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

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