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Red pepper and carrot egg noodle stir fry with saucy mince

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A quick stir fry always is a go-to option for a dinner on busy nights. Although I have never been to China and had a real traditional one, I am obsessed with the ones I have had and made. I love how versatile they are and how creative one can be with them since always having the same can be boring after a while. Like this one, it is definitely not your average one, nope, but it is a DREAM! And super super quick!

What is stir fry? 

Stir fry actually is a Chinese cooking technique where food is prepared at high heat, continuously stirring and there for frying it quickly. Nowadays stir fry is a term with which one often refers to a dish rather than a cooking technique. The dish consists of vegetables sautéed with some sort of meat, seafood, tofu or tempeh all covered in a tasty sauce and served over rice or noodles or even another grain like quinoa. 

What’s special about this dish?

Usually stir fry is prepared with strips of meat or cubes of tofu. But in this dish we are switching it up and using minced meat. Firstly, it is a nice way to switch thighs up and make it different once in a while and secondly it soaks up the sauce super well, which makes the dish really tasty! 

Also, in regular stir fries you can find a bunch of different vegetables, including lots of greens. But here we only use two different ones. That helps to focus on their flavor and to also mane non veggie lovers be obsessed with this dish! But if you still feel like it, go ahead and add in a handful of spinach! 

Is stir fry healthy?

It actually is pretty healthy! But obviously, it still depends on what you are using. When prepared with something like chicken breast or tofu it actually is healthy but when it‘s made with something like pork belly or fatty meat, it loads up on calories and fats.

Which makes me come to the next point: fat. Stir fries usually are prepared with lots of oil because that is common in the asian cuisine. While oil definitely is not unhealthy (unless you prepare it with an oil that gets poisonous at high temperatures such as olive oil) it comes with a bunch of calories, which you should be aware of. 

The last point you should look out for is the soy sauce. Try to use one that is sodium reduced because a lot of sodium also is bot healthy but pretty common.

How to make it healthier

Try to add in as many veggies as possible and choose a type of protein that does not pack a lot of fat and use a soy reduced soy sauce. If you want to make it super healthy you can even serve it with whole grain rice or noodles.

Substitutes:

Bell Pepper/ Carrots – veggies you have on hand/ in the fridge
Ground chicken – any other ground meat or textured vegetable protein
Egg noodles – ramen, soba noodles, rice noodles 

I really love to make this dish because it is something the whole family loves and it is really versatile. Plus, it comes together in less than 20 minutes and is healthy! Perfect for busy weeks! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cusinière

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Red pepper and carrot egg noodle stir fry with saucy mince

Saucy and juicy mince on top of soft noodles with crunchy veggies. A dream. Not your normal stir fry but a good one with a nice twist to it.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine asian, Chinese
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 625 kcal

What you will need

  • 500 g ground beef
  • 250 g egg noodles
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 yellow/orange bell pepper
  • 3-4 carrots
  • 1 tbsp oil

for the sauce:

  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cm ginger
  • 1 chili (optional but really good)

for garnish:

  • 2 spring onions finely slices
  • fresh cilantro
  • some sesame seeds
  • thinly sliced carrots
  • some lime wedges

How to

  1. Remove the core from the bell peppers. Cut the rest into about 0,5cm thick slices. Peel the carrots and also cut them into thin sticks.

  2. Heat up the oil in a wok pan or a non-stick pan. Once hot add the vegetables and fry on high heat for about 1 minute, then turning it to medium high for another 2-3 minutes.

  3. Add the grounf beef and fry on high heat for about 4-5 minutes, gently mixing through, so everything is well combined and the meat is evenly browned.

  4. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a food processor and blend until combined. If you do not have a food processor mix everything in a bowl and grate the garlic and ginger into it.

  5. Prepare the noodles according to package instructions. Add the sauce to the stir fry and let it simmer on low heat for about 3 minutes. Drain the noodles and add them to the stir fry. Mix until combined and the noodles have soaked up the sauce.

  6. Serve in bowls and garnish with the fresh spring onions, cilantro, carrots, sesame seeds and lime. Enjoy!

Tomato white wine pasta with pistachio breadcrumbs

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I am gonna be honest. This is addicting! A creamy, fresh, quick, full of flavor and so many nutrients! You won‘t go back to store bought pasta sauces! Plus, its dairy free and vegan because we are topping it with pistachio breadcrumbs. You are NOT missing the parmesan in top! All in all it is just so tasty!

Is Pasta unhealthy?

I honestly love pasta, and despite all rumors it is not unhealthy. Well, at least not as is because it is a great source of carbohydrates. If you make wholegrain pasta, it is even healthier because you get an extra portion of fiber with it! But yes, just as everything else it can be prepared really unhealthy. Not the actual pasta itself but the sauce it comes with. If ypu use a very oil heavy or cream, cheese or butter based sauce such as alfredo or carbonara or one with fatty meat like bacon or salami, it can load up on calories and fats really quickly. But when you pair it with a rather light sauce like a tomato one or one with fresh vegetables it is not unhealthy at all! Also pesto is a good choice. I mean, yes it has cheese but it also has oil, nuts and fresh basil. Oil and nuts are high in healthy fats and fresh basil has so many vitamins!

What is special about this dish?

100% the sauce! Why? Because it is not your regular tomato sauce. And by „white wine tomato sauce“ I don‘t mean that you poor half a bottle if wine into your regular sauce (although this would probably also be super tasty :)). No, its a sauce made of only fresh tomatoes – of all sizes and colors, a good splash of white wine and lots if fresh herbs. And of corse, not to forget the pistachio breadcrumbs. They just take it next level!

Which tomatoes work best for this dish?

I believe that a mix of many different ones work best! A mix of large ones, cherry tomatoes or san Marzanl works best. Also, if you have access to it or can find them, feel free to add yellow, orange or brown tomatoes. The more you add, the more of a diverse, intense and interesting flavor and many different textures! So, use whatever you have on hand! The more different ones you have, the better!

Which wine works best?

As the name says, white wine! This can be a fruitier one or one that is rather on the dry side. This is up to you and what you like to drink! My dad always says „use a wine for cooking that you will also drink with the dish“. So use a good and tasty wine because you will also taste it in the sauce. It is as important to use a good quality product in a dish as it is to drink it. You could, however, also use some sparkling wine because the carbon dioxide will cook down anyway. If you only have red wine on hand, you can use this too but be aware that this will make it more of a heavier dish whereas the white wine makes it rather lighter.

Pistachio breadcrumbs?! What and how?

I have never eaten that before. Neither at a restaurant not at someone’s home! But it is game changing. I know, we all love some parmesan on top of our pasta, but if we are longing for a dairy-free, healthier and vegan option, this is amazing! And so simple. 3 ingredients and addicting! The only ingredients you really need are pistachios (whole grain) bread crumbs, and olive oil. The pistachios are chopped finely and mixed with the breadcrumbs. After they are pan fried in some olive oil to get them crispy and bring out the flavor. If you want a slight cheesy flavor, you can also add in some nutritional yeast (Hefeflocken) if you want but it definitely is not necessary! When putting them on top of the pasta, the add a nice crunch and texture and also some saltines as cheese would do! You need to try this! I swear it is so good!

Is it family friendly?

Yes! 100%! You do add wine, but the alcohol boils away, so even kids can eat it! And it is vegan (if you use vegan pasta of corse) but if you want to add some parmesan or mozzarella on top you of course can do so! Ir if you want some prawns of grilled chicken with it, it works as well. Plus, it is less than 30 minutes, so it‘s a great weeknight dinner!

We absolutely love having this dish in pur house and make it pretty often! Its super tasty, simple, and full of vitamins! I hope that it gives you some inspiration to cook something healthy & tasty!

Happy cooking,
Katie || Une Petite Cuisinière

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Tomato White Wine Pasta with Pistachio Bread Crumbs

Quick, simple, healthy, tasty. Fancier than your average tomato sauce, full of vitamins, 30 minute and tastes so incredibly good!

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 25 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 627 kcal

What you will need

For the tomato sauce:

  • 400 g tomatoes large ones, can be any color
  • 300 g cherry tomatoes or any other small ones, it is best to mix the colors
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion
  • 1/8 l white wine
  • 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
  • 2 small branches rosemary and oregano
  • 1 garlic clove grated
  • 1/2 lemon juiced

For the pistachio breadcrumbs:

  • 20 g pistachios
  • 20 g breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Other:

  • 500 g Pasta tagliatelle work best

How to

For the tomato sauce:

  1. Chop the large tomatoes into about 1cm sized cubes. Half the cherry tomatoes. Finely mince the onion. In a large pot heat up the olive oil. Add the onion and sautée it until it is translucent. Then add in the chopped tomatoes and reduce to medium high heat. Also add the herbs and the garlic clove (and the chili flakes if using) into the pot and give it a stir. Add the white wine and let simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Then add the lemon juice and salt generously and let simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat. Before serving take out the herbs.

For the Pistachio Breadcrumbs:

  1. In the meantime make the pistachio breadcrumbs. Therefore add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until they have gotten a fine consistency. If you do not have a food processor, chop them up with a knife. Combine them with the breadcrumbs. heat up the olive oil in a pan and fry the mixture on high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly so they do not burn. Take them off the heat and set them aside.

  2. In the meantime cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once done reserve 1/2 cup (about 100ml) of pasta water and drain them. Add the drained pasta, along with the reserved water to the sauce and mix through. Seperate them onto 4 plates and top with the pistachio breadcrumbs and serve.

    Enjoy!

Curry Noodle Soup with Lemongrass Meatballs

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This dish honestly is one of my favourite things I have ever made. It is just so good. And so family friendly. The combination of a creamy slightly spicy and refreshing soup with fresh vegetables, dense meatballs and soft noodles. It just is so good. Unbelievable good.

It is something the entire family will love. Meatballs are always a family staple in my opinion and noodles are too. If there are family members who don’t eat meat, they only do veggies and noodles, if there are some who are not the biggest fan of vegetables they can leave them out. It is really versatile and really good.

I do not know how I came up with that Idea but I think I somehow wanted a curry and a noodle soup at the same time so I combined it. And I knew I couldn’t go without some meat for my brother and my dad so I decided to try out something different, something that could easily be eaten in a sop and decided to go for meatballs.

Ground chicken or veal work best for the meatballs but pork or beef works fine too. I have to say though, that I have never tried it out with vegetable mince, because I am worried that this will probably fall apart. Other than the meat in the balls go some lemongrass, fresh is best but dried (in powder) works alright too, some ginger, garlic, soy sauce and cornstarch to hold everything together. It all is diced up finely and then mixed together before being formed into meatballs.

As the base of the soup we use chicken broth because it has most flavour and add in ginger, lemongrass and spring onions to add some asian flavours to the broth. This is all being poured over some curry paste and after simmering for a little while also some canned coconut milk goes into the pot. Coconut milk is such a great addition into soups because it makes everything so much creamier and richer plus it adds a ton of flavour. It really is a healthy go-to for soups!

To finish the meal of we add some pasta to the soup for some carbs and texture. Here I recommend using soba ur glass noodles. Soba noodles are my preferred choice. They originally come from Japan and are made from buckwheat flour. They taste super delicious and have more fibre and protein than regular pasta. If you do not find them near you, you can also substitute them for glass noodles.

And of course, we need some vitamins too, so we are adding some vegetables! Here you can use whatever is in your fridge! Personally, I would recommend using mushrooms, carrots, pak choy, cauliflower, asparagus an broccoli. but if you have any other favourites you are free to add them!

Preparing it all takes a little time because everything needs to be chopped but it is a fun thing to do. Especially forming the meatballs is something kids will love.

I love making this dish as a lunch or a delicious dinner because it is packed with flavour, and nutrients. The entire family loves it and you can still enjoy it the next day if there is something left over (although there probably will be none)!

I hope that this gives you some inspiration to cook good and healthy food for your entire family or just for yourself.

Happy cooking,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Curry Noodle Soup with Lemongrass Meatballs

Best soup you will ever make. Spicy and creamy base with dense deliciously fresh meatballs, soft vegetables and dedicant noodles. The best thing ever.

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine asian, thai
Prep Time 30 Minuten
Cook Time 30 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde
Servings 4 servings
Calories 596 kcal

What you will need

For the Meatballs:

  • 400 g ground chicken
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
  • 4 cm ginger
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 spring onion
  • 1 tbso soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch maybe a bit more
  • 1 tbsp oil

For the soup:

  • 25 g curry paste
  • 1,5 l chicken broth
  • 2 stalks lemongrass
  • 6 cm ginger
  • 2 spring onions
  • 400 ml coconut milk (1 can)
  • 100 g mushrooms *
  • 100 g broccoli *
  • 100 g carrots *
  • 100 g cauliflower *
  • 1 pak choy
  • 150 g soba noodles
  • some fresh spring onions

How to

That is how it works:

  1. For the meatballs peel and mince the lemongrass, ginger and spring onions finely. Combine them in a bowl with the ground meat, soy sauce and the cornstarch. Mix everything well. It shoudl form a sticky consistency so you can form meatballs. It it is not sticky enough, add more cornstarch.

  2. Take one heaped tablespoon at a time from the meat mixture and form it into balls. Heat up the oil in a large pot and fry the meatballs in it for about 10 minutes. Take them out and set them aside.

  3. In the meantime cut up the ginger, lemongras, and spring onions into larger chunks. Combine the curry past with about 3 tablespoons of the coconut milk.

    In the hot pot quickly fry the ginger, lemongras, and spring onions for about 2-3 minutes. Take them out and place them in a tea bag or sieve so they can cook with the broth later. Add the curry paste mixture into the pot any fry this for about one minute before you add the broth and the tea bag. Bring everything to a boil.

    In the meantime chop all of the vegetbales you are using into bite-sized pices. Add in harder veegtables that need longer to cook, like carrot and cauliflower now and boil them for about 5 minutes.

    In the meantime prepare the pasta according to package intructions.

    After the 5 minutes, add in the other vegetables and coconut milk and take out the tea bag. Let everything simmer for another 3-4 minutes.

    When the noodles are done cooking strain them and set aside.

  4. To serve add some meatballs and pasta into a soup bowl. Next, pour the soup and vegetables over and garnish with some spring onions and fresh cilantro. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • you can use any vegetables you have in your fridge, they do not need to be those exact ones, 

Shrimp, Carrot & Aubergine Mushroom Dumplings

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Dumplings are one of my absolutely favourite things to have. I always order them when going out to Chinese or Japanese restaurant but I have never dared to make them at home because I thought it was super complicated to make them. Wrong! They are not complicated at all, just require a little work, which is a lot of fun when doing it with someone else.

I do not know if anyone else loves the mix of textures and flavours or a decently spiced filling and a soft and doughy outer shell as much as I do. The combination always gets me and I believe that it is the perfect comforting and still healthy food. The great thing is that you can switch up the fillings and get so creative. There is nothing you cannot put into those cute, little dumplings.

Since everyone has different taste buds, I created 2 versions for this first dumpling blog post. A vegetarian (vegan actually) and one with seafood. They both are incredibly delicious. For the vegetarian I combined some super finely chopped eggplant and some super finally chopped mushrooms. The chopping really takes time but making it that small just changes the taste so much because it almost feels like ground meat, texture wise, and you have both veggies in one bite. This mixture is sautéed just for a minute or so and then tossed with a teriyaki sauce. The sauce really adds a lot of flavour and makes it so addictingly good.

The shrimp dumpling is even easier. I use frozen shrimps simply because they are easiest to get and to store. Before preparing them, they need to be defrosted, which you can either do by taking them out of the freezer a few hours before cooking or if you forgot to do that, you can place them in a bowl with warm water and let them defrost that way. The shrimps are also finely chopped. The other 2 ingredients are carrots, which are peeled and also chopped up really finely and wild garlic. I love to use wild garlic at this time of the year but if you do not have that on hand you can use normal garlic cloves instead. This mixture does not have to be pre cooked, because the shrimps I use are already cooked before frozen. If yours are not you can quickly pan fry them or you just cook them when steaming.

As for the outside dough, in this recipe we are using wonton wrappers. You can get those frozen at any asian market and sometimes even in supermarkets or speciality stores. Those are the same ones you would use for spring rolls. So you can deep fry, pan fry or steam them. Same with those dumplings. I am 100% down for steaming, simply because I believe they taste best and the flavours come out most, but you can also crisp them up in a pan. I would not recommend deep-frying them tough.

Here I decided to close them differently and bring them into diverse shapes but if this is too much work for you, leaving it with one is absolutely fine. The filling and shaping does take some time, because each wrapper is a bite, so it takes a while until you have gotten them all read but it is so worth it.

You can serve them as an appetiser when friends are over, or also if not, or just prepare more and make an asian spread for lunch or dinner (maybe with the satay skewers, which are coming up on the blog next week?). This recipe is totally family approved, not only everyone likes eating them, but the making them together part is. a lot of fun too!

When you serve them, then do so with some soy, teriyaki, chilli or peanut sauce to dip in!

I hope that you will love this recipe as much as I do!

Have fun cooking,

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Shrimp and Carrot Dumplings

Light, easy and super tasty. Crunchy carrot, soft prawns and fresh wild garlic, the result, an absoltue amazing dish!

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine asian, Chinese
Prep Time 27 Minuten
Cook Time 8 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 15 dumplings
Calories 48 kcal

What you will need

That is what you need:

  • 15 wonton wrappers
  • 3 carrots
  • 300 g prawns frozen and thawed
  • 1 handful wild garlic
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • some sesame seeds

How to

This is how it works:

  1. Peel the carrot. Slice and cube it into mini chunks, about 2 mm large. The smaller you get them, the better they are. Or, grate them with a grater.

  2. Defrost the prawns and chop them very small too. Take the wild garlic, wash it and also cut this one into small sizes.

  3. Place all of those ingredients in a bowl and mix them together with the soy sauce.

  4. Take one wrapper at a time and place a teaspoon of the filling into the middle. Brush the edges of the wraper with some water and fold two diagonal edges together. Close the dumpling up by pressing the open sides to each other so they close.

  5. If you want to, you can make a small pattern by taking one end of the triangle and folding it towards the other side. The part of the wrapper where the dough has been folded over, now folds over in the same direction. Continue doing this until you have reached the other side of the wrapper.

  6. Repeat that with the remaining wrappers until the filling is used up.

    Bring some water to a boil in a pot. Take a steamer, a bamboo steamer preferably, and place the dumplings in it on top of some parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.

    Steam them for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft. Serve them with some sauces like soy sauce, chili sauce or peanut sauce, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some fresh cilantro.

    Enjoy!

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Aubergine and Mushroom Dumplings

A vegan version of the best asian comfort food. Soft and tangy aubergine mushroom mix tossed in soft wrappers. INcredibly good.

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Side Dish
Prep Time 27 Minuten
Cook Time 8 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 15 wrappers
Calories 39 kcal

What you will need

That is what you need:

  • 15 wonton wrappers
  • 1/2 eggplant
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 200 g mushrooms you can use champignons or oyster mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce can be substituted for 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp honey
  • sesame seeds
  • fresh cilantro
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 3 cm ginger

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Finely chop the ginger, garlic, mushrooms and eggplant into about 2mm sized cubes. The smaller the better.

    In a pan heat up the oil. Sautée the veggies for about 2 minutes. Take them off the heat and stir in the teriyaki sauce.

    Take one wrapper at a time and place one teaspoon of the mixture in the middle. Brush all edges with some water. Take the four edges and pull them up to the center and press them together. Take the remaing open sides and also press those together so the dumpling is fully closed.

  2. Repeat that with the remaining wrappers until the filling is used up. 

    Bring some water to a boil in a pot. Take a steamer, a bamboo steamer preferably, and place the dumplings in it on top of some parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.

    Steam them for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft. Serve them with some sauces like soy sauce, chili sauce or peanut sauce, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some fresh cilantro. 

    Enjoy!