Chinese BBQ Yuba Ribs

April 29, 2017 By chow 17 Comments

With the weather wavering between warmer and cooler, I made Chinese BBQ Yuba Ribs on one of the cooler days. Before the warmer days really kick in and I shut down the oven for the summer.

Chinese BBQ also known as char siu or cha siu is a type of Cantonese roasted meat and a method of cooking – strips of seasoned meat roasted in an oven. The marinade sauce is what actually gives char siu its distinctive taste and color. Apply the sauce to yuba strips or seitan and you have a vegan version of char siu.

Some recipes call for red food coloring to give it that bright red char siu color, I prefer not to use food coloring so the yuba ribs are more brown than reddish. Oil-free too. Chewy and meaty in texture with Asian flavors of Chinese 5-spice and ginger, it’s sweet and salty.

Chinese BBQ Yuba Ribs

Makes 4-5 servings

1 6-ounce package dried bean curd sticks
1/2-inch piece of ginger root, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons Chinese 5-spice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Soak the dried bean curd sticks in water for a few hours until soft. Drain and squeeze out any water. Cut into 4-6 inch lengths. If there’s any hard pieces, usually on the ends or where it folds, cut those off (the cut off hard pieces can be saved and used to make jook).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.

In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients to make the sauce. Set aside one-third of the sauce. Toss in the bean curd sticks and coat in the sauce and place on the baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 15 minutes, then flip over and coat with the remaining sauce. Bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with rice or noodles and a side vegetable.

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Cinnamon Roll Bunny

April 8, 2017 By chow 7 Comments

With Easter just a hop, skip and jump away, I had a harebrained idea to make a Cinnamon Roll Bunny. And not just any ol’ cinna bunny but vegan with breakfast sausage ears and blueberry eyes.

Super easy too with a can of ready-to-bake Annie’s Cinnamon Rolls and ready-to-eat Field Roast Apple Maple Breakfast Sausages. You can of course use home-made versions if you’re so inclined. I’m baking challenged and lazy so store-bought for me.

To make a cinnamon roll bunny, just unroll and shape the dough around the sausage position as ears on top.

While it looks a bit messy to shape the bunnies, cleanup couldn’t be any easier – just toss the parchment paper afterwards.

Oh cinna bunny, whatever happened to your ear? (Yes, I’m one of those people who bite off the ears of a chocolate bunny first. No surprise the same applies to a cinnamon roll bunny.) ’twas savory and sweet.

Cinnamon Roll Bunny

Makes 5 bunnies

1 can Annie’s Cinnamon Rolls (5 count)
5 sausages from a package of Field Roast Breakfast Sausage
10 fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Open the cinnamon rolls following the directions on the label.

Place a roll on the parchment. Cut a breakfast sausage in half. Unroll enough of the dough to wrap around the sausage as bunny ears. Press the end tightly back onto the roll so it sticks. Press the dough firmly around the sausage ears. Repeat with the remaining rolls, placing them about 2 inches apart on the parchment.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown, let cool slightly. To garnish with blueberries eyes, use a bit of the included icing to secure the blueberries. Drizzle the rest of the icing as desired.

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Kao Fu: The Other Wheat Meat

March 26, 2017 By chow 12 Comments

In the west, it’s all about seitan. In Chinese vegetarian cooking, there’s other types of wheat meat, one being kao fu (also known as kau fu) – a classic Shanghai wheat gluten dish typically served at dim sum or as a cold appetizer.

Made from just wheat gluten and water, kao fu is first leavened and then baked or steamed, resulting in a spongy texture with lots of air pockets. The mouth feel is light and airy with a soft chewiness. So delicate and tender compared to seitan’s much denser texture. Like a sponge, it’s perfect for soaking up and absorbing flavors especially when braised.

Usually found in the refrigerated section at the Asian supermarket as cubes or as one big chunk. Often labeled as “Wheat Gluten” or “Wheat Dough”, it’s relatively inexpensive at a couple of bucks for 10 ounces. Out of the package, kao fu looks suspiciously like a big ol’ slice of bread, see above.

Looks like a bowl of diced bread cubes, no? While cutting up the kao fu, it even feels like spongey bread too but wet instead of dry. Traditionally, the wheat gluten is deep fried before stir-frying, but I skipped that part and went with a light pan fry.

Once cooked, it’s very juicy having absorbed all of the water and flavor. I like to serve the kao fu as a meal with rice and a side vegetable instead of an appetizer.

Kao Fu

Serves 4 as part of a meal

10-ounce package fresh wheat gluten, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 dried Chinese shiitake mushrooms
1/2 ounce dried lily bulbs
1/2 ounce dried black wood ear fungus
1 medium carrot, roll cut
1/3 cup shelled edamame
2-3 pieces of star anise
1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 cups water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Put the dried mushrooms, dried wood ear fungus and dried lily bulbs into separate bowls, cover each with cold water. Soak for about an hour or so until soften. Drain and rinse clean. Cut off the mushroom stems and slice. Trim off any hard spots on the wood ear and pinch off the hard end of the lily bulbs.

For the sauce, combine the soy sauce, rice wine and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the wok until hot. Swirl in the oil and add the ginger, stir fry until fragrant. Add the wheat gluten to lightly brown, if it starts sticking to the wok, add a bit of water. Next, add the mushrooms, lily bulbs, wood ear, carrot, and edamame, stir fry for about one minute.

Add the sauce mixture, star anise and water. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about an hour until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Serve hot, at room temperature or chilled.

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