Salt and Pepper Tofu

For the last month, I've been addicted to salt and pepper tofu, have been making it about every 10 days and even eating it out (more on that later). I generally serve mine with white rice and whatever veggies I have on hand. I shallow fry it but it still not super healthy but it's oh so delicious. The pepper really helps warm you up on these cold days too. Here is my rough recipe, feel free to play around with the salt and pepper ratio.

Salt and Pepper Tofu adapted by indolent cook:

450g firm tofu
4 tablespoons of corn starch (i've also used a combo of potato flour, will try rice flour next)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of ground sichuan pepper (I think this really makes the dish)
oil, for frying
3 spring onions, chopped
soy sauce (optional-for extra flavour on your rice)
rice vinegar (optional-for extra flavour on your rice)

Drain tofu and cut tofu into cubes of 2 - 2.5 centimetres. Mix the salt and peppers together. Add half of the salt and pepper to the corn starch.  Put remaining aside.

Toss tofu cubes through the flour blend, making sure they are coated on all sides. Divide into a few batches depending on the size of your frypan.

Pour oil into a small frying pan so that there is no space. Let the oil warm rapidly over high heat for about 30 seconds, then fry the coated tofu cubes a batch at a time, turning, until golden and crispy on all sides. Add remaining salt and pepper to it and fry for another minute.

Retrieve the tofu and drain off excess oil on paper towels.

Put a tiny bit of soy sauce and rice vinegar on your bowl of plain rice, add tofu (and veggies) and top with spring onions.

For the last month, I've been addicted to salt and pepper tofu, have been making it about every 10 days and even eating it out (more on that later). I generally serve mine with white rice and whatever veggies I have on hand. I shallow fry it but it still not super healthy but it's oh so delicious. The pepper really helps warm you up on these cold days too. Here is my rough recipe, feel free to play around with the salt and pepper ratio.

Salt and Pepper Tofu adapted by indolent cook:

450g firm tofu
4 tablespoons of corn starch (i've also used a combo of potato flour, will try rice flour next)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of ground sichuan pepper (I think this really makes the dish)
oil, for frying
3 spring onions, chopped
soy sauce (optional-for extra flavour on your rice)
rice vinegar (optional-for extra flavour on your rice)

Drain tofu and cut tofu into cubes of 2 - 2.5 centimetres. Mix the salt and peppers together. Add half of the salt and pepper to the corn starch.  Put remaining aside.

Toss tofu cubes through the flour blend, making sure they are coated on all sides. Divide into a few batches depending on the size of your frypan.

Pour oil into a small frying pan so that there is no space. Let the oil warm rapidly over high heat for about 30 seconds, then fry the coated tofu cubes a batch at a time, turning, until golden and crispy on all sides. Add remaining salt and pepper to it and fry for another minute.

Retrieve the tofu and drain off excess oil on paper towels.

Put a tiny bit of soy sauce and rice vinegar on your bowl of plain rice, add tofu (and veggies) and top with spring onions.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Shake and Bake Tofu

Sometimes the best ideas come out of failed recipes. I tried to follow recipe from don't feed the bears 2 as seen on  Cake Maker to the Stars a few weeks ago. Sadly my attempt at roux kind of sucked and I didn't know how to get the right seasoning but I come up with another idea for tofu. This recipe involves breading tofu. I followed the recipe but used a mix of cajun and nooch but after breading several thought this must be an quicker way. Putting them in a ziplock bag and shaking was actually fun. It's not a completely original idea as I saw another blog do the same thing about a week after I made it but I recommend giving it a go. Here is the loose recipe:

Shake and Bake Tofu
1 container of tofu, drained
About a tablespoon of soy sauce (gluten free of course)
Use a ratio of 3 tablespoons of nooch-1 tablespoon cajun spices until all tofu is covered


Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 F).

Brush baking sheet with oil.

Cut Tofu into cubes, then add soy sauce until all covered. Put a large handful of tofu, nooch and cajun spices into zip lock bag and shake til it is evenly covered. Then repeat, until all covered.

Place in tray and bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes, turning about half way through until quite crispy.




Here is it prebaked. 
 

I think it could work well in a range of dishes. We had similar noochy tofu in a stir fry in Portland. This didn't last long at our household with Toby and I served it with rice and dipped some in mayo and sweet chilli sauce, so damn additive.

Sometimes the best ideas come out of failed recipes. I tried to follow recipe from don't feed the bears 2 as seen on  Cake Maker to the Stars a few weeks ago. Sadly my attempt at roux kind of sucked and I didn't know how to get the right seasoning but I come up with another idea for tofu. This recipe involves breading tofu. I followed the recipe but used a mix of cajun and nooch but after breading several thought this must be an quicker way. Putting them in a ziplock bag and shaking was actually fun. It's not a completely original idea as I saw another blog do the same thing about a week after I made it but I recommend giving it a go. Here is the loose recipe:

Shake and Bake Tofu
1 container of tofu, drained
About a tablespoon of soy sauce (gluten free of course)
Use a ratio of 3 tablespoons of nooch-1 tablespoon cajun spices until all tofu is covered


Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 F).

Brush baking sheet with oil.

Cut Tofu into cubes, then add soy sauce until all covered. Put a large handful of tofu, nooch and cajun spices into zip lock bag and shake til it is evenly covered. Then repeat, until all covered.

Place in tray and bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes, turning about half way through until quite crispy.




Here is it prebaked. 
 

I think it could work well in a range of dishes. We had similar noochy tofu in a stir fry in Portland. This didn't last long at our household with Toby and I served it with rice and dipped some in mayo and sweet chilli sauce, so damn additive.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

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

Taiwanese Marinated Tofu - Vegan MOFO Day 10

When I first turned vegan, I ate a lot of Taiwanese marinated dried tofu from the packet.  They are almost like jerky and go very well with booze.  But most of them are full of preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers.   

When I was researching authentic Taiwanese vegetarian recipes to veganize and de-gultenize, I came across this amazing marinated dried tofu recipe. (in Chinese).  The original author didn't specify the quantities but I just estimated by the look of the photos with a bit of common sense.  

What you need are:

Oil (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)  

Dried tofu (I chopped up two blocks of Yenson Dry Tofu) 

Whole Star Anises (I used 10)

Szechuan pepper (I used 2 tablespoons)

Dried chilli pepper (I used 1 tablespoon chilli flakes)

Rock sugar  (I used around 1/2 cup)

Gluten-free soy sauce (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)

Instruction :

1) Brown the tofu with a little bit of oil (I didn't do it for the first time and the result wasn't very good) and set a side.

2) Add whole star Anises, Sichuan pepper, dried chilli pepper and oil in a cold wok or fry pan, cook in low heat until fragrant.  

3) Melt rock sugar (you might want to break them up first) to the wok/fry pan   

4) Add tofu and gluten-free soy sauce in and cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stir occasionally  

5) Drain the marinade out and serve. You can keep the marinade and reuse for another time.

I didn't use much oil and gluten-free soy sauce and it wasn't good enough.

I nailed it the second time!

You can also add some peanuts (dry roasted in the wok/on the fry pan first) when you cook the tofu.

It is a great snack or dinner when paired with vegies and rice!

When I first turned vegan, I ate a lot of Taiwanese marinated dried tofu from the packet.  They are almost like jerky and go very well with booze.  But most of them are full of preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers.   

When I was researching authentic Taiwanese vegetarian recipes to veganize and de-gultenize, I came across this amazing marinated dried tofu recipe. (in Chinese).  The original author didn't specify the quantities but I just estimated by the look of the photos with a bit of common sense.  

What you need are:

Oil (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)  

Dried tofu (I chopped up two blocks of Yenson Dry Tofu) 

Whole Star Anises (I used 10)

Szechuan pepper (I used 2 tablespoons)

Dried chilli pepper (I used 1 tablespoon chilli flakes)

Rock sugar  (I used around 1/2 cup)

Gluten-free soy sauce (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)

Instruction :

1) Brown the tofu with a little bit of oil (I didn't do it for the first time and the result wasn't very good) and set a side.

2) Add whole star Anises, Sichuan pepper, dried chilli pepper and oil in a cold wok or fry pan, cook in low heat until fragrant.  

3) Melt rock sugar (you might want to break them up first) to the wok/fry pan   

4) Add tofu and gluten-free soy sauce in and cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stir occasionally  

5) Drain the marinade out and serve. You can keep the marinade and reuse for another time.

I didn't use much oil and gluten-free soy sauce and it wasn't good enough.

I nailed it the second time!

You can also add some peanuts (dry roasted in the wok/on the fry pan first) when you cook the tofu.

It is a great snack or dinner when paired with vegies and rice!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Crispiest Tofu-Vegan Mofo Day 8

Have you ever thought that you posted about something only to discover it is still sitting in your drafts? Well I have a few times and this post is a perfect example, I started it before we went away and then got all asborbed in our holiday and forgot til now.

Our friend had a small but fancy themed dinner party with each guest to bring a course.  There was so much good food including Cindy and Michael's fancy mini breakfasts. I made the crispiest tofu which is perhaps not that fancy but oh so delicious and super krispy. Kittee is right that the potato starch is the key and it is the crispiest I've ever eaten. These are quite tasty and so addictive. I marinated the tofu using her suggestion of the breast of tofu marinade but I'm not sure it made a great difference when you are dipping into sauce anyway. If you haven't already checked out xgfx site you should, its a wonderful space because it is all gluten free and vegan!

The Crispiest Tofu from the xgfx blog:

Mix the following together into each bowl:
Bowl 1:
½ cup potato starch
dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bowl 2:
1 cup unsweetened soymilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (or a combo of other fresh herbs)
dash of salt
dash of hot pepper or allepo pepper
Bowl 3:
1 1/4 cups homemade breadcrumbs (leave your favorite gluten-free bread out on the counter for a day or so, then pulse in a food processor until crumbly).
1/3 cup potato starch
dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
Additional ingredients:
1 big block of extra-firm tofu, cut into whatever shapes you want to eat and marinated overnight, or as long as possible.
parchment lined baking sheet, greased with 3 tablespoons of nuetral oil (like canola).
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425F.

Dredge a few pieces of tofu with the starch mixture in bowl one. Make sure each piece is completed coated with a thin layer of starch, then tap off any extra and move down to bowl two.
Submerge each tofu into bowl two and allow any excess liquid to drip off. Move ‘em down to bowl three. Pat each piece of tofu in the seasoned breadcrumbs, to completely coat on all sides. Transfer each breaded tofu to the oiled baking sheet.
Repeat the above steps until you’ve breaded everything within reach.
Season the tofu with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake for about 5 minutes, then carefully flip each piece to allow the other side to absorb some of the oil from the baking sheet. Bake the tofu until the bottoms are brown and crunchy, about 10 minutes, then flip to brown the second side. Keep an eye on these so they don’t burn, you’re going for a deep golden brown.

Toby attempted to make a red wine reduction but it failed, so I ended up making a :

Simple remoulade:
1 cup vegan mayo
2 tablespoons of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of lemon  juice

Combine together, voila!

Have you ever thought that you posted about something only to discover it is still sitting in your drafts? Well I have a few times and this post is a perfect example, I started it before we went away and then got all asborbed in our holiday and forgot til now.

Our friend had a small but fancy themed dinner party with each guest to bring a course.  There was so much good food including Cindy and Michael's fancy mini breakfasts. I made the crispiest tofu which is perhaps not that fancy but oh so delicious and super krispy. Kittee is right that the potato starch is the key and it is the crispiest I've ever eaten. These are quite tasty and so addictive. I marinated the tofu using her suggestion of the breast of tofu marinade but I'm not sure it made a great difference when you are dipping into sauce anyway. If you haven't already checked out xgfx site you should, its a wonderful space because it is all gluten free and vegan!

The Crispiest Tofu from the xgfx blog:

Mix the following together into each bowl:
Bowl 1:
½ cup potato starch
dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bowl 2:
1 cup unsweetened soymilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (or a combo of other fresh herbs)
dash of salt
dash of hot pepper or allepo pepper
Bowl 3:
1 1/4 cups homemade breadcrumbs (leave your favorite gluten-free bread out on the counter for a day or so, then pulse in a food processor until crumbly).
1/3 cup potato starch
dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
Additional ingredients:
1 big block of extra-firm tofu, cut into whatever shapes you want to eat and marinated overnight, or as long as possible.
parchment lined baking sheet, greased with 3 tablespoons of nuetral oil (like canola).
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425F.

Dredge a few pieces of tofu with the starch mixture in bowl one. Make sure each piece is completed coated with a thin layer of starch, then tap off any extra and move down to bowl two.
Submerge each tofu into bowl two and allow any excess liquid to drip off. Move ‘em down to bowl three. Pat each piece of tofu in the seasoned breadcrumbs, to completely coat on all sides. Transfer each breaded tofu to the oiled baking sheet.
Repeat the above steps until you’ve breaded everything within reach.
Season the tofu with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake for about 5 minutes, then carefully flip each piece to allow the other side to absorb some of the oil from the baking sheet. Bake the tofu until the bottoms are brown and crunchy, about 10 minutes, then flip to brown the second side. Keep an eye on these so they don’t burn, you’re going for a deep golden brown.

Toby attempted to make a red wine reduction but it failed, so I ended up making a :

Simple remoulade:
1 cup vegan mayo
2 tablespoons of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of lemon  juice

Combine together, voila!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Baked Rice Paper Rolls-Vegan Mofo Day 3

I've been craving spring rolls since going gluten free and remember seeing people post about using rice paper rolls to make them so thought I would give it a try last week. I had mentioned to Johanna at the picnic that I wanted to do it and she reminded me that she had tried it before. So I followed her recipe.

Baked Rice Paper Spring Rolls from Green Gourmet Giraffe

makes 20 spring rolls

• 50g dried rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 largish carrot, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup shredded Chinese cabbage
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 150g firm tofu, crumbled
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp agave
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove. crushed
• 1 tsp pickled sushi (or fresh) ginger, finely chopped
• 20  rice paper roll wrappers
• vegetable oil

Soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes and then drain. Add remaining vegies and seasoning. Mix well.

Have a large shallow bowl of water to soak each rice paper wrapper in for about 10 seconds before placing flat on a board. Place a dessertspoon of filling on the one side of the wrapper. Fold edge of wrapper over the filling. Fold the sides over and then roll up so the filling is wrapped in the rest of the wrapper.

Preheat oven to 210 C. Place spring rolls on a tray lined with baking paper or silicone. Spray or brush with oil.

Bake spring rolls for about 20-25 minutes or until crispy - it will be hardly brown and will soften slightly if you let it cool for a while but will remain pleasingly chewy. I served mine with sweet chilli and gf soy sauce.


I found the pictures on the bake bike blog to be useful in knowing how to roll them, so also attempted a similar thing but mine are not as clear:

 

Here they are out of the oven:
 

I loved the filling, but didn't think they resembled proper gluteny spring rolls at all.  I have read about people deep frying them so wonder if that is a better replication? Still they were enjoyable in their own way, although a little time consuming because I was so damn slow at rolling them.

I've been craving spring rolls since going gluten free and remember seeing people post about using rice paper rolls to make them so thought I would give it a try last week. I had mentioned to Johanna at the picnic that I wanted to do it and she reminded me that she had tried it before. So I followed her recipe.

Baked Rice Paper Spring Rolls from Green Gourmet Giraffe

makes 20 spring rolls

• 50g dried rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 largish carrot, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup shredded Chinese cabbage
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 150g firm tofu, crumbled
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp agave
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove. crushed
• 1 tsp pickled sushi (or fresh) ginger, finely chopped
• 20  rice paper roll wrappers
• vegetable oil

Soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes and then drain. Add remaining vegies and seasoning. Mix well.

Have a large shallow bowl of water to soak each rice paper wrapper in for about 10 seconds before placing flat on a board. Place a dessertspoon of filling on the one side of the wrapper. Fold edge of wrapper over the filling. Fold the sides over and then roll up so the filling is wrapped in the rest of the wrapper.

Preheat oven to 210 C. Place spring rolls on a tray lined with baking paper or silicone. Spray or brush with oil.

Bake spring rolls for about 20-25 minutes or until crispy - it will be hardly brown and will soften slightly if you let it cool for a while but will remain pleasingly chewy. I served mine with sweet chilli and gf soy sauce.


I found the pictures on the bake bike blog to be useful in knowing how to roll them, so also attempted a similar thing but mine are not as clear:

 

Here they are out of the oven:
 

I loved the filling, but didn't think they resembled proper gluteny spring rolls at all.  I have read about people deep frying them so wonder if that is a better replication? Still they were enjoyable in their own way, although a little time consuming because I was so damn slow at rolling them.

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.

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Vegemite Tofu

I always cook Matthew's Delicious Tofu for dinner. It is fast, full of protein (3x500g tofu!!) and yummy.

The other day, K and I were talking about serving pan fried tofu with the vegemite gravy we made before.  And now we have a new easy weeknight dish.

Instead of vegemite or NON-gluten-free Marmite, we used Freedom Foods' Vege Spread.


Vegemite Tofu
(serves 6)

What you need:

3 packs of 500g firm tofu, sliced or diced (We love Yenson's so does Cindy & Michael)
Whatever amount (within reason) of vegies, chopped 
Handful of sesame seeds
1 TBSP of sesame oil or raw coconut butter
6 gloves of garlic, minced (or you can use the whole thing)
2-4 TBSP Freedom Foods' Vege Spread
1 to 3 TPSP of corn flour or any gluten-free flour
1 1/2 cup of water
Dash of tamari or gluten-free soy sauce (We use Chang's)

What you need to do:

- Brown sesame seed on fry pan, set aside.  

- Heat oil and pan fry tofu on non-stick fry pan or wok, add dash of tamari on top of tofu just before you flip it.  Set aside in a big metal mixing bowl or tray.

- Heat oil on non-stick fry pan or wok.  Saute minced garlic for a moment and add vegies.  Stir fry for a moment.

- Add Vege Spread and water.  Stir fry until it's mixed in with vegie.

- Slowly add gluten-free flour to the pan.  Keep stirring until it is thick enough.


- Add tofu back to the pan and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

You can serve it with brown rice, noodles or even mashed potatoes!

I always cook Matthew's Delicious Tofu for dinner. It is fast, full of protein (3x500g tofu!!) and yummy.

The other day, K and I were talking about serving pan fried tofu with the vegemite gravy we made before.  And now we have a new easy weeknight dish.

Instead of vegemite or NON-gluten-free Marmite, we used Freedom Foods' Vege Spread.


Vegemite Tofu
(serves 6)

What you need:

3 packs of 500g firm tofu, sliced or diced (We love Yenson's so does Cindy & Michael)
Whatever amount (within reason) of vegies, chopped 
Handful of sesame seeds
1 TBSP of sesame oil or raw coconut butter
6 gloves of garlic, minced (or you can use the whole thing)
2-4 TBSP Freedom Foods' Vege Spread
1 to 3 TPSP of corn flour or any gluten-free flour
1 1/2 cup of water
Dash of tamari or gluten-free soy sauce (We use Chang's)

What you need to do:

- Brown sesame seed on fry pan, set aside.  

- Heat oil and pan fry tofu on non-stick fry pan or wok, add dash of tamari on top of tofu just before you flip it.  Set aside in a big metal mixing bowl or tray.

- Heat oil on non-stick fry pan or wok.  Saute minced garlic for a moment and add vegies.  Stir fry for a moment.

- Add Vege Spread and water.  Stir fry until it's mixed in with vegie.

- Slowly add gluten-free flour to the pan.  Keep stirring until it is thick enough.


- Add tofu back to the pan and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

You can serve it with brown rice, noodles or even mashed potatoes!

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Ottolenghi's Black Pepper Tofu

Ottolenghi seems to be all the rage at the moment. I think I missed the memo about how/why he become popular but this dish looks pretty so I put it as my request for Toby to make it and he did. He only used about half the black pepper and it was still too spicy. I wish we read Carla's review before because she discussed the same issue, so I suggest starting with 1 teaspoon of pepper and then adding more. He also didn't put in cornstarch or deep fry, instead choosing to do our regular stir fried tofu method and added some green beans. It was delicious and I think we will make it again but with less pepper.

 

Ottolenghi's Black Pepper Tofu from The Guardian 
 
800gm firm tofu
Oil for frying
12 small shallots, sliced thickly
8 fresh red chillis
12 garlic cloves
3 tbsp fresh ginger
3 tbsp sweet soy
3 tbsp light soy
4 tbsp dark soy
2 tbsp caster sugar
5 tsp crushed black pepper (Caution-see note above)
16 spring onions, thinly sliced

Cut the tofu into 3cm x 2cm blocks and toss them in cornflour, shaking off the excess. Pour in enough oil to come 0.5cm up the sides of a large frying pan, and bring up to frying heat. Fry the tofu in batches in the oil, turning the pieces as you go. Once they are golden all around, and have a thin crust, transfer to a paper towel.
Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan and throw in the butter. Once it has melted, add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, and sauté for about 15 minutes on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pan are shiny and totally soft. While you wait, crush the peppercorns, using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. They should be quite coarse.
When the shallots and chillies are soft, add the soy sauces and the sugar, stir, then stir in the crushed pepper. Warm the tofu in the sauce for about a minute, then add the spring onion and stir through. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Ottolenghi seems to be all the rage at the moment. I think I missed the memo about how/why he become popular but this dish looks pretty so I put it as my request for Toby to make it and he did. He only used about half the black pepper and it was still too spicy. I wish we read Carla's review before because she discussed the same issue, so I suggest starting with 1 teaspoon of pepper and then adding more. He also didn't put in cornstarch or deep fry, instead choosing to do our regular stir fried tofu method and added some green beans. It was delicious and I think we will make it again but with less pepper.

 

Ottolenghi's Black Pepper Tofu from The Guardian 
 
800gm firm tofu
Oil for frying
12 small shallots, sliced thickly
8 fresh red chillis
12 garlic cloves
3 tbsp fresh ginger
3 tbsp sweet soy
3 tbsp light soy
4 tbsp dark soy
2 tbsp caster sugar
5 tsp crushed black pepper (Caution-see note above)
16 spring onions, thinly sliced

Cut the tofu into 3cm x 2cm blocks and toss them in cornflour, shaking off the excess. Pour in enough oil to come 0.5cm up the sides of a large frying pan, and bring up to frying heat. Fry the tofu in batches in the oil, turning the pieces as you go. Once they are golden all around, and have a thin crust, transfer to a paper towel.
Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan and throw in the butter. Once it has melted, add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, and sauté for about 15 minutes on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pan are shiny and totally soft. While you wait, crush the peppercorns, using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. They should be quite coarse.
When the shallots and chillies are soft, add the soy sauces and the sugar, stir, then stir in the crushed pepper. Warm the tofu in the sauce for about a minute, then add the spring onion and stir through. Serve hot with steamed rice.

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Dianne's Tofu Sheet Lasagna

My mother in law cooks lots of amazing vegan friendly dishes, one of them is a lasagna which uses tofu slices instead of regular lasagna sheets. She never follows recipes or writes down what she makes. So we tried to recreate it tonight under her guidance and the result is pretty good. You can use any sliced vegies, for example the typical filling like eggplant, pumpkin, spinach etc. We tried to use up our leftover vegie box contents so we only had broccoli and carrots. We were very pleased with ourselves, it actually worked and tasted great. Like any lasagna there are a few parts but is worth the effort.

Dianne's Tofu Sheet Lasagna

Tofu layer:

2 packets of tofu

2 tablespoons of chicken stock

Cut tofu into slices, sprinkle with chicken stock and lightly fry both sides.

Veg layer: (can use other vegies)

1 500ml jar of tomato pasta sauce

3 large carrots, chopped

1 broccoli, chopped

Stir fry carrots and broccoli until tender. Mix in pasta sauce.

Cashew Cream (please double the recipe to have two layers)-this was inspired by the tempting tempeh and tofu for two recipes:

3 tablespoons of vegan margarine

 3 tablespoons of chickpea flour

1 1/2 cup soy milk

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 and 1/2 cup of cashews

1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoons

2 tablespoons of  lemon juice

Optional: vegan cheese

Melt margarine, stir in flour and slowly add soy milk over low heat.

Grind Cashews with 1/2 cup water in food processor and then mix into flour mixture with nooch and lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon of water. Stir over low heat until combined. Sprinkle with vegan cheese. We had a tablespoon leftover in the fridge, but I don't think it made much of a difference.

Layer lasagna by placing tofu sheets on bottom, then place vegies on top, then cashew cream then repeat.

Bake for approximately 35 minutes at 200 degrees.

Next time, we will do a few things differently, like cut the tofu thinner so that it's nice and crispy and double the sauce so that there is enough for the top and the middle layers.

My mother in law cooks lots of amazing vegan friendly dishes, one of them is a lasagna which uses tofu slices instead of regular lasagna sheets. She never follows recipes or writes down what she makes. So we tried to recreate it tonight under her guidance and the result is pretty good. You can use any sliced vegies, for example the typical filling like eggplant, pumpkin, spinach etc. We tried to use up our leftover vegie box contents so we only had broccoli and carrots. We were very pleased with ourselves, it actually worked and tasted great. Like any lasagna there are a few parts but is worth the effort.

Dianne's Tofu Sheet Lasagna

Tofu layer:

2 packets of tofu

2 tablespoons of chicken stock

Cut tofu into slices, sprinkle with chicken stock and lightly fry both sides.

Veg layer: (can use other vegies)

1 500ml jar of tomato pasta sauce

3 large carrots, chopped

1 broccoli, chopped

Stir fry carrots and broccoli until tender. Mix in pasta sauce.

Cashew Cream (please double the recipe to have two layers)-this was inspired by the tempting tempeh and tofu for two recipes:

3 tablespoons of vegan margarine

 3 tablespoons of chickpea flour

1 1/2 cup soy milk

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 and 1/2 cup of cashews

1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoons

2 tablespoons of  lemon juice

Optional: vegan cheese

Melt margarine, stir in flour and slowly add soy milk over low heat.

Grind Cashews with 1/2 cup water in food processor and then mix into flour mixture with nooch and lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon of water. Stir over low heat until combined. Sprinkle with vegan cheese. We had a tablespoon leftover in the fridge, but I don't think it made much of a difference.

Layer lasagna by placing tofu sheets on bottom, then place vegies on top, then cashew cream then repeat.

Bake for approximately 35 minutes at 200 degrees.

Next time, we will do a few things differently, like cut the tofu thinner so that it's nice and crispy and double the sauce so that there is enough for the top and the middle layers.

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Pudla (chickpea pancakes) with Tofu Bacon

Yes you read right!

It was my weird idea of a good breaky combo.

It's been a while since I last made tofu bacon and I don't think I blogged the recipe so heres the recipe. I friggin love this stuff:

Tofu Bacon (original recipe from veg web) I had to tweak the proportions though by adding about double the soy sauce, liquid smoke and nooch:


    1 package (about 1lb. or 450grams) extra-firm silken tofu
    2 tablespoons soy sauce   
    1 teaspoon liquid smoke
    2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    1 tablespoon oil for cooking

Directions:

The cooking times seem really important for this bacon to turn out--if the tofu isn't cooked enough it isn't chewy/crispy.

Slice the tofu into strips just under 1/4 inch thick.  Place the oil in a frying pan, and lay the tofu strips in the pan.  Cook the tofu for 10 minutes on one side over low-medium heat before you try to flip the strips--this way, they won't break apart.  Then flip them, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Mix the soy sauce and liquid smoke in a separate dish.  Remove the tofu pan from the heat (after the total of 20 minutes it just cooked) and pour the soy sauce mixture over it.  Shake the pan around to make sure the tofu is thoroughly coated on both sides; put pan back on burner.  Immediately sprinkle the tofu with the nutritional yeast (I only coat one side of the strips, and that seems to be plenty).  Let it cook a minute or so until almost all the sauce cooks off; flip the strips and give it another minute.

Eat & enjoy!  I never plain far enough ahead to marinate tofu or tempeh, and this works really well.  It's slightly on the salty side, but the chewiness, texture, and taste is just right.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 22 mins

So crispy, smokey and salty. I think it's my fav way to eat tofu. Wish I made a double batch to snack on!

I've been curious about these indian chickpea pancakes or Pudla since I read about them on Green Gourmet Giraffe. The man in the indian grocery store asked me why I was buying chickpea flour and I explained that it was to make pudla but he didn't understand, so I'm not sure how it is pronounced.  Like Johanna I followed Nourish Me's posted recipe which is originally from a Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook .

Pudla (chickpea pancakes) with ginger and crushed peas - feeds 2-3

 I left out the chilli, spring onions and tomatoes but they were still delicious.

1 cup of frozen, shelled green peas
2 cups of chickpea flour (besan/gram)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
Good pinch of ground turmeric
Good pinch of chilli powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 cups of water
A large thumb of ginger
4 spring onions, finely sliced
A little olive oil, for frying

Cook the peas, in their frozen state, in boiling water according to the packet instructions and drain well. Lightly crush with either a fork or a potato masher.

Sift the chickpea flour, spices and salt into a roomy bowl. Make a well and slowly trickle the water into the centre, whisking in a little of the dry mixture from the sides as you go. There must be no lumps. Lumps are bad. Grate the ginger and squeeze the resulting juice into the mixture, whisk well and stir through the peas and spring onions. Rest, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.

Warm a frying pan over a medium-high heat and drizzle in a little oil. When hot, pour in a ladle of the mixture and cook for 2 minutes. They should be golden underneath. Drizzle the uncooked side with another dribble of oil before flipping and cooking for a further 2 minutes. Eat hot, straight from the pan.

I ended up having some issues getting it smooth because I didn't read the recipe probably so I used my kitchen aid. I was really pleased with them though, they didn't stick and I didn't have any issues flipping them and they made a great g/f breaky option. I think they would be great with a nice curry.

This one was slightly undercooked in the centre but stilled tasted great:




And together:

I liked the combination, although it was definitely missing some sauce or maybe just some tomatoes in the pancakes.  Also, we ate it with hands like a burrito. Toby added tomato sauce but chutney would have been better. I was trying to stay away from acidic sauce so just enjoyed it plain. They were both easy to make but it took me almost 2 hours to make everything due to the tweaking of the tofu and the issues getting the pancake batter smooth.

But will defintely experiment with the pudla again and I think tofu bacon would make the perfect snack for traveling.

Yes you read right!

It was my weird idea of a good breaky combo.

It's been a while since I last made tofu bacon and I don't think I blogged the recipe so heres the recipe. I friggin love this stuff:

Tofu Bacon (original recipe from veg web) I had to tweak the proportions though by adding about double the soy sauce, liquid smoke and nooch:


    1 package (about 1lb. or 450grams) extra-firm silken tofu
    2 tablespoons soy sauce   
    1 teaspoon liquid smoke
    2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    1 tablespoon oil for cooking

Directions:

The cooking times seem really important for this bacon to turn out--if the tofu isn't cooked enough it isn't chewy/crispy.

Slice the tofu into strips just under 1/4 inch thick.  Place the oil in a frying pan, and lay the tofu strips in the pan.  Cook the tofu for 10 minutes on one side over low-medium heat before you try to flip the strips--this way, they won't break apart.  Then flip them, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Mix the soy sauce and liquid smoke in a separate dish.  Remove the tofu pan from the heat (after the total of 20 minutes it just cooked) and pour the soy sauce mixture over it.  Shake the pan around to make sure the tofu is thoroughly coated on both sides; put pan back on burner.  Immediately sprinkle the tofu with the nutritional yeast (I only coat one side of the strips, and that seems to be plenty).  Let it cook a minute or so until almost all the sauce cooks off; flip the strips and give it another minute.

Eat & enjoy!  I never plain far enough ahead to marinate tofu or tempeh, and this works really well.  It's slightly on the salty side, but the chewiness, texture, and taste is just right.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 22 mins

So crispy, smokey and salty. I think it's my fav way to eat tofu. Wish I made a double batch to snack on!

I've been curious about these indian chickpea pancakes or Pudla since I read about them on Green Gourmet Giraffe. The man in the indian grocery store asked me why I was buying chickpea flour and I explained that it was to make pudla but he didn't understand, so I'm not sure how it is pronounced.  Like Johanna I followed Nourish Me's posted recipe which is originally from a Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook .

Pudla (chickpea pancakes) with ginger and crushed peas - feeds 2-3

 I left out the chilli, spring onions and tomatoes but they were still delicious.

1 cup of frozen, shelled green peas
2 cups of chickpea flour (besan/gram)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
Good pinch of ground turmeric
Good pinch of chilli powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 cups of water
A large thumb of ginger
4 spring onions, finely sliced
A little olive oil, for frying

Cook the peas, in their frozen state, in boiling water according to the packet instructions and drain well. Lightly crush with either a fork or a potato masher.

Sift the chickpea flour, spices and salt into a roomy bowl. Make a well and slowly trickle the water into the centre, whisking in a little of the dry mixture from the sides as you go. There must be no lumps. Lumps are bad. Grate the ginger and squeeze the resulting juice into the mixture, whisk well and stir through the peas and spring onions. Rest, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.

Warm a frying pan over a medium-high heat and drizzle in a little oil. When hot, pour in a ladle of the mixture and cook for 2 minutes. They should be golden underneath. Drizzle the uncooked side with another dribble of oil before flipping and cooking for a further 2 minutes. Eat hot, straight from the pan.

I ended up having some issues getting it smooth because I didn't read the recipe probably so I used my kitchen aid. I was really pleased with them though, they didn't stick and I didn't have any issues flipping them and they made a great g/f breaky option. I think they would be great with a nice curry.

This one was slightly undercooked in the centre but stilled tasted great:




And together:

I liked the combination, although it was definitely missing some sauce or maybe just some tomatoes in the pancakes.  Also, we ate it with hands like a burrito. Toby added tomato sauce but chutney would have been better. I was trying to stay away from acidic sauce so just enjoyed it plain. They were both easy to make but it took me almost 2 hours to make everything due to the tweaking of the tofu and the issues getting the pancake batter smooth.

But will defintely experiment with the pudla again and I think tofu bacon would make the perfect snack for traveling.

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.

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Scrambled Tofu With Chinese Pickled Turnip and Cantonese Congee- Vegan Mofo Day 18

When I was a kid, my mum always made me fried eggs with Chinese picked turnip (check out this picture from Taiwanpedia).  It is a popular home cooking dish in Fujian, Taiwanese and Chiuchow cuisine. I loved this dish even it was very high in cholesterol.  

A visit to Minh Phat in Richmond inspired me to make a vegan version with simple scrambled tofu and Chinese pickled turnip.

 

 

Ingredients (serve two):

1 tablespoon of canola oil

A pack of 500g dry tofu, scumbled

(I use Yenson's, 53.5 g protein per block)

Handful of Chinese Pickled Turnip, finely chopped 

Dash of soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free option)

Salt and pepper to taste

Grounded turmeric to taste 

Savoury yeast flakes to taste 

*Heat oil on a non-stick fry pan, put it on medium 

*Add tofu, pickled turnip and soy sauce to the pan and keep stiring

*slowly add turmeric while stiring until you get the eggy colour

*keep cooking for 5 minutes

*Add savoury yeast flakes to taste, I recommended 3 tablespoons

*Add salt and cracked pepper to taste

I made some congee to go with it, using Thai jasmine broken rice.

Ingredients  

1 cup Thai jasmine broken rice (good for making congee)

10 cup water

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon oil

*Wash and drain the rice, mix it with oil and salt in a big pot, let it sit for a while

*Add water and bring to boil on high and turn down to low, simmer for an hour or so.  Give it a stir every now and then.  

I ate the congee with some mock 'pork' floss from the vegetarian section of Mix Oriental Supermarket (293－295 Barkly Street, Brunswick/Tel:03 9388 8831).  It was pretty good but I hate the fact that there were too much packaging.    

On My Walkman:

The Best Of (Remastered) - Suede

When I was a kid, my mum always made me fried eggs with Chinese picked turnip (check out this picture from Taiwanpedia).  It is a popular home cooking dish in Fujian, Taiwanese and Chiuchow cuisine. I loved this dish even it was very high in cholesterol.  

A visit to Minh Phat in Richmond inspired me to make a vegan version with simple scrambled tofu and Chinese pickled turnip.

 

 

Ingredients (serve two):

1 tablespoon of canola oil

A pack of 500g dry tofu, scumbled

(I use Yenson's, 53.5 g protein per block)

Handful of Chinese Pickled Turnip, finely chopped 

Dash of soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free option)

Salt and pepper to taste

Grounded turmeric to taste 

Savoury yeast flakes to taste 

*Heat oil on a non-stick fry pan, put it on medium 

*Add tofu, pickled turnip and soy sauce to the pan and keep stiring

*slowly add turmeric while stiring until you get the eggy colour

*keep cooking for 5 minutes

*Add savoury yeast flakes to taste, I recommended 3 tablespoons

*Add salt and cracked pepper to taste

I made some congee to go with it, using Thai jasmine broken rice.

Ingredients  

1 cup Thai jasmine broken rice (good for making congee)

10 cup water

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon oil

*Wash and drain the rice, mix it with oil and salt in a big pot, let it sit for a while

*Add water and bring to boil on high and turn down to low, simmer for an hour or so.  Give it a stir every now and then.  

I ate the congee with some mock 'pork' floss from the vegetarian section of Mix Oriental Supermarket (293－295 Barkly Street, Brunswick/Tel:03 9388 8831).  It was pretty good but I hate the fact that there were too much packaging.    

On My Walkman:

The Best Of (Remastered) - Suede

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Green Thai Curry with Baked Tofu-Vegan Mofo Day 9

It was my turn to cook on Sunday night so I decided to go with something quite lazy and easy: green Thai curry using store brought curry paste. I used Thai Gourmet brand (from Coles) which is both gluten free and vegan. This was so simple and pretty much just followed the recipe on the back of the jar x 2, I'm not sure if it even worth posting it but basically I added 3-4 teaspoons of curry paste, fried up some onions and then added 2 cans of coconut milk and then added veggies (mostly asparagus) and cook until the asparagus was tender. I initially started with a small amount of curry paste (1 teaspoon) in case it was too spicy but it was fine so we added more.

To go with it, I made some baked tofu from Vegan Planet. This is my favourite baked tofu that I have tried.

Baked Tofu 

• 1 16 ounce (450gram) firm tofu drained
  
• 1/3 cup tamari
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (I think I used 1)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  

1. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch slices.
2. In a small bowl combine the rest of the ingredients
3. Place tofu into bowl and pour marinade over it, cover and refrigerated for at least 3 hours, turning once.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove marinade from tofu and bake until brown and firm, about an hour. Turning once about halfway through.

Cheat's version (what I did):
skip the marinade part and just bake with the marinade sauce, it ends up being full of flavour and nice and salty. You might want to lower the soy sauce if you are not into salt though.

I liked the addition of the tofu to the curry, although still think it's better in a sandwich. 

I've been craving roti since I last posted about the roti and dips at Zen Zero Blue so I asked on twitter if anyone knows of some vegan brands of roti bread. Steph come to the rescue and told me that Kawan is vegan. I found this at Minh Phat but she said you can also get it from the Asian supermarket at Barkly Square. 

So easy, just take out of wrapper and fry for a few minutes on each side it become crispy and flakey. I didn't even use oil. It went perfectly with the Thai curry. So all together it nothing fancy or difficult but still quite delicious

It was my turn to cook on Sunday night so I decided to go with something quite lazy and easy: green Thai curry using store brought curry paste. I used Thai Gourmet brand (from Coles) which is both gluten free and vegan. This was so simple and pretty much just followed the recipe on the back of the jar x 2, I'm not sure if it even worth posting it but basically I added 3-4 teaspoons of curry paste, fried up some onions and then added 2 cans of coconut milk and then added veggies (mostly asparagus) and cook until the asparagus was tender. I initially started with a small amount of curry paste (1 teaspoon) in case it was too spicy but it was fine so we added more.

To go with it, I made some baked tofu from Vegan Planet. This is my favourite baked tofu that I have tried.

Baked Tofu 

• 1 16 ounce (450gram) firm tofu drained
  
• 1/3 cup tamari
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (I think I used 1)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  

1. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch slices.
2. In a small bowl combine the rest of the ingredients
3. Place tofu into bowl and pour marinade over it, cover and refrigerated for at least 3 hours, turning once.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove marinade from tofu and bake until brown and firm, about an hour. Turning once about halfway through.

Cheat's version (what I did):
skip the marinade part and just bake with the marinade sauce, it ends up being full of flavour and nice and salty. You might want to lower the soy sauce if you are not into salt though.

I liked the addition of the tofu to the curry, although still think it's better in a sandwich. 

I've been craving roti since I last posted about the roti and dips at Zen Zero Blue so I asked on twitter if anyone knows of some vegan brands of roti bread. Steph come to the rescue and told me that Kawan is vegan. I found this at Minh Phat but she said you can also get it from the Asian supermarket at Barkly Square. 

So easy, just take out of wrapper and fry for a few minutes on each side it become crispy and flakey. I didn't even use oil. It went perfectly with the Thai curry. So all together it nothing fancy or difficult but still quite delicious

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Pomegranate Tofu -Vegan Mofo Day 2

This recipe from cookbooks is so easy and is a great way to use up leftover pomegranate juice, it was made even easier by skipping the baking part.

Pomegranate Braised Tofu

1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil, like canola

1 lb (450 grams) firm tofu

1 cup pomegranate juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses (optional- we didn't have)

Fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish (optional- again we didn't have any)

Halve your brick of tofu into two long bricks, then slice each into 1/4" rectangular pieces. Heat the tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot enough to shimmer, brown the tofu pieces on each side until golden. Make sure your oil is hot enough, the tofu should sizzle when it hits the pan. Once the tofu slices are browned pour sauce over tofu and continue to cook until the sauce reduces to a glaze.
We served ours with greens and brown rice, the soy sauce balances out the pomegrante juice quite nicely. We will make this again for a lazy midweek dinner.

This recipe from cookbooks is so easy and is a great way to use up leftover pomegranate juice, it was made even easier by skipping the baking part.

Pomegranate Braised Tofu

1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil, like canola

1 lb (450 grams) firm tofu

1 cup pomegranate juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses (optional- we didn't have)

Fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish (optional- again we didn't have any)

Halve your brick of tofu into two long bricks, then slice each into 1/4" rectangular pieces. Heat the tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot enough to shimmer, brown the tofu pieces on each side until golden. Make sure your oil is hot enough, the tofu should sizzle when it hits the pan. Once the tofu slices are browned pour sauce over tofu and continue to cook until the sauce reduces to a glaze.
We served ours with greens and brown rice, the soy sauce balances out the pomegrante juice quite nicely. We will make this again for a lazy midweek dinner.

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Best Tofu Tacos!!!!!!!

A few weekends ago, we invited Bec and Troy over to try out tortillas. Armed with a tortilla press, we were able to make better tortillas. We also made salsa, which I imagine is more authentic but nothing like store brought salsa, guacamole, and a lentil filling.

The star of the night however was this taco filling that Toby made, it was fantastic. We did purchase some sweet smoked paprika (the one in the can with the corny looking couple on the front) and Spanish oregano from Casa Iberica, so not sure how much of a part the two herbs played. We realised that the smoked paprika smells like Trippy Taco fries.

Anyway on the recipe, it's pretty simple, punching with flavour and I think superior to Trippy Taco's tofu filling. It was inspired from this recipe here, but we made a few changes including substituting the taco seasoning for this:

1 part garlic powder (We substituted more onion powder cos of Bec's allergic to garlic)
1 part onion powder
1 part oregano (using the fancy Spanish one)
1 part paprika (using the fancy Spanish one)
1 part tsp salt
1 part pepper
1 part chilli powder
2 part cumin

And the rest of the recipe, although we recommend doubling it, so you have plenty:

• 1 pack of dry tofu (from the Asian grocery store)
  
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons of taco seasoning above (we made plenty so that we has some leftover)
  
• 2 1/2 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
• 2 tbsp veg oil
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup water
  

1. First, open and drain package of tofu.
2. Mash tofu with a fork.
3. After the tofu is sufficiently mashed, add 3/4 cup of chopped onions. Mix onions and mashed tofu well.
4. Stir the 2 tbsp of oil into the tofu and onion mixture, coating it evenly.
5. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and get it really hot on a burner. When the cooking oil makes a sizzling noise, transfer tofu and onion mixture into the hot pan.
6. Cook it on high for a minute and then turn it down to medium heat.
7. Take 2 1/2 tbsp tamari and pour it over tofu and onion mix, then stir.
   
8. Add taco seasoning.
   
9. After blending the taco seasoning with the tofu mixture, evenly pour 1/4 cup of water over your mix. Stir with spatula or spoon for even coverage.
10. Add nutritional yeast.
    
11. Cook the whole seasoned tofu mixture on medium heat for a total of around half and hour to blend flavors and make onions approach caramelization. Don't put a lid on it; let the moisture evaporate. Check on it every 5 minutes or so and stir.
12. At the end of the approximately 25-30 minutes mash the tofu mixture flat in the pan, sprinkle lime juice then flip over the flattened mixture as though it were a pancake , do it in 4 or 5 segments. Then mash it flat again, turn the heat up to medium high, and cook it for 4-5 minutes on med high.
13. Turn over segments of flattened mixture, re-flatten, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. These last 2 steps are to dry out and brown the mixture a bit.
    

Here is one with lettuce, nacho cheezly, salsa:

A few weekends ago, we invited Bec and Troy over to try out tortillas. Armed with a tortilla press, we were able to make better tortillas. We also made salsa, which I imagine is more authentic but nothing like store brought salsa, guacamole, and a lentil filling.

The star of the night however was this taco filling that Toby made, it was fantastic. We did purchase some sweet smoked paprika (the one in the can with the corny looking couple on the front) and Spanish oregano from Casa Iberica, so not sure how much of a part the two herbs played. We realised that the smoked paprika smells like Trippy Taco fries.

Anyway on the recipe, it's pretty simple, punching with flavour and I think superior to Trippy Taco's tofu filling. It was inspired from this recipe here, but we made a few changes including substituting the taco seasoning for this:

1 part garlic powder (We substituted more onion powder cos of Bec's allergic to garlic)
1 part onion powder
1 part oregano (using the fancy Spanish one)
1 part paprika (using the fancy Spanish one)
1 part tsp salt
1 part pepper
1 part chilli powder
2 part cumin

And the rest of the recipe, although we recommend doubling it, so you have plenty:

• 1 pack of dry tofu (from the Asian grocery store)
  
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons of taco seasoning above (we made plenty so that we has some leftover)
  
• 2 1/2 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
• 2 tbsp veg oil
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup water
  

1. First, open and drain package of tofu.
2. Mash tofu with a fork.
3. After the tofu is sufficiently mashed, add 3/4 cup of chopped onions. Mix onions and mashed tofu well.
4. Stir the 2 tbsp of oil into the tofu and onion mixture, coating it evenly.
5. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and get it really hot on a burner. When the cooking oil makes a sizzling noise, transfer tofu and onion mixture into the hot pan.
6. Cook it on high for a minute and then turn it down to medium heat.
7. Take 2 1/2 tbsp tamari and pour it over tofu and onion mix, then stir.
   
8. Add taco seasoning.
   
9. After blending the taco seasoning with the tofu mixture, evenly pour 1/4 cup of water over your mix. Stir with spatula or spoon for even coverage.
10. Add nutritional yeast.
    
11. Cook the whole seasoned tofu mixture on medium heat for a total of around half and hour to blend flavors and make onions approach caramelization. Don't put a lid on it; let the moisture evaporate. Check on it every 5 minutes or so and stir.
12. At the end of the approximately 25-30 minutes mash the tofu mixture flat in the pan, sprinkle lime juice then flip over the flattened mixture as though it were a pancake , do it in 4 or 5 segments. Then mash it flat again, turn the heat up to medium high, and cook it for 4-5 minutes on med high.
13. Turn over segments of flattened mixture, re-flatten, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. These last 2 steps are to dry out and brown the mixture a bit.
    

Here is one with lettuce, nacho cheezly, salsa:

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Revisting My Childhood

My father and his siblings grew up in a Public Housing Estate in Hong Kong called So Uk Estate (蘇屋邨). My late grandparents were still living there after my father & Co. married, moved out and had children. They knocked most of the buildings down because they are way too old and the 6 remaining buildings will go in 2012.

In the 80's/90's and maybe the early millennium, we often went back to So UK Estate to visit my grandparents and sometimes have dinner at Lily Chinese Restaurant (百合酒樓). The grand kids, who are all in their 20's/30's now, would sit around a special table and eat children-friendly food. My favourite were deep fried fish fillets with corn sauce, sweet and sour pork, Cantonese style steak fillets and lemon chicken.

I made lemon tofu chicken last week using the amazing Health Wise gluten free batter mix from Absolutely Gluten Free. K thinks it taste a lot like batter from fish and chip shops.

The tofu chicken part is damn simple:

- Cut tofu to bite size.
- Marinade the tofu in a bit of salt (and/or gluten free soy sauce), white pepper (I use black pepper), paprika and dried thyme.
- Dip them in the batter mix.
- Shallow-fry (or deep-fry) them!

With the Lemon sauce, I used this recipe from Christine's Recipe. It is a bi-lingual omni home cooking blog. Christine is a Chinese mum in Queensland.

When they are ready, pour the lemon sauce and serve!

I did the dish again, two big packs of tofu worth, at the gluten-free flour testing party at Cindy and Michael's home and five of us finished the whole thing in a blink of eye.

If you are too lazy to make the sauce, you can just sprinkle Chinese five spices or salt and pepper on it. Enjoy it with Cooper's Pale Ale or Gypsy Pear Cider. La Dolce Vita!

I also made the Cantonese Style Steak, combining different traditional omni recipes online.

What you need is two packs of tempeh.

- Halve tempeh lengthwise, then halve each half crosswise, then halve each portion crosswise again so you will get 8 thin "steak fillets".
- Boil them in water for 5 to 7mins.
- Marinade them in gluten-free few splashes of gluten-free soy sauce, a tablespoon of sugar, a dash of rice wine vinegar, some white/black pepper and few drops of seasame oil.
- In the mean time, slice 2 medium onions. Fry them but remove it from the pan/wok before they turn brown. Put it aside.
- Fry the tempeh til they are brown on both side.
- In the meantime, mix 2 tablespoons of Tomato Sauce and Spring Gully Gluten Free Worcestershire Sauce (vegan-safe and available at Coles), 1/2 tablespoon sugar and salt and dash of rice wine vinegar together in a bowl.
- Add cooked onions and sauce to the tempeh fillets and gently stir fry it on low/medium heat. Add in corn flour water mixture (1 tablespoon of corn flour with 4 tablespoons of water) and cook til the sauce thicken up.

Here you go:


On my walkman:
The North Wind Blew South by Philamore Lincoln

My father and his siblings grew up in a Public Housing Estate in Hong Kong called So Uk Estate (蘇屋邨). My late grandparents were still living there after my father & Co. married, moved out and had children. They knocked most of the buildings down because they are way too old and the 6 remaining buildings will go in 2012.

In the 80's/90's and maybe the early millennium, we often went back to So UK Estate to visit my grandparents and sometimes have dinner at Lily Chinese Restaurant (百合酒樓). The grand kids, who are all in their 20's/30's now, would sit around a special table and eat children-friendly food. My favourite were deep fried fish fillets with corn sauce, sweet and sour pork, Cantonese style steak fillets and lemon chicken.

I made lemon tofu chicken last week using the amazing Health Wise gluten free batter mix from Absolutely Gluten Free. K thinks it taste a lot like batter from fish and chip shops.

The tofu chicken part is damn simple:

- Cut tofu to bite size.
- Marinade the tofu in a bit of salt (and/or gluten free soy sauce), white pepper (I use black pepper), paprika and dried thyme.
- Dip them in the batter mix.
- Shallow-fry (or deep-fry) them!

With the Lemon sauce, I used this recipe from Christine's Recipe. It is a bi-lingual omni home cooking blog. Christine is a Chinese mum in Queensland.

When they are ready, pour the lemon sauce and serve!

I did the dish again, two big packs of tofu worth, at the gluten-free flour testing party at Cindy and Michael's home and five of us finished the whole thing in a blink of eye.

If you are too lazy to make the sauce, you can just sprinkle Chinese five spices or salt and pepper on it. Enjoy it with Cooper's Pale Ale or Gypsy Pear Cider. La Dolce Vita!

I also made the Cantonese Style Steak, combining different traditional omni recipes online.

What you need is two packs of tempeh.

- Halve tempeh lengthwise, then halve each half crosswise, then halve each portion crosswise again so you will get 8 thin "steak fillets".
- Boil them in water for 5 to 7mins.
- Marinade them in gluten-free few splashes of gluten-free soy sauce, a tablespoon of sugar, a dash of rice wine vinegar, some white/black pepper and few drops of seasame oil.
- In the mean time, slice 2 medium onions. Fry them but remove it from the pan/wok before they turn brown. Put it aside.
- Fry the tempeh til they are brown on both side.
- In the meantime, mix 2 tablespoons of Tomato Sauce and Spring Gully Gluten Free Worcestershire Sauce (vegan-safe and available at Coles), 1/2 tablespoon sugar and salt and dash of rice wine vinegar together in a bowl.
- Add cooked onions and sauce to the tempeh fillets and gently stir fry it on low/medium heat. Add in corn flour water mixture (1 tablespoon of corn flour with 4 tablespoons of water) and cook til the sauce thicken up.

Here you go:


On my walkman:
The North Wind Blew South by Philamore Lincoln

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Vietnamese style noodle soup from 1000 vegan recipes

As promised here is the recipe from 1000 vegan recipes, we made quite a few adjustments to make it gluten free:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 serrano or hot green chilli, seeded and chopped (we used dried chilli flakes)
1 tablespoon of ginger, chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce (we used tamari)
2 whole star anise (I couldn't find star anise at the supermarket so left it out)
5 cups of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of barley miso paste (we used white miso paste without barley so it was g/f)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime
1/2 cup hot water
4 ounces (113 grams) dried rice noodles
6 ounces (170 grams) dried seitan (we used smoked tofu but like Batgirl's idea of using fried tofu)
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts (we left this out since apparently you used eat bean sprouts when taking traditional Chinese medicine)
3 green onions chopped for garnish
1/4 cup chopped coriander for garnish

1. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, cover and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the chilli and ginger and cook unitl fragrant. Stir in the soy sauce, anise and broth. Simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes to allow flavours to blend. Strain the soup and return it to the pot discarding the solids. (Toby skipped the straining stage)
2. In a small bowl combine miso, hoisin, lime juice and water and add to the soup, stir in the noodles and the seitan. Cook until the noodles are soft about 10 minutes.
3. Ladle the soup into 4 bowls and garnish with bean sprouts, green onions and cilantro.

Enjoy!

As promised here is the recipe from 1000 vegan recipes, we made quite a few adjustments to make it gluten free:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 serrano or hot green chilli, seeded and chopped (we used dried chilli flakes)
1 tablespoon of ginger, chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce (we used tamari)
2 whole star anise (I couldn't find star anise at the supermarket so left it out)
5 cups of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of barley miso paste (we used white miso paste without barley so it was g/f)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime
1/2 cup hot water
4 ounces (113 grams) dried rice noodles
6 ounces (170 grams) dried seitan (we used smoked tofu but like Batgirl's idea of using fried tofu)
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts (we left this out since apparently you used eat bean sprouts when taking traditional Chinese medicine)
3 green onions chopped for garnish
1/4 cup chopped coriander for garnish

1. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, cover and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the chilli and ginger and cook unitl fragrant. Stir in the soy sauce, anise and broth. Simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes to allow flavours to blend. Strain the soup and return it to the pot discarding the solids. (Toby skipped the straining stage)
2. In a small bowl combine miso, hoisin, lime juice and water and add to the soup, stir in the noodles and the seitan. Cook until the noodles are soft about 10 minutes.
3. Ladle the soup into 4 bowls and garnish with bean sprouts, green onions and cilantro.

Enjoy!

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Matthew's Delicious Tofu -On Regular Rotation

I seem to have gotten into a bad habit of not blogging the meals that we make in our household regularly and the cafes that we go to regularly. But I'm trying to change that, starting with this recipe. We probably make this on a fortnightly-monthly basis, because it easily adaptable, we have it over rice or noodles and have even had it over mashed potatoes (see pic below). We add in whatever veggies and crushed nuts that we have. The dish is great because it's easy, quick and it has a great combination of sweet, sour, and salty flavours, plus a tiny bit of heat. Also, we always seem to have the essential ingredients like garlic, maple syrup, lemons and tamari. I don't think we ever measure the sauces, we just add all of the flavours and then taste to adjust. So feel free to play around with it.

This is from The Garden of Vegan, one of the first cookbooks that I got as a new vegan. It's titled "Matthew's delicious tofu" (page 120) which always make me laugh because my brother's name is Matthew and he hates tofu. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

1lb medium tofu (about 450 grams)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
1/4 tsp dried chilli or 1 tsp Asian chilli sauce
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup Braggs (or Tamari)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 dry roasted almonds, chopped

Saute tofu in oil until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, ginger and chilli. Saute for 5 minutes. Add maple syrup, braggs and lemon juice. Cover and cook until liquid has evaporated. Garnish with almonds. Serve over rice or noodles.

Over mashed potatoes with more sauce but no nuts

Over rice with peanuts

I seem to have gotten into a bad habit of not blogging the meals that we make in our household regularly and the cafes that we go to regularly. But I'm trying to change that, starting with this recipe. We probably make this on a fortnightly-monthly basis, because it easily adaptable, we have it over rice or noodles and have even had it over mashed potatoes (see pic below). We add in whatever veggies and crushed nuts that we have. The dish is great because it's easy, quick and it has a great combination of sweet, sour, and salty flavours, plus a tiny bit of heat. Also, we always seem to have the essential ingredients like garlic, maple syrup, lemons and tamari. I don't think we ever measure the sauces, we just add all of the flavours and then taste to adjust. So feel free to play around with it.

This is from The Garden of Vegan, one of the first cookbooks that I got as a new vegan. It's titled "Matthew's delicious tofu" (page 120) which always make me laugh because my brother's name is Matthew and he hates tofu. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

1lb medium tofu (about 450 grams)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
1/4 tsp dried chilli or 1 tsp Asian chilli sauce
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup Braggs (or Tamari)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 dry roasted almonds, chopped

Saute tofu in oil until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, ginger and chilli. Saute for 5 minutes. Add maple syrup, braggs and lemon juice. Cover and cook until liquid has evaporated. Garnish with almonds. Serve over rice or noodles.

Over mashed potatoes with more sauce but no nuts

Over rice with peanuts

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