5 Asian-Inspired Meals to Make for Dinner

5 Asian-Inspired Meals to Make for Dinner

Every type of cuisine is unique in its way. Whether it's the ingredients used, the cooking style, or the flavoring, deciding which foods taste best is based entirely on your taste buds. However, looking at the culture behind the cuisine and the methods used to prepare it can help you better understand why some dishes taste so much more satisfying than the rest. When it comes to Asian cuisine, many foodies believe it's the best out there. While we'll let you make that decision yourself, we went ahead and rounded up a few of our favorite Asian dinner recipes to help you along in your decision-making process.

Understanding Asian Cuisine

To understand the flavor behind various Asian meals, it's essential to learn more about their culture and how these meals were created. When discussing Asian meals, there are three main cuisines:
  • Southwest Asia India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma
  • Northeast Asia China, Korea, Japan
  • Southeast Asia Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei
Each of these regions participates in different cultures, practices and traditions that have made their most loved meals what they are today. Many ingredients have made their entrance into mainstream restaurants through the Asian culture. Here are a few of the most popular.

Popular Asian Ingredients

Curry

5 Asian-Inspired Meals to Make for Dinner | Bob's Red Mill Blog In both Southeast and Southwest Asia, curry is very important to the cuisines; however, it's not as prominent of a flavor in the NorthEast. That being said, just because curry is famous in two different regions does not mean that it's the same. Each region's various traditions have impacted curry making throughout the years, changing the recipe in the process. The Southwest curries are usually yogurt-based, whereas, in the Southeast and Northeast, curries are mainly based on coconut milk.

Rice

While rice is a grain used all around the world, it's a staple in Asian cuisine. Used in almost every dish, it is often combined with various ingredients ranging from vegetables to protein. Popular in all three cuisine areas of Asia, learning how to cook rice correctly or investing in a rice cooker, is key to creating authentic Asian cuisine.

Frying Oil

In Western cooking, butter is used for frying almost everything. In Southwest Asia, the significant oil used in frying is ghee. Ghee, a form of highly clarified butter, is typically made from cow's milk. However, because of the processing that takes place, milk solids are removed from ghee, creating a butter-based oil that has much less lactose than regular butter. In SouthEast and NorthEast Asia, ghee is not as popular, and instead, the major oils used are all vegetable oils.

Spices and Herbs

Herbs and spices are used in all three cuisine areas in Asia. The most popular being chili peppers. While chili peppers are ubiquitous in Southwest and Southeast Asia, they can also be found throughout Northeast cuisine. In Northeast Asia, the most common ingredient is soy sauce, and it is used in almost everything. Southeast Asia often replaces soy sauce in recipes for fish sauce, as well as two other flavors that are not used in the other cuisineslemongrass and galangal.

Asian Food Preparation

5 Asian-Inspired Meals to Make for Dinner | Bob's Red Mill Blog Aside from ingredients, another thing that sets Asian food apart from the rest is how it's prepared. Asian food is often prepared with bite-sized ingredients, like veggies that are steamed or stir-fried for a short amount of time. In Western cuisine, ingredients don't usually come prepared beforehand. Instead, meals arrive on a large plate and cut with a fork and knife into smaller pieces. The bite-size style of eating not only makes Asian dishes more accessible, but it also allows for more comfortable sharingsomething prevalent in Asian food tradition, known as communal dining. Even with communal dining being quite popular, plates are still made in regular portion sizes, and overeating is hardly an issue.

Asian-Inspired Dinner Recipes

Roasted Asian Style Vegetables with Quinoa

Many traditional Asian diets are laden with fresh vegetables. In fact, plant-based meals are quite popular throughout Asia, and the number of dishes that include meat are scarce. Vegetables are loaded with vitamins and nutrients essential to your health, and eating a diet rich in them can help prevent many diseases. This delicious Roasted Asian Style Vegetables with Quinoa is one of our favorite dishes here at Bob's Red Mill. Loaded with sweet and spicy flavors, it packs a nutritional punch. High in protein, this recipe uses quinoa as a strong grain-like base and combines it with nutrient-dense veggies for the perfect warm meal to enjoy on a chilly evening.

Burmese Tofu With Cilantro Lime Stir-Fried Vegetables

5 Asian-Inspired Meals to Make for Dinner | Bob's Red Mill Blog Alongside vegetables, rice is another prominent ingredient used in Asian cuisine. Used as an accompaniment to almost every dish, rice is a versatile ingredient that works well with sweet and savory flavors. Because of its agreeable flavor profile, it's no surprise that it tastes fantastic when combined with this Burmese Tofu With Cilantro Lime Stir Fried Vegetables meal. A plate based primarily on tofu, this dish puts a new twist on this cuisine by swapping out traditional tofu for a soy-free version. This soy-free Burmese tofu can be made in your kitchen with simple ingredients like garbanzo bean flour and is easy to make. When topped with tasty cilantro lime stir-fried vegetables and served over cooked rice, it's the perfect vegan gluten free and soy free meal. Additionally, coconut amino acids are used to replace soy sauce in this dish to provide the perfect tang. If you're new to using coconut aminos, it's important to note that they're a bit sweeter than soy sauce. If you choose to use soy sauce in this dish, it will need to be sweetened with an added ingredient like sweet chili sauce or hoisin sauce.

Vegetable Bounty Quinoa Salad with Asian Vinaigrette

Another veggie-heavy dish, this Vegetable Bounty Quinoa Salad with Asian Vinaigrette, is the hearty salad of your dreams. More filling than traditional greens-based salads, this meal combines the sweet citrus flavors of Asian Vinaigrette with quinoa's earthy flavors. Delicious when paired with grilled vegetables and a protein of your choice, it's a great Asian dinner recipe to add to this week's menu. While this recipe tastes delicious, creativity is always welcome, and adding your own favorite vegetables to the mix will only make it taste better Make this recipe with tofu for the ideal meatless Monday dinner dish, or double the recipe and use it as a side for your next dinner gathering. However you choose to serve this salad, we're confident it will be a crowd favorite.

Asian Style Steel Cut Oats Recipe with A Fried Egg and Siracha

5 Asian-Inspired Meals to Make for Dinner | Bob's Red Mill Blog Who said oats had to be a breakfast food? At Bob's Red Mill, we're a huge fan of oats, and we eat them for every meal. From sweet to savory, oats can be combined with countless ingredients to make the perfect dish to satisfy your cravings. If you're searching for a savory and healthy Asian dinner recipe, then look no further. This Asian Style Steel Cut Oats Recipe with A Fried Egg and Sriracha is sure to be your new favorite. To make this recipe, fresh, chopped ginger and garlic are roasted in sesame oil until it turns golden brown. Once the ginger begins browning, Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats are added into the pot to allow for light toasting before the chicken stock is added. After the oats have had a minute or so to toast, chicken stock is added, creating a risotto-style dish that will have your mouth watering before you even have a chance to taste it. Next, this dish's flavors are balanced with cream cheese, onions, cilantro and lemon, all to be topped with a fried egg and sriracha. Overflowing with flavor and loaded with protein and nutrients, it's the perfect dinner recipe to set you up for a healthy week ahead.

Quinoa Asian Slaw

On the hunt for the perfect Asian-inspired slaw recipe? This Quinoa Asian Slaw combines ramen noodles, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and Organic Quinoa Grain to create a flavorful and healthy slaw that is just as great for you as it tastes. A unique combination of sweet and tangy flavor, the crunchiness of this dish will leave your stomach and taste buds satisfied. Enjoy this meal as a light dinner recipe, or pair it with a side of rice for an even more filling meal. And there you have it! Five of our favorite Asian dinners and the history behind the ingredients used in them. From roasted veggie to soy-free tofu, we hope that this list has given you a better idea of how to incorporate your favorite Asian dishes into your weekly menu. Have an Asian-inspired dish of your own that you'd like us to try? We'd love to hear more about it. Please share it with us in the comment below. From Everyone at Bob's Red Mill, Happy Cooking!
Bob's Red Mill
January 14 2021

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