Asian Style Turkey Meatballs with Stir Fried Rice

I am struggling with knocking the bad eating habits of the festive season on the head. I am being really good all day and then I go and ruin it all with a glass and half of wine or a nibble on some chocolate, or a slither of cake...you get the picture. It's still way better than I was eating pre 3rd Jan but I am not going to shift these extra lbs quickly at this rate.  I have missed exercising over the holiday period and was glad to get back to walking to school and back twice a day. 1st Zumba class of the year is Thursday so I think that will really help too.

 

Anyway, onto the dish. Turkey is probably the last thing anyone wants right now but 2 excellent reasons why you should use it in this dish. It is very low in fat and high in protein which makes it very WeightWatcher friendly and secondly the flavourings used in this dish completely transform a boring old cheap bit of mince into something REALLY tasty!

You can make the meatballs in advance and boil the rice way in advance so the final part is much quicker to get from pan to table.

You will need for 2:

MEATBALLS:

• 250g turkey mince
• 1 dsp dark soy
• 1 dsp fish sauce
• zest of 1 lime
• Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp breadcrumbs

RICE:

• 130g dried brown basmatti rice
• 1 tbsp mirin or 1 tsp brown sugar
• Juice of half lime
• Mix of your favourite stir fry veg e.g. pak choi, mangetout, sugar snap peas, baby corn , sliced mushrooms etc
• 1tsp groundnut or vegetable oil
• Handful fresh coriander, chopped
• 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced or crushed
• Pinch chilli flakes or 1 fresh chilli (optional)

Rice the rice in a sieve under cold water. Place in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 30 minutes or according to packet instructions.  Once cooked, drain and pour over boiling water from the kettle.  Leave to cool and place in fridge until required.

Meanwhile prepare the meatballs in advance by mixing all the ingredients together with your hands then dividing into 10 meatballs. I tend to weigh mine to ensure each one is equal which is approx 30g each. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge until required.

Get all your veggies, garlic, chilli & ginger ready before you start to stir fry. You will need a small frying or griddle pan for the meatballs and a wok or large frying pan for the rice. I find it easier to do these separately and they roughly take the same amount of time - 5-7 minutes. 

Spritz a tiny amount of oil onto the meatballs and place in hot griddle pan, turning to brown all over. Once browned, turn the heat down and cover with a lid so they cook through. You could also place in a hot oven to ensure they cook through.

At the same time, heat the 1tsp oil in your wok. Stir fry the veggies with the garlic, ginger and chilli for a couple of minutes. Add the soy sauce, mirin or sugar and lime juice. Once the veggies are nicely cooked (about 4-5 minutes) add the rice. Using a metal spoon or spatula keep stirring so the sauce coats the rice nicely and the rice heats through thoroughly.

Serve the stir fried rice on the plate topped with the meatballs.

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13

Asian Steamed Cod with Stir Fried Rice

Every so often I do a trip to an Asian supermarket and stock up on authentic storecupboard ingredients such as dark and light soy sauces, fish sauce, herbs & spices, Sake, noodles and pastes.  It's much cheaper then your local supermarket and these ingredients keep really well in your cupboard. 

The last time I went, I picked up a large bamboo steamer and I really do get my moneys worth from it!  If you don't have a bamboo steamer you can use a regular steamer or you can even bake in a foil parcel creating a steam effect in the oven.

You'll need for 2:

• 2 x 130g cod loin
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp Sake
• 2-3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp lazy ginger
• 1 tsp lazy garlic
• 1 tsp groundnut oil, or oil of your choice
• Pinch of chilli flakes
• Pack of pak choi
• Half a punnet chestnut mushrooms
• 125g brown basmatti rice, cooked and cooled

What to do:

On a plate place the cod loins.  Scatter over 1 tsp ginger, lime juice, sake, 1 tbsp soy sauce, a small handful of spring onions and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.  Place in the bamboo steamer over a pan of boiling water and steam for 7-8 minutes until the fish is opaque throughout.

At the same time as getting the fish on, heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the vegetables with the garlic, 1 tsp chopped ginger and chilli until beginning to colour.  Season using 1-2 tbsp of soy sauce.  Add the rice and stir continuously until the rice is fully heated through.  Sprinkle with the rest of the chopped coriander.

Carefully lift the cooked fish out and place on top of the rice.  Pour over any remaining juices from the steamer.

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 11

Salmon Teriyaki

I really do love Asian food.  Especially Chinese and Thai.  I have longed to perfect a handful of Asian dishes and think I’ve got this one pretty much down.  I’m a big fan of Ching He-Haung as I think she cooks wonderful Chinese food in a naturally healthy manner.  My recipes are very often based on hers, but of course I look to cut down on oil wherever possible to save valuable WeightWatchers ProPoints and up the veg content making it Slimming World friendly.

This teriyaki marinade works well not just with salmon but also with chicken, beef or prawns.  Marinade for a couple of hours if you can.  Tonight I had, er all of 5 minutes but the dish was still tasty. 

You’ll need for 2:

• 2 salmon fillets, each 110g
• 1 teaspoon Sesame or Groundnut oil
• 1 pack of baby corn and mangetout, sliced
• 1 pak Choi, sliced
• Handful of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp dark soy
• 1 tbsp light soy
• Squeeze of lemon or few drops of concentrated lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Mirin (or you could use honey)
• 1 tsp lazy chopped garlic
• 1 tsp lazy chopped ginger
• Pinch chilli flakes (optional)
• 2 portions dried egg noodles, medium (60g each)

What to do:

Make up the marinade by combining the dark soy, mirin, garlic, lemon, ginger, chilli flakes.  Marinade the salmon for an hour or so if you can

The next few steps all happen simultaneously so get all your pans ready!

Simmer the egg noodles according to the packet instructions, drain and rinse in cold water until required.

Heat the sesame oil in a wok or large frying pan and fry the veggies on a high heat.

Heat a griddle pan and shake off any excess marinade and griddle for 3-4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the salmon.  You can also bake the salmon on a foil lined tray or grill.

Add any excess marinade to the veggies along with 1 tbsp light soy sauce.

Add the noodles to the veggies and toss to coat evenly.

Plate up with the noodles / veggies first, then top with the cooked salmon.

WeightWatchers Propoints Per Seving: 13

Miso-Marinated Fish w Asian Greens and Rice

This is a twist on the Nobu Miso Black Cod recipe which uses black cod and white miso paste.  As both of these are not easily available I have opted for miso soup paste and regular white flaky fish which are both readily accessible from the supermarket making this a extremely yummy, low fat everyday meal.

You’ll need for 2:

• 2 tbsp Mirin
• 2 tbsp Sake
• 2 tbsp Miso paste
• 1 ½ tbsp caster sugar
• 2 fillets of white fish.   I used line caught haddock loins (no skin) 130g each
• 2 Pak choi
• Pack of mixed baby corn and sugarsnap peas
• Half a punnett of chestnut mushrooms
• 150g basmati or jasmine rice

What to do:

Mix the first 4 ingredients together to make your marinade in a container with a lid or a shallow dish.  Pat dry the fish and coat thoroughly in the marinade.  Leave in the fridge for as long as you can – ideally 24 hours.  I only had 7 hours today and it was still delicious but longer is definitely better.

Line a baking sheet with foil as the sugar will cause the marinade to burn easily.  Preheat an oven to 200 degree c and also pre-heat your grill to high.

Weigh out your rice.  Rinse under cold water in a sieve and transfer to a pan with boiling salted water.  Boil for 12 minutes then drain in a sieve.  Pour over boiling water from a kettle and allow to steam dry for a few minutes.

Wipe off any excess marinade and place the fish on the foil lined tray.  Grill on high for a couple of minutes until the fish starts to brown and repeat on the other side.  Then transfer to the oven for 3 minutes to cook through.  Be careful not to overcook the fish.

Slice the Asian veggies.  You can choose any mix of Asian vegetables including mushrooms, spring onions, Chinese leaf, mangetout.  Stir fry in a splash of hot groundnut or vegetable oil adding a few glugs of soy for seasoning, and the rest of the marinade.  I also add a pinch of chilli flakes for a touch of heat.  Best enjoyed with a cold beer or a cold crisp glass of dry white wine!  Yum.

Weightwatchers Propoints: 11