Tofu Knots with Mushrooms

This is another of my meatless vegetarian meal.  I loved these cute baby dried flower mushrooms that I bought in Malaysia.  Since it's so small, I could just serve it whole.  It is great for presentation too!  I have seen this baby mushrooms here too and it is not cheap.  Wish it is cheaper though!  Anyway, the tofu knots and mushrooms in this dish will soak up all the flavor of the stock and you can serve this with rice or porridge.

Stir-Fried King Oyster Mushroom

This recipe was adapted from Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen, a cookbook.  In this cookbook, it has a recipe called sauteed oyster mushroom with scallops.  I didn't have oyster mushroom nor scallops, but I have a packet of king oyster mushroom.  I was interested in trying out the sauce from that recipe.  It has a combination of soy sauce and lemon juice.  Interesting sauce, sourish because of the lemon juice.

Veggies with Wood Ear Fungus

Wood ear fungus, Clouds Ear, Tree Ear or Black fungus are the same thing.  It is used widely in Chinese cuisine and recently had been known to provide lots of health benefits.  It is high in vitamins and minerals, improve blood circulation, lower cholesterol, anti-viral, etc.  Its texture is crunchy even after stir-frying and take the flavor of the sauce, as it is tasteless by itself.  Usually sold in dried form in the Asian supermarket.  Again, very affordable and I would suggest to eat this often, at least once a week would be nice. I even made this into a very healthy veggie dish with color super food from celery, carrot, garlic and red bell pepper.
 

King Oyster Mushroom with Tofu

King Oyster Mushroom (杏鮑菇) is antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-viral, antioxidant and has positive effects on the immune system.  You can buy it at the Asian and Korean supermarkets here in the United States.  All kinds of mushroom are good for us so I would suggest you to add a variety of mushrooms into your diet.  Just read that Enoki mushroom has a very high anti-cancer property too. 

Tofu is high in protein, has selenium, omega-3 fats, iron, calcium, etc and low in calories.  A great substitution for meat in those meatless days.  I always strike for a balance meal and diet, so serve this with a plate of green vegetable and a little brown rice and there you have it.

Kimchi Pancakes

Kimchi pancakes have been on my to-do list for quite some times.  Glad to say I finally made it happen.  I made it vegetarian and vegan without adding any meat and egg.  I also added the spicy radish that I made earlier for extra kick.  I didn't add any seasonings in these pancakes as the kimchi and spicy radish were well seasoned.  Furthermore, I served this kimchi pancakes with ginger scallion soy sauce.  Hence, I didn't want to make it too salty.

Makes a great side dish or appetizer in any meal.

By the way, Evy made the pretty flower origami!  :-)

Spicy Tempeh

My version of spicy tempeh.  I used my homemade sambal tumis, if you don't have one, a great substitute would be the shrimp paste in soy bean oil and a little fish sauce.  When I made my sambal tumis, I made a bunch and freeze them in individual small size containers.  So, each time I only took out one container that usually lasted for a week or two, either in cooking or as a condiment.  This one definitely goes well with rice,  but might be too spicy for children.  My Edda loved the none-spicy version but won't touch this spicy one.  My hubby and elder daughter are not a fan of tempeh, but they would still eat it if I cook it. 

Picture of tempeh

Seasoned Tempeh

Tempeh has been a staple in Indonesian diet for over 2000 years.  After knowing about the benefits of tempeh (fermented whole soy beans) for a year or two, I finally introduced it to my girls.  I heard about it but never tried it until last year my friend cooked it and let us tried it.  She cooked it in sambal so my girls didn't try it but my hubby and I did.  My hubby didn't really like the nutty taste but I thought it was not too bad.

I prefer to slice mine thinly so that it would be well seasoned.  I made this non-spicy version for my girls using half of the tempeh shown below and the other half I made it with my sambal tumis.  My Edda loved this non-spicy tempeh a lot and even requested to keep some for the lunch box the next day.  The tempeh took the flavor of the marinade and actually quite delicious.  I can see this being sandwich in bread and make a good burger.

Picture of tempeh

Don't freak out if you see black spots on your tempeh.  It is still edible, just that it is more ripen and age more than the white one.  I read that the flavor might be more intense as well.  But if you see color other than black and white, discard or refund it.  Another indicator that it is spoiled is that it becomes slimy and smell bad.

Cold Mixed Watermelon Rind (凉拌西瓜皮)

I saw this recipe while watching a healthy eating Taiwanese cooking show and it intriguing me.  Thus far, I only used the watermelon rind to make cooling soup and have yet to try anything else with it.  So, of course this fast and easy cold salad interested me.  They said this is good as a side for drinking too.  I shared my measurement with you as that show didn't provide the measurement (You will have to buy their cookbook to know it).  It tasted surprisingly refreshing and delicious and my friends also gave it a thumb up.  I will share with you what I did with this salad as well (like as seen on that TV show) because I just wanted to know how it would taste like.  Stay tuned for this surprising upcoming dish!

When cutting the watermelon to eat during Summer, save some of the flesh between the rind and red flesh of the watermelon for this cold mixed salad.  Don't cut it too close to the skin as it would be hard.  I have a picture to show you how I cut it in the recipe page.  I also freeze some to make soup (recipe already posted in my blog under Soup).  It can freeze for months.  But for this cold mixed salad I won't recommend using the freeze one.  It is best when freshly sliced.

Stir-Fried Chili Sweet Potatoes

While shopping at my Asian market recently, I spotted a white flesh sweet potatoes.  It interested me because frankly I don't think I have eaten this before.  So, I bought 4 to try.  I used one to cook with my brown rice but I didn't really like it as it was not as sweet as the orange and purple ones.  So, I had to find another way of cooking it.  Since it's white, it resembled potato a lot, so I julienned it thinly and cooked it like people would do with potatoes.

Not bad I would say but a bit spicy with the dried chili pepper as I was suffering from sore throat so the chili pepper was a bad idea.  If not, it would be good with rice.  It's a bit crunchy.

White flesh sweet potatoes

Fast Kimchi

I admitted lots of time that I don't fancy kimchi.  I guess the kimchi that I tasted before were aged kimchi and too sourish or pungent for me.  However recently I tried a kimchi that was not too sourish and it was okay for me, in fact I quite liked it.  I have been reading a lot about the benefits of eating kimchi and since finding that there was a kimchi that I liked, I really wanted to make it myself because I could adjust the seasonings.

Kimchi is fermented vegetable that said to promote intestinal health by feeding the friendly bacterias that live in your intestines.  It nourishes them so that they can out number the bad bacteria that find their way into the gut.  Thus promotes gut health and increase your overall immune system.  It is also anti-oxidant and rich in Vitamin C and carotene.  You can do a search on the Internet to read more about the benefits of eating kimchi if you are interested in learning more.

This is a fast kimchi because I don't fancy aged kimchi.  I added sugar because I liked it sweet.  I also don't want to make too much because I am the only one that consume this in my household and also I don't like to keep it for too long in the refrigerator, even though kimchi should be able to keep for a very long time.  It turned out well for me and I couldn't resist to eat a little bit during lunch and dinner times.  I guess it won't last long in my fridge.

Meatless Meal

Another picture of my meatless meal.  I have stir-fried wood ear fungus/ black fungus, stir-fry white sweet potatoes with dried chili peppers and stir-fry baby bok choy.  Recipes of each dish will be coming up in an individual post later.

If you have any meatless meal picture, please do share it in my Facebook page as I would love to see yours as well. :) 

Stir Fried Pea Sprouts

I loved pea sprouts!!  This veggie is not cheap if we were to order it in a Chinese restaurant.  It costs about $12 per plate.  Other veggie is about $8.  It is more expensive then other vegetable.  I paid $3 to $4 for a box and it served one plate like the above picture.  So, instead of ordering this veggie in the restaurant, I usually cook it at home for less than $5.

I usually cut the sprouts in half with a scissor as I found it to be easier to cook and eat.  It also need quite a bit of oil to stir-fry this veggie, or else it will leave you with the unpleasant raw taste.  If you master cooking this veggie at home, it can save you some money.  :-P

Stir-Fried Tofu with Chayote

I fell in love with chayote once I tried it.  So, I have been buying it quite frequently because chayote is a nutritious veggie.  I mentioned about the nutrition in my previous or first post about chayote, please refer back to my old post (under vegetable) to read about it if you are interested.

The above dish is easy and super delicious.  I just substituted the chicken breast with tofu for my meatless meal.  All you need for this dish is a bottle of Lee Kum Kee's Chu Hou Sauce.  I just ran out of this sauce and I have been to two Asian supermarkets and couldn't find it.  *cry*  I guess I had to make another trip to a different Asian supermarket up in Denver to search for it.  I dislike how the Asian market here is not quick in restocking their products or sometimes they just stop ordering it.  *sigh*

Seaweed Salad (Miyeok Muchim)

I took out too much of the seaweed for my seaweed gochujang soup, so the best way to use up all the seaweed is to make it into salad.  I had a similar seaweed salad with cucumber and thought it was really refreshing.  My girls loved seaweed so they helped me finished this except the onion, the raw onion was just too pungent for them.  Not only for them but for me as well but since I was raised not to waste food, I had to finish all the onion.  You can omit the onion if you want.  I did another version here which uses sesame paste and sesame oil which we liked better.

Sweet Potatoes Brown Rice (红薯糙米饭)

In my list of 10 most healthy food, brown rice is number 1 and sweet potato is number 3, behind onion.  Sweet potato is also number 1 in detox, or getting rid of "poison in your body" in the Chinese saying.  This is another of my easy way to enjoy the sweet potato.  I just put it in my rice cooker and cook it with my brown rice.  For 2 cups of brown rice, I added 1 organic sweet potato, cubed and cook it like usual.  When it's done, I left it for 10-15 minutes before lightly stir it.  Be careful not to break the sweet potato as it would be soft.  It's okay if you mash some of it as well.   Sweet potato regardless of color is one of the super-food and I will make sure to eat it often.

Easy Stir-Fried Carrots

Carrot is better if stir-fried it with a little oil.  It is also better if you don't peel it with a peeler but scrape it with the back of your knife and then rinse it.  Just like gobo/burdock root (outer layer is packed with nutrient too).  Since I started to plan meatless meals for my family twice a week, I need to come out with more vegetarian dishes.  Carrot has always been a side ingredient in my Chinese cooking but I wanted to make it a main ingredient so I created this easy dish.  It's really easy and only used garlic and carrot, not to say simple to make too.

Spicy Cucumber Salad (Oye Moochim)

While I was reading the Dok Suni cookbook, I saw a picture of this cucumber salad placed in a table setting with some BBQ raw meat and a few banchan and had a urge to try it.  The recipe was fairly easy and I had a English cucumber at home, so I made it.

I think I didn't do a good job in straining the salted cucumber as my middle was not as crispy.  I served it with my Korean BBQ meal.  I probably won't make this again as I couldn't mix this in my bibimbap and can only serve it as a side.

Easy Crimini Mushroom in Asian Sauce

Mushrooms have been in the spot light especially in health books, magazines and health food store.  It is a fungus that packed with nutrient powerhouses.  It is an excellent source of selenium, a potent antioxidant that fight off damaging free radicals, and thus anticancer.  The dried Shiitake mushroom is said to reduce high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and protection against breast cancer.

You can easily find the dried Shiitake mushroom at any Asian supermarket.  It is cheaper at Asian market since shiitake mushrooms has been a staple in our Asian cuisines.  Since mushroom is one of the health-boosting and anti-inflammation foods, I would make sure I cook it at least once a week.  The above is fresh crimini mushroom that I bought at Sunflower Market.  I read that when crimini mushroom matures, it becomes portobello mushroom.  Crimini mushroom is sometimes called baby portobello.  I love the texture of this mushroom, it's firmer than the white button mushroom.  I would eat a wide range of different mushrooms and not limiting myself to one or two to fully benefit from it.

Pickled Radish, Cucumber and Carrot

This is an Asian pickled.  This pickle is pretty common in Asian cuisine.  Most countries have their own version but cooking method is similar, 1:1 ratio of white vinegar:sugar.  It can be served as a Korean banchan too.  I tried to use less sugar and the result was less satisfactory as it leans toward sourish.

This is great as an appetizer as the vinegar really increases your appetite.  Not to say vinegar is good for us too.  It said to control high blood pressure, improving digestive system, reduce urinary tract infections and diseases, strengthening bone, etc.  You can do a search on the Web to read more benefits of vinegar.  With this pickle, I finally found a delicious way to have a little vinegar everyday.  Not to say cucumber, radish and carrot are good for us too.  But got to warm you though, this has quite a lot of sugar in it, so if you are watching your sugar intake, be aware.  Also, eat in moderation, a little bit in a day, not the whole thing in a day no matter how tempting it is.

Korean Seasoned Spinach (Shigumchi Namul)

 

My version of Korean seasoned spinach.  A common banchan served with Korean meal or in restaurants.  I wanted to keep the original color yet well seasoned, no soy sauce in this.  Next time I would prepare two bunches of spinach so that I would have some leftover for vegetarian bibimbap the next day.  One bunch doesn't make a lot and if you want some leftover, make more.

I feel healthy by eating Korean vegetarian banchan, either the pickled one or seasoned one.  Does anyone knows how long I can keep this seasoned spinach in the refrigerator?