Deniz has always had an affinity for south east Asian peanut sauces, but has always been disappointed by the Massaman curries he’s ordered in Thai restaurants. They’ve typically been cloyingly sweet, not something he appreciates in main dishes. His disappointment became so frequent, that I eventually started encouraging him to order other curries so he could enjoy his meal. However, when we began making lesser known international dishes, we ran across an Indonesian Gado Gado recipe on recipetineats.com that looked promising. The peanut sauce was a delicious balance of peanutty goodness with a hint of sugar, spice, and heat. Below is our modification of the recipe to meet our particular tastes.

Print

Indonesian Gado Gado

A scruptious blend of peanutty goodness, south east Asian spices, and heat poured atop a warmed salad.

Ingredients

Gado Gado Sauce

• 1/3 c creamy peanut butter, we prefer low sugar
• 2 T peanuts, chopped
• 4 T red curry paste
• 1 T Kecap manis, also known as thick sweet soy sauce
• 1 t sambal oelak
• 1/2 c coconut milk, high fast
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t brown sugar
• 1/2 T lime juice
• 1/2 c water

Warm Salad Ingredients

• 1 c egg noodles, pre-cooked and detangled
• 1 handful baby spinach leaves, washed
• 1 c bean sprouts
• 1/2 block tofu, fried and cut in half and sliced (thick slices)
• 1/2 chayote, cut in half and sliced (thick slices)

Cold Salad Ingredients

• 2 eggs, boiled, cut in half, and then sliced
• 1 persian cucumber, cut into strips
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• 3 romaine lettuce leaves, roughly chopped

Notes

1.  Mix all Gado Gado Sauce ingredients in a medium sauce pan over low heat.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring so that it doesn’t burn.  
2. Hardboil and peel the eggs.  Put them in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.  Drain, fill the pot with cold water and peel the shells immediately.  
3. Prepare the Warm Salad Ingredients and Cold Salad Ingredients per instructions in the ingredients list.
4. Fry all of the Warm Salad Ingredients together in a medium covered sauce pan with a few tablespoons of water until spinach is wilted and the rest of the ingredients are thoroughly warmed.
5. Place the Cold Salad Ingredients onto the serving plate.  Place the Warm Salad Ingredients on top.  Pour the cooked Gado Gado sauce on top.  

Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad is Kelin’s new favorite dish, and one of my top 10, so of course we had to learn how to make it.  After a lot of trial and error, we finally perfected a vegetarian version that Kelin gave the thumbs up as restaurant-quality.  Pho Ca Dao is by far our favorite restaurant for this dish, so we used it as the model to create this recipe.   To save on time, we don’t make everything from scratch, but rather buy pre-prepared items at the Asian Grocery store where we can, like pre-prepared spring rolls, deep fried tofu, pickles, and sauces.  Sorry if you’re looking for full instructions, we don’t have those.

The noodles do take a long time to prepare because they have to air-dry after they’re cooked, so I’d recommend preparing the noodles in advance so that they’re ready to go when you’re preparing the meal.  The noodles have to air-dry so they don’t have a chewy texture.

Print

Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad with Deep-Fried Tofu and Spring Rolls (Bún Chay)

One of Kelin's favorites! Crispy eggrolls paired with meaty tofu and smooth noodles in a umami sauce. And minimal cooking required!

Servings 4

Ingredients

Bowl

• 8 oz Dried Vermicelli Noodles (Use the long wavy ones that wrap around, not the straight sticks which are stickier)
• 8 c water
• 5 large leaves Red lettuce chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 6 Vegetarian Spring Rolls frozen (we like the Costco ones)
• 1 c bean sprouts
• ½ c honey-roasted peanuts chopped
• 3 slabs Deep-Fried Tofu
• 1 t Stir-Fry Seasoning
• 1 t cooking oil
• 1 sprig Mint leaves taken off stem and roughly chopped (optional)
• 2 sprigs Basil leaves taken off stem and roughly chopped (optional)

Sauce

• 1/2 c Vietnamese Vegetarian Dipping Sauce
• 1/2 c Vietnamese Vegetarian Fish Sauce
• 2 pinches red chili flakes
• 2 T daikon and carrots , shredded

Instructions

• Soak the Vermicelli noodles for 15 minutes in very hot water.  Drain and rinse until water runs clear, to remove as much starch as possible.   While the Vermicelli noodles are soaking, boil the water in a large pot (at least 3 qt) on medium-high heat.
• Put the drained, soaked Vermicelli noodles into the pot of boiling water.  Bring back to a boil.  Boil the noodles for 3 minutes.  Drain the noodles, and rinse very well to remove starch so that noodles are not sticky.  We use a salad spinner, filling it with water, draining the noodles, and spinning it 3 times to get all the starch and water out.   Pat the noodles dry and leave to air-dry for at least 30 minutes.
• Prepare the vegetarian spring rolls per package directions.  Or if you’d like to do them like we do, air-fry them for 15 min on 400°F, flipping over half way.
• Add the stir-fry seasoning and cooking oil to the tofu and mix to coat evenly.  Grill the deep-fried tofu on a grill or pan at high heat until black marks appear, approximately 5 minutes.
• Prepare the rest of the ingredients as described in the ingredients list.
• Combine the Sauce ingredients in a bowl.  Separate into three small serving bowls.
• Place the ingredients in 3 extra large serving bowls in the following order: chopped lettuce, bean sprouts, chopped mint, chopped basil, cooked and dried vermicelli noodles, chopped peanuts, deep fried grilled tofu, and spring rolls.  Serve with Sauce.

So I had been wanting to try to make a vegetarian fish for over a decade.  I kept procrastinating because of the level of effort and lack of necessary ingredients.  This weekend I had neither excuse and embarked upon a fun adventure.  We had just visited Chinatown the weekend before and stocked up, and Deniz was willing to help me with the labor.  And the results turned out great.  Even Deniz said it was worth the effort.  The flavors are mild, so we’ll have to keep testing to see if we can bring a more sea flavor, but the look and texture are great.  Below is a recipe from Wei-Chuan’s Vegetarian Cooking cookbook that we modified and used:

Print

Vegetarian Fish

Is it even possible? Well, we even made the skin! If you have a good egg substitute you can even make this vegan.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 2 fresh or frozen bean curd skins if frozen, defrost
• 2 nori sheets

Filling:

• 6 oz dried bean curd skin broken into small pieces
• 8 oz can enoki minced
• 4 oz can water chestnuts chopped (Optional. This will give the fish a crunch, which will make the texture different from real fish, but nice in a different way)
• 1 block firm tofu drained, crumbled, and as much water squeezed out of it, as possible
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 T nori komi seaweed sesame seed furikake
• 1 T sea salt
• 1 t pepper

Paste:

• 1 T flour
• 1 T water

Instructions

Instructions:

• Prepare the ingredients as described in the Ingredients list above.
• Rehydrate the dried bean curd skin by soaking in boiling water for 1 hour.
• Drain and chop into smaller pieces, approximately 1 square inch in size
• Mix the Filling ingredients (including the rehydrated bean curd skin and squeezed tofu) together in a large bowl until well blended.  Mix the Paste in a small bowl.
• Place the fresh or defrosted bean curd skin on a large cutting board.
• Place the nori on top of it and cut it into the shape of a fish.
• Place the mixed Filling on top of the nori.
• Cut excess bean curd skin away as needed to fold the skin over without having to wrap it around the back.
• Wrap the remaining bean curd skin around the fish like a Christmas present.  Seal tightly with the Paste.
• Steam the fish for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool.
• Make diagonal slashes at 1 cm intervals halfway into the fish.
• Deep fry the fish until golden brown (pan frying it in a lot of oil and flipping it works too, that's what we did.  just be careful about splattering hot oil).

Deniz and I love indian food and palak paneer is one of those great flavorful and healthy dishes.  We had a lot of extra ong choi in the garden and figured, why not try it with water spinach instead?  We took Dassan’s Palak Paneer recipe and modified it slightly to make it our own.  Here is our fusion recipe, we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.  So flavorful, bursting with Indian spice and with the smoothness of ong choi.  Enjoy!

Print

Fusion Indian-Chinese Pani Palak Paneer / Pureed Ong Choi with Tofu

We were skeptical with our Palak Paneer using Ong Choi and Tofu first but we couldn't be more pleased with the results.  This fusion creation is so flavorful, bursting with Indian spice and with the smoothness of ong choi.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• Ong Choi Puree
• 1½ lbs fresh ong choi washed well and large stems removed
• 1 anaheim chilli chopped
• 2 t garlic
• 1 t ginger
• 3/4 c water for the puree
• 6 c water boiling
• 6 c water frigid with ice cubes

Tofu Sauce:

• 4 T oil
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• medium onions diced in a food processor
• 2½ T garlic minced
• small tomatoes chopped
• ½ t turmeric powderi
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 t garam masala
• 2 t vegeta
• salt to taste
• 1 block approx 1 lb of extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 t kasuri methi leaves/dry fenugreek leaves crumbled
• ½ c half and half

Instructions

Instructions:

Ong Choi Puree:

• Boil 6 cups water in a pot and with 1 tsp salt. Add the ong choi leaves and thin stems into the boiling water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
• Strain the leaves and then immediately place the strained leaves into 6 cups of cold water with ice cubes to cool it down.  Drain again.
• Blend the cooled cooked ong choi in a blender with the ginger, garlic, and 3/4 c of water until smooth.

Tofu Sauce:

• Heat the cooking oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them splutter.
• Add the bay leaves and diced onions and saute till the onions  become golden.
• Add the minced garlic. Saute it without browning it.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, stirring until they soften, about 1 minute.
• Stir in the turmeric powder and chili powder.
• Stir in the ong choi puree. Simmer for 6-7 minutes or more till the ong choi is cooked, adding water as needed to keep it a smooth creamy consistency.
• Stir in the vegeta, salt to taste, garam masala, and tofu cubes. Simmer for 2 minutes.
• Stir in the crumbled dry fenugreek leaves.
• Stir in the cream.

This dish has rich five-spice savory flavors, creamy thin bean-curd noodles, with crispy water chestnuts for texture.  It’s low carb and packed full of protein.  We adapted from Wei-Chuan’s Singaporean, Malaysian & Indonesian Cuisine cookbook for our vegetarian diet and available ingredients.  The original recipe called for rolling the meat in the sheets to make rolls, but after tearing multiple sheets, we went the lazy route and did a stir-fry.  The taste was just as great, and much faster to make.

Ingredients:

• 6 dried bean curd sheets
• ¼ c + 1 T vegetable cooking oil
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (optional)

Meat mixture:

• 12 Morningstar Original Sausage Patties
• 1 c vegetarian shrimp or prepared boiled wheat gluten logs, diced (optional)
• 1 c water chestnuts, diced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 t salt
• 2 t soy sauce
• 2 t five-spice powder
• 2 t sugar
• 2 T sesame oil

Instructions:

Toast the vegetarian sausage patties for 12 minutes at 400ºF.  Pulse in a food processor to a ground beef consistency.

Soak the bean curd sheets in boiled water until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain, squeze the excess water out, and break into pieces.

Prepare the Meat Mixture ingredients as described above.  Combine the ground vegbeef and the remaining Meat Mixture ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir to combine well.

Heat the ¼ c cooking oil in a large non-stick pan on medium high heat.  Add the broken bean curd sheets and stir-fry to keep the sheets from sticking to the pan, about 5 minutes.  Add the Meat Mixture.  Continue stir-frying for another 3 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Add the 1 T of cooking oil and green onions.  Stir to combine well.

Lemongrass tofu is Deniz’ favorite Vietnamese dish.  We both love it, with rice or in a ban mi.  This is our vegetarian adaptation to the Chicken Stir-Fried with Lemongrass and Chile recipe in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen.

Ingredients:

• 2 batches of Deep Fried Marinated Tofu Cubes
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into ½ inch squares
• 1 c coconut milk
• ½ c concentrated broth (½ Knorr bullion dissolved in ½ c of boiling water, or leftover broth from marinading the tofu cubes prior to deep frying)
• 2 T cilantro, chopped (optional)

Marinade

• 1 t salt
• 1 T sugar
• 2 T curry powder
• 1 T fish sauce
• 2 t water

Wet Spices

• 4 T vegetable oil
• 6 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 Serrano chilies, finely chopped
• 6 stalks lemongrass, green tops chopped off (keeping the whiter bottom 3 inches), hard outer layers removed, finely chopped

Instructions:

Prepare the ingredients as described above.  In a small bowl, combine the Marinade ingredients.  In a medium bowl, combine the Wet Spices.

Pour the Marinade over the deep fried marinated tofu cubes.  Stir to evenly coat, stirring carefully to minimize damage to the tofu cubes.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil over high heat.  Add the rest of the Wet Spices and stir-fry for a minute.  Add the marinated deep fried tofu cubes and the bell peppers, and stir to coat well.  Cook for an additional minute.  Add the coconut milk and concentrated broth, using a spatula to flip and stir to evenly coat.  Lower the heat and cook for about 6 minutes, flipping the tofu occasional to prevent burning.  The tofu is done when the coconut milk is barely visible.

Garnish with optional cilantro.

Tofu cubes make a fantastic meat substitute when marinated, coated with seasoning, and fried or deep-fried.  Below is a recipe that we modified from The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook: 100 Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Table.  It’s a great base most any chicken-based stir fry or wrap.  It’s also tasty enough to eat on its own.  Soon after cooking, there are always several that seem to mysteriously disappear into my mouth.

Ingredients:

• 2 blocks of extra firm tofu, cubed
• 3/4 c all purpose flour
• 1 c cooking oil
• 1/4 c butter (optional)
• 2 Knorr vegetable bullion cubes
• 1½ c water

Seasoning (can be modified for taste):

• 1 t salt
• 1 t black pepper
• ½ t onion powder
• ½ t garlic powder
• ½ t cayenne
• 1 t paprika

Instructions:

Boil the water.  Dissolve the bullion cubes into the boiling water in a large bowl.  Add the cubed tofu to the bowl, ensuring that each cube is fully covered in the marinade.  Marinade in the refrigerator overnight.

Drain the marinated tofu cubes.  Pat the cubes with a paper towel to remove excess water.  Sprinkle the Seasonings ingredients to the bowl, gently tossing the tofu to evenly coat.

Sprinkle the flour into the bowl, continuing to gently toss to evenly coat the tofu.

Heat the cooking oil and optional butter in a medium-sized sauce pan on medium high heat or a deep-fryer.  Add the coated tofu into the pan/fryer ensuring that each cube is fully covered in oil.  You may need to do multiple batches for even coating.  Deep fry for 4 minutes.

Remove the deep-fried tofu with a slotted spoon.  Cover with sauce, or use as a chicken substitute in another recipe.

I’ve made this delicious soup in various versions over the years, thanks to Wei-Chuan’s cookbook guidance.  It’s got that perfect balance of sour and savory with a tinge of heat.  I don’t miss the meat at all in this vegetarian version.  Here’s our most recent variation, chock full of veggie goodness.  Most of the veggies are optional, feel free to add or subtract as your pantry allows.

Ingredients:

Stir-Fry Veggies:

• ½ of a 14-oz can of bamboo shoots, shredded
• 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
• ½ oz dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
• 4 wood ears, chopped
• 3-inch strip of dried turnip, chopped (optional)
• ½ bunch of enoki mushrooms

Additional Soup Ingredients:

• ½ c frozen peas
• ½ c water chestnuts, sliced and halved
• 1 block silken tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes

Soup Stock:

• 5 c broth (2.5 Knorr vegetable bouillons dissolved in 5 c of hot water)
• 2 T black vinegar
• 1½ T rice vinegar
• 2 t ginger, minced
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 t garlic chili paste
• ½ t salt
• ½ t sugar
• 1 t pepper
• 1 T corn starch

Garnish:

• 1 egg, beaten (optional)
• 1 T sesame oil
• 2 t green onion, chopped

Directions:

Prepare the Veggies and Additional Soup Ingredients as described in the ingredients list.  Heat 2 T vegetable oil in a very large skillet on medium high.  Stif-fry the Veggies for 2 minutes.

Add the Soup Stock ingredients to the skillet, making sure the corn starch is fully dissolved in the broth prior to addition (otherwise the corn starch will turn into gelatinous lumps).  Cook on high until the soup is boiling.

Add the Additional Soup Ingredients and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add the Garnish, stirring the soup during addition to create egg strands.

Deniz loves Mapo Tofu, so we needed to learn to make a vegetarian version.  Below is our recipe, inspired by the recipe in Wei Chuan’s Chinese Cuisine Cookbook, and modified for our tastes and vegetarian diet.

Ingredients:

• 4 cubes soft tofu, drained and carefully sliced into half-inch cubes
• 6 Morningstar Original Vegetarian Sausage Patties
• 3 scallions, coarsely chopped

Wet Spices:

• 1 T garlic, minced
• 3 scallions, coarsely chopped
• 1 T ginger, minced
• 2 T plus 1 t hot bean paste (là dòu bàn jiàng, 辣豆瓣酱)

Sauce:

• 2 C broth (1 Knorr vegetarian bouillon dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water)
• 2 T rice wine
• 1 t MSG
• 1 t salt
• 3 T soy sauce

Thickener:

• 2 T corn starch
• 4 T water
• 1/2 t Szechuan pepper, ground

Instructions:

Toast the veggie sausage patties in the oven for 15 minutes on 400°F. Pulse the toasted patties a food processor (or chop manually) to a ground beef consistency.

Prepare the ingredients as described in the ingredients list.  Combine the Wet Spices ingredients in a medium bowl.  Combine the Sauce ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine the Thickener ingredients in a small bowl.

Heat an extra large saute pan with 6 T of oil on medium-high heat.  Stir-fry the Wet Spices for 1 minute.  Add the sliced tofu and the Sauce, and simmer for 3 minutes.  Add the Thickener, and stir to combine well and continue cooking until the sauce is evenly thickened.  Stir in the ground veggie patties.  Add the chopped scallions to the top as garnish.

Kung Pao chicken has been my default safe choice when I am in an unknown Chinese restaurant. Pieces of chicken (or tofu) fried in Kung Pao sauce, served with chill and roasted garlic peanut. You cannot go wrong. Becoming non-meat eater did not stop me from trying alternatives. I have eaten Kung Pao tofu variations, but they weren’t quite like chicken. I was losing hope until we made some fake chicken at home, and made our own delicious vegetarian Kung Pao chicken!

Ingredients

• 300g (or 11oz) vegan chicken
• ½ c garlic peanut

Marinade:

• 1 T water
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 t cornstarch

Dry Ingredients:

• ¼ t dried red pepper (or more if you like hot!)
• ½ t ground Szechwan peppercorn

Fresh Ingredients:

• 1 t ginger, minced
• 6 sections of green onions, chopped
• 2 large red bell peppers, chopped into roughly ½ x 1 inch slices

The Sauce:

• 1 c water
• 1 Knorr vegetarian bullion cube
• ½ t brown sugar
• 2 t white sugar
• 1 t house sauce
• 2 T cooking wine
• 1 T black vinegar or rice vinegar
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 T sesame oil
• 1 t cornstarch