Are you looking for new quick and easy lunch ideas? How about trying some Asian options? These days there are a number of frozen Asian prepared foods you can readily buy at your supermarkets or grocery delivery services that make preparing an Asian lunch not only a snap, but also quick, delicious and nutritious! During this pandemic, I’ve been a fan of the following and my children have been too (especially when they have had to be home for remote learning – the easier the lunch preparation the better!):
Pan-fried Frozen Dumplings
There are many types of frozen dumplings on the market. They include Chinese pork dumplings, Japanese gyoza, Korean mandoo and others. What I love about frozen dumplings is that all you have to do is pan fry them for about 5 minutes and then you’re done! Serve them with soy sauce and you’ve got a lunch meal. My children love it! Check out my prior post on how to perfectly pan fry your frozen dumplings!
Steamed Frozen Dumplings
Asians also like to steam their dumplings and certain types are made just for steaming. These include dim sum’s popular shu mai, har gow, and Shanghai soup dumplings (xiao long bao)! It’s very easy to steam any type of dumpling: Just cut some parchment/baking paper to line a plate and place the frozen dumplings on top. Place the plate in a steamer or on a steamer rack in a pot of boiling water and steam the dumplings until the stuffed ingredients are cooked through (approximately 20-30 minutes)!
Steamed Frozen Buns
Asians also make a variety of steamed buns stuffed with a variety of ingredients. Chinese love BBQ pork buns (aka char siu bao), ground pork buns (bao zi), and just plain buns (mantou). To steam these, you similarly just cut some parchment/baking paper to line a plate and place the buns on top. Place the plate in a steamer or on a steamer rack in a pot of boiling water and steam the buns until heated through!
Quick & Easy Soup Noodles
Another quick an easy lunch option are soup noodles! These days you can easily buy fresh packaged noodles with a soup base included. These are more fresh options than instant dry noodle packages. Fresh ramen and its soup base is one example. You can easily level up the soup noodles by adding an egg and a few pieces fresh vegetables into the hot soup! Vietnamese pho is another example which can also be easily made with dried rice noodles, soup base ingredients and some boiling water. Add slices of raw beef added in and fresh vegetables into the boiling water and you’ve got a great lunch! A popular Chinese option is wonton noodle soup. You can purchase fresh refrigerated egg noodles, put them in boiling chicken broth and add some frozen wontons you bought with a few pieces of Chinese broccoli/bok choy and you’ve got an authentic wonton noodle soup in 15 minutes!
Steamed Sticky Rice Dumplings
Another great lunch option to steam is steamed sticky rice dumplings (aka zongzi)! These rice dumplings are most readily available around the Dragon Boat Festival in May. However, these days you can get them any time of the year from a Chinese/Asian grocery store. You can purchase these fresh, refrigerated, or frozen. To cook them, you just put them in your steamer and steam until all heated through! One sticky rice dumpling is usually a sufficient serving for one person. They are made of sticky rice with various ingredients inside which includes ground pork, egg, mushrooms, pork belly, etc. There are many types available.
All these options are readily available for purchase and only take about 15-20 minutes to prepare! I hope I have inspired some ideas for quick Asian lunches! Happy eating!
