A Week of Family-Friendly, Asian-Inspired Dinners from Hip Foodie Mom’s Alice Choi
If your mission is to get a tasty dinner on the table in about 30 minutes or less that also gets rave reviews from the family, it’s time to take a page out of Alice Choi’s playbook. Alice is the voice behind the blog Hip Foodie Mom, member of the recently launched Kitchn Collective, mom to two adorable daughters, and she knows all the tricks for fast and easy weeknight meals the whole family will love. This week Alice is sharing five easy, Asian-inspired dinner recipes.
Alice Choi’s 30-Minute, Asian-Inspired Dinners
My approach to weeknight meals is to keep it fast and simple. Half the time, I’m driving my daughters across town for after-school activities, so meals that can I prepare and put on the dinner table fast are key. Whether it’s a quick one-pan meal that I can make in under 25 minutes, a dinner I can make quickly in my Instant Pot, or one I can prep a day or two in advance, these are my go-to recipes for weeknight dinners. My family and I love Asian food dishes, so I find myself cooking a lot of Asian food.
Monday: Chicken and Shrimp Stir-Fry
I love a good stir-fry recipe because it’s really versatile. Once you have a sauce, you can easily swap ingredients and switch up the proteins and vegetables. On evenings that are super busy, I’ll heat up brown rice from Trader Joe’s and voilà! Dinner is served. Sometimes I’ll even serve the stir-fry with cauliflower rice (but just for my husband and me)! And here’s a quick time-saving tip: Make the stir-fry sauce the night before and pick up some rotisserie chicken on the way home.
Get the recipe: Chicken and Shrimp Stir-Fry
Tuesday: Asian Salmon Rice Bowl
A couple of years ago I was introduced to a Seafood CSF (Community Supported Fishery). I joined, and I haven’t looked back. It means I have sustainably caught Wild Alaskan frozen seafood in my freezer at all times. My kids and I are big salmon-lovers, and this is one of our favorite ways to eat it. I simply leave the frozen salmon in my fridge the night before and it’s thawed and ready to go for dinner the next day.
If you’ve never tried furikake, you will have to try it on this recipe! It’s a Japanese condiment typically sprinkled over or mixed into rice. (You can find it at many Asian grocery stores, get it online, or make your own!) My kids love it on rice, but also on popcorn and with toasted seaweed sheets, called gim.
Get the recipe: Asian Salmon Rice Bowl
Wednesday: Scallion Ginger Cauliflower Fried Rice
Fried rice is a staple in our house. I like to mix it up sometimes and make this cauliflower fried rice. It’s flavorful and quick and perfect for a weeknight dinner. I often serve it with my baked honey soy chicken, if I have the extra time. If not, I’ll heat up some chicken breast and just serve this with roasted vegetables.
Get the recipe: Scallion Ginger Cauliflower Fried Rice
Thursday: Instant Pot Chicken Ramen
It’s no secret that I love my Instant Pot. It’s one of my favorite countertop appliances. I use it for rice and beans, my Asian beef short ribs, and more! The recipe I make nearly every week is my Instant Pot chicken ramen. My youngest daughter, Madeline, loves ramen and if she could eat this every day, she would.
I use bone-in, skin-on chicken breast, which you sear first on sauté mode in your Instant Pot. I believe that the crispy, browned skin and the bone-in chicken helps to develop the flavor in your broth during the pressure-cooking process. We love the Millet & Brown Rice Ramen noodles from Lotus Foods to use for this recipe. You can certainly use instant ramen noodles for this one too!
Get the recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Ramen
Friday: Quick & Easy Vegetable Lo Mein
We usually keep it low-key on Friday nights. We stay in and rent a movie or watch Netflix with the kids. I’m ending this week with my quick and easy vegetable lo mein. This is incredibly easy to make and my family loves it. Like my stir-fry recipe, this one is also super versatile. Add chicken, beef, shrimp, or keep it vegetarian. It’s so good!
Get the recipe: Quick & Easy Vegetable Lo Mein
Alice Choi is a recipe developer, food blogger, Asian food enthusiast, and founder of Hip Foodie Mom, where she shares her love of fresh, local ingredients, and her experiments with new foods. She’s also a member of the Kitchn Collective.
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