Pepper Broccoli Noodles with Vegetarian Peking Duck
Posted on October 20, 2011 | 4 Comments
There are few drawbacks to living in scenic Bozeman, Montana, but one I’ve run into is lack of a dedicated Asian grocery. The international options found in our local grocery stores are getting better all the time, which is great, yet I still find myself venturing to AsianFoodGrocer.com a few times a year to order some ingredients to help add depth to my standard dishes.
Our local World Market store carries chuka soba noodles, but vegan Peking duck (which I really enjoy) and vegan oyster sauce (which adds another level of flavor to stir fried dishes) are not readily available around these parts.
Pepper Broccoli Noodles with Vegetarian Peking Duck
Historically, I’ve made stir fried dishes using a scant amount of oil, however after numerous trials I’ve found that increasing the oil to 4-5 tablespoons adds wonderful body and flavor.
Ingredients
1 6-ounce package chuka soba noodles
1 can vegetarian Peking duck
16 ounces frozen broccoli, thawed
1/2 white onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
4-5 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
freshly cracked black pepper
Method
Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions. Immediately after straining the liquid, rinse noodles well in cold water to halt cooking, strain again and set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions to skillet and cook until slightly softened but not browned, about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. After softened, remove from pan into a separate dish.
Still over medium heat, add broccoli and vegetarian Peking duck to the skillet and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. After a few minutes, add the garlic, ginger, and onions and stir-fry another minute. Make a well in the center of the skillet, add the noodles, and pour half the soy sauce and 1-2 tablespoons oil over the noodles. As the noodles cook, add vegan oyster sauce and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper to the vegetables on the periphery of the pan. Allow the noodles to fry for a minute or so, and then gently stir them, add the rest of the soy sauce and optionally an additional 1-2 tablespoons oil to the noodles in the center and allow them to fry for another minute or so. Now, gently mix all ingredients and keep warm until you’re ready to serve.
Poutine
Posted on October 17, 2011 | 2 Comments
Poutine is traditional Québécois fare. Leave it to the citizens of Québec to come up with a single word that means French fries smothered in cheese and gravy. I love it.
Poutine
After crafting up many variations, I’ve found that I most enjoy Follow Your Heart brand mozzarella cheese for this dish and Frontier brand organic vegetarian [vegan] beef flavored gravy mix from my local store’s bulk section. In fact, it’s the only thing I currently purchase FYH cheese for. While I’m at it, I most often use Alexia’s organic Oven Crinkles Salt & Pepper for the French fries. This combination works great – every time!
Ingredients (2 meal-sized servings)
16 ounces frozen French fries
2 cups brown gravy
6 ounces vegan mozzarella block cheese, cut in 1/4-inch cubes
Method
Preheat oven to prepare French fries. Resume the rest of the recipe, however when the oven is preheated, add the fries and cook according to the package instructions.
Prepare a double boiler (I use a steel mixing bowl sitting on top of a saucepan that is partially filled with water). Add half the cubed cheese to the double boiler, and stir occasionally to melt (this may take about 10-15 minutes).
After starting the cheese, begin preparation of the gravy in a small saucepan.
When the first half of the cheese is nearly melted, add the remaining half of cubed cheese pieces and continue to cook to heat the cheese. The Follow Your Heart brand cheese takes a while to melt, and the result should be some melted cheese and some cheese “curds.”
Assemble poutine by placing fries in serving bowls. Then pour on the cheese, and add hot gravy to each dish. Serve immediately, piping hot.
Italian Tempeh and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Zucchini
Posted on October 16, 2011 | 1 Comment
Stuffing vegetables is one of those culinary treats that we just don’t enjoy frequently enough. Too often we’re stuffing bread to make calzones, stuffing pasta to make stuffed shells or cannelloni, or stuffing crepes to make… well, crepes. While those are all delicious meals, I feel like stuffed zucchinis really hold their own as an excellent savory main course.
Italian Tempeh and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Zucchini
This is also one of those go-to meals to make if you have leftover sun-dried tomatoes in your fridge.
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 medium zucchinis
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed), diced
1 tablespoon grapeseed or canola oil
1 tablespoon Braggs liquid aminos, soy sauce, or tamari
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
a pinch of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon Browning & Seasoning Sauce (optional)
4 ounces tempeh, crumbled or small diced
Method
Place dry sun-dried tomatoes in hot water to reconstitute. After 15 minutes, strain and they will be ready to use.
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Slice zucchinis in half, lengthwise and scrape out the centers. Set the scraped out zucchini guts aside and save for the stuffing mixture (for that double zucchini goodness).
Oil the zucchini with extra-virgin olive oil (a Misto oil sprayer is great here), and add a bit of salt and freshly cracked black pepper to the hollowed area. Lay cut side down in a pan and cook 10 minutes at 400° F.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add grapeseed oil, Braggs liquid aminos, sage, fennel, crushed red pepper, water, Browning & Seasoning Sauce (optional), and tempeh. Stir and continue to cook about 10-15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed and tempeh just starts to brown.
After the liquid is fully absorbed into the tempeh, add the sun-dried tomatoes and zucchini guts to the tempeh in the saucepan (still over medium/medium-low heat).
After the zucchinis have finished cooking for 10 minutes, remove them from the oven. When the stuffing is ready, stuff the zucchinis with the tempeh and sun-dried tomato mixture and bake upright for 5 minutes. Serve with rice.
Tags: courgette > Italian > squash > stuffed > tempeh > zucchini
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