Spicy Tomato Seitan Stew, Spicy Tom Yum Soup, and Savory Confetti Rice

I am still cooking and trying recipes from Real Food Daily cookbook by Ann Gentry. 2 recipes caught my interests: Spicy Tomato Seitan Stew(pg. 173) and
Confetti Jasmine Rice with Coconut(pg. 147). They turned out very very good!

The Spicy Tomato Seitan Stew uses kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, onion, garlic, serrano chili, and ginger. These are definitely Asian spices. But then she throws in 28 oz. can whole tomatoes and fresh basil leaves. That's Italian! It is interesting so I decided to try it. I wondered how it was going to taste. East meet West? Unfortunately, I didn't have fresh basil leaves but I did have some Italian Parsley. I also didn't have serrano chilies but had jalapeno chilies. I changed the recipe a little bit based on ingredients I had at home.

I have fresh lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves since I have been growing them in the last few years. I don't do anything to these 2 plants but once a while feed the kaffir lime tree. It is wonderful to have the 2 plants thrive and available all year long to cook Thai dishes. This is the benefit of living in Southern California. Anything grows here as long as you water it. Here are the pictures of my plants:

Lemon Grass

Kaffir Lime Tree

Spicy Tomato Seitan Stew
Adapted from Real Food Daily cookbook by Ann Gentry (my changes are in Italics)

1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced lemongrass (see note)
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 fresh jalapeno chili
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 14.5 oz. organic diced tomatoes
1/4 cup Thai Thin soy sauce, Healthy Boy Brand
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 pkgs. Morningstar Farms® Meal Starters™ Steak Strips(see note)
1/2 cup chopped Italian Parsley, lightly packed

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. add the onion, garlic, lemon grass, ginger, and jalapeno chilies, and saute for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the bell pepper and saute 3 minutes longer, or until crisp-tender.
3. Add the 2 cans tomatoes, soy sauce, vinegar, agave nectar, and kaffir lime leaves.
4. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the tomates are very tender.
5. Stir in the Steak Strips. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the seitan is heated through, then stir in the parsley.
6. Transfer the stew to a bowl and serve with rice.

Note:

• Lemon Grass stalks are really hard to mince with a regular knife. I recommend using a small blender or spice or coffee grinder to mince it to tiny tiny bits.
• The original recipe calls for 1 pound Basic Seitan (page 189) cut into thick strips. I thought using Morningstar Farms® Meal Starters™ Steak Strips was easier, quicker and still tastes great. For people who wants to quit eating beef, this is a great substitute and healthy. It is available in any major US market.

Confetti Jasmine Rice with Coconut
Adapted from Real Food Daily cookbook by Ann Gentry (my changes are in italics)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil3/4 teaspoon curry powder
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown jasmine rice
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/2 cup yellow corn kernels (about 1 ear of corn)
1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrot
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the sesame oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the curry powder, ginger, and turmeric, and then the rice.
2. Add the water and salt and bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer gently without stirring for 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn, bell pepper, and carrot, and saute for 5 minutes.
4. Saute coconut in a dry heavy frying pan until a bit brown and well toasted.
5. Transfer the rice to a cookie sheet(see note). Use a fork to fluff the vegetables into the rice. Spread it to let it cool. Sprinkle the toasted coconut and almonds on top of the rice. Mix and transfer to a bowl and serve.

Note: I decided to spread the rice on a cookie sheet to cool so the rice will separate instead of sticking together when it's cool.



I served the above dishes with my Vegetarian Thai Tom Yum soup as a starter(with tofu, oyster mushrooms, and bok choy) using more lemon grass, fresh lime juice, jalapeno chili, and kaffir lime leaves in it. Spicy and refreshing!



Since Julie requested the Tom Yum soup recipe(click on Comments below), I posted my recipe of Tom Yum soup below. There are so many varieties of ingredients you can use in this soup. Sometimes I use vegan shrimps and make the soup a 'seafoody' taste. The most important is combining the Tom Yum stock, the crushed garlic and chilies combination, vegetarian fish sauce, and lime juice together, then, you can add just about anything to it. I didn't post the recipe in the beginning because I know some of the ingredients will be hard to find in some parts of this country. Actually, this time I didn't use any galangal, kelp powder, and kombu, but the soup still tastes great. This is one of my favorite soup that I can have everyday.


TOM YUM SOUP (SIV ORIGINAL)A Thai spicy soup that is so popular in Thai restaurants in my area. It has shrimps, lemon grass, kaffir lime leave, galanga, lime juice, mushrooms, roasted chili peppers, and vegetables in it. The herbs and spices in this soup are good for a cold remedy because it really clears a stuffy nose (won't kill germs though! Ha ha). When my co-worker has a stuffy nose she always calls me and said 'Let's go for a Thai lunch and have that soup!' I re-invented this soup recipe with vegan ingredients without loosing the herbs and spices taste nor the 'seafoody' taste. This soup is SPICY, SOUR, SALTY, and REFRESHING!

Tom Yum Stock:
1 large (6 by 8) dashi kombu ( A Japanese seaweed ) , optional
10 cups water or your favorite vegetable broth
6 stalk lemon grass, use the lower thick portion, pounded, and sliced thick
10 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 cup thinly sliced galangal or 1 - 2 tsp galangal powder, optional

1. Roll lime leaves and crush them with your hand to release the leaves aroma.
2. Place all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Strain the stock and discard the seaweed, if using, lemon grass, and the leaves. Set aside .

Soup Ingredients:
14 oz. firm tofu packed in water, drained, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
8 oz. oyster mushrooms or other kind of mushrooms (shiitake, white, etc.), cut into slivers
1 1/2 to 2 cups vegetables such as cabbage or bok choy or napa cabbage or young mini corns in a can or a combination
6 to 8 dry red chilies (chili japones)
Note: These are hot chilies. To reduce the spicyness, cut the portion into half
3 to 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
6 Tbs Vegetarian Fish Sauce or soy sauce, Healthy Boy Brand
6 Tbs Fresh squeezed lime juice or a juice from 3 fresh limes
4 to 6 Kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk large lemon grass, sliced thick diagonally
1/2 to 1 tsp kelp powder or granules , optional, if you want to make it 'fishy'
salt to taste
Cilantro sprigs for garnish
1 Tbs vegetable oil

1. In a non-stick frying pan, heat ½ tablespoon oil. Stir fry red chilies and crushed garlic in oil until the chilies became dark and garlic is brown but not burnt. Set aside.
2. Heat a heavy pot, put 1/2 tablespoon oil, then, pan fry the tofu in a medium-high heat and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and stir fry 2 more minutes. Add tom yum stock, vegetarian fish sauce, lime juice, lemon grass, kelp powder, if using, and lime leaves. Simmer in a low heat while working on the chilies below.
3. Set aside about 3 whole roasted chilies for the garnish in soup. Put the rest of the red chilies and crushed garlic mixture in a small blender like a spice or coffee blender including the oil. Add about 3 to 4 tablespoon of broth from the soup. Grind for 30 seconds.
   
   Note: Whole chilies won't make the soup spicy (unless you eat it) but looks good in it. So to make it less spicy grind less chilies with the garlic and set aside more chilies for the garnish.
4. Scrape the chilies and garlic mixture into the simmering soup. Throw the whole roasted chilies into the soup. Taste for saltiness and add salt if necessary.
5. Add the rest of the vegetables into the soup and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off heat. Add cilantro sprigs on top and serve immediately.

Spicy Tortilla Soup!

I bought a new cookbook, The Real Food Daily by Ann Gentry. There are also 2 Real Food Daily restaurants in Santa Monica and West Hollywood, CA. They are great restaurants and have been around for more than 12 years. We visited them but they are way too far for us to visit often. So I am glad to be able to get this cookbook.



I tried the tortilla soup recipe from this cookbook and it's so goood and spicy! You know me, I like it SPICY! I also tried other recipes from this cookbook such as Mexicali Chop Salad with Crispy tortilla strips and Lime-cilantro vinaigrette and Seitan Enchiladas with Salsa Verde (pg. 104 and 152). If you have this cookbook, try them, they are wonderful for this upcoming Cinco De Mayo (that is if you are celebrating it). These Mexican dishes really satisfied our tummy.

BTW, the Crispy Tortilla Strips on top are so crunchy, salty, spicy, and a bit sweet. DH loves it and said that these are good just to snack on. Whooosh, they are gone in a flash! The crispy strips are perfect for both on the salad and the soup.

A week ago we rented a movie called 'Tortilla Soup' (a funny and interesting movie), so that's how I came up with the idea of making this soup. Surprisingly enough, my new cookbook has a recipe for this soup. This must be a 'coinkidink', oh, I mean a 'coincidence', OR a God's Divine Intervention!

Now, about the tortilla soup, I have never made it before. I have seen it in restaurants' menu (usually has chicken broth in it, don't know why people can't just use vegetable broth?) and have heard of it but never know how to make it until I opened this cookbook. What's interesting about this soup is that corn tortillas are cooked in the soup with other ingredients until they are soft and disintegrate. Then, using a handheld immersion blender(I just love my hand blender), the soup ingredients are blended till smooth in the pot.

Who had this idea of cooking tortillas in a soup, anyway? Was it an accident in the first place? Oops, I dropped tortillas in my soup so let's see what happens if I cook them in it? Oh well, whatever it was, this soup is yummy and filling. Another thing about it, it is EASY to make. Any bachelor can do it, guarantee!

The soup is good with toppings like the Crispy Tortilla Chips, Avocado slices ('Avocado in a soup?' DH asked), and sour cream ( I made Vegan Sour Cream with silken tofu). It was suggested to top the soup with Pico De Gallo (fresh salsa) too but I didn't make it.

Here is the recipe with my changes:

Tortilla Soup
(Adapted from The Real Food Daily cookbook by Ann Gentry)

1/2 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jalapeno chili, finely chopped
2 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
9 cups vegetable broth
1 pound tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup tomato paste
8 organic corn tortillas, coarsly chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Toppings:
1/2 cup Crispy Tortilla Strips
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
Tofu Sour Cream

1. Heat the oil in a heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the jalapeno chile, tamari or soy sauce, cumin, salt, oregano, and pepper, and saute 1 minute longer.
2. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender. Add the tortillas and simmer 10 minutes longer, or until the tortillas are falling apart.
3. Using a handheld immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until smooth. Alternatively, working in batches, puree in a regular blender. Stir in the cilantro.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with the tortilla strips, avocado, and tofu sour cream, and serve.

Crispy Tortilla Strips
(Adapted from The Real Food Daily cookbook by Ann Gentry)
1/2 tablespoon canola oil or oil spray
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon maple sugar or regular sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the oil over both sides of the tortillas (if use oil spray, spray on both sides). Cut the tortillas in half, then cut the halves crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick strips.
2. Spread he tortilla strips on a heavy, rimmed bakingsheet. Stir in the chili powder, maple sugar or sugar, and salt in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the chili powder mixture over the tortilla strips, toss the strips to coat, then arrange them evenly over the baking sheet.
3. Bake, tossing occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-line plate and cool.

Here are the pictures of our Mexican meal, all recipes came from this cookbook(highly recommend to buy):

Mexicali Chop Salad with Crispy tortilla strips and Lime-cilantro vinaigrette (lettuce, tomatoes, mangoes, zucchini, and avocado). The lime-cilantro vinaigrette dressing is very refreshing. A wonderful starter before we plunged into the spicy soup and enchilada.

Seitan Enchiladas with Salsa Verde, topped with Tofu Sour Cream.

Seitan Enchilada just came out from the oven. It is easy to make your own Salsa Verde (tomatillos, onions, garlic, and green chilies). This enchilada doesn't look pretty but it sure tastes very good. Don't judge food by its look only!

O Wow! Pumpkin Tunnel Cake, a Vegan Bundt Cake

Finally, I am able to make this new recipe from Bryanna Clark Grogan's new newsletter. My first impression when I inverted the cake to the serving plate was " O WOW!" It was a perfect and beautifully shaped bundt cake! I was so happy that I baked such a beautiful cake, I ran outside to our side yard with the hot steaming cake to show it to DH (he was planting plumeria trees). Here is the picture after I drizzled it with vegan caramel and chopped toasted pecan:




Here is a picture of a slice. I would have eaten it with Soyatoo! but I was out. :-) I guess I like that Soyatoo! a bit too much... :-)



The cake was delicious, full of pumpkin flavor and spices, and it was moist. We both love it. It was so tasty with the vegan caramel topping. The 'tunnel' is made of silken tofu, cashew, crystallized ginger bits, and lemon juice flavored. It is called Lemon-Ginger Tofu Cashew Creme Cheeze filling.

Here is a picture after the cake is cut:



Now, here is a teaser for you! I am not giving out the recipe. This recipe is for Vegan Feasters (subscribers) only. Yes, Bryanna only gives out recipes like this to her subscribers. I have been a vegan feaster for a long long time and I have had so many surprises like this from her newsletters. It doesn't cost much to subscribe and you will get tons of recipes. It is well worth it. If it looks like I am advertising it, you got that right, I am! :-) That's because I want to spread out her good and proven creations and also that she deserves it! So, what are you waiting for?

Vegan Sweet Potato/Yam Waffle with Toasted Pecan

Fall weather is here: cold in the morning and night, warm 77 F during the day, a typical Southern California fall weather. This kind of weather makes me want to eat pumpkin something. I just received the new Vegan Feast newsletter from Bryanna and saw her recipe of Vegan Pumpkin Tunnel Cake. Looks yummy! I really wanted to make it but my body was not up to it. I just came back from a business trip to Las Vegas for 3 days and didn't have time to go to the market to buy all the ingredients for it. I thought I had enough pumpkin in the freezer (left over from making pumpkin something in the past) but it turned out that it was not enough to make the cake.

This morning I thought about making Pumpkin Waffle to use that little bit pumpkin I defrosted. I made this waffle from a recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance cookbook before and it was really good. It turned out that the recipe asked for a whole can (15 oz.) pureed pumpkin. Yaik! No pumpkin waffle either. What to do? What to do? Then, I saw my kitchen basket full of sweet potatoes/yam (you know, the orange kind). This will do! I saw Rachel Ray's $40 A Day show last night and she was eating Sweet Potato Pancake with Toasted Pecan butter in Charleston. I surely could make waffles out of those potatoes I thought.

I microwaved 3 small sweet potatoes (about 15 oz) until they were soft (pierce with forks first otherwise they may explode). I changed the Pumpkin Waffle recipe (less oil and use whole wheat pastry flour, etc.) ...and.... Voila! Sweet potato Waffle was born. DH was surprised that I didn't make Pumpkin Tunnel Cake as I said, nor Pumpkin Waffle as planned, and was served Sweet Potato Waffles. He will never know what he is going to get, will he?



No pumpkin after all but this waffle turned out to be very very good. It was spiced with pumpkin pie spices (I love those spices) and sweetened a little bit with brown sugar. My kitchen smelled wonderful and spicy while the waffle was cooking and the smell lasted the whole day (didn't need to light a pumpkin spice candle). I also prepared the Toasted Pecan 'Butter' (Earth Balance) and served the waffle with this yummy 'butter', pure maple syrup and Soyatoo! (from last blog). It was soooo good I had 2 large waffles (a no no according my WW leader), I couldn't help it. :-)



Vegan Sweet Potato/Yam Waffle with Toasted Pecans
Makes 6 large waffles (my waffle maker is the 7-inches Villaware, round)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour or unbleached flour
Note: you may use 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour instead of part pastry flour and part all purpose
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cup soy milk (depending how thick your pureed sweet potatoes)
15 oz pureed cooked sweet potato/yam or 3 small sweet potato (about 15 oz)
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
15 pecan halves

1/4 cup Earth Balance

Pure maple syrup

1. If using fresh sweet potatoes: Pierce potatoes with a fork, microwave for 6-7 minutes or until soft. Let it cool. Peel and puree with a potato masher. Otherwise, the easy way is open the can.
2. Toast pecan halves on a dry frying pan, turning them and watch them until they are very toasty and brown. Chop them with a knife. Mix 2 tablespoons of chopped pecan with the 1/4 cup Earth Balance.
3. Preheat your electric waffle maker.
4. Measure and sift dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Add the remaining chopped pecan to the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Mix 2 cups soy milk, mashed sweet potatoes or canned sweet potatoes, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Use an immersion blender or a hand mixer, beat or mix the liquid ingredients and mashed potato until smooth.
6. Combine the liquid mixture and dry ingredients together until well mix. The batter should be thick like muffin butter. If it is too thick add more soy milk.
7. Spray the hot waffle iron with canola oil spray bottle, Pour about 2/3 cup of waffle batter and set a timer for 6 minutes for each waffle or following the instructions of your waffle maker. You may need to use the oil spray for each waffle. For a very crispy waflle set the timer to 8 minutes. Serve it warm with toasted pecan 'butter' and pure maple syrup. Top with Soyatoo, if desired.

Enjoy!

Note to Gaia:

About Soyatoo!, I didn't have a problem with the can as you said. Did you turn the can totally upside down when using it? DH told me that if using the can in an angle it may not work as properly as if it is vertically upside down.

Soyatoo! and Gimme Lean 'Sausage' Roll

I updated this blog with an easy solution for the Soyatoo can. I have been having problem trying to work the Soyatoo cans. Lots of time, the whipped soya cream will not come out. Anonymous posted a solution on one of the comments below. Thanks so much! This is very helpful.....

"Anonymous said...
Anyone having issues with Soyatoo, here's a quick fix:I once bought it and it stopped working half way, this was because I put it back in the fridge and when I took it back out (then left it for 10 minutes as suggested) it still didn't work and all that came out was the propellant. I found the solution a few days ago, the Soyatoo needs either a very long time to soften from being in the fridge or (if you're impatient like me :P) run it under hot water.It really works wonders within seconds. You can tell if it worked by shaking it, if the cream is loose inside, it worked. I haven't found it to ever need more than a few seconds under the water though."

I haven’t blogged for a while due to ‘cooking laziness’…he he…. Yes, I have suffered this disease for a few weeks. After I enjoyed my vegan birthday and someone else’s cooking, we have been eating out a lot. We live in the city so it is easy to find vegetarian or vegan restaurants around us. At home, we have been eating a lot of sandwiches and soups and store-bought vegan stuff.

Talking about store-bought vegan stuff, see what I just bought: Soyatoo! the vegan soy whip in a can.


I have heard about this product months ago from Bryanna’s Newsletter Subscribers’ forum and have been waiting for it to appear at the Whole Foods near me. I finally saw it at this store and bought it. Amazing, soy whipped cream? Yes, I can squirt it out like regular whip cream out of a can. It has lighter texture than regular whip cream. I was satisfied with that and liked the taste. The only thing is that the whipped soy cream doesn’t stay up as long as the regular whip cream. After a few minutes, it sort of became a melty looking cream although it is still creamy. Pictured is a blackberry shortcake I made, topped with Soyatoo whipped soy cream.



This coming Thanksgiving, vegans are able to enjoy vegan pumpkin pie with Soyatoo whipped soy cream on top. Dreamy!

The second item I enjoyed lately is the Gimme Lean from LightLife. Inspired by Albion Cooks’s blog entry: Vegetarian English Sausage Roll (September 13, 2006), I bought Gimme Lean ‘Ground Beef’ style and made a vegan sausage with it. I should have bought the ‘Sausage’ style but I could not find it. So I decided to add my own ‘sausage’ flavoring to the ‘Ground Beef’ style. I rarely use this product and in the beginning I didn’t like it. But somehow, I think, this product was improved and now I like it. I bought Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry or Aussie Puff Pastry (which is vegan) and filled it with the gimme lean sausage. The result was very good. It was really easy to make and enjoyable as snacks with spicy mustard.



Vegan Sausage Rolls
Makes 24 2-inches rolls
Printable Recipe

1 Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style
½ to ¾ cup fresh breadcrumbs
½ cup soy milk
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried crumbled sage
¼ tsp rosemary
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp salt

1 pkg Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry or Aussie Puff Pastry
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Soak breadcrumbs in soymilk for a few minutes. Then, add all sausage ingredients to mix them well with your hands. Form little sausages (about 2 inches long) and roll them with your hands.

Prepare puff pastry according to the manufacturer’s directions. Roll each sausage in puff pastry sheet with a little overlap, cut sheet, and seal the overlap with your fingers.
Lightly coat baking sheets with olive or canola oil (use spray if you like). Bake the wrapped sausages in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

My Vegan Birthday !

My birthday was long gone but the memories of it are still lingering. I am so very glad to tell you all about it cause it was really a romantic day. Thanks to DLH (dear loving husband) who made my day so beautiful. Just the two of us, we spent the day in LA (if you are a single girl and looking, I highly recommend to get a hubby like him but not him since he is mine :-) ).

I was blessed with a beautiful weather on my birthday on a Sunday. No more unbearable heat and humidity days lately. That day, especially, it was a sunny clear day in the 70's. Yay! DLH doesn't cook (that's one thing he doesn't do but suits me just fine) and I don't want to cook on my birthday (no dishwashing either) so we splurged on eating out for a day and enjoyed someone else's cooking for a change. DH paid for all the meals, drove, and arranged the itinenary since it was my day. I just had to look pretty and enjoyed the day.

Real Food Daily(RFD), West Hollywood (Vegan Organic Restaurant):
We traveled for about 1 hour (with no traffic) to West Hollywood. We noticed that driving to LA area on Sunday mornings is the BEST time. Looks like a lot of LA people are going out late on Saturday nights and wake up late on Sundays. There was NO TRAFFIC! Another YAY!

Hence, when we arrived at RFD about 10:00 am, the restaurant was still closed. We could see people were hustling inside for the preparations to open. At about 10:05 am, the manager opened the doors and we were the first customers. This restaurant opens early on weekends to serve brunch and that's what we were having. We started with organic soy latte before our meal. They were yummy coffee! DH ordered The Weekender (2 french toasts, tofu scramble with soy cheese sauce on top, potato fries, vegan butter, and real maple syrup) and I had the Southwestern Omelet (tofu omelet filled with blackbeans and soy cheese, potato fries, 2 slices of thin rye bread, and vegan butter).
There were no eggs, butter, and milk in this brunch. My cousin who lives in Beijing, China was amazed when she read my blog that I could make chocolate mousse out of tofu. Wait till she reads this blog! Yes, vegans can make everything out of tofu. People in China will be amazed.

Lake Shrine Temple, Pacific Palisades (SRF Temple and Ashram Center)

After brunch, we had time to kill before our visit to Lake Shrine Temple(opens to the public at 12:30 pm). We walked to Beverly Center, a shopping center/mall in Beverly Hills about less than 1/4 mile away from RFD. We just did a window shopping and walking our brunch off. It was a beautiful shopping center but full of shops we couldn't afford.

Then, we drove to Pacific Palisades by way of Sunset Blvd. It was an interesting journey since we passed Hollywood, Beverly Hills (passing the stars' homes), Bel Air, and Brentwood. We basically were heading toward the ocean since the temple is very close to the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Pacific Coast Hwy. We couldn't miss the temple because the building is very distinctive with white domes roof with golden lotuses on top, white walls, and golden lotuses on top of pillars. We heard about this temple from a friend and wanted to visit the 10-acres gardens with a spring-fed lake in the middle.



It was indeed a serene and tranquil garden in the middle of LA craziness. This lake was built in 1950s so I could not imagine how peaceful this place was at that time. The garden was full of foliage, waterfalls, beautiful flowers, and statues. They also have koi fish, swans, turtles, and ducks. The temple itself is erected high on the hills above the lake overlooking the Santa Monica beach.

We spent about 3 to 4 hours there walking around the lake, the temple, and visited the museum and book store too. We noticed that some of the visitors/tourists were speaking foreign languages so this temple must be famous in other countries. Funny, that I had never heard of it until recently.

Here are some pictures of the garden, temple, and lake:



















Busaba Thai Vegetarian Kitchen, Los Angeles
After walking for hours (5 p.m. now), I was famished and ready for our next meal. We drove to Los Angeles' famous Melrose Ave. Thai cuisine is my favorite cuisine so my request was to try this restaurant after I read the review from Vegetarian Paradise. We were surprised that this restaurant was located near M Cafe de Chaya, a macrobiotic French Japanese restaurant serving no meat, eggs, and dairy. We love M Cafe too for breakfasts, lunches, and especially for their vegan cakes and pastries. Vegetarian Paradise also did a review of M Cafe.

At Busaba (this restaurant serves lots of vegan dishes), we ordered Wonton Soup (wonton skins stuffed with shiitake , tofu, veggie shrimp, and spinach) and Seaweed Rolls (seaweed stuffed with tofu, glass noodles, carrots and shiitake, served with sweet and sour dip) as starters. Wow! They were DELICIOUS! We liked them right away. The wonton soup and the rolls were very tasty.

Then, we proceeded with our next item which was Tofu Larb Salad (tofu flavored with lime dressing, ground toasted rice, chili flakes, red onion, served on a bed of salad).




YUM, YUM, YUM! This was my favorite. It was very SPICY. I meant HOT SPICY so for some of you this could be too FIERY. I loved it though! I was not named Spice Island Vegan for no reason (DLH called me that) The lime dressing gave this salad very sour and refreshing taste and yet it was a bit sweet and spicy. DLH said that it tickled every taste buds in his tongue.

Our next dishes were Busaba Special: Crisp Fish with Green Apple (crispy vegan fish served with fresh green apple, cashew nuts, red onion, chili, cilantro and a chef special dressing),



Spinach Mushroom Sauce (spinach sauteed roasted garlic and chili with tofu and mushroom sauce, not pictured), and a bowl of brown rice. We loved the veggie fish dish. It was not as spicy as the tofu larb salad but the taste combination (sweet, sour, and spicy) was a winner also. We knew then that we will come back to this restaurant.

By now, we were stuffed but my birthday won't stop here without a sweet ending. No, no, we didn't eat desserts after all that food :-) but we bought vegan pastries to take home from M Cafe across the street. We were so full that we didn't eat our desserts till the next days. Here were my birthday vegan pastries from M Cafe: Chocolate and Banana Napoleon pastry (I can't even say the French name of it) and Chocolate Tart (DLH favorite)

Thanks so much, DLH, and I love you so much! I truly enjoyed my day and will cherish this memory for more than a day.

P.S. : I want to say thank you to friends and family who sent birthday greetings: Carolina in England, Arie in Jakarta, Indonesia, mother-in-law in Missouri (HI MOM!), aunt Lotte in Netherland (who called me early Sunday morning), my mom who lives near me, aunt Lanny in Toronto, Canada, and Lia in Beijing. Love ya all!

5 EXOTIC FOODS TO TRY BEFORE YOU DIE

I was tagged by primaryconsumer for a meme that's going around (it started over at The Traveler's Lunchbox- you can see the original post here). You have to pick 5 things you think everyone should eat before they die.

My first thought was tropical fruits. I grew up in a tropical island for 17 years eating a large variety of fruits that I was disappointed with the Western Hemisphere's choices of fruits. The fruits that I grew up with are so unusual to North Americans, I don't even know their English names for some of them. I really miss them and can't get all of them here in the US. I tried to get descriptions of the fruits (with pictures) I grew up with from the Internet as much as I could but some of them couldn't even be found. These are the fruits: salak (snakefruit), rambutan, jambu (wax apple or jawa apple), duku, sawo (sapodilla), sirsat (annonaceae), mangostene, blimbing (star fruit or carambola), durian, lengkeng (longan or dragon eye), mangga (mango), nangka (jackfruit), degan (young coconut) and papaya. Some of them, such as longan, rambutan, young coconut, star fruit, mango, papaya, and durian can be bought in Asian markets in my area. Although, not all varieties of fruits of the same kind are available here. For example, there are different types of mangoes and bananas in Indonesia and I only can get 1 or 2 kinds of mangoes and bananas here. They are imported from South America who doesn't have all of the varieties Indonesia has.

Another thought was Indonesian desserts or dishes flavored with screwpine leaves (pandan) and palm sugar (gula jawa). I missed the smell and flavor of fresh screwpine leaves. What I can find here are the frozen ones and they are not as strong as the fresh leaves. Like vanilla, it is the best smelling essence for desserts made with a mixture of coconut milk and palm sugar.

Here is my list of 5 foods people should try before they die

1. The King of Fruits: Durian. I don't know why it is called the king of fruits. I think because it is the smelliest fruit in the world that it is banned from airlines, hotel, and all kinds of public places in Asian countries. People describe this fruit as 'smell like hell but taste like heaven' which is a perfect description for it. If you don't grow up with it you will need to acquire the taste, get used to the smell, and learn how to love this fruit. But once you love it, you will be missing it. You can search the Internet for 'durian' and find all kinds of stories how people describe their first encounter experiences with this fruit.
   
2. The Queen of Fruits: Mangostene. I can't find this fruit in the US, haven't had it for 26 years, and missed it. It is considered to be a medicinal fruit and has a delicious unique flavor. The mangostene juice is sold in the Internet for its healthy qualities. I didn't even know about the healthy characteristics until I read about it in the Internet. I just know that it tastes so good.
   
3. Fresh Young Coconut. Hhmmm.... the taste of coconut juice(not coconut milk) and young coconut meat is so good. It is now available in my area and is sold in Asian markets. The raw foodists have made this fruit popular recently. Here is an interesting picture and movie how to open a young coconut(skills acquired to open this fruit): how to open a young coconut. Lately, I found out that Whole Foods in my area carry it. I don't know about WF in other locations though. The Indonesians usually add shaved ice and rose flavored syrup on top of a mixture of young coconut meat and juice. I usually eat them straight from the fruit.
   
4. Desserts or dishes flavored by screwpine leaves (pandan). Indonesian desserts usually are flavored with pandan instead of vanilla extract. Indonesians use coconut milk and palm sugar (gula jawa) to make the desserts rich, tasty, and decadent. The original recipes of the desserts usually do not contain eggs and butter; mostly, they are vegan. But due to Western influences, new recipes with eggs and butter came out in the last decades. Pictured is an Indonesian Pandan and Coffee Flavored Jello/Agar-agar Mold dessert. Fresh pandan leaves are great for flavoring rice and curries too.
5. Tempeh. Just like tofu, tempeh has become popular lately in vegan and vegetarian world. This is one that either you love it or you hate it. I grew up with tempeh so of course I love it. The key to try tempeh for the first time is to eat a fresh tempeh. If you try tempeh that has been frozen for months, you more than likely will hate it. Frozen tempeh can be bitter and dry. The fresh tempeh is absolutely wonderful.
   

P.S.:
I am adding a site that has pictures of Javanese Fruits (this is the url:http://www.geocities.com/omimachifuri/fruits.htm ). This is quite an interesting site. Not only fruits were displayed in this site but also Javanese vegetables and snacks. I just kept clicking Next, page after page. These are the fruits, vegetables, and snacks I grew up with. There are clear pictures of exotic fruits in this site. Hhmmm...seeing them made me missed them more and I only can see the pictures. :-(

Success! Veganized Indian Grain/Squaw Bread

For those of you who are experts in baking bread, this may not be much to be proud of. But for me who grew up with rice and noodles, baking bread is a mystery. My experience has been hit and miss. I don't know how many times I threw away a flat ball of dough because it didn't rise. After such an experience, I usually shy away from trying for a while. Then, I bought an automatic bread machine so I wouldn't fail. But it turns out that I don't like breads baked in a machine. So far, I have used my machine to make the dough and let it rise only ('dough' cycle). It works pretty well and I have never failed in baking bread since.

However, this time, the recipe for this bread is too big for my bread machine and I didn't want to cut it in half. I wanted to bake 2 loaves and freeze one. To tell you the truth, I was challenged to do it the traditional way like a real baker. Of course, I cheated and had help from my Kitchen Aid mixer to knead the dough. I was not so industrious to knead the dough with my own hands. Are you kidding? Look what I did! I pat myself on the back for successfully baking such really nice looking loaves. Naturally I have to blog it and show off!



I have always loved dark colored breads with molasses such as squaw or pumpernickel. It is hard to find them in bakeries and I don't know why. Maybe because they are a bit sweet and people just don't buy them. I like my bread a little bit sweet and this must be an Asian thing. I searched the Internet for a recipe and found one but it is not vegan since it uses honey, milk powder and butter. It was easy to veganize it; though, I love the result without missing the butter, honey, or milk powder. I used half maple syrup and half molasses to replace the honey. Next time, I want to use all molasses since I like it a bit darker. I also thought that it was too sweet and will reduce the brown sugar.

For brushing the top, I used a cornstarch glaze which was Bryanna's idea, posted a while back in her newsletter. Instead of using egg whites, I used water and cornstarch, cooked until thickened and cooled. Then, I brushed the top of the unbaked loaves with this mixture to give the top a 'shine' and to allow the toppings (like rolled oats) to stick to the bread while it is baking. I baked one with rolled oats topping and one without.



We have eaten this bread as is, warmed in the oven, and topped with Earth Balance. We have also used it as a sandwich bread and pictured below is 'Turkey' Avocado Cranberry sandwich I prepared. I used Tofurky Deli Slices Hickory Smoked 'Turkey' (my favorite), Organic Reed Avocado slices, Organic No-Sugar Cranberry Sauce (store bought), Vegenaise, fresh tomato slices from our garden, and lettuce leaves. I love the combination of cranberry sauce, seitan turkey, vegan mayonnaise, home grown tomato slices, and squaw bread.


INDIAN GRAIN BREAD OR SQUAW BREAD
Servings: 32
Yield: 2 loaves
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

Adapted from a recipe I got from the Internet, I veganized this bread and turned out to be really good. Instead of honey, I use maple syrup or molasses. The brown sugar, raisins, and maple syrup gives sweetness to rye-whole-wheat grain bread. This bread is yummy for a sandwich or just with a dab of Earth Balance. This bread is a bit sweet and you can reduce the brown sugar if you like to reduce the sweetness.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable or canola or safflower oil
1/4 cup organic maple syrup or organic molasses
1/4 cup organic raisins
5 tbsp organic brown sugar
2 pkgs active dry yeast (1/4 oz. per pkg.)
1/4 cup warm water (110 F degrees)
2 1/2 cups organic unbleached flour
3 cups organic whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups rye flour
1/2 cup soy milk powder
2 1/2 tsp salt

For toppings:

1 tbsp melted Earth Balance
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cornstarch
rolled oats

1. Combine water, oil, molasses or maple syrup, raisins, and 4 tablespoons brown sugar in a blender. Liquify.
2. Soften yeast in warm water with remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Let the yeast dissolved in warm water for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl sift together all the flours. salt, and soy milk powder. Place molasses or maple syrup mixture and yeast mixture in a mixer bowl. Add half of the flour mixture. Beat with dough hook of your mixer. Gradually stir in the remaining flours to make soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Let it knead for about 10 minutes. See tip.
4. Place dough in lightly greased bowl and turn to grease surface. Cover and let rise until double (about 1 1/2 hours).
5. Punch down and let it rest 10 minutes. Divide into 2 loaves and place into 2 lightly greased 9" by 5" bread loaf pans OR divide into 4 round loaves and placed on greased cookie sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let it rise in warm place until doubled (about 1 hour).
6. Prepare topping: heat 1/2 cup water with cornstarch, mix well, and let it simmer till thickened. Let this mixture cool. Just before baking, brush both loaves with the cornstarch mixture and sprinkled with rolled oats on top.
7. Bake in a preheated 375 F oven for 30-35 minutes. Brush with melted Earth Balance and cool on racks.
   
   Nutrition Facts
   Nutrition (per serving): 142.0 calories; 18% calories from fat; 2.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 155.8mg sodium; 109.5mg potassium; 25.8g carbohydrates; 1.5g fiber; 4.5g sugar; 24.3g net carbs; 3.0g protein; 2.8 points.
   
   Cooking TipsI could not use my bread machine to knead the dough since this recipe is too big for it. You can cut the recipe in half to knead it in your bread machine. I kneaded the dough in my Kitchen-Aid Heavy Duty mixer. This mixer almost could not do the job to knead dough for 2 loaves of bread. I was afraid that it would start to smoke but fortunately it didn't. I wish I have a Bosch mixer. Oh well!

Buddha's 'Mock Peking Duck' or Mu Shu Tofu?

OR



Buddha's 'Mock Peking Duck' or Mu Shu Tofu? Vote for one and tell me why! I voted for the 'Mock Peking Duck'. I love the crispyness of the yuba. DH likes both but voted for the Mock Peking Duck too. It is like the bad versus the good or the devil versus the angel, the Mock Peking Duck has more fat and is addicting but the Mu Shu Tofu is low fat and good for you. I suppose to eat the Mu Shu Tofu only since I am in Weight Watcher and counting points! :-) Oh well, I am bad!

The idea of making the 'Mock Peking Duck' dish came from reading Bryanna's blog: Buddha's "Roast Duck" with Yuba. I followed her recipe and served it 'Peking' style ( pictured on the left, above) on a fresh thin pancake or crepe( spring roll wrapper that I bought from the Chinese market), topped with thinly sliced scallions, and drizzled with 'Duck Sauce'. Here is how mine came out after it was fried crispy, before it was cut:


I followed Bryanna's duck sauce recipe also but added 2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp. water to thicken it. This sauce was very good.
I found this fresh Spring Rolls wrapper or Mandarin thin crepe in a Chinese market. This was how I started thinking about making the Mu Shu Tofu. Then, the 'mock duck' idea came later on. For those of you who have ordered Mu Shu anything in a Chinese restaurant should know what this crepe looks like. I know some of you may not be able to get it in the areas where you live, especially, if you don't live in a city. However, if your nearby Chinese restaurant serves Mu Shu, you can ask them where to buy it. Most restaurants don't make the thin crepe themselves.
I adapted the Mu Shu Tofu recipe from Bryanna's 'Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen' cookbook (Mock Peking Duck recipe is in this book too). Bryanna's is not Chinese but her recipes are pretty authentic. I am very impressed and using this cookbook all the time in my kitchen. Mu Shu Tofu recipe is printed on page 126. You can also make Mandarin Pancakes yourself and follow her recipe on page 88 but I haven't tried this myself. I thought I'll save it for later if I ever live in the 'boonies' and can't get the fresh crepes from a nearby Chinese market.
Here is how I made it ( I didn't use the scrambled tofu as listed in the recipe but I used my smoked baked tofu):
Mu Shu Tofu
Adapted from Bryanna's Authentic Chinese Cuisine cookbook
6-8 servings
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
5 dried Chinese black mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms
1/2 small cabbage, shredded(about 4 to 5 cups)
1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled, shredded
2 cups slivered smoked baked tofu, recipe in previous post
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp sesame oil
Sauce:
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp brown or yellow bean sauce
1 tbsp dry sherry (I used Aji-Mirin)
1 tbsp mushroom soaking broth
1 tsp unbleached sugar
24 Mandarin Pancakes
Hoisin Sauce (store bought)
In a separate bowls, soak the dried mushrooms in a boiling water for 20 minutes. When they are soft, drain them, reserve some of the soaking water for the sauce above. Discard the stems, cut into sliver.
Heat a large wok or heavy skillet over high heat until it's very hot. Add the sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add the tofu slivers and stir-fry until they are brown. Add slivered mushrooms, cabbage, and carrots. Stir-fry for a few more minutes. Add the sauce ingredients and toss well. Add green onions and mix.
Serve with Mandarin Pancakes. Each diner places a bit of hoisin sauce on the pancake, add the mu shu mixture, rolls it up, and eats it with their hands.

Simple Summer Fare: Vegan Korean Banchan Dinner

We had hot weather last weekend, AGAIN! Aargh! Fall, please come quickly, I am ready for you! I decided to make a simple Korean meal so I don’t have to turn on the oven. I just boiled a few fresh vegetables and seasoned them. I also pan fried marinated Soycurls™. I served these with kim chee that I made a week before. BTW, these dishes can be served slightly warm or at a room temperature so they are great for a picnic or traveling. This kind of style where the dishes are served on small plates or amounts with rice are called Banchan.

The Koreans use a lot of sesame oil and sesame seeds in their seasonings. There is a Korean market within a walking distance from our house that sells lots of toasted sesame seeds and gallons of sesame oil. Sesame seeds and oil are healthy. If olive oil is heavily used in Italy and Mediterranean, sesame oil is the equivalent in Korea. Sesame seeds are a good source of calcium, copper, and full of Omega 6. Here is an article that describes all about it: Open Sesame!

Sesame seeds and oil are delicious! For those who have cooked with sesame oil, don’t you think so? I used brown and black sesame seeds on top of the steamed brown rice.
From the top (clockwise) I made Pea sprouts and Carrots salad, Seasoned Boiled Spinach, Seasoned Soybeans Sprouts, Spicy Gochujang Soycurls™ , Steamed Short Grain Brown Rice, and Homemade Kim Chee. DH loves the Seasoned Soybeans Sprouts very much. It is best to use fresh vegetables for this meal. We are lucky enough to live close to Asian markets that provide lots of fresh pea sprouts, beansprouts, spinach, and napa cabbage.



Gochujang is Korean Red Pepper and Bean Paste. I bought this at the Korean market and as far as I know only Korean market sells it. This paste is a condiment and a seasoning for cooking. The use of it is just like American ketchup but it is spicy and hot. Here is a picture of a tub of Gochujang that is commonly sold in the Korean market. I love the fermented taste (it is miso like), the spicy, and a bit sweet taste. I used Soycurls™ which seem to absorb gochujang and other the spices very well.

Now, about kim chee, for those who do not know what kim chee is, here is an info about kim chee. It is considered a national dish of Korea. It is a spicy, sour, and fermented napa cabbage spiced with Korean red pepper, salt, garlic, and ginger. Other kind of vegetables can be used also such as cucumber, green onions, Chinese mustard green, daikon, etc. The Korean market near our house is like a 'house of kim chee'. They sell all kinds of kim chee. However, I was told many times that there is shrimp paste or fish flavoring in store-bought kim chee that usually is not listed on the product label. I don’t know for sure whether this is true but I haven’t bought kim chee from a store for a long time. Julie Hasson provided me with her husband’s recipe of kim chee and I have made it several times at home. It is really good.

Printable Recipes

Pea Sprouts and Carrot Salad
Serve 4

2-3 cups fresh pea sprouts
1 cup grated and peeled carrots

Salad dressing:
½ cup seasoned rice vinegar
½ cup aji-mirin
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
1 tsp organic sugar

Mix pea sprouts, carrots, and ¼ cup salad dressing or more, just before serving. Save the rest of the salad dressing for next meals.


Seasoned Boiled Spinach
Serve 4

3 bundles fresh spinach, clean leaves and break off the roots
2-3 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
¾ tsp sea salt

Boil about 6-8 cups of water. Put fresh spinach leaves into the boiling water. Push them down until all covered and submerged in the water. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. Drain in a large colander and immediately rinse with cold water until the spinach is cool. This is to stop the cooking process and to sustain the fresh green color. Squeeze all the water out from the spinach. Combine spinach, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt in a bowl. Use a fork to break the spinach apart while pouring sesame oil and other ingredients.

Seasoned Soybean Sprouts
Serve 4

1 lb fresh soybean sprouts
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions/green onions
2-3 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Korean red pepper flakes
½ tsp sea salt

Boil 3-4 cups of water. Put fresh beansprouts into the boiling water. Push them down until all covered and submerged in the water. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately rinse with cold water until the sprouts are cool. This is to stop the cooking process. Squeeze all the water out from the sprouts. Combine sprouts, scallions, sesame oil, Korean red pepper, and salt in a bowl.

Note about Korean red pepper or Kochu Garu: This kind of pepper can only be found in Korean market. This is different than the red pepper we put on pizzas or other dishes. I really don’t know the difference (maybe a different kind of chili pepper that grows in Korea?) but it is different. Those of you who knows about it please let me know.

Cucumber Pickles
Serve 4
On the side, I also served this cucumber pickles. It is refreshing.
2 Japanese/Korean cucumbers, sliced horizontally
2 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp organic sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Korean red pepper flakes
Mix cucumber and all the ingredients together. Let it sit in the refrigerator until ready to be served.


Spicy Gochujang Soycurls™
Serve 4

Marinade:
6 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger or about 2 tsp grated ginger
3 tbsp dark mushroom soy sauce (you can use light soy sauce)
3 tbsp gochujang
1 tbsp aji-mirin
2 tbsp organic sugar
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp ground sesame seeds (grind them in a small blender or coffee grinder)
2 tsp sesame oil

3 cups dry Soycurls™, reconstitute them in warm water as instructed on the package, then squeeze the water out

Put all the marinade ingredients in a small blender. Blend until smooth. Alternatively, you don’t have to use a blender, but you have to mince the garlic and ginger very fine. Mix all the marinade ingredients well. Marinade reconstituted Soycurls™ with the sauce for about 15 minutes.

Just before serving, pan fry marinated Soycurls™ on a non-stick griddle or a cast iron frying pan until hot and a bit blackened. You can use canola oil spray from a can or 2 tsp or more of sesame oil to pan fry them.


Jay’s Kim Chee
Makes a lot, about 1 gallon I think

This is a great and quick kim chee recipe I received from Julie. You need to wait a while before you can enjoy it because you have to wait for the fermentation to take place. However, once it is done, you can enjoy it for weeks to come. Summer time is the best time to make kimchee because the weather is warm and the kim chee ferments quickly.

2 cups water
2 tbsp sweet rice flour *
2 medium heads napa cabbage, sliced into 1-inch or larger pieces
2 ½ tbsp kosher salt (see my note about Korean salt below) *
4 to 5 tbsp Korean hot red pepper flake (see my note about about Korean red pepper)*
¼ cup minced ginger
¼ cup minced garlic
½ cup thinly sliced scallions or green onions

In a saucepan, whisk together water and rice flour until smooth. Heat over medium heat, whisking continuously, until mixture thickens and starts to simmer. Remove from heat and let cool off a bit. Add pepper, whisking well.
In a very large bowl, add cabbage and sprinkle with salt, scallions, ginger and garlic, tossing to mix. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Pour cooled sauce over cabbage, tossing well.
Let cabbage sit at a room temperature for a couple hours (you can refrigerate it right away, but the flavor is better if you let it sit out for a few hours first). Toss well and place in a large glass container and refrigerate.

* All of the ingredients are available at the Korean market

Tip:
I usually let it sit in a room temperature overnight in summer and 2 nights in winter. However, be prepared of the stinky fermentation smell, so put them in your garage or outside in the patio. I also have a refrigerator in my garage where I store my jars of kim chee.

Note about salt: Do not use iodized salt or table salt to make kim chee. The best kind is sea salt or kosher salt. I buy this kind of salt in Korean market. The fermentation of the cabbage is derived from the salt and its combination with garlic, ginger, and red pepper.
Here is an article about how it all work in cabbage fermentation: Cabbage Patch Chemistry
Here is an artilce about kim chee and more tips how to make it: Got the Hots for Kim Chee