not normally gravitate toward. You never know what new favorite you’ll whip up tonight.

The Snappy Lemon recipe below comes from my mom’s recipe book. It’s never failed me and offers a nice change to store-bought dressings used as a marinade. Try it tonight with grilled chicken or shellfish.

Snappy Lemon (best with chicken, skirt steak, seafood or shellfish)

Ingredients

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (Coconut Aminos can be substituted)

2 tablespoons white wine

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (you can find this in the Asian section at most grocery stores)

2 green onions, chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Process

Mix all together in a bowl and place your protein into the mixture, and cover with lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate 15-30 minutes (only 15 minutes for shellfish). Grill at 450 degrees until cooked through.

Paleo Lunch: Asian Cucumber Bites

Appetizers, Asian, Chicken, Leftovers, Low-carb, Paleo

Eating Paleo can be very delicious and satisfying. However, planning meals and adhering to the “no dairy, no bread” diet can be a challenge. Personally I can follow Paleo for almost every meal, but I occasionally add a non-Paleo element to satisfy the masses.

The peanuts in this simple Asian Cucumber recipe aren’t Paleo, but my husband loves their flavor and crunch. So feel free to replace them with almonds or just omit them when you make this nice light lunch or pretty appetizer. These little guilt-free “bites” are perfect to pop into your watering mouth.

Using leftover or rotisserie chicken makes this recipe a snap. The key is to let the cooked chicken marinate in the ginger dressing for at least 30 minutes to absorb the flavors. Slice the cucumber and radishes thinly, and you can assemble this an hour ahead of time. This recipe serves one for lunch, but you can double or triple it if you are using it for an appetizer.

Ingredients

4 ounces shredded cooked chicken

8 cucumber slices, 1/8” to 1/4” thick

8 radish slices, 1/8” to 1/4” thick

2 tablespoons ginger dressing (I use Makoto)

2 tablespoons peanuts or almonds, chopped

Process

Marinate the shredded chicken with the ginger dressing for 30 minutes. Place one radish slice on top of one cucumber slice, then top with the shredded chicken and chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

Asian Braised Green Beans

10 minute side dish, Asian, Green beans, meal plans, Paleo

With a little effort you can make side dishes more interesting, especially when you’re buying what’s in season. That ensures that your vegetables have reached their peak freshness and availability. Click here for a complete list of Florida vegetables by season.

On Wednesday I shared my Sautéed Spinach and Goat Cheese recipe, and I hope it encouraged you to pick up some of that inexpensive leafy green. It may seem a little flavorless, but by adding some fresh garlic and a touch of goat cheese, my family and I happily ate six cups of spinach last night.

Today I want to share my Asian Braised Green Beans because March brings tender snap beans (a.k.a. green beans). The key to this recipe is high heat. You want to almost blister the beans so that they cook fast without losing their crispiness. This is a delicious side item that works great with teriyaki chicken, steak or pork.

My go-to marinade is Veri Veri Teriyaki, and you should let your protein marinate for at least an hour and up to 24 hours before cooking. Then toss it onto a hot grill but be careful because most teriyaki marinades can cause excessive flames. Tip – use a piece of foil with cooking spray between your meat and grates. You will still get grill marks but won’t char your meat.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1-2 tablespoons of fresh ginger, finely chopped

1-2 tablespoons of garlic, finely chopped

1 pound green beans, ends trimmed

1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

Cooking

Heat wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oils and heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the green beans and red pepper flakes, and continue to sauté for 5 minutes. Carefully add the soy sauce and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring continually. Turn off the heat and serve immediately or keep covered until you’re ready to eat.