Asian Flavored Lobster Soup in Under 20 min

Begin with chicken stock preferably fresh homemade, or if you are short on time use Swansons low sodium chicken broth. Heat chicken stock with minced fresh garlic, ginger and fresh chili pepper to taste.While stock is heating up prep your veggies. Shown is a simple mix of thinly sliced crimini and shiitake mushroom, carrot, fresh lotus root,  fingerling potatoes, green onion and cilantro, and a couple of smallish lobster tails. Add spuds first, cook 5-6 minutes, add carrot, cook additional 2 minutes, add mushrooms, cook 2 minutes, add remaining ingredients cover and remove from heat. Finish soup with a splash of nam pla (fish sauce), and/or a little fresh lime juice.

Lobster was on hand for this dish, but most any seafood,  chicken and/or tofu would work just as well.

Soup allows for tremendous creativity, simply varying a few key seasoning ingredients can change it completely.  Replacing the cilantro, ginger, nam pla and lime juice with fennel, a little white wine, a pinch of saffron, fresh thyme, a swirl of EVOO and a strip of orange peel turns it into a heavenly Mediterranean soup needing nothing more than a baguette and someone to enjoy it with.....the fresh lotus root works beautifully in the Mediterranean version

Asian soups are an Om Chef favorite, I love the myriad of dried ingredients available, including dried lily buds,  shrimp, oysters, scallops, wood ear, black fungus, jujube, seaweeds, jellyfish, and  multiple kinds of fungi to name a few.

Om Chef downtown L.A. enlightened omnivore clients will find all ingredients for this dish cleaned and chopped in labeled glass containers conveniently located in their refrigerator...making this dish qualify as 'fast food' the enlightened omnivore way

Cali Buddha Winter Dinner

Crimini mushrooms tossed in rosemary, thyme, garlic and a splash of olive oil...broil 5-7 minutes.

Broiled, herbed mushrooms have a special connection with brown rice, and you need little else for a delicious dinner.  A few shavings of Parmesan may be added, and a tiny splash of Balsamic vinigar for something extra special.

Short grain brown rice simply steamed. Bring 4 cups of cold water to a boil, add a dash of sea salt and 2 cups brown rice, return to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low simmer, cook 40 minutes, and no matter how tempted you may be, DO NOT remove the lid before 40 minutes, after 40min. remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes...and it will be perfection

Baby Bamboo...asparagus is at its best simply steamed, and this can be done in the microwave in 40 seconds, the microwave works remarkebly well for vegetables and even fish, but make sure you use absolutely no plastic, ever, in the microwave, only glass. A squeeze of meyer lemon makes it complete

Purple carrots poached in fresh ginger spiked orange juice. May be poached on the stove top or the microwave. Don't over cook, they should have a nice crunch, and yes, orange or gold carrots work equally well, as do beets. 

Angou Pear, walnut, winter lettuce such as Mizuna, dried cherry, red wine vinegar macerated red onion, and Roquefort cheese combine for a heavenly salad that loves to be with brown rice

Healthy, One Pot Lusciousness

 

So easy! Brown rice, short grain is best for this dish, assorted vegetables, fresh herbs, a few small pieces of fish, and a 2 quart saucepan with a lid.  Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add one cup of brown rice, return to a boil, add root veggies, reduce heat to a simmer and cover with lid, simmer aprox 35 minutes. ...DO NOT REMOVE LID BEFORE 35 MIN*...Turn off heat, add fish, fast cooking veggies, tofu if you have it, and fresh herbs, cover, and let stand 15 minutes-with no heat...

  serve with a splash of soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil, or a drizzle of olive oil.

As shown with cilantro, mushrooms, eggplant, green beans, carrots, and cilantro. The above dish was prepared with a cutting board, sharp knife, and a single burner hot plate in an artist studio with no kitchen.  Ingredient cost was $6.00 using sushi grade fish, and a hand full of veggies from a local Korean market.

*The secret to steamed rice is very simple, after bringing rice and water to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low, and Do Not Remove the Lid. That's it, just that easy.

   

Rice Noodle with Spicy Shrimp Balls

Thai Noodles

PF Chang Style Dumplings

Pot stickers are easy to make from scratch, and even easier to buy frozen with the from scratch part being the dipping sauce. The secret to great dipping sauce for dumplings is plenty of fresh minced garlic, ginger, and cillantro added to lite soy sauce. A splash of nam pla or chili paste gives it an edge, and the cilantro can be replaced with mint or thai basil for yummy alternatives.





Dumplings are first boiled for 8 minutes, and transfered to a saute pan for a quick browning in peanut oil, but the saute pan step can be eleminated for a lighter dumpling. These same dumplings are fab in a miso sopu with a few veggies added to the broth.