Thai Pizza

Thai Pizza
My kids love this dish.  It's got a peanut butter sauce!  What kid doesn't like peanut butter- especially if you combine it with cilantro and bean sprouts, right?  Leave those ingredients off if you must for the kids, but I like to pile on the fresh crunchy veggies after the pizza bakes so that you have that crisp cool contrast with the hot pizza. My recipe doesn't use up the whole can of coconut milk, so I have some to use later in the week for coconut rice or chicken. If you aren't going to use it within a few days, freeze it. I use the ready made whole wheat crust from Trader Joe's.  While the crust is pre-baking, I get all my veggies chopped.  I made this and Meatball Pizza on the same night, and had the same amount of both for leftovers. It's that yummy.

1 package ready-made pizza dough
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c light coconut milk
1 T fish sauce
1 clove minced garlic

1 grated carrot
1 small grated zucchini
1/4 thinly sliced red bell pepper
1/2 leek, sliced (optional)
1 1/2 c sliced chicken or tofu
3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese

2 scallions, chopped
1/4 chopped basil leaves (optional)
handful cilantro, chopped
handful fresh bean sprouts

Prepare dough as directed.  Spread out on a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, using olive oil as necessary to keep dough from sticking to the pan and to your fingers. Poke holes in it with a fork, and prebake in an oven for 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees.

In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, coconut milk, garlic, and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and take off the heat.  Prepare veggies.  Once the crust is partially baked, spread the sauce on the crust.  Sprinkle carrots, zucchini, red pepper, leek (optional), and chicken or tofu.  Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for another 8 minutes, until cheese is slightly browned.   Take out of the oven, and sprinkle scallions, basil leaves, cilantro, and bean sprouts.  Serve immediately.


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HomestyleTofu and Scallion Stir-Fry and Asian Cucumber Salad

This is what we had for lunch when we made the Faux-fried Drumsticks and Zucchini Corn Cakes.  No leftovers, except a little rice.


Homestyle Tofu and Scallion Stir-Fry
I saw a lovely picture on Mark Bittman's blog for something similar.  My version has a little ground beef in it, for flavor only.  This makes a great Meatless Monday meal- just leave out the ground beef and substitute water for chicken stock.  The extra stock/water and cornstarch is what makes the sauce, which kids love to mix in with their rice. I use short grain rice which is nice and sticky. I made a double recipe, and there was not one square of tofu left. 

1 box of extra firm tofu, drained and cut into small squares. ( I let it drain for a few minutes on a paper towel to minimize excess liquid)

1/4 lb. ground beef (this is just for flavor-leave out for meatless option)

(Optional to mix in with ground beef: 1 tsp rice wine, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil)

1/2 c frozen peas
4 scallions, chopped
1 T minced garlic
1 T minced ginger
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 T canola oil
1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 chicken stock or water

Heat a tiny bit of the oil in a large saute pan or wok. Add a pinch of garlic and ginger (reserve most of it). Cook the ground beef (with optional mix-ins if you desire) until done. Remove from pan and set aside. Add rest of canola oil to pan, then add tofu squares. DON'T TOUCH THEM FOR A FEW MINUTES!  Once they are brown on one side, flip them over gently to brown, and add the rest of the ginger and garlic. Throw in the frozen peas, and add the ground beef mixture.  Stir. In the meantime, add liquid to the cornstarch and stir so there are no lumps.  Add this cornstarch/stock mixture to the pan a little at a time and stir.  The sauce will thicken as it boils. When the sauce is thickened to desired consistency, add scallions, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Add more cornstarch/stock mixture if needed. Serve with rice.

Asian Cucumber Salad
I used my new mandolin slicer for this one. It is awesome.  Beautiful, even, and thin.  I got mine for under $15 at Target, and it works great.

You can see how I forgot the sesame seeds. Oops.

2 cucumbers, sliced very thinly
1/4 c rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
sprinkle sesame seeds
1 T canola oil

Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and drizzle in the oil while whisking. Mix in with cucumbers. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.


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