The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East: 150 Asian-Inspired Recipes--from Soba Noodles to Summer Rolls (24 page)

Read The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East: 150 Asian-Inspired Recipes--from Soba Noodles to Summer Rolls Online

Authors: Mark Reinfeld,Jennifer Murray

Tags: #Non-Fiction, #Reference

BOOK: The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East: 150 Asian-Inspired Recipes--from Soba Noodles to Summer Rolls
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Variations
• Add roasted tofu or tempeh cubes (see page 227).
• Change up the vegetables by replacing them with bok choy, shallots, zucchini, or cabbage.
• If you wish, you may grill the mushrooms instead of pan-searing them.
RAMEN NOODLE STIR-FRY
Ramen noodle packages are the favorite quick and easy meal of college students everywhere. Just add hot water and stir. It doesn’t get much more simple than that! In our recipe we use authentic ramen noodles, fresh vegetables, and seasonings to take our stir-fry up to the next level. If all you can find is the instant Ramen soup packages, use only the noodles and leave out the flavoring packets when you follow this recipe. Substitute rice noodles if you are unable to find ramen. Serve with Miso Simple Soup (page 136) and Green Tea Chocolate Bon Bons (page 172).
SERVES 4 TO 6
 
4 ounces ramen noodles
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 yellow onion, sliced (1½ cups)
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1½ tablespoons peeled and
minced fresh ginger
5 large shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
(about 1 cup)
8 ounces seitan, sliced
1 small daikon radish, thinly sliced
(about 1 cup)
1 carrot, sliced
2 cups snow peas or sugar snap peas
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 hot chile pepper, seeded and diced, or
¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup sliced green onions
Black and white sesame seeds
1. Bring water to boil in a small pot. Add the ramen noodles and cook until just soft, approximately 5 minutes. Place in a colander, rinse with cold water, and drain well.
2. Meanwhile, place the sesame oil in a large sauté pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and mushrooms, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the seitan, daikon, and carrot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add the ramen noodles, snow peas, and red bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the remaining ingredients except the green onions and sesame seeds and stir well. Garnish with the green onions and sesame seeds before serving.
Variations
• Replace the seitan with cubed and roasted tofu or tempeh (see page 227).
• Replace the daikon with burdock root, parsnip, or carrots.
• Replace the seitan with 3 cups of assorted chopped vegetables such as zucchini, broccoli, and cabbage.
BRAISED TEMPEH WITH GREEN BEANS IN SESAME SAUCE
Get your tongs out for this hardy and satisfying way to enjoy tempeh. If you have a large enough sauté pan, you can prepare your main course and side dish in the same pan. Depending upon the consistency of the tahini used, you may need to adjust the water quantity. Serve with Arame Garlic Rice (page 153), and a mixed organic green salad with Orange Ginger Dressing (page 138).
SERVES 2 TO 4
 
2 tablespoons plus 2 cups water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin
8 ounces tempeh, sliced into quarters
1 pound green beans, ends trimmed off
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons tahini
½ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
Sesame seeds
1. Place 2 tablespoons of the water, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, and the mirin in a shallow dish and whisk well. Add the tempeh and allow it to marinate for 5 minutes, flipping occasionally.
2. Place the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the tempeh and the marinade, and cook for 5 minutes, gently flipping occasionally. Add the green beans and 1 cup of water, and cook until almost all of the water is dissolved and the green beans are a vibrant green, approximately 7 minutes, gently stirring frequently. Lower the heat to medium.
3. Place the remaining 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and the tahini in a small bowl and whisk well. Add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, gently stirring the green beans and flipping the tempeh occasionally (be careful not to break up the tempeh). Add a little more water if necessary and adjust the salt to taste. Garnish with the green onions and sesame seeds before serving.
Variations
• Replace the tempeh with tofu, seitan, or portobello mushrooms.
• Replace the green beans with a vegetable of your choosing such as broccoli, zucchini, or carrots.
• If you don’t have a large sauté pan, you can steam the green beans separately and add them before serving.
Chefs’ Tips and Tricks
Braising is a cooking technique in which you sauté food at a high temperature to brown the outside, then simmer in liquid to cook through. The simmering can take place in a pan in the oven or on the stovetop.
PEACH KANTEN
Welcome to the Jell-O of the East! The sea vegetable agar works like gelatin and is popular throughout Asia. Called
kanten
in Japan, this dish varies in sweetness, depending on the juice and the types of fruit used. With chill time, it takes more than 30 minutes. Be sure to clear space before you begin. You can speed up the time by placing this dish in the freezer.
SERVES 10 TO 12
 
4 cups peach nectar, apple juice, or fruit juice of choice
3 tablespoons agar flakes (see Box below)
2 tablespoons agave nectar, maple syrup,
or organic sugar, or to taste, optional
4 peaches, chopped small (approximately 3½ cups)
1. Bring the juice to a boil in a pot, and then lower the heat to low.
2. Add the agar flakes and cook until they are dissolved, approximately 10 minutes, whisking frequently. Add the agave, if using, and whisk well.
3. Meanwhile, place the chopped peaches in a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. When the agar flakes have dissolved, pour the juice mixture into the casserole dish and place it in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 45 minutes. Cut into squares or fanciful shapes and eat as you would Jell-O.
Chefs’ Tips and Tricks
Agar is a sea vegetable that can be found in stores in flaked or powdered form. It imparts a firming, gelatinous texture to dishes. When making kanten, the more acidic the juice, the more agar is needed for the juice to thicken. In general, 1 teaspoon of powdered agar is required to thicken 2 cups of neutral liquid. Six times the amount of flakes are necessary when using an acidic juice (2 tablespoons in this case). Agar is sometimes found in bar form as well. The bar will need to be broken into pieces, boiled with 3 cups of liquid, and simmered for about 15 minutes. Definitely purchase the powder or flakes if you have the option.
MOCHI TREATS
Mochi is a chewy Japanese rice cake made from sticky rice. It is traditionally served as part of the New Year celebration and enjoyed year round in various forms. This dish is called
daifuku
in Japanese. The mochi is stuffed with a sweet bean paste, called
anko,
made from azuki beans and is extremely popular in Japan.
MAKES 10 MOCHI TREATS
 
ANKO FILLING
¾ cup cooked azuki beans, drained, rinsed very well, and drained again
¼ cup agave nectar, organic sugar, or your favorite sweetener, to taste
 
Approximately ¼ cup anko filling
1¼ cups water
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons organic sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1½ cups mochi flour (mochiko)
Mochi flour for dusting
1. Prepare the anko filling by combining the ingredients in a food processor and processing until smooth. Set aside in a small bowl. There will be leftover paste, which you can store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
2. Prepare the mochi cake by placing the water, sugar, and salt in a pot over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the mochi flour and stir constantly until all of the liquid is absorbed. Keep stirring for a few minutes more, kneading the dough. A wooden spoon works great for this. (Avoid using a whisk as you will be confronted with the arduous task of removing the sticky dough from the center of the whisk—we are speaking from experience!)
3. Transfer the dough to a clean cutting board dusted with mochi flour. Allow it to cool for 3 to 5 minutes. Place a small amount of mochi flour on a plate. Roll the dough out on the cutting board into a log approximately 2 inches in diameter. Slice the log into ten uniform pieces. Flatten each of the pieces into a small circle, add 1 teaspoon of the anko filling, fold in the sides, and roll into a ball. Dust with mochi flour before serving.
Variations
• For an American version, replace the anko paste with chocolate chips! Add a few chips to each mochi treat. Dust with cocoa powder.
• Replace the anko paste with small pieces of dried fruit, such as dates, apricots, or papaya.
GREEN TEA CHOCOLATE BON BONS WITH CRYSTALLIZED GINGER
These treats are the vegan bomb. Matcha is powdered green tea; it imparts a somewhat smoky flavor to the chocolate. The green tea is packed with antioxidants and gives an extra boost to the chocolate reverie.
MAKES 20 SMALL BON BONS
 
2 cups vegan chocolate chips
2 teaspoons matcha powder
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons agave nectar, maple syrup,
or sweetener of choice, or to taste
½ cup tahini
¼ cup chopped crystallized ginger
Sesame seeds (optional)
1. Melt the chocolate chips by heating them in a double boiler over medium heat until the consistency is smooth, lump-free, and creamy, stirring only once or twice. (If you don’t have a double boiler, you can place a glass or steel bowl on top of a pot with 1 to 2 inches of boiling water in it.)
2. Place the matcha powder and water in a small bowl and stir well until all of the powder is absorbed. When the chocolate is melted, transfer it to a large bowl with the remaining ingredients, including the matcha and water, and stir well.
3. Using a small scoop or a rounded tablespoon, form small balls or mini cookie shapes. Place on a parchment paper-lined or lightly-oiled baking sheet and top with sesame seeds, if using. Refrigerate until firm (approximately 15 minutes) or until you can’t restrain yourself, whichever comes first.
Variations
• Replace the matcha powder and water with 2 bags of green tea steeped in 3 tablespoons of hot water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tea bags to get maximum flavor.
• Replace the tahini with almond or peanut butter.
• Replace the crystallized ginger with ¼ cup toasted coconut flakes.
• Add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom.
Note: This dish will come out sweeter if you use the more common semisweet chocolate chips, which contain cane sugar. Sunspire sells a variety that we prefer, which is grain-sweetened, but either one will work.
PICKLED GINGER
Most Japanese restaurants serve pickled ginger that is alarmingly pink. As you’ll notice when you make this mouth-watering version, a pink color is the result of the salt-coated ginger interacting with the vinegar. But the color is slight, not neon, and the end result is far more akin to the natural color of ginger than most packaged varieties. Adding a few drops of beet juice can also give you the color if you so desire. Using a mandoline will yield the thinnest slices of ginger.
MAKES 2 CUPS
 
1 pound fresh young ginger, very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 cups rice vinegar
1 cup agave nectar
1. In a medium bowl, combine the sliced ginger with the sea salt and let it sit on the counter for 1 hour.
2. Boil the vinegar and agave nectar together over medium heat. Stir in the ginger mixture and turn off the flame. Transfer to a sterilized jar and allow the mixture to cool. Refrigerate for at least one week for optimal flavor.

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