20 Minute Asian Style Meal

Sometimes even people who love to cook don’t have the time and there are also those who don’t like to cook.  Either way, by combining some premade items with homemade items, you can have dinner on the table in as little as twenty minutes.  This Asian inspired meal uses premade frozen pot stickers, prepared Kimchi, and oven roasted asparagus to put together a tasty and healthy meal, without the sodium, expense, and MSG, often found with takeout.

While making homemade pot stickers is easy, they are time consuming if you’re in a hurry.  These premade pot stickers found in the frozen food section of wholesale stores and nearly every grocery store, make them convenient to prepare.  Many are made without preservatives, antibiotics, and with a lower sodium content than typical takeout meals.

Kimchi is a Korean style fermented product typically made from cabbage and spices and holds many health benefits.  There is mild, medium, and hot Kimchi and it can be found in almost any grocery store in the refrigerated produce section.  It is very delicious and is often served as a small side dish.  Here’s how to put a quick meal together:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place cleaned and trimmed asparagus on a foil lined baking sheet.  Toss the asparagus with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 15 to 18 minutes.

While asparagus is roasting, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan, and add as many pot stickers as you need usually about six per person.  Place pot stickers flat bottom down in the pan.

Add water according to manufactures instructions; however, it is typically enough to come up about half way on the pot stickers.  Cover and heat on high until the water begins to boil, reduce heat to med/low and cook for 10 minutes making sure it does not run out of water.  After 10 minutes, remove the lid and allow water to evaporate and to crisp up the bottoms of the pot stickers if desired.

Usually, the pot stickers will come with packets of dipping sauce.  Take as many packets as you need and add an equal amount of water in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of sugar or stevia, and 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger and mix well.  I keep ginger root in the freezer and grate it with the skin on whenever I need it, and then place the rest back in the freezer for another time.  It keeps very well frozen.

Place desired amount of Kimchi in small bowls to serve with the pot stickers and asparagus.  The asparagus and the pot stickers should be done around the same time.  place pot stickers and asparagus on each plate and serve with Kimchi and dipping sauce.

There are premade items that are of excellent quality such as the many varieties of pot stickers available on the market.  Kimchi has many health benefits such as helping to promote digestion and boosting immunity to name a few.  Asparagus is nutrient rich and high in vitamin K and antioxidants making this quick meal not only fast, but health as well.  Enjoy and happy eating. 

Prep Time: 10 min                                           Cooking Time: 15-20 min

Difficulty: Easy                                                  Servings 2 – 4

Ingredients:

Frozen pot stickers enough for 2 – 4 servings

2 bunches asparagus

1 jar Kimchi (mild, med, or hot), according to your taste

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root

 1 tablespoon sugar or stevia

4 tablespoons olive oil divided (2 for the pan, and 2 for the asparagus)

Water to mix with dipping sauce (If there is no dipping sauce you can use soy sauce or liquid aminos).