I was going to post an article about spices and how they can add some pizzazz to budget priced foods today, but hadn’t realized that Sunday kicks off Chinese New Year. The folks at Simply Asia sent some recipes to try so I thought I’d switch articles and leave spices for next week.

I should have guessed it was close to Chinese New Year because I’ve been seeing lots of food items like noodles, rice, stir fry sauces on sale. This is a great time to stock up. Most of these items have a long pantry shelf life, so nothing gets wasted. In fact, a vegetable stir fry is one of my favorite quick and easy stand by meals.
Here’s what I use and it serves four-

For the marinade-
1/3 cup soy sauce, sodium reduced if you’re watching your salt intake.
1 tablespoon light sesame oil
2 teaspoons finely minced ginger root
2 tablespoons honey
Mix everything together.
For the vegetables-
Two tablespoons oil
2 cups broccoli
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced onions
Optional, cashews, baby corn and water chestnuts, sliced

Add all the vegetables in a bowl and mix, add the marinade, coat all the vegetables and put in the fridge for at least an hour before preparing.
Heat about two tablespoons oil in a skillet or wok. Add the vegetables and stir fry until they’re tender. Keep stirring them because the honey in the marinade has a tendency to make them stick to the skillet. If you’re using chicken or tofu, add this now.

Asian Foods are Perfect for Budget Cooking
As a budget savvy cook, one of the things I like most about Asian cooking is most of the ingredients aren’t that expensive but yet give maximum flavor to a dish.

Gingerroot
One of my must have pantry standbys is gingerroot. You can find it in just about any produce section…usually by the root vegetables. I never make a curry or stir fry without it, and I’ll even add it to soups and sometimes fruit based desserts. Lots of people won’t buy it because they think it’s difficult to prepare and then gets wasted if they don’t use the whole root for one recipe. But I have a couple of suggestions. One, don’t try peeling it with a knife or peeler. Use the back of a teaspoon to gently ease the skin from the root. Second tip, if you have any leftover simply peel it, and place it in a jar and top it with vinegar and pop it into the refrigerator. It keeps fresh for months and when you want to use it, simply rinse off the vinegar.

Sesame Seed Oil
Another popular ingredient in Asian cooking is sesame seed oil. It has a rich and very intense taste and gives any dish a very distinctive flavor. Having said that, not everyone likes it. My advice; try some before you add it to a dish, and go lightly the first couple of times you add it to a dish. Never treat it the same way you would other oils. It can quickly overwhelm other flavors…definitely less is more when it comes to sesame seed oil.

Miso
Until recently if you wanted to find miso, you’d have to go to a health food store or coop, but these days lots of supermarkets stock it. It’s found in the dairy section, and comes in different varieties. If you want to give it a try, I recommend starting out with the light or white miso and working your way to the darker varieties. It contains all good stuff like protein, iron, B12, potassium and dietary fiber. It also contains enzymes that can help your digestion.

A Good for You Cooking Method
Asian dishes not only contain many good for your ingredients, some of the cooking methods are also good too. Steaming, stir frying, both of which cook the food quickly and without destroying vitamins and minerals.

A Quick and Easy Dessert
Sometimes I rush around trying to figure out what’s for dessert and I’ve found chocolate covered fortune cookies are perfect to finish a meal. Melt some chocolate, dip half the fortune cookie into it, place them on parchment paper and let them set. This also works with other types of cookies too.

Real Asian Made Simple
Here’s some information the folks at Simply Asia recommend checking out on their site.
•New, easy-to-make products to incorporate into a Chinese New Year gathering or just add something special to weekday dinners
•New recipes perfect for Chinese New Year
•Tips for throwing a Year of the Tiger party, from décor to cuisine
•Insight into Chinese New Year traditions and their significance
•Fun freebies from Simply Asia to complete your gathering, like printable menus and place cards at www.RealAsianMadeSimple.com P.S. Simply Asia is giving away great prize packs throughout Chinese New Year on Facebook and Twitter! Check us out at facebook.com/pages/Simply-Asia/127487550959 and Twitter @SimplyAsiaFoods.

Recipes
Both of these recipes sound tempting. I often order teriyaki lettuce wraps at restaurants but now I have the recipe.
Simply Asia® Ginger Teriyaki Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Makes 6 servings.

1 tsp. oil
1 lb. ground chicken or ground turkey
1 pouch Simply Asia® Ginger Teriyaki Stir-Fry Sauce
6 large iceberg lettuce leaves or 12 Bibb lettuce leaves
Toppings such as shredded carrots, bean sprouts, chow mein noodles, chopped peanuts, chopped fresh cilantro and chopped green onions

HEAT oil in large nonstick on medium-high heat. Add ground chicken; stir fry
5 minutes or until cooked through. Add Stir-Fry Sauce; cook and stir until heated through.

SPOON chicken mixture into center of each lettuce leaf. Sprinkle with desired toppings. Fold sides of lettuce over filling and roll up to serve.

Simply Asia® General Tsao’s Meatballs

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Makes 15 (2-meatball) appetizer servings.

1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 pouch Simply Asia® General Tsao Stir-Fry Sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
MIX breadcrumbs, egg, milk, garlic powder and ground ginger in large bowl until well blended. Add ground beef; mix well.

SHAPE into 1-inch meatballs. Arrange meatballs in foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

BAKE in preheated 350°F oven 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through. Drain if needed.

BRING Stir-Fry Sauce and orange juice to simmer in large skillet on medium heat. Add meatballs; toss to coat well and cook until heated through.