Kimchi Noodles

I'm sure this isn't authentic at all but it was a quick and tasty dish which was very loosely inspired from meet me at mikes kimchi salad.

Kimchi Noodles
serves 4-6 (4 for us because Toby is a massive eater)

1 package of sweet potato noodles
2 cups chopped kimchi
1 Tablespoon lime juice
2 T soy sauce plus splash of soy
2 Packets of Fried Tofu, chopped
1/2 T vinegar
1/2 T sugar
handful of fried onions -the ones you get from asian supermarket in a packet (optional)

Boil water, cook noodles until tender about 8 minutes. Strain noodles.

Stir fry tofu with splash of soy sauce. Add in kimchi, vinegar and sugar and cook for a few more minutes. Mix in tofu/kimchi to noodles and add lime juice and soy sauce. Stir and serve with some fried onions sprinkled on top. I am addicted to fried onions at the moment!

Toby and I was quiet pleased with this dish, and will certainly be making it again. It's a great weeknight dinner and is slightly salty, sour and spicy.

Am still looking for Korean inspired dessert recipes, any suggestions?

I'm sure this isn't authentic at all but it was a quick and tasty dish which was very loosely inspired from meet me at mikes kimchi salad.

Kimchi Noodles
serves 4-6 (4 for us because Toby is a massive eater)

1 package of sweet potato noodles
2 cups chopped kimchi
1 Tablespoon lime juice
2 T soy sauce plus splash of soy
2 Packets of Fried Tofu, chopped
1/2 T vinegar
1/2 T sugar
handful of fried onions -the ones you get from asian supermarket in a packet (optional)

Boil water, cook noodles until tender about 8 minutes. Strain noodles.

Stir fry tofu with splash of soy sauce. Add in kimchi, vinegar and sugar and cook for a few more minutes. Mix in tofu/kimchi to noodles and add lime juice and soy sauce. Stir and serve with some fried onions sprinkled on top. I am addicted to fried onions at the moment!

Toby and I was quiet pleased with this dish, and will certainly be making it again. It's a great weeknight dinner and is slightly salty, sour and spicy.

Am still looking for Korean inspired dessert recipes, any suggestions?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Simon's Vegan Laksa - Vegan MOFO Day 28

We came across this vegan Laksa recipe from the The Cook And The Chef  (You can see the youtube video of the episode here.) and I decided to take on the challenge of making my own Laksa paste! You know, making something form scratch is pretty satisfying sometimes.  

I substituted a few things on the recipe that I couldn't find (I also forgot to grab a lime form the shop and there were none at any supermarkets in Brunswick!!!!).  Instead of using Kaffir lime zest in the paste, I put Kaffir lime leaves in the soup.

Paste
2 teaspoon vegetarian blachan Mighty Mite
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 kaffir lime, zested (I use 3 kaffir lime leaves in the soup instead)
2 stalks lemongrass, finely sliced
1 tablespoon chopped galangal ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric, chopped turmeric powder
2 dried red chillies, deseeded and soaked 2 teaspoon red chillie flakes
30g macadamia nuts
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, roasted and ground powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
3 coriander roots
80ml peanut oil olive oil, 50ml for the paste, 30ml for frying

Soup
½ small bunch coriander leaves
1 packet Hokkien noodles, egg free rice noodles (500g)
1 bunch Vietnamese mint (rau raum)
300ml coconut milk (Chef's Choice)
600ml vegetable stock
2 limes, juiced 1/4 cup lime juice
1 bok choy, cut into ¼ lengthways
1 small  packet fried tofu (Yenson), cut into chunky slices
Thai seasoned soy sauce Chang's GF soy sauce to taste
2 teaspoons crispy shallot
Bean sprouts
3 red chillies, sliced red chillie flakes

Method

Blend all the paste ingredients in a blender until it becomes a smooth paste. This can be frozen, kept in a sealed jar or cooked for laksa soup.

Heat 30ml of oil in a saucepan and add about four tablespoons of the laksa paste. Fry until fragrant. Add coconut milk (and 3 Lime Leaves) and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Add bok choy and tofu and simmer for a few minutes. Season with Thai soy sauce GF soy sauce and lime juice.


Pour hot water over the hokkien noodles Cook rice noodle in a pot. Drain. Place heated noodles in serving bowls. Pour soup over noodles, making sure every bowl gets bok choy and tofu. Garnish with fresh chilli flakes, bean sprouts, coriander, crispy shallots and a little zested kaffir lime.

I reckon it tasted pretty damn good and authentic.  Not too hard to make too.

We came across this vegan Laksa recipe from the The Cook And The Chef  (You can see the youtube video of the episode here.) and I decided to take on the challenge of making my own Laksa paste! You know, making something form scratch is pretty satisfying sometimes.  

I substituted a few things on the recipe that I couldn't find (I also forgot to grab a lime form the shop and there were none at any supermarkets in Brunswick!!!!).  Instead of using Kaffir lime zest in the paste, I put Kaffir lime leaves in the soup.

Paste
2 teaspoon vegetarian blachan Mighty Mite
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 kaffir lime, zested (I use 3 kaffir lime leaves in the soup instead)
2 stalks lemongrass, finely sliced
1 tablespoon chopped galangal ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric, chopped turmeric powder
2 dried red chillies, deseeded and soaked 2 teaspoon red chillie flakes
30g macadamia nuts
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, roasted and ground powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
3 coriander roots
80ml peanut oil olive oil, 50ml for the paste, 30ml for frying

Soup
½ small bunch coriander leaves
1 packet Hokkien noodles, egg free rice noodles (500g)
1 bunch Vietnamese mint (rau raum)
300ml coconut milk (Chef's Choice)
600ml vegetable stock
2 limes, juiced 1/4 cup lime juice
1 bok choy, cut into ¼ lengthways
1 small  packet fried tofu (Yenson), cut into chunky slices
Thai seasoned soy sauce Chang's GF soy sauce to taste
2 teaspoons crispy shallot
Bean sprouts
3 red chillies, sliced red chillie flakes

Method

Blend all the paste ingredients in a blender until it becomes a smooth paste. This can be frozen, kept in a sealed jar or cooked for laksa soup.

Heat 30ml of oil in a saucepan and add about four tablespoons of the laksa paste. Fry until fragrant. Add coconut milk (and 3 Lime Leaves) and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Add bok choy and tofu and simmer for a few minutes. Season with Thai soy sauce GF soy sauce and lime juice.


Pour hot water over the hokkien noodles Cook rice noodle in a pot. Drain. Place heated noodles in serving bowls. Pour soup over noodles, making sure every bowl gets bok choy and tofu. Garnish with fresh chilli flakes, bean sprouts, coriander, crispy shallots and a little zested kaffir lime.

I reckon it tasted pretty damn good and authentic.  Not too hard to make too.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Mee Goreng- That Recipe Seems Familar

This is my second post for that recipe seems familar blog event. This dish was a perfect weeknight dinner and it does features noodles! However, I did make lots of changes to make it gluten free, to add protein and to use what we had in the food co-op. Hope it still qualifies!

Mee Goreng
I kind of combined elements from vegan about town's two posts on mee goreng, both here and here. I've noted the changes below.

ingredients
500g Hokkien noodles  1 packet of 454 grams (16oz) rice noodles (Kong Moon rice sticks)
2 clove garlic (crushed or minced) (we increased this)
3 tomatoes (cut into small wedges) (we increased this)
2 bulbs bok choy (leaves cut in half or thirds, stalks sliced length-ways) 1 bunch of silverbeet
half a cup of bean shoots (tails off)
1 carrot (julienned)
1 potato (steamed and julienned) 2 packets of fried tofu
1 or 2 red chillis (sliced into rounds) 3 tablespoons of dried chillies


Sauce: ( I think I ended up timing this recipe below by about 6)
4 or five shakes of vegetarian oyster sauce tiny bit of hoisin sauce
5 shakes dark soy sauce (used regular gf soy sauce)
a little bit of kejap manis
1 tspish tomato sauce
some chilli sauce
1 tsp sugar

method
Combine together the hoisin, soy sauce, sugar, kejap manis, and tomato sauce, and add a few shakes of chilli sauce.

Soak the noodles in hot water for until soft with rice noodles this took about 15-20 minutes (with hokkien its is much much quicker) then drain and set aside

Heat up the wok, and coat the insides with a thin layer of oil. Throw in the garlic and chilli, and fry for a minute or two. Add the tofu and fry for a few minutes then remove tofu and set aside. Add a teaspoon or three of water to the wok,  throw in the tomatoes and silverbeet and replace the lid. There should not be a lot of water, only enough to keep it steaming!

After a minute or three, throw in the noodles, tofu and the sauce. Put the lid on for a minute and leave to make lots of noises. When you next take off the lid, and try to toss the noodles, they should have started sticking to the wok, because all the liquid has dried up. This is good, but don't get too complacent! Alternate between tearing the noodles up off the wok, and leaving to burn, for about another two or three minutes.

Serve hot.

Excuse the ugly photo, I was starving and just wanted to eat it immediately:

We eat a lot of noodles in this house but this was the first time that we fried them with the lid on. I loved this but I really think that rice noodles doesn't work as well so I recommend going with the hokkien if you can eat wheat instead. I'm not sure which variation in this recipe meant that we needed a lot more sauce, so taste accordingly.

This is my second post for that recipe seems familar blog event. This dish was a perfect weeknight dinner and it does features noodles! However, I did make lots of changes to make it gluten free, to add protein and to use what we had in the food co-op. Hope it still qualifies!

Mee Goreng
I kind of combined elements from vegan about town's two posts on mee goreng, both here and here. I've noted the changes below.

ingredients
500g Hokkien noodles  1 packet of 454 grams (16oz) rice noodles (Kong Moon rice sticks)
2 clove garlic (crushed or minced) (we increased this)
3 tomatoes (cut into small wedges) (we increased this)
2 bulbs bok choy (leaves cut in half or thirds, stalks sliced length-ways) 1 bunch of silverbeet
half a cup of bean shoots (tails off)
1 carrot (julienned)
1 potato (steamed and julienned) 2 packets of fried tofu
1 or 2 red chillis (sliced into rounds) 3 tablespoons of dried chillies


Sauce: ( I think I ended up timing this recipe below by about 6)
4 or five shakes of vegetarian oyster sauce tiny bit of hoisin sauce
5 shakes dark soy sauce (used regular gf soy sauce)
a little bit of kejap manis
1 tspish tomato sauce
some chilli sauce
1 tsp sugar

method
Combine together the hoisin, soy sauce, sugar, kejap manis, and tomato sauce, and add a few shakes of chilli sauce.

Soak the noodles in hot water for until soft with rice noodles this took about 15-20 minutes (with hokkien its is much much quicker) then drain and set aside

Heat up the wok, and coat the insides with a thin layer of oil. Throw in the garlic and chilli, and fry for a minute or two. Add the tofu and fry for a few minutes then remove tofu and set aside. Add a teaspoon or three of water to the wok,  throw in the tomatoes and silverbeet and replace the lid. There should not be a lot of water, only enough to keep it steaming!

After a minute or three, throw in the noodles, tofu and the sauce. Put the lid on for a minute and leave to make lots of noises. When you next take off the lid, and try to toss the noodles, they should have started sticking to the wok, because all the liquid has dried up. This is good, but don't get too complacent! Alternate between tearing the noodles up off the wok, and leaving to burn, for about another two or three minutes.

Serve hot.

Excuse the ugly photo, I was starving and just wanted to eat it immediately:

We eat a lot of noodles in this house but this was the first time that we fried them with the lid on. I loved this but I really think that rice noodles doesn't work as well so I recommend going with the hokkien if you can eat wheat instead. I'm not sure which variation in this recipe meant that we needed a lot more sauce, so taste accordingly.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Toby's Singapore Noodles

Singapore style noodles are not from Singapore but are actually from Hong Kong. Toby has been playing around with this recipe for a while and this is our favourite version so far and is my latest savoury obsession. I would have it every night if I could but Toby is being the voice of reason and reminded me that with all of the frying it is isn't the healthiest. I love that it's mild enough that we can eat it but spicy enough to have just a little bit of kick. I always add more soy sauce to mine because I love salty food so feel free to play around with it to suit your tastes. We use whatever veggies we have in the food co- op box and generally use greens but didn't have any today.

1.5 tablespoon of sesame seeds, toasted
1 packet of 454 grams (16oz) rice noodles (we use Kong Moon rice sticks)
2 packets of 300 grams fried firm tofu, sliced into strips (we use yensons)

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 
1  medium capscisum, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2-3 tablespoons of curry powder
a pinch to 1/2 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (start with less)
1/4 cup of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
a splash of sesame oil
a splash of G/F soy sauce
tumeric powder (optional for colour)
salt and white pepper to taste

1. Soak rice noodles in enough hot water to cover until they are soft, roughly 20 minutes. 


2. Marinate tofu, carrots and capsicum in splash of sesame oil and soy sauce and with the chilli flakes for at least 10 minutes.


3. Toast sesame seeds in dry pan and put to side.


4. Fry onion until soft in vegetable oil, add curry powder and fry until it is combined and fragrant.


5. Add tofu and vegies to fry pan and fry until vegetables are soft.


6. Drain rice noodles, rinse with cold water and add to pan.


7. Mix well and add stock.Stir and fry until stock is absorbed.


8. Add salt (or soy sauce) and white pepper to taste. Serve with sesame seeds and sesame oil.

Ideally you should cook everything on high in a wok, if you have a small frypan or wok you might want to half this recipe. We have a gigantic frypan but look at how full it is without the noodles:

Serves 4-6. Toby is a big eater so it only serves 4 in our household but could serve 6 regular eaters. We always make enough for 4 so we can have leftovers for lunch the following day.

Chef suggestion: enjoy with pu-erh tea or cola

Enjoy!

Singapore style noodles are not from Singapore but are actually from Hong Kong. Toby has been playing around with this recipe for a while and this is our favourite version so far and is my latest savoury obsession. I would have it every night if I could but Toby is being the voice of reason and reminded me that with all of the frying it is isn't the healthiest. I love that it's mild enough that we can eat it but spicy enough to have just a little bit of kick. I always add more soy sauce to mine because I love salty food so feel free to play around with it to suit your tastes. We use whatever veggies we have in the food co- op box and generally use greens but didn't have any today.

1.5 tablespoon of sesame seeds, toasted
1 packet of 454 grams (16oz) rice noodles (we use Kong Moon rice sticks)
2 packets of 300 grams fried firm tofu, sliced into strips (we use yensons)

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 
1  medium capscisum, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2-3 tablespoons of curry powder
a pinch to 1/2 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (start with less)
1/4 cup of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
a splash of sesame oil
a splash of G/F soy sauce
tumeric powder (optional for colour)
salt and white pepper to taste

1. Soak rice noodles in enough hot water to cover until they are soft, roughly 20 minutes. 


2. Marinate tofu, carrots and capsicum in splash of sesame oil and soy sauce and with the chilli flakes for at least 10 minutes.


3. Toast sesame seeds in dry pan and put to side.


4. Fry onion until soft in vegetable oil, add curry powder and fry until it is combined and fragrant.


5. Add tofu and vegies to fry pan and fry until vegetables are soft.


6. Drain rice noodles, rinse with cold water and add to pan.


7. Mix well and add stock.Stir and fry until stock is absorbed.


8. Add salt (or soy sauce) and white pepper to taste. Serve with sesame seeds and sesame oil.

Ideally you should cook everything on high in a wok, if you have a small frypan or wok you might want to half this recipe. We have a gigantic frypan but look at how full it is without the noodles:

Serves 4-6. Toby is a big eater so it only serves 4 in our household but could serve 6 regular eaters. We always make enough for 4 so we can have leftovers for lunch the following day.

Chef suggestion: enjoy with pu-erh tea or cola

Enjoy!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad

I hate lettuce based salads but am happy to have salads which involve grains, beans etc particularly when the weather reaches 40 degrees.

This salad is appropriately named Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad by 101 cookbooks. It thankfully lives up to the title, it's so easy. We made a few substitutions using smoked tofu and rice noodles instead of soba noodles. Why do soba noodles always seem to contain wheat?  We also didn't use onions or peanuts. We also ended up adding more sauce.

Lazy Day Noodle Salad by 101 Cookbooks

1 8 ounce package soba noodles (use rice noodles to make gf)
1 bunch asparagus spears, ends trimmed then cut into 1/2-inch segments (we used broccoli)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 cup hot water
1 small bunch of spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced (we skipped this)
1/2 cup peanuts (we also skipped this)
12 ounces extra-firm (organic) tofu, cut into small cubes (use smoked tofu)

Big a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the noodles per package instructions.In the last minute or so of cooking toss in the asparagus. Drain noodles and asparagus, run under cold water for about a minute to stop cooking, and set aside.
Make the peanut dressing by combining the peanut butter, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and a big pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Thin with hot water - the amount you'll need depends on the original consistency of your peanut butter. I like it the consistency of a thin (non-Greek) yogurt. Taste and season with a bit more salt if needed.
Gently toss the noodles, asparagus, spring onions, peanuts, and tofu with a big splash of the dressing. Add more dressing a bit at a time, until the salad is dressed to your liking, reserving any extra for another use. Taste, sprinkle with more salt if needed, and enjoy!

I hate lettuce based salads but am happy to have salads which involve grains, beans etc particularly when the weather reaches 40 degrees.

This salad is appropriately named Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad by 101 cookbooks. It thankfully lives up to the title, it's so easy. We made a few substitutions using smoked tofu and rice noodles instead of soba noodles. Why do soba noodles always seem to contain wheat?  We also didn't use onions or peanuts. We also ended up adding more sauce.

Lazy Day Noodle Salad by 101 Cookbooks

1 8 ounce package soba noodles (use rice noodles to make gf)
1 bunch asparagus spears, ends trimmed then cut into 1/2-inch segments (we used broccoli)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 cup hot water
1 small bunch of spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced (we skipped this)
1/2 cup peanuts (we also skipped this)
12 ounces extra-firm (organic) tofu, cut into small cubes (use smoked tofu)

Big a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the noodles per package instructions.In the last minute or so of cooking toss in the asparagus. Drain noodles and asparagus, run under cold water for about a minute to stop cooking, and set aside.
Make the peanut dressing by combining the peanut butter, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and a big pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Thin with hot water - the amount you'll need depends on the original consistency of your peanut butter. I like it the consistency of a thin (non-Greek) yogurt. Taste and season with a bit more salt if needed.
Gently toss the noodles, asparagus, spring onions, peanuts, and tofu with a big splash of the dressing. Add more dressing a bit at a time, until the salad is dressed to your liking, reserving any extra for another use. Taste, sprinkle with more salt if needed, and enjoy!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Sweet Potato Noodles and Alkaline Foods

I've been really sick lately (nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain) and a new doctor suggested that I change my medication. I'm on medication to reduce the amount of acid in my stomach which normally works but lately seemed to have stopped. I told him that I have also been avoiding deep fried foods and the only 'bad' thing I had been eating was chocolate. He reminded me that chocolate is one of the major stomach irritants (along with coffee, fried food etc) and also suggested that I also try to incorporate more alkaline foods and less acidic foods. I spend way too long reading conflicting info about what are alkaline foods before finally consulting with Lidia who introduced me to this site. So you will start to see more recipes listed here centred around alkaline foods like almonds, millet, lots of green vegies etc. It's in line with my 2011 goal to eat healthier as well.

The hard thing is that both rice and corn are considered acidic. Millet is a alkaline food but they didn't have any at my coles and safeway. Toby stumbled across these sweet potato noodles made with 100% sweet potato flour in the asian supermarket which finally solved our dinner issue..

The texture is a little strange, almost jelly like but they work perfectly well in the recipe for Bitter Gourd and Tofu Stir Fry (we used broccoli and other green vegies instead of bitter gourd) from the Asian Vegan Kitchen. The recipe is not worth repeating since it's a simple stir fry which mostly consists or soy sauce and ginger.

I've been really sick lately (nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain) and a new doctor suggested that I change my medication. I'm on medication to reduce the amount of acid in my stomach which normally works but lately seemed to have stopped. I told him that I have also been avoiding deep fried foods and the only 'bad' thing I had been eating was chocolate. He reminded me that chocolate is one of the major stomach irritants (along with coffee, fried food etc) and also suggested that I also try to incorporate more alkaline foods and less acidic foods. I spend way too long reading conflicting info about what are alkaline foods before finally consulting with Lidia who introduced me to this site. So you will start to see more recipes listed here centred around alkaline foods like almonds, millet, lots of green vegies etc. It's in line with my 2011 goal to eat healthier as well.

The hard thing is that both rice and corn are considered acidic. Millet is a alkaline food but they didn't have any at my coles and safeway. Toby stumbled across these sweet potato noodles made with 100% sweet potato flour in the asian supermarket which finally solved our dinner issue..

The texture is a little strange, almost jelly like but they work perfectly well in the recipe for Bitter Gourd and Tofu Stir Fry (we used broccoli and other green vegies instead of bitter gourd) from the Asian Vegan Kitchen. The recipe is not worth repeating since it's a simple stir fry which mostly consists or soy sauce and ginger.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chinese Style 'Steak' Sauce with Tofu and Noodles- Vegan Mofo Day 24

Toby made another dish using his Chinese style 'steak' sauce that he veganised and posted about last time, this time though he used tofu instead of tempeh and didn't coat it with flour.

I think it tasted even better with tofu but then I am not really a great fan of tempeh.  Toby disagrees and preferred it with tempeh as it has a more meaty texture and flavour. So go ahead and make both and help us decide which one is better :-)

I'm not sure if it worth posting the recipe but since the last recipe was a bit messy I thought I would try to tidy it up.This dish is gluten free as long as the worcestershire and soy sauce is gluten free.

• 2 packet of firm tofu 
• 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce (ketchup for you Americans)
• 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce (make sure it's vegan)
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of corn flour (mixed with 3 tablespoons of water)
• a few drops of sesame oil
• a few dashes of soy sauce
• salt and pepper
• oil

1. Cut tofu into thin slices.
2. Marinade tofu in soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil.
3. In the mean time fry onions and remove from the pan/wok just before they turn brown. Put aside.
4. Mix tomato sauce and worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tablespoon sugar and rice wine vinegar together in a bowl.
5. Add cooked onions and sauce to the tofu and gently stir fry it on low/medium heat. 
6. Add in corn flour mixture and cook til the sauce thickens.
7. Serve with noodles and stirfried greens.

Toby made another dish using his Chinese style 'steak' sauce that he veganised and posted about last time, this time though he used tofu instead of tempeh and didn't coat it with flour.

I think it tasted even better with tofu but then I am not really a great fan of tempeh.  Toby disagrees and preferred it with tempeh as it has a more meaty texture and flavour. So go ahead and make both and help us decide which one is better :-)

I'm not sure if it worth posting the recipe but since the last recipe was a bit messy I thought I would try to tidy it up.This dish is gluten free as long as the worcestershire and soy sauce is gluten free.

• 2 packet of firm tofu 
• 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce (ketchup for you Americans)
• 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce (make sure it's vegan)
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of corn flour (mixed with 3 tablespoons of water)
• a few drops of sesame oil
• a few dashes of soy sauce
• salt and pepper
• oil

1. Cut tofu into thin slices.
2. Marinade tofu in soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil.
3. In the mean time fry onions and remove from the pan/wok just before they turn brown. Put aside.
4. Mix tomato sauce and worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tablespoon sugar and rice wine vinegar together in a bowl.
5. Add cooked onions and sauce to the tofu and gently stir fry it on low/medium heat. 
6. Add in corn flour mixture and cook til the sauce thickens.
7. Serve with noodles and stirfried greens.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Thai Noodles with "Hotdogs:- Vegan Mofo Day 13

Despite the name of this blog, I noticed we rarely tend to blog noodles dishes, possibly because we have them so often that we don't think they are blog worthy.

A few of you may have noticed recently on facebook that I commented that "best dinner made by best husband, made me forget i'm sick" well this is what I was referring to: Thai stir fried noodles from Asian Vegan Kitchen. It was actually a convenient thing rather than on purpose. We always make enough dinner so that we both have leftovers for lunch and only had 1 container of tofu, so Toby decided to add some leftover frys 'hotdogs'. But this was amazing, slightly greasy in a good way, smokey from the 'hotdogs', salty, sour, mild (we used less cayenne pepper than the recipe asked for). So so so good. The very small downside we ate so much that the size of the leftovers for lunch the following day was a tad on the small size.




To add to the excitement, I was able to use some of garlic chives that I have been growing to the dish.This is super exciting because I have tried to grow herbs on numerous occasions and always managed to kill them but this time I have manged to keep all four that a colleague gave me alive: garlic chives, Vietnamese basil, thyme and basil. The garlic chives are the first one to have grown so much that I had to cut some. Here it is after I gave it a bit of a trim.





I noticed that Steph also posted this dish but didn't seem to enjoy it as much as we did, but we will certainly be making it again.

Despite the name of this blog, I noticed we rarely tend to blog noodles dishes, possibly because we have them so often that we don't think they are blog worthy.

A few of you may have noticed recently on facebook that I commented that "best dinner made by best husband, made me forget i'm sick" well this is what I was referring to: Thai stir fried noodles from Asian Vegan Kitchen. It was actually a convenient thing rather than on purpose. We always make enough dinner so that we both have leftovers for lunch and only had 1 container of tofu, so Toby decided to add some leftover frys 'hotdogs'. But this was amazing, slightly greasy in a good way, smokey from the 'hotdogs', salty, sour, mild (we used less cayenne pepper than the recipe asked for). So so so good. The very small downside we ate so much that the size of the leftovers for lunch the following day was a tad on the small size.




To add to the excitement, I was able to use some of garlic chives that I have been growing to the dish.This is super exciting because I have tried to grow herbs on numerous occasions and always managed to kill them but this time I have manged to keep all four that a colleague gave me alive: garlic chives, Vietnamese basil, thyme and basil. The garlic chives are the first one to have grown so much that I had to cut some. Here it is after I gave it a bit of a trim.





I noticed that Steph also posted this dish but didn't seem to enjoy it as much as we did, but we will certainly be making it again.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Disco Beans Cafe and Art Space

My vegan friend from New Zealand is in town with his Swiss partner and his English/French speaking three-year-old daughter. A good excuse to eat out.

So K and I took them to Disco Beans Cafe and Art Space last night. The brightly coloured Japanese cafe has only been open for a week. It has a large communal table and some small tables. From what I remember, it was a sock shop and performance/gallery space.

The walls are covered with a colourful collage of Japanese and Chinese magazines

Be nice! We are new!

They do "home style Japanese food". You can pick from "Dream Bean Curry" (black bean pumpkin curry), Udon noodles, noodle soup, "Belly Plate", raw vegan strawberry frozen cheese cake (called "Strawberry Fields Forever"!!!) and a mochi sorta thing with aduki bean paste. You can choose the vegan or fishy version for most of their dishes. K was super excited that they could make most things gluten free.


The vegan rice noodle soup (gluten-free) is THE BOMB. I like the combination of black sesame, enoki mushroom, snap peas and seaweed. There are also some sliced tofu sheets, similar to the Inari sushi type, in the noodles. I couldn't pinpoint what is in the Shoyu style broth but it is very tasty and authentic.


The "Belly Plate" consisted of a mixture of rice, millet and quinoa, pan fried tofu with a miso-ish plum sauce, marinated mushrooms and a fresh salad with pickled cabbage.

The non-gluten-free version has a different sauce.

We all wanted to try the "Strawberry Fields Forever" but it was sold out. We decided to save room for CocoLoco and give the other desserts a miss.

Check out their Facebook page and threethousand's review.

Disco Beans
238 High St, Northcote
Open Wed-Sun noon-3pm and 5.30-9.30pm

On my walkman:
Yes I'm a Witch - Yoko Ono VS Cat Power, Jason Pierce, Le Tigre...etc

My vegan friend from New Zealand is in town with his Swiss partner and his English/French speaking three-year-old daughter. A good excuse to eat out.

So K and I took them to Disco Beans Cafe and Art Space last night. The brightly coloured Japanese cafe has only been open for a week. It has a large communal table and some small tables. From what I remember, it was a sock shop and performance/gallery space.

The walls are covered with a colourful collage of Japanese and Chinese magazines

Be nice! We are new!

They do "home style Japanese food". You can pick from "Dream Bean Curry" (black bean pumpkin curry), Udon noodles, noodle soup, "Belly Plate", raw vegan strawberry frozen cheese cake (called "Strawberry Fields Forever"!!!) and a mochi sorta thing with aduki bean paste. You can choose the vegan or fishy version for most of their dishes. K was super excited that they could make most things gluten free.


The vegan rice noodle soup (gluten-free) is THE BOMB. I like the combination of black sesame, enoki mushroom, snap peas and seaweed. There are also some sliced tofu sheets, similar to the Inari sushi type, in the noodles. I couldn't pinpoint what is in the Shoyu style broth but it is very tasty and authentic.


The "Belly Plate" consisted of a mixture of rice, millet and quinoa, pan fried tofu with a miso-ish plum sauce, marinated mushrooms and a fresh salad with pickled cabbage.

The non-gluten-free version has a different sauce.

We all wanted to try the "Strawberry Fields Forever" but it was sold out. We decided to save room for CocoLoco and give the other desserts a miss.

Check out their Facebook page and threethousand's review.

Disco Beans
238 High St, Northcote
Open Wed-Sun noon-3pm and 5.30-9.30pm

On my walkman:
Yes I'm a Witch - Yoko Ono VS Cat Power, Jason Pierce, Le Tigre...etc

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vegweb can be pretty darn good

Lately I've been making dishes that I made when I first went vegan 5-6 years ago and didn't really know how to cook. I used to make this noodle dish regularly and was kind of relieved to see that I still enjoyed it today. It's easy, ohh how I love easy savoury dishes. To make it slightly more interesting I also made tofu bacon. I can't find the recipe on vegweb anymore but basically you fry the hell out of tofu pieces, and then sprinkle some nooch on it, and add a tiny bit of liquid smoke and a fair bit of soy sauce so that it so that it nicely coated.

I also can't find this dish which was titled 'asian broccoli noodles' dish on vegweb. What's up with vegweb lately? Anyway I did find it on another blog:

Ingredients:
2 cups Broccoli, Raw
3/4 cups Onions, Green
2 servings Fresh Garlic
2 tablespoons Fresh Ginger Root
2 tablespoons Omega Natural Peanut Butter
1/4 cups Soy Sauce
1 tablespoons Natural Cane Sugar
3 tablespoons Water
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoons Salt (table)
4 servings Noodles, Japanese, Soba, Dry

Instructions:
Combine garlic, ginger, PB, soy sauce, and sugar. Blend well and add water, lemon juice, and salt.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Heat oil in wok or skillet. Stir-fry broccoli for about 3 minutes. Add noodles and stir until heated.

Add PB mixture to pan and stir until sauce is evenly distributed.

Lately I've been making dishes that I made when I first went vegan 5-6 years ago and didn't really know how to cook. I used to make this noodle dish regularly and was kind of relieved to see that I still enjoyed it today. It's easy, ohh how I love easy savoury dishes. To make it slightly more interesting I also made tofu bacon. I can't find the recipe on vegweb anymore but basically you fry the hell out of tofu pieces, and then sprinkle some nooch on it, and add a tiny bit of liquid smoke and a fair bit of soy sauce so that it so that it nicely coated.

I also can't find this dish which was titled 'asian broccoli noodles' dish on vegweb. What's up with vegweb lately? Anyway I did find it on another blog:

Ingredients:
2 cups Broccoli, Raw
3/4 cups Onions, Green
2 servings Fresh Garlic
2 tablespoons Fresh Ginger Root
2 tablespoons Omega Natural Peanut Butter
1/4 cups Soy Sauce
1 tablespoons Natural Cane Sugar
3 tablespoons Water
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoons Salt (table)
4 servings Noodles, Japanese, Soba, Dry

Instructions:
Combine garlic, ginger, PB, soy sauce, and sugar. Blend well and add water, lemon juice, and salt.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Heat oil in wok or skillet. Stir-fry broccoli for about 3 minutes. Add noodles and stir until heated.

Add PB mixture to pan and stir until sauce is evenly distributed.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Can't be stuffed cooking

I love Lolo's post about low cook or no cook recipes we regularly make her soy-mirin tofu but over rice (or in our case noodles) with peanut sauce. And while I don't have any of my own recipes to contribute I thought it might be a good idea to discuss some of my favourite dishes to make in this crazy heat we have been having. For the most part we try not to cook, because it's hot enough in our non- insulated place without adding any more heat from cooking. So lately we have been eating out or cooking bulk so that it lasts for a few days worth of meal on the slightly cooler days. Anyway on to the dishes that we do often make (sorry there is no pics but my camera is not working): The first two my friend Erin introduced me to and since she doesn't blog about food I don't think she will mind me sharing the recipe love:     Caribbean Sweet Potato Salad

5 servings

1 large russet potato, peeled & quartered 1 large sweet potato, peeled & quartered 1 cup corn kernels 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons lime juice 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 clove minced garlic 3 tablespoons canola oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced into thin half-rounds 1/2 red onion, sliced thin 1/4 cup finely chopped dry-roasted unsalted peanuts Put the russet potato pieces into a large saucepan, and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and cook for 5 minutes at medium. Add the sweet potato pieces and cook an additional 20 minutes. Test each potato to see if cook (slightly firm but not breaking apart). Add corn kernals and cook 30 seconds more. Quickly drain in a colander. Fill the saucepan with cold water (a few ice cubes wouldn't hurt) and return potato/corn mixture to the cold water for 5 minutes (this stops the cooking process on the potatoes). In a large bowl, combine the mustard, lime juice, cilantro and garlic; whisk. Slowly add the oil while whisking; add salt & pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Drain the cooled potato/corn mixture in a colander again. Now cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Add the potatoes, corn, cucumber & onion slices to the vinaigrette. Mix well and serve chilled with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts. The recipe is from here    Sesame Noodle Salad 2 packages 3-minute noodles, broken 1 Tbsp sesame oil 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 Tbsp soy sauce 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 2 oz (57g) fresh snow peas, blanched, cut into thin strips 1 large carrot, coarsely grated 1/2 cup smoked tofu, cut into thin strips 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds 2 green onions, thinly sliced) fresh coriander leaves for garnish Cook noodles; drain and rinse. Toss immediately with 1 Tbsp sesame oil to keep noodles sticking together. Combine vinegar, veg. oil, soy sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small microwaveable bowl. Heat on high, uncovered, for 30 seconds. Or bring to a boil in a small saucepan and cook for 1 minute. Combine vinegar mixture w/ cooked noodles, toss and add onions, snow peas and shredded carrot. If not serving immediately, refrigerate. Just before serving, toss w/ toasted sesame seeds and top w/ tofu strips and fresh coriander leaves. I'm not sure where the original recipe is from. but we love it!  Happy Tuna Salad (No cooking if you used canned chickpea) from the amazing veganmania

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas 1 cup finely chopped celery 1 tbsp. chopped sweet pickles 2 tbsp. sweet pickle “juice” (brine) 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning 1 tbsp. prepared mustard pinch of dried kelp powder

Pulse the chickpeas in your food processor until they are just broken up into little pieces (not mushy). Transfer them to a mixing bowl. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Serve on a bed of lettuce, or in a sandwich, or on crackers, or any other way you can think of. Will keep 3-4 days refrigerated.

Serves 6-8.

--------------------------------------------

We also love to make the perfectly amazing pasta salad (but with cream cheese) and auntie bonnies chickpea salad both from The Garden of Vegan.

And I used to love making the laziest burritos with refried beans, salsa, soy cheese and avocado with the sandwhich press but I make them so much that Mr T now hates refried beans.

--------------------------------------------

The last couple of days I have tried a few new dishes both of which I already love.

The first is incredibly lazy and also requires only 3 minutes of cooking but was just the thing after a long first day back at work. It involves making a sandwich out of shredded carrot, store bought capscium pesto, tomato and a really thick layer of white bean aioli (minus the garlic because I burnt it) from veganomicon.

The second dish I found at vegalicious . Here's the recipe:

Quinoa Beet Salad

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the salad:

4 beets 1 cup quinoa 1 vegetable bouillon cube 2 cups water 2 red onions olive oil handful fresh mint leaves hanful of chopped walnuts

for the dressing:

1/4 cup miso 2 tablespoons mirin (or other sweetener) 1/8 cup water 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon tamari (Japanese soy sauce) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 teaspoon sesame oil 

Directions:

Clean and cook the beets, allow them to cool, and cut them into small bite sized pieces. Wash the quinoa well with cold water or allow it to soak for 15 minutes in warm water and then rinse well, to remove the bitter oil from the outside of the quinoa. Cook the quinoa in 2 cups of water with the vegetable bouillon cube. When the qunioa is cooked, remove from the heat, allow the quinoa to cool, with the lid on the pan, it will absorb the steam and excess water. Mix the cooled quinoa and beets together well to make sure that the quinoa has become a pretty rosy pink color. Mix the salad dressing and pour over the salad. Allow the salad to season well for at least 1/2 an hour. Shortly before serving, mince the mint and mix into the salad witht eh chopped walnuts. Serve on a bed of salad leaves (shown here are fresh beet greens and baby field salad). 

I didn't wait very long to allow the flavours to marinade and it was already a very interesting variety of flavours.

So what do you like to make in this weather?

I love Lolo's post about low cook or no cook recipes we regularly make her soy-mirin tofu but over rice (or in our case noodles) with peanut sauce. And while I don't have any of my own recipes to contribute I thought it might be a good idea to discuss some of my favourite dishes to make in this crazy heat we have been having. For the most part we try not to cook, because it's hot enough in our non- insulated place without adding any more heat from cooking. So lately we have been eating out or cooking bulk so that it lasts for a few days worth of meal on the slightly cooler days. Anyway on to the dishes that we do often make (sorry there is no pics but my camera is not working): The first two my friend Erin introduced me to and since she doesn't blog about food I don't think she will mind me sharing the recipe love:     Caribbean Sweet Potato Salad

5 servings

1 large russet potato, peeled & quartered 1 large sweet potato, peeled & quartered 1 cup corn kernels 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons lime juice 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 clove minced garlic 3 tablespoons canola oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced into thin half-rounds 1/2 red onion, sliced thin 1/4 cup finely chopped dry-roasted unsalted peanuts Put the russet potato pieces into a large saucepan, and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and cook for 5 minutes at medium. Add the sweet potato pieces and cook an additional 20 minutes. Test each potato to see if cook (slightly firm but not breaking apart). Add corn kernals and cook 30 seconds more. Quickly drain in a colander. Fill the saucepan with cold water (a few ice cubes wouldn't hurt) and return potato/corn mixture to the cold water for 5 minutes (this stops the cooking process on the potatoes). In a large bowl, combine the mustard, lime juice, cilantro and garlic; whisk. Slowly add the oil while whisking; add salt & pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Drain the cooled potato/corn mixture in a colander again. Now cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Add the potatoes, corn, cucumber & onion slices to the vinaigrette. Mix well and serve chilled with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts. The recipe is from here    Sesame Noodle Salad 2 packages 3-minute noodles, broken 1 Tbsp sesame oil 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 Tbsp soy sauce 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 2 oz (57g) fresh snow peas, blanched, cut into thin strips 1 large carrot, coarsely grated 1/2 cup smoked tofu, cut into thin strips 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds 2 green onions, thinly sliced) fresh coriander leaves for garnish Cook noodles; drain and rinse. Toss immediately with 1 Tbsp sesame oil to keep noodles sticking together. Combine vinegar, veg. oil, soy sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small microwaveable bowl. Heat on high, uncovered, for 30 seconds. Or bring to a boil in a small saucepan and cook for 1 minute. Combine vinegar mixture w/ cooked noodles, toss and add onions, snow peas and shredded carrot. If not serving immediately, refrigerate. Just before serving, toss w/ toasted sesame seeds and top w/ tofu strips and fresh coriander leaves. I'm not sure where the original recipe is from. but we love it!  Happy Tuna Salad (No cooking if you used canned chickpea) from the amazing veganmania

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas 1 cup finely chopped celery 1 tbsp. chopped sweet pickles 2 tbsp. sweet pickle “juice” (brine) 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning 1 tbsp. prepared mustard pinch of dried kelp powder

Pulse the chickpeas in your food processor until they are just broken up into little pieces (not mushy). Transfer them to a mixing bowl. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Serve on a bed of lettuce, or in a sandwich, or on crackers, or any other way you can think of. Will keep 3-4 days refrigerated.

Serves 6-8.

--------------------------------------------

We also love to make the perfectly amazing pasta salad (but with cream cheese) and auntie bonnies chickpea salad both from The Garden of Vegan.

And I used to love making the laziest burritos with refried beans, salsa, soy cheese and avocado with the sandwhich press but I make them so much that Mr T now hates refried beans.

--------------------------------------------

The last couple of days I have tried a few new dishes both of which I already love.

The first is incredibly lazy and also requires only 3 minutes of cooking but was just the thing after a long first day back at work. It involves making a sandwich out of shredded carrot, store bought capscium pesto, tomato and a really thick layer of white bean aioli (minus the garlic because I burnt it) from veganomicon.

The second dish I found at vegalicious . Here's the recipe:

Quinoa Beet Salad

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the salad:

4 beets 1 cup quinoa 1 vegetable bouillon cube 2 cups water 2 red onions olive oil handful fresh mint leaves hanful of chopped walnuts

for the dressing:

1/4 cup miso 2 tablespoons mirin (or other sweetener) 1/8 cup water 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon tamari (Japanese soy sauce) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 teaspoon sesame oil 

Directions:

Clean and cook the beets, allow them to cool, and cut them into small bite sized pieces. Wash the quinoa well with cold water or allow it to soak for 15 minutes in warm water and then rinse well, to remove the bitter oil from the outside of the quinoa. Cook the quinoa in 2 cups of water with the vegetable bouillon cube. When the qunioa is cooked, remove from the heat, allow the quinoa to cool, with the lid on the pan, it will absorb the steam and excess water. Mix the cooled quinoa and beets together well to make sure that the quinoa has become a pretty rosy pink color. Mix the salad dressing and pour over the salad. Allow the salad to season well for at least 1/2 an hour. Shortly before serving, mince the mint and mix into the salad witht eh chopped walnuts. Serve on a bed of salad leaves (shown here are fresh beet greens and baby field salad). 

I didn't wait very long to allow the flavours to marinade and it was already a very interesting variety of flavours.

So what do you like to make in this weather?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad