Chow Vegan

Eight Chinese New Year Recipes

February 5, 2016 By chow 4 Comments

Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) is Monday, February 8th. To celebrate the Year of the Monkey, I’ve rounded up my favorite eight Chinese New Year recipes (8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture). Many of the traditional dishes eaten are symbolic, from the name of the food to the color and/or shape, they represent good luck, good fortune, abundance and family togetherness in the new year. Let the feasting begin.

Sticky Rice Bowl, pictured above, sticky rice symbolizes family cohesion, you know, because it’s sticky.

Roasted Tofu in Lemon Sauce, cubes of roasted tofu look vaguely like cubes of gold, symbolizing wealth. Or if you prefer an orange sauce, Roasted Tofu in Orange-Ginger Sauce. Oranges also represent gold, wealth, and good fortune.

Steamed and savory Taro Root Cake, made from rice flour which symbolizes cohesiveness.

Stir-fried Lettuce for prosperity.

Mock Chicken, aka Chinese Vegetarian Chicken is made of yuba sheets rolled around a mushroom filling. A whole chicken roll represents prosperity and family togetherness.

Cantonese Style Vegetable Chow Mein, with the noodles baked in the oven until crispy. Noodles represent long life, the longer, the better and should never, ever be cut. It’s why you have teeth.

Chinese-style Vegan Fish, in Chinese, the word for fish sounds like surplus as in an increase in prosperity. It’s always served whole but the Gardein Golden Fishless Filet only come in pieces so I interpret that as I should eat the whole bag.

Tofu “Egg” Foo Yung, doesn’t officially represent anything other than my fondness for this classic Chinese-American dish. But since it is a round shape, I’m going to say it represents togetherness and unity. Wishing you all a Happy Chinese New Year!

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

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Ikea Veggie Balls

January 25, 2016 By chow 18 Comments

Ikea Veggie Balls Plate

I’ll always remember the first time I tried Ikea veggie balls in the cafeteria, for there was tears involved. Not my tears but tears of a little nine-year old who had his heart set on Ikea meatballs for lunch that day and whether or not there was anything for the vegan in the family was not a consideration.

The day was saved when I vaguely remembered that Ikea had introduced a vegan version of their famous meatballs, officially called GRÖNSAKSBULLAR (Swedish for vegetable balls). Made from just vegetables including chickpeas, peas, carrots, red peppers, corn, kale, pea protein, onions and spices, they’re actually quite tasty. And they’re vegan, soy-free and gluten-free too. You can taste and see the vegetable pieces.

Ikea Veggie Balls Inside Closeup

Besides enjoying the plate of 10 veggie balls in store for $4.49, you can also take home a 2.2-lb frozen bag of them for $7.99. Already precooked, they’re easy enough to simply re-heat in the microwave or oven.

My at-home plate only had 9 veggie balls as that’s the serving size stated on the back of the bag. Instead of the sweet potato sauce and steamed vegetables it’s served with in-store, I made a gravy out of nothing but pureed vegetables from Tyler Florence’s Inside the Test Kitchen cookbook. Served with coconut milk mashed potatoes and kale.

Supposedly, the veggie ball ingredients will switch based on the season. I haven’t seen a different ingredient list yet but I did grab one of the last frozen bags at my local Ikea, so maybe the next shipment will be a different vegetable blend. If I’m anywhere near the area, I’ll brave the maze that is Ikea just to get the veggie balls again.

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

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Vegan Chicken Zucchini Noodle Soup

January 10, 2016 By chow 6 Comments

With the holidaze over, various relatives returned to their respective homes and things settled back into a regular schedule, it’s time to break out the gifts received.

I got a spiralizer that I’ve been itching to try out. You’ve seen them around, it’s a nifty gadget that’ll cut vegetables into a spiral among other things. So much fun to use, it’s just like a toy (albeit a toy with sharp blades – supervise if kids are giving it a whirl).

I started with something easy, replacing the whole wheat pasta in my vegan chicken noodle soup with the spiralized zucchini noodles (zoodles). Surprisingly good, I had expected it to be more zucchini tasting but the zoodles are actually quite subtle and mild so the taste is still very much like the original recipe.

Warm and comforting, but without the carbs. After all the decadence over the holidays, I can certainly use some healthy eating to start off the year.

Vegan Chicken Zucchini Noodle Soup
Makes 4 servings

6 cups water
1 tablespoon vegan chicken base bouillon
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 medium leek, white and a little of the green part, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
8 oz packed baked savory tofu, cut into small cubes
3 medium zucchini

Dissolve the bouillon in one cup of boiling water and set aside.

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and leeks and sauté until translucent. Add the carrots and celery and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the bouillon broth and the rest of the water, bay leaves, onion and garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Increase the heat to bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer for 10 minutes.

While the base is simmering, spiralize the zucchini into noodles and set aside.

When ready to eat, drop in the zucchini noodles and tofu, cook for 5 minutes or so until the zucchini is al dente. Discard the bay leaves. Serve immediately.

Note: If I’m saving some of the soup to eat later, I portion out the zoodles and keep them separate and uncooked so they won’t become mushy sitting in the soup. Re-heat the soup base first and then drop in the zoodles.

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