Chow Vegan

Green Leaf Asian Bistro

April 3, 2016 By chow 5 Comments

Green Leaf Asian Bistro Noodle Bowl

After seeing the early show for Zootopia, our little group of family emerged from the darken movie theater into the bright sunlight like bears out of hibernation hungry for substance. Fortunately, just a few doors down the block, is Green Leaf Asian Bistro.

Located in downtown Redwood City, it’s one of those places where you select and customize an Asian-style meal, a la Chipotle or Asian Box. Fresh and healthy, there’s something for everyone of all eating persuasions. You order at the counter and select from a base of spring rolls, a bahn mi type of sandwich, a bowl of rice or rice noodles or a salad. Add your choice of protein, sauce and other add-ons.

The food came out fairly quickly much to the relief of hungry bears. As seen above, I got a bowl with rice noodles, tofu and savory peanut sauce. It comes with carrots, daikon, cilantro, mint, basil, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, cucumber, shallots and peanuts.

Price is about 10 bucks without any add-ons which cost extra. As is, I thought it was a pretty good sized portion since I brought home my leftovers. Growing cubs though will eat all of their meals and a dessert of mango snow ice.

Snow ice is a Taiwanese dessert that’s kinda like a cross between ice cream and shaved ice. Frozen into a giant block and then shaved into layers of thin ribbons resulting in a fluffy, smooth texture. There’s quite a few different flavors, I only remember the mango and strawberry flavors as they’re the only ones marked non-dairy but comes with sweet condensed milk on top. Other toppings include fresh fruit.

No photo as it was a shared dessert and came with the milk on top. I asked if it’s vegan without the milk topping but I didn’t think to ask about the exact ingredients. Next time. Maybe in June for the movie release of Finding Dory.

Related Post
Pamplemousse, Redwood City

Roasted Tokyo Turnips

March 11, 2016 By chow 4 Comments

I’m not going to lie. I’ve never been much of a turnip eater. That is until I made roasted Tokyo turnips. Before, I pretty much had a take-it-or-leave attitude towards turnips (mostly leaving it), I believe it’s the slight bitterness. Some people call it spicy or peppery or bite, I say bitter.

That all changed when I found myself with a gift of a bunch of turnips. At a loss as to what to do with them, I went with my favorite cooking method, roasting.

Roasting brings out the sweetness in a vegetable when it caramelizes in the oven and turnips are no different. I like the flavor so much better with the bitterness mellowed out.

Tokyo turnips, a small white variety of turnip, taste like a cross between a turnip and a radish. Incidentally, I’m not much of a radish eater either. If presented with a bunch of radishes, I’ll roast those too.

Since the bunch of diminutive turnips only took up less than half of the baking pan, I also threw in a carrot, a couple of red potatoes and a few garlic cloves to fill in the other half. Sorta like doing a full load of laundry, if I’m turning on the oven, I might as well fill the whole baking pan.

Roasted Tokyo Turnips
Serves 1 to 2

1 bunch of Tokyo turnips
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the greens from the turnips and set aside. Peel the turnips and cut in half or into wedges if they’re large so that all the pieces are around the same size. In a mixing bowl, combine the turnip pieces with enough oil to coat. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread out on a baking pan and roast for 25-30 minutes until tender.

Note: Cooking from root to stem, the tender greens are also edible and delicious in a simple and quick sauté. Just heat up a pan, add a bit of oil, the washed and trimmed turnip greens, salt to taste and cook until the greens are wilted and tender.

Dim Sum Mango Pudding

February 25, 2016 By chow 2 Comments

Canned mango or canned beets? A choice I faced recently while cleaning out the pantry. Purchased long ago to try a now forgotten recipe, I tackled the can o’ mangoes first. Since I haven’t made all that many Chinese desserts, I decided on dim sum mango pudding. I’ve only ever seen it at Chinese restaurants, wolfed down by my niece and nephew in no time flat. I have never actually eaten it myself as it’s usually made with cream and gelatin.

While it was easy enough to veganize by subbing in a non-dairy milk and agar agar, I didn’t care for the taste of the canned mango. I’m not surprised, you get use to fresh and canned just doesn’t compare.

Trying again with fresh ripe mangoes, batch number 2 fared much better. Now, that’s what I imagined mango pudding to taste like – bright mango flavor, firm creamy texture, and not too sweet.

Although, I’m told the restaurant version is much, much sweeter, like twice as sweet. Since it’s homemade, I control the amount of sugar and I think less sweet is fine. But I’ve been advised by the young foodies to add at least another teaspoon of sugar next time I make it. YMMV.

Dim Sum Mango Pudding
Makes about 4 servings

8 ounces fresh mango, peeled and cubed (from 2-3 ripe Manila mangoes)
2 cups water
1/8 ounce agar agar flakes
2 tablespoons sugar or more depending on the sweetness of the mangoes
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup coconut cream or soy milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Extra soy milk for garnish (optional)
Extra mango pieces or blueberries for garnish (optional)
Sprig of mint for garnish (optional)

Blend the mango cubes in a food processor or blender and set aside.

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, reduce the heat and add the agar agar. Allow it to slowly dissolve, stirring occasionally, it’ll take about 20 minutes or so. Add the sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat.

Stir in the coconut cream, mango and lime juice, whisk until evenly combined. Divide between the ramekins and refrigerate until set, about two hours.

To serve, run a butter knife around the edge and unmold onto a serving dish or serve right in the ramekin. Drizzle with soy milk on top as desired. Garnish with the extra mango pieces, blueberries or mint leaves if using.

Note: if you don’t have a full set of ramekins, you can use small bowls or jello molds. I didn’t have a mold so I ladled some into a plastic sandwich cutter placed on a small plate, that’s the heart-shaped pudding drizzled with extra soy milk pictured at the very top.