asian | The Paleo Mom

Stir-fried Turnip Greens (with Mushrooms and Almonds)

September 5, 2012 in Veggies

This is a great accompaniment to any dish with Asian flavors (such as my Asian-inspired chicken wings or teriyaki-inspired poached salmon). Turnip greens can be a bit sandy, so make sure you wash them really, really, really well! Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 bunch turnip greens
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
½ cup whole raw almonds (you could also use blanched almonds)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
¼ cup orange juice
1 Tbsp coconut aminos (or reduced-sodium tamari soy sauce)
2 tsp arrowroot flour

Wash turnip greens really well. Slice stems and combine with the mushrooms. Chop up the green into big bite sized pieces and put aside.
Heat a wok on medium high heat. Once hot, add the coconut oil, garlic and ginger. Once fragrant (about 1-2 minutes), add the mushrooms and turnip green stems.
Cook, stirring frequently, until they start to stick (if too much water is coming out of the mushrooms, increase the heat slightly). Add the orange juice and continue to cook until the stems are starting to soften.
Add the rest of the turnip leaves and the almonds. Cook, stirring frequently, until the leaves are fully wilted.
Add the coconut aminos and sprinkle the arrowroot powder over the top. Stir well. Let the arrowroot powder thicken the juices left in the bottom of the wok for 3-4 minutes (still stirring frequently). Serve!

Tags: almonds, asian, coconut aminos, cruciferous, flavors, greens, mushrooms, Recipe, side dish, soy sauce, stir fry, turnip, vegetable, veggies
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Coconut Oil-Poached Tilapia (Whitefish) with Asian Pear Slaw

August 27, 2012 in Fish and Seafood, Main Dishes, Salads

This recipe is a variation on butter poaching, a delicious way to cook tilapia or any whitefish. The idea is to cook the fish slowly, over low heat, with a generous quantity of cooking fat (butter, if you are butter poaching and coconut oil in this case). When cooked, the fish is tender but firm and the flavor of the cooking oil permeates it throughout. I happen to love the flavor of extra virgin coconutoil (especially Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil, which is not the only coconut oil I buy). And this coconut oil flavor works beautifully with the Asian flavors in the slaw. If you prefer a milder taste, you could use a naturally refined coconut oil here, or unsalted butter, or any other good cooking fat (tallow, lard, duck fat, bacon fat, or palm oil) or any mixture of these that you enjoy. I used ½” thick fillets of tilapia for this recipe. You could substitute any whitefish. Adjust your cooking time for thicker or thinner fillets (for thicker fillets, you may wish to use more oil too).

If you can’t find Asian pears for the slaw, substitute apple. I use coconut water vinegar in this recipe because the flavor is so similar to rice wine vinegar. You can buy Coconut Secret brand coconut water vinegar at Whole Foods or from amazon. Tropical Traditions also sells coconut water vinegar. Serves 3-4.

Ingredients (Asian Pear Slaw):

1 medium Asian pear
1 large Carrot
1 Tbsp Coconut Water Vinegar
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds (black or brown), optional

1. Finely julienne Asian pear and carrot using a mandoline slicer or sharp knife (a julienne cut is like a long matchstick). I cut my carrot into thirds before julienning them, so the pieces would not be much longer than the Asian pear pieces. You should end up with a 50-50 mix of Asian pear and carrot, approximately 3-4 loosely packed cups.
2. Toss julienned Asian pear and carrot with vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds, if using. Let marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes (or longer in the fridge).

Ingredients (Coconut Oil-Poached Tilapia):

3 or 4 6-7oz Tilapia fillets (or substitute any whitefish)
½ cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (enough that the oil is ¼” deep in your pan)
Pinch of Salt

1.    Heat coconut oil and salt over medium-low heat until hot, just starting to bubble but not a rolling simmering. Add tilapia to the pan.
2.    Cover and cook until the top edges of the fish are opaque, 10-12 minutes. Flip each piece of fish. Cook another 8-10 minutes until the fish is fully cooked and opaque throughout.
3.    Serve with Asian pear slaw and enjoy!

Tags: AIP, ancestral, asian, butter, coconut oil, cod, Diet, halibut, low-carb, paleo, Paleolithic, pear, Poached, primal, Recipe, slaw, tilapia, whitefish
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Ginger-Garlic Cauliflower Rice

August 6, 2012 in Side Dishes, Starchy Staples, Veggies

I have to admit that I’ve never really liked rice, not unless it was drenched in the sauce from several different Chinese food dishes from an authentic restaurant. When I first started eating low carb, I often made rice as a starch for my husband because it was so easy for me to abstain and just stick with my low-carb veggies. Now, we don’t eat rice at all except for very rare occasions when I’ll make some for my husband and kids. If a dish calls for rice (typically a stir fry or Indian-inspired dish), I make the standard paleo substitute of cauliflower rice. But, I have to admit that, unless it’s going to be drowned in sauce, I find this just as boring and bland as rice itself. At least, I used to find it boring. I started playing with flavorings for cauliflower rice to jazz it up and make it stand alone as a flavor on the plate (no sauce required!). The inspiration for this variation comes from Asian flavors, almost reminiscent of sushi rice. This cauliflower rice has a mild enough flavor that it won’t compete with other flavors on your plate (so you can serve it with any variety of meats and vegetables) but all of a sudden, it isn’t just boring filler. I hope you enjoy this rice substitute as much as we do. It’s now one of our staples. Makes 4-5 servings.

Note: coconut water vinegar, which is used in this recipe, is very similar in flavor to rice vinegar (you could substitute apple cider vinegar, but it wouldn’t quite taste the same), so it’s fabulous for replicating Asian flavors. Coconut Secret brand is available at Whole Foods and Amazon and Tropical Traditions also sells it.

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower (4-5 cups riced)
3 Tbsp tallow (or substitute lard, coconut oil or Unsalted Butter)
4-5 slices of Fresh Ginger (~1” diameter and 1/8” thick)
3 cloves Fresh Garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp Coconut Vinegar
1 Tbsp chives, chopped (or use a good quality Dried Chives)
1/8 tsp Salt, to taste

1.    Trim cauliflower and place florets in a Food Processor (you may have to do this in batches). Pulse until chopped to rice grain size. Set aside.
2.    Heat tallow and ginger slices in a large frying pan or Wok over medium-high heat until fragrant and ginger has browned.
3.    Remove ginger slices. Add cauliflower and garlic to the oil and cook, stirring frequently until cauliflower is cooked al dente (about 7-8 minutes).
4.    Stir in vinegar, chives and salt. Enjoy!

Tags: ancestral, asian, Cauliflower, cruciferous, Diet, garlic, ginger, How To, low-carb, paleo, Paleolithic, primal, Recipe, rice
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Asian-Inspired Chicken Wings

July 18, 2012 in Meat and Poultry

No, this is not teriyaki. This is something so much better! The flavor combination was actually inspired by the traditional Chinese preparation of chicken or duck feet (yeah yeah, I know, but I’m not asking you to eat feet here and it really works with wings). The flavor is distinctly Asian but at the same time works really well with typical Western side dishes. We ate these wings with salad, steamed vegetables and watermelon on the side and they were delicious (they’d be great with some stir fried veggies on the side too!). The longer you marinate these wings, the better. You could get away with a few hours, but I far prefer overnight. We barbecued these wings, which is definitely my recommendation, but they could be baked in the oven too. Yields 4-5 servings.

Ingredients:

3 pounds Chicken Wings, separated
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
4 cloves Fresh Garlic , chopped
1 Tbsp chopped Fresh Ginger
1 tsp Anise Seed
1 tsp Fennel Seed
½ cup Coconut Aminos (or substitute Reduced Sodium Tamari Soy Sauce)
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Coconut Vinegar (or substitute Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil

1.    Place chicken wings in a large bowl (if overly wet, pat dry with paper towel).
2.    Heat coconut oil over medium-high heat in a small saucepan. Add ginger, garlic, anise and fennel seed and cook, stirring so that it doesn’t burn, until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
3.    Add coconut aminos, honey, vinegar, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute.
4.    Remove from heat and add sesame oil.
5.    Pour over chicken wings, and stir to coat. Once chicken wings have cooled enough to handle, cover and place in refrigerator to marinate overnight (up to 24 hours). Stir the wings once or twice during marinating to make sure they are evenly treated. (I really like to marinate my wings in a large re-sealable bag, because I can remove the air and lay all the wings flat so they are more evenly coated with marinade. Instead of stirring, I just flip the bag over!)
6.    Drain excess marinade off wings. Barbecue wings until cooked, turning once (something like 20 minutes total depending on how hot your grill is). Alternatively, you could place the wings on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil (might want to grease first) and bake at 375F for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until fully cooked (internal temperature should reach 180F).
7.    Enjoy!