Ep 9. Oriental Feast

Rachel Allen's Easy Meals is a cooking show that aims to provide its viewers with hassle-free, time-saving, and healthy recipes that they can easily prepare at home. In season 1 episode 9, titled "Oriental Feast," Rachel takes inspiration from the different flavors of the Orient and shares some of her favorite Asian dishes.

In this episode, Rachel first prepares a delicious and refreshing Japanese salad with a sesame dressing. She uses fresh vegetables like cucumber, red onion, and radishes, along with some sliced steak, to create a colorful and nutritious salad that is perfect for a light lunch or dinner.

Next, Rachel moves on to one of her all-time favorite Asian dishes, Vietnamese pho. She explains that traditional pho requires simmering different cuts of meat and bones for hours to create a flavorful broth. However, Rachel's quicker version of the dish takes only thirty minutes to create, making it a perfect weeknight meal.

After that, Rachel demonstrates how to make a spicy Korean dish called bibimbap. She first cooks some rice and then tops it with sautéed vegetables, thinly sliced beef, and a fried egg. To finish the dish, she adds a spicy and savory Korean sauce called gochujang, which really ties all the flavors together.

Following bibimbap, Rachel prepares another healthy and easy-to-make dish, crispy salmon with Asian greens. In this recipe, she coats salmon fillets in a mixture of breadcrumbs and sesame seeds to create a crispy and flavorful coating. She then serves the salmon over a bed of stir-fried Asian greens, which includes bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, and baby corn.

To round out the meal, Rachel finishes with a dessert typically found in Southeast Asia, mango sticky rice. After cooking the glutinous rice, which gives the dessert its signature sticky texture, she tops it with sweet and juicy mangoes. She then finishes the dish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

Throughout the episode, Rachel shares tips and tricks on how to prepare each dish, as well as some essential Asian ingredients that viewers can easily find at their local grocery stores. She also emphasizes the importance of using fresh and healthy ingredients, which is a recurring theme in all of her recipes.

Overall, Rachel Allen's Easy Meals season 1 episode 9, "Oriental Feast," is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to explore the diverse and delicious flavors of Asia. Rachel's recipes are easy to follow and implement, making them ideal for busy individuals who are short on time but still want to enjoy healthy and flavorful meals.