Orange Glazed Carrots

I made this for lunch today and it was awesome. The flavor reminds me of Orange Chicken from Panda Express, only without all the fat and calories. You definitely want to add 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to balance out the sweetness, then serve over rice. Also instead of sugar snap peas, I used green beans.

Tapioca Pudding from the Slow Cooker

This recipe was inspired by this one from allrecipes.com. I used soy milk and splenda for added flavor, also used quick cooking "minute tapioca" to make it cook faster. You could use Asian pearl tapioca and just double the time. The great thing is that it doesn't need constant stirring! You can eat it warm, or let it cool and thicken even more.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup minute tapioca
3 1/2 cups soymilk, original flavor
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup splenda for baking
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Put all the ingredients into a slow cooker and mix well, set on high and let cook for 1 1/2 hours. Every 20 minutes give it a quick stir.

Lentil Quiche

If you enjoy eating lentils, then you might want to try this lentil quiche with broccoli and tomatoes. It is awesome.

I left out the cheese, still turned out great. I also used 1/2 can of stewed tomatoes and some onion powder instead of onions. Perfect in the summer with a salad, almost reminded me of tortilla espanolas.

Of course, if you don't like lentils, just throw in some Spam or something.

Veg Sausage Muffins

Holy cow. These were good. Rarely do I try a recipe for the first time (complete with substitutions) and just decide it's awesome, but this one was great. It's a nice breakfast muffin for the weekends, very filling and just the perfect balance of flavor. The original recipe is here, I made some changes to make it healthier.

I had made some of my vegetarian meatloaf last night, and baked it in mini muffin tins which made them bake much faster. I used this for the sausage. It was the perfect balance between beans and carbs... very filling without having too much fiber, moist and flavorful.

Vegetarian Sausage Muffins

Makes around 2 dozen mini muffins

Dry ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/3 cup dried oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Wet:

1/4 cup finely grated carrot
1 egg
1/2 cup plain unsweetened yogurt
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce

2/3 cup crumbled vegetarian sausage patties, or imitation meatloaf, veggie burgers etc.

1/4 to 1/2 cup soymilk (add at the end until batter has good consistency, how much you need depends on the dryness of your vegetarian sausage)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients first, then add the wet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they turn light brown.

Basic Cold Soba

Don't be scared of cold noodles. You eat pasta salad, right? Besides, is this not the most beautiful meal ever? It takes less than 10 min to prepare. The Japanese usually serve cold soba with a side of tempura, but I ate it with some grilled asparagus instead. Not only are the noodles easy to digest (making for excellent carb loading before a long run) but they are made out of buckwheat flour... which contains fiber and protein.

This serves 2. Or if you are hungry and a bottomless pit, like me, serves one. Still has just 360 calories so eat the whole damn thing already!

Ingredients:

2 bunches Soba (buckwheat) noodles, dried
Bonito soup flavoring, enough for 1 cup *
2 tbsp green onion, chopped
Wasabi paste
Sesame seeds (optional)
Dried salted seaweed (optional)

Cook the soba noodles as directed in the package, usually for 5 minutes. Do not let them overcook. Drain and immediately rinse with cold water until they are cool. Set on a plate and garnish with sesame seeds and seaweed, if desired.

Mix enough soup base for 1 cup of cold water and add the chopped green onion. If you are using vegetarian soup base in powder form, mix it to 1 cup of hot water and throw in a few ice cubes to cool it down.

Before eating, add a small dime sized amount of wasabi paste on the side of the bowl and mix it well with your chopsticks. Dip the noodles into the soup before eating. And before you think this sounds like an odd dish, I can assure you IT'S DELICIOUS.

*Bonito soup flavoring is sold in Asian markets or in large supermarkets with an asian section. It comes in a bottle, and you usually add about 1-2 tbsp to one cup of water. If you can't find bonito soup flavoring, use another light soup as substitute. I've used vegetarian chicken flavoring and it still tastes great.

Crab Vegetable Casserole with Cornbread Crust

My asian friends love it when I make this casserole dish because it doesn't have cheese. I've made it perhaps a couple dozen times and don't get tired of it, I just tweak it to use whatever vegetables are sitting in the fridge. Sometimes I use imitation crab, sometimes I leave it out. The best seems to be the imitation lobster that they sell at Aldi's, believe it or not. When serving it needs to be garnished with a few drops of Tabasco to really taste good. It has a thick cornbread crust and bakes just beautifully.

Ingredients:

First layer:

3/4 can of light cream of mushroom soup
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove grated garlic
1/2 cup imitation crab, chopped
3/4 package of California Medley vegetables, thawed
1/4 cup green peas, thawed (optional)
2-3 tsp light mayo (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Crust:

1/4 can of light cream of mushroom soup
1 egg
1/2 cup corn flour
1/2 cup bisquick or baking mix
1/4 cup of soy milk
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Tabasco or hot sauce as garnish.

Preheat the oven to 450. Mix all of the bottom layer ingredients and pour into a greased breadpan.

Mix all of the ingredients for the crust except for the bread crumbs, and pour on top of the bottom layer. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the crust and bake for 25 min or until the crust has turned golden brown. After serving garnish with the hot sauce, makes 3-4 servings.

Easy Tofu Burgers

I stopped at the Japanese market on Sunday evening and found this tofu burger mix. I was quite thrilled, the directions say to just add a block of crumbled tofu to the package and fry like patties. I was a bit disappointed when I opened the package, though. It was basically just panko bread crumbs and seasoning, and what's more the tofu burgers were mushy and didn't stick together well.

I decided to make my own version. Not only did this turn out better, but it's cheaper and just as easy. The water is removed from the tofu and eggs are added to give them a better consistency. When I gave one to my 4 year old today she was skeptical, but after eating it she said, "Mama I don't want one more. I want TWO more." so there you go.

Easy Tofu Burgers

Ingredients:

1 package of tofu, firm or extra firm
2 eggs or egg substitute
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp vegetarian chicken flavor
1/2 tsp cilantro
dash of pepper

Directions:

Take the tofu out of the package and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Put a paper towel on a plate, and put the slices onto the towel to drain out the water. Lightly salt the pieces and add two more towels on top. When the paper towels are thoroughly soaked the excess water has been removed. (Note: removing the water from tofu in this way makes it so that it absorbs flavor far better. I do this before adding it to stir fry and all sorts of cooking).

Mash the tofu in a bowl with your hands and add the rest of the ingredients, stir thoroughly. Cover and let it sit in the fridge for at least 45 min. Spray a pan with oil, shape into patties and lightly fry. Make sure your patties are not too large or they will be hard to flip. Garnish with ketchup, mustard and tomato like you would normally do for a hamburger.

Optional: If you'd like a crispier texture, try baking them at 350 for 20 minutes.

Vegetarian Meatloaf

Meatloaf gets a terrible rap. Mostly because it's mystery meat shaped like a loaf. This is a vegetarian version made from lentils, and it's a very good dish if you are tired of veggie burgers. The texture is surprisingly a lot like hamburger, just without the greasiness. Original recipe is here, but I found it to be mushy even after I baked it for an additional 10 min. I adapted it to be firmer and added some Indian spices.

Vegetarian Meatloaf

3/4 cup lentils, dry
1/2 cup barley, dry
1 tsp vegetarian chicken or veg soup flavor
1 tsp salt

1 tsp Garam Masala (opt)
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 slices bread, broken into small pieces
1/4 cup mozarella cheese (opt)
2 eggs
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tbp soysauce

Cook the lentils and barley with soup seasoning and salt with 3 cups of water for 15-20 min, or until fully cooked. Add small amounts of water as needed, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. After cooking most of the water should be absorbed. Put the cooked lentils and barley in a food processor and mix until fully mashed.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bake at 350 for one hour in a greased breadpan. Garnish with ketchup and horseradish, if desired.

Don't Be Afraid of the Asian Market

I have a lot of non-Asian American friends who ask me how I make something, and when i tell them the ingredient came from an Asian food store they will reply with "I don't know how to shop there."

Sometimes they will venture in the store. They will do one of two things- head to the snack aisle where you can buy chips and cookies in interesting shapes, or buy overpriced exotic ingredients they will have no idea how to prepare. If the latter occurs, perhaps they asked a shopkeeper what to buy (remember they are salespeople and want you to spend money).

Since I live in the Chicago area, the Asian markets are huge and well priced. In more suburban areas you might need to head to a college town, which can be scary since you are sometimes the only one in the store with the owner watching you curiously. No one wants to look like they don't know what they are doing, so this is a basic guide to give you some good ideas of what to look for.

Of course, you can always buy "Asian" foods at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, but they are not authentic and the prices are crazy.

WHAT TO BUY


1. Ramen: The Japanese and Korean brands are excellent. To reduce the oil, boil the noodles until they are halfway done, empty the water and pour about 1.5 cups water with favor packet to finish cooking.


2. Fresh Noodles: Go to the refrigerated section, and you will find noodles that are made fresh. They taste chewy and are 1000 times better than dry, most of the packages will have instructions in English for cooking. Some good ones to try are Yaki Soba, Udon, Soba, and Kal Guk Soo. If there is no favor packet included, you can cook them by just making a basic soup broth with vegetables. Many go bad quickly, so if you don't cook it within a week stick it in the freezer (unless it's udon or yaki soba. The Japanese have instant noodles which last forever.)
Not only do they taste better, most seem to be lower in calories compared to their dry counterparts. This is probably because they contain more water.

3. Asian Brand Tofu: Obvious choice. The firm has less calories than extra firm, and sometimes the tofu will be made right in the store.

4. Japanese Curry: This is an interesting product. It tastes sweeter than Indian curry, and will come in blocks which melt like chocolate as you are cooking. Add it to a stew of vegetables and potatoes and you've got a very good meal. They come in mild to flaming hot, most have cooking instructions in English.

5. Produce: They oftentimes will carry fruits which are not easily found in the American markets. If you are in a Japanese market they will be priced higher but better quality. This is the time you want to ask someone working at the store for help, they'll be able to tell you what just came in and tastes best. Persimmons, tangerines, and Asian pears are all good choices.

6. Rice: Buy a small bag of both brown and white rice, mix them together to cook.

7. Dumplings: These are usually in the frozen food section. Most Americans know them as wontons, and the Korean version is Mandu. It isn't hard to find the vegetarian ones these days. You can lightly fry them after thawing, or put them in a soup like you would for the refrigerated noodles.

8. Fresh fish: If you eat it, this is where to buy it. If it's a larger market they will have shrimp or other seafood that hasn't been frozen and needs to be cooked within one day. Canned dark tuna is also a lot tastier here.

9. Other items such as soup base, miso and spices are great. But do your research. Make sure you have a recipe in mind before buying so it doesn't go to waste. If something looks interesting, write it down and look it up later on the net.

Pumpkin Cornbread

The Asians are huge fans of cornbread.

The problem with trying to make cornbread is as soon as I removed the butter and oil from the recipe it would taste awful. That's until I made this pumpkin version, which I've done countless times already. It comes out excellent, and I daresay it tastes better than regular cornbread.

I adapted it from Pumpkin Polenta Cake on this site. It's gluten free, sugar free with a low fat content. Lightly sweet and moist, it's almost a desert bread but would go well with a cream of asparagus or broccoli soup. Also because of the pumpkin, the calories are not too high. Enjoy on its own, or with some light butter or jam.

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup splenda for baking
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 can of canned pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup light sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the wet. Mix well and pour into an 8X10 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 50 min, or until fork poked into the center comes out clean.

No white rice

I have a rule in our house. No white rice.

This doesn't mean I don't cook with white rice, I just mix it with something else to make it more nutritious. My daughter eats rice for breakfast, it's easy on her stomach and keeps her going. I just use a mixture of brown rice, barley, carrots, and sometimes beans.

The second picture shows a bag of mixed beans and brown rice I bought at the market the other day. It needs to be soaked for 5 hours, then I just cook it with the regular rice. I chopped the carrot and added a tsp of vegetarian chicken flavor.

I recommend starting with a mixture of:

1 cup white rice
1/4 cup of brown rice, barley, or bean mixture
1/4 cup chopped carrot

Throw it in the rice cooker, use the same percentage of water to the rice as you would normally. As you get used to the flavor you can increase the portion of mixed grains.


I enjoy making a stew out of the brown rice and bean mix. I put it in the slow cooker with vegetable broth, 1/2 can of light cream of celery soup, garlic and hot pepper. I also added some asparagus, carrots, spinach and onion. It was ready to be eaten after a 5 mile trail run on Sunday and was very satisfying.

Kat Po Kee

Ttok po kee is a dish served on the streets in Korea, and it's one of my favorite foods of all time. It cost around $2 to eat, and you would always look for the stalls with swarms of people waiting for the women working there to finish cooking. If they were crowded you knew it was good. It's a dish made with rice cake pasta, fish cake, veggies in a sweet yet spicy sauce. Once I was walking home from work and I was so hungry for it I stopped to eat it during a windstorm from a typhoon. I was almost done when an old man pulled me from the stand. I was annoyed, but a few seconds later a giant metal sign crashed into the stool I had been sitting upon. Risking my life for a good dish of ttappokee was just one of the rewards of living in Korea.

My version is pretty close but I add a lot of vegetables. Some people add 1/2 a package of ramen, but instead I use some Asian pasta such as udon or rice noodles.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Japanese fish cake, sliced *
2/3 cup Ttok (Korean rice cake) **
1/2 cup dry udon or Asian noodles
1 tbs bonito fish soup flavoring (or veg soup base)
2 tbs splenda for baking
2 tsp Korean red pepper paste (gochu jang) ***
1 tbp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2/3 cup vegetables (frozen corn, peas, california medley, or chopped cabbage all work well)
Sesame seeds (optional)

* Japanese fishcake is usually found in the freezer section, using frozen is fine. Sometimes you can find fishcake freshly made. It looks like this, and is called oden in Japanese and odang in Korean. If you are veg you can leave it out or use sliced tempeh.

** Ttok is Korean rice cake pasta, found in the refrigerated section of the market. You want to buy the type that is plain and unsweetened. It comes in long cylindrical or oval shapes. The oval shaped ttok looks like this. If it's brown it's made with unbleached rice powder and is best.

*** I had a friend who made this dish for her children but without red pepper paste since she didn't want to make it spicy. Instead she would use 3-4 tbsp of soy sauce.

Directions:

Spray pan with cooking spray and fry onions and garlic, then add the sliced fishcake and fry for a few minutes. Add water to the dish, around 3 cups. Separate the ricecakes and throw them into the boiling water one by one. Add the vegetables, soup flavor, splenda, and the noodles. Cook until the rice cakes and noodles are soft.

Add additional water if needed, this is not a soup but should have the consistency of stew. Add 1 tsp of red pepper paste. Taste it to see if it's hot enough, if you'd like more heat add the other tsp of red pepper paste. If the dish is too watery, mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch with a small amount of water and slowly pour it into the dish while stirring. Pour into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Carrot Burgers on Rice

To get my daughter to eat a new food can be a very exhausting process.

Anyway, I have made this recipe several times. I have gotten it just about perfect for our tastes. Instead of corn flakes I use 1/2 cup of dry oats, 1/2 cup cornmeal, add an extra egg, some garlic powder, a little extra salt, and instead of the celery I used some fresh dill and cilantro. Sometimes I also add a little bit of tofu or zuchhini. The batter stays good for up to 5 or 6 days, and I especially love them with some horseradish mayo.

When I am making the batter I have Scarlett stand on a chair so she can watch me. She loves raw carrots so I showed her what was going into them. Then we pan fry with spray oil (the best thing is they stick together and cook so nicely!) and I add a small slice of cheese on top. I put it on a bed of rice (Korean style) and draw a face with ketchup.

Baked French Fries

I have a Pakistani friend I grew up with. She recently suggested I try an Indian spice called Garam Masala. I found it in the local supermarket megastore that carried lots of foreign foods. This spice is a blend of pepper, bay leaves, cumin, nutmeg and cinnamon... among others. It's the perfect spice for someone who likes their food to have an interesting flavor without it being flaming hot.

I put it on everything, from vegetables to eggs. I like it so much I even put it on my popcorn once (shouldn't I get some sort of Indo-Pakistani medal for using it this way? Totally addicted). The best use for it seems to be on potatoes, and this is a dish I give to my 4 year old since she loves french fries. I leave the skins on the potato for added nutrition, and serve it with organic ketchup which is made without corn syrup.

Apparently here are lots of masala Indian spices to try, so this needs further research.


Ingredients:

Salt (around 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp)
1 tsp Garam Masala (or use a bit of chili powder, garlic, cumin, etc)
1 tsp seasame seeds (optional)
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
Olive oil (small amount, usually 1 tsp or tbsp is enough)
3 medium sized russet potatoes

Directions:

Cut the potatoes in half, then cut into thin slices (around 1/3" thick). Put into a bowl and add breadcrumbs and then sprinkle with the rest of the spices. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and mix really well.

Spray a couple sheets of aluminum foil with no-stick spray. Lay them out so they do not overlap. In an oven preheated to 400 bake for 40-45 minutes, turning them at least once or twice so they do not burn.

Whole Grain Krispies

Like everything we end up eating, this is a cross between American and Asian food. In Korea they used to sell snacks made out of puffed rice along the roads going out to the country, or in city markets. They were not so sweet and stuck together with a small amount of corn syrup.

This snack was inspired by those foods as well as rice krispie treats. I like this because it's lower in sugar, and convenient for my four year old when we are in the car. I also eat them quite a bit when I am done exercising and need to refuel.

The whole grain puffed rice cereal I bought at Wal-Mart in their organic foods section. It comes in a plastic bag, looks like rice krispies but sightly brown with larger kernels. They also are 60 calories per cup, about 1/2 the calories of regular cereal. For the second cereal I used a Korean whole grain snack mix. If you can find sugar free marshmallows, give yourself some bonus points.

Ingredients:

1 tbp butter
6-10 large marshmallows, cut in half
2-3 tsp honey

1 and 1/2 cups Whole grain puffed rice cereal
1/2 cup of other cereal (I used a Korean whole grain snack, but you can also use grape nuts, chopped cracklin' oat bran, puffed wheat, etc.)
1 tsp seasame seeds
Optional: handful of chopped peanuts, dried blueberries, sunflower seeds, etc.

In a saucepan warm the butter at very low heat. Add the marshmallows and honey and cook until it melts, being careful it doesn't burn. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and spread the mixture on this. Pack it down well with your hands (get them damp so it doesn't stick), trying to get rid of the larger air pockets. Let it sit for 1-2 hours before cutting.

Update: I made this again with corn flakes instead of the rice krispies. Amazing texture! Really crunchy and chewy.

Asian Udon Salad

Asian Udon Salad

I've made this salad quite a few times. It's pretty easy, the only time consuming part is waiting for it to marinate so that you can eat it. :-) I have tried a few other Asian salad recipes and they seem to be either too oily or too bland. This is just the right balance of being light yet filling (thanks to the protein) while still having tons of flavor.

Ingredients:

8 oz of dry uncooked udon, soba, or thin spaghetti (udon was used for the photo)

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Sauce:

3 tbs rice wine vinegar (or any light vinegar)
1 tsp sugar
3 tbs soy sauce
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tsp wasabi paste
Dash of black pepper

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4-5 tbs toasted sesame seeds
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup raw baby spinach
1 cup of one of the following: imitation lobster, crab, cooked shrimp, or a can of drained tuna (lobster used in photo)
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 cucumber, deseeded, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the noodles according to the directions. Drain and rinse in cold water until they are cool.
2. Mix together ingredients for the sauce. Make sure the wasabi paste is well blended.
3. Stir in noodles and rest of ingredients, toss well.
4. Allow to marinate in the fridge for 45 minutes. Add a dash of salt if needed.

Japanese Peanut Salad Dressing

Last fall I bought some very fresh lettuce and tomatoes at the farmer's market after a 13 mile run with friends. Salads can be really boring so tried this salad dressing recipe, it was awesome. I already had all the ingredients- only substitutions were salad vinegar and splenda for sugar. This is great because Japanese salad dressing usually sells for about $5 a bottle!

Orange Mochi Thing

My daughter loves to help me with baking. It's one of her favorite past times.

Anyway this is a combination between a recipe for pumpkin mochi (Japanese sticky rice cake) and Lebanese flourless orange cake. I am not really sure what to call it, but it tastes good.

I like using glutinous rice powder and mixing it with banana, pears and all kinds of blended fruit. The texture always turns out very surprising... very rich without being heavy. It also seems to work well with fruit that is about to spoil, so I use bananas that are turning black or tangerines that have become a darker orange.

This makes around 6-8 pieces.

Ingredients:

1 cup of mochiko (glutinous rice powder, can be found in the Asian section of most supermarkets)
1/4 cup of bisquick
1/2 cup of splenda for baking
1/2 cup of sugar (I use all splenda but it tastes better with half sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons of chopped almonds
1/2 cup of applesauce
4 tangerines (I used small ones, clementines)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup of egg whites or 2 eggs
1/2 cup of soy milk


Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together dry ingredients.

In a large microwave safe bowl, take the 4 tangerines and microwave with halfway full of water for 4 1/2 minutes. Rinse in cold water to let them cool. Do not peel. Cut them into four pieces, carefully look for any seeds and take them out (the seeds will cause this to taste bitter, so this is important! One seed in the mix will ruin the whole recipe).

In a food processor grind the chopped almonds until they have formed a powder, then add the pieces of tangerine (again, do not peel... grind with the skin.) Finally add the soy milk and grind well.

Add this mixture to the dry ingredients, as well as the rest of the wet ingredients (egg, vanilla, applesauce.) Spray a breadpan or small casserole dish (mine was 6" by 10") with Pam, pour in mixture. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until light brown on top. Let cool for 45 minutes before eating.

Substitutions:

If you want to make it gluten free leave out the bisquick. Also tried this with two tangerines and 1 mashed banana, still turned out great. Can substitute an orange if tangerines are not in season, but you might want to use only 1/2 the peel since it's quite a bit thicker. I have used canned fruit successfully also such as pineapple, pears, and peaches.

Banana Bread with Mung Bean Flour

I am fascinated with mung beans.

If you've ever had Asian dessert breads, the sweet white bean filling is made out of them. They can be ground up and made into seafood pancakes, like they do in Korea, or they can be baked with sugar and coconut milk like they do in Viet Nam.

Why are they important? 1/2 cup of mung beans has 25 gm of protein. Most store bought protein bars have around 15 gm of protein, so this is a cheaper way to get your needs... as well as being delicious. Eat a piece of this right after a workout to help your recovery, and it will also curb your appetite the rest of the day.

After experimenting with Banh Dau Xanh (Vietnamese) I decided to use the flavor to make a high protein version of banana bread. You'll find this bread to be very filling despite not having any oil or sugar. Instead of cooking and grinding dry mung beans, I used Korean mung bean flour which has a much better texture. It turned out delicious- not too sweet, slightly crispy on the outside with a soft, moist inside.

If you don't live near an Asian grocery, here is how you can make mung bean flour.

Ingredients:


1 cup Mung Bean Flour (Noktu mil-karu in Korean)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup Splenda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 mashed banana (really ripe and turning black)
1/5 cup water
1/5 cup soy milk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional, I add them sometimes to get my daughter to eat it)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix dry ingredients first, then add the wet. Mix well. If the batter is too stiff, add a tiny bit of extra water. Pour in a greased 8X4 in sprayed with cooking spray
3. Bake for 40 min, or until a chopstick in the center comes out clean and the top is light brown.