We have a thing for Tex-Mex flavors like our Shrimp Burritos with Creamy Poblano Sauce and Cheesy Roasted Poblano flavors. However, if you need something you can just pick up and eat (without the need for flatware), you need these crispy carnitas burritos.

Pork is cooked in the pressure cooker (instant pot) in a zesty and sweet citrus pineapple sauce until it is pull apart tender and juicy - without using any lard or sugar. Then, its placed under the oven broiler to get those addictive little crispy ends. Wrap carnitas up in a tortilla with all your favorite toppings and a little pineapple jalapeno coleslaw. It's sure to please.

We know you can't wait to get started. This recipe includes how to make the best 'healthyish' pork carnitas, topping ideas, what to serve them with and how to roll up a burrito. We have also included slow cooker instructions in case you need these too. So, Let's get started!

Carnitas Ingredients & Substitutions

Do you know that "carnitas", in Mexican cuisine literally means "little meats".  The pork meat is usually braised in lard (rendered fat of a pig) until tender.  However, we are all about making cuisine from around the world healthier.

Here are the ingredients we used to replace fat with healthy flavors.

Pork - Pork butt (also known as pork shoulder) is the best cut of pork for carnitas because it is fatty and tender. However, all we had available were 2 pork tenderloins and guess what? They turned out even better- very tender, less time to cook and a little leaner. Win-Win!

Citrus Juice - Lime and orange juice are used to make traditional pork carnitas. They give a lovely flavor and natural sweetness to the pork. Of course, we did not have oranges but did have mandarin oranges. Just like in our recipe for Hot and Spicy Mandarin Orange Chicken, mandarin oranges are sweeter, have a more intense flavor and worked out well. You can also use prepared orange juice or lime juice from the little squirt bottles in a pinch.

2 large regular oranges = ¾ cup juice

5 mandarin oranges = ¾ juice

Pineapple juice - we used the juice from our 20-ounce canned pineapple with 100% fresh fruit juices no added sweeteners. It was approximately ¾ cup. We used ½ of the pineapple slices to make our delicious pineapple slaw.

Chicken Broth - The goal is to end up with approximately 2 cups of liquid total. Between the citrus fruits and pineapple juice we had 1.5 cups of juice. We used about ½ cups of gluten free chicken broth to make a total of 2 cups of sauce. You can also use bone broth.

Garlic - ok a lot of garlic! We used approximately 6 to 8 large cloves because, well, that is how we roll! You can replace with about 2 teaspoons of dried garlic powder.

1 clove of fresh garlic = ¼ teaspoon of dried garlic powder

Spices - Don' skip the cumin, dried oregano, or chili. We used Tajin seasoning which is a traditional Mexican spice with mild chili, lime, and sea salt. However, you can also use regular chili powder as well. Be sure to season (salt and pepper) your pork well before putting it in the pressure cooker.

Flour tortillas - you can even choose gluten-free or low carb options. If your guests are following a keto diet, lay out lettuce leaves so they can make themselves a pork carnitas lettuce wrap instead. There are no special rules to follow.

Pineapple Slaw Ingredients

This pineapple slaw for pulled pork is not a mandatory ingredient. However, if you already have a can of pineapple open, why would you skip this delicious topping? Pineapple jalapeno coleslaw without mayo adds that much needed bit of freshness to the burrito. The sweet and salty combo is extra delicious.

Coleslaw mix with carrots (pre-mixed). Makes preparing this slaw super easy. We like the shredded cabbage and carrots in a convenient package available in the refrigerated vegetable section of the grocery store. Sometimes, it will have both red and green cabbage. Do-it-yourselfers, can finely shred their own cabbage and carrots in a food processor as well.

Canned or fresh pineapple - it adds a pop of natural sweetness.

Jalapeno pepper - just a bit to taste. Canned green chilis also work. If you do not like it spicy, you can leave it out.

Cumin - gives it that nice earthy flavor.

Cilantro - for us this fresh herb makes the best carnitas burrito.

Onion - freshly chopped. We choose to put a little in the slaw instead of a topping for the burritos. A purple onion would even add more color.

Olive oil - extra virgin is best or oil of choice.

Apple cider vinegar - adds a splash of acid to the pineapple slaw.

Step by Step Basic Overview

• Cut pork into cubes and season with salt and pepper.
• Make the citrus sauce to cook the pork in. Add orange juice, lime juice, pineapple juice, chicken broth, garlic, Tajin or chili powder, cumin and oregano and mix.

• Place oil in pressure cooker (Instant Pot) and turn on the sauté function. Sear pork cubes in batches and brown on all sides.
• Add all the pork back into the pressure cooker with the citrus sauce and pressure cook on high 35 minutes with 15 minutes natural release for pork tenderloins. For pork butt, pressure cook on high for 45 minutes with 15 minutes natural release.

• Make the pineapple slaw. Add the coleslaw mix, pineapple, jalapeno, cumin, onion, cilantro, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper and toss well.
• While the pork is cooking, gather and prepare all your carnitas toppings and supplies.

• Remove the pork from the instant pot. Turn the Instant pot function back on to sauté and reduce the reserved citrus sauce liquid to ½ with the lid off.
• Shred pork with forks.

• Place cooked pork on a sheet pan, drizzle some of the reduced citrus sauce drippings over the pork and broil in oven for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the edges are crispy.
• Serve pork carnitas with all the of the toppings to make delicious burritos.

Toppings

There are no right or wrong topping but just delicious ones that you enjoy. Pick and choose your favorites.

• Beans - black beans or refried beans (frijoles refritos). If you have leftover black beans, try our Baked Skinny Tex-Mex Fish.
• Guacamole or avocados
• Cheese - grated cheddar, Colby jack or even crumbled cotija cheese are all delicious on a carnitas burrito.
• Chopped tomatoes
• Fresh salsa or pico de gallo.
• Taco sauce
• Fresh limes wedges to sprinkle on a little juice
• Mexican or cilantro lime rice
• Pineapple Slaw - but of course!
• Cilantro
• Jalapenos
• Roasted sweet potato cubes
• Cooked sweet corn cut off the cob
• Red or white finely chopped onion
• Sour cream or avocado crema (choose light sour cream if watching the fat intake)

How to Wrap a Burrito?

• Warm up your tortilla to help it stretch and lay flat on your work surface.
• Layer on all your favorite toppings in a line down the center of the wrap. I know you will be tempted but don't overfill the burrito wrap. It will be difficult to close and may tear. Try to keep the filling about 2 inches away from the edges.
• Fold over the two sides over the filling in the middle.

• Then, carefully roll up the burrito going away from you. You will need to push the ingredients inward to tuck them inside the burrito.
• Fold over again until all wrap is sealed and lay the burrito seam side down.
• Cut the burrito in half, if desired, or eat whole and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

• Soften the tortillas in the microwave before serving to make it easier to wrap burritos.  You can also soften tortillas in a 300 degrees F (148 degrees C) oven in aluminum foil for about 10 minutes or until softened.
• Keep tortillas warm in covered container or in aluminum foil.
• Pork shoulder (pork butt) is the best cut of pork to make pork carnitas due to its high fat content, but it takes longer to pressure cook. However, due to contrary belief, pork tenderloin also makes a delicious carnitas in less time.
• To save some time, use the natural release for 15 minutes before doing a quick release on the pressure cooker.
• First sear or brown your pork on the sauté function BEFORE pressure cooking. You are locking in all that extra flavor. Do not crowd the Instant pot. Make sure there is room so that it can brown on all sides. You might need to sauté the pork in batches to prevent overcrowding.
• Don't throw away those delicious citrus sauce juice that the pork was cooking in. Reduce it to half to intensify the flavor. Then, drizzle some of that sauce on the pork before broiling it.
• To keep your burrito from getting soggy, make sure your fillings are all at room temperature before filling
• Spray oil on the pork before broiling to get extra crispy edges.  

Hosting a Gathering or Tailgating Party?

1. Make your pork carnitas in the pressure cooker the day before and then just oven broil in oven before your guests arrives.
2. You can prep all your ingredients, except for the guacamole the day before to save time.
3. Make the pineapple slaw the day you are serving because the enzymatic enzymes of pineapple will start to soften the cabbage and vegetables. 
4. Wrap your burritos in aluminum foil. This way your guests can just peel one end and eat the burrito. Any drippings will go into the foil instead of on your white sofa. (Just saying - smiling)
5. You can also assemble the burritos before your guests arrive and then air fry or pan sear to heat up and make crispy. This method is extra delicious. A little extra work but seriously a MUST try.

Variations

• Leftover pork carnitas can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days in a sealed container and are fantastic in our Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls.
• Try serving in crispy taco shell or Taco Salad Bowl, instead of a four tortilla.
• Make a carnitas bowl and serve on top of Mexican or cilantro lime rice with all the fixings.
• To keep the recipe keto or low carb serve it up in a lettuce wrap or keto wrap and hold the rice and beans.
• Burritos can be made vegan or vegetarian if you leave all the toppings separate and let everyone make their own.
• Gluten-free wraps are available to serve up burritos.
• After you assemble your carnitas burrito, air fry or pan fry to make crispy or to reheat.

Side Dishes

These delicious pork carnitas burritos with pineapple slaw are delicious all on their own with your favorite beverage of choice. However, you may like to make our Best Chicken Tortilla Soup or Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps to start.  Not required, but what is a party without chips and salsa.  Have you tried our Cherry Ginger Salsa? It's amazing with pork.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Delicious Tex Mex Recipes

Creamy Chipotle Chicken Skillet

Tomatillo Key Lime Chicken Sizzle

Chicken Enchiladas with Fire Roasted Poblano Peppers

Stove Top Chicken Fajitas Sliders

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

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Carnitas Burritos with Pineapple Slaw

Make these tender Mexican pork carnitas burritos topped with a spicy sweet pineapple slaw for the ultimate game day, Cinco de Mayo, or party idea.  

Course Mains

Cuisine Tex Mex

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Instant Pot Natural Release 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10 burritos

Calories 206kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• Pressure cooker multi-function Instant Pot

Ingredients

Pork Carnitas

• 2 pounds pork tenderloin 2 tenderloins - or 2 pounds cut up pork butt.
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Citrus Sauce

• ¾ cup orange juice fresh from about 2 large oranges or 5 to 6 mandarin oranges.
• 2 tablespoons lime juice or juice from 1 fresh lime
• ¾ cup pineapple juice from 20 ounce canned pineapple - no added sugar
• ½ cup chicken broth we used gluten-free
• 2 teaspoons Tajin Mexican Seasoning or chili powder
• 2 teaspoons oregano dried
• 1 teaspoon cumin dried ground
• 6 to 8 cloves garlic peeled and minced or 2 teaspoons dried garlic powder

Pineapple Slaw (optional)

• 16 ounces coleslaw mix thinly sliced cabbage and carrots plain
• ¾ cup pineapple sliced (we used canned) ½ of 20 ounce can of pineapple
• 2 tablespoons jalapeno finely chopped or to your desired spice level.
• 1 tablespoon onion finely chopped
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• salt and black pepper
  to taste
• 2 tablespoon cilantro
  roughly chopped

Tortillas

• 8 to 12 flour tortillas
  burrito size - (regular, gluten free or low carb)

Burrito Toppings (optional) - Pick and choose the ones you like

• guacamole or chopped avocado
• black beans
• cheese shredded cheddar, Colby jack, Cotija Cheese or other.
• Mexican or Cilantro lime rice or plain
• tomatoes
• salsa or taco sauce
• cilantro, jalapeno
• fresh lime wedges

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pork Carnitas Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)

• Cut up 2 pork tenderloins into 2 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. (You may also want to use ~ 3 pounds of pork butt (pork shoulder) for this recipe - weight (~3 pounds ) after cut into cubes)
• Make the Citrus sauce. In a large measuring bowl, add orange juice, lime juice, and pineapple juice. Then, add chicken broth to make a total of 2 cups liquid. Add Tajin Mexican Seasoning or chili powder, oregano, cumin and garlic to the juice and broth mixture and stir well. Set aside.
• Place olive oil in Instant Pot (multi- function pressure cooker) and turn on sauté function. Sear the pork cubes in batches on all sides. Turn off the instant pot.
• Add all the seared pork back into the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) and pour in the citrus sauce. Close the lid of the pressure cooker. Make sure the nozzle is set to seal and NOT vent.

  If using pork tenderloins - set to pressure cook on high for 35 minutes.

  If using pork butt (pork shoulder) set to pressure cook on high for 45 minutes.

  Allow natural release for 15 minutes and then carefully release with manual pressure from the pressure cooker. Its also okay to allow for full natural release as well. Remove pork from instant pot.

  Leave the leftover citrus juice in the instant pot and turn it on to sauté function. With the lid off, allow the juices to reduce to about half. Then, turn off the instant pot and set the juices aside.

Pineapple Slaw

• While your pork is cooking, prepare the pineapple slaw and your favorite toppings. Add the coleslaw mix (finely sliced cabbage & carrots), pineapple, jalapeno, cumin, onion, cilantro, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to a large bowl and toss well. Set aside.
• Gather and prepare all of your favorite burrito toppings like beans, cheese, guacamole, rice, salsa, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno and fresh lime wedges for serving.

Oven Broil Carnitas (To Make Crispy)

• Shred the cooked pork with 2 forks into little pieces.
• Preheat oven to broil. Line a baking tray and spray with oil to prevent sticking.
• Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of the reduced citrus sauce over the pork. Broil for 4 to 5 minutes or until the edges are crispy.

How to Wrap a Burrito (Let your guests make their own with their favorite toppings)

• Warm up your tortilla to help it stretch and lay flat on your work surface.
• Layer on all your favorite toppings (don't forget your pineapple slaw) in a line down the center of the wrap. I know you will be tempted but don't overfill the burrito wrap. It will be difficult to close and may tear. Try to keep the filling about2 inches away from the edges.
• Fold over the two sides over the filling in the middle.
• Then, carefully roll up the burrito going away from you. You will need to push the ingredients inward to tuck them inside the burrito.
• Fold over again until all wrap is sealed and lay the burrito seam side down.
• Cut the burrito in half, if desired, or eat whole and enjoy!

Video

Notes

The nutritional reading are based on 1 carnitas burrito per person with only the pineapple slaw and fresh lime juice as a topping.  

Storage

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in covered containers.

If you have leftover assembled burritos, air fry them at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) for about 4 minutes or until toasty and crispy. We have to tell you this is so good and highly suggested. 

Recipe Tips

• Soften the tortillas in the microwave before serving to make it easier to wrap burritos. You can also soften tortillas in a 300 degrees F (148 degrees C) oven in aluminum foil for about 10 minutes or until softened.
• Keep tortillas warm in covered container or in aluminum foil.
• Pork shoulder (pork butt) is the best cut of pork to make pork carnitas due to its high fat content, but it takes longer to pressure cook. However, due to contrary belief, pork tenderloin also makes a delicious carnitas in less time.
• To save some time, use the natural release for 15 minutes before doing a quick release on the pressure cooker.
• First sear or brown your pork on the sauté function BEFORE pressure cooking. You are locking in all that extra flavor. Do not crowd the Instant pot. Make sure there is room so that it can brown on all sides. You might need to sauté the pork in batches to prevent overcrowding.
• Don't throw away those delicious citrus sauce juice that the pork was cooking in. Reduce it to half to intensify the flavor. Then, drizzle some of that sauce on the pork before broiling it.
• To keep your burrito from getting soggy, make sure your fillings are all at room temperature before filling
• Spray oil on the pork before broiling to get extra crispy edges.

How to freeze pork carnitas?

After you cook pork in the pressure cooker (instant pot), allow to cool and then place the pork with the juice in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw pork. Place pork on a baking sheet with a little of the juices and oven broil for 4 to 5 minutes or until toasty hot with nice crispy ends.

Slow Cooker (crockpot) Directions - Slow cook pork and citrus sauce for 8 hours on low. 

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1burrito | Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 551mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Carnitas Burritos with Pineapple Slaw appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

We have never been big fans of Chinese sausage, also known as Lap Cheong in Cantonese or La Chang in Mandarin, because of the strong liver flavor. However, adding a little crispy fried bacon instead takes this radish cake, also known as Lo Bak Go, to a whole new level.  You must give it a try! 

Ingredients 

Daikon Radish - is a mild white Asian radish. You CANNOT substitute the little red radishes you would use for salads. That substitution will be too strong a flavor. 

Bacon - Add in your favorite type. We used an organic smoked "uncured" bacon made without any chemical nitrates. You can learn more about uncured bacon in this post, ow Bacon is Really Made.   

Did you know there are many different types of bacon? There is the traditional American style bacon but there is also Canadian bacon, Rashers in the UK, Irish bacon, Pancetta, Lardons and many others. You are free to any of these in this recipe. They all have a little different taste profile but all are very delicious.  

If you want to make this recipe a little healthier you can add air fryer turkey bacon, tofu bacon or vegan bacon bits.  

"According to teenagers, BACON belongs in its own food group."  What do you think?

Rice Flour - is actually rice that has been ground into a fine powder. This type of flour is generally gluten-free if made in a gluten-free facility. Please do not use sweet glutinous rice flour as that would make for a very odd and chewy texture.  

Cornstarch - makes the daikon bacon radish cake super tender. You can exchange with potato starch if you have that on hand.  

Seasonings - The flavor of this savory Cantonese cake is elevated because we use both the juice from the cooked daikon and soaking liquid from the dried shiitake mushroom in the cake.  If you do not like the strong flavor of cooked daikon, just use water instead. In addition, if your picky family members do not like mushrooms, just skip it. Add more bacon instead. 

Dried Shrimp - This is an optional ingredient. Sometimes, if you are living outside of Asia it is difficult to come by. Did you know that you can buy dried shrimp on Amazon? Just so that you know. This ingredient adds that delicious funky flavor that dried seafood gives any recipe.

General Directions 

For detailed explanation of all of the tips and tricks of making a Chinese Radish Cake, be sure to watch the Healthy World Cuisine You Tube Video and read the Vegan Chinese Radish Cake recipe post for all the details.   

Preparation

• You're going to create some 'wet mixtures' for use. 
• Soak Dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water. Save the water the mushrooms soaked in (mushroom broth) for the daikon cake. If you want to add dried shrimp also soak and chop.  Mushrooms and dried shrimps are an optional ingredient.

• Peel, grate, cook and drain daikon. Save the daikon broth for the cake, if desired.  

• Sauté the bacon meat and add mushrooms, garlic, spring onions.  
• Mix the dry ingredients of rice flour and cornstarch together.  

• Mix your wet mixtures of the saved daikon broth and mushroom broth so that you have 2 cups total. If the amount does not equal 2 cups you can top off with a little additional water. In addition, if you do not like a strong daikon flavor, you can exchange with water. 

• Add the cooked daikon into a pan or wok and add the chicken bouillon powder, sugar and white pepper and mix.  

Mix Savory Cake Batter

• Turn your burner on low. Slowly add a tablespoon or two of the dry mixture with about a ¼ of a cup of the combined wet mixture. Add a little at a time and stir well with each addition. Complete this process until all of the dry mixture is added and as much of the wet mixture is needed to be the consistency of thick oatmeal. You might not need to add all of the wet mixture. Turn off your burner.  

• Add the bacon and mushroom mixture into daikon cake batter and stir well.  

Steam

• Prepare a cake pan with oil spray and parchment paper. Pour the cake mixture into the cake pan.  

• Steam daikon bacon radish cake for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Chill in Refrigerator Overnight

• Allow the cake to cool at room temperature and then place covered in the refrigerator overnight. 

• Remove savory cake from the cake pan. Slice into sections. 

Pan- Fry and Enjoy

• Pan-fry in an iron skillet or heavy frying for a couple of minutes on each side. 
• Serve hot with a little soy dipping sauce, Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil or a little Sriracha sauce.  

How to Serve 

Some of our favorite ways to serve our pan-fried radish cakes are with tea and a selection of our other dim sum treats such as... 

• Air Fryer Chinese Style Garlic Ribs 
• Homemade Chinese Dumplings 
• Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao 
• Air Fryer Spring Rolls  

Bacon in the radish cake is a unique East meets West way to ring in the Lunar New Year. Try it along with our other 10+ Fun and Easy Chinese New Year Recipes or Spicy Lotus Root Stir Fry. It is also delicious as an appetizer to a traditional family style Chinese Meal.  

So, what is Chinese sausage, exactly?  

Well, lots of things we did not eat when we were a kid - (like liver). So, we are not eating them as an adult! However, other items in Lap Cheong (腊肠 ) may surprise you.  

• Pork parts like liver, fat and other things... (smiling) 

• Sugar 
• Soy sauce 
• Alcohol 
• Sodium nitrate 
• Sodium erythrobate  
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG) 
• Spices like cinnamon, fennel, Sichuan pepper, nutmeg, ginger, Mandarin orange peel, cardamom, anise seed and turmeric. 

Chinese radish cake is sometimes also called turnip cake. If you like a more traditional radish cake, be sure to add in your Chinese Sausage and don't forget the dried shrimp.   There will just be more delicious BACON radish cake for us. Win-Win!  

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's) 

Chinese New Year Recipes

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

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Daikon Bacon Radish Cake

Grab a slice of our pan-fried meat lovers Daikon Bacon Radish Cake for a delicious East meets west dim sum treat. Its a MEAT LOVERS delight!

Course Appetizers/ Snacks

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Refrigerator Resting Time 8 hours hours

Total Time 9 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 16 radish cakes

Calories 126kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• scale to weigh ingredients
• steamer or a make shift steamer from what you have at home. Instructions for this below.
• 9 inch cake pan or 8 x 8 square pan okay too
• parchment paper to line pan

Ingredients

• 5 dried mushrooms
  OPTIONAL- soaked in boiled water for 30 minutes and finely chopped (shiitake). Reserve the liquid from soaking the mushrooms for cake batter.
• 10 grams dried shrimp OPTIONAL - soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained and finely chopped or about ¼ cup chopped.

Cook Daikon Radish

• 900 grams diakon radish
  peeled and grated
• 1 cup water REMINDER: Reserve the juice of the cooked daikon for the cake batter.

Stir Fry Bacon and Aromatics

• 150 grams bacon uncured or whatever type you desire-finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
• 2 green onions chopped

Season the Cooked Daikon

• 2 teaspoons chicken powder or can use crushed bouillon cube
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  or sugar alternative or LESS to taste. It depends on how strong your daikon radish is.
• white pepper
  to taste

Savory Cake Batter

• 180 grams rice flour
  
• 55 grams cornstarch
• 2 cups saved mushroom and/or daikon broth or water or as needed to make 2 cups liquid wet ingredients. The goal consistency is thick oatmeal. You may not need all 2 cups to reach this consistency.

Steaming

• cooking spray or oil for cake pan to prevent sticking
• water for steaming

Pan Frying

• 2 tablespoons oil for pan frying

Zippy Dipping Sauce - optional

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari to keep gluten free
• 2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar
• 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated or ¼ teaspoon dried ground ginger
• 1 chili pepper or a dash of dried red chili flakes - optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparations

• OPTIONAL: Soak the dried mushrooms and dried shrimp in boiled water until softened. (If using mushrooms, save the soaking liquid the mushrooms were in as you will use this later for the batter.) Drain and then chop finely. Set aside.

Cook Daikon Radish

• Put the peeled and shredded daikon radish and water in a wok or pan, cover and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. The radish will go from white to slightly translucent and it will be tender. Strain the daikon radish well with a colander. REMINDER: Reserve the daikon juice as you can used this in the cake batter later. If you forget, no worries, you can replace with water instead.

Stir Fry Bacon Mixture while Daikon is Cooking

• In a frying pan, add bacon. Cook until the fat has rendered out and its crispy. Drain all bacon fat except 1 tablespoon. Over low to medium heat, add in the OPTIONAL chopped shrimp and mushrooms, or not. These 2 ingredients are optional but very delicious. Then, add in chopped garlic and spring onions and cook until aromatic. Remove from burner and cool. Set aside.

Make Radish Cake

• Place the cooked daikon radish back into your wok or pan. Season with chicken bouillon powder, sugar and white pepper. Adjust seasoning as required. If you want it more savory, add a little salt or chicken bouillon powder to taste. Like it more spicy? Then, add more white pepper. If your daikon is really strong, then add a little more sugar to mellow out the taste or less if it is not.
• WET INGREDIENTS: Measure out the reserved liquids from cooking the daikon and from the mushrooms soaking. If it does not equal 2 cups then add water to level it up to 2 cups. (If you do not like a strong daikon flavor, replace with water. However, we think it makes it extra delicious.) You can use the mushroom soaking liquid only instead or just plain water too. However, the liquid measured should equal 2 cups. Set aside.
• DRY INGREDIENTS: Stir the dry cornstarch with the dry rice flour together and set aside. Please weigh your ingredients as your cup and our cups are different.
• Place the seasoned cooked daikon on the stovetop on very low heat. Slowly add a tablespoon or two of the DRY MIXTURE (rice flour and cornstarch) a little at a time, to the seasoned daikon mixture, stirring continuously. Then add a little of the WET MIXTURE (mushroom juice/daikon juice/water) about ⅛th to ¼ cup at a time stirring well between each addition. You will continue this process until you have added ALL of the DRY MIXTURE. You may or may not need to add all of the WET MIXTURE. This depends on environmental factors like humidity, how well you drained your daikon radish, etc.

  The consistency you are looking for is thick oatmeal. Don't let the mixture burn.
• Turn the burner off. Add the BACON and aromatics mixture to the daikon cake batter and mix well.

Steaming

• Determine what size cake pan will fit into your steamer device. Assess your steamer device or your ability to make a steaming device with the equipment you have on hand. We were able to fit an 8 x 8 or a 9 x 9 round cake pan in a traditional steamer. These cake pans also fit in our wok, elevated plate with lid steamer method. (If your steamer is small, divide the daikon batter into 2 smaller loaf pans)
• Spray or grease cake pan on the bottom and all sides. Then, cut out a piece of parchment paper and lay on the bottom of the cake pan.
• Scoop the batter into your prepared cake pan and level it out until smooth. Place your meat lovers daikon cake in the steamer.
• Do not worry if you do not have a "big fancy steamer". You can use your wok. Place 2 chopsticks at the bottom of your wok in an "x" formation. Then, place a small plate of top. Carefully add water to the bottom of your wok about 2 inches or so on the bottom. Then, place your daikon cake dish on top of plate. Place a lid on top of your wok and steam.
• Alternatively, if you do not have a wok, there is always plan B for steaming.

  I use my big soup pot that has a lid. It is very deep but not very wide so I have to split my daikon batter into 3 smaller oven proof round dishes.

  I place a very small oven proof round bowl upside down on the bottom of my soup pot (ramekin works good). Then, I plate a small plate on top of the little ramekin bowl. On top of that, I place my smaller daikon cakes pans. The weight of the daikon cake holds down the upside down bowl. Then, I carefully pour my water inside my soup pot about 2 inches on the bottom, without getting any on my daikon radish cakes. I, then, place a lid on my soup pot to cover and steam the radish cake. Give it a try if you do not have a wok.
• Steam over high heat covered for approximately 55 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick or chopstick comes out clean.
• Allow cake to cool until room temperature and then place in the refrigerator overnight.
• Run a knife along the edges of the cooled Bacon radish cake. Turn cake pan upside down on a cutting board. Tap pan to allow the cake to be removed. Remove the parchment paper from the cake and discard. Cut cake into slices. (FYI- Wet your knife and wipe your knife between each and every slice for best results.)
• Put a little cooking oil in an iron skillet or frying pan and turn heat on medium high. Brown the daikon cakes slightly for a couple of minutes on both sides or until golden brown.

Zippy Dipping Sauce

• In a little bowl add soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, garlic, ginger and optional chilis. Stir well.
• Serve Daikon Bacon Radish Cakes hot off the skillet with zippy dipping sauce, Sriracha sauce or our Homemade Garlic Chili Sauce and enjoy!

Notes

To make i easier to slice the steamed and cooled radish cake, be sure to wet and clean your knife between each slice for best results. 

Pan-fried radish cakes are best enjoyed hot off the skillet. 

Steamed cakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Sliced steamed radish cakes can be stored in parchment paper and frozen for up to 2 months.

Frozen steamed radish cakes can be pan-seared directly from the freezer but take a little longer to cook. Cook frozen radish cakes on a medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden brown on each side and crispy and hot all the way through. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 135mg | Potassium: 167mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 18IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Daikon Bacon Radish Cake appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

If you enjoy the crispy texture of fried spring rolls but don't want the oily mess and calories, you are going to love this quick and easy air fried Chinese spring roll. Unlike our sweet dessert air fryer Banana Spring Rolls, our shrimp and pork spring rolls are a savory favorite - perfect as an appetizer, or as a snack.  

If you do not have an air fryer, no worries. We have also included our original baked spring rolls directions for your convenience. 

Tasty Asian Dim Sum Appetizer 

Deep fried Spring rolls are very common in across Asia. The various regions have different names for them and they are all prepared a little differently, depending on the region.  

• In the parts of the Philippines and Indonesia, these rolls are called lumpia.   
• Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong, call them "cheun gyun" (春卷).  A very popular dim sum dish and is generally served with a dipping sauce.  
• Mandarin speakers call these Chūnjuǎn (春卷). Normally they will have finely sliced or shredded pork and rehydrated dried mushrooms in the filling.  
• In Vietnam, they deep fry rolls using rice paper wrappers and they are called "cha gio". In addition to pork and vegetables, they might have glass noodles inside too.  
• They also serve "fresh" rolls in Vietnam like our fresh Summer Rolls with Chili Lime Dipping Sauce made with rice paper. These are not fried. 
• In Korea, they fry rolls with a nori (seaweed wrapper) for a fun twist on a spring roll.  
• Thailand has their own version of a spring roll called "paw pia tod". They usually add glass noodles and serve with a sweet and spicy Thai sauce.  
• And many more around the world. 

Menu Planning - Chinese New Year  

Have you started to plan your Chinese New Year (CNY) menu? 

Heck, we are not just planning our menu, but have already started the cooking preparation for the celebration! Did you know that you can fill these spring rolls, freeze them and then air fry them later? These shrimp and pork spring rolls can be filled and rolled up to 2 months in advance. Then when your guests arrive, you can pop the frozen spring rolls in the air fryer for few minutes for a hot crispy appetizer. Brilliant, right?  

Why wait to last minute when you have so many other things to prepare. Did you know that Vegan Chinese Radish Cakes can also be steamed, frozen and then pan fried when ready to serve?  If you haven't tried this already, Sweet Sticky Rice Chinese New Year Cakes can also be steamed, cut into sections, frozen and pan fried in egg when you are ready to serve as well.  

In addition, you may want to check out our 10 Fun and Easy Recipes for Chinese New Year and Chinese New Year Category for more recipe inspiration. We know you will find something you enjoy.  

Ingredients and Substitutions 

This Hong Kong Style recipe may look like it has a lot of ingredients in the recipe card. Do not worry! Some the ingredients are used more than once. We listed the ingredients more than once in the recipe to make it easier for you to understand.

Spring Roll Wrappers - are made with wheat flour, water, vegetable oil and salt. They are thinner and crispier than egg roll wrappers. In a pinch, you can also use egg roll wrappers for this recipe if you are having wrapper inventory issues.  

Please do not confuse spring roll wrappers with the thin rice paper wrappers that we use to make Summer Rolls with Chili Lime Dipping Sauce. They are 2 completely different products. For the gluten sensitive, we have seen a few gluten-free spring roll wrappers on the market, if this is something you need. 

Shrimp - peeled, deveined, and chopped. They give shrimp rolls a nice texture and flavor profile. However, if you need to keep this recipe vegan or vegetarian, please substitute with mushrooms. Dried shiitake mushrooms that have been soaked and sliced very thin are delicious in this recipe. 

Pork - ground pork is the easiest option. However, you can also finely julienne pork if you prefer.  

Vegetables - like carrots, Napa cabbage, bean sprouts and green onions are delicious. You may also try adding mushroom, bamboo shoots or any vegetables you enjoy. 

Shaoxing wine - (绍兴酒 ) is a Chinese cooking wine we use to marinate the shrimp and pork. You can use a dry sherry as a substitute if desired. 

Sesame oil - very traditional and gives the air fryer spring rolls a delicious sesame flavor.  

Soy sauce - or tamari work as a lovely seasoning for this Chinese dim sum recipe. We also use a little salt and white pepper too.  

Aromatics - green onions, ginger, and garlic- of course are delicious additions. 

How to Make Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls 

Are you excited to make these at home? These crispy Cantonese spring rolls are super addictive because of the flaky crunchy air fried wrapper and delicious filling. This recipe makes 16 spring rolls but who can eat just one, right?  

Prepare and Cook Filling 

• Put the ground pork and minced shrimp to a bowl. Add in white pepper, salt, cornstarch, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine. Set aside to marinate. Marinating proteins, as it was done in the Spicy Pork and Bamboo Stir Fry, is a very common practice in Chinese cooking. 

• Chop up Napa cabbage, slice spring onions and any other vegetable your heart desires. 

• Grate carrot and slice bean sprouts.  

• Put a little oil in your pan and add ginger and garlic. Add in the ground pork and shrimp mixture and stir fry until the pork is no longer pink and the shrimp are no longer translucent. 

• Add chopped Napa cabbage, spring onions, carrots and bean sprouts to the pork and shrimp mixture in the pan and cook until slightly softened.  

• Drain the filling mixture well and set aside. 

FUN FACT: Did you know that bean sprouts last longer if you store them in a sealed container covered with fresh water?  Wash well, drain and change the water every day.  They will last up to a week. Bean sprouts or sprouted mung bean are living so they love being in water. If you have leftover sprouts, be sure to try them in our Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce.  

Assembly 

• Lay one spring roll wrapper on a cutting board on an angle. 
• Put about 2 tablespoons of filling inside on one edge of the wrapper. 

• Roll spring roll wrapper over once. Then dap the edges of the wrapper with a little bit of the cornstarch slurry with your fingers. Fold over one edge of the spring roll to the center. 
• Then, fold over the other edge of the spring roll to the center. Gently squeeze and roll. 

• Place a little more of the cornstarch slurry on the remaining edge of the spring roll and roll up to the end to secure. Repeat this process for the remaining spring rolls. 
• Spray the air fryer basket with oil. Then, spray both sides of the assembled spring roll with oil. 

• Air fry or bake according to the directions below in the recipe card

Freezing and Storing 

The best part of this recipe is that you can make the filling, wrap the spring rolls and then freeze them before air frying. First, we like to freeze them in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet for a couple of hours. This prevents them from sticking together. Then, store the frozen uncooked spring rolls in a sealed plastic container or freezer safe bag in the freezer. Spring rolls can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.  

When you are ready to eat, just preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F (206 degrees C) and air fry until golden brown about 10 minutes on both sides. Do not thaw out the spring rolls. Just place the frozen spring rolls directly into the air fryer sprayed with a little oil first. It takes a little bit longer as they are cooking from a frozen state instead of from room temperature.  

You can also freeze air fried spring rolls for up to 2 months and then just reheat before serving.  

Expert Tips 

• Thinly slice vegetables and proteins all around the same size so it is easier to eat, 
• Drain your filling well after cooking so the spring roll wrappers stay crispy and do not get soggy. 
• Please cover your spring roll wrappers with a damp tea towel to prevent cracking when you are not using them. This prevents cracking of the thin delicate spring roll pastry. 
• Do not over fill your spring roll wrappers or it will be very difficult to roll up and seal. You only need a couple of tablespoons for each spring roll. 
• Use a thick cornstarch slurry to seal the rolls. A cornstarch slurry is cornstarch and water mixed together to form a paste. Sometimes you have to stir occasionally as the cornstarch has a tendency to float to the bottom.  
• Spray your rolled spring rolls well on both sides before placing them in the air fryer or oven (if baking) 
• Do not over crowd your air fryer tray with too many rolls. Spread them out.  You may need to air fry them in more than one batch depending on the size of your air fryer basket.  
• Turn your spring rolls over about 10 minutes into the air frying process or about 15 minutes into the baking process to be certain they are browned on all sides. 
• Place a lined baking tray under the air fryer basket to collect any drips from the air fryer spring rolls if you do not want to clean up any messes.  

Equipment and Supplies

Great news! You can make this delicious Chinese New Year dim sum in an air fryer, convection oven or in a regular oven. We have included directions for both in the recipe card below.  

Air Fryer: Our air fryer spring rolls were air fried in a COSORI Air Fryer Toaster 12-in-1 Countertop Convection Oven. You can make your spring rolls in any type of size air fryer. However, you may not be able to cook all 16 spring rolls at the same time, due to space issues. Please make sure that your spring rolls have room and are not touching so that the air fryer can work as a mini convection oven.  

Strainer or Colander: To strain the filling

Damp Tea Towel: To keep spring roll wrappers from drying out.

How to Serve? 

Don't forget the tea! Dim sum or tea time (yum cha) is not complete without tea. However, tea is not complete without dim sum. The two go hand in hand.  

If you love small little plates of Chinese deliciousness, be sure to try our Vegan Chinese Radish Cake, Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts and our Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce.  

Air fried spring rolls are also delicious as a tasty appetizer before a Chinese dinner. Keep your family and friends happy while you are putting the finishing touches on your Spicy Sichuan Hot Pot preparations, Asian Steamed Fish or Stir Fried Crab with Chinese New Year Cake. 

Healthier

Air Frying instead of deep frying is a much healthier option. Unlike deep fried versions that have been soaking up and swimming in a wok of oil, the air frying method has just a light spray or brush of oil.

The best bonus of air frying is less cleanup. After all, who wants to be stuck cleaning the up the kitchen after a messy and oily deep fry.

Vegan Options 

You can easily make spring rolls vegan by swapping out the pork and shrimp with mushrooms and add more vegetables. We love thin sliced rehydrated dried mushrooms. In addition, be sure to try bamboo shoots and other vegetables of choice.  

Gluten-Free Options 

Unfortunately, traditional spring roll wrappers are made from wheat. There are many new gluten-free wrappers on the market. However, we have not tried any of these. Alternatively, you can make a Vietnamese spring roll (Chả Giò) using soaked rice papers. Allow them to dry first. Then coat Vietnamese rolls in a little spray oil and air fry.  

Alternatively, you can serve the shrimp, pork and vegetable filling over rice to make a spring roll bowl. You could also roll up the filling in a lettuce wrap for a gluten-free and low carb version.  

You will also need to swap out the soy sauce with a tamari sauce to keep this recipe gluten-free.  

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's) 

More Chinese Appetizers and Dim Sum

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Print

Air Fryer Spring Rolls

Try our super-crispy Cantonese style Air Fryer Spring Rolls. Traditional spring roll wrappers are filled with shrimp, ground pork, thin sliced vegetables and then air fried for a healthy dim sum treat. (The ingredient list looks long only because we have added the same ingredient more than once in the recipe to make it easier for you.)

Course Appetizers/ Snacks

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes minutes

Total Time 47 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Calories 115kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• air fryer or standard oven
• colander or strainer to strain filling
• damp tea towel to prevent spring roll wrappers from drying out

Ingredients

Spring Roll Wrapping Supplies

• 16 Spring Roll pastry sheets (approximately as it depends on how much filing you are using and the size of your spring roll wrappers)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch to make a cornstarch slurry
• 2 tablespoon water to make a cornstarch slurry
• spray oil or brush on light flavored oil

Shrimp and Pork Mixture

• ½ pound ground pork
• ½ pound shrimp raw, shelled and deveined and chopped
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or sherry

Vegetables Mixture

• 2 cups napa cabbage sliced and chopped or regular cabbage
• ½ cup green onions chopped
• 1.5 cups bean sprouts (sprouted mung beans) fresh cut in thirds
• 1 medium Carrot peeled and grated

Combined Shrimp and Pork with Vegetable Filling Mixture

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 inch ginger peeled and grated fresh
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• shrimp and pork mixture from above (pork and shrimp that has been marinating)
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• white pepper to taste
• 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari to taste
• vegetable mixture from above (shredded carrots, napa cabbage, bean sprouts, green onions)

Ginger Tamari Dipping Sauce (optional)

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger grated fresh
• chili Optional- bird chili sliced thin, if you like a little heat
• 1 teaspoon green onions finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons Black Chinese Vinegar optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Spring Roll Wrapper Preparation

• Take the spring roll wrappers out of the freezer and allow to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Another option is to place frozen spring roll wrappers in the refrigerator to unthaw for about 2 hours. Keep sealed and do not open package or otherwise they will dry out. (If your spring rolls wrappers have been refrigerated and not frozen, you can skip this step)
• Combine the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and stir well to make your cornstarch slurry. Set aside.

Marinate Shrimp and Pork Mixture

• In a medium bowl add your ground pork, chopped shrimp, white pepper and salt, cornstarch, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine. Stir well and set aside to marinate.

Prepare Vegetables and Aromatics

• Slice and chop napa cabbage. Finely slice green onions. Grate carrot or finely julienne cut. Cut bean sprouts into thirds. Set aside

Stir Fry and Prepare Filling

• In your wok/frying pan add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat to a medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic until fry until aromatic. Add the shrimp and pork mixture, more Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, white pepper and soy sauce to taste. Stir fry until pork is no longer pink and the shrimp are no longer translucent, about 2 minutes.

  Add prepared cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts and green onions to cooked shrimp and pork mixture in the wok and cook just until the vegetables start to give out the juice or about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Strain cooked filling mixture in colander/strainer to remove the moisture and press down to remove the excess juice from the mixture. Set aside strained filling mixture to cool. (Save the strained juice for a soup or pitch)

Roll Up Spring rolls

• Remove the spring roll wrappers from the package. Carefully remove slowly and carefully peel away one spring roll wrapper and lie on your clean working surface. Place the rest of the unused spring roll wrappers under a damp clean cloth or tea towel so they do not dry out (very important step). Stir your cornstarch slurry mixture again and have it near you.
• Place the spring roll wrapper with one of the pointed edges towards you, like a diamond. With a brush or your finger paint the outsides with the cornstarch slurry to help the spring roll stick.

  Place one to two tablespoon of delicious pork, shrimp and veggie filling mixture on to the pointed edge.

  Then, holding the spring roll firmly but gently, roll the edge over the filling mixture once.

  With your fingers, dab a little of the cornstarch slurry on each of the edges to help seal the spring roll. (Remember to stir the cornstarch slurry first as the cornstarch has a tendency to fall to the bottom of the bowl.)

  Fold in the sides and keep the spring roll tight as you gently squeeze and roll away from you.

  Brush another thin layer of cornstarch slurry on the back half and continue to roll tightly until sealed.

  Continue the same process with the remaining spring rolls wrappers and filling. (Don't worry if the first few spring rolls you try to roll look like a disaster. Practice makes perfect and you have about another 15 or so spring roll attempts to get it right)

Air Fryer Spring Roll Directions

• Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C)
• Spray air fryer basket with a little oil spray. Spray or brush oil on all sides of the prepared spring rolls.
• Place the spring rolls in the air fryer basket making sure they are not touching. Depending on the size and model of your air fryer, you may have to cook your spring rolls in batches.
• Air fry spring rolls between 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown on all side. Turn spring rolls midway in the cooking process. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before eating. Enjoy!

Baked Spring Roll Directions

• Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C (or 375 degrees F)
• Place seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and a little spray oil.
• Spray or brush the spring rolls gently on both sides with a little oil. Bake seam side down for about 10 minutes. After the first 10 minutes turn the spring rolls over and brush on a little more oil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before eating. Enjoy!

Dipping Sauce (optional)

• In a small bowl add soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, green onion, Chinese black vinegar (optional) and if you like it hot a little chopped bird chili. Mix well and serve as a dipping sauce for spring rolls. Also delicious with a little homemade Garlic Chili Oil, Sriracha sauce or plain.

Video

Notes

Freezing and Storing 

The best part of this recipe is that you can make the filling, wrap the spring rolls and then freeze them before air frying (or baking).

• First, we like to freeze them in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet for a couple of hours. This prevents them from sticking together.
• Then, store the frozen uncooked spring rolls in a sealed plastic container or freezer safe bag in the freezer. Spring rolls can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.  
• When you are ready to eat, just preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F (206 degrees C) and air fry until golden brown about 10 minutes on both sides. Do not thaw out the spring rolls. Just place the frozen spring rolls directly into the air fryer sprayed with a little oil first. It takes a little bit longer as they are cooking from a frozen state instead of from room temperature.   
• You can also freeze air fried spring rolls for up to 2 months and then just reheat before serving.  

 Expert Tips 

• Thinly slice vegetables and proteins all around the same size so it is easier to eat, 
• Drain your filling well after cooking so the spring roll wrappers stay crispy and do not get soggy. 
• Please cover your spring roll wrappers with a damp tea towel to prevent cracking when you are not using them. This prevents cracking of the thin delicate spring roll pastry. 
• Do not over fill your spring roll wrappers or it will be very difficult to roll up and seal. You only need a couple of tablespoons for each spring roll. 
• Use a thick cornstarch slurry to seal the air fryer spring rolls. A cornstarch slurry is cornstarch and water mixed together to form a paste. Sometimes you have to stir occasionally as the cornstarch has a tendency to float to the bottom.  
• Spray your rolled spring rolls well on both sides before placing them in the air fryer or oven (if baking). Alternatively, you can also brush oil on all sides.
• Do not over crowd your air fryer tray with too many spring rolls. Spread them out. You may need to air fry them in more than one batch depending on the size of your air fryer basket.  
• Turn your spring rolls over about 10 minutes into the air frying process or about 15 minutes into the baking process to be certain they are browned on all sides. 
• Place a lined baking tray under the air fryer basket to collect any drips from the air fryer spring rolls if you do not want to clean up any messes.  

Nutrition

Serving: 1spring roll | Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 224mg | Potassium: 108mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 702IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Air Fryer Spring Rolls appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

The extra bonus of using an air fryer to heat up a cranberry glazed ham is that it frees up the oven. Then, you can make our favorite side dishes in the oven like our French Canadian Meat Dressing Recipe and Balsamic Roasted Fennel and Carrots - together rounding out the perfect family feast. 

Pre-cooked spiral hams are super delicious but top it with a golden spiced orange cranberry glaze and you have a slice of "HAM HEAVEN". Don't you just love something a little sweet with the salty ham? It's the perfect pairing. In this article, we are going to cover how to choose a ham for your size and type of air fryer, keep it juicy and moist, how long to reheat and helpful hints to make the best darn cranberry glaze.

We have also included oven baking directions if you do not have an air fryer or if you are planning on feeding a huge crew of family and friends.

Types of Ham

Before we get started on the recipe, let's review the different kinds of ham to choose from.  In addition, the type and size to purchase will be determined by the size and type of your air fryer brand.

1. Spiral Cut are also sometimes called City Hams. (BEST Choice, especially for Toaster Oven Style Air Fryers)
2. Boneless has had the bone removed and is pressed into a roll. This type is also available as a spiral cut ham without the bone. (BEST Choice for cylindrical basket air fryers (around 5 quarts).
3. Fresh is not cured or smoked or cooked. These are raw uncured leg of pork.  This type of ham is best cooked in the oven not in the air fryer.
4. Country hams are NOT suggested for this recipe as they are VERY SALTY. First, you need to boil to remove some of that sodium before they can even be prepared.

Bone in vs Boneless

Did you know there are pros and cons to both options?

• Bone-in hams are often tastier and moister than boneless ones.
• Semi-boneless or partially boned only the leg bone remaining. The hip or shank bone has been removed. This makes it easier to cut and serve.
• Boneless are more convenient and easier to slice.

If you have a large toaster oven style air fryer, you can used either bone in, semi-boneless or boneless holiday ham. If you have a cylindrical basket style (5-quart size) air fryer, you will most likely need to choose a boneless option. A bone-in type will be too large and be touching the heating elements and the sides. You don't want that.

However, you may be able to fit in a half of semi-boneless ham in a 9 to 12-quart cylindrical air fryer but we have not tested it. Every air fryer is different.

Cooked vs Uncooked

Did you know that hams can be ready-to-eat or need to be cooked before serving? The best option is to choose a fully cooked ham that just needs to be reheated.

In addition, they can also be separated into several different categories.

• Fresh - uncured raw leg of pork (Do not use for this Air Fryer Ham with Cranberry Glaze recipe as it does not have that flavor profile you are looking for.)
• Cured - with either a wet brine or dry salt brine. This type can be cooked or uncooked.
• Smoked - sometimes they will be smoked after cured. Don't you just love the essence of hickory or maple is infused into the pork.

Check the package! One of these labels should be prominently displayed...

1. Fully cooked - is the option needed for our air fryer ham with cranberry glaze recipe. (BEST Option)

• Partially cooked - this means the ham has been cooked up to the temperature of 137 degrees F (58 degrees C) but less than 148 degrees F (64 degrees C). This type will still require additional cooking before it can be served. Can be used but may take longer to cook . Need to be heated to 145 degrees F (62 degrees C)  and then allowed to rest and the temperature should continue to rise to 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

• Ready to cook - are uncooked hams that will need to be cooked up 145 degrees F then left to rest as the temperature increases to 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) Do not use this type.

How Much Per Person?

Boneless - ¼ to ⅓ pound per adult serving.

Bone - in - ⅓ to ½ pound per adult serving.

Are you ready for some easy math? For example, if you want to serve 4 people, you will need approximately 1.5 pound of boneless or 2 pounds of a bone-in ham. Of course, it depends on how many sides you are serving and if you want leftovers to make our Red Lentil and Ham Soup or our Instant Pot Lentil Ham Stew.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Ham -  

• Air fryers come in different types, models, and max capacities. Please consult your owner manual for the capacity and dimensions to determine the weight and type of ham to purchase.  

• Choose a fully cooked ham. A fully cooked spiral ham (sliced) is super convenient and delicious.

• Boneless are best for cylindrical basket types of air fryers.

• Bone-in, semi boneless or boneless can be used in a LARGE toaster oven style air fryer.

• If you have a medium sized cylindrical basket air fryer (around 5 quarts), then most likely you will only be able to fit a 2 to 3-pound boneless ham in the basket drawer.

• We have a Cosori Toaster oven style air fryer (capacity 32 quarts) and could easily fit in a 7 to 8-pound bone in ham without it touching any of the sides or the heating elements. Due to the size of our air fryer, about 8 pounds is probably the max you can fit in safely for this model.

• Hosting the whole crew? If you want to cook a whole ham or larger one, we have included oven baking instructions in the recipe card below.

Cranberries - Fresh is best but can also use frozen. We used a full 12 ounces, so we had enough for the glaze but also extra cranberry sauce to dollop on top for serving. If you double the cranberry glaze recipe, you can make our Cranberry Sauce Muffins for breakfast in the morning.

Oranges - Use both the zest and the juice from a fresh orange.

Honey or sweetener of choice - We like honey as it is a natural sweetener. However, you can also use maple syrup, brown sugar, or a sugar alternative of choice.

Allspice - Makes this cranberry glaze smell and taste like the holidays. We used dried and ground allspice to keep this cranberry glazed ham recipe super easy. Believe it or not, allspice is NOT a mixture of spices but instead a dried berry from the Pimenta dioca tree. Allspice is also a prominent flavor in our Homemade Gingerbread Cookies and steamed gingerbread.

Looking for an allspice alternative? Mix the following spices together for the best substitution.

• ½ teaspoon dried ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon dried ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon dried ground nutmeg.

How to Prepare the BEST Cranberry Glaze

• Place fresh cranberries into a medium skillet and place heat on medium high.
• Add in honey or sweetener of choice.

• Zest in one orange and the juice of 2 oranges.

• Add in allspice and stir until well incorporated.
• The cranberry glaze will thicken as it sits. That is important as the glaze sticks to the sides of the ham instead of dripping to the bottom of the pan.

How to Prepare the Ham

• First things first! Line your basket or oven toaster tray with aluminum foil. You can thank us later but makes it for easy clean up. (Double check with your air fryer manufacturer instructions but most types can use aluminum foil.) Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C)
• We used a fully cooked spiral ham. If your ham is NOT spiral cut, take a moment to hand score the skin of the ham both vertically and horizontally to make a diamond shape. This helps crisp up the skin later in the cooking process.
• Spray a little oil on the bottom of the aluminum foil to prevent sticking. Wrap ham with heavy duty aluminum foil. Make sure the open end up at the top so you can add the cranberry glaze later in the cooking process. Place in air fryer.
• Air fry the ham for 20-25 minutes for 2- 3-pound smaller hams and 30 - 40 minutes for larger 8-pound ones. We use this time to make our spiced orange cranberry glaze.
• Take out of the air fryer and carefully open the aluminum foil wrap and brush ⅓ of the cranberry glaze all over the top of the ham and sides.
• Wrap back up in aluminum foil to seal and place back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

• Carefully unwrap the aluminum foil back and check the temperature of the ham in the thickest part of the ham away from bone. If the temperature is below 135 degrees F (57 degrees C) seal the aluminum foil wrap back around the ham and continue cooking.
• Once the internal temperature has reached 135 degrees F, pull back the aluminum foil back down off the ham so the top and sides are exposed.
• Brush another ⅓ of the cranberry glaze all over. (Save the remaining ⅓ of orange cranberry glaze for serving) Place back into the air fryer to cook for another 10 -15 minutes or until golden ruby red and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F (62 degrees C).
• FYI: If you are using a ham from Non-USDA certified plant, the USDA recommends heating to an internal temperature to 165 °F.
• Remove the beautiful glazed beauty from the air fryer and leave rest for 3 minutes. DO NOT THROW AWAY THE PAN DRIPPINGS! That is LIQUID GOLD! Strain juice and drizzle on the ham while serving along with a dollop of remaining Cranberry Glaze Sauce.

Tips for Success!

• Purchase a fully cooked ham.
• Use boneless for cylindrical basket air fryers models.
• Can use boneless, semi-boneless or bone-in for large toaster oven style air fryers
• Purchase a ham that fits inside the air fryer without touching the sides or the heating elements. Every air fryer has a different capacity.
• Cook time in air fryer is 10 to 15 minutes per pound.
• No Air fryer? No Problem! Oven Baking directions in the recipe notes.
• Before putting in the air fryer, allow the ham to come to room temperature.  We usually let it sit on the counter for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.  This ensures more even cooking.
• Choose boneless small hams around 2 to 3 pounds for 5 to 6-quart basket style air fryers. Can choose larger bone-in spiral hams for oven style air fryers up to about 8 pounds.
• Use aluminum foil for easy cleanup and it also keeps your ham moist while heating up.
• Spiral boneless pre-cooked hams take about 10 minutes per pound to reach 145 degrees F. Bone in or semi boneless can take 10 to 15 minutes per pound.
• Use a meat thermometer to confirm internal temperature. Put in the largest meatiest portion of the ham away from the bone.
• Reserve a little of the cranberry glaze to serve and the strained pan drippings.
• Allow ham to rest 3 minutes before serving.

Side Dishes

Looking for a dish to pass or something you can make in advance? Try these salads, vegetables and potato and rice dish ideas to complete your holiday feast.

Salads:  Quinoa Harvest Salad, Autumn Kale Salad and Dried Cranberry Sugar Glazed Pecan Holiday Salad can all be made in advance.

Vegetables: Balsamic Roasted Fennel and Carrots or Garlicky Sesame Stir Fried Green Beans are delicious with ham and are easy throw together. Our Moroccan spiced baby carrots can be cooked in advance and reheated just before serving.

Potatoes or Rice: Our creamy Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto or Crispy Roasted Red Potatoes and Cabbage make a complete holiday menu.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Holiday Dessert Ideas

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

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Air Fryer Ham with Cranberry Glaze

Just 5 simple ingredients, tender with an irresistible golden sweet cranberry crust.

For this recipe we used a TOASTER OVEN style 32-quart air fryer. We used a 7.5-pound bone in fully cooked spiral ham. Please see our recipe notes for adjusting the sizes and types of ham for all different types and smaller air fryers.

FYI: For small cylindrical basket air fryers (around 5 quarts) use a 2 to 3 pound BONELESS fully cooked ham. Check to make sure that your ham is not touching any of the sides or top of air fryer as this can cause burning of the ham. Trim down ham to fit in air fryer or cook in the oven instead.

TOP TIPS:

Purchase a fully cooked ham.

Use boneless hams for cylindrical basket air fryers models.

Can use boneless, semi-boneless or bone-in hams for large toaster oven style air fryers

Purchase a ham that fits inside the air fryer without touching the sides or the heating elements. Every air fryer has a different capacity.

Cook time in air fryer is 10 to 15 minutes per pound.

No Air fryer? No Problem! Oven Baking directions in the recipe notes.

Course Mains

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Rest Time 3 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 8 minutes minutes

Servings 16 servings

Calories 342kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• Air fryer (Ours is a toaster oven style model (32-quart capacity) Please read full recipe for accommodating smaller air fryer units, cooking times and other specifics for choosing ingredients.
• aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 7 to 8 pounds Cooked ham
  (3.1to 3.6 kg) fully cooked bone-in spiral ham for extra-large toaster oven style air fryer models (For example a smaller 5-to-6-quart cylindrical basket air fryers models, use a BONELESS fully cooked 2-to-3-pound.) Every air fryer capacity is different. The goal is to choose a ham that fits easily into your air fryer without touching the sides or the heating elements. 
• spray oil to prevent sticking

Cranberry Glaze

• 12 oz Cranberries
  fresh or frozen
• ½ cup honey (or maple syrup, brown sugar, or sugar alternative of choice)
• 2 tablespoons Orange zest
  
• ½ cup orange juice or juice from 2 oranges
• 1 teaspoon allspice dried ground (see recipe notes for substitution options)

Garnishes

• reserved ham juices strained
• cranberry glaze ⅓ of the remaining
• fresh oranges, cranberries and greens to decorate optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the Ham

• Allow the ham to come to room temperature.  We usually let it sit on the counter for 30-60minutes at room temperature.  This ensures more even cooking.
• First things first! Line your basket or oven toaster tray with aluminum foil. You can thank us later but makes it for easy clean up. (Double check with your air fryer manufacturer instructions but most types can use aluminum foil.) Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C)
• We used a fully COOKED spiral ham. If it is NOT spiral cut, take a moment to hand score the skin of the ham both vertically and horizontally to make a diamond shape. This helps crisp up the skin later in the cooking process.
• Spray a little oil on the bottom of the aluminum foil to prevent sticking. Place the ham flat side down on the aluminum foil. (If your ham has a little plastic device over the bone, this can be removed and thrown away.) Wrap your ham with heavy duty aluminum foil with the open end up at the top so you can add the cranberry glaze later in the cooking process. Place wrapped ham in air fryer.
• Air Fry for 20-25 minutes for 2- 3-pound smaller hams and 30 - 40 minutes for larger 7 to 8-pound ones. (Use this time to make your cranberry glaze.)

Make Spiced Orange Cranberry Glaze

• Place fresh cranberries into a medium skillet and place heat on medium high.
• Add in honey or sweetener of choice.
• Zest in one orange and the juice of 2 oranges.
• Add in allspice and stir until well incorporated.
• The cranberry glaze will thicken as it sits. That is important as the glaze sticks to the sides of the ham instead of dripping to the bottom of the pan.

Glazing the Ham

• Take the ham out of the air fryer and carefully open the aluminum foil wrap and brush ⅓ of the cranberry glaze all over the top of the ham and sides.
• Wrap the ham back up in aluminum foil to seal and place back in the oven for another 20 minutes
• Carefully unwrap the aluminum foil back and check the temperature in the thickest part of the ham away from bone. If the temperature is below 135degrees F (57 degrees C) seal the aluminum foil wrap back around and continue cooking until the temperature reaches 135 degrees F. (Boneless hams take about 10 minutes per pound. Bone-in ones take about 15 minutes per pound to fully reheat)
• Once the internal temperature has reached 135 degrees F, pull back the aluminum foil back down off the ham so the top and sides of ham are exposed.
• Brush another ⅓ of the cranberry glaze all over the ham well. (Save the remaining⅓ of orange cranberry glaze for serving) Place back into the air fryer to cook for another 10 - 15 minutes or is golden ruby red and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F (62 degrees C).
• FYI: If you are using a ham from a Non-USDA certified plant, the USDA recommends heating to an internal temperature to 165 °F.
• Remove the ham from the air fryer and leave rest for 3 minutes. DO NOT THROW AWAY THE PAN DRIPPINGS! That is LIQUID GOLD! Strain ham juice and set aside.
• Move ham to a serving platter. Tent lightly with foil and let rest 3 minutes.
• Optional: Garnish your platter with fresh oranges, cranberries, and greens, if desired.
• Slice and serve with a drizzle of the ham juice and a dollop of remaining Cranberry Glaze. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Tips for Success!

• Purchase a fully cooked ham.
• Use boneless hams for cylindrical basket air fryers models.
• Can use boneless, semi-boneless or bone-in hams for large toaster oven style air fryers
• Purchase a ham that fits inside the air fryer without touching the sides or the heating elements. Every air fryer has a different capacity.
• Cook time in air fryer is 10 to 15 minutes per pound.
• No Air fryer? No Problem! Oven Baking directions in the recipe notes.
• Before putting in the air fryer, allow the ham to come to room temperature. We usually let it sit on the counter for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.  This ensures more even cooking.
• Choose boneless small hams around 2 to 3 pounds for 5 to 6-quart basket style air fryers. Can choose larger bone-in spiral hams for toaster oven style air fryers up to about 8 pounds.
• Use aluminum foil for easy cleanup .
• Spiral boneless pre-cooked hams take about 10 minutes per pound to reach at least 140 to 145 degrees F. Bone in or semi boneless ones can take 10 to 15 minutes per pound.
• Use a meat thermometer to confirm internal temperature. Put in the largest meatiest portion of the ham away from the bone.
• Reserve a little of the cranberry glaze to serve and the strained ham "liquid gold" juice.
• Allow to rest 3 minutes before serving.
• Leftovers can be stored in a covered container for 3 to 5 days or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Substitution for Allspice 

If you do not have allspice, mix the following spices together for the best substitution.

• ½ teaspoon dried ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon dried ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon dried ground nutmeg.

Alternative Oven Baking Directions

• As you are baking in a large standard oven, you can choose any sized fully cooked bone-in or boneless ham. 
• Preheat standard oven to 325 degrees F (162 degrees C)
• We like to line a roasting pan with foil for easy cleanup.
• Spray oil on foiled line pan to prevent sticking.
• Place ham flat side down in the roasting pan. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven to roast.
• Make the cranberry glaze as directed above in the recipe card and set aside.
• Roast ham for approximately 12 to 15 minutes per pound. At the halfway point, check carefully pull off the aluminum foil, check the internal temperature and glaze ham with ⅓ of the glaze. Place the aluminum foil back on and put back in the oven continue roasting.
• With approximately 15 to 20 minutes left in the cooking process, carefully remove the ham from the oven. Turn the oven temperature up to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). Brush with another ⅓ of the orange cranberry glaze (reserving the last ⅓ for serving)
• Place the ham UNCOVERED in the oven and bake until the glaze is ruby red and golden, and temperature has reached 145 degrees F (62 degrees C).
• Remove from the air fryer and leave rest for 3 minutes. DO NOT THROW AWAY THE PAN DRIPPINGS! That is LIQUID GOLD! Strain juice and set aside.
• Move to a serving platter. Tent lightly with foil and let rest 3 minutes.
• Optional: Garnish your platter with fresh oranges, cranberries, and greens, if desired.
• Slice and serve with a drizzle of the pan drippings and a dollop of remaining Cranberry Glaze.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 342kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 2293mg | Potassium: 600mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 32IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Air Fryer Ham with Cranberry Glaze appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Topped with fried garlic, green onions and chilis for an irresistible appetizer, dim sum, or dinner idea. Ready in ⅓ the time compared to traditional fried ribs with half the mess.

You know it is going to be good when a recipe includes the word "garlicky" in the description. Right? This Chinese pork ribs recipe is a huge crowd pleaser just like our Pressure Cooker BBQ Ribs. Doubling this easy recipe is highly recommended.  These Cantonese Style ribs disappear in a flash at tailgating events and family-style Chinese dinners.

You are going to learn how to tenderize ribs and marinate them with everyday items you probably have in your house right now. This recipe can easily be made gluten-free too. So, let's get to the recipe!

Ingredients and Substitutions

pork ribs (排骨) - We used baby back ribs (or pork loin back ribs) for this air fryer recipe. If you choose spareribs, these will take a little longer to cook. It is always best to remove the fascia from the back of the ribs to keep them tender.

egg whites (蛋清) are used to marinate the rib meat to make it tender. Velveting is a very common Chinese cooking technique where egg whites and cornstarch are used before stir frying. However, you can get the same effect by mixing egg white, Shao Xing rice wine, salt, and sugar to marinate the ribs before popping them in the air fryer.

garlic powder (大蒜粉) and fresh garlic (大蒜) - We used both garlic powder and fresh garlic in this recipe and lots of it. 7 cloves of fresh to exact and they were huge. There will not be any vampires bothering us today! If you are a garlic lover like us, be sure to try our Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce and our 5 Minute Stir Fried Garlic Pea Shoots as side dishes.

sugar or sugar alternative (糖) - This is an important ingredient that gives these air fryer ribs that special sweet flavor to complement the savory. We used coconut sugar, but you can substitute with a low carb sugar alternative of choice to keep it diabetic friendly.

green onion (葱) or you can also use small leeks finely chopped.

Shao Xing Wine (cooking wine) (料酒) or a dry cooking sherry to keep it gluten free.

Sesame oil gives it that lovely toasty flavor but if you do not have this just replace with a little light flavored oil, just so it does not stick on the air fryer basket.

White pepper is one of those quintessential Chinese ingredients and has a nice kick of spice. Of course, you can use black pepper as a substitute to taste.

ginger (姜) - fresh is best but if in a pinch you can add just ¼ of a teaspoon of dried ginger powder to the fried garlic and green onion dry topping.

chili - totally optional but our family loves that little kick. We used fresh mild Chinese chili peppers.  You may want to substitute with a jalapeno, mild pepper of choice or even a dash of dried red chili flakes.

How to Marinate?

This air fryer ribs recipe is best marinated at least 1 hour or overnight. However, we are going to let you in on a little secret. We only let these ribs marinate 15 minutes. Why? Because we like to shoot our food photography in natural light, and we were about to lose sunlight. 

This little test was a very happy accident. These air fryer baby back ribs were still tender with that delightful little chew. Just perfect. If life ever gets in the way and you need to get them in the air fryer without the full time to marinade, you are still good to go.

• First remove the membrane on the back of the ribs. Then cut each rib separately.
• Place the individual ribs in a large bowl and add the egg whites, salt, garlic powder, sugar, rice wine, sesame oil and white pepper and stir well.
• Marinate for one hour or up to overnight covered in the refrigerator.

Fried Garlic Topping

These Chinese spareribs are finger-licking delicious all on their own.  If you want to kick it up a few notches, be sure to add on this quick and easy topping made with fried garlic, green onion, ginger, and chili. Super easy but so delicious.

This is just the way that they served this dish in Guangzhou, China. All you need to do is add a little oil in the pan. Then, pan fry for just a minute or two or until the herb and spice mixture becomes aromatic. Do not burn the garlic or it will be bitter!

The Chili peppers are completely optional. We used a mild Chinese chili pepper for this recipe. If you like your dishes mild, leave it out. The one item that is not optional is GARLIC! Yes, we used 7 huge garlic cloves on one rack of ribs because that is how we roll.

Cooking Hacks

• Before you start, line the air fryer baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup and place this under the air fryer rack just like we did in our Banana Spring Rolls (Air Fryer Method). We have a Cosori Air Fryer. This may be different for each air fryer brand but ours has three pull out tray options. We place the air fryer basket in the middle tray section and the lined baking tray under that to catch any grease.
• Spray a little oil on the air fryer tray and on the ribs themselves to prevent the ribs from sticking. We used this method of our Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms and it works well to prevent sticking on the tray.
• Preheat the air fryer to 385 degrees F (196 degrees C).
• Place the garlic ribs meat side down first on the tray and air fry for 20 minutes. Then turn over and cook with the bone side up for another 10 minutes.  Baby back ribs have quite the curve on them. Therefore, you must be patient. Stack them next to each other to get the bone side bottom of the ribs brown.  The ribs tend to want to fall on their sides. However, that's okay as your goal is to eventually get all sides golden brown.
• Then for another 5 minutes, we cranked the air fryer up to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) and kept turned the ribs on all sides to make sure all sides were golden brown. We were very attentive these last 5 minutes to make sure we did not burn the ribs.
• Technically speaking, ribs are safe to eat once they hit 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) but they would be super tough. Cooking your ribs until they hit about 195 to 203 degrees F (90 to 95 degrees C) will give the ribs a chance to let the fat render and the muscle fibers to relax for a tender bite.
• Every air fry device cooks a little differently. If you know your air fryer cooks extra hot start out at preheat of 380 degrees F and start checking on your ribs sooner.
• If you are cooking larger spareribs, they are going to need a longer time to cook. So set the timer and keep your eye on them and add additional time as needed.

No Air Fryer? No Problem!

The traditional way to make Suàn xiāng páigǔ in the Guangdong region is to make deep fried ribs. If you decide to deep fry, you need to marinate your ribs overnight to make sure they get tender.

You will just need enough mild flavored oil so that your ribs can be submerged in the oil in a wok or deep pan. To check the temperature of the oil, place your wooden chopsticks in the oil. If bubbles form, then your oil I ready to deep fry. Carefully fry just a few ribs at a time and cook for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. We will include these directions in the recipe card below.

Alternatively, you can make baby back ribs in the Instant pot. Pressure cook the marinated garlic ribs for 24 minutes on high pressure and then natural release for 10 minutes. To finish off these Chinese pork ribs, set the oven to 385 degrees F (196 degrees) and allow to brown on all sides.

How to Serve?

• When game day is here, all you need are a few napkins and a few cold ones, and you are done.
• Air fryer baby back ribs are also delicious served as part of a dim sum. Try our Air Fryer Spring Rolls or any of our recipes for our Easy Chinese New Year Recipes.
• If you want to serve as a main for a family style dinner, be sure to make a little Hong Kong Fried Rice and try our Spicy Garlic Cucumber Refrigerator Pickles and Stir Fried Romaine Lettuce on the side.

Storage

Really?  Do you think you are going to have leftovers? If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, they can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Delicious Chinese Recipes

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

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Air Fryer Ribs (Chinese Style Garlic Ribs)

Delicious finger-licking Chinese-Style Garlic Ribs (Suàn xiāng páigǔ - 蒜香排骨) are super tender pork, air fryer ribs with the perfect little chew.

Course Appetizers/ Snacks, Mains

Cuisine Chinese

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Marinating Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 874kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• air fryer

Ingredients

Ribs and Marinating

• 1.5 pounds pork ribs
  baby back (排骨)
• 2 egg whites
  beaten (蛋清)
• 2 teaspoon salt (盐)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  dried ground (大蒜粉)
• 2 tablespoon sugar
  or sugar alternative (糖)
• ¼ cup rice wine
  (shao xing wine or a dry sherry) (料酒)
• ½ teaspoon white pepper or to taste
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil or other oil of choice (油)
• oil spray oil air fryer rack lightly to prevent sticking

Fried Garlic Topping

• 1 tablespoon oil to fry the garlic, ginger and green onion
• 2 teaspoons ginger freshly grated (姜) in a pinch you can add just ¼ of a teaspoon of dried ginger powder to the fried garlic and green onion dry topping.
• 7 cloves garlic fresh peeled and minced (大蒜)
• 5 whole green onion finely minced or leek (大葱)
• chili peppers garnish- finely chopped chili peppers to taste - optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Remove the tough membrane fascia from the back of the baby back ribs. (Watch our video to learn how to do this)
• Cut each rib into individual pieces.
• In a large bowl place ribs, beaten egg whites, salt, garlic powder, sugar, white pepper, sesame oil and rice wine.  Mix well and marinate 1 hour to overnight covered in the refrigerator.
• If you were marinating your ribs in the refrigerator, take them out and allow them to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat air fryer to 385 degrees F (196 Degrees C). Spray your air fryer tray with a little oil and the ribs to prevent sticking. (If your air fryer has more than one shelf, line the bottom shelf with parchment paper for easy clean up.)
• Place your marinated Chinese ribs meat side down on the air fryer tray and cook for 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, finely mince ginger, garlic and green onions and set aside.
• In a pan place 1 tablespoon oil and fry ginger, garlic and green onions until just aromatic about 1 minute. Then remove and set aside. (Do not burn garlic as it will turn bitter)
• At the 20 minute mark, turn your ribs over so that the meat side is up. Baby back ribs have that curve so they like to fall on their side. That is okay as the goal is to get them golden brown on all side. Set the timer for another 10 minutes on the air fryer. (Every air fryer cooks a little differently, so keep and eye on your ribs and turn often as needed)
• Increase the temperature to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) on the air fryer. Stand by and keep turning the ribs so they get golden on all sides.

  Technically speaking, ribs are safe to eat once they hit 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) but they would be super tough. Cooking your ribs until they hit about 195 to 203 degrees F (90 to 95 degrees C) will give the ribs a chance to let the fat render and the muscle fibers to relax for a tender bite.
• Remove ribs from the air fryer and place on a plate and top with your fried ginger, garlic and green onion mixture. Garnish with mild chili peppers if desired and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Nutrition facts are based on each person eating approximately ½ rack of ribs for a dinner sized portion. 

• Before you start, line the air fryer baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup and place this under the air fryer rack. We have a Cosori Air Fryer. This may be different for each air fryer brand but ours has three pull out tray options. We place the air fryer basket in the middle tray section and the lined baking tray under that to catch any grease.
• Spray a little oil on the air fryer tray and on the ribs themselves to prevent the ribs from sticking.
• Every air fry device cooks a little differently. If you know your air fryer cooks extra hot start out at preheat of 380 degrees F and start checking on your ribs sooner.
• If you are cooking larger spareribs, they are going to need a longer time to cook. So set the timer and keep your eye on them and add additional time as needed.

Storage

If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, they can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Deep Fry Cooking Method

If you decide to deep fry, you need to marinate your ribs overnight to make sure they get tender.

You will just need enough mild flavored oil so that your ribs can be submerged in the oil in a wok or deep pan. To check the temperature of the oil, place your wooden chopsticks in the oil. If bubbles form, then your oil I ready to deep fry. Carefully fry just a few ribs at a time and cook for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Instant Pot - Oven Method

Pressure cook the marinated garlic ribs for 24 minutes on high pressure and then natural release for 10 minutes. To finish off these Chinese pork ribs, set the oven to 385 degrees F (196 degrees) and allow to brown on all sides.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1½ rack ribs | Calories: 874kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 70g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 28g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 191mg | Sodium: 2572mg | Potassium: 709mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 26IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 3mg

The post Air Fryer Ribs (Chinese Style Garlic Ribs) appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Waste not, want not is our motto! We love savory ham leftovers. They make the most delicious soup. You really do not need that much of the meat; even the left-over ham bones will work fine. The ham adds a delicious smokey flavor to this curried red lentil soup.

Red Lentil and Ham Soup

Are you feeling burnt out from cooking all the time? We totally get that! That is exactly why this curried ham lentil soup is going to be your new go to recipe for those days that you don't feel like cooking a large meal.

This lentil soup recipe is literally a fire-and-forget stove top recipe using staple ingredients like in our 17 Pantry Recipes for Emergency Preparedness. Do you know what is even better? The leftover soup. Really? Once the flavors have a chance to mingle, they are even better the next day.

Do you want to make this soup in the instant pot or slow cooker? No worries, we have you covered and included the directions in the recipe card below. You can pop everything in your slow cooker before you leave for work or school in the morning and come home to a delicious hot meal. If you love the idea of a no fuss meal with lentils and ham, be sure to try our Instant Pot Lentil Ham Stew.

Nourishing Soup

A little warming soup between the change of season is just what you need to nourish your body and it keeps your body fueled. This in between weather with one minute hot and then the next minute cold combined with heavy wind and dampness is hard on your body. Pamper yourself and explore our recipe category for soup, curries and stews for more recipes to keep you cozy and healthy during this transitional time.

Split Red Lentils Compared to Whole Red Lentils

Split red lentils are great ingredient when you want to eat… like YESTERDAY! Actually, because the red lentils are split, they only take about 7-8 minutes for them to cook. At the 7-8-minute mark, the lentils are tender but still hold their shape and great addition to salads or our Middle Eastern Rice and Lentils.

If you cook the split red lentils a little longer in the red lentil and ham soup (around 15 minutes), it makes a creamy, delicious, almost pureed soup. You can get the same creamy effect when the mung beans and sweet potato break down in our protein-packed mung bean soup. If you wish, pulse this soup in the food processor or blender before serving. However, it's delicious just the way it is.  

Lentils usually double in volume once cooked. Therefore, the 1.5 cup raw lentils should yield about 3 cups of creamy cooked red split lentils. This makes the soup rich, creamy and so cozy.

In contrast to the split lentils, "whole" red lentils are not split, and they take about 15-20 minutes to cook to tender. If you want whole red lentils to get creamy then you will have to cook them for at least 30 plus minutes for the same effect.

Ingredients

Split Red Lentils

Lentils make for a super creamy and speedy soup. However, as discussed above, if you want to use whole red lentils you will need to increase your cooking time. If you like you can exchange with black, green or brown lentils, you will also need to increase cooking time.

Basic Sofrito

Made with chopped celery, carrots and onions. Of course, we added garlic too.

Chicken broth

Ours broth was gluten free and low sodium. Homemade broth is fantastic. If you want to make this recipe vegan, exchange with vegetarian broth and hold the ham.

Ham

We used a few slices of leftover Spiced Holiday Glazed Ham. You could even just use the ham bone if that is all you have left. Heck, even Spam ham makes one delicious soup. If you want to make this recipe vegan, exchange the ham with a plant-based meat alternative of choice. However, please note, that most plant-based meat alternatives have gluten and other odd ingredients we are not fond of.

Spices and Herbs

Herbs and spices are an inexpensive and aromatic way to explore the world. Fresh thyme is lovely, but you can also use 1 teaspoon of dried thyme in this Red Lentil and Ham Soup. Bay leaves is an ingredient that really makes lentils extra delicious like in our Baked Tilapia with Caramelized Onion Lentils.

In addition, we added a mild curry powder to give this soup that desired umami. We did not add so much curry powder that it was hot, but just flavorful. You can add as much or as little as you wish to cater to your family and friends. If you don't have mild curry powder but are contemplating buying some. Here are a couple of good recipes to close the deal. Have you ever tried our Cozy chicken Curry Soup, Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Curry or Vegan Curried Rice?

How to Make Easy Red Lentil Soup?

Stove Top Method

Sauté onion, celery and carrot in a large pot with a little olive oil, just until aromatic. Then add garlic, chicken broth and bay leaves to the pot.

Add red lentils, thyme, ham or ham bone, mild curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium heat for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the lentil soup is creamy and delicious.

Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Method

Sauté onion, celery and carrot in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) with a little olive oil, just until aromatic. Then add garlic, chicken broth and bay leaves to the pot.

Add red lentils, thyme, ham or ham bone, mild curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and lock into place. Be sure to put the steam release valve in the closed position. Set the pressure cooker for 10 minutes on high pressure cooker. Allow to naturally release for 10 minutes and then carefully release the steam valve.

Slow cooker Method

Put all of the ingredients for leftover ham and lentil soup into slow cooker. There is no sautéing required. Put the lid on the slow cooker and set on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.

You will be amazed at how easy this red lentil and ham soup comes together. However, your wallet will love you even more as you are being thrifty and can save some serious cash only using a handful of some pantry supplies.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Bean and Lentil Recipes

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Red Lentil and Ham Soup

Red Lentil and Ham Soup is an easy delicious, curried lentil soup that can be on your table in 20 minutes and a perfect solution for that left over holiday ham.

Course Mains

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 bowls

Calories 504kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 4 carrots peeled and chopped
  
• 2 celery sticks
  chopped
• 1 onion
  peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
  peeled and minced
• 8 cups chicken broth
  gluten free and lower sodium
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 1.5 cups red lentils
  split dried. Please wash and pick over for things don't belong
• 1 sprig thyme leaves
  fresh or or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 cup ham chopped or if all you have is the ham bone, just add that.
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
  (or to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Stove Top Directions

• Add olive oil, carrots, celery and onions to a large pot and cook on medium heat until translucent. Add garlic.
• Add chicken broth, bay leaves, red lentils, thyme, ham and/or ham bone, curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium high heat for about 15-20 minutes until the vegetables and lentils are tender. Remove bay leaves and fresh thyme from soup pot.
• Enjoy! (if you wish, you can puree, but perfect just the way it is)

Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Directions

• Sauté onion, celery and carrot in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) with a little olive oil, just until aromatic. Then add garlic, chicken broth and bay leaves to the pot.
• Add red lentils, thyme, ham or ham bone, mild curry powder and salt and pepper to taste.Place the lid on the pressure cooker and lock into place. Be sure to put the steam release valve in the closed position. Set the pressure cooker for 10 minutes on high pressure cooker. Allow to naturally release for 10 minutes and then carefully release the steam valve. Remove bay leaves and fresh thyme from instant pot.

Slow Cooker Directions

• Put all of the ingredients for ham and lentil soup into slow cooker. There is no sautéing required. Put the lid on the slow cooker and set on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove bay leaves and fresh thyme from soup pot.
• Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Try our easy Air Fryer Ham with Cranberry Glaze for an easy holiday ham recipe. 

How to prepare split red lentils for cooking?

There is no need to pre-soak split red lentils. Just rinse lentils with cool clean water to remove any debris. Then, pick over for any lentils that do not look like belong that are dark, etc. and remove.

How long to cook lentil soup in the pressure cooker (instant pot)?

In order to make a creamy split lentil soup, set the pressure cooker on high for 10 minutes, let it naturally release for 10 minutes and then perform the quick release method.

Do you need to cook the red lentils before adding to the soup?

No, you do not need to cook them first. Just add the lentils to the pot with the other soup ingredients and they will get creamy and delicious.

How long can you store lentil soup?

You can store ham and lentil soup for 3 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator or it can be frozen for up to 2 months.

If your soup is too thick, you can add a little extra chicken broth or water to the sip and season as you desire. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 607mg | Potassium: 1418mg | Fiber: 23g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 10252IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 7mg

The post Red Lentil and Ham Soup [Video] appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Time to make the dumplings!

Tender juicy fillings and succulent silky wrappers make these little savory treats the world's best comfort food. One bite of that cozy jiao zi and you are going to be hooked. We bet you can't eat just one. Come and join us today and learn how to make your own Chinese dumplings with easy step by step instructions and video for easy learning.

What makes our jiaozi recipe so different and interesting is that we use the Guangdong dim sum style wrappers for this recipe. This Chinese dumpling, which is also known as "gaau ji" in Cantonese, is made with a thin but tough wrapper that will not break. We have also used this Guangdong style wrapper in our Apple Pie Pot Stickers recipe for a fun Asian fusion spin on an autumn dessert.

Every family has its own preferred method of making Chinese dumplings with their favorite fillings. Of course, jiaozi types and preparation vary widely according to region. We will be discussing some of these regional differences and some simple hacks for making the best Chinese dumpling recipe. 

Why you are going to love Homemade Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子)

• Delicious juicy tender fillings
• Delicate and light dumpling wrappers
• Cozy and warming
• Fun to make with friends
• Can be pan-fried as a pot sticker, boiled or steamed
• You can even add them to a soup or to our Spicy Sichuan Hot Pot.
• Amazing Chinese black vinegar dipping sauce
• Can be served as breakfast, lunch, dinner, dim sum or anything in between
• Must have recipe for the Chinese New Year celebration
• Vegan options available

Homemade Chinese Dumplings Ingredients

Chinese Dumplings typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by crimping. The four basic components for this recipe are…

Types of Jiaozi Wrappers

There are several different types of dumpling wrappers on the market or you can make your own.  We actually prefer the Hong Kong style dumpling wrappers as they are extra thin but sturdy and a little smaller in diameter compared to the traditional Northern or Shanghai style dumpling wrappers.

Using a store-bought wrapper really saves a lot of time. In addition, if you prefer a thinner wrapper buying the pre-made Hong Kong style wrapper is really delicious as it is very difficult to make this extra thin type from scratch.

• Shanghai Style Dumpling Wrappers
• Hong Kong Style Dumpling Wrappers
• Northern China Dumpling Wrappers
• Homemade Dumpling Wrappers - one of our favorite instructions on how to make homemade wrappers is from Healthy Nibbles and Bits.

How to Make a Gluten-Free Jiaozi Recipe

1. Try these gluten-free dumpling wrappers
2. Exchange of Chinese black vinegar of a ratio or 1:1 balsamic to rice vinegar
3. Use tamari instead of soy sauce to stay gluten-free

Jiaozi Fillings

How many dumplings do you think you can eat? We have watched our super skinny friends pack away 12-24 at one sitting. Really!!! The lesson learned here is always make more than you think you need.

You can fill your wrappers with just about anything your little heart desires. However, one of our favorite fillings is a simple pork filling marinated with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, green onions or garlic chives, rice vinegar and white pepper. The longer you let your pork marinate the better tasting your Asian dumplings will be. You can marinate your pork up to 24 hours in advance in the refrigerator.

We have found that you want around 20% - 25% fat and 80% - 75% lean pork mixture for the best Chinese dumpling recipe. If you go any leaner, your dumplings will be dry. No one likes a dry dumpling.

If you want to make a vegan jiaozi, be sure to try our vegetable filling recipe in the recipe card below. The trick to a good vegetable filling is to cut or grate the vegetables super fine and then salt well and allow the vegetables to draw out the water.  After about an hour, squeeze and dry your vegetables really well and then marinate with the rest of the seasonings. If you do not do this step, you will have wet and soggy potstickers and they may burst open up during the cooking process. That is always a bummer.

How to Wrap and Seal a Chinese Dumpling

Have you ever made homemade Chinese dumplings before? The goal is to make sure that the filling stays inside the Chinese dumpling. Any method that works for you is great. However, you do get style points if you make them look artistic. There are about 5 million different ways to wrap a jiaozi. All you need is a little water as the glue, and you are good to go. Another important hack is to keep your Chinese dumpling wrappers either sealed or under a damp tea cloth while making them, so they do not dry out. If your jiaozi wrappers dry out, they will crack and not seal properly.

Please check out our infographic above and video below that show you two different ways to seal a Chinese dumpling. The way we were taught is 3 folds inward on each side. However, the males in the family do this crimp and crunch freestyle method that also works well to seal the dumplings.

1. Take the frozen jiaozi wrappers out of the freezer and let come to room temperature about 10 minutes before time to wrap up dumplings. (Keep jiaozi in package or under damp towel so they do not dry out)
2. Take 1 Jiaozi wrapper from pack and lay flat on your hand.
3. Wet your fingertips with water and run your fingers on the outside of wrapper all the way around (This is to help the wrapper stick so that it stays together during the cooking process)
4. Place about 1 teaspoon of either the pork filling or vegetable filling in the center of wrapper (Less is more in this situation as if too full then jiaozi will not stay sealed)
5.  Fold jiaozi in half like a half moon and crimp.
6. Then start at one side and fold the jiaozi wrapper inwards and towards the center and crimp.
7. Repeat process by staying on the same side and fold the jiaozi wrapper inwards and towards the center and crimp. Repeat 2-3 times on each side. (FYI: there are many ways to secure these little jiaozi. As long as the jiaozi stays together during the cooking process the "HOW" you get it to look and stay together are all personal preferences).  However, you get style points if your dumplings are cute and symmetrical.
8. Set jiaozi aside with a damp towel over if going to use immediately or if freezing dumplings put on a floured baking pan and place in freezer for about an hour until set and then you can transfer to a large sealable baggie and use at another time within the next 2 months.

How to Cook Jiaozi?

Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) are divided into various types, depending on how they are cooked.

Boiled Dumplings are called shuǐjiǎo (水饺) which translates as water dumplings. Boiled dumplings have less fat and are a bit healthier to start out the new year. In addition, the boiled version is the most common ways it is served at home in China. The boiled method is our favorite ways to eat dumplings as it leaves the wrappers soft and silky with a tender filling. More importantly it cuts down on the grease and the cleanup mess in the kitchen. You gotta love that.

Shallow fried dumplings (potstickers) are called Jian Jiao (煎饺) or Guo Tie (锅贴) is a method by which you Fry - Steam - Fry your dumplings. This method is most common in the west. This method leaves one side of the jiaozi crispy and brown and the other side soft and succulent.

Steamed dumplings are called zhēngjiǎo (蒸饺). Steaming is the least common method for cooking Chinese dumplings, but it is also very delicious. It is a method by which you use a steamer basket on top of boiling water to cook the jiaozi. One of our favorite steamed dim sum recipes is Shrimp and Pork Shumai from Silk Road Recipes.

Today we are going to discuss and demonstrate the two most methods for cooking Homemade Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子) boiling and pan-frying.

How to Cook Boiled Jiaozi

1. Boil water in large pot (if you wish to salt your water you can or add a little oil in the water to prevent sticking you can)
2. Carefully drop dumplings in water with slotted spoon (place burner on medium high heat).
3. For fresh dumplings allow the dumplings to come up to a full boil and then add one glass of cold water as this brings down the temperature of the water but still allows them to cook more gently.(Perform this step 2 times for fresh dumplings - allow dumplings to come to full boil and then add one cup of cold water)  
4. For frozen dumplings perform the same procedure but allow the dumpling to come up to a full boil for 3 times and add a cup of cold water after each boil as frozen takes a little longer to cook. (Add one cup of cold water after dumplings come to a full boil. Do this 3 times for frozen dumplings)
5. This is a very important step as if you let the dumpling boil hard for 5 minutes straight without letting the temperature of the water reduce it will cause the wrappers and fillings to separate and you will have broken dumplings. This step or process will take about five minutes and the dumplings will float up to the top when cooked. (Practical Advice by Lynn Li- seasoned guru jiaozi maker)
6. With a slotted spoon take out dumplings and drain and place on plate and serve immediately with dipping sauces as desired. If you allow your dumplings to sit for long periods of time they will stick to the plate. Adding a little of oil to your water you are boiling, helps prevent the dumplings from sticking together.

How to Cook Pan - Fried Pot Stickers (FRY- STEAM - FRY)

1. Add light tasting oil to a frying pan to medium high heat.
2. Add your Homemade Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子) to the pan with the flat side down and the crimp side upright and FRY for about 2 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown.
3. Next add water to cover about ⅓ way up the pot stickers in the pan. Cover and STEAM pot stickers for about 4-5 minutes or until the water evaporates from the pan. If your jiaozi are frozen, this step may take a little longer to cook.
4. Finally, remove lid from pan and FRY one more time for about another minute to crisp up.
5. Enjoy with your dipping sauce

Killer Good Dipping Sauce

The dipping sauce is super simple to make with just 4 ingredients, but you get and explosion of flavor with each bite. If you want to add a little heat, be sure to try a little drizzle of chili oil to the mix.

• Soy Sauce - savory notes
• Chinese Black Vinegar (Chinkiang) has a malty, woody, and smoky flavor that is very unique. If you need to make this recipe gluten-free, you can exchange the Chinkiang vinegar with ratio of 1:1 balsamic vinegar and rice vinegar. It is not perfect but the closest we have found for an exchange.
• Sesame oil
• Garlic - but of course!

How to Store Chinese Dumplings

The best way to store Chinese dumplings is in the freezer BEFORE you cook them. We like to line a baking tray with a little flour or a sheet of waxed paper and place the freshly sealed jiaozi on top. Please make sure that the dumplings are not touching as they will stick together.

Put the entire baking tray leveled and uncovered in the freezer for an hour or 2 or until jiaozi are frozen solid. Then, take the frozen dumplings and place in a freezer bag or freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Make sure you remove all the air out of the bag before placing in the freezer. If your jiaozi get a little hairline crack in them here or there, do not panic. Generally speaking these little hairline cracks will seal during the steaming process.

Do not store prepared uncooked jiaozi in the refrigerator. Otherwise they will get soggy from the marinated filling and they may burst open during the cooking process. It is best to either freeze your jiaozi or cook the jiaozi and heat and eat later.

How to Cook Frozen Chinese Dumplings

Do NOT thaw out the frozen dumplings before cooking. You will cook them from their frozen state. The process of cooking fresh and frozen jiaozi is the exactly the same.  Except, frozen dumplings take a little longer to cook.

For example, when boiling jiaozi, you will allow the FROZEN dumplings to come up to a boil three times before adding cool water, instead of two for fresh dumplings. When pan-frying pot stickers, it may take between 2-4 minutes to fry and 5-8 minutes to steam before frying again. Once again, it is just a little more time, but the method remains the same.

When are Jiaozi eaten?

Jiaozi are eaten all year round and can be eaten at any time of the day. They can constitute one course, starter or side dish, or the main meal. In addition, Homemade Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子) are usually enjoyed as part of the Chinese New Year Celebrations with family and friends.

Did you know that Chinese dumplings are the exact size and shape of the small gold ingots (blocks of gold) that were used for money in ancient China? Therefore, many eat jiaozi to signify bringing wealth and abundance in the new year. (Wish those pictured below were REAL gold but those are only plastic chopstick holders - AKA food photography props).

History of Chinese Dumplings

According to a legend, during the Eastern Han era (AD 25-220), a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor named Zhang Zhongjing introduced dumplings as a way to cure frostbite. Many people were suffering from a febrile epidemic and times were hard. Many did not have food, shelter or a way to stay warm. Zhang Zhongjing noticed that the frostbite was more prominent around his patient's ears.

In attempt to solve this problem, he wrapped warming foods like lamb, black pepper and herbs into a dough wrapper and boiled it in a soup and served each person two dumplings shaped as ears. After serving his dumpling soup to the ill for several days, the frostbite and epidemic was under control. If you want to learn more about Traditional Chinese Medicine and warming and cooling foods, be sure to read our article, Introducing the Five Energies of Food.

Now, jiaozi is enjoyed all times of the year and especially during celebrate Chinese New Year.

Homemade Chinese dumplings is a tasty tradition that is passed on from generation to generation.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Delicious Homemade Chinese Dim Sum Treats

Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao

Braised Orange Anise Lotus Root

Chinese Vegan Radish Cake

Baked Chinese Spring Rolls

Sweet Potato Green Purses

Tofu Veggie Pancakes

Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts

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Homemade Chinese Dumplings- Jiaozi 饺子

Homemade Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子) made two ways as pan-fried pot stickers and boiled little bundles of pork and vegetables, wrapped into a dumpling and dipped into a Chinese black vinegar sauce. 

Course Appetizers/ Snacks

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 48 dumplings

Calories 58kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• baking sheet
• pot or frying pan

Ingredients

• 48 dumpling wrappers
  (You can find these in the freezer section of asian store or fresh in the wet markets - round small wrapper)- In Japan these are called Gyoza wrappers and these can be used if you cannot find Jiaozi wrappers but they are a little thinner.
• water to seal the dumplings

Pork filling (or Pork and Shrimp)

• 1 pound ground pork
  (or ½ pound ground pork and ½ pound raw finely chopped shrimp)
• ½ cup green onions
  minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger
  freshly grated
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
  or to taste
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• salt to taste

Vegetable Filling (optional)

• ½ cup celery
  finely chopped
• ½ cup Carrot
  finely chopped
• ½ cup Chinese Napa Cabbage finely chopped
• ½ cup tofu firm finely chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons green onions finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• salt to taste

Dipping Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Chinese Black Vinegar also known as Chinkiang vinegar
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Fillings

• Plain Pork or Pork and Shrimp Filling: In a medium bowl combine ingredients for pork filling (ground pork or ground pork and finely minced shrimp), scallions, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, white pepper, and salt) and set in refrigerator for at least one hour so that flavors have a chance to mingle. We like to make dumplings with ½ pound ground pork and ½ pound raw finely minced shrimp.
• If you would like to make the vegetable dumplings mix the celery, carrots, cabbage, tofu, garlic, ginger, scallions, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, white pepper and salt together and set in refrigerator for at least one hour so that flavors have a chance to mingle.
• Take the frozen jiaozi wrappers out of the freezer and let come to room temperature about 10 minutes before time to wrap up dumplings. (Keep jiaozi in package or under damp towel so they do not dry out)

Seal and crimp Chinese dumplings

• Take 1 Jiaozi wrapper from pack and lay flat on your hand.
• Wet your finger tips with water and run your fingers on the outside of wrapper all the way around (This is to help the wrapper stick so that it stays together during the cooking process)
• Place about 1 teaspoon of either the pork filling or vegetable filling in the center of wrapper (Less is more in this situation as if too full then jiaozi will not stay sealed)
• Fold jiaozi in half like a half moon and crimp.
• Then start at one side and fold the jiaozi wrapper inwards and towards to center and crimp.
• Repeat process by staying on the same side and fold the jiazi wrapper inwards and towards the center and crimp. Repeat 2-3 times on each side. (FYI: there are many ways to secure these little jiaozi. As long as the jiaozi stays together during the cooking process the "HOW" you get it to look and stay together are all personal preferences)  However you get style points if your dumplings are cute and symmetrical.
• Set jiaozi aside with a damp towel over if going to use immediately or if freezing dumplings put on a floured baking pan and place in freezer for about an hour until set and then you can transfer to a large sealable baggie and use at another time within the next 2-3 months.

Boiled Chinese Dumplings (Shuijiao)

• Boil water in large pot. You may add salt to taste and a little oil to prevent sticking if you wish but not required.
• Carefully drop dumplings in water with slotted spoon (place burner on medium high heat).
• Very important : For fresh dumplings allow the dumplings to come up to a full boil and and then add one glass of cold water as this brings down the temperature of the water but still allows them to cook more gently.(Perform this step 2 times for fresh dumplings - allow dumplings to come to full boil and then add one cup of cold water)  For frozen dumplings perform the same procedure but allow the dumpling to come up to a full boil for 3 times and add a cup of cold water after each boil as frozen takes a little longer to cook. (Add one cup of cold water after dumplings come to a full boil. Do this 3 times for frozen dumplings) This is a very important step as if you let the dumpling boil hard for 5 minutes straight without letting the temperature of the water reduce it will cause the wrappers and fillings to separate and you will have broken dumplings. This step or process will take about five minutes and the dumplings will float up to the top when cooked. (Advice by Lynn- seasoned jiaozi maker)
• With a slotted spoon take out dumplings and drain and place on plate and serve with dipping sauces as desired. Garnish with spring onions

Pan-Fried Pot Stickers (FRY-STEAM-FRY)

• Add 1 tablespoon light tasting oil to a frying pan to medium high heat.
• Add your Homemade Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子)to the pan with the flat side down and the crimp side upright and FRY for about 2 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. If your jiaozi are frozen it may take about 4 minutes to get golden brown on the bottom.
• Next add water to cover about ⅓ way up the pot stickers in the pan. Cover and STEAM pot stickers for about 4-5 minutes or until the water evaporates from the pan. If your jiaozi are frozen, this step may take a little longer to cook, maybe 5-8 minutes.
• Finally, remove lid from pan and FRY one more time for about another minute to crisp up.

Make Dipping Sauce

• Add soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, sesame oil and minced garlic to a small bowl and mix well.
• 吃饱吃好  Eat Eat and Enjoy! Dip your boiled or pan fried homemade Chinese dumplings into the dipping sauce and enjoy!

Video

Notes

This recipe makes about 48 dumplings if you make both the pork and vegetable filling. However, if you decide to make just the pork or the vegetable filling it will make 24 dumplings and you will only need about 24 dumpling wrappers.

Very important reminder if making boiled dumplings

1. For fresh dumplings allow the dumplings to come up to a full boil and and then add one glass of cold water as this brings down the temperature of the water but still allows them to cook more gently.(Perform this step 2 times for fresh dumplings - allow dumplings to come to full boil and then add one cup of cold water)  
2. For frozen dumplings perform the same procedure but allow the dumpling to come up to a full boil for 3 times and add a cup of cold water after each boil as frozen takes a little longer to cook. (Add one cup of cold water after dumplings come to a full boil. Do this 3 times for frozen dumplings)
3. This is a very important step as if you let the dumpling boil hard for 5 minutes straight without letting the temperature of the water reduce it will cause the wrappers and fillings to separate and you will have broken dumplings. This step or process will take about five minutes and the dumplings will float up to the top when cooked. 

How to store Chinese Dumplings

The best way to store Chinese dumplings is in the freezer BEFORE you cook them. We like to line a baking tray with a little flour or a sheet of waxed paper and place the freshly sealed jiaozi on top. Please make sure that the dumplings are not touching as they will stick together.

Put the entire baking tray leveled and uncovered in the freezer for an hour or 2 or until jiaozi are frozen solid. Then, take the frozen dumplings and place in a freezer bag or freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Make sure you remove all the air out of the bag before placing in the freezer. If your jiaozi get a little hairline crack in them here or there, do not panic. Generally speaking these little hairline cracks will seal during the steaming process.

Do not store prepared uncooked jiaozi in the refrigerator. Otherwise they will get soggy from the marinated filling and they may burst open during the cooking process. It is best to either freeze your dumplings or cook the dumplings and heat and eat later.

How to Cook Frozen Chinese Dumplings

Do NOT thaw out the frozen dumplings before cooking. You will cook them from their frozen state. The process of cooking fresh and frozen jiaozi is the exactly the same.  Except, frozen dumplings take a little longer to cook.

For example, when boiling jiaozi, you will allow the FROZEN dumplings to come up to a boil three times before adding cool water, instead of two for fresh dumplings. When pan-frying pot stickers, it may take between 2-4 minutes to fry and 5-8 minutes to steam before frying again. Once again, it is just a little more time, but the method remains the same.

Where can you buy Chinese Dumpling (Jiaozi) Wrappers?

You can find them in the freezer section of Asian markets like H-Mart on Instacart, in the fresh wet market stalls and even at Walmart.

How to Make a Gluten-Free Jiaozi Recipe

• Try these homemade gluten-free dumpling wrappers 
• Exchange of Chinese black vinegar of a ratio or 1:1 balsamic to rice vinegar
• Use tamari instead of soy sauce to stay gluten-free

Nutrition

Serving: 3dumplings | Calories: 58kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 246IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Homemade Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi 饺子) appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

The Other White Meat!

You are going to just love this dish! Our easy Pork Skewers are melt in your mouth tender. Thai Cuisine is a great idea for a summer grilling and chilling entertaining. It is light, bright and is always a crowd pleaser.

The "other white meat" is sometimes overlooked in the grilling scene. However, if you have ever tried our Bacon Wrapped Sausage Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, you know we are on to something delicious.

These Asian pork kabobs are super aromatic from the spices and herbs. Once, you dip a slice into our Thai Basil Dipping sauce, you will be hooked. We can't wait for you to take your first bite.

The Special Marinade

The secret for success in making authentic Thai pork basil recipe is in the marinade. If you marinate pork tenderloin overnight, your skewers will be even more tender and flavorful. The delightful bath of turmeric, ginger, onion, garlic and fish sauce are going to make your taste buds sing.

Did you know that turmeric, ginger, onion and garlic are all warming spices? They pair nicely with the Thai basil and cilantro lime dipping sauce. Marinating your proteins like in our Green Chicken Kabab Recipe tenderizes the meat and infuses flavor. It uses all the lovely fresh herbs and spices of the summer season.

Get Turmeric in your Spice Drawer

If you do not have turmeric in your spice drawer, you need to get that sorted as soon as possible. You are missing out on so many delicious dishes and positive therapeutic effects. According to NIH, Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory, high in antioxidants and lowers your risk of heart disease.

However, our favorite reason for using turmeric is the bright yellow-orange color it gives to curries and our Thai spicy basil pork skewers. We also love the warming turmeric in our Turmeric Vegetable Medley, Easy Moroccan Ground Lamb Stew and our Golden Spiced Noodle Soup.

Cleaning up after a Turmeric Incident

However, there is one small warning when using turmeric. Turmeric can stain clothes, kitchen counters, finger nails and even utensils if you do not clean them right away. We don't normally wear an apron in the kitchen but when we am cooking with turmeric, we do. In addition, we wear disposable gloves whilst we thread the marinated pork on the skewers - unless you like yellow nails.

So how do you get turmeric off the countertop and clothes... bleach is the answer to that one.

Equipment

We used a food processor to make this delicious golden pork marinade. We blended onions, ginger, turmeric, garlic, coconut oil and fish sauce into a marinade. If you do not have a food processor, you can use a mortar and pestle.

Marinating the pork tenderloins overnight, will make turmeric pork basil skewers super tender and flavorful.

Thai Basil Dipping Sauce

Now on to this delightful Thai basil dipping sauce. Thai basil is just a beautiful herb and it has an anise like scent. However, we know this herb is difficult to come by anywhere else, if you live outside of Asia.

Therefore, just swap out Thai basil for just plain ordinary Italian basil. Our dipping sauce is just as beautiful either way. This dipping sauce is very similar to our Prik Nam Pla - The Incredible Thai Table Condiment. The only difference is that we swapped out Thai Basil for cilantro and green onions.

Balancing the Flavors

Thailand flavors always hold the balance of sweet, sour, savory and spicy. The only way you know if you hit the balance correctly, is to taste for yourself. We have really taken interest in really taking the time to be in the moment and practice mindful eating as a way to truly enjoy our food. Try this technique while you are taste testing.

Some people like the sauce more spicy, some more sweet and some more sour or salty. We like ours slightly spicy. However, the boys love it super spicy so we make a mild and a spicy version for the table. If you are new to Thai Cuisine, be sure to check our our Essential Thai Herbs and Spices article.

Recipe Exchanges and Substitutions

You can make the dipping sauce diabetic friendly by exchanging out brown sugar with a sugar alternative. If you need to watch your sodium intake, hold the fish sauce in the turmeric pork basil marinade. Instead, use a little Mrs. Dash or dried chili flakes in the grilling process.

Feel free to swap our the pork with chicken or even mushrooms and vegetables to keep it vegan.

Thai Cuisine Side Dishes

These are some of our favorite side dishes to serve with our kabobs.

• Thai Grilled Watermelon Salad
• Gluten- Free Thai Shrimp Pancakes
• Thai Shrimp Mango Salad
• Thai Pomelo Crab Salad Avocados

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Delicious Recipes with Turmeric

Easy Spiced Golden Milk

Golden Spiced Noodle Soup

Turmeric Vegetable Medley

Roasted Turmeric Spiced Turkey Breast

Easy Moroccan Ground Lamb Stew

Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Curry

Recipe Featured in Low Sugar Living

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

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Thai Pork Basil Skewers

Thai Pork Basil Skewers is a delicious turmeric and ginger spiced pork tenderloin skewers with an amazing Prik Nam Pla sauce that will tantalize your sweet, sour, salty and spicy taste buds.

Course Mains

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Marinate Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 294kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• Blender or mortar and pestle

Ingredients

Marinade

• 1.5 inch turmeric
  knob peeled and sliced (or 1 heaping teaspoon ground dried turmeric)
• 1 inch ginger knob peeled and sliced (or ½ teaspoon ground dried ginger)
  
• ¾ cup onion or 1 small onion chopped (can exchange with shallots, if you like)
  
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and bashed
  
• ¼ cup fish sauce
  
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil
  
• 1.5 pounds pork tenderloin
  cut into slices about ¼ inch thick (or can use other cuts of pork that you wish but may have to marinate longer)
• 10-12 wooden skewers
  soak in water for ½ hour before using

Thai Basil Dipping Sauce (or Prik Nam Pla)

• 1 tablespoon Thai holy basil
  (holy basil) chopped or can use regular basil
• 1 tablespoon cilantro
  (coriander) chopped
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce
  
• 2 teaspoon sugar or sugar alternative - (brown sugar or sugar alternative if diabetic)
  
• 4 tablespoon lime juice
  
• 1 clove garlic
  peeled and minced
• chili to taste (fresh Thai bird chilis pack their punch in heat)

Garnishes

• limes optional
• chili optional
• green onions or cilantro optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Marinate the pork: In a food processor, add turmeric, ginger, onion, garlic, fish sauce and coconut oil. Blend well. (If you do not have a food processor you can do this in a mortar and pestle or just chop up finely instead) In a sealable baggie or sealed container add your sliced pork tenderloins pieces and add the turmeric marinade and mix well, cover and place in the refrigerator for up to overnight or at least one half hour marinade time.
  
• Make Thai Basil Dipping Sauce: In a small bowl add chopped Thai basil (or regular basil), chopped cilantro, fish sauce, brown sugar or sugar alternative, lime juice, garlic and chili to taste. Set Aside or place in refrigerator up to 24 hours in advance.
  
• Soak your wooden skewers for at least ½ hour. Skewer the pork lengthwise like you are using the wooden skewer to sew on the pork. Spread the pork slices flat so they are not overlapping. Depending on the size of your skewer and pork slices, maybe only 2 slices of pork tenderloin per skewer.
  
• Prepare and oil your grill and preheat. Cook your turmeric pork skewers for about 3 minutes on each side until nicely charred and cooked through.
  
• Serve your delicious Turmeric Pork skewers & Thai Basil Dipping Sauce as a delicious healthy meal. Enjoy!
  

Video

Notes

The Thai Basil Dipping Sauce is essentially our delicious Prik Nam Pla sauce but with Thai Basil instead of cilantro. Thai Basil can be hard to come by outside of Asia. Please exchange with regular Italian basil or just make our delicious Prik Nam Pla: The Incredible Thai Table Condiment. 

There is one small warning when using turmeric is it can stains clothes, kitchen counters, finger nails and even utensils if you do not clean them right away.

We don't normally wear an apron in the kitchen but when we are cooking with turmeric, we do. In addition, we use gloves when threading the turmeric pork on the skewers so it does not stain your finger nails. If you wash you hands well right away you will probably be okay, if you prefer not to wear gloves. 

So how do you get turmeric off the countertop and clothes... bleach is the answer to that one. 

Sometimes we use fresh turmeric in the recipe. Dried ground turmeric and ginger work just fine in this recipe too.

We used pork tenderloin for this recipe. However, you can use other cuts of pork as well but you may want to marinate longer or up to overnight. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 1936mg | Potassium: 798mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 26IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Thai Pork Basil Skewers appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Table of Contents

• Are you stuck in a breakfast rut?
• Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls
• Rise and Shine!
• Avocado bean salsa
• How to cook a sunny side up egg?
• Healthier crispier tortilla strips
• More Breakfast and Brunch Ideas

Are you stuck in breakfast rut?

Eating cereal, oatmeal or scrambled eggs every single day, like a broken record? Switch things up. Have a little fun! You need a breakfast overhaul. Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls are a delicious breakfast, brunch or really anytime bowl when you want something a little different for a change.

Variety is the spice of life. Try something new. This may be a hearty cowboy breakfast but it is lightened up and moms like it too. Surprise mom on Mother's Day with this delicious Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowl.

Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls

You are going to love this breakfast because each bite packs on the flavors with loads of fun textures from the creaminess of the avocado to the crunch of the corn to the crispiness of the toasted tortilla strips and don't forget about that drippy sunny side up egg porn. We just love that!

This recipe is a great recipe to use up that homemade pico de gallo or homemade salsa or guacamole you may have made from the day before. We are all about waste not want not and reducing food waste.

Rise and Shine!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Filling your body with the right kinds of fuel in the beginning of the day jump starts your metabolism, keeps your weight in check, and keeps you going strong all day long. Be sure to check out our Breakfast recipe category for more breakfast ideas.

Avocado Bean Salsa

This 10-minute chopped salsa could not be easier. Feel free to add or include whatever you like due to dietary preferences. If you need to watch your carbs or on a diabetic diet, you may wish to hold the corn and the black beans. Maybe you are not big on spice so either reduce or hold the jalapeño. If you happen to have left over salsa, be sure to try it over our Stove Top Chicken Fajitas Sliders or our Chicken Enchiladas with Fire Roasted Poblanos.

If you are on the, "I hate cilantro group" be sure to just hold that. We happen to love cilantro, but we know some people just despise it as they say it tastes like soap or something like this. That just leaves more for us… LOL

• Black beans
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Garlic
• Lime juice
• Jalapeño
• Avocado
• Corn
• Cilantro
• Cumin
• Salt and pepper

How to cook a sunny side up egg?

Now you do not have prepare your eggs sunny side up. Maybe you would prefer them over easy, poached or even scrambled. Eggs, anyway they are prepared are delicious in this recipe. To cook a sunny side up egg, we prefer to use a non-stick pan. You can use either butter or olive oil to grease your pan.

• Get your pan medium hot
• Add a little butter or oil to your pan and allow to melt.
• Crack the egg gently on a flat surface. Don't use the end of the pan or otherwise you will have a drip mess to possibly clean up. Some people like to first break their egg being careful to not poke the yolk in a small bowl first to make sure that everything is okay before transferring to your pan. That is fine too.
• Add your egg carefully into the pan and allow it to fry on low medium heat. Salt and pepper as desired.
• Your egg is done with the whites of the egg are set and not wiggly. You can check by touching the whites gently with your finger. The whites turn from a translucent color to white.
• Remove your fried egg from your pan and place on top of your Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls.

Healthier crispy tortilla strips

Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls is like a deconstructed huevos rancheros recipe.  The salsa on the bottom of the bowl and the crispy tortilla on the top instead. We love texture in our dishes. How about you?

We used a tiny bit of oil in a non-stick pan and cut up gluten-free flour tortillas thinly and gently pan seared for about 10 minutes until crispy. Of course, you can use regular flour tortillas, low carb tortillas, corn tortillas or whatever you like. We are all about using what we have on hand.

Did you know that you can also bake these in the oven too? You sure can. Just preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake for about 20 minutes until crispy and toss halfway through the baking process. We season them with a little chili powder and salt after removed from the pan. These crispy little tortilla make a very fun little crunch.

More Breakfast and Brunch Ideas

• DIY Ultimate Bagel Bar Brunch
• Sautéed Asparagus and Mushrooms with Poached Eggs
• Stovetop Parmesan Leek Frittata
• Healthy Vegan Matcha Pancakes
• Baked Matcha Lemon Glazed Donuts
• Baked Eggs in Toast
• Feta Egg Rollups
• Blackberry Lemon Drop Biscuits

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

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Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls

Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls are a lightened-up but substantial complete cowboy Mexican breakfast with black bean wrangler salsa, bronco-buster turkey sausages, rancher fried eggs and crunchy tortillas.

Course Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine Tex Mex

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 354kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Ingredients

• 15 oz black beans
  canned rinsed and drained
• 4 tomatoes
  chopped
• ½ cup onion
  chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
  minced
• 2 tablespoon lime juice
  
• 1 jalapeno
  or to desired heat level
• 1 avocado
  chopped
• ½ cup corn
  thawed frozen or cooked fresh
• ⅓ cup cilantro
  chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooking spray
• 4 patties turkey sausage
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 flour or corn soft tortillas can use gluten-free or low carb ones too (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder optional
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder optional
• garnishes like cheese, hot sauce, etc. optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Make the Black bean wrangling salsa: In a medium bowl combine black beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic, lime, jalapeños, avocado, corn, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to mix well.  Set aside.
• Cook the turkey sausage patties in a nonstick pan with a little cooking spray for about 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked. Set aside and keep warm
• Slice your soft tortillas into thin strips and cut into thirds. Place 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil into pan and add the tortilla strips. Gently shake your pan every few minutes to make sure that they brown evenly on all sides.  Fry until golden brown. Remove and place on a plate with a napkin. Sprinkle with garlic and chili powder. Set aside. (Alternatively, you may also bake your tortilla strips in a 375 F degree (190 C degree) oven for 20 minutes and stir halfway though to ensure browning on a sides.
• Pan fry eggs. Place oil or butter in non-stick pan and break egg whole into pan being careful not to break the yolk. Let the egg cook for about 30 seconds to a minute or until the white is no longer translucent and when you touch it is firm to touch. My boys do not like runny eggs and prefer them cooked all the way through with the yolks broken. However, I know many people like it when the egg runs over their sausage and then can dip into egg. Cook to your desired effect.
• Assembly: In a medium bowl, place a layer of salsa, add 2-3 sausages on top, then place the fried egg on top, then on the very top garnish with crunchy fried tortillas. As an extra colorful and tasty touch, add grated cheese, chopped cilantro, sour cream or hot sauce splash to garnish.

Notes

If you want to make this recipe low carb, skip the fried tortilla chips on top and remove the black beans and corn from the salsa. 

You can cook your egg any way you like. Scrambled, over easy or sunny side up. We love that drippy egg.

To cook a sunny side up egg, we prefer to use a non-stick pan. You can use either butter or olive oil to grease your pan.

Get your pan medium hot

Add a little butter or oil to your pan and allow to melt.

Crack the egg gently on a flat surface. Don’t use the end of the pan or otherwise you will have a drip mess to possibly clean up. Some people like to first break their egg being careful to not poke the yolk in a small bowl first to make sure that everything is okay before transferring to your pan. That is fine too.

Add your egg carefully into the pan and allow it to fry on low medium heat. Salt and pepper as desired.

Your egg is done with the whites of the egg are set and not wiggly. You can check by touching the whites gently with your finger.

Feel free to use gluten-free or low carb flour or corn tortillas in your recipe. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 164mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 1011mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1463IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 4mg

The post Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

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Garlic Pork and Dry Fried Green Beans

Garlic Pork and Dry Fried Green Beans is a quick dinner with pan seared blistered green beans tossed with a garlicky savory minced pork stir fry.

Course Mains

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 274kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Ingredients

Minced Pork Marinade

• ½ pound pork ground (minced)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon rice wine
  or dry sherry

Dry Fried Green Beans

• 2 tablespoon oil for stir frying
• 1 pound green beans or long beans end removed and chopped into 2 inch segments
• 1 inch ginger
  knob Fresh peeled and grated or ½ teaspoon dried ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
  large, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari sauce for gluten-free
• 1 teaspoon sugar or sugar alternative
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional) but really tasty
• salt and white pepper to taste - optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a medium bowl add your ground (minced) pork, salt, white pepper, cornstarch and Shaoxing wine or sherry and mix. Set aside.
• Heat iron skillet, wok or skillet (without non-stick coating) to medium high heat. Make sure you dry your green beans well first with a paper towel, so they don’t splatter when they hit the oil. Add light flavored oil. Add your prepared cut green beans (or long beans) and dry fry them.  
• Allow the green beans to sear in a single layer and brown for about 1-2 minutes on one side and then toss. Depending on hot your pan is and the age of your green beans dry it may take about 7 to 10 minutes to sear them brown on all sides. If you use long beans that are a little firmer in texture, these may take up to 12 to 15 minutes. Not all your green beans will be dry fried all at the same time. You will need to take out the ones that are browned along the way while the rest continue to sear in your pan.
• Remove your green beans from the pan.
• Add ginger, garlic to the pan. Then, add the pork that has been marinating and fry until browned. Add soy sauce and sugar and toss. Return the dry fried green beans to the pan and drizzle with sesame oil and toss until well combined.
• Serve with rice or cauliflower rice and enjoy.

Video

Notes

We used ground pork for this recipe as this is most traditional. However, this recipe is also delicious with ground (minced) beef, chicken or turkey. Use what you have on hand. We are all about that! 

If you want to make this recipe vegan, exchange the pork with tofu or mushrooms. On the other hand, if you want to keep this recipe low carb, exchange your side of rice with a bowl of cauliflower rice and exchange with a sugar alternative.

Feel free to use long beans or green beans for this Garlic Pork and Dry Fried Green Beans.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 833mg | Potassium: 433mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 782IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Garlic Pork and Dry Fried Green Beans appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine