Category Archives: Traditional Tuesday

Flashback Friday – Dosas

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Happy Friday! Although it is National Dessert Day, I have been fascinated about the popular Indian street food – Dosa.  When I first saw this dish, I was overwhelmed by the how big it is.  It is mostly served as a meal for a good part of the day.  Personally I have consumed it as an early dinner.

Dosas also known as Dosai is an ancient Tamil dish.  This gluten free, vegetarian street food dish is made up of rice and lentils.  Therefore, there are health benefits in its consumption.   Dosas are a good source of carbohydrates and protein that will last the whole day.  It is a lengthy process to make dosas and I don’t think that I will be making one anytime soon.  Therefore, I will be leaving this up to the pros.

Recently, I have had the experience of consuming this vegetarian dish at two places in New York City.   One famous spot world is Saravana Bhavan.  There are two locations in New York City (Manhattan).  This restaurant does not need an introduction because it is well known throughout India; the establishment of this franchise was made a controversial person who is banned from leaving India because he was convicted of murder.  This is to show that as long the food is good it does not matter where it originated from. But if you don’t want to be traumatized,  I visited another spot, which is located in Queens called Hillside Dosa Hutt.  This neighborhood spot is in the heart of the Indian community. The cashier that served us was hospitable and knowledgeable about Dosas.  Hillside Dosa Hutt was recently listed on the Eater list of the top 60 cheap eats places in NYC. 

Hillside Dosa Hutt – Marsala Dosa $5.50 (Top Left) and Paneer Bhurji Masala Dosa $9.00 (Bottom left) Saravana Bhavan $9.99- Marsala Dosa (Top right)  and Onion Chili Rava Dosa $10.99 (Bottom right)

Portions of each dosa were huge. I have not been able to finish a whole dosa in one sitting.  If you want more variety then Saravan Bhavan is the place to go, but for a quick meal on a budget then Hillside Dosa Hutt will suffice. 

 

 

 

Traditional Tuesday – Paleo Party Food – BBS: Bacon, Basil, Shrimp Finger Food.

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My friend introduced me to a three ingredient dish that was so cost-effective and easy to make.   It is a great day game day appetizer plus it is quick, healthy, low calorie and paleo-friendly.  This dish does not have its true origins, but restaurants have made it part of their appetizer, bar and/or gastropub menus.  It is called Bacon Wrapped Shrimp.  I call it:

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As you can the total number of calories for each piece is between 33 and 45 calories depending on the type of bacon used and the size of the shrimp.

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Turkey BBS – Turkey Bacon Basil (Wrapped Around) Shrimp

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Oscar Mayer BBS – Oscar Mayer Bacon, Basil (Wrapped Around) Shrimp

This three ingredient quick dish is made in five steps totaling about 15-20 min.

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Rinse shrimp, pat dry and place a piece of basil on top.
  3. Holding the shrimp with the basil, wrap the slice of bacon around each piece.
  4. Place the wrapped shrimp on a greased cookie sheet or small pan.
  5. Place it in the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes until the shrimp is opaque.

This dish is so addicting in a sense that when one piece is eaten, there are cravings for more.  Just remember everything in moderation.  Bon appettit!

 

Traditional Tuesday – Pan Fried Noodles

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In the past week or two, I have had this craving of pan fried noodles with some type of gravy sauce.  When I was child I was considered a picky eater.  My father who is a chef would bring home a variety of dishes and even cook some too.  I was told I had expensive food tastes as my two favorites were sharkfin soup and pan fried noodles with beef.

Even though my food palate has evolved over time and I eat everything now, I will always have a love for an order of family style pan fried noodle dish with either beef or seafood during my family outings at a Chinese restaurant.

I went grocery shopping last week and came across a packet of “Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles”.  Immediately, I had a huge craving for this dish so I purchased a packet and searched online for the best recipes to replicate the dish in most healthy way possible with the ingredients I have at home.  As a result, this recipe is adapted from two recipes that I found made the best pan fried noodles.

During the creation of this dish, my phone decided to not cooperate with me so unfortunately I do not have my usual photo of my ingredient layout.  In addition, there is no exact calorie count.

Please note that leftover cooked vegetables (carrots and cabbage) were used in stir fry portion of this dish.  This dish serves 2 people.

Chicken & Marinade adapted from RecipeTinEats:

2 Boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced (120 calories/serving)

1 teaspoon of reduced sodium soy sauce (3 calories)

1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil

1 tsp flour or cornstarch

white pepper

  1. Slice chicken breasts into thin slices
  2. Add all ingredients and combine
  3. Let it sit in room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

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Pan Fried Noodles adapted from Serious Eats 

1/2 lb. of Hong Kong style pan fried noodles (300 calories/serving).

2 tablespoons of Canola oil (120 calories/serving)

1/4 cup of water

  1. Add 1 tbsp. of canola oil to the wok
  2. Separate noodles by hand and add them to the oil in medium high heat.
  3. Pat noodles to make it into a pancake for about 1 minute
  4. Add water to create steam so the noodles would not burn.
  5. Swirl the pan so the noodles on the periphery could get crispy.
  6. Slide the noodles unto a big plate, obtain another big plate and invert the noodles to transfer.
  7. Add the remaining 1 tbsp. of canola to the wok.
  8. Return the uncooked side noodles to the pan and repeat steps 3-5.
  9. Slide the noodles unto the big plate.

Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry adapted from RecipeTinEats

Sauce

3 tbsp. of flour or cornstarch

3 tbsp. of water

3/4 of chicken bouillon dissolved in 3/4 cup of water

1 tbsp. oyster sauce

2 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce (20 calories)

1 tsp. sugar

  1.  Combine above ingredients to create this stir fry sauce.

Stir fry

1 tablespoon minced garlic (15 calories)

1 tablespoon olive oil (120 calories)

2 shallots, chopped

leftover cooked cabbage and carrots.

  1. Heat olive oil and add garlic.
  2. Add marinated chicken and stir fry until golden brown
  3. Add shallots and cooked vegetables
  4. Add stir fry sauce and let it simmer for about 1 minute.
  5. Place stir fry and sauce over the noodles.

Unfortunately I do not have the finished product as my phone died and I was hungry.  The dish was less starchy and salty compared to what I have eaten at Chinese restaurants.  The texture of the dish was pretty close.  The dish was cheaper to make than ordering it at the restaurant.   Creating this dish was an experience in itself and the techniques used to cook at home versus at a restaurant is different due to space and availability.  I definitely want to make this again using different ingredients so stay tuned!

 

Traditional Tuesday -Sloppy Joes

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Happy Tuesday!  Today’s blog will focus on one of America’s favorite childhood and even adulthood dishes – The Sloppy Joe.

After researching the history behind the staple dish, there appears to be a lot of debate regarding its origin and unfortunately I do not have the answers.

What I found in this research is that this dish was established at a cafe in the Midwest in the 1930s by a man name Joe who added tomato sauce to loose meat.  Another source says that it originated as a Cuban loose meat sandwich in Florida.  The Sloppy Joe was also even called a “Manwich”.

Well thanks to the recipe posted by Bodypotential I decided to try on the healthier version of Sloppy Joes.  This dish was healthy on a budget and serves 4 people:

1 lb. Perdue Ground Turkey = 160 calories/serving = $2.99/lb. at Stop and Shop

16 tablespoons of tomato paste = 80 calories

6 tablespoons tomato sauce = 30 calories

2 tablespoons honey = 60 calories/serving

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. paprika

1 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder

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Since I am doing this body cleanse for the next few days, the healthy sloppy joes will last me 2-4 meals either lunch or dinner.

Traditional Tuesday – Egg in a Hole

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Happy Tuesday! Starting off my revising diet with a recipe I have been making and consuming for several weeks and complementing with either a half avocado or a cup of strawberries.

Egg in a Hole is a fried egg on toast.

The original recipe was published during the late 19th century by Fannie Farmer, author of the Boston Cooking School Cookbook.  The recipe was called “Egg with a hat”.  The dish was made using a two-and-a-half-inch cookie cutter to remove the bread’s center.  It is served with a cooked egg, that becomes the “hat”.

The dish has many names such as “Egg in a Basket,” “Egg in a Frame,” “Toad in a Hole,” “Egg in a Nest,” “Sunshine Toast,” and even “Gashouse eggs.”  Movies such as “Moon Over Miami,” “Moonstruck” and Vendetta” have made this very simple dish popular.

The dish itself is primarily made of two ingredients: toasted bread and an egg.  It is a fun, quick and simple dish to make.

1 extra large egg = 70 calories (recipe below I used a jumbo cage free egg = 90 calories)

1 toast bread, I used Udi’s Gluten Free Omega Flax Fiber Bread = 75 calories/slice

Total calories = 145 calories (using a jumbo egg = 165 calories)

Total cost = Investment of $10 (ingredients last about 1-2 weeks)

1.5 dozen Eggland’s Best large eggs  on sale this week for $3.99 at C-Town.

Bread on sale this week ranging from $2.99 to $4.99 at Stop & Shop

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Two ingredients used – toast bread and egg

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Cut a circle in the center of the toasted bread, set it to the side, then place the “hole” bread into a non-stick pan.

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Crack an egg into the hole and let it fry for about 2 min.

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Flip the bread over and cook the other side.

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Egg in a hole is cooked and ready to serve.

 

Meatless Monday/Traditional Tuesday – Vegetarian Cee Eiw

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Happy Presidents Day Weekend and Post-Valentine’s Day!! Welcome to the second Meatless Monday post and deciding to “knock two birds with one stone”, this post will discuss a traditional Thai dish that is usually made with stir fry wide noodles with soy sauce called Pad Cee Eiw.  In the attempt to create a vegetable stir fry dish using the ingredients from the Sunday Game Plan posted on SuperBowl weekend, I decided to make it my own.  This vegetarian stir fry consists of ingredients that I grew up eating with on my Filipino and Thai dishes.

Almost all Thai menus and noodle dishes in the US have misinterpreted the title of “Pad Cee Eiw”.  Pad Cee Eiw is a Thai noodle dish of Chinese origin and are relatively recent additions to the Thai culinary universe.  The dish is often made to accommodate Chinese clients and is considered a “street food” dish.

“Pad” in Thai means “stir fry” and “cee eiw” in Thai means “soy sauce”.

This is a very quick dish, but one important thing is to make sure that the wok is very hot.  Also, this dish can be gluten free if the sauces used does not contain gluten.

No Carb Pad Cee Eiw

Number of calories provided by My Fitness Pal

1 tbsp olive oil = 120 calories

2 tbsp chopped onions = 8 calories

3 cups (48 tablespoons) kale = 68 calories

1 cup spinach = 7 calories

1 cup broccoli rabe = 9 calories

1 tbsp Healthy Boy Black Soy Sauce = 40 calories

1 tbsp Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce = 10 calories

1 tbsp Datu Puti Native Vinegar (any vinegar will work) = 0 calories

1 jumbo egg, scrambled = 90 calories

Total cost of fresh ingredients: $5 (broccoli rabe, onions, spinach and kale) and the rest was on my pantry.

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Ingredients

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Add olive oil and stir fry chopped onions. Saute chopped onions for 2 minutes.

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Add chopped kale and spinach.  Saute until vegetables are wilted about 2 minutes.

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Add broccoli rabe and stir fry for another two minutes.

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Add soy sauce, black soy sauce and vinegar.  Stir and let the mixture boil until the sauce starts to thicken.

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Push vegetable and soy sauce mixture to the side and spray empty space with cooking spray.  Add egg and stir to scramble.

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Combine eggs with the vegetables.

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Transfer to the plate and serve.

 

 

Traditional Tuesday – Chicken Thighs Adobo

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I know it’s officially no longer Tuesday, but I want to keep my word on posting a dish involving ingredients from the Sunday Game Plan.  One of the dishes from the Sunday Game Plan is Chicken Thigh Adobo.

Adobo is a popular dish in the Philippines.  Adobo in English means “vinegar braised”.   The main marinade of the traditional Filipino adobo dish is soy sauce and vinegar.  This dish can be made using any type of meat or even vegetables.  Personally the best adobo dish to make is pork belly, but for now, we will use chicken thighs.  Chicken thighs is a great piece of meat to cook with because it has all the flavors and juices in it.  Plus, it’s definitely healthier than pork belly.

Making this dish brings memories from my grandmother and mother who tried to pass on this family recipe.

Chicken Thighs Adobo – Serves 5

5 pieces of chicken thighs = 239 calories/piece of chicken thigh

5 tablespoons of Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce = 10 calories/tbsp.

5 tablespoons of Datu Puti Native Vinegar (any vinegar will work) = 0 calories

3 garlic cloves, sliced = 13 calories

3 bay leaves = 6 calories

1 teaspoon of ground black pepper = 4 calories

1 teaspoon of brown sugar = 17 calories

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Ingredients for marinade

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Chicken Thighs

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Combine all marinade ingredients

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Pour marinade on the chicken thighs and let it sit on room temperature for approximately 90 minutes.

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Turn the chicken thighs over and let it sit for another 90 minutes.

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After 90 minutes, turn on the heat on medium/high and let the mixture boil.  After boiling, add as much water to your preference (personally I love the marinade so I add approximately 4-6 cups of water so the mixture won’t be too concentrated).  Turn the heat on low, cover the pan and let it simmer for 30 minutes, turning once halfway.  After 30 minutes, open the pan and let it cook for another 20 minutes on low heat until the liquid is reduced.

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Transfer the chicken thighs on a plate.

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Pour the marinade over it.  This appears really greasy, but it’s the chicken fat with the marinade ingredients.  No oil was added during the entire recipe.  Serve with rice.

Current pantry: Soy sauce, native vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, ground black pepper and brown sugar.

Chicken Thighs: On sale at Stop & Shop for $0.88/lb. but it comes in 4-5 lb. packages.

Calories/serving: 289 calories.