Spinach and Tofu Soup is such a soothing soup. I truly enjoy this kind of soup.

Also, this is probably the easiest recipe right after miso soup ever. All you need is a few ingredients to make this broth delicious and spicy if you wish.

You all know that I love Gochujang, right? So yes, I mixed that into the broth, but it is completely up to you.

If you have it, yes gochujang will give more flavor and heat, but if you don’t just add a bit of cayenne pepper or leave it nice and smooth as it is.

Also, it is great if you add seaweed instead of the spinach as I did for my miso soup, but spinach worked very well, and I actually like it.

I paired it with steamed rice, which was especially nice with this soup.  It is delicious, and filling, light and satisfying and you could pair it with fish or chicken or nice sandwich on the side to go along.  

Anyhow, I took a little break, but I am back. Sometimes I have this writer block and it is not easy to bounce back.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE TASTY SOUP RECIPES

I love writing about food and where it comes from, and occasionally drop a line or two about my troublemakers.

Staying away from the computer was refreshing I have to say. Not that I do not like visiting blogs, spending time feeding my Pinterest addiction, but actually fresh air and some shopping do the trick most of the time.

Nonetheless, I was missing you all and my friend Google so I decided to come back as soon as I felt better… and also I needed to get out of my daily outfit/uniform “PJ” and get into the working mode.

If you make my Spinach and Tofu Soup pleas etag me on Instagram. @sandraseasycooking using hashtag #sandraseasycooking

Thank you so much in advance!

Yield: 4 SERVINGS

Spinach and Tofu Soup

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delicious and soothing Asian style soup with tofu.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 12-14 oz fresh Spinach or frozen
• 3 Garlic cloves crushed
• 2 Cups Water
• 2 Cups Beef Broth or Vegetable
• Soy Sauce low sodium to taste
• 1/2 Tbs. Gochujang*optional
• 6 oz Organic Firm Tofu or any that you prefer
• 1 tsp. Sesame seed oil
• Garnish: Green onions

Instructions

1. Wash the spinach well, discarding discolored and tough leaves. Shake off excess water and chop them into smaller pieces. If frozen just add it to the broth, it will defrost and cook evenly.
2. In a larger pot, put spinach, crushed garlic, then pouring water and broth; Season it with Soy sauce to taste and about 1/2 Tbs. Of Korean chili paste (gochujang), let it boil for 10 minutes on medium-high. If you are using frozen spinach, let it cook perhaps two minutes longer.
3. Add cubed tofu, stir and let it boil, covered for 5 more minutes; drizzle with sesame oil if you wish.
4. Serve the soup with Rice, and if possible with kimchi.

Notes

This soup does not have to be spicy, you can leave out red hot chili bean paste - gochujang. You may add more Beef broth if you like to have more.

Adjust the Soy sauce to your taste. Instead of Beef broth (store or homemade), you can use Chicken Stock or Vegetable. Softer tofu is usually served in broth/soup/stew, but for this one, I actually like firm tofu.

Be the judge and see which one do you like better! Instead of the Spinach, you may use chopped Kale, but remember that kale leaves are tougher, so you have to let it cook 10-15 minutes longer.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Bibimbab {비빔밥}

This is love recipe. Why Love? Because if you love to cook and willing to saute each vegetable separably than you putting much love into making this meal.

I wish I grow up eating this kind of rice bowls, but I think it’s never too late. Korean cuisine and I just clicked instantly, but hey what not to love, right?!

I know that most of you know about “bibimbap” (bi bim-mixed, bap/bab-rice) but let me say a few more things.

The web is flooded with Bibimbap recipes, but I thought what better way to make very delicious dinner than this veggie and protein packed dish and at the same time present something that is a staple of every Korean household to my family, too.

Bibimbap is an International dish that is listed at #40 on World’s 50 most delicious foods readers’ poll compiled by CNN in 2011, but today my kids will eat something healthy, nutritious and delicious.

The best thing about bibimbap is that you don’t have to keep it “traditionally”, any leftover veggies and meat can be used, and if you are vegetarian than tofu or mushrooms can be substituted for meat.

Most commonly in the Korean households, it’s served in stainless steel bowls, but you may find bibimbap served in dolsot -stone bowls, too.

Bibimbap has several traditional versions, depending what region of S. Korea you are in; with marinated clams, raw yolk on top of bibimbap and cooked against the hot dolsot with sizzling rice, or rice cooked in rich beef broth…

whatever you find in the pot, I am sure that your taste palate will be happy as much as your stomach, oh and the eyes too, because it is colorful and truly feast for the eyes.

But just to add one more thing that the goal in Korean cuisine is to serve a meal with 5 colors (red, yellow, white, black and green), and 5 flavors (hot, sweet, salty, sour and bitter). It is magical cuisine that most of the foodies go crazy over!

With Thanksgiving being over, I am imagining that many of you still have leftovers, so give this recipe a try, and again you do not have to use exact ingredients but Korean Chili Red Bean paste(gochujang) is a must in my opinion and you can find it in Korean or in International markets, so stock up on that because gochujang is amazing.

My ingredient list is quite large but that just tell you how healthy this is. I had many leftover veggies as well as grilled beef, so I just sauteed for less than minute with a drizzle of soy sauce and oil. The recipe was of course success and I got to tell you very delicious, spicy and fulfilling too!

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Korean Mixed Rice Bowl—Bibimbap

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Korean

Keyword rice, bowl, beef, asian, korean, healthy

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Sandra | Sandra’s Easy Cooking

Ingredients

• 1 cup per person Steamed white rice
• Bulgogi recipe below
• 1 Carrot julienned
• 1 cup Bean Sprouts
• 1 cup Spinach
• 5 Shiitake Mushrooms
• 1/2 Cup Kimchi chopped
• 2 Spring Onions
• 1 Cucumber English is similar

Rolled egg omelet:

• 4 eggs
• Dash of Ground Sea Salt
• Oil for greasing the frying pan
• Mix eggs and salt

Garnish:

• 1 Tbs. sesame seeds 1/2 Tbs. Toasted Sesame seeds and 1/2 Tbs. Black Sesame Seeds
• 1 Tbs. Sesame oil
• Dried Seaweed
• Soy sauce to taste
• 1 Tbs. Gochujang paste mix or more per serving.

Gochujang Paste Mix:

• 1 Tbs. Red Chili Bean paste gochujang
• 1 Tbs. Rice vinegar
• 1 Tbs. Soy Sauce low sodium
• 1/2 tsp. Sugar
• 1/2 Tbs. Sesame Oil
• 1/2 Tbs. Toasted Sesame Seeds
• 1 Spring Onions finely chopped

Instructions

Bulgogi (Meat):

1. Bulgogi (bul-fire gogi-meat or grilled marinated meat, you can use ground beef too-30 minute marinate: 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup Sprite or clear sweet soda, 1 tablespoon sugar,1 Asian pear, 1/2 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 2 inches fresh ginger, and sesame oil; seafood, chicken, tofu or even turkey can be substituted for a beef.

Vegetables:

1. Julienne Carrot/s then sauteed for about 30 seconds with sesame oil and 1/2 tsp. Sugar to bring bit more sweetness.
2. Blanch and Drain Bean sprouts, then sauteed in a little sesame oil and seasoned with a splash of soy sauce.
3. Blanch and drain baby Spinach, then sauteed in a little sesame oil and seasoned with a splash of soy sauce. You may use thawed frozen spinach as well, but make sure to squeeze out all the additional moisture before sauteeing.
4. Shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced and sauteed in sesame oil and seasoned with salt. If you are using dry shiitake then soak them for 15 minutes in water; then slice and saute for a minute (or you might use whatever is available to you)
5. Zucchini, julienned and saute for 1 minute in Sesame oil with a bit of salt
6. Cabbage Kimchi, chopped and sauteed for less than minute in sesame oil (or you can use it cold without sauteing)
7. Spring Onions, cut Lengthwise and sauteed with sesame oil and dash of salt for 30 seconds.
8. Cucumber (English is similar), cut the same length as other vegetables, No sauteing. Cucumber gives you a wonderful flavor.

Rolled egg omelet:

1. Break 4 eggs into the bowl and mix it well. Grease the pan and pour it in the hot frying pan half of the egg mixture.
2. Wait until the top is almost dry. Flip and roll. You can put in the middle of omelet dry seaweed before you flip and roll if you desire. Cut into equal strips for bibimbap. Other option you can fry sunny side up egg and add to the bibimbap; one to two eggs per person.

Gochujang Paste Mix:

1. Add Gochujang paste mix, fried egg if you desire, dried seaweed, more sesame seeds, drizzle bit of sesame oil and soy sauce, and mix it all up to code each veggie, rice, and meat with delicious gochujang mix just before eating. Personally, for myself I added about 1/2 cup of kimchi juice and more gochujang, it was that much more delicious but if you don’t like too spicy keep it as it is.

Assemble:

1. Place a cup of rice into the bowl, the start adding each ingredient next to each other. Assembling it so the bowl looks pretty and colorful.
2. Lastly, add gochujang sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil and mix it all up to marry each ingredient, so it is very well mixed and combined before eating.

Recipe Notes

• All veggies that are noted to be sauteed should be sauteed separably, for less than a minute, just to loosen up a bit and bring more color or to add one more layer of flavor. Use sesame seed oil or any oil on hand if you desire, but I think that sesame seed oil gives a very unique flavor.
• Also always season it with a drizzle of soy sauce, or sea salt and pepper. If you are serving to other people, I would recommend putting everything separately on a tray so they can add what they would like in their bibimbap, and how much Red Chili Paste mix they want because some people cannot tolerate spicy food.
• It looks like a lot of sesame oil in the recipe but actually, you are using just a few drops of oil each time when you sauteing vegetables. With any leftover Bibimbap if not mixed together you can make Kimbap (Gim or Kim mean Seaweed and Bap-Rice), which are similar or the same as Japanese Maki(Makizushi or Nori-Maki–rolled seaweed).
• You can use any veggies that you prefer. This is just what my family likes and what I use the most. I love doing seasonal bibimbap bowls, as well as a simple bowl with only a couple of protein and veggies on top, fish bowl, chicken even vegetarian. It is really something that you may personalize to your own liking. 

Today I am posting savory twist on French sweet dessert. Actually, I had older Rachel Ray’s Mag and found the recipe.

I made it my own with slight adoption from her original idea and recipe. It was such a nice dinner to serve it to my family that I already have other ideas on how to change and add perhaps some peppers and mushrooms. I think it would give fantastic taste too. 

The first reaction of my dear hubby and kids was: “what kind of meal is this?” Not very good reaction looking at their faces, but when they tried it everything was eaten very fast, which made me, of course, happy.

Especially when my little one said: ” you are the best chef in the world”..ahem! I am not a chef but I always take his compliments to my heart, wouldn’t you?!

Anyhow, this is very easy, delicious and many of you probably have those ingredients in your fridge and pantry which I will say again you can add whatever you wish and even leftover rotisserie chicken that by the way Rachel R. used in her recipe. 

I will post here her Basic Batter too with some changes, and you can use this batter for fritters, or make something sweet by adding some sugar with blueberries or cherries. 

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Savory Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Clafoutis

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Side Dish

Cuisine American, French

Keyword baking, chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4

Author Sandra | Sandra’s Easy Cooking

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. Oil/I used Olive Oil
• ½ Chicken Breast cubed /or rotisserie chicken
• 3 Scallions green onions, chopped
• 5 Sun-Dried Tomatoes packed in oil; drained and thinly sliced
• 4 Garlic cloves  finely minced
• Sea Salt and Pepper just a sprinkle to taste
• ½ cups  ½-in Baguette cubed
• 1/4 tsp. Dry Basil
• ½ cup Chicken Broth
• 1 ½ cups of Basic Batter recipe Bellow

Basic Batter:

• 3 Large Eggs
• 1/3 tbs. Baking Powder
• 1/4 tbs. Sugar
• 1/4 tbs. Sea Salt
• 1 ½  Tbs. Butter melted
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Cup Flour

Instructions

1. Mix eggs, baking powder, sugar, salt; Add melted butter, milk and Flour and mix until smooth.
2. This is when using raw chicken breast; Wash and cut chicken breast half into cubes, preheat oil in the skillet on the stove. Add chicken and cook until it’s not pink anymore.
3. Add chopped scallions, finely minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (this is a good time to add more ingredients if you desire). Season it with just a little bit of sea salt and pepper to taste; sprinkle about 1/4 tsp. of dried basil on top.
4. Cube the Baguette, stir to soak all the oil and then pour chicken stock. As soon as it boils, pours the basic batter on top of it, pushes all the bread cubes down so it can be soaked in batter and transfer to the preheated oven (375F/190C).
5. Cover it with Alum. foil for the first 15 minutes, take it off and bake 15-20 more minutes or until golden brown and done. If it looks pale but it’s done you can turn on the broiler for less then a minute and let it get a bit golden on top.
6. Take it out of the oven and place that Alum back on the dish until ready to be served.
7. You can serve it with salad on the side.

Recipe Notes

The recipe was calling for 5 TBS. of butter for the basic batter, but 1 ½ Tbs. was just fine for me; Also she was using 1 more TBS. with 1 Tbs. of olive oil for chicken which I omit the butter and just used oil. I think it would be too heavy with all the additional butter and I was right. But if you want to add more you are more then welcome. I added Scallions instead of the yellow onion and added a bit of basil which was not in the original recipe but gave a nice aroma to mine.