Chow Vegan

For breakfast today, I made a vegan version of a sunny side up “egg”. I stumbled upon this method of cooking tofu quite by accident. Too lazy to properly steam silken tofu for dinner one night, I instead just microwaved it on top of rice. It came out looking kinda like fried egg whites to me, but without all the oil.

Pondering over what to use for the yolk, I decided to go with the Easy Breezy Cheezy Sauce from Appetite for Reduction. It’s a great combination – the neutral tofu “white” with the flavorful cheezy sauce “yolk”. And a little bit of black salt (kala namak) sprinkled on top for a bit of eggy taste.

For once, laziness pays off.

Sunny Side Up Tofu “Egg”
More of a method, rather than a recipe

Use only fresh silken tofu, I get the tofu custard from Hodo Soy Beanery, available at various San Francisco Bay Area farmers markets. I wouldn’t use the vacuum-sealed type of silken tofu for this, it’s fine for other recipes. But in this recipe, the tofu has to be good enough for me to eat plain as is.

Using a large shallow serving spoon, kinda scoop/skim the tofu as one layer onto a plate. Place in the microwave, and reheat on the plate setting. (This works in my microwave, you may have to try a different setting or time on yours. Basically, it’s done when heated through and you see the air pockets.)

Transfer to a serving plate, it will be very delicate. It’s easiest to just slide it off onto the other plate. Use a paper towel to absorb any extra liquid.

Carefully place a dollop of Easy Breezy Cheezy Sauce on top of the tofu, it’ll slowly spread out into a circle shape with a little encouragement from the spoon. Sprinkle black salt (kala namak) all over to taste.

Serve with skillet home fries, a slice of bread with extra cheezy sauce for dipping, and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Disclosure: This post also contains an Amazon link, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on the link and make a purchase of anything.

Guess what I saw at Costco the other day? Bolani!

You’ve probably seen them at any number of SF Bay Area farmers markets, they’re those baked stuffed flatbreads by East and West Gourmet Afghan Food. They also make the very yummy sauces to go with the flatbreads. I’ve written before about their spinach bolani in detail here.

They were doing a “roadshow” at Costco – giving out samples like there’s no tomorrow. Two packs of bolani for $8.99, the sauces come in 3-pack combos for $11.49 (At Whole Foods, the bolani is $5.79 for one pack and the sauce is $4.99 each). Everything is vegan except for the Garlic Mint Cheese, make sure you look at which combo pack has what.

They’re going to be doing the roadshow thing at various Costco locations in California through the end of the month, but I couldn’t find a schedule of where they’re going to be next. I’m hoping they’ll become a regular Costco item.

Strolling down the aisle towards checkout, there was another vegan food roadshow. What are the chances of that happening? This time it’s earnest eats with their baked whole food bars. I have to admit I’ve never heard of them before trying a sample.

They’re good! Whole foods, minimally processed, no preservatives or artificial ingredients and baked with almond butter – the taste and smell were great.

They were offering three flavors at the roadshow – almond trail mix (my favorite), apple ginger, and cran lemon zest. $10.89 for a box of twelve, they can mix and match the flavors for you. They’ll be a regular item at Costco stores in SF Bay Area and in the LA area starting in June.

A new product that I’ve been experimenting with lately is ecoVegan Orientals’ Joy. Although I am a little puzzled on the name, it’s not very descriptive and the small window to peek inside at its contents provides little clue. I suppose it’s par for the course as they’re part of the same organization as the Loving Hut chain of restaurants.

On first impression, Orientals’ Joy reminds me of a veggie version of pork, the texture and shape is similar. Which is nice, since there’s plenty of alternatives for veggie beef, chicken and seafood. But not much for a faux pork other than veggie ham or bacon.

It’s main ingredients are non-GMO soy protein and fiber, wheat protein and seasonings. The seasonings are light so it’s good plain or tossed with something else. I went with a stir-fry but I bet it’ll be good prepared as an American dish too, something like veggie pork chops and applesauce.

Veggie “Pork” with Vegetables
Serves 2-4

1 package ecoVegan Orientals’ Joy
6 ounces yu choy sum, about 1/2 a bunch
2 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, smashed and roughly chopped
1/2 inch fresh ginger root, smashed and roughly chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine

Wash the yu choy sum in several changes of water, trimming off any old leaves, tough stems and the bottom 1/4 – 1/2″ from each stalk. Cut the stems into 3″ pieces, halving the bigger stalks lengthwise.

Slice the veggie meat thinly. Heat a skillet to hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and pan fry the veggie meat over medium heat for a few minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Heat a wok to hot. Add the rest of the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the garlic and ginger, stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the mushrooms and greens, and stir until wilted, bringing up the greens at the bottom to the top. Add the soy sauce and rice wine, then the veggie meat and stir to combine. Serve with rice or noodles.

With the warmer weather ever so slowly edging in, it’s time to break out the blender for a refreshing smoothie. I like to drink smoothies as a snack or as part of a meal but not as a replacement for a meal. I prefer my smoothies to be healthy but light in the calories department.

So I’ve revised my previous smoothie recipe. Let’s look at the nutritional information (I used calorie count for the recipe analysis):

New Recipe

Old Recipe

All of the refreshing taste and flavor for half of the calories, not that the old recipe was bad, but it totally did not need the yogurt. The serving size is also smaller without the yogurt but I don’t miss the larger size. It’s still enough for a nice cool down.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Makes about 11 ounces

1 ripe banana, peeled, sliced and frozen
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup unsweetened, low-fat vanilla almond milk

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately.

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