Asian Archives - Page 3 of 4

Asian-Inspired Lettuce Wraps

May 21, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This meal reminds me of Thanksgiving—lots of prep and then devoured in ten minutes! Not that the prep time took all day–more like 20 minutes, just lots of chopping. The recipe is from The Vegan Table cookbook, but I made a few minor alterations and added some ingredients. Despite the prep work, I’ll make these again and again.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Tbs water, divided
2 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs finely grated or minced ginger
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped (I used 1/2 of one)
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 pkg (16-oz) extra-firm tofu (I used just a 14-oz pkg)
1 Tbs chili paste
2 Tbs light brown sugar
2 Tbs light miso paste
2 tsp sesame seeds
10 Boston bibb or butter lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry
10 basil leaves (I accidentally left these out)
2 small cucumbers, peeled and julienned (I found that one was plenty)
Optional ingredients:
1 can bamboo shoots, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
5 mushrooms, diced (these also make up for the 2 ounces of tofu I didn’t use)
Drizzle sauce:
1/2 C soy sauce
1-2 Tbs rice vinegar

Light miso paste

Chili paste

DIRECTIONS:
Heat 2 tablespoons of water in a saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and cook for 2 minutes, until they softened. Add red pepper and carrot and cook another minute. This is where I added the bamboo shoots. Meanwhile, crumble the tofu in a separate bowl until pretty small–like bread crumbs (I diced it up ). Add to pan and cook for 10 minutes, thoroughly combining with vegetables (this is also where I added the mushrooms and green onions).

Add chili paste and stir to combine. To make sauce (not the drizzle sauce) place brown sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan and dissolve over low-medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in miso paste and sesame seeds. Add to tofu mixture and combine well.

To make sauce: combine soy sauce and rice vinegar. To make wraps: trim edges of lettuce leaves to make them uniformly circular. Add a basil leaf and a julienned cucumber to each “cup”, add tofu mixture and drizzle with soy sauce/rice vinegar sauce. Enjoy!

Vegetable Chow Mein

May 10, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is a pretty quick dish to throw together and served with some vegetable spring rolls, it makes the perfect meal. I used buckwheat soba and chow mein noodles from O’Hana House—fully cooked and vegan. They come with two 6-oz packages, so I combined one of each variety. They only boil for about 2 minutes and the leftover (unopened) packages will keep in the fridge for a while. Other ingredients to try: diced up tofu, celery, bell pepper, and/or cabbage.

INGREDIENTS:
12-oz buckwheat soba or chow mein noodles, fully cooked
4 Tbs soy sauce
3 tsp sesame seed oil
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp ginger root, grated
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 can bamboo shoots, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
1/2 C cashews, coarsely chopped
1/2 C snow peas, cut into 1/2″ pieces
3 green onions, sliced thin
3-4 mushrooms, diced
1 Tbs olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, sesame seed oil, rice vinegar, sugar, and ginger; set aside. In large skillet, heat oil and garlic over high heat for 1 minute. Add the bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and snow peas for about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and green onions and cook another 4 minutes. In the meantime, boil the noodles according to package instructions–about 2 minutes. Add sauce and cashews to the skillet and mix well with the veggies. Drain the noodles and add to the skillet mixture, stirring well to combine. Enjoy!

Sesame Noodles With Tofu Steaks

April 13, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This recipe has so many of my favorite ingredients: tofu, sesame and bok choy. It’s a hands-on meal from start to finish, but it definitely isn’t complicated. The tofu is wonderful and the recipe for it would be perfect for tofu sandwiches.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds firm or extra-firm tofu, cut into 12 equal slices
7 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed, canola or sunflower
3/4 pound udon or soba noodles
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed well but not trimmed
1 scallion, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:
Fill a large pot three-quarters full with water and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, and keep the water at a boil while you prepare the tofu.
Lay the tofu slices on one half of a clean cloth towel. Fold the other half over the tofu and gently press down to extract any excess moisture. ( I pressed the whole block, then sliced it)
Place 6 tablespoons of the soy sauce, the mirin, honey, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Warm a large nonstick skillet over high heat and add the neutral oil. Let it heat for 30 seconds. Add the tofu and fry until golden brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip the pieces over, pour on the soy mixture, and cook until the sauce has reduced and thickened, another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions until done. Drain the noodles, and transfer them to a large bowl.

Add the sesame seeds, sesame oil, and remaining soy sauce, tossing the pasta to blend well. Return the pot to high heat and add the bok choy and 1 cup of water. Cover the pot and steam until the bok choy is crisp-tender and bright green, about 2 minutes.

Serve the noodles topped with greens and tofu, sprinkled with scallions. For some crunch, I suggest sprinkling chopped peanuts on top. Enjoy!

Recipe source: Peter Berley

Fill a large pot three-quarters full with water and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, and keep the water at a boil while you prepare the tofu.
Lay the tofu slices on one half of a clean cloth towel. Fold the other half over the tofu and gently press down to extract any excess moisture.
Place 6 tablespoons of the soy sauce, the mirin, honey, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Warm a large nonstick skillet over high heat and add the neutral oil. Let it heat for 30 seconds. Add the tofu and fry until golden brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip the pieces over, pour on the soy mixture, and cook until the sauce has reduced and thickened, another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions until done. Drain the noodles, and transfer them to a large bowl.
Add the sesame seeds, sesame oil, and remaining soy sauce, tossing the pasta to blend well. Return the pot to high heat and add the bok choy and 1 cup of water. Cover the pot and steam until the bok choy is crisp-tender and bright green, about 2 minutes. Serve the noodles topped with greens and tofu, sprinkled with scallions.

Sweet and Sour Seitan

April 9, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is a really quick and easy meal to throw together–less than 30 minutes. Tofu can easily be substituted for the seitan and other vegetables can be added as well. The original recipe calls for frying the seitan in 2″ of oil, but I’m not a fan of deep-frying so I sauteed the seitan instead, which worked out great. This recipe makes quite a bit if you use 2 packages of seitan–it’ll feed 4-6. For a small crowd, I’d do just 1 package and halve the other ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:
2 packages seitan cut into bite-sized chunks
3/4 cup flour
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup water
Peanut oil (I used olive oil)
1 green pepper cut in chunks
1 red pepper cut in chunks
1 onion cut in chunks
1 can pineapple chunks (drain, but reserve 1/4 C of juice)
Jar (11.5 oz) of sweet and sour sauce (I like Kikkoman’s brand)

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together flour, water, cornstarch, salt and baking soda in medium bowl.
Stir seitan into batter until well coated. Heat 2-3 Tbs of olive oil in a large skillet. Add seitan. Because of the batter, the pieces will stick together–use a metal spatula to turn sections of seitan and cut apart later. Cook until golden brown, then remove from heat; keep warm.

Combine green pepper and onion and sauté for 5 min. Add pineapple and reserved juice, and sweet and sour sauce. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Pour over seitan–I recommend not adding the seitan to the pan because the coating may come off. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Recipe source: Vegweb

Hoisin-Glazed Tempeh with Green Beans and Cashews

March 18, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is from Vegetarian Times and if you don’t have a lot of time, it’s a fast and easy meal. I made a few minor changes to the recipe like doubling the tempeh and sauce ingredients, plus I served it over rice that I seasoned with sesame seed oil and ground ginger. (I’ll list the original recipe–decide for yourself if you’d like to double it). If you’re not a big fan of tempeh, tofu would work great. The sauce itself is a great basic stir-fry sauce for any of your favorite stir-fry ingredients. I think mushrooms or bamboo shoots would have been a great addition to this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
4 tsp hoisin sauce
2-1/2 tsp rice vinegar, divided
1 Tbs soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1-1/2 Tbs minced ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp)
1-8oz pkg tempeh, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1-12oz pkg frozen whole baby green beans (I used just 10 ounces of cut green beans)
1/3 C roasted, unsalted cashews (I used 2/3 and roasted them self in a dry pan over the stove–cheaper)!
1-2 C cooked rice seasoned with 3-4 splashes of sesame seed oil and 1/8-1/4 tsp ground ginger (Optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together hoisin sauce, 2 tsp rice vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1/2 C water in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat skillet or wok over medium heat. Add oil, then ginger and garlic. Stir-fry 1-2 mins or until garlic turns pale gold. Add tempeh and hoisin sauce mixture to pan. Stir to coat tempeh. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 2 mins, or until sauce begins to thicken. Stir in green beans. Cover, and simmer 4-5 mins, or until beans are hot, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp of rice vinegar. Serve topped with cashews.

Enjoy!

Honey-Glazed Tofu on Couscous

March 6, 2010 by epicureanvegan

I have a stack of magazines, each with at least ten Post-Its sticking out, marking delicious-looking recipes to try. Facing a hungry family, I looked through this arsenal of dinner options. This one is from Healing Foods Cookbook from Vegetarian Times. Calling for 2 tsp of black pepper, it had a bit of a kick–I definitely loved it, but if you don’t, I’d cut the pepper dose in half. The recipe also called for (2) 10-oz of extra firm tofu, but I used just (1) 14-oz and that was more than enough. I made a couple of other alterations, but I’ll post the original recipe with my changes.

INGREDIENTS:
Honey-Glazed Tofu:
2- 10 oz pkgs. extra-form tofu (I used 1- 14 oz pkg.)
2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 C honey
Pumpkin Seed Couscous:
2 C low-sodium vegetable broth
2 medium carrots, chopped–1 cup (I didn’t have any…oops)
1 C frozen edamame, thawed
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 C whole wheat couscous (I used regular)
1/2 C toasted pumpkin seeds (I used toasted sliced almonds)

DIRECTIONS:
To make Honey-Glazed Tofu: Place tofu between two plates and set heavy pot (or cans) on top. Drain 10 mins and pat dry. Cut tofu into 3/8″ thick slices. (I didn’t get a ruler out–just went for it).

Combine pepper, thyme, and salt in a small bowl. Coat tofu slices with pepper mixture and set aside.

To make Pumpkin Seed Couscous: Bring broth, carrots, edamame, olive oil, and salt to a boil in a covered saucepan. Remove from heat, and stir in couscous. Cover 5 mins, then fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil and honey in a large skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling. Place seasoned tofu in pan and cook 3 mins. Turn and cook 3 minutes more, spooning thickening sauce over tofu.

To serve: Stir pumpkin seeds into couscous. (I sprinkled them on top of single servings to keep them from getting soft or soggy, especially for leftovers). Spoon onto plates and top with Honey-Glazed Tofu. It will feed about 6 people. Definitely delicious and I think any leftover tofu would be great for sandwiches, too. Enjoy!

Tempeh (or Seitan) in Hearty Mushroom-Mustard Sauce

February 9, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is another outstanding recipe from Vegetarian Times, this time, from their Healing Foods Cookbook. I used chicken-style seitan instead of tempeh and served it over mashed potatoes. I doubled it–making about 5 servings. Plus, taking less than 30 mins to make, I will certainly be making this again and again.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 7-oz pkg tempeh, cut into 1/2″ cubes (I used 2 pkgs Westsoy seitan–blue box)
1 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
10 oz cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (I didn’t have these so I just used more cremini mushrooms)
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
2-1/2 C lager, such as Samuel Adams Boston Lager (I used Dundee Lager–I don’t think it matters, plus I didn’t completely double this–used about 3-1/4 cups)
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
2 green onions, white and green parts finely sliced

DIRECTIONS:
Heat 2 Tbs oil in 12″ skillet over medium heat. Cook tempeh (if using seitan, keep in mind that seitan cooks faster than tempeh–it’s just a matter of browning it, which doesn’t take more than 5 mins) cubes in oil 7-10 mins, or until browned on all sides, stirring frequently. Add soy sauce and cook 2 mins, or until pan is almost dry. Transfer tempeh to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Add remaining 2 Tbs oil and mushrooms to pan, and sprinkle with salt to taste, if desired. Saute 10 mins or until browned and slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in flour. Cook 1-2 mins or until flour begins to brown, stirring constantly. Increase heat to medium-high, add lager and mustard, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 15 mins, or until the sauce thickens. Stir in tempeh; simmer 5 mins more. Serve sprinkled with green onions.

NOTE: The recipe suggests that for a sweeter take on the sauce, stir in 1 Tbs agave nectar with the mustard and use use just 1-1/2 C of lager plus 1 cup of water.

Enjoy!

Marinated Tempeh with Vegetables

February 2, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is just a great basic marinade that would work with seitan, tofu, or even as a stir-fry sauce and takes no time at all to throw together.

INGREDIENTS:
8oz tempeh, sliced into 16 triangles
3 Tbs minced ginger
4 Tbs Tamari
3 tsp brown spicy mustard
3 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs mirin
1 Tbs Ume plum vinegar
4 Tbs water
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
6-8 mushrooms, quartered
(asparagus would be good, too)!

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together the ginger, tamari, mustard, sesame oil, water, mirin and vinegar in small bowl. In a medium-sized baking dish, combine the tempeh and vegetables and then coat thoroughly with the marinade. Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins. Remove foil, stir the tempeh and veggies and cover again; bake for another 12-15 mins. If you have more time, marinate the tempeh and veggies in the refrigerator for about an hour before baking.

Thai Peanut-Burger Wraps with Spicy Peanut Sauce

January 21, 2010 by epicureanvegan

These require a little bit of (easy) prep work and they’re well worth it! I also think they’d taste great as the next day’s cold lunch.

INGREDIENTS:
Burgers:
1/2 C chopped red onion
1/2 seeded and chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 C unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
8 oz extra-firm tofu, drained and mashed (I recommend squeezing all the water out, too)
3 Tbs smooth peanut butter
2 Tbs chopped fresh Thai basil or cilantro leaves
2 Tbs tamari or dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp Asian chili paste
Salt
1/2 C dry bread crumbs (I had to use about a cup)
flour tortillas or pita bread
Shredded romaine lettuce
Spicy Peanut Sauce:
1/2 C smooth natural peanut butter
1 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 C tamari or other soy sauce
1/4 C water, or more as needed
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp Asian chili paste
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. In a food processor, combine the onion, bell pepper, garlic, ginger and peanuts. Pulse to blend, leaving some texture. Add the tofu, peanut butter, Thai basil or cilantro, tamari, chili paste and salt to taste and pulse until mixture is well combined. Shape the the mixture into 4 large or 8 small patties (I advise going for the smaller patties–they are much easier to handle because they will fall apart if too big) and coat evenly with the bread crumbs. (Here, I recommend shaping the patty with hands and leave in your hand and thoroughly sprinkle with bread crumbs, then flip to other hand and sprinkle the other side with bread crumbs). Arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake turning once, until browned on both sides, 25-30 mins. (15 mins on each side was just about right. This is where you’ll be glad you did small patties because they’re hard to keep together if they’re too big). While these are baking, make the peanut sauce: In a small bowl or food processor, combine peanut butter, garlic, tamari, water, vinegar, chili paste, and sugar until well blended. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more water if the sauce is too thick. (Use at once or refrigerate until ready to use). Stir in the cilantro just before using. Will keep for 4-5 days. It makes 1 cup, but I doubled it since I’ll use it on baked tofu, tempe, steamed veggies and even sandwiches.

Okay…to assemble cut the burgers in halves or thirds, if necessary, so that they roll up easily. Place them end to end on the lower third of the tortillas. Top with the lettuce and drizzle with the peanut sauce (it goes a long way, so you don’t need a ton) and roll up. Serves 4. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Recipe source: Vegan Planet

Miso Soup with Tofu and Baby Spinach

January 21, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This soup has all my favorite ingredients! Mushrooms, spinach, tofu, green onion….It’s a very light soup that would go great with half a sandwich and is tasty, tasty, tasty! Plus, with prep and cook time, it was ready in about 25 minutes. This is great soothing soup–it’s the new chicken soup. Add or substitute your favorite ingredients like celery, leeks or shredded carrot.

INGREDIENTS:
6 C water
1 1/2 C baby spinach leaves, cut into thin strips
1/2 C thinly sliced mushrooms
3 Tbs minced scallions (about 3 large green onions)
1 Tbs Tamari or other soy sauce
1/3 C mellow white miso paste
4 oz extra firm silken tofu, drained and cut into 1/2″ dice

DIRECTIONS:
Place the water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the spinach, mushrooms, scallions, and tamari. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables soften, about 3-6 mins. Reduce the heat to low. Place 1/4 cup of the soup mixture in a small bowl and add the miso, blending well. Stir the mixture back into the soup and add the tofu and simmer for 2 minutes, being careful not to boil. Serve hot. Serves 4. Enjoy!