Asian-Inspired Mandarin Quinoa Salad

I don’t know if it’s the call of summertime (and bikinis) or just the longer hours of daylight available in a day, but over the past month I’ve started fitting a lot more exercise into my schedule.  I’d only just started getting into fitness in January but started off pretty slowly so I didn’t overdo anything (I have a bad knee that likes to act up a lot), but when new fitness classes became available in May, my sister and I started trying out a bunch and so far we've kept it up!

I’ve discovered a love for Zumba (my favourite of all classes; I am hopeless when it comes to the more salsa-esque moves but it is still so fun!) and yoga, along with a love/hate relationship with bootcamp style classes, which are so hard but also so effective!  And tonight I’m going to try my first AquaZumba class (basically Zumba in the water), which should be interesting!

All this exercise not only has me craving healthy food more, but also needing quick dinners that can be waiting for me in the fridge when I get home later than normal and am starving! I especially love quinoa salads for this purpose because they keep well in the fridge, are full of protein, and can be customized to endless flavour combinations!

I’ve been wanting to try an Asian flavoured quinoa for a while, and when I started thinking of ingredients to include in one, I remembered this mandarin chicken salad I made a while ago and loved.  So I decided to incorporate many of those same ingredients into a quinoa salad – I kept the red pepper, carrot, edamame, and mandarin oranges, added green onion, almonds, and orange juice in the dressing, and left out the chicken because there was already plenty of protein in this salad from the quinoa, edamame, and almonds (though you could certainly add chicken if you like!).

This was so fresh and every bite was full of flavour, with a wide range of textures from the crunchy red peppers to juicy oranges and buttery soft edamame.  Regardless of whether I can keep up my fitness motivation or not, I know I’ll still be making this quinoa many more times this summer!

Asian-Inspired Mandarin Quinoa Salad

Makes 2-3 main dish servings or around 6 side dish servings

Ingredients:

For the Quinoa:

1 cup uncooked quinoa (I used golden & black mix)

1 cup vegetable broth, optional

1 cup shelled frozen edamame

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 to 1.5 mandarin oranges, peeled and chopped

2 large carrots, grated

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted if desired (I was too lazy but almonds are usually better toasted!)

For the Dressing:

2 tablespoons fresh mandarin orange juice (squeezed from about half a mandarin)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (optional for a bit of spice)

1-1/2 teaspoons honey (use agave or brown sugar to make this dish vegan)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

Dash each of salt and pepper

Directions:

Bring 1 cup water and 1 cup vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes, then remove lid and fluff with a fork.  Let quinoa cool.  (Note that the vegetable broth is optional to add a little extra flavour; if you choose not to use it then use 2 cups water total instead)

Meanwhile, cook edamame according to package directions - I added my edamame beans to 1 cup of boiling water, let them simmer for 3-4 minutes, then drained and rinsed them.  Also whisk together all ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and set aside.

Once quinoa has cooled to room temperature, combine quinoa, edamame, red pepper, oranges, carrots, green onions, and almonds in a large bowl.  Pour dressing overtop and mix to combine.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Mandarin Chicken Salad

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to Asia a few times now, and while I love experiencing the incredible and diverse food Asia has to offer, one of the things I always find myself missing is a fresh, crisp salad. A lot of vegetables over there are cooked, and sometimes you can’t trust the fresh ones because they may have been washed in tap water. Towards the end of my trips, I actually start dreaming about raw vegetables and would give up all the amazing food there just to have one bowl of refreshing salad!

So the first thing I did when I got home from my most recent trip was to make myself a giant bowl of salad! I wanted to make something with Asian ingredients though, and realized it was the perfect time to try a salad recipe I’d had bookmarked for a year but kept forgetting to make: this mandarin chicken salad from Munchin with Munchkin. While it looked like a lot of ingredients to buy, I actually had all the ingredients for the dressing already, and I didn't mind buying the vegetables because I knew I'd eat whatever was leftover as a snack, so it was money well spent!

I changed quite a few little things with the recipe in order to suit my tastes (and based on what ingredients I had on hand), so be sure to check out the original recipe too so that you can also adjust the ingredients to your tastes! You should also check out the rest of Kris’ amazing blog while you’re there – it was just voted the Best Recipe Blog in The Kitchn’s Homies awards!
This salad was so fresh and flavorful and exactly what I was craving after my trip. I loved how the sweet mandarins were balanced by all the crunchy vegetables, and the sweet and sour vinaigrette gave it the Asian flavour I was still desiring. I have a feeling I’ll be craving this salad a lot more now that I know how much I love it!

Mandarin Chicken Salad

Adapted from Munchin with Munchkin

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the Dressing:

1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (optional for a bit of spice)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sweet Thai chili sauce 
Dash of salt

For the Salad:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded into small pieces (I cooked mine in sesame oil)
2 cups lettuce
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup snow peas
1/4 cup shelled edamame, cooked as per package directions
2-3 mandarins, segmented
2 tablespoons ground peanuts (ground in a food processor)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the dressing. Taste and adjust any amounts to your liking. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine salad ingredients, toss with dressing, and divide salad between two plates/bowls, with the peanuts and sesame seeds sprinkled on top.

Notes:

- Next time I might eliminate the carrots and snow peas and increase the mandarins. Choose ingredients and amounts to your own taste!
- Optional additional toppings may include green onions, cilantro, and chow mein noodles

Sesame Soy Spaghetti Squash with Broccoli and Edamame

After the rather indulgent caramel latte pancakes I last posted (not to mention the amount of pancakes I ate yesterday), I felt like I should post something healthier today. This sesame soy spaghetti squash with broccoli and edamame is a dish I’ve made quite a few times lately because it’s so healthy and really tasty!

I think the inspiration for this dish originally came from this steamed broccoli and squash with tahini dressing that I saw in a Whole Living magazine. I liked the idea but ended up changing everything around to my own tastes, so that the only parts of the original that really remained were the broccoli and tahini.

For my tahini sauce, I wanted to give it more of an Asian flavour with sesame and soy sauce. After a bit of experimentation, I came up with a sauce that I thought was full of flavour, and is filling and healthy from the addition of the tahini (sesame seed paste).

The first time I made the sauce, I paired it with steamed broccoli and sweet potato over brown rice (pictured below):

While I loved the sauce and veggies, I didn't like the way the rice absorbed all of the sauce and didn't think the textures of the dish were quite right.

So for my second try, I decided to make the same dish over soba noodles instead:

The soba noodles provided a much better base for both the sauce and the vegetables, and I really loved this version.

But a few days later I had a spaghetti squash to use up, so I decided to try the dish again, using the spaghetti squash as the base instead of soba noodles. Since I already knew that the sesame soy tahini sauce went well the sweet potatoes, I figured squash would also pair well with it.

If you've never tried spaghetti squash before, it's a lot like other winter squashes except that when the flesh is cooked, it scrapes off like strands of spaghetti! This makes it a great healthy and low-carb substitute for pasta - I've seen it in lots of recipes from basic tomato sauce with spaghetti squash to baked dishes with lots of other add-ins.

I used the cooked spaghetti squash "noodles" as the base for my latest version of this sesame soy tahini dish. I kept in the steamed broccoli but this time I added cooked edamame for protein. This combination turned out to be my favourite version of all, and was also the healthiest!

I think I've now found the dish I'm going to stick with, but if I experiment more in the future, I may try pairing the sesame soy sauce with salmon or chicken, I think that would go really well!

Sesame Soy Spaghetti Squash with Broccoli and Edamame

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

Sesame Soy Tahini Sauce:
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper
1-2 tablespoons water

Half of a spaghetti squash
Half a head of broccoli, chopped into florets
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
Sesame seeds for topping
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp from the center. Place one half with the cut side facing down on a greased or lined baking sheet (keep other half wrapped in the fridge for another use). Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until tender - it may take longer, depending on the size of your squash. When done, use a fork to scrape the flesh off the skin and into a bowl (it will scrape off in strands, like spaghetti).

While the squash is cooking, prepare the remaining components:

Whisk together all ingredients for the sauce. Taste and adjust any seasonings to taste. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit more water to thin it out.

Place chopped broccoli in a steamer basket and steam over boiling water for 3-5 minutes, until crisp-tender and bright green. Set aside. Cook edamame according to package directions.

When all components are ready, divide spaghetti squash into two bowls, top with broccoli and edamame, and drizzle sesame soy tahini sauce overtop. Top with sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

This is best eaten on the day that it's made.

Easy Tomato, Corn & Edamame Salad

Yesterday, it was cool enough that I had to wear jeans for the first time in months. I even saw people wearing jackets outside, and though I was in a t-shirt, I secretly wished I had a jacket on too. This was very distressing to me - Fall is just around the corner and I am not ready for it yet! Okay, maybe a little tiny part of me is excited for fall leaves, cozy sweaters, and baking with apples and pumpkins, but the rest of me is not ready to give up on sunshine, summer dresses, and summer vegetables!

That's why I've been making this tomato, corn and edamame salad a lot lately, because it's like summer in a bowl and I need to savour every bite of summer while I still can! I rarely make the same recipe twice in a month because I have so many recipes I'm always dying to try, but I can't even count the number of times I've eaten this in the last month, which says a lot about how delicious it is!

It also says a bit about how lazy I am, because this is probably one of the easiest salads to throw together. All you have to do is cook the corn (make sure it's fresh!), and toss it with some sliced cherry or grape tomatoes and cooked edamame. The frozen edamame that I buy comes in little bags that you just have to throw into the microwave for a couple minutes to steam, and then they're done! Then I whip together a super simple vinaigrette of lime juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. That's it!

I love the way the fresh, sweet flavours of the corn and tomato really shine through in this salad. The simple dressing brings forth the flavours rather than hiding them, and the addition of edamame makes this a complete (though light) meal for me. Edamame (soybeans) is as complete a protein as meat, and contains a lot of amino acids, folate, potassium, and other nutrients. The only problem with edamame is that it can be hard to find in a grocery store (at least according to my experience). Surprisingly, the only big store I've been able to find it in (in my area) is Walmart, but it should also be available in most health food stores. If you can't find it, or if you simply don't like it, I've also made this salad with frozen lima beans instead and it tastes great that way too. Though I usually eat this as a light meal in itself, many people would probably prefer it as a side dish, which is where I've classified it in the recipe index.

Later this week I'll share a recipe for my other favourite summer salad, so stay tuned!

Easy Tomato, Corn and Edamame Salad

Serves about 2-3 as a main course, or 4-6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

2 cobs of corn

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

8 oz frozen shelled edamame

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about half a lime) -- or replace with white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Husk the corn then cook them in a large pot of boiling water about 5-6 minutes. Let cool, then slice off the corn kernels with a large knife, holding the cob upright over a bowl.

Cook the edamame according to package directions and let cool.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice and olive oil and toss with salad. Add salt and pepper to taste.