Food I Like to Cook

I recently discovered this delicious tofu at Wegmans.  It's difficult to find.  It's in the freezer section with other similarly labeled Wegmans' Asian Classics Products.  It's not with the normal tofu.  Forgive my shameless product plug.

It's a very versatile tofu.  It's solid and creamy, and already salted.  I've substituted it for the paneer in saag paneer.  I also roll it in kimbap (Korean sushi rolls) and add it to noodle dishes.  

Below is my standard set-up for making kimbap.  In this case, it's sweet brown rice, strips of tofu (this tofu is so good I don't even have to flavor it), and a sheet of laver, which is the roasted seaweed that one wraps kimbap in.  This is only one example.  I have a lot of fun with kimbap and have been known to wrap veggie dog strips and tater tots, also avocado and cucumber, carrots, etc.

One of my favorite kimbap fillings is Spicy Tempeh. 

When I cook my rice in the rice cooker, I add a cake of tempeh to the steamer.  Any flavor of tempeh will do.  When the rice is cooked, I remove the tempeh, mash it in a bowl with sesame oil, mayonnaise, and sriracha sauce.  Yes, you can use vegenaise or the non-dairy equivalent of mayonnaise.

Spicy Tempeh Kimbap Filling

1 cake of tempeh, steamed or briefly boiled and mashed

1/3 c. mayonnaise

2-3 T. sriracha sauce

1 T. sesame oil

sesame seeds

Mash them all together and use as a filling, or eat it mixed with rice.

I don't have a photograph of the spicy tempeh, so instead, here is a plain tofu roll:

Another cooking success I've had recently is Curry Noodles.  I've made it every week for three weeks now, and it makes a delicious packed lunch.  I got this idea from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  What I like about this recipe is that it's incredibly flexible.  You can add protein if you have some; you can add vegetables if you have some, but alternatively you could just make the noodles and the sauce and it would be fine.

I don't know where to tell you this recipe comes from.  The book identifies it as Japanese, which maybe it is, but then again it calls for curry powder and garam masala powder, so it certainly doesn't seem like it's Japanese.  It also doesn't seem entirely Indian.  Let's call it a fusion recipe.

Curry Noodles with Whatever the Heck Else You Want

Sauce:

2 T. vegetable oil or margarine (I use Earth Balance)

2 T. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t. curry powder

1 t. garam masala spice blend

1 t. chili powder, or more if you like it hot

1/2 c. water

2 t. agave nectar, honey, or sugar

2-3 T. soy sauce

Noodles and Vegetables:

1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles

2 T. vegetable oil

1-2 c. of Whatever the Heck Else you want, like mixed vegetables, carrots, onions, peppers, broccoli, etc.

Some tofu, or tempeh, or meat substitute of your choice

2 T. fresh grated ginger (I love a microplaner for this task)

First, cook the noodles according to the package directions in a dutch oven, drain, and set aside.

For ease of clean up, I then rinse out the pan I just boiled the spaghetti in, put it back on medium heat, add the oil and flour while whisking to avoid lumps.  Then add the curry powder, garam masala, chili powder, water, sweetener of your choice, and soy sauce.  Continue to whisk until there are no lumps.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

 

In a large sauce pan (or, again, the rinsed out dutch oven), heat the oil over medium heat.  Saute your vegetables until soft.  I have used onion and a frozen bag of mixed vegetables with success.  In the photograph above, I simply used about 1/2 c. of sweet organic corn and a green pepper and onion.  Once the vegetables are soft, add any protein you are using. In the photograph above, of course, it's Wegmans Asian Classics Tofu, diced.  Add the grated ginger.  

Add the noodles and sauce back into the pan.  Stir together until mixed.