Healthy Asian Recipes

Broccoli gets a whirl in your food processor, with rice-like results, in this healthy dinner recipe. Serve with hot sauce and limes for an extra kick.

This tofu recipe is inspired by chawanmushi, a Japanese custard that is very soft and delicate, made with lots of liquid, which flows out of the custard as you eat it. Incorporating soft tofu with the eggs makes the custard firmer and more substantial. Besides shrimp, this custard could be made with scallops, cooked lobster, crab or cooked fish. Serve as a first course or for lunch with a side of vegetables and rice.

Making tofu tastier can be as simple as tossing it in a knockout sauce like this Sichuan-inspired peanut dressing. To make this cucumber salad recipe a meal, add rice noodles and double the dressing. Serve with an extra drizzle of sesame oil and sliced scallions.

The Sichuan province in the southwestern corner of China is known for its fiery dishes. Here, the richness of tahini tempers the spicy chile paste in this cup-of-noodles-style mason jar soup recipe. You can grind the Sichuan peppercorns in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, or crush them with the bottom of a heavy skillet.

Green tea soba noodles, or cha soba, are buckwheat noodles made with powdered green tea, which imparts a subtle grassy note and pretty color. You can find them in Japanese markets or online. Regular buckwheat soba noodles work just as well in this cup-of-noodles-style mason jar noodle soup.

Grating ginger and garlic with a microplane transforms them into a paste that easily mixes into the broth in this cup-of-noodles-inspired mason jar pho. Any cooked protein can be used instead of the chicken--think thinly sliced steak, shrimp or cubed tofu.

In this vegetarian grilling recipe, the hot grill gives tofu smokiness and some crispy edges. A BBQ sauce made with gochujang, the hot Korean chile paste, doubles as both a glaze and some sauce to slather on the tofu at the table. Serve with brown rice or farro.

This healthy bento box idea makes it easy, healthy and affordable to have sushi for lunch as often as you'd like! Skip the rolling and place sushi ingredients like rice, shrimp and avocado in a bento for a packable lunch for work.

Busy week coming up? Cook up these easy poached chicken breasts infused with the flavors of the ubiquitous Vietnamese sauce nuoc cham in your slow cooker on Sunday. Then enjoy the leftover chicken three different ways over the days to come--ladled with the broth over rice noodles, layered with vegetables on a sandwich and mixed with mayo to make a creamy chicken salad.

The sauce for this super-simple Korean fish recipe gets a kick from the spicy chile. Pair with brown rice or thin rice noodles and steamed greens.

According to an old wives' tale, slurping this healthy Korean chicken soup recipe spurs postpartum healing in new mothers. But everyone can enjoy the nourishment of a hot soup. Serve with bowls of brown rice to add to the soup as you wish.

The longer you marinate these Korean sweet-and-savory ribs, the better. Look for flanken-cut short ribs in the meat department or ask your butcher to cut them for you. If you can't find perilla or shiso leaves, try using mint instead.

One taste of this Korean sauce and it'll become a refrigerator staple. Smear on lettuce wraps or serve with any grilled meat.

Skewers are a popular Korean street food. The easy marinade in this healthy chicken recipe adds flavor, fast, to chicken thigh pieces. Serve as a platter for a party or as main dish with brown rice.

Pajeon, a crispy, savory pancake chock-full of healthy vegetables and seafood, is one of the most popular Korean dishes. Serve with a dipping sauce: Combine 1/4 cup reduced-sodium tamari, 1 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar and 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil with a pinch of toasted sesame seeds, gochugaru (see Tips) and sliced scallions.

Japchae noodles, one of the most popular Korean dishes, are a serious crowd-pleaser. Tossed with stir-fried seasonal vegetables, they make a colorful and filling healthy recipe we love. Wild garlic, native to Asia and Europe, is related to chives--look for it in Asian markets.

In this healthy chicken recipe, dried Chinese Lapsang Souchong tea lends a smoky flavor to the meat. Look for it near other teas or in the bulk section. Grind it in a spice grinder before using. Serve with steamed brown rice or rice noodles drizzled with sesame oil.

Goi buoi is a Vietnamese salad typically made with pomelo, a thick-skinned but super-sweet citrus fruit. In this healthy salad recipe, we use grapefruit because it's easier to find. Plus, it lends a tangy, acidic flavor to balance the vegetables.

Make your own cup of instant soup at home with this Korean noodle recipe. Pack several jars at once to take to work for easy lunches throughout the week.

This crispy Japanese chicken recipe comes complete with a creamy warm slaw on the side. Serve with steamed brown rice or buckwheat soba noodles to round out the meal. We like to use chicken cutlets made with dark-meat chicken thighs--they have more than twice the immune-boosting zinc of white-meat chicken breasts.