Vegetarian/Vegan Food/Recipes

[alexander]

So, i have heard the arguments for both sides, i personally am not a vegetarian or vegan, but i do support people who are. The biggest opposing argument i have heard to date (other then the always dumb "i just like meat") is that vegetarian food just does not taste good. Well, BS i say, i am working on creating a set of recipes that are good, healthy and vegetarian, they can be converted to glutein free and vegan, and i will post, with each, what one can do. So, join me in this quest for tasty food that is actually really good for you :confused:

 

I like playing with flavor, so flavor is not something any of these should lack

 

Vegetarian Burgers (makes 10-11 palm-sized patties):

I've seen a bunch of takes on this, personally, some are better then others, some are utterly horrible, some are really not all that great for you, this one should be both good and good for you :D

 

Ingredients (use organic as much as you can):

* extra firm tofu (i used one of those 6x4x1 packages) (you can make it actually, i'll discuss it when i actually do it myself)

* 2 carrots

* 1/2 of a nice large Vidalia onion, or a sweet onion of your choice, you can probably use a small white and a shallot here too, don't limit yourself here, i used vidalia because i wanted to get a sweet onion taste :)

* 2 cloves of garlic

* a good mix of mushrooms (i used Enoki, Porcini, Chanterelle and Shitake)

* some sesame seed oil

* some hemp seed oil

* 1 egg (if you dont eat eggs, note the subsitutions in the vegan routine)

* couple of slices of whole grain bread (note substitutions in glutein-free routine)

* spices

 

Make:

Thoroughly wash and clean the vegetables and mushrooms.

Chop carrots and 1/2 the onion (or onions), preferably fairly small, dont go overboard with this as you still need a little texture. Crush and mince the garlic. Cut your selection of mushrooms into small chunks too, keep in mind that mushrooms have a lot of water inside, thus they will decrease in size when cooked, you dont want them to be really too tiny. In a preaheated pan on medium heat, put in some sesame seed oil, wait for it to get nice and warm, throw in the finely minced garlic for maybe less then a minute, constantly stirring it in oil to extract all that nice flavor out, then throw in chopped carrots for about a minute or two, continue to stirr it and put in the onion. Now is the time to add some salt, pepper, i added just a bit of paprika and crushed chili peper, mix it and dont let this get stuck to the pan ;). In maybe anotehr 3-4 minutes, add in the mushrooms, stir this all together and cook for about another 5 minutes or until the whole thing is cooked almost fully, remember we are looking for about al dente, or just done, so we have the color in carrot, and juust a little chewiness left in it. When done, take this off heat and let it start cooling down.

 

While the veggies and mushrooms are cooling down, open up the tofu, drain the liquid, squeeze the tofu a little to get some liquid that is stuck inside, out, break into chunks and throw into some sort of a dish with ample room to mix all the ingredients together. This is where you should take the 2 pieces of bread or alternatively bread crumbs, break them up, and throw in to the dish with tofu, add an egg, about a table spoon of hemp seed oil (cold pressed preferably for flavor), add spices, i went with some paprika, a little fresh chopped thyme, and 3 pinches of georgian spice (read Georgian Spice section), wait off on salt, and fresh ground black pepper until you have mixed in the veggies, but dont limit yourself, season this to your liking :). Add the sauteed vegetables and fungi (caution may still be hot), and mix the whole mix together. To make this stay together better, you can use some flour too, i like these nice and delicately crumbly because i sautee these in a pan, but thats ahead. Finally, salt and add some freshly gound pepper to your taste.

 

Now, its time to form the mix into patties, because i sautee these in a pan in some sesame seed oil, i make little circular patties, the size of my palm that are about 3/4 of an inch thick and around 2 and 1/2 inches in diameter, thicker in the middle then on the sides. If you would try grilling these, i would make them larger and flatter and also use some flour, or more bread crumbs to hold them together better. Form these in your hands, press them together to make all this stuff stick together :)

 

I then take a larger sauteing pan (preferably nonstick), Put it on medium heat, put some sesame seed oil, and sautee the patties for maybe 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

 

Not too bad, start to finish in maybe 1/2 hour, depending on how quick you are with the knife, just be careful and dont cut yourself.

 

Vegan/Gluten-free notes:

If you dont do eggs, and bread, use some flour, you can use any kind, if you want to add some more unique flavor maybe use 2 tablespoons of gram flour (this is the Glutein-free note too, gram four is glutein-free). Maybe consider not squeezing as much liquid out of tofu so the flour has some to absorb and keep this mix together a bit better.

 

Serving suggestions:

You can serve these as are, or with some lightly grilled spinach wrap or alternately naan or any flat bread of your choice, you can turn this into a taco deal as well, or a wrap. Brown rice goes well with this as a side dish.

Beer - I would serve a lighter beer with this, with some nice delicate flavors, a lighter semi sweet ale (like DogfishHead 60 minute ale) or a lighter lagger (like Stella Artois) would do well.

Wine - I would serve a nice Merlot or a nice Chardonnay with this

 

Georgian Spice (khmeli suneli) (you can buy this, but if you cant find it, you can make it, this is generally what goes into it):

2 teaspoons of ground coriander

2 teaspoons of dried basil

2 teaspoons of dillweed

2 teaspoons of summer savory

1 teaspoon of dried parsley

1 teaspoon of dried mint

1 teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves

1 teaspoon of ground marigold

1 bay leaf

 

Pound the spices together to a fine powder, let sit overnight before using

 

There are other spices that get added to this, too sometimes, marjoram, safflower or saffron, black pepper, celery, thyme, hissop and hot pepper.

 

 

Hope this works out for you guys, i will post another recipe soon, but don't hessitate and post your recipes as well, and dont be afraid to cook for the vegetarian or health-concious friend you have coming over, it does not have to taste bad to be really good :)

[Moontanman]

vegan/vegetarian= good/tasty? I call bullshit on this.......

[alexander]

Everyone has different tastes. I like good, tasty food, not overwhelming or "tastes like chicken" and there really is not all that much of it out there, i mean i dont go to most restaurants because they really have nothing all that special, every now and again i will find interesting dishes, like a crunchy seaweed salad with an interesting sesame seed dressing, or a place that has a chef that really knows how to put together a dish, mostly though, plates are cluttered with flavors, products are flavorless, or the food is just not put together well, even though ingredients seem to be right.

 

What kind of food do you like? If you are a fan of crab cakes for example, this recipe will taste pretty darn well to you, if you only eat meat 1/2 raw at texas steak house and think its the top of the world, this is not something that will sooth your taste buds. If you can recognize the difference between a red, green and yellow peppers with your eyes closed, if you can taste a subtle flavor of a Cabernet grown in the Napa valley over Cabernet from Coonawarra, if you can taste the roast of the coffee, if you can categorize beer without looking at the labels, you can appreciate a good recipe, without even making it. Saying that all vegetarian food is bad and not tasty is like saying that all Canadians speak French... Fact that perhaps you haven't tried any great-tasting vegetarian food, may be a whole different thing all together. BTW i am not a vegetarian, nor do i cook a lot (but as my sister says "it's too bad, cuz he's really good at it"), but i often cook with them in mind; my sister is a vegetarian, so is my best friend.

[alexander]

another day, another post. Today, i have a recipe of a simple and delicious garnish, i've actually eaten it as a meal before, its simply great.

 

Its pretty simple, you need a Vidalia or any other sweet onion, some rasins (you can mix in some crandberry rasins too), and some honey. Put the rasins in a bit of warm water, i usually add sugar to the water to sweeten the rasins once they swell up a bit. Cut the onion in half and slice the half to get around linguini wide 1/2 circles. You can kind of break them apart to get the individual onion layers to come apart. Set a pan on medium heat, add some oil on the bottom of the pan, and once all that gets nice and warm, throw in the onions, and get them to start getting nice and happy. Wait on the seasoning, and dont forget to mix the onions, or they will stick to the pan. When the onions start getting cooked, about 2/3 of the way done, put a little salt over them, drain and add in the rasins, a little water is ok. Just before the onions are all done, maybe a minute and a half remaining, take some honey (relatively little, maybe 2-3tbsp per onion) dissolve it in a little water, and add this "sauce" to the onions, mix it all together, and continue mixing it periodically till everything is cooked. At this time, if you want, you can add just a little butter to finish this nice and creamy, but if you dont eat butter, its ok to not add any. When the onions are done take off heat, and it's ready to garnish you dish.

 

This goes really well with things like fish, i've used this on a plate with a large scallop and some shitake mushrooms cooked on a medium to high fire to get some color (makes for a good plate). But this works well as a vegan recipe, too, i'll eventually put together a vegan plate where this will fit well, hopefully. For now, still discovering flavors and how i can use them to my advantage :Glasses:

[alexander]

here's another one:

 

Vegan Miso soup:

 

Stock (Dashi):

We will use Shiitake dashi:

3-4 dried Shiitake mushrooms

6in strip of kombu (seaweed)

6 1/2 cups of water

 

Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms and kombu in water for at least 2 hours

 

Strain the solids from the liquid, cut off the stems of the rehydrated mushrooms and thinly slice the tops.

 

In the pot, recombine the liquid from soaking, the thinly sliced mushroom heads and the kombu, put on medium heat

 

Remove the kombu from the pot just before the water boils, simmer the broth for 5-7 minutes, remove the mushrooms.

 

Soup:

4 thinly sliced fresh shitake mushrooms

3 tbsp of miso paste

a thinly sliced scallion

3 oz of tofu cut into cubes

2tbsp of soy sauce (preferably good quality)

1 small clove of garlic, minced

1 cup of thinly sliced celery

1 cup of shredded cabbage

1 cup of thinly sliced carrots

1/2 cup of thinly sliced onion (looking for an onion with some bite to it, perhaps a mix of white and red onions)

sliced wakame seaweed (optional)

 

mix miso and soy sauce in a dish, and leave it aside for now

 

In a pot (one that can hold a little more then 6 cups of water, or in a wok), sautee the mushrooms onion, garlic, carrots, celery and cabbage for about 10 minutes, then add in the stock and simmer for 30 minutes. If you like being a purist (traditionally, japanese serve miso either as a broth only, more lately a broth with tofu and sliced wakame seaweed), strain the liquid off now, but really this all works out rather well together. Take off heat (important, NEVER boil miso), and add the miso and soy sauce mixture to the soup. Add tofu to the plate (and optionally wakame), cover with the soup (or just the broth if you decided to go that way), and finish off with a sprinkle of the sliced scallions :Glasses:

[freeztar]

I'm a miso fanatic. I've got a pound of paste in the fridge right now. :)

 

I always make it traditional (quality paste, dashi, tofu, and wakame). I'll have to try it with the veg mix.

 

We made an excellent vegan soup the other night with cucumbers. I was skeptical about cucumber soup, but it was *really good*. I'll have to ask the wife about the recipe.

[alexander]

So do you make your own dashi?

 

This is what they call shiitake dashi, but there are others mainly made from either thinly sliced dehydrated sardines, kelp or from thinly sliced dehydrated tuna (and or other fish, like bonito, etc) that is first soaked in water with kombu and then steeped for a long time (unlike american fish broth).

 

I have some brown rice miso and some mushrooms and kombu in some water right now actually waiting for me to get home and dashiify it :)

 

Also the veggies and mushrooms are a part of the traditional miso as well, not all the time. Sometimes pork (tonjiru), or shrimp or other things would be added to the soup for more calories and vitamins and minerals and whatnot, where the summer miso was probably lighter, the winter miso would have been more rustic.

 

As wiki puts it "Japanese recipes usually call for most vegetables and meats to be cooked in the simmering dashi, particularly mushrooms, daikon, carrots, potatoes, tofu, and fish. The miso is suspended separately in some dashi stock removed from the simmering mix, kept relatively cool (still hot, but below boiling) to keep the miso paste from cooking, which alters the flavour (there is some belief that cooking the miso "kills" it and reduces the health benefits of biologically active miso paste). When the vegetables are cooked, the stock is removed from heat, the miso suspension is added and mixed into the soup, any uncooked ingredients are added, and the dish is served."

[alexander]

On the topic of tofu and soy beans, here is how to use them and 3 products once can get from them

 

So, you go to a whole foods store and pick up 600g bag of soy beans, what to do with it :)

 

firstly everything starts with soybeans and water, clean and wash the soy beans, put them in a container, cover with water (ample, soy beans will soak up a bit of water :) ) and let sit for at least 6 hours (if you split the beans in halfs, maybe 4 hours).

 

after that, drain the beans, take 2-3 cups at a time, put them in the blender, for 600g of dried beans, you are looking to use up about 4200ml of water total in the blending process, so ration accordingly. Blend the beans to a smooth consistency (runny milkshake-ish). In another fairly well-sized bowl line it with a cheese clothand pour the blended mix into the cloth. You can squeeze the milky substance out at this point, if you prefer dealing with smaller batches, or continue blending and pouring until you have used up all the beans and all the 4200ml of water, now its time to extract the soy milk, gather the edges of the cloth and squeeze the milky substance through. Now you have the first byproduct in the cheese cloth, the solids can be used in making veggie burgers.

 

Now for the liquid. Liquid goes into a container in which you can boil it. first, cook (simmer) the milk on medium heat for 10 minutes, constantly stirring, then turn to low heat, and gradually get it to a boil. Now, you have soy milk. You can choose to use some of it as just that, untainted, unflavored soy milk.

 

Tofu is nothing more then a cheese made with soy milk, well kind of, basically for that batch you are looking to use either 20g of calcium sulfate (food grade) in 250ml of water, or 250ml of lemon or lime juice, white vinegar can also be used as the coagulator, just remember, tofu really takes in the flavor...

 

for calcium sulfate you are looking to hit the temperature of 185F, for lemon juice 105F, for vinegar (i dont know exact portion there, but i would imagine maybe 30ml in 220ml of water at maybe 175F). In another dish, put in the coagulator with water, and then rapidly pour in the milk. (also obviously if you used 1/2 the milk as milk and only want to make 1/2 the tufu, you need 1/2 the coagulator)

 

now then, let this turn to a sort of a jelly/pudding, in about 5 minutes, do not stir or shake. If you have a mold, then line the mold with a cheese cloth, you can improvise a mold out of some wood planks and some nails (make a sort of a frame with a floor and dont forget holes :D ), and put this on a large cutting board, such that the mold is smaller then the board underneeth it. You will need a lid such that it fits in the mold and can go through the frame, but not small enough that it leaves a ton of space around the edges, that is pretty sturdy too, obviously this all needs to be prepared and washed in advance.

 

another way to fashion a tofu mold is to use a soy milk cartain, just cut one of the sides off (say a large one) puncture some holes on the botton and the sides with a knife, and use the part you cut out as the top to stack weight onto. (really there are many things that can be fashioned into a mold)

 

You can ofcourse skip this part and just hand press the tofu, if you really dont care about the shape :) To hand press, break up the jelly, throw it in a cheese cloth, take the edges, and twist the water out, like the way cheese was made traditionally. This wont impress your friends quite as much as the bricks, unless ofcourse you take a cooler approach, and only press a little at a time making a kind of tofu balls, perfect for one serving (or whatever you are making with them)... just be creative.

 

As i was saying line the bottom with a cheese cloth, a dampened cheese cloth, that will drape over the edges, but it needs to be large enough where it will cover the top as well. Gently break up the coagulated soy milk, and put it in the cloth in the mold. Gently cover the top with the cheese cloth, and put the lid. Stack with some weight, a couple of bricks (wash and wrap in foil prior to use), some washed large stone or stones, you are looking to get some weight on top. The more weight and the more draining time, the firmer the tofu will be, you'll have to play with it to get the weight and time just right for whatever kind of tofu you want to make.

 

Store tofu in an airtight container full of water i.e. completely submerged in water in the refrigirator.

 

so, there you go, 3 products from soy beans, 100% utilization of the material good time

[alexander]

oh, you can also use nigari, or what is mostly magnesium cloride, you will need about 1/2 the amount per volume then the calcium sulfate (tis very bitter). It is sold as "nigari" in japan (basically once you get the sodium cloride out of sea water, evaporating sea water leaves a white deposit that is mostly magnesium cloride with some magnesium sulphate and some other traces of elements) or "lushui" in china. its also what's been used to "salt" the roads in the winter to decrease the amount of rock salt used on the roads :)

[freeztar]

So do you make your own dashi?

 

I haven't yet. I have been using bonito flakes, but I really need to start making it myself because the dashi I'm using is processed and has MSG. :hihi:

 

I like the shitake idea. My wife *loves* shitakes so we usually have some around. We're planning on innoculating some logs so we can grow them fresh. You can get some plugs on ebay for cheap. Right now we buy them fresh for about $6 a pound. The dried ones are way cheaper, but they all come from China and my wife says they use lots of chemicals there and don't have adequate QC etc.

 

Do you use fresh shitakes, or dried?

 

Any other dashi recipes you recommend? (preferably veg based)

[alexander]

i use both, i use dried (that i get at whole foods, generally they are not from china, or so i would hope) to make the dashi, like in the recipe above, you soak them first with kombu, then slice up the caps and puth that on a medium fire, and just before it boils, you want to take the kombu out...

 

i then separate the mushrooms from hte broth, i've used them in veggie burgers. And i use fresh shiitake (sliced caps) for the soup with vegges. actually i just made some soup today, got a picture for you. There are is a lot of flavor therein, especially when you add the miso with soy sauce (i used brown rice miso which makes it a bit different flavored then normal paste). And the whole thing turns into a miso soup that has a nice nutty finish (part of which is undoubtedly contributed by the shiitake broth as well) , and nothing better then after drinking the broth still having some veggies to eat :hihi: (hence why chopsticks are there)

[img=http://hypography.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2703&stc=1&d=1245458482]http://hypography.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2703&stc=1&d=1245458482[/img]

Also sorry for not taking a professional photo, my right arm is still in a sling from last weekend's 3 way between my motorcycle (top), me (middle), parking lot (bottom), so i really could not set up a mini studio, nor really hold my camera..

 

I really havent tried any super good traditional recipes, but i can find some, i really havent had time yet., besides i'm working on creating great-tasting vegetarian or vegan recipes that are good for you, remember :lol:

 

Which reminds me, great little quick red grapefruit salad.

need a large red grape fruit, some raspberries, EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), some choped almonds, and your favorite salad greens (i go with a mix of 3 lettuces, romaine, iceberg and loose leaf, but dont limit yourself here)

 

wash everything (except the almonds ofcourse)

so peel and clean of the skin 2/3 the grapefruit, the other part squeeze the juice into a bowl, add some EVOO and wisk this vinegrette together (you may add salt and sugar to this as you see fit)

 

take the bowl with the greens, add in some raspberries, the pieces of peeled grape fruit.

 

just before you pour the vinegrette over the salad, add in and mix in the almonds then pour over the salad and toss... its perfect for a warm afternoon on the patio type of day, its citrucy, and sweet, and crunchy and healthy. (you may also add some hemp oil to make it extra healthy) ( goes well with a light belgian or a Sauvignon Blanc or a nice Chardonay, and a light dinner, consider fish (or chicken), consider something lighter with some simple herbs cooked in a light manner, this would go well with those patties i descrived above )

 

Oh i will start a thread eventually on fish recipes, i got some killer one, like a very simple baked salmon (foil pouch, some olive oil, and some spices) that finishes so tender, it crumbles when you try to serve it deliberately trying not to crumble it :)

[freeztar]

Reading your posts is like watching the Hypography Food Network. Watch out Rachel Ray! :hihi:

 

That miso looks awesome. Out of curiousity, what brand of miso paste do you use?

 

I found the cucumber salad recipe I mentioned earlier. It is from allrecipes.com.

 

Spicy Cucumber Soup

 

Rated: 4.5 stars

Prep Time: 25 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes

Submitted By: Chelsea! Cook Time: 25 Minutes Servings: 4

"This vegetarian soup is thick and savory with just the right amount of kick from curry and spices."

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup milk

 

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onions and garlic, and cook until the onion is very soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cucumber, vegetable broth, and milk. Season with soy sauce, parsley, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, curry powder, and sesame oil. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes more. Transfer the hot soup to a blender, and carefully puree until the soup is creamy yet slightly grainy.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2009 Allrecipes.com

It's quite spicy, so use less cayenne and red pepper if the heat is too much. We used regular soy milk and it turned out great. Next time I'm going to add some fresh ginger as I think it would go well with the other ingredients.

 

Speaking of ginger, you can make your own ginger sauce like the ones used at Japanese restaurants (flying knives). It's easy and great with steak mushrooms. Combine the following in a blender: 2 cups of soy sauce (only use quality soy sauce or it will not come out good), 1 raw onion, 1 medium ginger root, 1/4-1/2 cup sugar depending on sweetness desired (brown sugar works great as well but use less), 1/4 cup rice vinegar, two cloves garlic, and some cayenne if you want it spicy. Blend it all together and then add some sesame seeds and allow to cool and settle. I like to leave it in the fridge for a few days before use so it can infuse the flavors. You may want to experiment with a little at a time to get the proportion just right for your taste. Also, it can be cooked some to mellow the onion and garlic though I think that's part of what makes this sauce so good. The biggest difficulty I have found is keeping everything in suspension. In the fridge, it separates easily. If anyone knows how to remedy this, I'd love to hear.

 

I bet it would be a great substitute for the soy sauce in your miso recipe, Alexander.

[alexander]

I forgot to tell you last time, in the westernized cuisine you can substitute dashi with vegetable or fish stock. But once again, you can make the fish stock to the Japanese tradition for example by soaking the kombu in water for a couple of hours putting it on fire and pulling the kombu out just before water boils, and then using this soaked seaweed liquid to steep the fish for maybe 20-30 minutes to get the stock (you can eat the kombu after you take it out, its an acquired taste though and its a bit tough)...

 

I use the soy sauce to give the whole thing a little more salt, and to thin out the miso, but i have to say i also put in a little dashi in to thin it out even more before mixing it in ;) That said, feel free to experiment, you can also notice that i didnt have any tofu in the soup, i forgot to get some actually and the soup came out to have a bit too much solids (i just wanted to use things up), something i will have to remedy next time.

 

I'm not a huge fan of ginger for some reason, though i might want to try it for a little bit, maybe my taste buds will change (you know, like olives)

 

That said, i am working on getting a japanese-style (bamboo) steamer, i have an idea for something, little steamed dumpling type deal with finely chopped veggies inside, that should be interesting...

 

Here is what i am thinking:

A variation on the Gyoza dumplings making them more into cakes pinched at the top. lets see

 

wrappers:

thinking 2 cups of flour, pinch of salt, a cup of boiling water, though i might use some soy and/or rice flour, to give it a little lighter taste. there will be some dough resting and stuff involved. I know traditionally the recipe calls for some eggs too, i dont know quite yet if i will go with that (make this into a vegan recipe)

 

filling:

thinking some tofu, some mushrooms, some carrots, some onion, some garlic, some cabbage (probably bok choy), some rice noodles (for texture and cleanliness of pallet). All finely minced together, wrapped in the wrappers pinched at top (set this on some wax paper so they dont stick to the steamer)

 

steamed...

[alexander]

Catch new recipe :shrug:

 

The night before (wrapers):

 

2 cups of flour

1 cup of boiling water

 

mix pour the water into the flour, mix with a spoon, once its all similar consistency use your hands to work the dough. If it's too sticky, add more flour, i ended up using probably close to 2.5 cups at the end, basically you want the consistency to be smooth and juust a bit sticky. work the dough for 5-10 minutes, then cover with a damp cloth and let sit for 30 minutes to rest, then cut the dough into 4 parts, work each part just a little and form into a log shape about an inch in diameter. Cover with the damp cloth and leave to the side. Now you need to take each log and cut it into 6 parts, and then roll each part be pretty thin, maybe 6 inches in diameter. Use ample flour and stack 5 high, with a layer of wax paper in the middle. This all takes considerable time, so i do this the afternoon before. then take the whole stack, throw it in a big ziplock bag and throw it in the fridge where this will keep well till the next day.

 

Filling:

1 cup of sushi (sushi rice)

1 fairly large carrot

1 onion

3 liefs of bok choy

2 sticks of celery

6 average sized shiitake's (only caps)

8 beby bellas

1/2 a package of extra firm tofu (go with organic)

 

ok wash everything first, except for rice, take about 1 cup of rice to 1 and a half cups of water, bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes till cooked

 

meanwhile, cut the carrot, onion, bok choy (or some cabbage), and celery into very small bits, maybe 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8" cubes. cut the mushrooms a little bigger, maybe 1/4 all around. Keep the shrooms with shrooms, greens with greens, and reds with whites.

 

preheated pan, oive oil, carrots and onions go first, 3 minutes later the greens and the shrooms. add a little salt, tbsp of soy sauce, i added some paprika and spices, but keep it lite

 

when the veggies are done (carrots will juust start to loose their color), mix in the rice

 

cut the tofu into fairly small cubes and mix into the filling

 

now the filling is done, take the wraps back out. put about a spoon to a spoon and a half of filling, into the center. Take a little water dip the finger in the water and lighlty water the edge all around the wrap, then pinch all the sides together at the top. It is time to get decorative :hihi: I also take a piece of wax paper and use it as the base. (so these dont stick to the steamer)

 

Steam these overgrown dumplings, i do about 10-15 minutes a batch. the skin will become translucent, it will kind of look pasta-ish.

 

But voila, vegan cake dealios... pretty good too B) . The low salt content is great for eating this with some soy sauce ;)

 

I'll post some pics tomorrow.

 

 

Freezy, i use South River miso (organic), but not set in stone about brands :shrug:

[freeztar]

Catch new recipe B)

...

I'll post some pics tomorrow.

I look forward to trying this.

 

Freezy, i use South River miso (organic), but not set in stone about brands ;)

 

I've never tried that one. I'll look into it though. It's always great to try new miso!

 

My favorite find so far has been this one by Shirakiku:

 

Amazon.com: AKA Miso - Red Soybean Paste: Gourmet Food http://www.amazon.com/AKA-Miso-Red-Soybean-Paste/dp/B0000WKUBC

 

You know it is good when you get goosebumps from opening the package and smelling it. :shrug:

 

In other words, highly recommended.

 

I was able to find the same 1kg package at my local Asian market for about $5.

[alexander]

try the south river paste, especially their brown rice or even the barley one. I get it at whole foods. It certainly gives me goose bumps every time i open the jar

 

I gotta get these pics off my phone, I'll do it later on tonite...

[alexander]

Here are the pics i promissed, sorry they are still only taken with my phone, i will get around to taking some cool picture shots though :hyper: