All of his adult life, celebrity chef and award-winning television personality Ming Tsai has been teaching people how to cook with his bestselling cookbooks and Food Network and PBS programs. Now with his latest cookbook Simply Ming In Your Kitchen: 80 Recipes to Watch, Learn, Cook & Enjoy (Kyle Books; October 2012), Ming actually comes along with the cookbook. Well not him in person, but the next best thing. Each of the 80 recipes – which can be prepared in 30 minutes or less - comes with a 10-minute video of Ming cooking the dish from start to finish as he shares time-saving tips, techniques, chef's secrets, ingredient information, and even, his plating artistry. A QR code embedded with each recipe unlocks the video along with a free interactive shopping list.
James Beard Award-winning chef Ming Tsai has produced and hosted "Simply Ming" on public television for the past 9 years. Formerly a mainstay on the Food Network as the host of "East Meets West," for which he won an Emmy, he is also the author of Simply Ming One-Pot Meals, Simply Ming, and Blue Ginger (all with Arthur Boehm) and has created food products and cookware under both the Ming East-West and Blue Ginger labels. He and his wife live in Massachusetts with their two sons. Visit him online at www.ming.com.
Here is one recipe that was shared with Macaroni Kid EATS! from the new cookbook.
Recipe: Quinoa and Tomato SoupHere is one recipe that was shared with Macaroni Kid EATS! from the new cookbook.
Serves 8
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch rounds
4 ribs celery, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
Two 28-ounce cans whole plum tomatoes
2 quarts fresh chicken stock or low-sodium bought
¼ cup wheat-free tamari
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
Parmesan for garnish
1. Heat a medium stock pot or soup pot over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat the bottom. When the oil is hot, add the onions, ginger, carrots and celery, season with salt and pepper, and sauté, stirring every few minutes, until the vegetables are lightly caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes with their juice. Break them up and add the stock and tamari. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
3. With an immersion blender, or using a regular blender and working in batches, purée the soup. Add the quinoa, bring to a simmer, and cook until the quinoa is just tender, about 12 minutes.
4. Transfer the soup to individual soup bowls, grate Parmesan over each, and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Add a few grinds of pepper and serve.
© Simply Ming in Your Kitchen: 80 Recipes to Watch, Learn, Cook & Enjoy by Ming Tsai with Arthur Boehm, Kyle Books, 2012, and the photographs © Bill Bettencourt.
