There are plenty of Asian vegetable recipes to choose from and Chinese-style veggies are especially good because they usually feature typical Asian seasonings to give them an authentic taste.
These Chinese vegetable packets mean that you can combine everything in foil packets and grill your vegetables at the same time as the meat, fish or whatever else you are grilling.
Alternatively, you can make these as an appetizer.
Have your guests open the packets with a knife and fork and then lean back because hot steam will escape when they are opened and nobody wants a face full of that.
The vegetables suggested in the recipe are Chinese cabbage, snow peas, scallions and straw mushrooms but you can change those if you want. Zucchini, bell peppers, corn, onion and asparagus are just a few more vegetable examples you can consider.
If you want to use anything denser like potatoes, turnips or carrots, you should boil these in water for 10 minutes before adding them to the rest of the raw vegetables, to ensure all the vegetables are ready at the same time.
So, now to add the flavor. In this recipe the veggies are seasoned with chili, ginger and sesame oil, as well as some sesame seeds which are prized for their crunch and a nice taste. Feel free to raise or lower the amount of chili used and you can omit the sesame seeds if you do not have them because the recipe is almost as good without and besides you already have the sesame flavor from the sesame oil.
These will cook just as well on a gas grill as a charcoal grill but if that smoky barbeque flavor is something you want you can use a fork to prick some holes in the foil packets. This will allow the smoke to get in and add flavor to the vegetables. Another method is to use a basket or wok on the barbecue so the smoke can get to the vegetables even more easily.
That is the whole point of barbecuing anyway, so use whatever you have. Even a cast iron wok can be used over flames, so if you want to get all the benefits of using a barbeque get creative and you can find a way. All you need is a barbecue and you can get all the rest of the stuff later on, like the pots, pans, a wok, grill baskets and more.
Asian Grilled Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 cups Chinese cabbage in ¼ inch pieces
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1 can straw mushrooms drained
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons jalapeño chili
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 scallions sliced in half
Instructions
- Mix the cabbage, snow peas, scallions, and mushrooms together in a bowl.
- Whisk together the chili ginger, oil and salt in another bowl.
- Coat the vegetables with this mixture.
- Place the vegetables in 4 individual 12-inch squares of tinfoil. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the vegetables and fold and seal the packets.
- Grill on the edge of the grill rack, turning often.
- The packets will be ready after about 10 minutes or when the snow peas are tender.
Serve these tasty Chinese vegetables with fish, chicken or meat. If your meat is resting for 10 minutes then you can add the vegetables to the grill as soon as you take the meat off.
As soon as the snow peas are tender that means everything will be, and the meal is ready to dish up.
Enjoy the typical Asian flavors whether you are serving this just as it is or with meat, chicken or fish. These vegetables boost the nutritional value of any meal and offer plenty of delicious flavor too.