Vegan Banh Mi Sandwiches

Banh Mi with homemade grilled  'pork' patty and Cilantro Lime Aioli

Banh Mi with Candied Smoked Ham and Dijon Mustard

I haven't been cooking lately because the weather is too hot.  However, a post from Bryanna at Vegan Feast Kitchen blog about  Vegan Spinach "Chicken" Patties (Open to Experimentation) prompted me to a new experiment with her recipe.  I made it Asian style in my experiment and it became Vegan Cilantro Roasted Lemongrass "Pork" Patties instead of "Chicken" patties.  I used the patties in Vietnamese Bánh mì with homemade Vegan Cilantro Lime Aioli and topped with traditional Bánh mì toppings(pictured above).  I grilled the patties on a cast iron skillet thus it became Vegan Grilled "Pork" Patties Bánh mì.

I just want to warn everyone that this recipe is very cilantro-ey.  Some people don't really like cilantro or coriander leaves.  I love them.  A lot of Vietnamese dishes use a lot of cilantro.   If you don't like cilantro you may stick with spinach or parsley.

I also did another experiment to make Candied Vegan "Ham" or "Bacon" using Chinese Style Vegan Smoked Ham I bought in Asian market.  I also served the Candied "Ham" in Bánh mì with dijon mustard and topped with traditional Bánh mì toppings(pictured above, too).

The traditional Bánh mì toppings are fresh cilantro, cucumber, jalapeno slices and pickled shredded daikon and carrots.

Ingredients of bánh mì  toppings are: cilantro, jalapeno, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrots.

Bánh mì Ingredients:

Pickled Shredded Daikon Radish and Carrots, recipe below

Jalapeno slices

Fresh Cilantro

Cucumber Slices

Cilantro Lime Aioli Sauce(recipe below) or Dijon Mustard

Vegan Cilantro Roasted Lemongrass "Pork" Patties, recipe below or

Vegan Candied Smoked "Ham", recipe below

Vietnamese Baguette(Banh Mi Tay), store bought or homemade(pictured below)

(I have tried made it myself using this recipe)

Homemade baguette

Printable Recipe for Vegan Grilled "Pork" Banh Mi

Printable Recipe for Vegan Candied Smoked "Ham" Banh Mi

Pickled Shredded Daikon Radish and Carrots

1 large daikon radish, peeled

4 carrots, peeled

4 Tbsp vinegar, divided

2 tsp salt, divided

4-6 tsp sugar, divided

1. Using a food processor, shred radish and carrots separately. 
2. In 2 bowls, 1 for radish and 1 for carrots, pile shredded radish and carrots, separately.
3. For each bowl, add 1 tsp salt and 2-3 tsp sugar (add more to make it sweeter).  Rub the shredded radish or carrots with salt and sugar, mix well,
4. Add 2 Tbsp vinegar in each bowl.  Mix and let the radish and carrots macerated in room temperature or fridge.

Cilantro Lime Aioli Sauce

Yield 1.5 cups

This sauce is great with a lot of things.  I have served it with 'fish' tacos, sandwiches, and use it as a dip for tortilla chips.

2 cups packed fresh cilantro including stems (cleaned and dried in a towel)

1 large jalapeno, chop in large pieces

2 large cloves garlic

4 large green onions

juice of 1 lime (about 1/4 cup)

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp. agave nectar

2 Tbsp. oil (optional)

Vegan Mayonnaise, store bought or check out Bryanna's recipe

1. Put all ingredients above except the mayonnaise and blend until smooth.
2. I store the Cilantro Lime mixture and the mayonnaise separately.  Just before serving, I combine equal parts of cilantro lime mixture and mayonnaise until well blended.

Cilantro Lime Sauce before it is combined with vegan mayo

Vegan Cilantro Roasted Lemongrass "Pork" Patties

Yield 12 oval patties

Adapted from Bryanna's Vegan Spinach "Chicken" Patties

2 6-inch fresh lemongrass (white part only), chopped in large pieces
2 large shallots, chopped in large pieces (about 2/3 cup altogether)
4 large cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. oil

2 large green onions
2 cups packed fresh cilantro including stems (cleaned and dried in a towel)
1 Tbsp. no beef broth paste
1 3/4 cups boiling water
2 cups plain textured soy protein granules (TVP) or crumbs from bottom of Soy Curls bag
1 lb. medium-firm tofu, drained
1 cup Vital Wheat Gluten (gluten powder)
1 Tbsp. mushroom powder
  Note:  This is ground dried shiitake mushroom (grind until powdery smooth in a spice grinder)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic granules
1 tsp. ground white pepper
  Note:  a lot of Vietnamese dishes use ground white pepper as seasoning.
2 Tbsp. 'fish' sauce  or Braggs Liquid Aminos

1. Start with a dry food processor, grind chopped lemongrass into a fine fibrous pulps.  This may take 1-2 minutes.  Add chopped shallots and garlic cloves.  Process some more until it become a fibrous spice paste.
2. Heat oil in a wok or on a cast iron pan, saute the spice paste on a medium heat.  Stir fry for literally 10-15 minutes until the herb paste brown and roasted.  Stir the paste frequently.  When it becomes loose, brown, dry, and fluffy, turn off the heat and let it cool.  (See the same method in making Lemongrass Tofu).
3. While stir frying the lemongrass in step 2, mix the no beef broth paste with boiling water.  Add to the TVP and let sit 10 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  
5. Using the same food processor (you don't need to wash), grind fresh cilantro and green onions.
6.  Mash the drained tofu (squeeze out excess water) and mix well with the soaked TVP(squeeze out excess water), cilantro and green onion mixture, cool roasted lemongrass shallots mixture and the remaining ingredients, except the gluten flour.  Mix thoroughly.
7. Add the gluten flour and mix well again.
8. Scoop up some of the "dough' and roll into a ball, then press down into a patty on a piece of baking parchment or silpat.  I made it oval shapes because I am serving it in a baguette.  There will be about 12-13 patties.
9. Place the patties on parchment-lined or silpat-lined baking sheets, cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.  The patties will be soft when they come out of the oven.  Let them cool on baking sheets.  Cool or chill thoroughly in the fridge.  They will firm up as they cool.  Store in a container with parchment in between the patties and refrigerate  or freeze for future use.
10. When ready to serve, grill or brown them on both sides and medium heat on a oiled cast iron skillet.

Vegan Candied Smoked "Ham"

Using a loaf of store bought smoked vegan ham.  I frequently perused Asian market in search of Smoked Vegan Ham.  I often found one or two that is vegan.  The one I purchased was VegeFarm brand.

Store bought vegan ham

Vegetable oil

Maple syrup

1. Slice thawed vegan ham vertically and about 1/4-inch thick.
2. On a cast iron skillet, heat a tablespoon oil, pan fry a few ham slices until golden brown.
3. Add 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup.  Let syrup bubbles up and coats the ham slices.
4. Keep frying until syrup reduced and ham slices turned to roasted brown (see picture below)

Candied Smoked Vegan Ham

Assembling Bánh mì:

1. Cut about 6-8 inches of baguette and slice in half horizontally, almost all the way through but not quite.
2. Slather with Cilantro Lime Aoli for making Grilled "Pork"  sandwich or with Dijon Mustard for the Candied "Ham" sandwich.
3. Add Grilled "Pork" Patties or Candied Smoked "Ham" slices, top with pickled shredded daikon radish and carrots, jalapeno slices, cucumber slices, and more cilantro.

Assembling Grilled "Pork" Patties Banh Mi with Cilantro Lime Aioli

Assembling Candied Smoked "Ham" Banh Mi with Dijon Mustard

The details in Grilled "Pork" Banh Mi with all the toppings and aioli

Enjoy!

Vegan Indonesian Sambal Goreng(Curry) with Beyond Meat and Viva La Vegan Grocery

Indonesian Sambal Goreng with Beyond Meat, Potatoes, and other Vegetables

I am posting yet another Indonesian dish.  It has been an Indonesian cuisine fewer at our house lately.  Sambal Goreng (pronounce some-ball go-rang) is a Javanese dish made of sambal (spicy chili condiment) that is stir fried with other herbs and spices for long minutes before coconut milk is added to it. It is a stew curry like Thai panang or red curry.  The traditional ingredients are not vegetarian (except sometimes we use potato)  such as chicken livers, gizzards, etc.  Items that are kind of gross to vegetarians.  Sometimes people use shrimps and fish also.  The Javanese also use terasi or shrimp paste.  Therefore, a vegetarian has to be careful in eating Indonesian curry that has no meat in it since shrimp paste may still be used.

I veganized it without using shrimp paste or meat by using potato, carrots, green beans, and edamame.  I also use miso to replace the shrimp paste.  Tofu and tempeh can also be added to it.  This time I incorporated Beyond Meat just because I just want to try cooking with Beyond Meat.  I love to experiment and try new things.  I am fine with eating tofu and tempeh but I love to venture to other options that are available to vegans.

It was not easy to get my hands to Beyond Meat.  I first heard about it from Phoney Baloney's when they still have their sandwich business.  They made delicious chick'n sandwiches with this product.  For a long time Beyond Meat is not available to retail consumers like me.  Only just recently that it is available in Whole Foods in retail packaging.  However, I didn't buy it from Whole Foods this time.  I bought the 5 lbs. package of unseasoned one from Viva La Vegan Grocery.

It's a long drive for me to get to Viva La Vegan Grocery.  However, it was well worth it.  Not only I was able to shop for vegan stuff WITHOUT LOOKING AND CHECKING INGREDIENTS (how awesome is that?) but I also got to eat at Vegan with Joy (the vegan deli inside this grocery store).  The food at this deli was really good and the grocery was large.  It was an awesome visit to this place.

Now, about this dish.  I use the same herbs I used in making the Vegan Indonesian 'Lamb' Curry but I used less spices and a milder spice, coriander.  I did use fresh chili and controlled the spicyness in my guidance title 'About the level of heat' in this blog.  The dish below looks red and spicy but it is not that hot.

Vegan Indonesian Sambal Goreng (Curry)
Serve 6-8
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
12 oz. Beyond Meat, Extra Firm Tofu, or Tempeh, cut into cubes
Note:  if using tofu or tempeh, I usually, bake them in the oven until brown and crispy first
2 cups shelled edamame (frozen and then thawed)
2 medium tomatoes (fresh), diced into cubes
1 1/2 cups frozen green beans(thawed)
1 1/2 cups diced carrots  (peeled and diced)
2 cups diced potatoes (peeled and diced)
1-2 tsp. salt
2-3 brown sugar or palm sugar
1-2 tbps. miso
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cups tamarind water or a few squeezes of lime, optional
Note: soak 1 inch tamarind paste in warm water
Oil for stir frying sambal

Spice paste ingredients:
6 shallot cloves, peeled
5 garlic cloves, peeled
5 candlenuts
3 large dried New Mexico chili
Note:  Soak the dried chili in the 1-2 cups warm water for 10 minutes, remove stem and seeds, drained and reserve the soaking water
3 fresh Thai Chili (green serrano chili), use less for less spicy

Fresh herbs:
2-3 slices fresh ginger
2-3 slices fresh galanga or laos
2 stalks fresh lemongrass (use the white part only), pound them and then slice to 2 inches long
3-4 fresh kaffir lime leaves

Accompaniments:
Fried Shallots or Brambang goreng
Chips (veggie or garlic chips) or garlic krupuk

1. Put all spice paste ingredients into a food processor, mini chopper, or blender.  Grind until it becomes a paste.  Add a little bit of chili soaking water to make it easier to grind.
2. Heat a large pot or wok in medium high temperature.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil.  Add the spice paste.  Stir fry the sambal or spice paste for about 10 minutes.  Add a little bit more of chili soaking water if it sticks to the wok or pot.
3. Add all of the fresh herbs ingredients.  Then, stir to combine.
4. Add tofu, tempeh, or Beyond Meat, diced carrots, diced tomatoes, and diced potatoes.  Add miso.  Add 1 cup vegetable broth and more of the chili soaking water until it barely covers the ingredients but not too soupy.
5. Simmer and stir to combine with the spice paste.  Add salt, brown sugar or palm sugar, and the coriander.  Continue simmering and stir frequently about 20 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are done but still firm.  The tomatoes should disintegrate some at this point.
6. Add coconut milk, edamame pods, and green beans.  Taste and add more salt, sugar, and the tamarind water or a few squeezes of lime, if using.   Combine and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
7. This dish is better served the next day when all the spices and herbs are absorbed to the ingredients.  Before serving, remove all the fresh herbs ingredients out of the curry.
8. Serve on top of steamed rice, sprinkle with fried shallots, and eat with chips on the side.



It's delicious served on top of steamed rice, accoumpanied with chips(krupuk).  Using the chips to scoop rice and curry is a yummy way to eat this dish.



Vegan Indonesian Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)

Indonesian Nasi Goreng served with Veggie Chips, Slices of Cucumber and Tomato, and Scrambled Tofu

Indonesian fried rice also called Nasi Goreng (Nasi = Rice, Goreng = Fried) is different than any other fried rice.  This Javanese fried rice is usually spicy hot and a bit sweet.  We use Kecap Manis or sweet soy sauce to add the sweetness(Kecap Manis sounds like KEH-chuhp MAH-nees or  similar sound to Ketchup Mayonnaise but there is no ketchup nor mayonnaise in this sauce).  Traditionally, Indonesians eat this dish for breakfast with fried eggs served on top. The fried rice is always made from leftover yesterday's rice.  Any leftover rice usually ends up as fried rice for breakfast the next day (Indonesians eat rice 3 times a day).  This dish can also be found in lunch or dinner menu or at street vendors so it is not really just a breakfast food.  It is usually meaty with chicken and shrimps.  On top of egg, the other accompaniments are usually shrimp chips and cucumber and tomato slices.  These accompaniments will counterbalance the heat of the dish.

Watch this video on how a non-vegetarian Nasi Goreng is made.  The video mentioned that Nasi Goreng is popular in Holland and a part of Dutch food.  This is true since the Dutch conquered Indonesia for hundreds of years and brought this savory hot dish back to their homeland.

In veganizing this dish, I used the following:

Rice
I use white or brown basmati rice (long grain rice is the best for fried rice).  I cooked and put the rice in the fridge the day before or use leftover rice and then break it down with hands (just like in the video).  It is really important to do this before stir frying the rice.

Meat Substitute
I used Gardein, Soy Curls, or Baked Tofu (store bought or home made).  Sometimes, I use vegan shrimp but not always.  I also love adding shelled edamame to it or frozen peas will do too.

Shallots
If you notice, Indonesian food use a lot of shallots.  We prefer to use shallots than onions.  We use a lot of shallots.  In fact, I didn't see brown or white onions until I moved to US.  In Java, we always use shallots for our cooking

Accompaniments
I used scrambled tofu as the egg and veggie chips instead of shrimp chips.  There are Indonesian garlic chips that are available that I could have deep fried just like what they did in the video but I was just too lazy to do the deep frying (make magic as the Chef in the video said).  I used these Veggie Chips (available in Trader Joe) instead.  The chips are great to use to scoop the fried rice.  The crunchiness of the chips combined with sweet hot fried rice, scrambled tofu, and cucumber/tomato slices is pretty yummy!

Sambal
The use of sambal is really important.  Sambal and Kecap Manis are the key to Indonesian fried rice.  I love to make this fried rice when I have my Sambal Tomat (Spicy Javanese Tomato Sambal).  Another kind of sambal such as Sambal Oelek or Chili Garlic Sauce can be used but homemade Sambal Tomat is just much better.

Fried Egg
For this dish, I tried making the scrambled tofu with The Vegg.  It was good but I found that this product is pretty expensive.  I have made scrambled tofu without it and turned out almost the same. Any recipe for scrambled tofu is good to go.

Use long grain rice

Vegan Indonesian Nasi Goreng(Fried Rice)
Serve 6-8
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 cups cooked White Basmati Rice (leftover cold rice)
Note:  If rice is made the same day, put it in the fridge for 3-4 hours before using.
2 cups soy chicken such as Gardein, Soy Curls (rehydrated), or smoked baked tofu, small cubed
1 cup vegan shrimps, diced (optional)
2 cups shelled edamame, thawed
2 1/2 cups shallots or onion, slice thinly
1 - 2 red jalapenos, chopped (reduced or opt out for less spicy)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. Safflower or Canola Oil
1/4 cup vegetable broth
4 green onions, slice thinly


Sauce/Spices:
6 Tbsp. Sambal Tomat or 3 Tbsp Sambal Oelek/Chili Garlic Sauce
Note:  My sambal tomat is less hot than store-bought sambal.  To reduce heat, cut it in half.
2 Tbsp. Toyomansi or Vegan Fish Sauce replacement or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
5 Tbsp. Kecap manis
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

Accompaniments:
Veggie Chips or Garlic Chips
Tomato slices
Cucumber Slices
Homemade scrambled tofu (optional)
Brambang Goreng or Fried Shallots

1. Break down the cold rice with fingers so rice is loose and dry.  Make sure that all clumps are broken down. Set aside.
2. Heat wok on top of medium high heat.  Add oil and swirl the oil around to cover wok surfaces.
3. Add shallots/onions.  Stir fry until they are fragrant and limp.  Then add garlic and chopped red chili.
4. Stir fry more until onions/shallots are a bit brown.  Add soy chicken/seitan/soy curls/tofu to the wok.  Add the vegan shrimps, if using. 
5. Stir fry some more and add vegetable broth when things start to stick into the wok.
6. Add sambal, toyomansi/liquid aminos/fish sauce replacement, kecap manis.  Combine with stir fried ingredients. Stir fry until sauce ingredients are combined well with all other ingredients.
7. Gradually add rice and shelled edamame to the work and mix well with the stir fried ingredients in the wok.  Taste and add salt and white pepper.  Add more kecap manis, toyomansi, and sambal if necessary.
8. When everything is combined well and taste delicious.  Mix in the green onions. Combine well and take it off heat.
9. Serve with fried shallots on top and scrambled tofu, tomato slices, cucumber slices, and veggie or garlic chips on the side.

Vegan Lemongrass Tofu or Faux Fish



Above: Lemongrass soy/faux fish.  Below: Lemongrass tofu.

We visit vegan Vietnamese restaurants pretty often.  Our favorites are nearby Loving Hut and Thuyen Vien.  Lemongrass soy fish or tofu is on their menu and we love this dish.  I've been trying to develop a recipe that I want to blog but somehow could not get the taste right until I found a perfect sauce to replace the fish sauce.  I found it by way of facebook, a discussion with a fellow vegan about a replacement of fish sauce.  This sauce is called Toyomansi, a Filipino soy sauce with calamansi in it.  Perusing a nearby Asian market, I found it, here is the picture of the bottle below:



Toyomansi, a delicious fish sauce replacement.

I thank my fellow vegan in fb for her suggestion.  This sauce is quiet delicious.

Making it with faux fish or soy fish:
Another discovery, lately, for me, is a store with a lot of vegan faux meat in Monrovia, CA, called Vege USA.  This Taiwanese based company for faux meat and seafood products has been in business since 1998.  They were creating vegetarian products instead of vegan products.  However, visiting the store (the headquarter has a small market or store) and talking to the worker in the store, this company is in the process to turn their products to vegan.  There is a whole freezer section dedicated for vegan products.  The process takes a long time but they are trying.  I was able to get a good vegan soy fish from them.  In the past, I made my own vegan soy fish but lately buying it is easier.  Some people will say that they don't like faux meat or seafood.  Oh well, I grew up eating fish and love the 'seafoody' flavor so I still enjoy eating faux fish.

Making it with spongy tofu:
If faux fish is not your thing, you can make this dish with tofu.  I suggest the extra firm tofu.  I found that tofu can be bland in a stir fry dish unless I soak and marinade the tofu pieces first with the spices.  I fix the problem by freezing the extra firm tofu first overnight and then leave it to thaw the next day on a colander.  Before freezing it, do not squeeze the water out of the tofu.  I usually take out the tofu from the box, wrap it in a saran wrap tightly and put it in the freezer.  The water in the tofu will be frozen and crystallized so when it is thawed, it forms holes as pictured below.  After it is thawed, I squeeze the water out and the tofu becomes spongy.  If the tofu is soft, there are a lot of water in the tofu so when it is thawed, the tofu reduced to half of the original size.  For this dish, I prefer the extra firm spongy tofu. The benefit of using the spongy tofu is that the sauce and spices easily absorbed into the tofu so it is not bland.  The tofu is really like a sponge absorbing the spice and sauce well.   But then again, some people do not like the texture of spongy tofu.  In that case, extra firm tofu can be used in this dish (without freezing and thawing).  It is a matter of preference.


From left to right:  extra firm tofu, extra firm spongy tofu, soft spongy tofu

Vegan Lemongrass Soy Fish or Tofu
Serve 6
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups soy fish or extra firm spongy tofu or extra firm tofu (drained, pressed)
2-3 Tbsp. Canola or Safflower oil
4 garlic cloves
5 shallot cloves
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, use the white stalk only and remove the fibrous and leafy tops, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium red jalapeno or 2 red thai chili, optional
¼ tsp. salt, optional
Note: toyomansi or vegan fish sauce can be salty. Salt may not be necessary.
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp. Toyomansi or Braggs Liquid Aminos or Vegan Fish Sauce
½ tsp. curry powder
1 cup vegetable broth (non-salty kind is preferable)

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut soy fish, tofu or spongy tofu to bite sizes. With a brush or oil -spray bottle, apply oil soy fish or tofu pieces (using ½ to 1 tablespoon of the oil).
2. Bake soy fish or tofu until crispy, about 25minutes - for fish and 35 minutes for tofu, flip over about halfway of cooking. The fish or tofu should be brown and crispy. Set aside to cool.
3. Using a food processor, grind lemongrass, garlic, shallots, optional red chili, and salt until it is very fine. Scrape the side a couple times to gather ingredients. The final result is a spice paste.
4. Heat a large wok or nonstick frying pan on a medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp. oil. Then, immediately, add the herb paste (from no. 3). Stir fry this herb paste for 10 minutes. Be patient, this is dry frying process. It needs to be slightly brown and dry before continuing to the next phase. Add a little more oil or water if it starts to stick to the pan. The aroma of browned herbs will be delicious.
5. Add baked soy fish or tofu and mix with the browned herbs, mix well and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
6.  Add toyomansi or liquid aminos or vegan fish sauce, brown sugar, curry powder, and mix well with soy fish or tofu mixture.
7. Add vegetable broth. Let the soy fish or tofu soak all the liquid and stir fry for another 5 minutes. Another option is not to use broth and have this dish as a dry dish. I like it both ways.
8. Take it off heat and enjoy with my perfect brown rice and Indonesian Salad with Spicy Grated Coconut Dressing or Indian Kale-Cabbage Thoran.

Baked soy fish until crispy.

Before



 After:  Spice paste was sticky before.  After 10 minutes, it is brown, fluffy, and loose.

  

Serve Lemongrass fish or tofu with brown rice, Indonesian salad, or Indian Thoran, a perfect combo.

Vegan Indonesian 'Lamb' Curry - Gule or Gulai

Indonesian 'Lamb' Curry - Gule or Gulai

The Indonesian food cravings still exist in my system.  I crave Indonesian ethnic dish such as this one Indonesian Lamb Curry or called Gule or Gulai.  I think I am craving the spices and not craving to eat the lamb/goat or meat.  The curry taste is pretty unique.  I can't really compare it with Indian curries since the spices are similar to Indian but we, Indonesians, add fresh herbs to it like galanga, kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves, and lemon grass.  It doesn't taste like Thai curry either since spices like cloves, coriander, cardamom,  and cumin are used.  Is it a fusion between Indian and Thai curry?  Maybe, that's the only thing I can describe it.

Herbs used in Indonesian dishes(from left to right, clockwise):  galanga, shallots, garlic, ginger, kaffir lime leaves, and lemon grass.

I opted to use fresh herbs as much as possible.  Living in Southern California makes it easier to do that since I can find them easily in Asian markets.  In fact, if you read my previous posts, I grow my own lemon grass and kaffir lime.  These plants are thriving all year long in my backyard and I just pluck them whenever I need to cook Southeast Asian dishes.

In the past, I often cook Indonesian dishes by buying store-bought spice paste like Bamboe, Munik, or Indo Food.  It is supposed to be easy.  I can just stir fry the spices, add other ingredients, add coconut milk if needed, and voila, an Indonesian dish is done.  However, lately, I found out that these spice companies started adding MSG although sometimes it is not listed in the ingredients list.  In fact, they started to do that on Indonesian snacks and chips, too. Urrrgh!  I am not sure either if terasi or shrimp paste is included but not listed.  Therefore, I decided to make my own spices and learn to cook it from scratch which is more elaborate but believe me the taste is better homemade.

Tools needed:  mini chopper/spice grinder, a food processor or a mortar and pestle as shown in my previous post.

Vegan Indonesian 'Lamb' Curry - Gule or Gulai
Serve 6

Ingredients:
2 pkgs. Gardein Beefless Tips  or 3-4 cups cubed super firm tofu or 3-4 cups cubed tempeh
Note:  The Gardein Beefless Tips are the best for this dish.  A friend of mine said 'I can fool a meat eater using these'.
1 cup coconut milk or light coconut milk
1 cup water or vegetable broth
1 Tsp. salt or more to taste
2 Tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
Oil, non-flavor such as canola or safflower oil

Herbs:
2-3 slices fresh ginger
2-3 slices fresh galanga or baby ginger
2 stalks lemon grass, sliced (use white part only)
3 bay leaves, dried
3 kaffir lime leaves, crushed with your hands to releace aroma

Spices to blend in a spice grinder or mortar:
1 Tbsp, coriander seeds
1 tsp. black peppercorns
1/4  of a nutmeg or 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
5 whole cloves or 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 cardamom seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
Note:  I suppose you can use all ground spices to start with.  However,  I prefer to temper my spices on a hot cast iron and then cool them before grinding. 

Spice paste:
6 candlenuts or kemiri(see picture below)
6 shallot cloves

Accompaniments:
Fried shallots for topping
Lalapan or fresh cut tomatoes, cucumber, lettuces, green beans, etc.
Note: Lalapan means eating rice, meaty dish, and fresh vegetables with sambal.
Sambal Tomat from my previous post

1. If using firm tofu or tempeh, pan fry cubes in oil or sprayed with oil and baked them in 400F oven for 15 minutes to brown them.  Set aside.  This step is to firm up the tofu or tempeh as they will be simmered in curry sauce.
2. Combine all spices and blend until smooth in a spice grinder or in a mortar and pestle.
3. Into a mini chopper or a food processer or the mortar, add candlenuts, shallots, and spices above (no. 2) and blend into a spice paste.  Add a little water if necessary to make the paste.
4. In a heavy bottom pot or a wok, add 2 tbsp. oil on a medium high heat.  Add spice paste and pan fry for 5  minutes until fragrant.  Be patient to stir fry the spice paste since this step release the aroma for the curry. 
5. Add fresh herbs: ginger, galanga, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass.  Also add the cinnamon sticks.  Combine them with the stir fried spice paste for another 3 minutes.
6. Add Gardein Beefless Tips or cubed tofu or tempeh.  Combine the spices and herbs with this ingredient for another 3-4 minutes.
7. Add coconut milk, water, salt, and palm or brown sugar.  Add more salt or sugar to taste.
8. Simmer for 30 minutes.
9. Serve with rice and accompaniments.

Indonesian dishes often use dark palm sugar or gula jawa, tamarind paste, and candlenuts or kemiri.

This is how I served this dish to my husband today, from top left, clockwise: Sambal Tomat,  My Perfect Brown Rice, and fresh cut vegetables. 

Spicy Italian Pasta - Valentine Red Trader Joe's Style

Spicy Italian Pasta

For Valentine's Day I am cooking red, red pasta that is.  This time I am going to post something that I've been doing lately that is preparing something quick for dinner.  I shop weekly at a neighborhood small grocery called Trader Joe's.  This store is not nationwide.  It is also not available internationally, of course.  I just want to share how I love this store.  Everything on that plate above was bought from this store(except spices).  It is hard at times to find vegan ingredients but this store provides plenty vegan stuff.  .

What I love about this store is that most ingredients are already cut and prepared so I don't need to do a lot of chopping. I still have to chop a few items such as onions, bell pepper, garlic, etc.  but most vegetables are already cut into bite pieces (including the sun-dried tomatoes). If there is no Trader Joe's near you, I hope you can find similar ingredients at a nearby store.

Ingredients I bought at Trader Joe's to prepare this spicy italian pasta, from left hand corner, clockwise: organic broccoli florets, red bell pepper, onion, pitted kalamata olives, sliced cremini mushrooms, Tofurky Italian Sausage, high fiber spaghetti, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted pine nuts, green capers in a jar, tomate paste (not shown).

The pasta can be replaced with a gluten-free pasta such as quinoa pasta or brown rice pasta. I have done it a few times but this time I am trying their high-fiber pasta.   The broccoli florets are cooked at the end in the pasta cooking water so the color stays bright green. 

Spicy Italian Pasta
Serve 6-8

1 Onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 dry sundried tomatoes, soaked in 1/3 cup warm water
6 or 8 oz Cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 Tofurky Italian Sausage (half of the package pictured above), sliced to 1/2 inch cubes, optional
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, drained, slice each olive into 2
2 Tbsp. Capers, drained
1/2 tsp. Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp. dried Oregano leaves
1 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 cup vegetable broth
Salt and freshly grated black pepper
1-2 Tbsp. Olive oil

2 cups Broccoli Florets
1/2 cup loosely chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup roasted pine nuts

1 lb. dry spaghetti pasta (any kind such as whole wheat, gluten-free, brown rice, or high fiber)

1. Put 4-5 quarts of warm water in a pasta cooking pot on a high heat.  Add a generous amount of kosher salt.  It takes a while to boil this much water so I usually start it ahead of time, about 10 minutes before I start preparing other ingredients.
2. Soak dry sundried tomatoes in 1/3 cup warm water before chopping all other ingredients.
3. In a heavy cast iron pot (5 qts), heat olive oil.  Add onions, garlic, and red bell pepper. Saute until onions are translucent.
4. Add fennel seeds, oregano leaves, and dried red pepper. Stir and combine until fragrant.
5. Add mushrooms and Italian Sausage.  Stir and saute until mushrooms are soften.  Add kalamata olives and capers.
6. At this time, the pasta water should be boiling,  add dry pasta and simmer according to the time on the package minus 1 minute.  For example, if the directions say 8 minutes, simmer for 7 minutes.  If it says 12 minutes, cook for 11 minutes only.  The finishing of cooking the pasta will be with the sauce mixture in the pot.
7. Drain sundried tomatoes, chop into pieces if necessary.  Pour sundried tomatoes soaking water into the vegetable broth.
8. Add sundried tomatoes pieces into the pot, stir.
9. Add vegetable broth and tomato paste into the pot.  Combine with the rest of ingredients and turn the heat down to low.
10. When pasta is al dente, drain and add the cooked pasta into the pot.  Combine with the sauce mixture until the broth is almost absorbed.
11. Meanwhile, add broccoli pasta into the boiling pasta water, simmer for 2 minutes.  When the broccoli reached a bright color, drain, and then add to the pasta mixture in the pot.
12. Add chopped flat leaf parsley and taste for salt.  Add more salt if necessary and some grated black pepper.  Sprinkle with roasted pine nuts.
13. Serve immediately.

Tips:  This dish can prepared ahead of time.  After step 12, spread this dish onto a large flat tray so it cools immediately and the cooking process is stopped.  Otherwise, the pasta will stick together and becomes mushy from overcooking.  When it is cool, store in a large plastic or glass container.  Reheat in the microwave the next day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Smoked Apple Sage Sausage Penne

Mid December is a busy time for me.  We are busy preparing dishes for potlucks at my workplace and DH's workplace to celebrate the holidays.  We plan way ahead what to bring and how to bring the dishes.  We feel that it's wonderful to be able to share our vegan dishes to our non-vegan co-workers.  We choose dishes that are easy to reheat, to transport, and is still good to eat at a room temperature.  The microwave ovens at work are usually so busy that even after we reheat our dishes, we may still have to wait before the potluck party starts.

This year, I decided to bring Roasted Butternut Squash and Smoked Apple Sage Sausage (Field Roast Vegan Sausage).  This dish is easy to make, colorful, delicious, easy to transport,  and easy to reheat.  I even made this dish the weekend before the week of the potluck party and stored it in the fridge. 

I used fresh herbs: fresh sage and flat leaf parsley.  I also used fresh spices: nutmeg and black pepper.  I would recommend the fresh herbs and spices.  The taste is much better using a nutmeg that is grated from a nut than using the already ground nutmeg, for example.

I also used chopped roasted hazelnut as a topping.  The combination of butternut squash, sage, apple sage sausage and hazelnut is incredibly good.


Roasted Butternut Squash and Smoked Apple Sage Sausage Penne
Serves 6

3 cups butternut squash chunks (without peels and seeds, about 3/4 inch cubes)
1 lb.  Penne Rigate (dried pasta, can use gluten-free, if preferred)
2 Smoked Apple Sage Sausage, Field Roast Brand, slice to 1/2 inch chunks
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 small yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 brown onion, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage (if you prefer dried, use 2 teaspoons)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 tsp. salt, more for roasting butternut squash
1/2 tsp. freshly grated black pepper, more for roasting butternut squash
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Olive oil

1/2 cup chopped roasted hazelnut

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.   Place butternut squash chunks on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and black pepper.  Use a spatula to combine oil and spices and spread the chunks in one later.  Roast the chunks for about 30 minutes.  Check for doneness.  Depending on the size of the chunks, the squash should be firm but not too done.  If the chunks are too done, they will be mushy when combined with the pasta.  Set them aside to cool.
2. Heat 4 quarts of water in a pasta pot.  Add salt generously.  When the water comes into a boil, add the dry pasta.  Simmer for 9 minutes until they are al dente and not soft.  The finishing of the pasta cooking will be done later when combined with other ingredients.
3. Meanwhile, while the pasta is simmering, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on a large wide pot.  Add onions and garlic.  Saute until they are soft and fragrant.
4. Add red and yellow bell pepper.  Saute for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add Smoked Apple Sage Sausage chunks.  Saute for 3-4 minutes until brown.  Add a little bit of pasta cooking water if they stick to the pan (instead of more oil).
6. When pasta is al dente, drain, and pour into the pot with other ingredients.  Combine.
7. Add 1 cup of pasta cooking water, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Combine well and let pasta cook 1 minute longer.  To cook the pasta longer, add more pasta cooking water (1/2 to 1 cup) when water evaporates.  Add more salt and pepper if necessary.
8. Add the roasted butternut squash chunks and chopped flat leaf parsley.  Combine. Then, take it off from heat.
9. Just before serving, sprinkle with chopped roasted hazelnut.

This dish is reheatable in the microwave and is also good eaten in at room temperature.  Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts after it is microwaved and just before serving.

Enjoy!

Spicy Korean Gochujang Bowl

Spicy Korean Gochujang Bowl

Lately, I have been cooking 500-calories- or-less-per-serving meals that can be served in room temperature since the weather has been so hot this summer.  I use a calorie count website to calculate the calories for each serving.  I've been trying to limit my lunch and dinner to 500 calories or less which still contain nutritious ingredients and delicious but keep me full for long hours.  My breakfast usually is about 250 calories or less.  I do have low calorie snacks of fruits or veggies in between.  Hence, I lost 10 lbs. It's working!

This dish, Spicy Korean Gochujang bowl, is one of my 500-calories-or-less-served-in-room-temperature creations.   I love Gochujang (Korean Hot Pepper Paste)!  I love its hot, sweet, and fermenty taste.  It is so great mixed with sesame oil, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame seeds, rice vinegar, and agave nectar.  The paste is thick and gooey like peanut butter.  It can be found in Korean markets.  There is a brand of gochujang sauce called Annie Chun's Gochujang sauce but this was not what I used.  That one is a sauce and not a paste.  It has been mixed with brown sugar,  sesame oil, and other ingredients.  I am making my own gochujang sauce from the gochujang paste I bought in a red tub.  You can use the store-bought gochujang sauce if you'd like and use it on this bowl.  The paste I bought at the Korean market came in a red plastic box such as below.

Gochujang paste in red plastic container.

The ingredients of my Spicy Korean Gochujang Bowl  start with cooked short grain brown rice on the bottom.  Then, it is topped with gochujang scrambled tofu, pan fried baby spinach, pan fried baby bella/cremini mushrooms, sliced fresh Persian cucumber, and fresh grape tomatoes.  Then, drizzled with gochujang sauce/dressing, sprinkled with roasted black sesame seeds, and served with seasoned seaweed lavers.  I am combining fresh vegetables such as fresh cucumber and grape tomatoes with  cooked spinach and mushrooms in one bowl.  Each item in this dish can be prepared and stored separately and bring them to a room temperature before they are assembled to a bowl.  This is a great dish to bring for a lunch without heating it.

From left, clockwise: baby spinach, ginger, gochujang paste in a red container, persian cucumbers, garlic, baby bella or cremini mushrooms, grape tomatoes.  Cooked short grain brown rice, tofu, sesame seeds, and seasoned seaweed laver are not pictured.

Seasoned seaweed lavers have become so popular as snacks. It is so tasty and yummy with rice and gochujang sauce.

Seasoned Seaweed Laver

This is how the Spicy Korean Gochujang is eaten on top of or rolled in a seasoned seaweed laver.

Spicy Korean Gochujang Bowl
Serve 6
Note:  Each item in this dish can be prepared and stored separately and bring them to a room temperature before they are assembled to a bowl. This is a great dish to bring for a lunch without the use of a microwave. 

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked short grain brown rice
Gochujang scrambled tofu (recipe below)
6-8 cups baby spinach
8 oz. cremini/baby bella mushrooms, sliced
8 oz grape tomatoes, cut in half, horizontally,
4-5 Persian cucumbers, medium size, slice horizontally
1 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
Gochujang sauce (recipe below)
Salt
6 Seasoned seaweed lavers
Toasted black sesame seeds

1. Pan fry baby spinach with 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil, sprinkle with a little salt, until spinach is brigh green and wilted.   Set aside.
2. Pan fry cremini/baby bella with 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil, sprinkle with a little salt, until mushrooms are brown and all the juice evaporated.  Set aside.
3. For each bowl, put 3/4 cup brown rice on the bottom, add gochujang scramble tofu, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumber slices. Drizzle gochujang sauce and sprinkle with some toasted black sesame seeds.  Serve with seasoned seaweed laver.

Gochujang Sauce:
2 Tbsp. Gochujang paste
Note: this dish is spicy so to make it less spicy and hot, use 1 Tbsp only.
1 Tbsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce/Tamari
1 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar/Brown Rice Vinegar
2 tsp. Roasted Sesame Seeds
2 Tbsp. water

Combine all ingredients above and stir until smooth. 

Gochujang Scrambled Tofu:

1.5 block of water packed firm tofu (20 oz), drained and pressed water out
1 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil for pan frying

Marinade sauce for tofu:
2 Tbsp. Gochujang paste
Note: this dish is spicy so to make it less spicy and hot, use 1 Tbsp only.
1 Tbsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce/Tamari
1 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp. Fresh Ginger, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. Fresh Garlic, finely chopped

1. Crumble drained tofu with your hands or a fork into a bowl.
2. Combine all the ingredients of the marinade sauce and mix until smooth.
3. Add the marinade sauce to the crumble tofu and set a side to marinade for 20-30 minutes.
4. Pan fry seasoned tofu onto a non-stick frying pan with the 1 teaspoon of sesame oil on a medium high heat.
5. Leave the tofu alone for 4-5 minutes before stirring.  This will create a brown crispy scramble tofu.  Keep doing this for 15-20 minutes until scramble tofu is dry (all the water evaporated) and tofu is brown.  Set aside.

  

Gochujang scramble tofu before it is pan fried.



Gochujang scramble tofu after it is pan fried.

Amount Per Serving:
Calories 464  Calories from fat 120, Total Fat 13.4g (Saturated Fat 1.6 g),  Cholesterol 0 mg,
Sodium 564 mg,  Total Carbohydrate 72.3 g, Dietary Fiber 8.6 g, Sugar 13.2 g, Protein 17.7 g.

Stuffed Tomatoes and Bell Peppers - Asian Style

Stuffed Tomatoes and Bell Peppers - Asian Style

A while back, I had this dish at a  vegetarian restaurant called One World Vegetarian and decided to make it myself at home.  Apparently, this restaurant does not serve this dish anymore which is too bad since I love this dish.  I think it is originally a Vietnamese dish which uses ground pork as the stuffing.  To veganize it I used crumbled and drained firm tofu, shiitake mushrooms, and mung bean noodle (bean thread noodle or glass noodle or cellophane noodle).  The cellophane noodle acts as a binder  for the stuffing.   In the picture above, I served this dish with sweet and sour sauce and garlicky sauteed baby spinach.  I also serve this dish with steamed brown rice.   The dish is so COLORFUL and use rainbow colors vegetable such as below:



Ingredients from left corner, clockwise:  yellow, orange, and red bell peppers, onion, 1 block of firm tofu, bean thread noodle, fresh shiitake mushrooms, and medium ripe tomatoes.

The sweet and sour sauce is optional.  Without this sauce, the stuffed tomatoes and bell peppers are already so tasty.  The sauteed baby spinach was also a side dish that can be replaced with any other stir fried vegetables.  However, I love a colorful dish and thought that it looks so appetizing to combine yellow, orange, red, and green on my plate.

Stuffed Tomatoes and Bell Peppers - Asian Style
Serve 8

Ingredients:
3 medium size bell peppers (1 yellow, 1 orange, and 1 red)
3 medium size ripe tomatoes
9 fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped into coarse bits (including the stems)
1 water packed block firm tofu (14 oz), drained
1/2 large onions, chopped into coarse bits
3 stalks of green onions, chopped coarsely
2 oz dry bean thread noodle  (soak in hot water)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. Mushroom Seasonings or Mushroom Powder
Note: I love the mushroom powder from Pistol River Farm
1 tsp. Sugar
1/4 tsp. Ground White Pepper
1 tsp. Salt
Toasted Sesame Oil
Canola Oil or Grapeseed Oil
a 9-inch non-stick frying pan or cast iron pan with a tight lid



Remove the inside of the tomatoes.

Remove the inside of the colorful bell peppers.

The fresh tomatoes were stuffed with tofu, mushrooms,
onions, green onions, and seasonings.

The fresh colorful bell peppers stuffed with tofu, mushrooms,
onions, green onions, and seasonings.

1. Put the drained block of tofu in a colander under heavy objects (such as canned vegetables) to press out more of the water out of the tofu.  Press for 30 minutes or longer.    You can use TofuXpress but I haven't really acquired this nifty gadget yet and still doing it in the old fashion way.
2. Soak the dry bean thread noodle in a bowl of hot water for about 10 minutes.  Then drain the noodles onto a colander.  With a kitchen scissor or knife, cut the drained cellophane noodle into 1-inch strands. Set aside
3. Cut all the bell peppers and tomatoes into halves.  Remove the stems from the bell peppers(it's ok to have holes on the bottom).  Remove the inside such as the seeds and cut out all the ribs from inside the bell peppers and tomatoes.  Throw away the seeds but save the ribs for the sweet and sour sauce recipe below.
4. Pour 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil in a frying pan.  Saute chopped shiitake mushrooms and onions for about 5 minutes until they are soft, brown, and mushrooms are dry. Set it aside and let it cool.
5. Crumble the drained and pressed tofu with your hands into a large bowl.  Add the sauted onions and mushrooms, chopped green onions, all purpose flour, mushroom powder, sugar, salt, ground white pepper, and cut cellophane/bean thread noodle.  Combine thoroughly to form a stuffing.
6. Stuff each half of tomato and bell pepper with the stuffing (no. 5) up to the rim.
7. Heat a flat 9-inch frying pan on a medium heat.  Put 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil and 1/2 tablespoon canola/grapeseed oil and swirl them around to coat the pan.
8. Starting with the stuffed tomatoes, put the tomatoes bottom sides(skin sides) down first.  Cover with the lid and leave it alone for 10 minutes.  This is important to cook the tomatoes.
9. Then, flip them  carefully with a spatula to fry the stuffed sides.  Cover with the lid again and leave it alone for another 5 minutes.  Take the lid off and cook more for another 5 minutes. Carefully remove the pan fried tomatoes from the frying pan, set them aside.
10. Add more oils (1/2 Tbsp sesame and 1/2 Tbsp canola/grapeseed) into the frying pan. Continue with the stuffed bell peppers, put the peppers bottom sides (skin sides) down first.  Cover with the lid and leave it alone for 13 minutes(bell peppers need more time).
11. Then, flip them carefully with a spatula to fry the stuffed sides. Cover with the lid again and leave it alone for another 7 minutes. Take the lid off and cook more for another 5 minutes. Carefully remove the pan bell peppers from the frying pan, set them aside with the pan fried tomatoes.

Amount per Serving:

Calories 157157  Calories from  Fat 67, 67 Total Fat 7.5g7.5 12%12, Saturated Fat 1.2g1.2 6%6, Sodium 300mg300 13%13, Total Carbohydrates 19.5g19.5 6%6, Dietary Fiber 2.2g2.2 9%9, Sugars 3.8g3.8,  Protein 5.4g5.4

atoes.

Stuffed tomatoes, pan fried.

Stuffed bell peppers, pan fried.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
Serve 8
This is an optional sauce to serve with the stuffed tomatoes and bell peppers.

Combine in a bowl and stir:
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
4 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. light soy sauce
2 Tbsp. cooking wine or sherry
1 1/2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1/8 tsp. Ground White Pepper
1 3/4 cup water or low sodium vegetable broth

1/2 large onion, sliced
Optional: the inside of the tomatoes and bell peppers (without the seeds), chopped into small bits.
Toasted Sesame Oil

1. In a medium pot on a medium heat, put 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil.  Add sliced onions and the tomatoes and bell peppers bits.  Saute until onions and vegetables are soft, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the combined sauce, stir, and bring it to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 5-8 minutes until thickened.  Serve.

Amount Per Serving

Calories 6666 Calories from Fat 88, Total Fat 0.9g0.9 1%, 1Saturated Fat 0.1g0.1 0%, 0Sodium 385mg38516%,16

Total Carbohydrates 11.7g11.7 4%,4 Dietary Fiber 0.7g0.7 3%, 3 Sugars 8.0g8.0, Protein 0.5g

Garlicky Baby Spinach
Serve 2-4
This is an optional side dish to servw with the stuffed tomatoes and bell peppers.

6-8 cups baby spinach
6 garlic cloves, chopped or slice thinly
1/2 salt
Cracked black pepper
Toasted Sesame oil

1. In the frying pan used for preparing the tomatoes and bell peppers, heat 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil on a medium high heat.
2. Add garlic and toast for 30-40 seconds.
3. Add baby spinach and stir.  Sprinkle salt and cracked black pepper.
4. Cover with the lid for 1-2 minutes or until the spinach is wilted and soft.
5. Take it off from heat and serve.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 6161 Calories from Fat 2222, Total Fat 2.4g2.4 4%, 4Saturated Fat 0.3g0.3 2%,2 Sodium 139mg139 6%,6Total Carbohydrates 4.7g4.7 2%, 2Dietary Fiber 1.5g1.5 6%, 6Sugars 0.1g, 0.1Protein 4.3g

Enjoy!