22 posts tagged “ginger”
October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge comes to us from Jaden of Steamy Kitchen, who has graciously offered a recipe from her new cookbook The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.
I was lucky to enough to find a window in my schedule to complete both challenges. The vegan Pho Ga was very interesting to make. I only had time to make the short version of the recipe. You can find the long version of the chicken pho recipe here, and beef pho recipe here on Jaden's Web site. I toasted the same spices but used vegan faux meat (chicken breast) and soy sauce and hoisin sauce. I also added lots of shiitake mushrooms to add more flavor. The pho came out really tasty and the rice noodles simply were glorious in this soup.
Now I must get back to my work again. These beautiful foods can at least keep me a little more content now.
For more delicious Vietnamese Pho, check out the Daring Cooks blogroll.
Jen from use real butter is our host for the Daring Cooks June 2009 challenge. It's a basic concept: a filling inside a dough wrapper, sealed, and cooked. This delicious theme runs through many cultures and is among the more popular bites at Chinese restaurants - especially dim sum. The recipe she provided is based on her family recipe. There is a lot of room for exploration and creativity.
Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers
dough: (double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface
dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)
Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly by hand. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).
Make the dough, Method 1: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky. [Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water.]
Make the dough, Method 2 (Jen's mom’s instructions): In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch. [My note: I used a little more water than the 1/2 cup listed in the recipe. The dough is not supposed to be soft, but not too stiff either. Use your own judgement and you might have to just trust your instinct and see what happens.]
Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in Jen's post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.
To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.
To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.
To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.
To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations.
I made dumplings in the soup, deep-fried dumplings, and the traditional potstickers.
1 recipe Tofu Ricotta (PPK)
1 medium-size eggplant, peeled and sliced across to 1/4-inch pieces
1 zucchini, sliced to 1/4-inch pieces
1 large portobello mushroom, sliced
15 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 large tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup freeze-dried chives
1/2 tsp. red curry paste
1 tsp. black bean chili sauce
A dash of Hungarian paprika
3 water-packed baby artichokes, well drained and squeezed dry, roughly chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
20 capers, drained and finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Deep all vegetables from eggplant to tomatoes (one type of vegetable at one time). When done, dry on paper towel very well.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash deep-fried vegetables, tofu ricotta, all spices, and everything else together until creamy and well-combined.
10 cups water
1 cup dried konbu
3 large cabbage leaves
1/2 cup fresh scallions, sliced
2 Tbsp. white miso
Salt and pepper to taste
Put everything in a large pot and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes before adding the boiled dumplings.
Verdict: Once you get the hang of making your own wrappers, you can make your dumplings in no time. It's a fun way of eating and certainly a one-pot-meal. Regarding the pleating part, I thoroughly had fun. It may seem difficult at first, but if you are patient enough to try a couple more times, you will get the hang of it pretty quickly. It's really not so hard.
For more dumpling/potsticker variations, check out the Daring Cooks blogroll.
Last night, I had a sudden urge to make my own seitan, which turned out to be really much easier than I had expected, thanks to the wonderful recipe by Joanna Vaught. Now I have two containers of chicken-style seitan waiting to be "butchered", and I can't recall the last time I have made pasta in my kitchen, a crazy idea was born: I should make a seitan pasta that combines all the flavors in the world! This is more or less a mission impossible. First of all, I don't even know half of the flavors around the world; secondly, I have actually never combined seitan with pasta before; last, I simply don't know where to even begin. Do I look up some recipes or think of one by myself?
But the dilemma resolved itself when the morning arrived. I was too hungry to consider what I would actually do with the seitan bathing in the broth in the refrigerator, or the fettuccine that looked so eager to be picked up. All the flavors in the world - the heck with it! I started cooking and the chef in charge was my hungry stomach. That's how this pasta dish finally emerged out of our kitchen. I was really pleased with the taste and the look of it. Of course my stomach loved it more.
I am submitting this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast and she will be hosting this week's event as well.
(Makes 2 large servings)
3 lb. uncooked whole wheat fettuccine (or enough for 2 people)
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. sliced ginger, minced
5 scallions, both white and green parts, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups homemade chicken-style seitan (I used Joanna Vaught's recipe), cut into small thin strips
2 Tbsp. red curry paste
1 tsp. cumin
1 1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tsp. ground coriander
A good pinch of fine sea salt
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Smoked paprika for garnish
1. Start a big pot of water cooking on the stove. When the water boils, put the fettuccine in and cook according to the package instructions. The timing should work out in a way that you can put the pasta in when the sauce is ready. But if the pasta is cooked al dante first, pour some olive oil in and mix well to prevent sticking. If the pasta is cooked after the sauce done, you will just put the sauce aside for a little while.
2. Over medium heat, sauté onions, garlic, ginger, scallions and red pepper flakes for 8-9 minutes until onions get softer.
3. Add in seitan strips and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in red pepper paste and cumin, and thoroughly mix. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Pour in the coconut milk and turn up the heat a bit to reach a slow boil. Then reduce to simmer and continue to cook for another 7-8 minutes.
6. Add in ground coriander, sea salt and black pepper and throughly stir. Remove from heat.
7. Reserve a little sauce, and add most of the sauce into the pasta and mix very well. Plate. Pour the reserved sauce on top of the pasta and sprinkle some smoked paprika on top for garnish.
Serve warm, with baby spinach and carrots (or any greens you prefer) on the side.
I found a great use for the pumpkin chocolate chip bread I made two days ago - to make part of it into a warm heart-melting bread pudding. I followed this excellent recipe by Ricki of "Diet, Dessert & Dogs". I didn't have any oat flour or rolled oats (sorry, not a big fan for oats), so I used all-purpose flour instead. This is what the pumpkin bread pudding looks like right after being baked.
I stood in front of the stove for more than an hour whisking my soy milk constantly to make one cup of "condensed milk". Then I made the warm caramel sauce. The whole process was about an hour and half. But it was so worth it!
Now, the final product is ready for consumption. Sometimes you just don't want another piece of chocolate cake. This warm bread pudding is totally the way to go. It can really melt your heart, after melting in your mouth.
I haven't started making my sourdough starter yet. The weather has been miserably cold in the past two days so we have allowed ourselves to become comfortably numb indoor. But that grocery shopping trip will happen tomorrow or on Monday. I am really determined now that the weather has come back to the realm of normalcy. I am totally in love with yeast now. It is so weird: I turned from being very languid to being so psyched about bread baking in the course of a mere few days.
Below are my first two loaves of ciabatta made with a sponge starter (poolish). The recipe is by Selina of Vegan Recipes. The texture and flavor are excellent. My hubby even claimed that this ciabatta was the best he has had in years.
Then today, my over-eager baking mood once again took me by surprise. I made a giant loaf of yeasted pumpkin chocolate chip bread (recipe by Ariela of Baking and Books). We couldn't wait for the bread to completely cool down before we stole a piece off the loaf. Good gracious, I haven't had so much fun baking, braiding bread, and enjoying a warm loaf right out of the oven in a while!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We cooked a lot and ate a lot, like there is no tomorrow. I guess during Christmas it is virtually impossible not to overeat. We have decided that we are not going to make any New Year's Resolutions because we already know - because we know ourselves well enough in this aspect - that we will not honor our resolutions for more than two months. So we feel rather relieved for not making any attempt. :) And you know what, I feel rather good about this. For the first time, we just accept and respect ourselves for what we are, and go with the flow. 2009 will be a good year, because we will work more on complimenting ourselves from time to time and being with ourselves in a friendly and loving manner.
Now, back to the food we cooked up for Christmas. Nothing too fancy. I almost did an all-Veganomicon feast.
1. French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme (Veganomicon, page 141).
2. Mac Daddy (Veganomicon, page 195).
3. Seitan Vindaloo (Vegan Dad, recipe here).
4. Singapore-Style Yellow Curry Rice Noodles with Tofu (Vegan Express, page 118).
5. Pumpkin Coconut Cakey Bars (My own recipe).
I wish everyone a happy New Year's Day in advance, and God bless!
I have been cooking more food lately, probably because of the warm weather we are still enjoying, for which we are really grateful. Now I am actually contemplating what to cook again for tomorrow.
Polenta Casserole, recipe on page 138 of Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. I used nutritional yeast instead of soy cheese and It is the cheesiest thing we have tasted in five years.
Szechuan-Style Tofu with Eggplant, page 56 of Vegan Express. This is a great recipe. The dish is so flavorful. You can easily whip it up in 20 minutes and serve it over a bed of warm brown rice. I am discovering more good recipes in Vegan Express every week.
Chickpea Cutlets, from Veganomicon. I do not have this cookbook any more. This recipe was saved from more than 6 months ago. I guess by now I am the last person on this planet to have tried this recipe. These cutlets are literally everywhere in the blogsphere. I certainly do not need to praise them more.
I have been cooking but it has become rather hard to keep up posting more often. We always seem to have many things piling up onto the to-do lists. "It's always something" has been such a cliche in our household now. I didn't have time to come up with any new recipe. Nor did I participate in any cooking contest like I planned. I cooked from cookbooks and my recipe collection. Alas! 'Tis life. We ought to be grateful for what we have though. My husband and I have begun our little "self-compliment" group, inspired by LaidOutInLavendar. It is not easy at all. Gosh, I never knew it could this hard to say a few nice things about ourselves without feeling weird or discouraged. But we are trying. It's much easier to compliment each other, but when it comes down to the self-compliment... I guess we just don't know ourselves well enough.
Anyway, here comes the food porn, as usual. The first thing is from VwaV, page 28, "Fronch" Toast. It was great, but next time I will definitely add some cinnamon and nutmet to make it more traditional.
The second thing is Bryanna's Hunan Tofu. I made this before, a long while ago that I can't even remember. This time I didn't even fry the tofu beforehand because I wanted more of a soft and juicy texture. It turned out even better than I remembered. Surely a keeper!
