Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites: 100 Recipes That Are Fast, Fresh, and Simple Enough for Tonight's Supper [A Cookbook]

by Jaden Hair

Overview

Steamy Kitchen creator Jaden Hair, top Asian cooking blogger, gives a healthy and truly inspired overhaul to more than 120 classic Asian recipes, making them accessible and easy for home cooks.

As the creator of the beloved blog Steamy Kitchen, Jaden Hair knows how to make Asian food accessible—and exciting—to home cooks. Now, with humor and a can-do attitude, Jaden presents this collection of her quick and flavorful recipes for healthy Asian dishes, most of which are naturally gluten-free and light on meat. With her infectious passion for cooking, Jaden teaches you how to shop for the best Asian ingredients, stock your pantry to streamline weeknight meals, and master delicious Asian cooking at home.

Featuring good-enough-to-eat photography shot by Jaden herself, this book speaks to a new wave of healthy eaters without sacrificing flavor, ease, and fun. Jaden makes Asian foods seem approachable, not intimidating, and also offers new material for experienced Asian cooks looking to expand their repertoires. Doing away with gloppy sauces, oily stir-fries, and high calorie counts, these vibrant and unquestionably unique dishes are inspired makeovers of authentic dishes from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Recipes such as Chicken-Mango Lettuce Cups, Seafood Curry Noodle Soup, Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Grilled Tofu, Korean Tacos My Way, and a Thai-inspired Peach and Basil Smoothie are perfectly suited for everything from casual dinners to impromptu parties and gatherings.

Jaden’s conversational style will make you feel as if you have a knowledgeable friend in the kitchen, guiding you through the process. With Jaden on your side, you can learn to cook fast, fresh, tasty Asian dishes that family and friends—from seasoned foodies to picky kids—will enjoy and request time and time again!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607742715
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	02/05/2013
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	25 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Jaden Hair is the author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook and creator of the award-winning blog, Steamy Kitchen, which specializes in fast, fresh, and flavorful Asian food. She’s been featured on the Today Show, Martha Stewart Living Radio, Oprah.com, and in Parents magazine. Jaden has also been named one of the best food bloggers by Forbes.com, Babble.com, and The Daily Meal. Her recipes are featured on TLC’s Parentables blog and in the Tampa Tribune.

Read an Excerpt

Foreword
 
I met Jaden Hair on the internet.

I just love saying that. And it’s true. My first introduction to Jaden was stumbling onto her website, which—all the way back in the dark ages of 2007—was just as stunning as she was. I knew Jaden had been on television, and as a fledgling food blogger I was intimidated (and a bit awed) by her crisp, vivid photography and her undeniable gorgeousness. So I put her into the category of People I’ll Admire From Afar, Thank You Very Much, never really imagining that we’d ever cross paths in real life.

By 2008, Jaden and I had struck up a friendship via email. Food blogging was a smaller community back then and we wound up consulting with each other about this and that. A year or so later, we wound up together at a food conference. Elise Bauer (of simplyrecipes.com), Jaden, and I had crammed ourselves into the back of a small taxi in San Francisco, and somewhere along the way our driver ran a red light and we were almost completely sideswiped by another car. We always (somewhat nervously!) joke about that harrowing experience being the first time we met. But in fact, that night was the beginning of a forever friendship.

That’s how I know Jaden. Now let me tell you what I know about Jaden. She’s ridiculously full of life, with a laugh that can be heard four states away.
She’s up for anything—I’ve never proposed a plan or a get-together that Jaden wasn’t excited about. She’s unfathomably creative. And she’s an accomplished businesswoman, with ideas and ambition that would wear me out within a week. But most of all, she loves her husband Scott and their two boys, Andrew and Nathan, more than life itself.

And then there’s Jaden’s food, which is not only magazine-worthy and photogenic, but also tremendously delicious. Her attention to detail—not just in how the food looks, but how it tastes—means every bite you put in your mouth will be a transcendent experience. I remember whipping up Jaden’s Beef with Broccoli for the first time and being astounded at not only how simple it was to prepare and how yummy it was, but how perfectly thought-out all the quantities of ingredients were. Where I would have sloshed in soy sauce and thrown in other ingredients willy-nilly, Jaden allowed for a precise amount of soy sauce, cornstarch, and other ingredients so that not a single drop went to waste or was unused. This is a bonus of Jaden’s recipes: You know you’ll only use what you need.

In Steamy Kitchen’s Healthy Asian Favorites, Jaden brings down to earth all the irresistible Asian recipes that many of us love ordering in restaurants but could never imagine making at home. Everything from a simple Egg Drop and Tomato Soup all the way up to a Salmon Honey Teriyaki and even an impressive Chinese Hot Pot Party is presented in a straightforward way, using ingredients that most anyone can get at a supermarket. Simple instructions for making luscious stocks, perfect steamed rice, and yummy dumplings ensure that the basics are covered.

As Jaden’s friend, I loved her first cookbook, which was released a few years ago. But as a home cook and lover of simple Asian recipes, I am absolutely devouring this one. It makes Asian cooking possible for real home cooks like me, and it challenges me to tackle new frontiers in my kitchen.

But most of all, it inspires me.

And knowing Jaden like I do, I’m pretty sure that will make her day.
 
Ree Drummond
The Pioneer Woman


Tofu-Mushroom Miso Soup
Want to know the secret to Asian eternal youth and longevity? Soup for breakfast! The Chinese enjoy hearty soups and porridges in the morning; and in Japan, a traditional breakfast includes miso soup. This is my power breakfast: quick miso soup with tofu, fresh vegetables, sliced mushrooms, and an egg stirred in. Serves 4
 
 
4 cups dashi (page 14) or vegetable stock (page 11)
6 ounces firm tofu, cubed
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 handful leafy vegetables, like baby bok choy, napa cabbage, spinach, or kale, coarsely chopped
1 egg, whisked
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
4 tablespoons miso paste

In a saucepan, bring the dashi to a boil. Add the tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables. While stirring the dashi, slowly pour in the whisked egg. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Ladle about ½ cup of the hot dashi into a bowl with the miso paste. Use a fork or whisk to blend the miso paste. Pour all of the miso into the pot and stir gently. Top with green onions and serve immediately.
 
Pssst . . . it’s great for lunch or dinner too! Just add in some noodles, pasta, or cooked rice.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Soups
Pickles & Sauces
Salads & Dressings
Little Bites
Share
Vegetables, Tofu & Eggs
Meat & Seafood
Noodles & Rice
Sweets & Libations

Ingredients

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Measurement Conversions

Index

Editorial Reviews

Popular food blogger Hair (steamykitchen.com) lightens modern and family-friendly Asian recipes like Chicken-Tofu Pot Stickers and Vegetable and Egg Ramen Noodle Soup, by spotlighting fresh, flavorful ingredients and limiting calorie-dense oils and sweeteners. Home cooks of all levels will find quick, easy, and inexpensive meal ideas in this book, which includes a handy ingredient glossary, and instructions for hosting at-home sushi and Chinese hot-pot parties. A few recipes, like Mom's Chicken Stock, are repeats from Hair's Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. VERDICT Some of these dishes are extremely minimal (fewer than four ingredients, simply prepared), and most will please busy readers looking for easy ways to improve their diet.

Library Journal

In Steamy Kitchen’s Healthy Asian Favorites, Jaden brings down to earth all the irresistible Asian recipes that many of us love ordering in restaurants but could never imagine making at home. Everything from a simple Egg Drop and Tomato Soup all the way up to a Salmon Honey Teriyaki and even an impressive Chinese Hot Pot Party is presented in a straightforward way, using ingredients that most anyone can get at a supermarket. It makes Asian cooking possible for real home cooks like me, and it challenges me to tackle new frontiers in my kitchen. 
— Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

“Should we ever tinker with the classics? Absolutely! In her Healthy Asian Favorites, Jaden Hair offers every Asian food lover and home cook one hundred new recipes that are lighter, healthier, and more reflective of today’s taste and lifestyle. On behalf of my ten thousand taste buds, I say: Thank you!”
—Martin Yan, master chef and host of Yan Can Cook

“Jaden’s wonderful tales of eating and sharing great food, along with her incredibly flavorful recipes, will whet your appetite.”
—Ming Tsai, restaurateur and author of Blue Ginger
 
“Asian food is one of my favorite cuisines, and leave it to Jaden Hair to make it healthy while retaining the vibrant, exciting flavors that I love. And all simple enough so anyone can master them. Get your chopsticks ready!”
—David Lebovitz, author of Ready for Dessert
 
“Jaden’s latest concoctions embody both tradition and innovation. The recipes are fresh, intentionally healthful, and just indulgent enough to need to sneak back into the kitchen for second and third helpings.”
—Joy Wilson, author of Joy the Baker Cookbook
 
“The thing I love most about this book is Jaden’s emphasis on bright flavors, fragrant spices, and fresh produce. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and translates into a substantial book filled with heart and achievable weeknight inspirations.”
—Heidi Swanson, author of Super Natural Every Day
 
“I love Jaden! She’s the Queen of Fun. Now she’s bringing the party to your kitchen with her new spin on classic Asian dishes. The recipes are completely doable for the home cook, utterly delightful to eat, and as an added bonus, easy on the waistline.”
—Elise Bauer, creator of Simply Recipes
 
“Jaden Hair’s Healthy Asian Favorites showcases her love of food and her desire to share the many tricks and terrific recipes she’s mastered. Jaden’s recipes are snappy and approachable, and she wisely leaves the “healthy” part implicit, focusing instead on the pleasure—the fun!—of Asian cooking.”
—Amanda Hesser, co-founder of Food52.com and author of The Essential New York Times Cookbook

From the Publisher