Chow Vegan

Baked Tempura From The 30 Minute Vegan

September 9, 2009 By chow 15 Comments

I can’t get over how many vegan cookbooks are out nowadays. I remember back in the day, there was hardly any at all. My latest read, fresh from the publisher is The 30-Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray. Their thing is quick, healthy, delicious, vegan recipes cooked in 30 minutes or so. Let’s see if that holds up with me in the kitchen.

As I’m flipping through the cookbook, Batter-Baked Tempura jumps out. I love tempura! But not so much the fried part. So this is perfect, something I always wanted to try making at home and I don’t have to deal with the mess of frying. I’m now properly motivated. On to the cooking.

For my veggies, I went with trumpet mushrooms, green beans, yellow squash, onion, zucchini and carrot. And I used panko bread crumbs instead of regular crumbs. It took me exactly 30 minutes to get the veggies cut, battered, breaded and into the oven and then another 20 minutes to cook.

They didn’t come out looking exactly like tempura from a restaurant, still they were quite tasty. There’s not a super thick all-over coating but enough stuck on for a surprisingly good crunch and a bit of a nutty taste. There’s also a stronger veggie taste as you’re not eating a mouthful of batter.

I’m positive I can get the time down with a little practice. Next time I’m going to bread the veggies one at a time instead of all together in the bowl, for better crumb coverage. It really is a great, healthy and delicious alternative to the fried version.

Batter-Baked Tempura
Serves 4 to 6

2 portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch slices or 1 cup cremini mushrooms, halved
2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch thick rings
1 cup zucchini, cut into rounds or 4-inch spears
1-2 tablespoons olive oil, for brushing (optional)
Soy sauce for dipping

Batter
3 tablespoons ground flax meal
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon baking powder, sifted

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking tray or cookie sheet. Prepare the vegetables and set aside.
2. Prepare the batter: Blend the flax meal, water, and baking powder for about 10 seconds. Pour the batter into a deep bowl. Place the bread crumbs in a separate deep bowl.
3. Toss the mushrooms around in the batter with a spoon or your hands. Remove them one by one, quickly shaking off the excess batter, and place them in the bread crumbs. When they are all in, swirl the bowl around a bit and use your hands to get them coated in crumbs. Transfer to the prepared baking tray and repeat the process with the broccoli, onion, and zucchini.
4. If you desire crunchier veggies, use a pastry brush to lightly coat oil on the tops of the vegetables. Use a dabbing motion rather than a stroke so as not to brush away the batter (you may even wish to drizzle the oil instead). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Related Links
To learn more about the authors, click here. For your own copy of The 30-Minute Vegan, visit your local bookstore or Amazon.

Go Max Go Vegan Candy Bars

September 1, 2009 By chow 12 Comments

I first read about Go Max Go vegan candy bars on a review over at the BitterSweet blog. Ever since then, I can’t stop thinking about them. Vegan. No hydrogenated oils. No trans fats. Taste just like the traditional, name-brand candy bars. I had no choice but to track them down.

I finally nabbed a few at the local Whole Foods. I tried the Twilight bar first – caramel and chocolatey nougat in a rice-milk chocolatey coating. Sliding it out of the wrapper, that’s one smooth looking candy bar. Taking a bite, it’s got the same chewy, nougat-sticking-all-over-my-teeth mouth feel and texture as a regular non-vegan candy bar.

My dentist is going to love that. Or I should say my dental hygienist. I can already hear her now, “What have you been eating?” and then she’ll get out her scrapper thingy and go to town on my teeth.

I’m not sure if it’s because I don’t really eat candy all that much, but I thought it was a little too sweet. I was only able to eat about half of it. I’m saving the rest for later (I didn’t say it was bad, just a bit sweeter than I expected).

I also tried the Mahalo – coconut and almonds in a rice-milk chocolatey coating. Looked and tasted just like an Almond Joy with the right amount of sweetness and texture. I liked this one better and polished off the whole bar in a few bites.

I still got two more flavors to try: Jokerz – caramel, peanuts, nougat in a rice-milk chocolatey coating and Buccaneer – chocolatey nougat in a rice-milk chocolatey coating. Judging from the two I’ve already consumed, they’re spot-on for everything a candy bar should be and well worth the wrath of a dental hygienist.

I wonder if the company has plans to veganize any other candy bars, like maybe a Twix or a Kit Kat. Yeah, I like candy bars that are cookies all wrapped up in chocolate.

Fresh Corn “Polenta” With Oyster Mushrooms

August 20, 2009 By chow 10 Comments

Never mind why I was watching television at three o’clock in the afternoon, on a weekday no less. On the show The View From The Bay, Executive Chef Ken Frank of La Toque Restaurant in Napa cooked up fresh corn polenta with chanterelles and I just had to make it.

I’m amazed that the “polenta” is just fresh corn with a bit of butter and salt. That’s it. Nothing else. That made the sweetness and freshness of the corn really stand out.

Made a few tweaks to the recipe as usual – I used the new soy-free Earth Balance vegan butter (taste just like butter), swapped out the chanterelles for oyster mushrooms and added sautéed spinach. So simple and so summery.

Fresh Corn “Polenta” with Oyster Mushrooms
Serves 2
Recipe adapted from The View of the Bay episode with Ken Frank of La Toque Restaurant

2 ears fresh bi-color (part white and part yellow) corn
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup fresh oyster mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 ounces fresh baby spinach
Olive oil
Salt

Heat a saucepan to hot, add a little bit of oil and sauté the spinach until just wilted. Set aside.

Then sauté the oyster mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of butter and season with salt. Set that aside.

Shuck the corn. Over a large bowl, grate the kernels off of the cob using the coarse side of the box grater, resulting in a wet, coarse pulpy mixture.

Since I have a small grater, I broke the corn in half to make it easier to grate. (Although the corn that I got from the farmer’s market had like the smallest kernels I’ve ever seen. I was worried I wouldn’t have enough corn grated.)

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a pan and add the corn mixture, season with salt. Simmer over low heat and stir to prevent browning for about 2-3 minutes. It’s ready when it just starts to thicken and set.

Divide the corn “polenta” between two plates, top with the spinach and mushrooms and serve.