Chow Vegan

Teriyaki Roasted Tofu

June 19, 2014 By chow 7 Comments

Roasting is still my favorite way to prepare tofu. It’s super easy and relatively quick as there’s no need to press the tofu before using it. I’ve already combined it with buffalo sauce, pesto sauce and black bean sauce. Today, it’s teriyaki.

Before doing anything else, get the rice going in the rice cooker (if serving with rice and if you have a rice cooker otherwise ignore this part). While the rice is cooking, prep the tofu for the oven.

Once the tofu is roasting, make the sauce and any additional sides like a vegetable. In theory, everything should be done right around the same time.

Teriyaki Roasted Tofu
Serves 2

1 14-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 green onion, chopped for garnish
Sesame seeds for garnish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil, salt and paprika. Cut the tofu into cubes and gently toss to coat with the mixture. Place each tofu cube in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast for 15 minutes on one side, flip over to the other side and roast for another 15 minutes for a total of 30 minutes.

While the tofu is roasting, make the teriyaki sauce.

Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in 1/4 cup water

In a sauce pan or wok, add all of the ingredients except the cornstarch mixture. On medium warm heat, stir until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture and whisk to combine. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens, about 4 minutes or so. Turn off the heat and set aside.

When ready to serve, transfer most of the sauce to a bowl. Then add the tofu to the pan and spoon as much sauce as desired onto the tofu and toss until thoroughly coated. Garnish with the green onions and sesame seeds.

Voodoo Van

June 11, 2014 By chow 8 Comments

While there’s been an increase in the number of food trucks near me, I haven’t seen all that many with good vegan options. Some have nothing at all, some are so close with a vegetarian option but it might as well be nothing.

Then there’s Voodoo Van with their Mister Sister vegan seitan sandwich – spicy sweet jerk marinated seitan topped with red onions. It’s tangy, meaty and filling, I washed it all down with a cucumber soda.

The only problem is they’re not closer to me on a regular basis, I never even heard of Voodoo Van until I spotted their food truck at this year’s Sunset Magazine Celebration. The weekend festival is like an open house at Sunset Magazine’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

You can tour their test kitchen, check out various presentations, exhibits and products. There was an outdoor/backyard oven manufacturer handing out pizza samples fresh out of their oven. Luckily, I got there just in time for a slice that had just olive oil and rosemary. So good, I could have eaten the whole thing for lunch but I didn’t want to gobble up all their samples.

Plus I would have missed out one mighty tasty seitan sandwich.

Relax, Isa Does It

May 21, 2014 By chow 11 Comments

I’ll been eating well lately. Really well. Yup, I’ve been living the good life trying out recipes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s latest cookbook, Isa Does It. Everything I’ve made so far has been either super easy or easy enough and delectable.

Starting with the first meal of the day, Muffin Pan Mini Omelets (page 247), served with giant strawberries and homestyle potatoes. Aren’t those the cutest little tofu omelets?

It’s certainly a nice change from always having tofu scrambles. And they’re fun to make too, you can watch them rise a bit while they’re baking, then deflate towards the end of the cooking time.

I’m still learning to cook lentils and quinoa but I’ve come a long ways from having been at best indifferent to lentils for years and unsure how to pronounce quinoa (say “KEEN-wah”). Now look at me, I’m making Lentil-Quinoa Stew with Lots of Kale (page 148).

Pleasantly surprised at how much flavor is packed into this stew and with such simple ingredients, I’ve since made it several times even without kale and serving it with other veggies instead.

More quinoa, this time with beans in Smoky Incan Stew (page 165). Since the quinoa soaked up quite a bit of the broth, I added the leftover tomato juice as mentioned in the notes. I love these helpful little tips and tidbits included in some of the recipes.

To add my own note: I didn’t have red quinoa called for in the recipe but I did have red lentils and swap around the colors, it’s still a bright and flavorful stew.

Cheddary Broccoli Soup (page 53), yes, another soup. This was back when I was having jaw pain so there was a lot of soups and stews going on. Having never tried broccoli cheddar soup before, I didn’t expect it to be so rich and without any sort of processed vegan cheese. Not that I have anything against store-bought cheese but cheddar cheesy taste from real ingredients, that’s a winner.

Finally off of soups, my jaw has healed and I’m back to my munching and crunching ways. Since fresh basil started showing up at the farmer’s market, what’s better than pesto? Bestest Oil-Free Pesto (page 128) for Pesto-Cauliflower Pasta with Breaded Tofu (page 126).

No oil necessary in this pesto, it’s replaced with vegetable broth. But alas, I only had Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base, not wanting my pesto to taste chicken-y, I just used plain water and it’s totally fine. I usually prefer to bake my tofu but the skillet pan method wasn’t too messy and didn’t take too long. Besides, the nicely browned breading was well worth the effort.

There’s so many more recipes to try now that I can chew food again. From the few I’ve made so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if Isa Does It becomes the go-to vegan cookbook for generations to come.

Still on the fence? Download the free e-book from Amazon, Breville presents Make It Vegan: Recipes from the Yiddish-speaking, Nebraska-living, post-punk vegan, Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Most of the 10 recipes in it are from Isa Does It and includes the breaded tofu pictured above. You don’t even need a actual Kindle, just download the Kindle app for your mobile device or computer. The directions are right there on the product page.

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