Egg Foo Yung

This has always been one of our favorite dishes to order at Chinese restaurants, but for some reason I assumed it would be too difficult for me to make at home. Boy, was I wrong. It’s simple to fix, easily lends itself to the low-sodium style of cooking, and is super tasty.

I’ve been using a recipe from one of the Cooking Forum members, adjusting the ingredients and quantities to make it low-sodium friendly. One really great thing about the recipe is that I’m able to modify it to suit my tastes and/or what I’ve got on hand. So far, I’ve made all-vegetable omelet patties, but I’m certain chicken, pork or shrimp foo yung would be great too.  Of course, be sure to use chicken or pork that hasn’t been “enhanced” with a saline solution. And, if possible, find fresh shrimp that hasn’t been “enhanced” either.

Essential vegetables include bean sprouts, onions, green onions, water chestnuts, and mushrooms. But I’ve also used julienned bamboo shoots, sliced baby corn, sliced baby bok choy, and even thinly sliced cabbage. Not all at the same time, though! Too many vegetables might result in a weakened omelet structure. The eggs provide stability. Also, be sure to stir fry the vegetables a bit before combining with the beaten eggs. This will make them more pliable in addition to removing some of their excess water.

Actually, the hardest part about the recipe is getting all the vegetables chopped or sliced ahead of time. Once that’s done, everything comes together quickly. Also, be sure all the vegetable are dry before starting the cooking. For what it’s worth, I did not deep fry the omelet patties in a wok. I poured about a 1/4 inch layer of oil in a skillet, and that worked fine for me. I fried 2 patties at a time and drained them on paper towels before serving. I also added a generous grind of white pepper to the eggs.

When I asked my husband how he liked the egg foo yung, he replied,"You should make this once a week." I'd call that a ringing endorsement!

EGG FOO YUNG 
(Printable Recipe)

Adapted from Madame Wong's Long Life Chinese Cookbook via Doucanoe from Cooking Forum

1/2 lb. fresh peeled and deveined shrimp cut into small pieces (or thinly sliced chicken or pork)
5 eggs

1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
4 tbsp. oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1scallion (green onion), thinly sliced
4 water chestnuts, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 cup fresh bean sprouts

White pepper
2 cups oil for deep frying

Dry shrimp, chicken, or pork.

Beat eggs in large bowl. Add soy sauce and generous grind of white pepper. Set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in wok to 350F. Stir fry onion, scallion, and water chestnuts 1 minute. Add mushrooms and bean sprouts and stir fry 1 minute more. Remove to plate or bowl.

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in wok to 400F. Stir fry shrimp, chicken or pork until just cooked through; do not overcook. Let cool.

Add all ingredients to egg mixture. Heat 2 cups oil in wok to 400F. Gently ladle 1/4 of egg mixture into wok. Deep fry until golden brown on one side, turn over, and deep fry other side until brown. (I pour about a 1/4 inch layer of oil in a skillet and fry 2 patties at a time, draining on paper towels before serving.) Remove patty to paper towel lined platter to drain and keep warm while frying the other 3 patties. Serve with sauce.

Sauce:

1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 -3 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

2 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
(I also add a bit of ginger)

Bring stock to a boil, add soy sauce. Thicken with dissolved cornstarch. Ladle sauce on omelet patties and garnish with sliced scallions.

Round Table Gourmet Veggie Pizza - Copy Cat Recipe

Who doesn’t like pizza? Homemade pizza is a great low sodium meal and pretty easy too. I make it frequently and always use homemade tomato sauce. But sometimes a change is welcome. When I saw the copy cat recipe for Round Table’s “Veggie Gourmet,” I knew I had to try it. The recipe comes courtesy of Jenny’s wonderful vegetarian blog, Vegetarian Hates Vegetables. Jenny shares the most intriguing vegetarian recipes, and most of them can be easily adapted to a low sodium diet. The pizza recipe was no exception. With a few modifications, I was able to create a tasty veggie pizza with a lovely creamy garlic sauce. The sauce is fantastic. For one thing, it’s the perfect amount for one pizza. You don’t end up with any leftovers to store. Also, it’s the perfect consistency -- not too thin and not too thick. Because of the its creaminess, you can get away with using less cheese. Always a nice thing for those of us watching our sodium intake.

Jenny’s recipe is below and includes my low salt changes in parentheses. If you try it, I’m sure you’ll love it as much as we did. You can use any pizza crust recipe and make it low sodium: simply reduce both the salt AND the yeast by half. (For two crust recipes I use, click here and here.) Most recipes call for 3 to 3-1/2 cups flour resulting in enough dough for two 12 inch pizzas. When I make pizza dough, I plan on serving pizza at least twice for dinner. Now that I’ve got this great recipe, I make a veggie pizza one night and then a tomato sauce pizza with homemade, salt-free Italian sausage the next night. To quote from an earlier post: “Pizza is such a treat and eating it twice (or even three times) in one week is no problem for us.”

ROUND TABLE GOURMET VEGGIE PIZZA: COPY CAT RECIPE
(Printable Recipe)

Creamy Garlic Sauce:
1 tbsp butter (unsalted)
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup milk, warmed in microwave until lightly bubbling
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp Italian or pizza seasoning (no-salt-added spice blend)
pinch salt (omit)
pinch pepper
pinch nutmeg

In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Use a baby whisk to whisk in the flour and stir for about 2 minutes. Bring to a boil. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, salt (omit), pepper and nutmeg, then reduce heat to low and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more.

Toppings:
1/2 cup chopped baby spinach
1/4 cup shredded fontina (I use shredded Swiss cheese)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts (use frozen, unsalted artichoke hearts)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella (I use cubed fresh mozzarella)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar (I omit)
1/4 cup ground Parmesan (optional)

Assembly:
Spread sauce evenly over entire pizza. Add spinach, and then top with fontina. Add rest of veggies, and then top with mozzarella, cheddar, and lastly, Parmesan.

Heat your oven to 450 for about 20 minutes. If you’ve got a baking stone, place the prepared dough on the hot stone and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the dough is crisp and brown. Remove from the oven and slide the pizza onto a cutting board.

A note about cheese: Most block Swiss cheese is very low in sodium, so it’s a good substitute for saltier cheeses. Most fresh mozzarella cheese is also lower in sodium than other cheeses. However, fresh mozzarella is quite soft and doesn’t shred well. The best thing to do is cube it. Because it's watery, squeeze dry in paper towels.  These cheeses taste fine on pizza. Parmesan cheese is strong, and it doesn’t take much to give your pizza a flavor punch. A light sprinkling will do wonders. Sprinkle with your hands, though. Don’t be tempted to shake Parmesan from a container -- too much will escape.

Spaghetti, Meatballs, and Easy Tomato Sauce

My husband loves meatballs, so a week ago I made up a batch. Years ago I found a pretty good recipe in a Cuisine at Home magazine and adapted it to our low sodium lifestyle. One of the nice things about the recipe is that the meatballs are baked, so there’s no need to stand over a frying pan turning & turning the bundles of meat. Another nice thing is that the meatballs are baked in a layer of broth. After baking, the tasty broth can then be used to make a flavorful sauce. And, finally, the recipe makes a lot of meatballs – enough for several meals. This time around, I ended up with 24 meatballs. I froze half of them and used the other half for a couple of dinners and one lunch. (For what it’s worth, I mix the meatball ingredients with my hands after donning latex-free disposable gloves. I do the same for meatloaf and homemade sausage. Keeps my hands cleaner.)

My tomato sauce is pretty simple. I usually buy a big can of no-salt-added or low sodium whole tomatoes and run it through the blender a bit. I want some texture but not big chunks. I particularly like Cento brand crushed tomatoes or tomato puree. Cento doesn’t use citric acid or calcium chloride in the canning process, and, as a result, the tomatoes taste brighter and fresher even though they’re quite low in sodium. Trader Joe’s also sells no-salt-added whole tomatoes with basil and a salt free marinara sauce. Depending on what I can find, I may end up combining a can of salt free tomato sauce, with a can of low sodium crushed tomatoes, and a can of salt free diced tomatoes. I simply add some flavorings and I’m ready for spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, or whatever. This time I doubled the recipe, so I had plenty of sauce for plenty of good eating. I added half the baked meatballs and all the baking broth to the tomato sauce and let everything simmer together for about 30 minutes. The simmering tenderized the meatballs and also imparted some of the meaty flavorings to the sauce. I cooked the spaghetti in unsalted water and tossed it with a bit of olive oil and sauce before serving. A sprinkling of finely shredded Parmesan cheese topped it off. I reserved about half the sauce for pizza and lasagna for later use.  

Meatballs
Adapted from Cuisine at Home magazine
(Printable Recipe)

1 cup dry salt free/loso breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1/3 cup whole milk (usually I sub NSA cottage cheese)
1/3 cup NSA beef broth
1/3 cup chopped parsley or 2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 eggs, beaten
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water (optional)

2 lbs. ground meat (I use a combination of ground beef and pork)
1 cup NSA beef broth

Pre-heat oven to 425. Coat a rimmed baking sheet (like a jelly roll pan) with nonstick cooking spray or line with non-stick aluminum foil. Combine all ingredients except ground meat in a large mixing bowl. Add the ground meat and mix thoroughly. The mixture will be loose and very moist; it will firm up when baked. Shape meatballs. (I use my muffin/cookie scoop to make balls about 2 inches in diameter.) Space the meatballs on the pan so they’re not touching or crowded together. Cover the bottom of the pan with the 1 cup beef broth. Bake for 25 minutes or until the meatballs are just cooked through. Reserve the pan juices for sauce.

(Depending on the size of meatball you make, this recipe may yield 20-30 meatballs)

Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce
(Printable Recipe)

1 28-oz can salt-free/low sodium whole, diced, or crushed tomatoes (or combination)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Coarsely chopped fresh basil (optional)

If using whole or diced tomatoes, briefly run through blender. Saute onion in olive oil until translucent; add garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, herbs, and lesser amount of sugar. Bring to simmer; lower heat and simmer until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Taste, and add more sugar if needed. Stir in fresh basil, if using.

A Savory Tomato Galette!

Recently Ohiomom posted a wonderful looking Peach Gallette on her blog, Cooking in Cleveland. It looked so good and the crust recipe seemed easy enough for someone like me to make. Even though I've been baking baklava, spanakopita, and various other fillo-laden dishes all my adult life, I've never tried making pie crust. It always intimidated me. But the gallette crust looked promising.

A few days later, I needed to deliver some mail to my daughter, so we decided to meet at the Sacramento year-long farmers market. While there, I bought all kinds of fruits & vegetables, including some tomatoes.

I began wondering if I could adapt the gallette to a savory tart rather than a dessert and decided to experiment. I followed Ohiomom's crust recipe but omitted both the sugar and the salt. I also used unsalted butter. To add some flavor, I included 1/4 teaspoon each of dried thyme and ground black pepper.

For the filling I layered some chopped fresh mozzarella and grated Swiss cheese (See this earlier post about low sodium cheese). I topped the cheese with some chopped fresh tomatoes. I peeled & seeded the tomatoes, then let them drain on some paper towels while I was rolling out the crust. I sprinkled the tomatoes with chopped basil and green onion. And finally I topped it all off with my special bread crumb mix. I saute a mixture of dried breadcrumbs (about 1 cup) and 2-3 cloves of minced garlic in butter for a few minutes. Then I add about a tablespoon or two of shredded Parmesan cheese. I keep this mixture in the fridge and use it as a topping for vegetables and pasta dishes. It's a low sodium alternative to straight Parmesan cheese.

Folding over the crust edges was a cinch. I baked the tart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet that I placed directly on a preheated baking stone. We just got through eating our first piece of tomato galette, and my husband said it was the tastiest thing he had eaten in months. So, thanks Ohiomom for the inspiration. I'm sure I'll eventually get around to making a peach gallete, but this tomato tart was wonderful. The really good news is that the recipe makes enough crust for two tarts. I only made one tonight, so guess what we'll be having for dinner tomorrow night? I can hardly wait!

Galette Dough
Ohiomom/Cooking in Cleveland
(Printable Recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. sugar (I omitted for savory tart)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut up (I used unsalted)
1 egg, beaten

Combine dry ingredients, cut in butter until coarse and crumbly. Add egg and mix just until dough comes together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Divide dough in half and roll out on a floured board into 9-inch circles.

Arrange filling over dough. Fold over edges of dough. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 10 minutes, lower heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.