Kung Pao Tofu

I used this recipe.

Cauliflower “Cheese”

I really like how Romanesco cauliflower looks. Just look at the ombre and fractals! Unfortunately it tastes like cauliflower, which I don’t care for, so I’m always looking at ways to perk it up.

I decided to make cauliflower cheese, but using a nut-free cheese substitute. Unfortunately, it was horrible, with a strong taste of raw tofu. Unless you are keen on raw tofu – personally, I only like it fried or with lots of seasoning – I would skip this recipe.

Bonus Post: Kayseri Mantı

I don’t think this really qualifies as cooking. I found that my local Turkish shop carried dried Kayseri mantı filled with tofu, so naturally I had to try it. I served it with haydari, paprika powder and paprika paste.

Of course it was not as delicious as fresh mantı, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well the non-traditional filling worked.

Hiyashi Chuka

I tried this dish of cold ramen noodles using vegetable ingredients: vegetable stock in place of chicken stock, and fried tofu in place of chicken. I also used light miso instead of a red because that is what I had. I left off the tomato and included courgette/zucchini, sweet pepper, and rehydrated shiitake mushrooms. Finally, I didn’t use ramen noodles at all but udon.

The recipe didn’t provide instructions for cooking vegetables, so I par-boiled the carrot and courgette, then pan-fried them, along with the mushrooms and sweet pepper, with ginger. I deglazed the pan with sake. Both the sauce and the vegetables had a lot of flavour.

Pad Kee Mao

This recipe for drunken noodles (which contain no alcohol) is from Thailand. It was good, but a bit too oily for me.

I have never been fond of baby corn, so I chose to replace it with ordinary corn.

 

Thai Sweet and Sour Tofu

I used this recipe. I decided to replace the soft tofu with fried tofu as I dislike the texture of soft tofu. I used tomato paste in place of ketchup.

Vegan Phở

This isn’t completely authentic but the broth has a good taste and it is just packed with vegetables. I added Thai basil and lime to garnish, which the recipe didn’t call for. I only had 10 star anise on hand so that is what I used. For mushrooms I used chestnut and dried shiitake; I let the shiitake simmer the entire 40 minutes. The mixed root vegetables in my case consisted of just one carrot, and a purple one at that, hence the lovely hue of my broth. I left out the black pepper. For the green leaves I used chard/mangold which I cooked with the rice noodles, and cress.

Vegan Bánh Mì

It’s not authentic Vietnamese cuisine, but this sandwich (recipe) is still nice. Since I wasn’t being authentic anyway, I used Turkish bread instead of a baguette, and seasoned tofu in place of tempeh. I used purple carrot, sweet pepper and cucumber for the vegetables, and chilli oil instead of chilli sauce.

Asian Greens Soup with Squash, Tofu, and Enoki Mushrooms

I used this recipe, with some modifications. First, I fried the garlic instead of roasting it, in the same oil I later used for the tofu. Second, I used bok choy as the greens. Third, I used whole chillis which I later removed. Finally, I was unable to find mushroom broth, so I made my own. I took some black fungus and chestnut mushrooms and simmered them with black pepper, garlic, savory and a little tarragon. After some time I strained the broth and then continued with the recipe.

Kimchi Gyoza

I decided to make kimchi gyoza with some friends. I had a jar of kimchi and dumpling wrappers, but no bean sprouts. So I improvised, using green onion from the garden, frozen fried tofu, and a scrambled egg.

We ate it with dipping sauce of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce.