I hadn’t given much thought to the Easter holiday…I’m agnostic, so I don’t really “celebrate” it in the same way that Christians do. However, I did grow up celebrating it and we always had family over to our house and shared a nice meal together.
My boyfriend and I almost always make dinner together on Sunday nights, and so as I was planning I found some great-looking recipes that all had Asian elements to them. The only issue was that I forgot it was going to be Easter Sunday! We certainly didn’t have Asian food on Easter when I was growing up! The bf and I talked about it and decided that it was more important that we’d be spending time together and having fun, rather than exactly what kind of food it was we’d be eating. So, the Asian-style Easter dinner was on. 🙂
Our yummy feast consisted of:
Asian Slaw
Saucy Asian-Style Meatballs
Sesame-Shiitake Bok Choy
We also enjoyed a nice red wine with our dinner.
Recipes:
- 4 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
- 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into julienne strips
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
- .
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrots, and peppers.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients, and pour over the vegetables. Toss to coat. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Enjoy!
- 2 lbs. ground pork or ground beef
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 cup Panko or breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 2 eggs
- 3 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
- optional garnish: toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions
- 2/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- *Note: we did not have ground ginger, so we used fresh, grated ginger instead. Still good!
- Preheat oven to 400.
- In a large bowl, mix together meatball ingredients until well-combined. Shape into 1 inch balls , and place on a greased baking sheet or in a 9x13-inch baking dish (we actually used mini muffin trays, and that worked perfectly!).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until meatballs are golden on the outside and no longer pink on the inside.
- While the meatballs are baking, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until blended. Once meatballs have finished cooking, pour the sauce over the meatballs and gently stir them until covered.
- Serve warm, and sprinkle with additional garnish, such as green onions, if desired.
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 2-pound head bok choy, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 4 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps, (9 ounces with stems)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, (see Tip)
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned, 30 seconds.
- Add bok choy and mushrooms; cook, stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Continue cooking, stirring often, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes more.
- Stir in oyster sauce, sesame oil and salt. Garnish with sesame seeds.
- Tip: To toast sesame seeds: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.
- NUTRITION FACTS
- Calories 132, Total Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat 4 g, Sodium 602 mg, Carbohydrate 10 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 7 g, Potassium 1046 mg. Daily Values: Vitamin A 170%, Vitamin C 90%, Calcium 20%. Exchanges: Vegetable 2,Fat 2.
- Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
I hope you try one or all of these fabulous recipes and enjoy them as much I did!