Today, the fabulous chefs from the Tonga Room Restaurant in the SF Fairmont have shared with us a healthy delicious recipe. It’s an exotic Asian green papaya salad with chili garlic dressing topped with honey roasted peanuts. Enjoy!

Papaya Salad
The Tonga Room Restaurant, Fairmont Hotel San Francisco
Serves 6

Sweet Garlic & Chili Dressing:

• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp dry mustard
• ¼ cup sweet chili sauce
• 2 cups canola oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Candied Peanuts:

• 2 lbs peanuts
• 1 cup honey
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp of salt
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper

Salad:

• 1 green papaya peeled & julienne (cut 1/8″ X 1/8″ X 1 ½”)
• 4 scallions chopped
• 1 carrot julienned
• 1 red bell pepper julienne
• ¼ lb rice noodles cooked al dente
• 1 heart of romaine lettuce chopped

Prep:
Sweet Garlic & Chili Dressing:

• Mince ginger and garlic.
• Place in blender with the sweet chili sauce, vinegar, lime juice and dry mustard.
• Blend ingredients and slowly add oil and emulsify.

Candied Peanuts:

• First roast peanuts until golden brown.
• Then put peanuts in a thick bottom stock pot over medium heat.
• Add honey, salt, sugar, water, and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes constantly stir.
• When done pour onto a sheet pan with parchment paper and let them cool.
• Once they are cooled rough chop them in a food processor.

Salad:

• Mix ingredients with ¼ cup of dressing and 3 tablespoons of candied peanuts in a bowl and serve.
• Garnish with the candied peanuts.

Hari typically creates modern versions of traditional Indian cuisine for his viewers, but in this recipe video he shares a very easy to make Asian chicken salad with a citrus soy vinegar dressing.  And this recipe is fairly low carb as well, assuming you don’t serve it with a big piece of crusty buttered baguette like we do!

Cut chicken into thin strips.  For the dressing, whisk together the orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, ground ginger and sugar. blend. Combine julienned chicken  lettuce, carrots, red onion and cilantro, dress and toss, serve over napa cabbage leaves.  Garnish with with the toasted sesame seeds, a dash of  cilantro and orange zest.

Food, Legends, and Semantics

In Chinese mythology there was a beast named Nian or “Year” in Chinese. On the first day of the New Year, Nian would gobble up food crops, livestock, townspeople, and even children. For protection against Nian, the townspeople placed food in front of their homes, with the hopes that he would eat the food, and would not be hungry for more.

Foods have symbolic meaning in Chinese culture. For example, noodles are a symbol of longevity and long life. Mandarin oranges are symbolic of good luck, but in this case, it is a matter of semantics, the word orange in Chinese sounds like the word “Ji”, or the name “jīn jí” which means good luck, golden luck, or good fortune. Here’s another one: Pomelos, a fruit in the grapefruit family, sound very much like the chinese words “to have”, and so they signify abundance in the Chinese culture.

This video from the CBS early show features Chef Chris Cheung from China 1 restaurant in NYC, as he not only explains Chinese food traditions for the New Year but also demonstrates his recipe for a simple and authentic Shanghai noodle soup with shrimp, that you can easily prepare at home.

Read on for the recipe:

SHANGHAI NOODLEs WITH SHRIMP AND FAT CHOY

1 large serving

Ingredients
1 qt chicken stock (or shrimp stock)
2 tbsp shao shing rice wine
2 tbsp soy
1 tbsp sugar
1/3 pound shanghai noodles
5 cleaned shrimp (the larger the better)
1 cup cleaned spinach or watercress
1 tbsp fat choy (available at chinese markets)
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp sliced scallions
2 sprigs cilantro

Method
Heat chicken stock to a simmer.
Add the wine, soy and sugar, bring to a boil.
Add the noodles, then add the shrimp and fat choy.
Pour into a large soup bowl and add the ginger, cilantro and scallion.

Here we start off the fall season with Chef and owner of Chinese Mirch restaurant in NYC, Vik Lulla.  In this video he makes a coconut infused shrimp soup with rice noodles and cilantro, a broth that not only tastes exotic and delicious but it also smells wonderfully fragrant.  This soup is a fusion of Indian and Chinese cuisine, and is brought to us from Real Meals Tv.

Recipe adapted from the video:

Coconut Infused Shrimp and Noodle Soup
Via Chef Vik Lulla

Ingredients:
Lemon
Thin rice noodles
4 Sprigs of Cilantro
2-3 Large Shrimp, butterflied with tails removed
¼ tsp. Coriander Powder
¼ tsp. Curry Powder
12 oz. Fish Stock
½ cup Coconut milk
¾ oz. White Vinegar
1. Add the stock to a very hot wok (or sauté pan).
2. As it begins to simmer, add the rice noodles and the shrimp.
3. Allow the shrimp to begin to curl into themselves. Add the cilantro,
breaking it roughly just before dropping it in.
4. Add both the coriander and curry powder.
5. Pour in the coconut milk and simmer the whole broth for 1-2
minutes.
6. Add white vinegar and a squeeze of lemon to taste.
7. Garnish with cilantro, fried shallots and a lemon wedge

In this video, Tyler shows us how to make a crispy Asian chicken salad.

* 2 large full free-range chicken breasts, each cut into 2 single breasts
* 1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
* 4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1/4 cup and 2 tabelspoons low-sodium soy sauce
* 4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
* 1 cup dates, cut in half
* 1 hothouse cucumber, finely sliced
* 6 cups baby arugula
* 6 wonton wrappers, cut into thin strips and fried
* 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves
* 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons sugar
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Combine the 2 tablespoons of the grated ginger, 2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds, sesame oil, honey, salt and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside — this is the glaze that will be used on the chicken.

Heat a 2-count of olive oil in a large saut pan over medium heat. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Place the breasts skin-side down in the pan and sear until it has a nice golden color — about 3-5 minutes. Turn the breasts over and using a pastry brush liberally glaze the top of the skin with the sesame soy mixture. Place the whole pan into the preheated oven and roast for 5-7 minutes until chicken juices run clear. The breasts should remain moist and tender.

Meanwhile prepare the sweet sesame soy dressing. In a mixing bowl, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Whisk together as you incorporate the sesame oil then add the sesame seeds and ginger. In a large mixing bowl, add the arugula, thinly sliced cucumber, cilantro and dates and toss to coat. Add the crispy wonton wrappers at the last moment to ensure they remain crispy.

Read on for the recipe:

Shrimp, Chicken, and Steak Satay
Chef Ming Tsai

Ingredients

1. 12 jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
2. 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch thick strips
3. 1 1/2 pounds flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
4. 2 Japanese eggplants, cut lengthwise into spears
5. 2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into spears
6. 6 scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
7. Vegetable oil, for brushing
8. Salt and freshly ground pepper

Light a grill. Thread the shrimp, chicken, flank steak, eggplant, zucchini and scallions onto separate bamboo skewers and brush with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill the skewers over high heat until the shrimp, chicken, meat and vegetables are cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Brush the skewers with some of the Cranberry Teriyaki Glaze and grill, turning once, just until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Serve the skewers with the remaining Cranberry Teriyaki Glaze on the side.

Cranberry Teriyaki Glaze
Ingredients

1. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2. 1 cup dried cranberries
3. 1 red onion, sliced
4. 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
5. 2 cups cranberry juice
6. 1 cup soy sauce
7. 1/2 cup sugar
8. Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
9. Salt

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add the dried cranberries, onion and ginger and cook over high heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cranberry juice, soy sauce, sugar, orange zest and juice and simmer over low heat until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Transfer half of the cranberry mixture to a blender and puree. With the machine on, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and puree until the glaze is smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining cranberry mixture and oil. Season with salt.