Category: Asian

Vegetarian, Healthy, Not Spa Food

January 22, 2010

When people ask me what kind of food I cook, the first thing I say is “vegetarian”. Then I usually say something like, “I make healthy food but not spa food.” What does that mean exactly? I think I mean that yes, the food I cook is healthy in that I use a lot of vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins. I cook with a minimum of oil. I make a salad almost every night. But my food can also be hearty (see: lasagne) and have more cheese than anything you would ever see in a spa. If I’m going to make enchiladas, I do soften the tortillas in oil – I just don’t make them very often.

I think this dish kind of sums it up. If you are a meat and potatoes person, this soba noodle dish might look like spa food to you – there is tofu in there after all. But the fact that you brown the tofu in oil and that you add sesame oil as a flavor enhancer might get you kicked out of a spa. I don’t know for sure – I don’t frequent spas, although I would like to. So in a nutshell, “healthy food with lots of flavor and mostly good for you”. How does that sound?

Soba Noodles Previously on Dana Treat: Soba Noodles with Bok Choy, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Ginger
One Year Ago: Lemon Bars

Soba Noodles with Vegetables, Crispy Tofu, and Toasted Sesame Seeds
Adapted from Gourmet
Serves 4

8 oz. package soba noodles
1 Asian or Bosc pear
Vegetable oil
12 oz. package extra firm tofu, patted dry, cut into ½-inch cubes
4 carrots, cut into 1½-by ¼ inch sticks
1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced thin
4 scallions, sliced thin
2 tbsp. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp. Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted lightly

In a large pot, bring salted water to boil for noodles.

Peel and cut pear into matchstick pieces.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil over moderately high heat. Brown tofu on all sides, working in batches if necessary. Transfer tofu to paper towels to drain and season with salt and pepper.

Add carrots to skillet and sauté, stirring, until just tender and start to brown. Transfer carrots to a bowl. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet and then add mushrooms, scallions, ginger, and pear and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender. Remove skillet from heat and add carrots.

Cook noodles in water until al dente. Drain noodles in colander and immediately rinse with cold water. Leaving them in the colander, toss the noodles with 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil.

Return skillet to moderate heat and add ¼ cup water, tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, and remaining teaspoon sesame oil. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring, until hot. Add noodles, tossing to combine and adding more water if necessary, and cook until heated through. Season noodles with salt and pepper and serve warm topped with tofu and sesame seeds.

Category: Asian,Main Course,Noodles,Tofu,Vegan
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Asian Coconut Noodle Soup

October 2, 2009

Sometime in my past, early childhood, I fell in love with noodle soup. It was Campbell’s of course because that’s what noodle soup was in the suburbs in the 1970’s. My mom would make me a bowl and I would eat it very carefully: broth first, then chicken, then the beloved noodles. I thought it was the most delicious thing in the world.

Then I discovered Top Ramen. More noodles and none of that pesky chicken! (I never liked meat, even as a child.) It was the first thing I ever made for myself and I would make it as often as my mom would let me. I ate Top Ramen and Cup of Noodles into my early 20’s when I realized how unhealthy and fattening those two products are. There was a noodle soup lull in my life until I met Randy who introduced me to pho.

Pho is a Vietnamese soup that uses rice noodles and various cuts of meat. In the Northwest, most places will have vegetarian option made with tofu and often various vegetables. Pho is the only food that Randy introduced me to rather than vice versa and I am eternally grateful. A bowl of pho comes to your table relatively plain. It is up to you to flavor it up with lime, chiles, cilantro, Thai basil, bean sprouts, Sriacha, and other types of hot sauce which are usually provided for you.

I have tried without success to make my own pho at home – I just can’t get the flavor of the broth right. I have a terrible sneaking suspicion that the broth at my local joint isn’t actually vegetarian in which case {plugs ears with fingers} la la la! I can’t hear you!

Ahem. Anyway, just because I can’t master pho doesn’t mean I don’t make noodle soups. I make lots of them actually and this is a favorite. Sweet potato may seem like an unlikely ingredient in an Asian soup but it’s sweetness and texture is most welcome here. The original recipe calls for a whole head of Napa cabbage which is just too much for me. I just put in a bit and add tofu to make the soup even more filling and healthy.

One Year Ago: Some talk about weight and Fruit and Spice Granola

Asian Coconut-Cabbage Soup with Lemongrass
Adapted from Food and Wine
4 Servings

Ingredient notes: Napa cabbage is the elongated one with the ruffle-y leaves. For this soup you will want thin rice-stick noodles, the ones that are about angel hair width, not the Pad Thai noodles. 5 tablespoons does sound like a lot of soy sauce, but you will want at least that much and possibly more.

About 14 cups water
6 oz. dried rice-stick noodles
1 tbsp. peanut or canola oil
1 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
2 stalks lemongrass – top third discarded, tough outer leaves trimmed, minced
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
10 oz. extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice
5 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
6 leaves Napa cabbage, thinly sliced cross-wise
1 -14oz. can “lite” coconut milk
Juice of one lime, plus lime wedges for serving
1 large bunch cilantro, tough stems discarded, tender stems and leaves chopped

1. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the rice noodles and let soak until the noodles are softened, about 4 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the ginger and lemongrass and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 6 cups of water, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, tofu, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper and season with salt. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 7-10 minutes.

3. Add the cabbage and coconut milk and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Add the noodles and stir until heated through. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with lime wedges.

Category: Asian,My Favorites,Noodles,Soup,Tofu,Vegan
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Super Soba Noodles

September 28, 2009

I’ve just returned from the most fun weekend. Friday evening I flew down to San Francisco for BlogHer which was a food blogging conference. There were interesting panels and highly successful panel participants but most fun for me were the terrific people. You see people write frequently that food bloggers are the nicest group of people and, having spent the weekend with a bunch of them, I have to agree. Open, warm, funny, generous, and interesting. I met a few people who I hope will become true friends. And any of them are welcome to come visit me in Seattle.

(On a side note, if you follow anyone on Twitter who was there, or you read the blog of someone who was there – yes, the food was THAT bad. Here is a terrific account of how things went wrong and where they should have gone right.)

Speaking of friends, I cooked for a good one last week. I have mentioned Deb here before several times. She used to be my neighbor and now lives just a few short blocks away. We try to get our kids together once a week at least to play since they are similar ages and they love each other. We also love to have our happy hour wine and catch up. Usually dinner is something really casual. It’s a break for her because she loves to eat vegetarian but is married to a meat and potatoes guy, and it’s a break for me because I get to not cook a big meal. Our standby is baked potatoes with toppings and a big salad but last week my mom was joining us and I had a full box of vegetables from our CSA.

I decided to make this soba noodle dish because, well, it just called to me. I was scrolling through the index of my much beloved Fields of Greens looking for recipes starring bok choy (yes, I got more bok choy) and of course this jumped out at me. Asian noodle dish? Yes please. The three of us loved this and with a little advance prep chopping, it came together incredibly quickly. I added tofu because I almost always do so to Asian food for the added protein.

Buckwheat Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Ginger and Scallions
Adapted from Fields of Greens
Serves 4

1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/2 large or 2 small heads of bok choy
Salt
12 oz. soba noodles
2 tbsp. light vegetable or peanut oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
3 tbsp. mirin (sweet cooking sake)
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. sesame seeds

Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Remove the mushroom stems and cut the caps into 1/2 inch thick slices. For small heads of bok choy, slice the stem lengthwise, leaving leaf and stem together. For a large head, slice the stems diagonally, 3/4 inch thick, and slice the leaves into 2-inch -wide ribbons.

When the water boils, add 1 tsp. salt. Add the noodles and cook as directed on the package, about 8-10 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large saute pan; add the shiitake mushrooms and 1/4 tsp. salt. Sauté over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic, ginger, chiles, and bok choy and sauté for 2 minutes.

Drain the noodles in a colander when they are just tender. Reduce the heat under the sauté pan and add the scallion, sesame oil, mirin, and soy sauce. Quickly add the noodles, taking care not to overcook the bok choy. Remove from the heat, toss the noodles with the vegetables and cilantro, and season with salt to taste. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Category: Asian,Noodles,Tofu,Vegan
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Thai Green Curry

September 10, 2009

I may be the last person in the food blogging world, but I have joined a CSA. It’s something I have been meaning to do for years but didn’t for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is the overwhelming number of choices to make. We are fortunate to have an abundance of farmers’ markets and an abundance of farmers in the Pacific Northwest and choosing one farm from which to get magnificent produce…it was too much for me. Give me a few good choices and I’m very good at making decisions. Give me too many choices and I shut down.

A few weeks ago I decided enough was enough and took the plunge with Nash’s Organic Produce. One of the many reasons I chose them is that you get a box from them from June through December. Spring is usually a cold and rainy season for us, so if you were to visit a farmers’ market in May, what you would find is a lot of lettuce and some apples. Eventually all manner of peas make their way to the stalls and then there are the berries which are truly glorious and start late June. But for me, the really exciting stuff doesn’t start until August and even September. That is why I am thrilled that we have weeks and weeks ahead of us to get incredible quantity, quality, and variety from Nash’s.

Oh, but how to use all that amazing produce? It’s a good exercise for me actually. After years of menu planning for my clients and having my shopping list done every Friday, it’s nice to have some freedom and some creativity with what I cook. It’s also a challenge but a good challenge.

This week, the first thing I saw when I opened the box was bok choy. Asian food was a no brainer. There were also a couple of green peppers in there so I immediately thought of green curry. I turned to my trusted Real Vegetarian Thai cookbook and proceeded to make my own green curry paste and get some tips on how to turn it into dinner. There is a recipe for a green curry dish in there, but it is pretty spartan so I made it my own.

Thai Curry previously: Winter Vegetables with Thai Red Curry

UPDATE: Based on some of the comments, I have a few things to update here. If you are not familiar with the term, a CSA is a share in a farm (it stands for Community Supported Agriculture). You pay them money up front and then you get a box of produce from that farm for a given number of weeks. Every farm handles it differently but most do not allow you to choose what you get. It’s like getting a little surprise Christmas box each week. In the curry recipe, do not hesitate to use “lite” coconut milk. I almost always use the lower fat lower calorie stuff in my cooking.

Thai Green Curry Paste
Adapted from Real Vegetarian Thai
Makes about 1 cup

If you are afraid of spice, do not fear, this paste isn’t really hot. I recommend scraping the seeds and membranes out of the chiles to keep things under control. If you love heat, leave the seeds in all or half the chiles.

5 fresh green serrano chiles or 4 fresh green jalapeño chiles
1 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
3 stalks lemongrass
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems
1/4 cup coarsely chopped shallots
2 tbsp. coarsely chopped garlic
1 tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh ginger
Zest of 1 lime
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black or white pepper

Stem the chiles, scrape out the seeds and membranes, and chop them coarsely. Set aside. In a small skillet over medium heat, dry-fry the coriander seeds until they darken a shade or two, shaking the pan or stirring often, 2-3 minutes. Tip out onto a saucer. Toast the cumin seeds in the same way, until they darken and release their rich aroma, 1-2 minutes. Add to the saucer along with the coriander, then grind the spices to a fine powder in a mini food processor or coffee grinder. Set aside. You can substitute the same amount of ground spices, dry-frying them together for a minute or two and stirring often to prevent burning.

To prepare the lemongrass, trim away and discard any root section below the bulb base, and cut away the top portion, leaving a stalk about 6 inches long, including the base. Remove any dried, wilted, and yellowed leaves. Finely chop the stalk.

Combine the lemongrass, the chopped chiles, and the ground toasted spices with the remaining ingredients in a blender for mini processor and grind them to a fairly smooth purée, stopping often to scrape down the sides and adding a few tablespoons of water as needed to move the blades. Transfer to a jar, seal airtight, and store at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Thai Green Curry with Zucchini and Peppers
Dana Treat Original
Serves 3-4

You can, of course, use jarred curry paste here. If you are vegetarian, just be sure to check the label – sometimes they contain shrimp paste. Thai Kitchen’s brand is decent. Jarred paste tends to be very strong, so use a small amount and add more if you need to.

Peanut oil
1 large shallot, cut into thin rings
1 large green pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
2 medium zucchini, ends trimmed, quartered, and sliced into 1″ pieces
12 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
1 -5oz. can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1 -14 oz. can coconut milk
2-3 tbsp. green curry paste
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
4 stalks of a large bok choy, or 2 baby bok choys, stalks thickly sliced and leaves coarsely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add just enough peanut oil to coat the bottom, then add the shallots. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes, until just beginning to brown. Add the green peppers and cook, stirring often, for 8-10 minutes, or until the peppers are very soft and starting to brown. Add the zucchini, bamboo shoots, and tofu and cook until the zucchini is soft, about another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour about 1/3 of the coconut milk into a small saucepan and heat just until hot. Stir in the curry paste and, using a spoon, mash it into the coconut milk. Once it is combined well, add it to the vegetables and tofu, stir well, then add the rest of the coconut milk to the pot. Add the brown sugar, the bok choy stems, and the soy sauce. Stir everything together, lower the heat, and allow to cook until the flavors are well blended, about 15 minutes. A few minutes before serving, stir in the cilantro and the bok choy leaves. Allow to wilt slightly. Serve over jasmine rice.

Category: Asian,International,Main Course,Tofu
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Vietnamese Tofu Sandwich

July 9, 2009

Whenever I return from vacation, especially if we have been back East visiting the Baltimore clan, I feel the need to eat really healthy and clean. This past trip was a little better than others because we were staying in a house. This meant I was able to cook a few meals and eat some healthy food. One night I made Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas and another I made a Niçoise Salad. By contrast, one night we ate at a crab shack where my choices were limited to the side dishes part of the menu. When I asked the waitress if I could have just a baked potato instead of “cheesy smashed potatoes” she said, “I’m not sure if I have ever seen a whole potato back there.” True story.

I ate a lot of salad but I also ate a lot of french fries off my boys’ plates. I also fully enjoyed happy hour. In other words, by this week I was definitely feeling the need for some tofu. When I’m feeling that need, I turn to Asian food.

tofu-collage1

I made these sandwiches last spring for my clients. I remember having an “oh wow” moment with my first bite. That is always a good sign. I’m happy to report I had an “oh double wow” moment with last night’s first bite. A “why don’t I make this every week?” moment. If you like these flavors, you will love this sandwich.

A few notes on the recipe. By all means, make the pickles in advance. I made them the day before but the recipe states you can keep them for several weeks in the refrigerator. You will want to dry your tofu very well before pan-frying it, otherwise it will splatter something fierce when it hits the oil. I dry each piece individually with a paper towel. The tofu mixture can be made several hours in advance and sit out at room temperature – I think the flavor improves if you do so.

One Year Ago: Raspberry Cream Cookies

Tai’s Vietnamese Tofu Sandwich
Adapted from Everyday Greens
Makes 4 sandwiches

Carrot-Daikon Radish Pickles (recipe follows)
1 package extra firm tofu, 12-16 ounces
Vegetable oil for frying (DT: I used peanut oil)
Salt and pepper
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
2 cups flavorful chopped canned tomatoes, with their juice
2 tbsp. Tamari or other soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 soft French rolls (DT: I used small ciabatta)
12 to 16 cilantro sprigs

Make the Carrot-Daikon Radish pickles.

Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slices, cut each slice into quarters, and each quarter into two triangles. Pour enough oil into a large non-stick skillet to thoroughly coat the bottom and heat just until below the point of smoking, when the first wisp of vapor appears. Fry the tofu until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Drain the tofu on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp. of the tofu frying oil in a skillet, add the shallots, 1/4 tsp. salt, and a pinch of pepper, and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Sir in the garlic and ginger, adding a little water if needed to keep everything from sticking to the apn. Add the tomatoes, tamari, sugar, and the cayenne and cook until the tomatoes thicken, about 15 minutes. Add the tofu and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Cut the rolls in half and scoop out the centers. Spoon the filling into the bottom halves of the rolls, making sure to include all of the sauce. Scatter 1/4 cup of the pickles and a few sprigs of cilantro over the filling. Place the top on each sandwich, press it down to hole the filling in place, and slice in half on the diagonal.

Carrot-Daikon Radish Pickles
Makes 1 quart

2 large carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 large daikon radish, peeled, quartered, and thinly sliced
1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno chili, seeded, and finely chopped
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Place the carrots, daikon, onions, and chili in a bowl. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and pour over the carrot mixture. Set aside for at least an hour to pickle, or transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate.

Category: Asian,My Favorites,Sandwich,Tofu,Vegan
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