35 posts tagged “soy sauce”
Time really flies. It's the middle of July now. I haven't been blogging much lately. I have a very good excuse this time. I was transitioning to Ubuntu Hardy (a very popular Linux distro) in the past two weeks. I was really busy configuring my system, getting our wireless network to work, and synchronizing the iPod Touch with my new Ubuntu system. I'm really excited about this move because I'm finally free of Windows and all the Windows woes. And I can cut our future expenses down - no more software purchase! And in the midst of setting up my own notebook, my husband's Windows Vista was actually wiped out by a serious and malicious virus. All of his files and his Windows system files were deleted after a reboot. We got no warning whatsoever from our expensive antivirus software. Yeah, what was I expecting a stupid little Windows program to do? The outcome is that now we are both using Ubuntu only. I guess Windows finally pissed us off enough. I'm certainly not gonna miss it.
Being inundated with setting up two Ubuntu systems, I haven't posted any food porn but I have been eating. Well, that goes without saying. I have been cooking, sort of. So this post may seem a little long.
The first photo is the Deep-Dish Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche. I saved the recipe from Vegetarian Times for several months before I felt perplexed why I hadn't made it earlier. It was worth the wait, I'm telling you. It's good for a summer dinner that will delight your taste buds, which keeps you refreshed and cheerful.
Here's a closeup that you can't miss. Oh, I really loved this quiche! It's also the first time that I have made a pie crust with whole wheat pastry flour. I enjoyed the whole process for a good reason then.
The second photo is the Lentil, Bok Choy and Potato Soup. The original recipe is Lentil, Spinach and Potato Soup by Carla of "But Did They Eat It?". I liked it very much, but didn't eat the leftover soup the second day. It's really not the soup's fault. I'm just going through a very particular food-crisis phase. I basically don't know what the heck I want to eat for the next meal.
Vox neighborhood. Until then, take care and God bless!
In a desperate search for a green-heavy meal option, I dug out a really valuable recipe - Spring Green Quinoa - by Susan Voisin of Fatfree Vegan Kitchen that I had saved recently. I was so glad that I could kill two birds with one stone this time: a) I bought some fresh edamame, lots of asparagus and four large zucchini, so I would hate to waste them; b) we are trying to eat less wheat and more whole grains with more greens. Spring Green Quinoa offers a very wholesome and toothsome experience. I didn't have enough quinoa for this recipe (1/4 cup short) so I added in some white jasmine rice, otherwise this recipe could be gluten-free as well as wheat-free. I used more edamame and doubled the asparagus, and subbed one fresh Roma tomato with two teaspoons of tomato paste since I didn't have any sundried tomatoes left. Fresh basil also added more garden-feeling to the whole dish. This is definitely a keeper, especially when we have not been disciplined in our diet.
I also made a tofu dish - Coconut Tofu with Curry Dipping Sauce. The recipe came from Tofu of "what the hell DOES a vegan eat anyway?", one of my favorite vegan foodblogs. Unfortunately, I didn't do justice to this great recipe. Some of the shredded coconut came off in the frying pan so the bare marinated tofu looked more brown than golden (compare with Tofu's photo). But the tofu was really tasty. It's like eating tofu and a coconut dessert at the same time.
Lastly, I yielded to the temptation and made another batch of vegan English muffins. Yes, they are that good with vegan margarine!
I'm glad that I finally have something half decent to post here. The tasty and nutritious Dolmades (Meditarranean rice casserole) by Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs really made my day. It's a very easy dish to put together within 25 minutes. I didn't bake the casserole since everything was already cooked and my husband is very determined to keep all the nutritional values as much as possible and we plan to eventually go raw some day.
My major changes: I used both pine nuts and almonds in the rice. I subbed bok choy. I must admit the balsamic vinegar and dill smell was very appealing. I had my little doubt before I used balsamic vinegar in the rice. Afterwards I was thrilled.
I also have a not-so-appealing photo here. I don't even remember exactly what it was since didn't write down the recipe. It was a very quick dish - Japanese buckwheat noodles with mock shrimps and leeks. I'm pretty sure I used some dark soy sauce, paprika, and some Asian black-bean-based sauces. Anyway, I thought those mock shrimps I bought looked quite real. They tasted quite good.
I can see that the 100th post of "So what the heck do we eat?" series is approaching. I don't know what to do to make it special. Am I obligated to make it into some special event? I don't know, but I do know that I've wanted to make something elaborate for a while. We shall see.
For today, nothing too fancy. The first thing is the Messy Rice (Veganomicon, page 118). The rice wasn't that messy and boy, it was good! It's so easy to make that I'm sure I'll be making this rice on the side often.
And with this photo, I was able to make another banner utilizing another gorgeous photo from Purplesque. This is our orange banner to celebrate the coming of spring.
When I was feeling lazy about cooking, I made a Shanghai-style Braised Chick'n and Bamboo Shoots with Udon Noodles. It was a 15-minute recipe (from preparing to plating). Ingredients: fresh bamboo shoots, button mushrooms, tempeh, and udon noodles. Simply sauté bamboo shoots, button mushrooms and tempeh in vegetable oil with loads of chives (or scallions) for around 7-9 minutes, then deglaze with water and soy sauce and add some sugar. Bring to a boil and cover to simmer for 10 minutes. In the last 3 minutes, add udon noodles. That's it. It was very tasty but I know I shouldn't eat this often.
After this desperate act, I had to make a nutritious and delectable soup to make a good diet day. I made the lentil soup with tarragon and thyme from Veganomicon again. But it's Red Lentil, Quinoa and Potato Soup with Tarragon and Thyme this time. I ran out of carrots so subbed potatoes. And after the onions and potatos were in the pot cooking, I found out that I only had one cup of lentils left. Merde! So, quinoa saved my day again. Oh, did I mention fresh tarragon made the soup even better? The soup turned out to be extremely pleasant and satisfying and my husband really liked it. He said it was very Italian., which made me rather proud of myself.
I really hope I can find the perfect recipe for the 100th post.
I haven't been such a good neighbor. I rarely have time to read blogs or leave comments, which I enjoy doing very much. I've got more than 630 new feeds in my Google reader. I feel like I'm getting busy again. Sometimes I really wonder so hard where all the time has gone. Especially when I continue to read In Search of Lost Time by Proust, I strongly believe I should at least start a quest called "Chasing the Lost Time". But I don't think I have the answer to my own question and I don't have the guts to really chase time.
Well, besides chasing time, I did some cooking. Or rather, I found some photos and had to post them here before forgetting what they were. The first one is Vegan Haggis (recipe by River of Bean Vegan). I didn't have scotch so subbed dark rum. It was quite interesting and satisfying. But we were not really in the mood for it, unfortunately.
Here's how it looked being plated. Well, I know I usually don't spend much time making the plate look nice. All in good time, I guess.
The second is my own 50% Whole Wheat Strawberry Pancakes. The batter is half all-purpose flour (2 cups), half whole wheat flour (2 cups), baking powder (1/2 teaspoon), unsweetened vanilla soy milk (1 1/2 cups) with apple cider vinegar (2 teaspoons), orange juice (3/4 cup), pure maple syrup (3 tablespoons), sugar free strawberry preserves (1 1/2 cups), vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), salt (1/4 teaspoon), olive oil (1/2 teaspoon). You basically sift flours, baking powder, and salt; add vinegar to soy milk to curdle it for 5 minutes; then mix the curdled soy milk with all the other wet ingredients. The last step is to combine the dry and wet ingredients together. The verdict? Great! Very much like spring. It satisfied my strawberry craving.
The last thing is my first attempt at veganizing Buttermilk Spoon Bread. It's a hybrid of polenta, cornbread and a souffle. The original recipe is by courtesy of Nicole of Baking Bites again. The result was rather good but it's definitely a working process. The photo doesn't show the texture well. It was moist, cakey, and pudding-y all at the same time. I'll post the vegan recipe once I think it's perfected to my satisfaction.
What will happen if you keep thinking about one flavor without cooking it for two weeks or longer? You might end up making everything taste like that flavor unknowingly. This is what happened to me. Or rather, this is what I made happen. I kept thinking about soy sauce and Bryanna's savory dinner tofu loaf for more than two weeks. Then I saw the glorious-looking Dill Shiitake Frittata from Isa's test kitchen (yes, Isa is writing a new brunch cookbook!) and attempted to make one. The result is that I made a dill shiitake frittata that looked more like a savory dinner loaf and packed with a lot of flavors. I was almost too ashamed to show the photos here but what the heck, the "frittata" tofu loaf tasted great. A dark frittata or a dinner loaf, what's the difference?
The ingredients are basically similar to the Asparagus and Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata (VwaV) but I used half a tablespoon more soy sauce to resemble Bryanna's savory dinner loaf. Well, a blunder turned into a bliss. Not bad!
Spring is barely here and I'm already thinking about midsummer. This is why I once again cracked open Veganomicon and made the Midsummer Corn Chowder with Basil, Tomato, and Fennel (Veganomicon, page 144). Well, longing for summer is not the real reason. I just got too excited having two innocent fennel bulbs sitting in my fridge. I had two large fennel bulbs like two months ago and simply wasted them in the end. This time my personal pride didn't allow that to happen. If anyone knows some awesome recipes that involve using fennel bulbs besides roasting them, please let me know. I'm dying to make something with fennel bulbs that will freak myself out. Is it actually possible? I know most of us love fennel seeds, but fennel bulbs??
Anyway, the corn chowder was fabulous. The fresh basil, tomato and fennel combo really brought out some unexpected pleasant flavors. Not like a typical corn chowder. Oh, by the way, I added half a cup of quinoa which was a good little addition. It's amazing how creamy a vegan corn chowder can be without using any wheat or soy product.
I've been making soups non-stop so I think it might be time for me to change "so what the heck do we eat?" series into "today's soup" series. It sounds tempting but I love pies and rice too much to completely give up solid vegan food. Anyhow, Bryanna's Golden Vegetable Noodle Soup (from The (Almost) No Fat Cookbook: Everyday Vegetarian Recipes, page 89) almost converted me to a soup Nazi. Just like what Bryanna said about the soup in the book, this soup had the same comforting effect as chicken noodle soup, and only better! The best soup I've made so far. I replaced frozen peas with green split peas and used loads of fresh cilantro together with one teaspoon of dried parsley instead of just fresh parsley. I also used both wholewheat spaghetti and wholewheat elbows. A small pinch of paprika and red pepper flakes added some subtle zing.
I had enough time to make some vegan hot cross buns. I took this recipe and had some amazing result. These not so traditional hot cross buns had a great texture and a subtle spicy and fragrant taste. I simply omitted the egg and used both golden raisins and dried cranberries, which created a beautiful tang in the buns. We loved them!
I'm still not in a cooking mood, but I surprised myself with this peanut butter sauce for noodles. This is called Peanut Udon Noodles with Radish and Chickpeas, which is very easy to make. Within 15 minutes you can have a tasty gourmet meal without the stress of going through a lengthy preparation process. This dish is very creamy and full of flavors.
Peanut Udon Noodles with Radish and Chickpeas
(serves 2)
For Noodles:
1 package instant udon noodles
(serves 2)
For Noodles:
1 package instant udon noodles
1 radish, cut into pieces
1 can (14-ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 bunch spinach, washed and torn into pieces
Peanut Sauce:
1 1/2 cups creamy (or chunky) natural peanut butter
2 cups coconut milk
2 1/2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. coriander
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. your favorite Asian chili sauce
1 tsp. your favorite Asian chili sauce
Juice of one medium lime
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1. Boil 7-8 cups of water together with radish pieces. When the water boils, add udon noodles. Please note that the timing depends on the instructions on your udon package. Mine takes 3 minutes to cook. In the last minute, add chickpeas and spinach. When done, drain and put back into the pot.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the peanut sauce. Mix thoroughly to make sure there is no peanut butter chunk left.
3. Add the peanut sauce to the noodles and combine well. Serve immediately.
If you have fresh cilantro and some chopped peanuts, add on top as garnish. Enjoy!
If you have fresh cilantro and some chopped peanuts, add on top as garnish. Enjoy!
I'm still not completely back to cooking yet. So every morning our breakfast is whipped up within 10 minutes. The homemade instant food, as I call it.
This bowl of udon noodles, again, is very easy to make. The ingredients are simply udon noodles, bok choy, yuba, bamboo shoots (cut into pieces), and lots of fresh cilantro. For seasoning, two tablespoons of white miso, two tablespoons of dark soy sauce, some toasted sesame oil, generous amount of garlic powder, black pepper, and paprika.
When you peel bamboo shoots, make sure that you peel off all the rough skins that won't easily break. Just let the skins naturally break away as you keep pulling. There shouldn't be any stringy rough part left. You can feel the crunchy texture when you cut the bamboo shoots with your knife.
Hopefully I can begin to cook very soon. I'm slowly getting tired of all the homemade instant food.
I don't know how this happened but we suddenly got busy a couple of days ago so I had to skip the 14th and 15th things-a-day. I was planning on making one more Valentine's dessert. I can still do it in the next few days. Today I have a very fast recipe to share with you. When you get busy and don't feel like making something complicated or time-consuming, this is the one for you. It took me only 15 minutes to make altogether including waiting for a pot of water to boil. And it was such a delicious and healthy meal on a cold wintry morning.
Udon Noodles with Brussels Sprouts, Bean Sprouts and Edamame
(serves 1, but you can easily double it)
This noodle bowl has a very toothsome texture because of the edamame (fresh soy beans) which I love. You can use fresh or frozen edamame. Feel free to alter any ingredient or the amount to suit your taste.
1 package of "instant" udon noodles (enough for 1 person)
8-9 shiitake mushrooms, wiped clean* (see notes below)
5 oz. Brussels sprouts
4 oz. soybean sprouts
1 package of fresh spinach
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1.5 Tbsp. mushroom dark soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1. In a pot, boil 8 cups of water together with shiitake mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and soybean sprouts. (You can adjust the amount of water according to the vegetables you choose.)
2. When the water boils, add udon noodles. Mine takes only 3 minutes to cook. Towards the end throw in spinach. Drain when the noodles are cooked.
3. Mix in olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, paprika, coriander and black pepper. Stir well and serve immediately. Enjoy!
* Generally you shouldn't wash mushrooms as they soak too much water and become mushy very quickly. Use a paper towel to wipe them clean.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Brussels sprouts taste very good in this noodle bowl too. No bitterness at all.
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