Indian Kale-Cabbage Thoran & Balinese Soy Fish

Continuing my Indian cuisine blog, this one is a South Indian cuisine.  It is a common dish in Kerala (South Indian region).  Thoran is a dry vegetable dish cooked with grated coconut, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds,  turmeric, curry leaves, shallots, chillies, and salt (see my masala dabba).  A thoran dish can have any other combination of vegetables such as spinach, young jackfruit, collard, green beans, etc. cooked with the ingredients or spices I just mentioned.  This time I used the combination of cabbage, kale, and carrots.  I've been told to eat more kale, eat more kale, eat more kale.....so here it is.  This dish is so delicious and nutritious.  It is a good way to cook kale and collard or any other nutritious green vegetable and a good way to get green vegetables into my system.

I found a great way to cook thoran without water at this blog.  I increased and changed the amount of spices since I like them stronger.  It is so EASY and QUICK to make.  The hard work is in cutting up the vegetables.  The kale, cabbage, and carrots need to be cut up thinly (as pictured below).  The hard ingredients to find for most people are the grated fresh coconut and curry leaves.  Unfortunately, they are pertinent to the dish.  Dry unsweetened grated coconut can be used.  I have also seen dry curry leaves being used.   I found the ingredients and spices at a small South Indian market near me.  The small market always has fresh curry leaves (lucky me).  I found the grated coconut in their frozen section.


Thoran ingredients (clockwise from top left):  kale, cabbage, shallots, grated coconut, carrots, red chili, green chili, curry leaves.



Kale and Cabbage Thoran

Serve 4-6

Adapted from Salt and Pepper Cabbage Thoran

Note: try it with any other kind of vegetables

Printable Recipe

Vegetables and spices:

1 bunch kale, about 13-15 stalks, remove the ribs and cut thinly, 1/4 inch thick

     Note: about 4-5 cups cut kale, lightly packed

1/2 medium cabbage, shred or cut thinly, 1/4 inch thick

     Note: about 4-5 cups shredded cabbage, lightly packed

1 cup shredded carrots

1 green chili, slice thinly (or more to add spicyness)

1 red chili, slice thinly

1 cup grated fresh coconut (can use dry unsweetened grated coconut)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp salt

Saute ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped shallots or onions

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

15 curry leaves

1 tablespoon vegetable or coconut oil

More salt to taste

A large vessel such as a pot or pan with a tight lid.

1. Take out the masala dabba.  Combine the ingredients under Vegetable and spices section above in a very large bowl (such as a large salad bowl).  I use my clean hands to mix them well and distribute the spices and grated coconut among the vegetables.
2. In a very large pot or pan, add oil onto the pan on a medium high heat flame.  When the oil is hot add the black mustard seeds.  Wait until they start to pop and splutter.
   Note: this method in cooking South Indian is important.  It is important to temper the spices in hot oil to bring out the aroma of the spices.
3. Add the shallots or onions, saute for 3 minutes until they are brown.
4. Add curry leaves, saute for 1 minute.
5. Add turmeric powder, mix with the shallots/onions and curry leaves.
6. Add the vegetable and spices mixture (from no.1).  Mix well with the sauted spices.
7. Set a timer for 2 minutes, put on the lid tightly.
8. When the timer goes off, stir the vegetables, set the timer for another 2 minutes, put on the lid tightly again.
9. When the timer goes off again, do no.8  one more time.  Taste for more salt.
10. When the timer goes off again, check if vegetables is done.  Usually it is.   I think 6 minutes are good enough. I don't usually wait until they are completely done because, the vegetables still continue being cooked when they are still hot.  However, if you like them very done, you can add another 2 minutes with another tight lid cooking.  Serve with steamed basmati or brown brown rice.

Now, I also found that Thoran is a great accompanion of a soy fish dish and steamed rice.  Therefore, I present my Balinese Soy Fish recipe below.  The combination of thoran, soy fish dish, and steamed rice is hhmm...hhmm...hhmm....good.

I can get Vegan Fish Steak from my local health food store in the frozen section.  There are a few on-line Asian soy meat suppliers such as VegeKing,  MayWah Veggie World, or Veggie World who sell vegan soy fish steaks.  The vegan fish steak usually looks like the picture below, comes in a box in frozen section:

Balinese Soy Fish is not an Indian dish.  It is an Indonesian dish from the island of Bali.  However, Hindusm is a huge influence in this island.  I suspect that there is an influence of Indian cooking in this island.  Being surrounded by ocean, Balinese eats a lot of fish.  I veganized this dish by using soy fish steaks.

What's good about this dish is that it is sweet, spicy hot, and lemony.  It has the addition of galangal or blue ginger (or lengkuas or laos) which is a spice root like ginger.  This root makes this dish tastes really unique.  I can find fresh galangal at a nearby Asian market.  I usually buy a whole 4-5 inches long and slice them thinly and freeze them, sliced.  When I am ready to use  them I just picked a few slices and defrost them.  It works well this way.  Galangal permiates strong flavor.  A few slices go a long way. 

I understand that it will be hard to find galangal in western hemisphere.  Even if it is omitted, this dish is still delicious.

Kecap manis is also used in this dish.   It is Indonesian sweet soy sauce can be found in Asian market.  We use a lot of kecap manis in our cooking.  For a substitution, combine soy sauce and brown sugar/pam sugar, 1 to 1 ratio.  However, a few spices were added in making kecap manis so it is unique.

Balinese Soy Fish
Serve 4-6
Printable Recipe

6-10 slices vegan soy fish steak (see the above picture), cut into halves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 medium onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons Chili Garlic Sauce or Sambal Oelek
         Note: use less for less spicy
2 tablespoons Kecap Manis
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 large lemon)
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon rind (from 1 large lemon)
2-3 slices galangal
water or vegetable broth(1/2 -1 cup)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
canola oil spray

1. Turn oven to 400 F. Spray soy fish with canola oil and layer onto a foiled baking pan.  Bake for 10 minutes, turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes.  This is to brown them with less oil.  Deep frying them in hot oil is also another good way to make them crispy and brown.  However, I prefer the bake method.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a hot wok or frying pan on a medium high heat.  Add garlic and ginger, stir fry for 1-2 minutes until brown and fragrant.
3. Add onions and shallots, stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add chili garlic sauce or sambal oelek, kecap manis, lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and galangal, stir fry and combine for 1 minute.
5. Add baked soy fish slices and 1/2 cup water/broth or just enough to cover the entire fish slices.  Lower the heat to simmer.
6. Let it simmer and combine for 15-20 minutes until the water/broth evaporates.  This dish should have a lot of liquid but enough spices and sambal coats the soy fish slices.  Serve with steamed rice.

Enjoy!

Indian Tofu/Tempeh/Soy Curls Masala

It's time for me to blog about vegan Indian dishes.  I have done some experiments in the last year or two cooking strong-flavor Indian dishes.  I aimed to make them as good as authentic Indian cooking that Indian house wives make at home or Indian chefs cook at restaurants.  This means lots of spices added to the dish. This means 1-2 tablespoons and not just 1 to 2 teaspoons of spices or even less than a teaspoon.  No siree!  This recipe is for those who love spices like me.  I guess this kind of a warning to those who don't really like too much spices. This recipe may not be for you.

I learned cooking Indian dishes from cookbooks and TV shows.  After searching and trying recipes, I discover that I love Bal Arneson's recipes.  She has a TV cooking show called Spice Goddess in the Cooking Channel.   With a name such as Spice Goddess, she really does put a lot of spices in her cooking.  I like that!  Unfortunately, she doesn't cook all vegetarian or vegan meals so I decided to veganize her recipe.  The recipe below is originally for chicken, named Chicken Masala.  However, I substitute the chicken with tofu, tempeh, or soy curls.  I made it several times now and was never disappointed with the result.

I would also like to share about a cute spice dabba or masala dabba I bought.  It comes with a lid and a tiny spoon (1/4 teaspoon measurement).




My Indian Masala Dabba (from left hand corner, clockwise):  coriander, cumin seeds, chili powder, garam masala, amchur power, black mustard seeds, turmeric

   At first I bought it as a novelty but it turned out that I use it every time I cook Indian dishes.  It is so easy just to take the dabba out and spoon out the spices without searching for all my spice bottles.  It is very handy.

Indian cuisine is my husband's favorite cuisine.  I love Indian dishes too but I still prefer Thai or Vietnamese.  We also love Indian classical music and dance.  Last week was an Indian Culture week for us. Not only I cooked Indian vegan dishes, we also had tickets to attend Anoushka Shankar concert at UC Irvine, promoting her new CD, Traveller.  The first time we were introduced to Anoushka was when we watched Concert For George DVDs.  We were so mesmerized by her sitar skills.  When we learned that she will be playing nearby, we bought our tickets months in advance.  It was a FANTASTIC concert!

Indian Tofu/Tempeh/Soy Curls Masala
Serve 4-6
Veganized version of Bal Arneson's recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
   Note:  I don't like these seeds whole so I crushed them a bit with a rolling pin. 

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
    Note: fenugreek seeds are pretty strong, a little goes a long way.

1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 to 2.5 cups extra firm tofu or tempeh, cubed  OR 2 cups reconstituted Soy Curls
2 cups chopped  fresh tomatoes
2 cups chopped organic yukon gold potatoes, leave skins intact
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
enough non-salty vegetable broth to cover the entire ingredients (about 2 cups)

Directions

Put oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and chile, and saute for 3 minutes, or until the onions are softened. Add the coriander seeds, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, and salt and toast for 10 seconds and then add the tomato paste. Stir well and then add the cubed tofu or tempeh or soy curls, combined with all the spices thoroughly.  Add the tomatoes, potatoes, cilantro, and vegetable broth and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked but not mushy. Serve the curry with white or brown rice.  Note: the curry is even better taste the next day when all the spices are absorbed to all the ingredients.

Stay tune for more Indian recipes!

Thai Curry Paste for Vegans/Vegetarians

Prik Khing Tofu

Masaman Curry on top of steamed rice.

The most important aspect in making Thai curries is making the curry paste.  If the curry paste is good with all the right proportions of spices and herbs, the rest is very easy.  Making curry paste can be an elaborate procedure.  I have done it  from scratch, measuring coriander seeds, galanga, lemongrass, chilies, shallots etc. and then pounding them in a mortar and pestle or process them in a food processor.  It is great but I know most people will not do that.  I also know that most people will not have access to Southeast Asian fresh herbs and spices that are needed in making fresh curry paste from scratch like I do.  Therefore, I decided to blog about store-bought (or on-line bought) Thai curry paste.

I can say that I am picky when buying Thai curry paste.  I have tried several brands and I found that most of them are not that good nor fresh.  I also found that most of them are just TOO SPICY HOT for my taste.  If I put in a lot of the store-bought paste into the dish, we can't eat it because it is way too hot.  If I put in less, the flavor does not meet my standard of how the curry should taste.  I won't name all the products that I have tried and don't like but I will blog about the one that I like which is the MAESRI  brand. ( Note: I have not receive any endorsement from the company.  It is just that I tried all others and this one is my favorite.)

Here are my reasons for liking this brand:

1. Like I said, this curry paste is not too hot and spicy for our taste (only the Red Curry is a bit too hot but we still can take it).
2. Some of them are suitable for vegetarians/vegans (meaning there is no shrimp paste or fish sauce in it).  I listed those at the end of this blog.
3. It is sold in a small can (4 oz.).  Once I open a can, I use them all in one cooking episode.  (It is fresher this way.  With all the other products which are sold in a bottle or plastic container, I uses only 1 or 2 tablespoons after I opened them and then I put them in the fridge for a long time.  The paste was not as fresh for the second or third time when I used it again.  Not to mention  how many times I forgot I had the paste in the fridge and then to open them, found mold, and had to throw the whole thing away.)
4. The most important reason is, of course, the taste.  It is just taste as good as if I make it from scratch.

Below are several Thai dishes I am sharing.  It is so easy to make these 2 dishes with the store-bought curry paste.  I also include 2 youtube videos (they are not vegetarian dishes but easily can be replaced with tofu, seitan, or soycurls):    Prik Khing and Masaman Curry.   In my recipes below, I replaced the chicken with fried tofu (you can use extra firm fresh tofu if you don't want it fried).

Prik Khing Tofu
Serve 4-6
Prik Khing usually use green beans as the vegetable.  It also has some shredded kaffir lime leaves or Thai Basil leaves in it  If there is no fresh kaffir lime and/or Thai Basil  leaves  in your area, you can omit them.  The dish still tastes good without it.

3-4 cups fried tofu cubes (fresh extra firm tofu) or spongy tofu (see instructions how to make spongy tofu)
Note:  tofu can be baked in the oven instead of fried, see instructions how to do that in this blog.
3-4 cups cut green beans
1-2 cups red bell pepper, julienne cut
1 cup sliced mushrooms , optional
6-8 kaffir lime leaves (shredded), optional
1 cup Thai Basil, optional
2-3 Tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable broth  ( add more if you like the dish more saucy)
1 can 4 oz.  Maesri brand Prik Khing Curry Paste 
1 Tbsp.vegetable oil 
1-2 Tbsp. light soy sauce, optional
 

1. Saute Prik Khing curry paste(the whole small can) in vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes in a wok on  medium heat.
2. Add tofu and mixed with the curry paste, saute for another 3-5 minutes.
3. Add green beans, red bell pepper, mushrooms. Add palm or brown sugar.  Mix well.
4. Add vegetable broth.  Cover the wok with a lid and let it cooked for about 7-10 minutes until the green beans is cooked but still firm.  Taste for saltiness.  Add 1-2 tablespoon of light soy sauce if necessary.
5. Serve with steamed brown rice, white rice, or sticky rice.

Masaman Curry with Tofu, Kabocha Squash, Potatoes, Carrots, and Peanuts
Serve 4-6

2 cups fried tofu cubes (or fresh extra firm tofu) or spongy tofu (see instructions how to make spongy tofu)
Note:  tofu can be baked in the oven instead of fried, see instructions how to do that in this blog.
2 cups yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups carrots, peeled and cubed
2 cups kabocha squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup raw peanuts, optional
   Note: Although in the video, she used raw peanuts.  I boiled the peanuts for 40 minutes before it becomes soft.   
              Otherwise, the peanuts stayed crunchy.
1 can 14 oz coconut milk or light coconut milk
water or vegetable broth
1 small can 4 oz.  Maesri Brand Masaman Curry Paste
2-3 Tbsp. palm or brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp. light soy sauce, optional

1. In a soup pot, on a medium heat, pour 1/2 can of coconut milk.  Add the whole small can of Masaman curry paste.    Mix well.  Wait until the mixture started to bubble.
2. Then, add the tofu, potatoes, peanuts, and carrots.  Coat these ingredients with curry mixture.  Add the palm or brown sugar. 
3. Add the rest of the coconut milk and another can of water or vegetable broth (the non-salty kind since the curry paste is already salty).  Make sure all the ingredients are covered with the liquid.
4. Put a lid on and simmer for 15 minutes in low heat.  Add the Kabocha squash and let it simmer for another 7-10 minutes.  Potatoes, carrots, and squash should be soft but firm
5. Taste for saltiness and 1-2 tablespoons of light soy sauce as necessary.
6. Serve on top of steamed brown rice, white rice, or sticky rice.

These 4 oz. cans of curry pastes can be bought at Amazon.com or Tastepadthai.com  or your neighborhood Asian markets.  I believe only the Masaman Curry Paste, Yellow Curry Paste, Prik Khing Curry Paste, Kaeng Kua Curry Paste, and Red Curry Paste  are vegetarian (meaning no shrimp paste or fish sauce in it).  However, the Red Curry Paste is the hottest (spicy hot) one.  Have fun making Thai dishes!

Vegan Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Crêpe Lettuce Wrap)

Warning:  This is a looong blog and recipe.  This is  because I provided several options (including a gluten-free option) so  readers can pick and choose what to use and which to follow.  Don't be afraid!  The recipe is actually pretty simple.  If you watch the video and try it, with a bit of practice making the crêpe, it is actually not that hard.  I make this dish all the time and it is delicious!

Bánh Xèo, pronounced 'bun say-o', translated to 'sizzling cake', is a unique southern-style Vietnamese Crêpe dish.   I call it Vietnamese Crêpe Lettuce Wrap (say that a few times as a tongue twister).   It is a lettuce wrap because of the way it is eaten, wrapped in lettuce with fresh herbs and vegetables and then dunked into a sauce.  It is so DELICIOUS and SAVORY that you want it again and again.  I decided to veganize it based on conversations I had recently with my out-of-state vegetarian friend, Yongkie, whom just ordered this dish for the first time in a Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant and was excited to learn to make it at home.

Yongkie and I both agreed that this is a dish that is so MESSY to eat.  Just like eating tacos, you will need to learn how to eat it without getting your hands all sticky and nasty with food juices.  It is a dish that we all feel more comfortable to eat at home in front of your family members.   Definitely, I would not recommend  this dish if you are on a date in a restaurant. :-)

Although I have made this dish at home several times, I learned that it is hard to describe how to make it to a person who lives out-of-state.  I searched for several youtube videos and sent them to describe the process of making bánh xèo, traditionally.  The recipes in the videos are not vegetarian nor vegan but what is important is to learn the techniques in preparing the batter, cooking the filling,  timing and cooking the crêpe, and eating it (wrapping in a lettuce and dunking it into the sauce).  Therefore, if you replace the filling and the fish sauce ingredients with what I suggested in my recipe, you will be able to prepare a vegan bánh xèo at home.

This youtube video by yummies4dummies is the one I really like.  Tina Pham is also so funny and energetic (the slo-mo near the end cracks me up).  Check out this Bánh Xèo video from yummies4dummies.  Her recipe and techniques are right on.  Yongkie told me that he watched it twice before he made it.  After replacing the filling and sauce ingredients with vegetarian ingredients,  the technique worked for him.  He said that it will be easier to make it next time after his first attempt.  My only critique of the video is that I thought Tina poured too much batter into her frying pan.  I think  less batter is better for a thinner crêpe which then becomes crispier.  The video plays about 9 minutes but you have to see it till the end when she showed us how to eat bánh xèo and you'll know what I mean by MESSY.

The batter Tina and Yongkie used was made from a pre-mixed flour you can buy at a Vietnamese market.  It is called Bánh Xèo flour.  This is one example:

It usually has the picture of the crêpe in front of it so it is not that hard to find.  I suggested to Yongkie to make it with a pre-mixed flour because it is the easiest for the first timer.  However, the pre-mixed flour usually contains 'all white' flour.  Like all food that is made using white flour only, it raises your blood sugar high and then drop it quickly.  One becomes hungry again too quickly.  The ingredients listed on the bag is rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric, and tapioca.  Another brand I found in the market has some wheat flour in it  (not whole wheat).  If you are trying to avoid gluten, you'll have to read the ingredients carefully.

If you are trying to avoid WHITE flour, I suggest another option, a healthier option:  Bryanna Clark Grogan's Sizzling Saigon Crepe batter from her latest cookbook World Vegan Feast published by Vegan Heritage Press on August 8, 2011.  

You can buy this wonderful cookbook from Amazon.com  I own one and use it often.  In fact, I was her Vegan Feast subscriber and tried so many of her vegan recipes including this one.  The good news for gluten-free vegan folks, Bryanna's batter is GLUTEN-FREE.  Bryanna let me blog her batter recipe which contains soaked split mung beans and brown rice flour.  There are extra steps to do but by using this batter, you'll feel that there is an extra 'uumph' after you eat it because it is more filling and nutritious.  

The dipping sauce traditionally is made with fish sauce. I veganized it by using Vegetarian 'Fish' sauce or Soy Sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos which both fermented naturally and salty.    I also listed 3 different dipping sauce recipes and you can choose what you would like to use.  I prefer a dipping sauce that has a lot of fresh lime juice, a bit sweet, and spicy (hot).  Yongkie likes it on the sweet taste with a small amount of lime juice or vinegar and not spicy at all.  Bryanna's sauce is also great and not as  spicy.

Vegan Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Crêpe Lettuce Wrap)
Serve 4-6 (or 4-6 crêpes)   Choose Batter No. 1 or 2 and Dipping Sauce no. 1, 2, or 3.

Vegetable oil
Natural oil spray in a can
8-inches or 10-inches non-stick frying pan

Batter No. 1(adapted from Tina Pham, using pre-mixed flour):
12 oz Bánh Xèo flour  (1 package)
 Note: if there is no salt and sugar in the ingredients list, add 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar for extra flavors
1/2 tsp. Tumeric
1 tsp. Vietnamese curry powder, optional
 Note: Vietnamese curry powder can be bought in a Vietnamese market, it looks like this:

14 oz. Coconut milk or light coconut milk
3 cups water
1/2 cup chopped green onions

OR

Batter No.2(adapted from Bryanna Clark Grogan's Sizzling Saigon Crepe), gluten-free:
3/4 cup moong dal (split and skinned mung beans)

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
2 cups coconut milk or light coconut milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. Vietnamese curry powder, optional  (see description and picture in batter no. 1)
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Filling:
2 cups vegan smoked ham or vegan shrimp or  baked tofu or regular firm tofu, sliced
Note:  my favorite is the vegan smoked ham because of it's smoky flavor
2 cups onions, sliced
2 cups cremini mushrooms or baby bella mushrooms or brown enoki mushrooms, sliced
2 cups red bell pepper, sliced
2 cups bean sprouts
3 Tbsp. minced garlic
salt and black pepper

Dipping Sauce No. 1, on the mild and sweet side, Yongkie's recipe:
1/2 cup vegetarian soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 cup shredded carrots

Dipping Sauce No. 2, sweet and sour, Bryanna's recipe:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp (or more to taste) Vietnamese chili sauce
1/4 cup vegetarian soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 small carrot, finely-grated

Dipping sauce no.3, sweet, sour, and spicy, my recipe:
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (from 3-4 limes)
1/3 cup vegetarian soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 fresh serrano chili or Thai chili, minced
Note: for less hot, use 1/2 of a chili

Fresh Vegetables:
1 head red leaf or green leaf lettuce
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 bunch fresh mint
1 English cucumber, french cut slices
1 1/2 cup carrots, peeled and shredded  mixed with 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and 2 tsp. salt
Note: You can make the pickled carrots 1 hour ahead a day ahead, set it in a room temperature, then drained before serving.

Step 1, making the batter
To make the batter with pre-mix bag of flour (batter no. 1), just mix them all together in a bowl (like in the video).
To make batter no. 2:  Cover the moong dal with water to cover and soak for 30 minutes.  Drain them and place in the blender with the remaining batter ingredients.  Blend until VERY smooth.  Set aside (in the blender container) in the refrigerator until time to cook.

Step 2, making the sauce:
Choose  dipping sauce no. 1, 2, or 3 recipe.  Combine all ingredients together in a bowl, stir to mix well.

Step 3, preparing the vegetables:
Arrange the vegetables in a large platter like this:

Step 4, making the crêpes(see video for the demo), for each crêpe:

Sauteing the filling

Adding bean sprouts

1. Heat non-stick frying pan in a medium heat, put 2 tsp. vegetable oil.
2. Grab about 2-3 tbsp. sliced onions and 1/2 tsp minced garlic.  Throw them into the heated pan, saute.
3. Add 2 tbsp each sliced mushrooms, red bell pepper slices, and the protein slices (whether it is veggie ham, tofu, or veggie shrimp).
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and continue pan frying until a bit brown.  Spread the filling in a single layer in the frying pan.
5. Pour 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup batter and swirl around the pan until the batter is spread thinly covering the filling ingredients.
6. Immediately cover with a lid tightly and set timer to 4-5 minutes.
7. Remove lid,  add 1/4 bean sprouts in half of the crêpe.  Cover tightly again and set timer for 2 minutes.
8. Flip crêpe, the half without the bean sprouts, over the bean sprouts.  Slide it out to a serving plate and serve immediately.  The crêpe  should be eaten immediately.
   Note: Since there are only 2 of us at home, I usually store the batter in the fridge for the next meal.  It works well and is better than eating the leftover crêpe the next day.

Think about the possibility of a Bánh Xèo party with your friends.  With portable butane gas stoves and non-stick frying pans, each guest can take turn making his or her own crêpe and learn something new.

Vegan Pomelo/Grapefruit Salad (Happy Lunar New Year!)

Happy Lunar New Year!  The Year of the Dragon!  This weekend, if you are roaming around China town, Vietnamese town, Thai town, etc. you will see a lot of Pomelos, Kumquats, Oranges, and Tangerines.    When I start seeing pomelos in Asian markets, I know that it is close to Tết (lunar new year).  Then, I start thinking about making pomelo salad.  If there is no pomelo in your area, you can use grapefruit instead.  Pomelo is larger than grapefruit, can weight from 2-4 lbs, but it is not as tart as grapefruit.  The fruit looks like this:

It is huge and has a very thick skin, about 1/2 to 1 inch thick.  Here are  videos I found in youtube:  How to Cut, Peel, and Eat Pomelo (including the horror movie music background) and Peeling the Pomelo. For this salad, I shredded the pomelo sections/pulps after they are peeled (the white skin part was removed).  The inside of my pomelo was white instead of pink such as it was in the videos.

Now, why should I make a salad dish in winter time?  This should be a summer dish, right?  We should all be eating soups, right?   The reason is that citrus is in season now and it contains a lot of vitamin C, such as the pomelo above.  It is time to eat CITRUS so we can fight colds that are common during winter.  I also have a lot of fresh limes from my tree.  I will need fresh limes for my pomelo salad. Pomelo and lime contain a double dose of vitamin C.  This diet works since I am proud to say that I haven't had any cold in more than 1 year now.  Actually, I don't remember the last time I had any cold.

The ingredients of pomelo salad are:

From top left, clockwise: shredded pomelo(in blue bowl), carrots, cucumber, aburaage, mint leaves, cilantro leave, beansprouts.

Vegan Pomelo/Grapefruit Salad
Serve 4-6

2-3 cups shredded pomelo or grapefruit  (it depends on the size of the pomelo, it can be from 1 to 2 pomelos after it is cut and peeled)
2 cups carrots, cut into matchsticks
2 cups cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 cup  aburaage or firm tofu, cut into matchsticks
   Note:  I used seasoned aburaage (one for inari) but you can use unseasoned aburaage or shredded fried tofu
2 cups beansprouts
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts, 1-2 tablespoons more for the toppings
1/4 cup fried shallots, optional
  Note:  Below is the picture of fried shallots I bought at an Asian market.  It is crunchy and savory.  If you can't find it, you  can substitute with French's French Fried Onions but fried shallots are the preference.

Salad dressing:
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (from 3-4 limes)
1/3 cup vegetarian soy sauce or light soy sauce
1/4 to 1/3 cup agave nectar, depending how sweet you like it
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 minced serrano chili or Thai chili
  Note :  for less spicy, use 1/2 chili

1. Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Don't mix the dressing until about ready to serve. Note: I often store the combined salad ingredients in the fridge without the dressing and add the dressing before serving.
2. Combine the salad dressing in a separate bowl, mix well.
3. Pour salad dressing slowly into the salad and toss well.  Add chopped peanuts on top.  Serve.

This salad is very refreshing.  It is sour, sweet, peanuty,  minty, limey, and oniony.  I just love it.  It is also light.  There is no oil in the dressing so if you are cutting oil after all those meals during the holidays, you will appreciate this salad (use plain firm tofu instead of aburage and omit the fried shallots).

Vegan Caterpillar Roll

Vegan Caterpillar Sushi Roll

This blog was inspired by my recent visit to San Diego.  I searched for a vegetarian restaurant in the area using the Internet and was directed to Sipz Fusion Vegetarian Restaurant.  After reading a few reviews, I was interested to try their variety of vegan sushi.  I haven't had sushi for a while and was excited to try several kinds of vegan sushi from this restaurant.

Unfortunately, when we arrived to the restaurant during lunch time, we were told that they didn't serve vegan sushi until after 5 pm.  Bummer! What a disappointment!  We had to go home that day and won't be back to Sipz that night.  Apparently, the sushi chef is a different chef from the restaurant's.  He rented a space in the corner of the vegetarian restaurant to make sushi every night.  Oh well!  We ordered other dishes and had delicious and yummy food.  Don't take me wrong, Sipz is a really good restaurant and it was crowded, too.  We'll be back some day for the vegan sushi.  We consumed other lunch dishes that day instead.

Hence, I still didn't have any sushi.  So I decided to take their sushi menu home.  It says on the menu that their Caterpillar Roll is "Everybody's favorite!":   I decided to create my own Caterpillar Roll at home and got the idea from the menu which says:  Inside - teriyaki flavored shitake mushroom, yam, cucumber.  Outside - avocado, sesame, teriyaki sauce.

I also want to take this opportunity to introduce a different kind of rice for sushi rice.  In the past, I blogged about making sushi here and here.  I was using short grain brown rice and quinoa.  However, DH thinks that he still likes sushi better with white short grain sushi rice than brown short grain brown rice.   Since I am trying to avoid white short grain rice, I came up with the idea of using semi brown short grain rice.  The Japanese successfully created a healthier  semi brown short grain  rice called Haiga.   Haiga rice is neither white or brown, it is in between or so called semi brown.  The rice bran was meticulously removed and the nutritious rice germ was left intact. It is perfect for a healthy sushi rice.

Vegan Caterpillar Roll
Makes 2 large rolls

Printable Recipe


Teriyaki Sauce:
You can always purchase a store-bought teriyaki sauce.  Below is what I came up with.
1/3 cup Kombu dashi (recipe below) or vegetable broth
1/3 cup Japanese soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Dark Mushroom Soy Sauce
1/3 cup Aji Mirin or other kind of mirin
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
2 tsp.  Cornstarch

Direction: 

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small pot.  Stir to combine thoroughly.
2. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to low and simmer for 6 minutes.
3. The mixture will thicken slightly.  Let it cool.

Kombu Dashi:
You can always use vegetable broth.  However, I found that adding kombu and dried shitake mushrooms will add a lot of umami.

6-8 cups water
1 large piece of kombu
8-10 dried shitake mushroom
Direction:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium pot.
2. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, let it simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Take out kombu and shitake mushrooms  (remove the stems and use the mushrooms for other cooking such as this roll).

Haiga Sushi Rice:
1 1/4 cups Haiga Rice
1 1/2  water
3-4 Tbsp. Organic Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Aji Mirin or other kind of mirin
3/4 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
1/2 tsp. salt

Direction:

1. Rinse haiga rice, drain.  Combine rice and water in a medium sauce pan and let it soak for 30 minutes.
2. Cover tightly and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30-40 minutes until water is absorbed.  Remove from heat.  Note: you can also cook this rice in a rice cooker with 'semibrown' setting.
3. Dump the rice into a wide shallow bowl. Combine rice vinegar, mirin, agave nectar, and salt in a small bowl.  With a wide spatula or a rice paddle, slice into rice at a 45 degrees angle while pouring the rice vinegar mixture.  Continue to combine and slice rice clumps until all the rice vinegar mixture is combined with the rice.  
4. Use a magazine or a paper fan, fan the rice to cool while stirring for about 5-8 minutes.  This method will combine the flavor and give the sushi rice a nice gloss.
5. Cover with a damp kitchen towel while preparing other ingredients.

Caterpillar roll ingredients: Avocado, cooked shitake mushrooms, teriyaki sauce, cucumber, yam

Ingredients (Caterpillar Roll):
1 large ripe Avocado
4-6 cooked shitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced lengthwise
1/2 yam (Jewel or Garnett yam)
Haiga sushi rice, recipe above
2 -3 Toasted nori for sushi
Toasted sesame seeds
Teriyaki sauce
Sriracha hot sauce
Direction:

1. Steam yam in a food steamer for 20 minutes. Check for firmness while steaming as each yam is  different in sizes.  Don't let it be too mushy.  It needs to be cooked but still firm.  Let it cool, peel, and slice lengthwise similar to the cucumbers.
2. Add 1-2 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce to sliced mushrooms.  Set it aside.
3. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, peel and slice the avocado horizontally as pictured below. I learned from this youtube video on how to arrange the avocado on top of the roll.

Rolling the Caterpillar:
I use a bamboo sushi rolling mat that I bought from a Japanese market.  I covered it in a plastic bag so the rice won't stick to it.  I will explain the process below.  However, you can watch this youtube video showing the process of rolling a caterpillar sushi.  It is actually quite fun making this roll.

Put sushi rice with wet hand on bamboo sushi mat.  Spread and pat it down.

Add nori on top and arrange the filling (yam, cucumber, teriyaki flavored shitake mushrooms) on the bottom half.

Roll with the bamboo mat tightly until a firm roll is achieved (see youtube for a demo).

Add avocado slices in the same direction and rolled into the rice roll.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cut in pieces with a sharp clean damp knife.

Arrange on a plate and drizzle with teriyaki and sriracha hot sauce.

Sliced caterpillar roll on its side.

If it seems that it is hard to make this dish, it is actually not if you use short cuts by buying a store-bought teriyaki sauce and avoiding to make the kombu dashi. This dish is quite easy to make once you got the hang of rolling sushi and it is quite delicious and filling.

Vegan Adas Polow

Traditionally, Adas Polow is a Persian dish of cooked basmati rice with lentils, ground lamb or beef, currants, dates, onions, and spices.   However, I've been to several Persian restaurants that served this dish vegetarian style, i.e. without the ground meat.  It is so delicious and satisfying.  DH loves this dish very much.  I perused the Internet to study how to make this dish.  I opted to use my fancy smanzy rice cooker to cook the rice instead of the boiling method that used by Persians. 

The cooked basmati rice to be used for this dish is not supposed to be sticky.    I learned a new trick that if the uncooked basmati rice is rinsed in cold water a lot of times until the water runs clear, the rice won't stick together when they are cooked in a rice cooker or in a pot.  The starch in raw rice is the cause of the stickiness. Another trick I found out  is to take the rice out and spread them on a cookie sheet to cool right after the rice cooker beeped to tell you that it is done (or when it switches to Keep Warm mode).

Ingredients, left to right, clockwise: chopped onions, cooked brown lentils, basmati rice, currants, and dates.

 The currant I used is the Zante currant which is smaller than raisin.  I bought these at a Persian market.  If you can't find currants, you may use raisins.  It the raisins are large, they can be cut in halves.  The thing is I want them in similar size as the lentils.  I also cut the dates in small pieces, the same size as the lentils.  Food that is uniform in size looks better and tastes better.

Now, I also used saffron as a spice in this dish.  Saffron is very expensive but a small amount of it goes a long way.   There are different grades of saffron.  They are just like diamonds.  I think I used the medium grade,  it costs me $10.99 for 2 oz.  The higher grade costs $19.99 for that much of saffron.  I mixed 1/2 tsp of saffron with 2 tablespoon water.

According to Wiki, this is how saffron is graded:
Saffron is graded via laboratory measurement of crocin (colour), picrocrocin (taste), and safranal (fragrance) content.^[30] Determination of non-stigma content ("floral waste content") and other extraneous matter such as inorganic material ("ash") are also key. Grading standards are set by the International Organization for Standardization, a federation of national standards bodies. ISO 3632 deals exclusively with saffron and establishes four empirical colour intensity grades: IV (poorest), III, II, and I (finest quality). Samples are assigned grades by gauging the spice's crocin content, revealed by measurements of crocin-specific spectroscopic absorbance. Absorbance is defined as A_λ = − log(I / I₀), with A_λ as absorbance (Beer-Lambert law) and indicates degree of transparency (I / I₀, the ratio of light intensity exiting the sample to that of the incident light) to a given wavelength of light.

Vegan Adas Polow 
Serve: 6
Printable Recipe

6 cups cooked basmati  or brown basmati rice
1 1/2 cups brown lentil, soaked in 3 cups of warm water
1 onions, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp saffron, dissolved in 2 Tbsp. water
3/4 cup currants
3/4 cup chopped and pitted dates
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
4-5 Tbsp. melted vegan butter

Method:

Caramelized onions.

1. Soak lentils in warm water for 15 minutes, then simmer in low for 15 minutes.  Drain. The lentils should be soft but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile, while the lentils are being simmered, saute onions in 1 Tbsp olive oil on medium low heat for 45 minutes.  This is to caramelize the onions.  Keep turning them so they don't become burnt. At the end of 45 minutes, the onions should look like the picture above.
3. Then, add the salt, spices, currants, and dates.  Mix well for a few minutes,  add the drained lentils and mix.
4. In the pot used to cook the rice or the rice cooker pot, add 1 Tbsp melted vegan butter and swirl it around to cover the bottom of the pot,  add a layer of cooked rice.
5. Add a layer of currants, dates, and lentil mixture.
6. Add a layer of cooked rice, drizzle with 1 Tbsp melted vegan butter.
7. Repeat step 5 and 6 and end with a layer of cooked rice on top.
8. Drizzle the saffron and its soaking water over the rice.  This is going to make some of the rice to become yellow.
9. Cook the entire dish on low for 30 minutes or turn on your rice cooker (about 30 minutes cooking time) then serve warm.

Drizzle saffron soaking water at the end, on top.

 My Persian friend told me that if I continuously hit the cook button on my rice cooker, it will create TADIQ which is browned, crispy, crunchy basmati rice on the bottom of the pot.  I actually love tadiq and have had some at restaurants.  Unfortunately, my rice cooker is too fancy because it has the non-stick pot and computer that won't burn rice.  I tried several times and it didn't create the tadiq.  I have to cook it traditionally using the aluminum or stainless steel pot to create tadiq.  If your rice cooker has an aluminum pot, it may work.

 There are other ways to cook basmati rice:

1. Heat 4 1/2 water until it is boiling (may add salt in water) in a medium pot, then add 3 cups of uncooked basmati rice (rinsed and drained). Cover and simmer in low heat for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the lid, wrap the lid with a kitchen towel and place it over the pot, tightly.  Remove from heat and set it aside for 30 minutes.  Fluff it with a fork to cool off.

Or you can watch this video how Indians cook their basmati rice in a boiling water and then drain the rice.  Their method works great also and produces non-sticky rice.