Hot and Sour Eggplant

This dish took WAY less time than I imagined... so quick and easy! This amount will serve 3-4 as an appetizer and 2 as an entree, especially with rice or a salad.

Ingredients:
-2 medium eggplants, trimmed and sliced lengthwise into eighths and then once halfwise
-1 tbsp sesame oil
-1 tsp cornstarch
-1 tbsp sambal olek chili sauce (you can also use Sriracha, but then lessen the sugar a bit because it has more sugar than sambal olek)
-1 small clove garlic, diced finely
-3/4 tbsp sugar
-1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
-1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
-1/4 tsp ground ginger
-1 scallion, finely sliced

Method:

After slicing the eggplant, put all the slices into a large bowl of warm water, heavily salted. If you need, place a salad plate or something over the slices so they are immersed in the water as much as possible. Meanwhile, put your wok on the stove on high and dice your scallions.

In a bowl, mix the following together with a fork: cornstarch, sambal olek, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and ginger. Make sure the cornstarch is dissolved and not clumpy. Then drain the eggplant and put the slices onto a paper towel to dry, with more paper towels on top. Thoroughly pat dry all the pieces.

When your wok is very hot, add 1/2 tbsp of the sesame oil and then throw in the eggpant slices (carefully!). Using a wooden spoon, toss the eggplant around a bit so they brown nicely and don't burn. After about 5 minutes they should be soft and smell really nice. If they are getting too dry, add in the other 1/2 tbsp of sesame oil. Then pour in the sauce you just made and the scallions and stir/toss for about 2 minutes until thoroughly coatedand the sauce is thick.

Pour the whole thing onto a serving plate and serve hot! You can sprinkle some sesame seeds on top for garnish.

Eggplant slices before fully cooked - just as I added them to the wok

Miso-Charred Eggplant over Asian Giant Couscous Salad

This sauce/marinade is possibly one of the best I have ever had. It's great on this dish but it's also great as a sauce or drizzle on almost anything. I'm obsessed!

Miso-Charred Eggplant with Asian Giant Couscous Salad

Ingredients for eggplant/sauce:
-2 medium purple eggplants
-3-4 tbsp. sesame oil
-4 tbsp. dark miso paste
-3 tbsp. sugar
-2 tbsp. soy sauce
-4 tbsp. rice vinegar
-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or even ground into a paste
-2-3 tsp. Sriracha or sambal oelek chili sauce
-2 scallions, finely chopped

Ingredients for couscous salad:
-1 package giant Israeli couscous (or regular couscous if you prefer)
-1 tbsp. lime juice
-2 tbsp. sesame oil
-1 tbsp. rice vinegar
-1/2 tsp. ginger powder
-2 scallions, chopped
-handful of snow peas

Method:
First, make the couscous according to package directions. Drain and set into a bowl. While it's still warm, whisk together (or shake in a jar until emulsified) the other ingtedients for the couscous salad - lime juice, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and ginger powder. Pour over the couscous and toss in the scallions. Boil up some water, throw the snow peas in for 3-4 minutes until bright green and a little soft but still crisp, and then drain. Run the peas under cold water, then toss them in with the couscous. Set that aside.

Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil for the eggplant in a frying pan (large) over medium heat. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, and then score each one diagonally (crosshatch in a diamond pattern) with a sharp knife (do not cut the skin, just the flesh) with cuts about 1" apart. Once the oil is hot, place 2 of the eggplant halves flesh-side down into the frying pan and cook for 4-5 minutes. Then turn them over and cook for 2-3 minutes more on the skin side. Do this with the other 2 halves next. Set all 4 halves flesh-side up in an oven-safe dish and set aside.

Preheat your broiler to the top heat. In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the miso marinade (miso paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, chili sauce). Spoon the marinade thickly over the eggplant halves then put in the oven under the broiler. Watch it carefully - they should probably only be in there for about 5-6 minutes, until the eggplants look a little softer and the marinade is bubbling but NOT burned on top of them. Remove from oven.

Plate any way you want - I piled some couscous salad on the plate and laid eggplant halves on top, then topped with more sliced scallions. I saved some marinade to use as extra topping sauce as well. Enjoy! 

Sesame-Ginger Spinach Rice Bowl

Another easy meal-in-a-bowl which took almost no time at all and holds up so well as leftovers! I am really into these "throw it all in and mix" type meals because they have everything you need nutritionally and taste fantastic.

Sesame-Ginger Spinach Rice Bowl

Ingredients:
-6 cups baby spinach
-1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1/2 package of smoked tofu, cubed (optional)
-1/2 a large cucumber, diced with skin on
-2-3 large scallions, sliced
-1 avocado, diced
-handful mushrooms, sliced
-2 tsp black (or regular) sesame seeds (optional)

Dressing:
-2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1/2 tsp ginger powder
-1 tbsp. sake
-1 1/2 tbsp. rice vinegar
-1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
-1-3 tsp. Sriracha or sambal olek chili (optional, to taste)

Method:
Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, put spinach, beans, tofu, cucumber, scallions, avocado and mushrooms in a large bowl.

Put all dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake until emulsified. When the rice is ready, add into the large bowl, pour dressing all over and stir to combine. Serve and top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Cambodian Wedding Day Dip

This one is a really interesting dip with such great flavors and I can almost guarantee you've never had anything like it before.  I found the recipe in a vegetarian cookbook in England (thanks Jill!) and modified it a bit.

Cambodian Wedding Day Dip

Ingredients:

-500 g mixed variety mushrooms
-1 tbsp sunflower oil
-1 small hot chili finely chopped (or chili sauce)
-3 garlic cloves
-1 tbsp curry powder
-2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
-1/2 of a 400ml can of coconut milk
-Juice of 1 lime
-Dash soy sauce
-Finely chopped coriander (optional)

Method:

Finely pulse mushrooms in food processor to 3-4mm pieces.

Heat oil in wok over high heat. Add mushrooms and cook briskly, stirring often, until all liquid they released has evaporated. Add chili and garlic and fry for another minute.

Add curry powder and peanut butter, stir in thoroughly and then stir in coconut milk. Let it all bubble rapidly, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesnt burn, until thick- up to half an hour. Add lime juice and soy sauce to taste.

Scoop dip into a bowl. Scatter with coriander. Serve with rice as a meal, or flatbread as a dip.

Spicy Smoky Szechuan Green Beans with Sesame Crusted Tofu

This is another dish with tons of flavor and can be made as spicy or mild as you like it.  I have also done it with broccoli or white onion or red pepper - really whatever vegetables you are in the mood for that day!

Szechuan Green Beans with Sesame Crusted Tofu

Ingredients:

-1 lb. green beans, broccoli, or mix of veggies
-1 package smoked or regular tofu (extra firm!!)
-6 tbsp. soy sauce
-1 1/2 tbsp. peanut butter
-2 tbsp. brown sugar or molasses
-3 tsp. rice vinegar
-1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
-1/4 tsp. onion powder
-5 tsp. sesame oil
-20-40 drops of Tabasco
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1 tbsp. liquid smoke
-1/2 tsp. ginger powder
-1/3 cup cashews or peanuts
-1/4 cup sesame seeds (I used a combo of black and white)
-little bit more sesame oil for pan
-brown rice or grain of your choice (optional)

Method:

First, cut the tofu into slabs about 1/2 inch thick.  Drain it by placing over some paper towels, with more paper towels on top, with something heavy(ish) on top of that.  You can use a heavy pan, pile of magazines, etc.  Leave the tofu like that for at least 20 minutes or while you're preparing the next steps of the recipe.

In a frying pan over medium heat, roast the nuts.  Pour them into the pan once it's hot, let sit for a couple minutes, and shake it up every couple minutes until they are browned.  No need to have them brown evenly.  Pour them onto a small bowl to use later.

In the same frying pan over medium heat, pour a little bit of sesame oil and wait for it to heat up.  Meanwhile, whisk together the soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, garlic, onion powder, sesame oil, Tabasco, pepper, liquid smoke, and ginger powder.  Once that is combined, spoon out about 3-4 tbsp of the sauce into a shallow bowl.  Set the rest aside.

Pour the sesame seeds into another shallow bowl.  Take the tofu, dredge through the sauce in one bowl, and dredge through the sesame seeds to get as many stuck to both sides of the tofu as possible and lay in the frying pan of sesame oil.  Fry on medium heat for 4 minutes per side.  (Note: to flip, it is probably better to use tongs instead of a spatula.  This will keep the sesame seeds on the tofu as much as possible.)  Once tofu has been cooked on both sides, set aside on a plate with some paper towels to drain some of the oil off.

Heat a wok or large pan over medium-high heat.  Once hot, throw in your veggies/beans with 2-3 tablespoons of water.  Water-saute them for a few minutes until they are cooked but still crisp.  You can add a little more water if you need, but by the time they are cooked there should be no water in the wok.  Pour in the sauce you made earlier and toss so everything is coated and sauce is heated through.  Remove from heat.

Serve over rice or a grain of your choice if desired, with tofu on top of veggies.  Sprinkle with roasted nuts.

Sweet Potatoes are Your Friend

This recipe from the NY Times not only forced me to learn how to use the grater blade on my food processor, but was insanely flavorful and took only a few minutes to prepare.  Good as a side dish, or under some stir fried veggies, or even on its own.  Or if you stir it less and let it sit more and flip it instead of stirring, it's kind of like an Asian sweet potato hash browns dish.

Original: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/dining/15minirex1.html

Gingery Stir Fried Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

-4 scallions, trimmed and cut into one-inch pieces
-2 garlic cloves
-1 piece fresh ginger (an inch long), peeled
-2 small fresh hot chilies (like jalapeño or Thai), stem and seeds removed (or 1-2 tbsp. Sriracha in a pinch)
-1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one- to two-inch chunks
-3 tbsp. peanut oil
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper
-1 tbsp. soy sauce, more for serving.


Method:

Put scallions in food processor and pulse until finely chopped; remove. Add garlic, ginger and chili to the processor and pulse until minced; remove. Fit the processor with grating blade and grate sweet potatoes.

Put oil in a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add garlic-ginger-chili mixture and fry for 30 seconds. Add half the scallions and all the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring or tossing, until the potatoes are lightly browned, about 10 minutes; the potatoes need not be fully tender.

Add soy sauce, toss once, and transfer potatoes to serving platter. Garnish with remaining scallions and serve immediately with additional soy sauce, if desired.

Spicy (or not) Asian Bean Salad

This one is great to bring to parties, as a side dish, as an easy lunch, or underneath a piece of fish (or in our case, halved, marinated eggplant).  Super easy and it's the reason my pantry shelf is about to crack under the weight of my many cans of beans.

As Spicy As You Like Asian Bean Salad

Ingredients:
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
-1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
-4 scallions, chopped
-1/2 cucumber, peeled or unpeeled (your preference), sliced thin
-1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes (optional)
-1 tbsp. sesame oil
-1 clove minced garlic
-1 tbsp. miso paste
-3 tbsp. soy sauce
-1 tbsp. rice vinegar
-1 tbsp. sake
-1 tsp. sugar
-1 tsp ginger powder or 1 tsp. minced or grated fresh ginger
-anywhere from 1 tsp to 1 1/2 tbsp. Sriracha or sambal oelek

Method:

Put the drained and rinsed beans, cucumber, scallions, and tomatoes in a big bowl and mix.

Put the sauce ingredients (oil, garlic, miso, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sake, sugar, ginger, and hot sauce into a jar with a top, and shake vigorously until all combined and sugar dissolved.  Or put them in a bowl and whisk.

Pour sauce over bean salad and mix.  Serve!

How to Use Your Mangoes Part II

As promised, here is the other recipe I tried and it was a huge hit.  I pretty much followed this recipe exactly because Isa Moskowitz at the Post Punk Kitchen is amazing and a real trailblazer in vegan cooking.  It looks like a complicated recipe but trust me it's not.  Also, I cut the recipe in half when I made it at home and we had enough for dinner with plenty of leftovers for lunches the next couple of days.  It reheats well too.  Enjoy!

Original recipe can be found here: http://www.theppk.com/2012/02/mango-fried-rice/

Mango Fried Rice

Ingredients:
-3/4 cup unroasted cashews (if using roasted cashews, skip the toasting step)
-6 oz green beans (about 1 1/2 cups), ends removed, sliced into 1 inch pieces
-3 tbsp. peanut or canola oil, divided
-1 medium red onion, diced medium
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tbsp. fresh minced ginger
-2 tsp. crushed coriander seed
-1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
-6 cups cold jasmine rice
-3 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce (tamari is gluten free, soy sauce is not)
-1 tbsp. Sriracha hot sauce
-1 tomato, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
-2 mangos, peeled, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
-15 basil leaves, chiffonade (that means rolled up and thinly sliced, but you can just chop it, too) (I use Thai basil, which can be found in Asian stores, and it gives it a little something extra.  But regular is fine, I'm sure.)
-2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

To serve:
-Extra Sriracha
-Fresh cilantro (optional)

Method:

Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan (preferably cast iron) over medium heat. Toss in the cashews and dry toast them for about 5 minutes, flipping occasionally. They should be slightly browned in some spots, but it’s okay if they’re unevenly browned, you don’t have to be too precise about it. Transfer cashews to a large plate.

Now we’re going to sear the green beans. Turn the heat on the pan up to medium-high. Add the green beans, a scant tablespoon of oil and a dash of salt. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the beans are bright green and seared. Transfer beans to the same plate as the cashews.

Add the onions to the pan along with another tablespoon of oil and a dash of salt. Toss for about 3 minutes, until onions are slightly charred but still firm. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander and red pepper flakes, and toss for 30 seconds are so, being careful not to burn.

Add another tablespoon of oil and about half of the cold rice. Toss to coat, then add in the remaining rice, tossing once again. Cook for about 3 minutes, tossing often, until warmed through.

Add the tamari, hot sauce and tomato, and toss. Cook for another 3 minutes, until the rice has browned sufficiently and the tomato is slightly broken down.

Add the string beans and cashews, mangoes, basil leaves and lime juice. Cook just until mangoes are heated through and basil is wilted, a minute or two. Taste for salt (don’t add more tamari, just add salt if it needs it) and serve, garnished with cilantro if you like, and with a bottle of Sriracha close by.

Asian Chop Chop Salad with Peanut Lime Dressing

This one is great because you can make the salad portion and keep it in the fridge for a few days as long as you don't pour the dressing over the whole thing.  I add the dressing to each individual serving right before I eat.  You can also make this a lot spicier if you like that!

Asian Chop Chop Salad with Peanut Lime Dressing

Ingredients for salad:

-1/4 head of red cabbage, chopped roughly into inch cubes

-1 red bell pepper, chopped roughly and seeded

-3 cups lettuce of your choice, chopped roughly

-2 carrots, peeled and chopped into inch long pieces

-big handful of green beans, ends cut off

-1 cup cherry tomatoes

-4 scallions, chopped into 2 inch pieces OR 1 small red onion, roughly chopped

-peanuts to sprinkle on top (optional)

Ingredients for dressing:

-2 tbsp. sesame oil

-2 garlic cloves

-1/4 cup natural peanut butter

-1 tbsp (about 1 inch piece) fresh ginger, peeled

-3 tbsp fresh lime juice

-2 tbsp soy sauce

-2 tsp brown sugar

-1 tbsp (or more) of Sriracha or sambal oelek if you like it a bit spicy

-2 tsp water, to thin out.

Method:

Put each ingredient into the food processor SEPARATELY and pulse 2-4 times until chopped to your satisfaction.

Pour into bowl, fold all chopped veggies together.

Method for dressing:

Put garlic cloves and ginger into food processor to mince finely. Add all other dressing ingredients to food processor and process until well combined and smooth. Put in jar/container with top.

I serve out salad and have each person spoon their desired amount of dressing on top and mix on their own plates... this way the whole salad doesn't get too soggy and people can decide how dressing-y they want it.

The Most Amazing Smoked Tofu Dish You'll Ever Eat

I found this recipe on Food.com and made some slight changes which have resulted in everyone I ever serve it to (vegetarian or not) demanding the recipe.  You can find the original here:
http://www.food.com/recipe/avocado-with-tofu-183673

And I have included my changes in the version below.

Avocado-Smoked Tofu Asian Salad

Ingredients:
-1 package smoked firm or extra firm tofu
-1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
-1 avocado, cut into 1 inch chunks
-2-3 dried chili peppers
-1/4 cup sesame oil
-1/8 cup rice vinegar
-1/8 cup sugar
-1/4 cup soy sauce or Tamari
-2 cups giant Israeli couscous (or rice, or your favorite grain)

Method:

Put the first 3 ingredients in a big serving bowl. 

Shake vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in a jar until the sugar dissolves completely (might be a few minutes.  I let it rest, then shake, then rest, then shake, etc while I do other things around the kitchen.)

Pour the mixture over the avocado/tofu/tomato salad and stire gently.

Using a small saucepan, heat the seame oil over medium-high heat and put the chilies in.  Keep them in there until they start to smoke, maybe 10-15 minutes.  Turn off heat, use tongs to discard chilies, and pour oil over the salad.  Stir to mix up a bit, and serve over your grain of choice.

The Original: Thai Peanut Noodles

For my very first post, I thought I'd give a tiny bit of background as to why I created this blog, and then in future posts I promise to keep it to the recipes and keep the rambling to a minimum. 

I have always loved to cook and bake but got much more into it the last couple years.  It was even more fun when I moved in with my lahhhvahhh and could cook food for 2, which is infinitely more fun than food for one.  (Yay validation!)  As a New Years resolution I decided to eat a vegan diet when not on vacation, which means everything I ever cook is vegan.  Which means I have read hundreds of vegan blogs, books, websites, and articles by people even more sanctimonious than me! (And blogs by truly wonderful, snarky, intellectual people who don't a hoot if you are vegan or not.)

So.  Because I have tried SO many recipes, both things I created and things I swiped from inspired vegans around me, I have done a lot of research which I hate to go to waste.  And quite a few people have started asking me for recipes, perhaps because Meatless Mondays are gaining popularity or perhaps because I am a beautiful culinary genius.  It's impossible to know.  Either way, I plan to post only the VERY BEST recipes which I love or I get asked for frequently here, and only ones which I have personally tested and find outstanding.  If I didn't create the recipe, I will have a notation stating that.  And for the first recipe, there was really no contest.... 

Thai Peanut Noodles with scallions and black sesame seeds

Thai Peanut Noodles
This is a super-delicious, creamy, flavorful Thai dish that I have honed over the years.  It is ALWAYS a hit and if you have leftovers, they reheat well in the microwave with a dash of extra water, soy sauce, or sesame oil to moisten them up.
Serves 4-6 as an entree, but also good as leftovers!

Ingredients:
-1 lb. noodles of choice (I like kamut or whole wheat linguine or spaghetti.  Glass noodles are too fragile for this.  Or soba noodles could work too!)
-2 tbsp. sesame oil
-3 tbsp. peanut oil
-1 tbsp fresh minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
-4 scallions, chopped finely
-1-3 tbsp. chili sauce of your choice (I like sambal oelek, but Sriracha works too)
-1 inch piece freshly chopped ginger or 1 tsp. ginger powder
-3-4 tbsp. brown sugar
-1 cup peanut butter (I like natural chunky)
-6 tbsp. rice vinegar (white vinegar can work in a pinch)
-6 tbsp. soy sauce (or tamari if gluten free)
-12 tbsp. hot water from pasta pot
-sesame seeds
-extra scallions chopped for serving
-roasted peanuts for serving (optional)


Mixing the sauce with the drained noodles

Method:

1. Make pasta as per directions on package.  When done, pour into a bowl with the sesame oil and toss to coat so it doesn't stick.  You should make pasta simultaneously while making sauce because you will need some of the boiling pasta water for the sauce.

2. In a saucepan over low heat, mix peanut oil, ginger, garlic, chili sauce, and scallions.  Heat for 2 minutes.

3. Add brown sugar and stir until melted together.  Add peanut butter and stir until creamy and mixed.  Add soy sauce and rice vinegar and stir until creamy.  Add hot water and stir until blended.

4. Pour hot peanut sauce over noodles in bowl.  Mix.  Serve and top with sesame seeds and fresh scallions (and peanuts if using).  If you like it EXTRA hot, put a little more chili sauce on top when serving.