Asian Cooking

 
Asian cooking covers a large area including the countries of Japan, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, India, Tibet, Malaysia, Korea, and many more countries. We are grouping them together for our World Studies International Recipes but feel free to focus on one country at a time in your cooking adventures.

Asian Cooking: Facts about Asia

Asia's biggest crop is rice. It is a staple food in Asia, meaning it is something they eat often. Other common Asian ingredients are fish, squid, shrimp, and octopus. The countries of Asia lie mostly within ocean, seas or rivers so fish is easily accessible. Some Asian spices and cooking ingredients are chili pepper, garlic, coconut, soy sauce and ginger.

There are different variety and tastes throughout Asia.

• Szechuan comes from West China and includes a mix of spicy, sweet, sour and salty flavors of Chinese recipes.


• Vietnam is known for light and healthy dishes.


• Indonesia is known for cooking with seafood and coconut milk. Two things readily available.


• Cantonese is known for dim sum.

Asia is Also Known for Several Famous Things Besides Great Food

• Sumo wrestling
• Taekwondo and Karate
• Celebration of Lunar New Year
• Origami
• Feng shui-art of decorating to create balance and harmony
• Tai Chai-similar to yoga
  

Asian Cooking: Asian Food Facts

• Fragrant Meat in China refers to dog meat. Yes, they do eat dogs.
• Dim sum means small dishes. Usually a variety of dim sum dishes are served with tea and friends or family sit around together to enjoy.

Learn a Little Language with Your Asian Cooking

Asia covers many languages and they have their own beautiful characters for writing.

• Gohan is the Japanese word for meal.

Asian Cooking International Recipes

Kung Pao Chicken
12 oz. Chicken breasts, boneless, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
In bowl, stir together chicken and 1 tsp. cornstarch. Set aside.
For sauce, combine:
¼ Cup water
¼ Cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Vinegar
4-5 dashes of hot pepper sauce
Set aside.
Lightly brown 1 Cup peanuts in oil. Set aside. Sauté 1 clove of garlic, 3-4 green onions sliced and 1-2 green peppers chopped, in oil. Set aside. Fry chicken until brown and done. Combine vegetables, peanuts and chicken together in pan and add sauce. Cook until done and serve with hot rice. You can also see this Asian Cooking recipe for Kung Pao Chicken.

Chicken Lo Mein
This Asian cooking recipe is simple to make and is an easy kids recipe to add to your monthly menu.
6 ounces uncooked linguine noodles
chicken breast halves, cubed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen stir fry vegetables
Cook noodles. While noodles are cooking, cook chicken pieces in a frying pan. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and chicken broth. Stir in frozen vegetables and cook covered on medium. When chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender mix drained noodles into chicken mixture. Serve immediately.

Crunchy Yaki-Tori

General Tso Chicken
If your family doesn't like hot or spicy flavor omit the hot peppers in this Asian cooking Recipe.
3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 Cup Cornstarch
2 Cups sliced Green Onions
8 small dried Hot Peppers, seeds removed
Sauce:
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Water
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Ginger
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup White Vinegar
1 can or 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
Prepare sauce in a jar or large measuring cup. Stir all sauce ingredients together and store in refrigerate until needed.
In bowl add chicken, soy sauce, and hot peppers.(use gloves when removing seeds from hot peppers. This is a job for an adult) Stir in egg. Add cornstarch, and mix until chicken pieces are coated. (Don't worry if the mixture looks a little odd at this point it is suppose to be.) Deep fry 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time in a 350 degree oil until chicken pieces are crispy. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all chicken chunks are fried.
In a large frying pan or wok add 1 tablespoon oil. Heat until very hot and saute green onions and peppers, from chicken mixture. Stir sauce mixture to onions Cook until thickens. If it gets too thick, add a little water. Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until everything is hot and bubbly. Serve over rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
1 Tablespoon butter
4 chicken breasts or pork loin, cut in cubes
can pineapple chunks (save juice)
1 garlic clove
2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
l teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Cook chicken or pork in butter add garlic and sauté. Drain pineapple juice into pan. Add soy sauce, ginger and cornstarch-just enough to thicken. Let simmer for several minutes, then add pineapple chunks and serve over rice. You can also cut up carrots and green peppers and cook with the chicken for this Asian cooking recipe.

Pork Chow Mein
1 Tablespoon oil
Boneless pork cut into strips or cubes
1 Cup sliced carrots
1/2 Cup sliced celery
1 Cup water
1/4 Cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon beef bouillon
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 Cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh Ginger
4 Cups fresh bean sprouts
1/2 Cup sliced green onions
Chow mein noodles
Heat oil and stir fry pork until brown. Add carrots, celery, water, soy sauce, sugar, bouillon, garlic and ginger. Cover and simmer 4-5 minutes until vegetables are tender but crisp. Stir in bean sprouts and green onions. Combine cornstarch and water together and blend until smooth. Stir into hot mixture. Cook until thick. Serve over chow mein noodles or cooked rice.



Asian Cooking: Chicken Satay (Indonesia)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 ½ teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Cornstarch
1 lb. Chicken breasts cut into strips
bamboo skewers, soak in water for about 30 minutes-Skewers won't burn as much if soaked before hand.
In ziploc bag or medium bowl add coconut milk, curry powder, coriander, soy sauce, garlic, and cornstarch. Blend together. Add strips of chicken breasts. Marinate several hours or overnight. Thread each chicken strip onto a bamboo skewer and grill. Serve with a peanut sauce.
Asian Cooking: Peanut Sauce
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes crushed or ¼ teaspoon red pepper sauce
Add all ingredients in a jar, add a lid and shake. Or use a bowl and whisk ingredients together.

Kids Cooking Video: Make your own Sushi Asian cooking from Japan.


Egg Rolls
You can stuff this Asian cooking recipe however you'd like by using different vegetables and different meat. Add a sauce for dipping and kids will love to put these together and eat them up.
16-ounce package wonton wrappers
1 pound ground beef or ground pork
5 tablespoons soy sauce
Can bean sprouts
2 green onions, sliced
1 carrot shredded
Medium head cabbage finely shredded
2 cloves garlic minced
Oil to fry egg rolls in
Cook ground beef or pork and drain well. Add in garlic, green onions, shredded carrots and bean sprouts. Cook several minutes. Add soy sauce to mixture.
Pour oil in a wok or skillet about 1 inch. Heat until 375 degrees. Meanwhile, lay a wonton wrapper on a cutting board or flat surface. Place 1 tablespoon meat filling in middle. Have a glass of water on hand to moisten sides of wrapper. Fold bottom edge over filling. Tuck in sides and roll to the end of the wrapper. Fry spring rolls for 3-4 minutes. Turn once or twice while cooking. Drain on paper towels and fry remaining spring rolls.

**Kids can help put these together but younger kids should stay away from the frying as to not get splattered with hot oil.


Egg Drop Soup
6 Cup Chicken Broth
2 large Egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon oil
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
Add chicken broth to saucepan and bring to a boil. In large glass beat 2 eggs and add oil. Drizzle eggs into boiling broth. Stir gently with a fork to separate eggs and cook several minutes until eggs are done. Serve immediately.

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