Chow Vegan

I had another can of jackfruit in the cupboard just begging to be made into something. Over the weekend, I decided to give Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos from The Urban Housewife a try.

I made a few minor changes to the recipe. I was out of the chile powder so I just left that out.

I don’t have a crock pot or slow cooker, so I cooked the jackfruit in my rice cooker on the slow setting, just like I did for the BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich. As I don’t feel comfortable just leaving the rice cooker unattended, I set it up on a morning when I knew I would be in all day.

I added all of the ingredients and set the cooker for 4 hours. I did have to add a bit of water a couple of times, since it looked like it was starting to get too dry and sticking to the bottom. But other than that, it came out great. It’s an easy recipe and the results are flavorful and a bit on the spicy side.

It’s inevitable that anything that’s good but fried, I will somehow try to bake it. Yeah, it’s healthier but it’s also because I’m kinda lazy and don’t want to clean up a big greasy mess (the real reason).

When I first made Homestyle Vegan Cajun Chicken Fingers, I pretty much followed The Vegan Ronin recipe posted here with a few minor changes. Today, I made a “shake and bake” version. It’s just as tasty, doesn’t have as much of a coating but still came out crispy - the thinner pieces did, the thicker knot part was nice and chewy. I like both versions. Of course, the lazy part of me likes the baked version better.

Baked Vegan Cajun Chicken Fingers
Serves 2 - 4 as part of a meal

1 package fresh soy knots
3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon onion granulates

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse off the soy knots and drain. In a bag, combine the rest of the ingredients. Add the soy knots and shake to coat well, place on an oiled baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over and bake another 12 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Chicken-fried steak and I go way back. I have fond memories of making and eating them at my grandparents’ place as a youngster. Not so much the eating of the meat part, but the whole experience of visiting the kitchen of my grandparents’ Chinese and American food cafe.

While I haven’t had chicken-fried steak for many, many years now, I thought I could apply the same cooking method to tofu. Chicken-fried doesn’t actually have chicken in it; it’s a cutlet, battered and fried in a skillet like fried chicken, hence the name. Except I’m baking mine for a healthier version, it still came out very tasty and nostalgic.

Chicken-Fried Tofu
Makes 8 pieces

1 pound fresh firm tofu
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Old Bay seasoning
Salt

Cut the tofu into 1/4″ slices and wrap in paper towels. Place a weight on top for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a shallow bowl, combine the nutritional yeast and breadcrumbs and mix well. Dip the tofu slices in the soy sauce and place in the breadcrumbs mixture, coat well on both sides. Place coated pieces on a oiled baking pan.

Season to taste with Old Bay and salt. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over, season and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately with creamy gravy on the side.

Creamy Gravy
Makes 1 cup

1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup soy milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Poultry seasonings (a mix of sage, oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme and salt) to taste

In a saucepan, melt the butter then add the flour. Whisk the flour and butter together to form a roux. Add the soy milk gradually, whisking constantly until smooth and lump free. Lower the heat and continue stirring until the gravy reaches desired thickness. If necessary, thin with a bit more soy milk. Add the salt and pepper and poultry seasonings to taste. Stir to combine and serve.

Over the long Memorial Day weekend, I decided to give BBQ pulled pork style jackfruit a whirl. I’ve been reading about it lately and it sounds so weird yet undeniably interesting at the same time.

BBQ is something I haven’t had in a long, long time. Grilling is quick, high heat over the grill. BBQ is low and slow - veggies don’t usually need to be cooked this way. So I was looking forward to enjoying a little BBQ.

The smell was incredible and the color is a nice tantalizing brown. But when I had a taste bite, I did not care for it at all. It tasted like how it looked when it first came out of the can, kinda of a vinegar taste. Or maybe it was the BBQ sauce I was using. Or maybe it was because I used my rice cooker on the slow cook setting. Needless to say, I was very disappointed and set it aside.

At the end of the day when I was debating what to do with it, I gave it one more try and nibbled a tiny bit. What!!? It tasted great! I guess the BBQ sauce and/or jackfruit just needed more time for the flavor to develop. So happy now.

Jackfruit is a giant, prickly oval fruit grown in India, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. It’s the largest tree borne fruit in the world. Ripe jackfruit is sweet and eaten as a dessert. The canned young green jackfruit in brine is unripe. It’s prepared as a vegetable and is also known as “vegetable meat”. Both versions can be found at the Asian grocery store.

BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich
Serves 2

1 20 ounce can young green jackfruit in brine
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
1/2 cup + extra BBQ sauce, bottled or homemade
Hamburger buns

Drain and wash the jackfruit in several changes of water. After washing, squeeze out as much water as you can.

In a pan, heat the oil and sauté the garlic. Add the jackfruit and salt to taste, and cook for a 3-4 minutes over medium heat.

Transfer the jackfruit to a slow cooker, add the BBQ sauce and mix well. Set the cooker for 1 hour, occasionally stirring and adding more sauce or water as needed. The jackfruit should be fork tender and come apart easily.

Take the jackfruit out of the cooker and shred with a fork. Let the jackfruit sit for several hours or overnight to further develop the flavor or if it taste good to you right out of the pot, dig in. Serve on toasted buns with your choice of more BBQ sauce, mayo, coleslaw or pickles.

I never realize how simple it is to make my own savory baked tofu or maybe it’s because I’m just plain lazy. No, I’m just very busy (that sounds much better). Anyways, it’s not that hard at all.

Unlike Crispy Baked Tofu, there’s no breading involved. Instead tofu is baked in a delicious Chinese 5-spice marinade - great right out of the oven or store in the fridge for use later in stir-fries, spring rolls, salads or even jook.

Chinese 5-spice Baked Tofu
Makes about 9 pieces

1 pound firm tofu
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tofu into 1/4″ thick slices. Wrap the slices in paper towels and place a heavy weight on top for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and stir until well combined. If it seems a little too thick, add a tiny bit of water to thin it out. Add the tofu slices one at a time to the marinade coating well on all sides. Place the slices on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes on each side.

Mochachocolata-Rita is hosting a Chinese Take-out Party blog event to celebrate her 88th post. The number 88 in Chinese symbolizes fortune and good luck. The Chinese 5-spice Baked Tofu is my contribution to the take-out party.

While I love getting fried tofu for Chinese take-out, it’s probably not the healthiest thing on the menu. Baked tofu has tons of the flavor, an excellent texture and the added bonus of being a bit healthier. Hopefully something all guests can appreciated.

What do you do when there’s nothing in the house to eat? You open the refrigerator door and to your horror, you realize that in your very busy week, you somehow managed to forget to go to the grocery store. The fridge is absolutely empty, devoid of anything edible, save a few jars of condiments and a carrot that’s been there for who knows how long. And now it’s too late, you’re too tired, and too lazy to go to the store. And you don’t feel like having take-out.

You get creative.

I found some dried spaghetti noodles in the cupboard. Ok, that’s something. And there’s a box of veggie burgers in the freezer - things are starting to look up. So how do I combine them into something tasty? With vegetarian oyster sauce!

Inspiration comes from my Dad, I remember him cooking up a similar dish, Chinese Spaghetti, when I was little. This is my “semi-homemade” vegan version, it’s a very quick and easy meal for those “way-too-busy-and-nothing-in-the-fridge” days.

Chinese Veggie Beef Noodles
Serves 2

4 ounces dried whole wheat spaghetti
2 veggie burger patties
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Vegetarian oyster sauce (also known as vegetarian mushroom sauce)
2 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions, drain and set aside. Heat the burger patties enough to be able to cut into bite-sized pieces.

Heat a wok until hot, add the oil, swirl to coat the sides of the wok. Add the burger pieces, stir. Add the noodles and stir, try not to let the noodles stick to the wok. Add the veggie oyster sauce to taste, about 2 tablespoons or so. Stir to combine well. Divide between two plates and garnish with the cilantro.

I rarely go out for Mexican food. Not because I don’t like Mexican food, but because there’s usually nothing for me to eat there besides chips and salsa or rice and beans something or other. So whenever I get a hankering for Mexican, I gotta go with making it myself.

Potatoes are my favorite filling for enchiladas - I only like beans occasionally and I already eat plenty of tofu. It’s a nice change of pace. The potatoes are lightly mashed so it has a similar texture to beans but lighter. I also add soy crumbles for additional flavor, texture and protein.

The only thing I can’t quite figure out is getting the vegan cheese to really melt when I first make the enchiladas. I’ve found it melts really well when they’re reheated in the microwave. Which is fine, because the flavors develop more overnight and only gets better and better.

Green Chile Potato Enchiladas
Makes 8 enchiladas

3 large red potatoes
8 six inch corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups green chile enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella soy cheese
1 small can of sliced olives
6 ounces taco soy crumbles or tempeh
Salt and pepper
1 green onion, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and cut into small pieces; place in pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and gently boil until tender about 10 - 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes. When cooled enough to handle, lightly mash the potatoes with a fork and mix in half the olives, soy crumbles and about half of the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Make two piles of 4 tortillas, wrap in foil and warm in the oven for about 5 minutes to make them easier to roll. Spread a thin layer of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of a 13″ x 10″ baking dish. To assemble, spread the enchilada sauce over the front and back of a tortilla. Place the filling at one end of the tortilla and roll up. Place in the baking dish with the seam side down. Continue with the remaining tortillas and filling, packing the enchiladas tightly next to each other.

Spoon any remaining sauce over the enchiladas, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and then olives. Bake for 15 minutes or until the enchiladas are heated through. Garnish with the green onions. Serve with sour cream or salsa if desired.

Could you eat a whole pound of tofu in one day?

I can!

Well, I almost did. When it comes to Crispy Baked Tofu, I actually have to stop myself from pigging out on it. The story is - I have a few when they first come out of the oven, because they’re so nice and crispy. Yum. Later on, I need a snack and have a few more. Yum again. Over half is gone already, I could have some more for dinner but probably best to save the rest for tomorrow. Future yum. See? I could if I really wanted to, eat a whole pound of tofu in one day.

Crispy Baked Tofu
Makes 10 to 12 slices

1 pound firm or extra firm tofu, drained and water pressed out
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tofu into 1/4″ thick slices. In a shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder and salt, mix well.

Brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Take one tofu slice and brush the sides and edges with olive oil, place in the breadcrumbs and coat well. Then place onto the baking sheet. Repeat until all the slices are coated.

Bake tofu slices for about 20 - 30 minutes until light golden brown and crispy, turning them over halfway through. Serve with your dipping sauce of choice - ketchup, bbq sauce, or ranch dressing.