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Chef Lance Seeto’s Turmeric Tea

Chef Lance Seeto, star of the Fiji TV show “Taste of Paradise”, is the Executive Chef for the award winning exotic Castaway Island resort in Fiji.

Culinary school was just the beginning of Chef Seeto’s higher education, he continued on to receive training in nutritional medicine,  and he is a proud member of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine.

Chef Seeto shares his technique for a comforting warm beverage perfect for morning or evening, in this healthy herbal tea recipe featuring superfoods turmeric and ginger.   Odd as it may sound, give it a try!  We are hooked and have been drinking it for the past 3 nights.

Like and follow Chef Seeto’s Facebook page for more nourishing fresh recipes, many of which are gluten and dairy free. Thank you (Vinaka vaka levu) Chef Seeto!

Turmeric Tea
Chef Lance Seeto
Makes 2 large mugs

Ingredients:
4 cups of water

1 knob turmeric, peeled and sliced (A knob refers to an arm of the root. Alternatively, you could use 2 tbsp ground turmeric)

1/2 knob fresh ginger (or approximately 1 tbsp) , peeled and sliced

Half of a lemon, juiced

Raw honey to taste

Instructions:
Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, add the ginger, turmeric, and juiced lemon. Cover and reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, whisking occasionally. Strain the tea, and add honey to taste.

Feel free to adapt this recipe as you wish.  We’ve been drinking it unstrained, with microplane grated ginger and turmeric instead of sliced.   Also if you prefer a more creamy chai type tea, you can use warmed coconut or almond milk instead of water, and add ground cinnamon.   Enjoy!

Asian Recipes Salad Recipes Vegetarian Recipes

Papaya Salad From The Tonga Room

If you have not been to the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco you must put it on your list! It’s a gorgeous historic hotel in the Nob Hill area, with stunning architecture and amazing service. Does your wallet say “no” to decadence? If it’s not financially possible to dine or book a room there, say yes to this: affordable alternatives include an afternoon tea service or cocktail in the elegant Laurel Court Bar. We spent several hours there sipping while people watching, highly recommended!

Today, the fabulous chefs from the Tonga Room Restaurant in the SF Fairmont have shared with us a healthy delicious recipe. It’s an exotic Asian green papaya salad with chili garlic dressing topped with honey roasted peanuts. Enjoy!

Papaya Salad
Papaya Salad
The Tonga Room Restaurant, Fairmont Hotel San Francisco
Serves 6

Sweet Garlic & Chili Dressing:

• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp dry mustard
• ¼ cup sweet chili sauce
• 2 cups canola oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Candied Peanuts:

• 2 lbs peanuts
• 1 cup honey
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp of salt
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper

Salad:

• 1 green papaya peeled & julienne (cut 1/8″ X 1/8″ X 1 ½”)
• 4 scallions chopped
• 1 carrot julienned
• 1 red bell pepper julienne
• ¼ lb rice noodles cooked al dente
• 1 heart of romaine lettuce chopped

Prep:
Sweet Garlic & Chili Dressing:

• Mince ginger and garlic.
• Place in blender with the sweet chili sauce, vinegar, lime juice and dry mustard.
• Blend ingredients and slowly add oil and emulsify.

Candied Peanuts:

• First roast peanuts until golden brown.
• Then put peanuts in a thick bottom stock pot over medium heat.
• Add honey, salt, sugar, water, and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes constantly stir.
• When done pour onto a sheet pan with parchment paper and let them cool.
• Once they are cooled rough chop them in a food processor.

Salad:

• Mix ingredients with ¼ cup of dressing and 3 tablespoons of candied peanuts in a bowl and serve.
• Garnish with the candied peanuts.

Asian Recipes Chicken Recipes Salad Recipes

Asian Chicken Salad

We have a soft spot in our hearts for Chef Hari Nayak .  He is the  author of the cookbooks “Modern Indian Cooking” and “Spice” and the executive pastry chef of Halo Fete,  America’s first ice cream patisserie,  in Princeton, New Jersey.   What makes him a treasure?   He co founded “World Chefs Cooking For Life” along with NYC chef Vikas Khanna, a non profit organization that has raised funds for 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the Tsunami, as well as multiple other causes such as assisting travelers with disabilities and art education for the blind.

Hari typically creates modern versions of traditional Indian cuisine for his viewers, but in this recipe video he shares a very easy to make Asian chicken salad with a citrus soy vinegar dressing.  And this recipe is fairly low carb as well, assuming you don’t serve it with a big piece of crusty buttered baguette like we do!

[pro-player width=’550′ height=’353′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYd9exDzL3c[/pro-player]
Read on for the written recipe Continue Reading

Asian Recipes

Happy Chinese New Year! Celebrate with Shanghai noodles and shrimp

Monday, January 26th, 2009 is the beginning of the Chinese New Year, which this year celebrates the Ox. The festival starts according to the Chinese lunar calendar, the astronomical point of the second new moon after the winter solstice, and ends traditionally 15 days later.

Food, Legends, and Semantics

In Chinese mythology there was a beast named Nian or “Year” in Chinese. On the first day of the New Year, Nian would gobble up food crops, livestock, townspeople, and even children. For protection against Nian, the townspeople placed food in front of their homes, with the hopes that he would eat the food, and would not be hungry for more.

Foods have symbolic meaning in Chinese culture. For example, noodles are a symbol of longevity and long life. Mandarin oranges are symbolic of good luck, but in this case, it is a matter of semantics, the word orange in Chinese sounds like the word “Ji”, or the name “jīn jí” which means good luck, golden luck, or good fortune. Here’s another one: Pomelos, a fruit in the grapefruit family, sound very much like the chinese words “to have”, and so they signify abundance in the Chinese culture.

This video from the CBS early show features Chef Chris Cheung from China 1 restaurant in NYC, as he not only explains Chinese food traditions for the New Year but also demonstrates his recipe for a simple and authentic Shanghai noodle soup with shrimp, that you can easily prepare at home.

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Asian Recipes Fusion Recipes Indian Recipes Soup Recipes

A Warm and Delicious Coconut Shrimp Soup with Chef Vik Lulla

As the nights are getting cooler, we’ve decided it’s time for a soup recipe category!

Here we start off the fall season with Chef and owner of Chinese Mirch restaurant in NYC, Vik Lulla.  In this video he makes a coconut infused shrimp soup with rice noodles and cilantro, a broth that not only tastes exotic and delicious but it also smells wonderfully fragrant.  This soup is a fusion of Indian and Chinese cuisine, and is brought to us from Real Meals Tv.

Recipe adapted from the video:

Coconut Infused Shrimp and Noodle Soup
Via Chef Vik Lulla

Ingredients:
Lemon
Thin rice noodles
4 Sprigs of Cilantro
2-3 Large Shrimp, butterflied with tails removed
¼ tsp. Coriander Powder
¼ tsp. Curry Powder
12 oz. Fish Stock
½ cup Coconut milk
¾ oz. White Vinegar
1. Add the stock to a very hot wok (or sauté pan).
2. As it begins to simmer, add the rice noodles and the shrimp.
3. Allow the shrimp to begin to curl into themselves. Add the cilantro,
breaking it roughly just before dropping it in.
4. Add both the coriander and curry powder.
5. Pour in the coconut milk and simmer the whole broth for 1-2
minutes.
6. Add white vinegar and a squeeze of lemon to taste.
7. Garnish with cilantro, fried shallots and a lemon wedge

Asian Recipes Salad Recipes

Crispy Asian Chicken Salad with Chef Tyler Florence

Tyler Florence is a chef, author, and star of several Food Network shows. He graduated from the College of Culinary Arts at the Charleston, South Carolina, campus of Johnson & Wales University in 1991. He was later given an honorary doctorate from the University for his culinary success. Tyler believes in uncomplicated recipes, bright flavors and fresh food. You can learn more about Tyler here.

In this video, Tyler shows us how to make a crispy Asian chicken salad.

* 2 large full free-range chicken breasts, each cut into 2 single breasts
* 1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
* 4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1/4 cup and 2 tabelspoons low-sodium soy sauce
* 4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
* 1 cup dates, cut in half
* 1 hothouse cucumber, finely sliced
* 6 cups baby arugula
* 6 wonton wrappers, cut into thin strips and fried
* 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves
* 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons sugar
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Combine the 2 tablespoons of the grated ginger, 2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds, sesame oil, honey, salt and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside — this is the glaze that will be used on the chicken.

Heat a 2-count of olive oil in a large saut pan over medium heat. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Place the breasts skin-side down in the pan and sear until it has a nice golden color — about 3-5 minutes. Turn the breasts over and using a pastry brush liberally glaze the top of the skin with the sesame soy mixture. Place the whole pan into the preheated oven and roast for 5-7 minutes until chicken juices run clear. The breasts should remain moist and tender.

Meanwhile prepare the sweet sesame soy dressing. In a mixing bowl, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Whisk together as you incorporate the sesame oil then add the sesame seeds and ginger. In a large mixing bowl, add the arugula, thinly sliced cucumber, cilantro and dates and toss to coat. Add the crispy wonton wrappers at the last moment to ensure they remain crispy.