Peking Portobello Mushrooms

So its not always that I want to be experimental in the kitchen with seasonal vegetable, sometimes I just like to pick a cookbook from the shelf and cook a recipe that I have been oggling and promising to make myself.

I am glad that I have been making more of an effort to cook from them, they shouldn't be there just for food porn - though that is nice sometimes.

Well today I have another recipe that I bookmarked from The Superfun Times: Vegan Holiday Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

So what is it?! Peking Portobello Mushrooms.  I made this last month I was quietly doing Veganuary.  I have been participating in Veganuary since its launch in 2014.  It was the same week I had made the vegan Chinese Tofu Short Ribs and for which I picked up a jar of hoisin sauce from the supermarket. Please see my In My Kitchen blog post.  

These Peking Portobello Mushrooms were a bit messy to make and created a bit of work for my personal dishwasher (my husband), but good to eat and the Portobello mushrooms were very 'meaty', but how well it mimicked Peking Duck which I am guessing this recipe is based on - I cannot comment for I have never eaten duck in my life, nor Peking Duck. Regardless the recipes was everything it was described it would be ' crispy, caramelised skin with a meaty juicy centre'.  

I am sharing this blog post with  Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads as I have cooked a number of recipes from The Superfun Times: Vegan Holiday Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and it would be rude not to share. 

Other recipes cooked from the cookbook

Cincinnati Spaghetti 

Black Eyed Pea and Courgette 'crab' cakes
vegan Chinese Tofu Short Ribs

Vegan Chinese Tofu Short Ribs

It is truly by coincidence that this recipes coincides with Chinese New Year of The Pig.

It is because I am still cooking recipes from The Superfun Times: Vegan Holiday Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and the next recipe I had bookmarked to make was these Tofu Short Ribs which mimic Chinese Pork Ribs.  

These vegan Chinese Tofu Short Ribs were also so easy to make, you bake slices of tofu in the oven and then smother it generously in the sauce made with hoisin sauce, Chinese five spice and other ingredients all of which I found in my kitchen, other than the Hoisin sauce which I had to purchase (Please see my In My Kitchen blog post for brand).  

These Vegan Tofu Short Ribs tasted pretty good too. I will definitely be making them again and perhaps try them with seitan. 

If you want to have a go at making these vegan Chinese Tofu Short Ribs at home and you don't have the cookbook,  Isa Chandra has been generous and shared the recipe on her website  - follow this link for ease.

I had so much of the sauce left over, that we had this again the following day but this time I also included some slices of King Oyster Mushrooms and it was awesome.

Anyway, may I wish all my readers, especially those whom are celebrating the Chinese New Year - A very Happy Year of the Pig. 

Miso Bowl with Sea Vegetables, Asparagus, Edamame and Soya Beans

I put my hands up and confess this is just Miso soup dressed up with lots of stunning greens.

The first time I ever had miso soup was at the same place I had veggie sushi in Glasgow on Byres Road.  It was Glasgow's first authentic Japanese Sushi restaurant, sadly it only lasted a year.  When it first opened D and me would go there for a treat or take friends there when they came up to visit either of us. There were not many places we ate out at and at the time there were not that many vegetarian and vegan places to eat out in the evening either.  The beauty of this Sushi place whose name escapes me, it was the mid 1990s then of course, it offered up vegetarian options that accidentally happened to be vegan too, not that I am vegan.

We would always begin with a very light Miso soup.  It always had soft tofu, wakame and spring onions in it.

Well I have had a few of those miso sachets here you just add water and drink but fancied making some at home from scratch with my jar of miso paste, then I got carried away and started throwing in greens from the fridge and freezer as I realised we had more of an appetite.

I've been wanting to use this bowl with a fish head on the inside and tail on the outside for a long time.  Its quite deep and I had not reason to use it before,  I was even contemplating just filling it up with some pot pourri just to make the most of it.  But making this big bowl of miso with greens gave me the opportunity to bring it out of the cupboards.  Then when I went to wash it, I knocked a bit of the tail, how blinking typical.  D glued it back for me, but I am disappointed in myself as I am not the one with the butter fingers in our home.  

Stir Fried Edamame Beans with Smoked Tofu

I had some edamame beans left over from yesterday's brunch and decided to use them up in this relatively quick dish. 

I loved every thing about this dish, the way it looks on the plate, colours, the flavours, the textures. The vibrancy of the greens especially from the edamame and peas.  And the way the fresh red chilli beamed liking a red light bringing the dish to life.  The vegetables still had crunch and the beans popped, especially the broad beans.  When I served it up, D was concerned that there was not enough sauce to coat the rice, but it was plenty moist once he started tucking in.  I guess you could serve these with noodles, but I like plain steamed or boiled white rice.

Please find proper smoked tofu for this recipe, not those lightly smoked and barely .  If your tofu is not smoky enough, then please if possible add a little liquid smoke.  

I am sharing this with Eat Your Greens Challenge hosted this month by The Veg Hog; and with Sunday Fitness and Food Fitness hosted by Marathons and Motivation and Ilka's blog; 

Rainbow Bell Pepper Spaghetti

This Rainbow Pepper Spaghetti dish is one of the simplest evening meals I have ever made.  Its only quick if you have the ingredients prepped.  Its really a vegetable stir fry, just made with bell peppers. 

Black Sesame Seed Coleslaw

That cabbage I picked up at the weekend is still feeding us well.  Not only have we had Thai Yellow Cabbage Curry and Creamy Cabbage Pies, this time it had to be a Coleslaw of sorts.

I do like the traditional coleslaw, but as you may know I am all for expanding my culinary repertoire. Having tried coleslaw with raisins, Sri Racha, and wasabi, I was quite keen to try a sesame flavoured one. Not only is this coleslaw scented with toasted sesame oil, it also has a scattering of black sesame seeds.

The last time I used black sesame seeds was for the Oyster Mushroom 'Calamari'. The flavour of black sesame seeds is similar to the white variety - nutty, except it has a slight bitterness. I've read that they are mainly used for visual effect, than taste. I served this coleslaw at lunch simply with some jacket potatoes. I felt positively healthy eating it.  I don't know about you, but these days I need a tooth pick as I sometimes find seeds stuck between my teeth.  Funny how that happens as you get older.  
Black Sesame Seed Coleslaw
Serves 4
Ingredients
½ green cabbage, shredded
1 medium red onion, finely sliced
1 large carrot, shredded
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
75ml – 100ml rice vinegar
2 – 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
2 – 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, preferably black; or combination of both
Method
Put the cabbage into a bowl with the red onion, and mix with your hands to separate the pieces. Add the carrot and mix well.
In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, vinegar, mustard and salt. Add the dressing to the cabbage mix and stir well. Refrigerate the slaw for at least 1 hour so the cabbage can soften.
Toast the sesame seeds to bring out the flavour. Allow them to cool. Just before serving, scatter the seeds over the slaw, toss well. Adapted from Vegetarian Planet.

Panfried Tofu in Chinese Black Bean sauce

This dish was my attempt to acknowledge and celebrate the beginning of the Chinese New Year - Year of the Rabbit in Scotland. I had great intentions of making my own black bean sauce. I was even going to cut out tofu in rabbit shapes. Then I would have been able to call the dish something more interesting like 'pan fried 'tofu rabbit' in black bean sauce', but I didn't have the patience, energy or enthusiasm today. Instead I offer you a plate of 'pan fried tofu in Chinese Black bean sauce' generously ladled over plain boiled rice.
I know some people would assert that stir fries are perfect mid week suppers, as they can take minutes to make, but I think they overlook the time it can take to peel and slice the raw vegetables. Of course once that preparation is done, then yes it is speedy.
I have to put my hands up today and admit that I was actually a bit of a cheats feet tonight. I've used a jar of shop bought black bean sauce and (reduced priced) prepacked and sliced vegetables for stir fries. The packet contained: matchstick carrots, sliced mushrooms, sprouts and some shredded greens. The only components of the meal that I made from scratch was the rice (yes I know it should traditionally be noodles), and the pan fried tofu strips, which were stirred into the sauce. The meal was just okay.

Anyway, may I wish all my readers, especially those whom are celebrating the Chinese New Year - A very Happy New Year.

Stir fried Savoy cabbage with chilli and ginger

Compared to our previous Saturdays, today has been a relatively quiet day. We visited a different farmers market (about 8 stalls) just on the outskirts of Glasgow where I picked up a loaf of walnut bread, Arran Blue cheese, a green cabbage and some dirty carrots. I was a little disappointed with the gruff response of one of the stall holders when I asked him some questions about the provenance of the vegetables. I dare not ask him the variety.

Anyway, after our visit here. We decided to pop over to another farmers market as this one did not have any free range eggs. When we got to there. There was no farmers market at all. Perhaps I got the dates mixed up. But this did not matter, as the drive was worth it as I stumbled upon yet more 'wild garlic' growing on the roadside. I leaped out as it started to rain and managed to grab a generous bunch. Enough for a couple of meals later this week

Curly Wurly Kale

For those of you who live in the U.K, the title may suggest a homage to a chewy toffee chocolate strip called Curly Wurly. So called because of the squiggly pattern you saw upon unwrapping the bar. It certainly was one of my favourite childhood chocolate treats. I recently learned that Curly Wurly was voted the best 'retro' chocolate bar in the U.K. Anyway, as much as I would like to share some of my childhood memories of eating this sweet, chewy, melty chocolate bar, I must not get distracted. Instead I shall focus on the much healthier vegetable that shares part of its name with the curly wurly, the green leaf known as curly kale.

Curly kale is a member of the same family as cabbage Brassica oleracea. Kale is such a robust crop and another good one to grow in if like me you live in a cold region as its pretty resistant to frost. It comes in purple and green, flat leaved, crinkly and curly. I personally prefer the taste of curly kale much more than Cavolo nero aka black kale. Kale is also a good alternative to cabbage or spinach and its quite versatile too. I was originally going to make a hearty curly kale and dal soup, but changed my mind as the weather seemed to be changing.
Instead I made this Sauteed mushrooms, kale and chickpea. For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, will know that I am slowly dipping my culinary toes into the Oriental larder. I am trying to become adventurous in my use of some of the bottled ingredients, namely sesame oil, peanut oil, Teriyaki and plum sauce which are all still relatively new to both my taste buds and nose.

Now I know what you see below cannot be claimed as Oriental cuisine, but the writer of the original recipe describes the dish as a stir fry, because it is cooked in that manner. I’d probably just describe it as fusion food. Anyway, I have to admit I really actually enjoyed the flavours in this dish. It was a welcome change as the past few days I have eaten a lot of dairy based dishes and this one was vegan.

Sauteed mushrooms, kale and chickpeas
Serve 2 - 3

Ingredients
2 tablespoon olive oil
250g chestnut mushroom, sliced
250g curly kale, pulled of the stalks
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon Tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoon sesame seeds
Black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of spicy chilli sauce (optional)
Method
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan, add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, until it starts oozing out its juices, then stir in the kale and cook for about 15 minutes until the kale begins to soften, add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, before adding chickpeas, sesame oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds, pepper and optional chilli sauce. Cook on low heat for a further 5 minutes for the chickpeas to heat through and the flavours to infuse. Then serve with plain boiled rice. Adapted from Barbara Kafka Vegetable Love.

Oriental treats

One of the students where D works (now and again), had graduated and left some treats in the kitchen as Goodbye and goodwill gesture. Because these savoury sweets were unusual to him, D decided to bring a handful back home for me to try.

I didn't want to eat any of them as I thought they were very cute in their individual wrappers.
But at the same time I was curious to see what they looked like underneath and how they tasted. So there we were, slowly unwrapping them and then inspecting them closely – they were actually pieces of Japanese rice crackers stuck together duh. Then we took a bite, our brains somewhat thinking that the soy sauce or tamari coating was somehow going to taste of popcorn caramel, well for anyone who had had rice crackers will know that the taste is completely different. For me they are a bit of an acquired taste, but like this they are very cute.

Cabbages and Kings

Most of us have heard the lines 'the time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings' (Lewis Carroll), but how many of us heard of the ancient Greek saying ‘cabbages twice cooked is death’ (me neither, until quite recently)?

Anyway, here are two of my cabbages sliced open: Marner Red Fruerot and Minicole. Splendid! Cabbages likes broccoli, sprouts and kohlrabi all belong to the Brassica family. It is also known as the Cruciferae family, so called because their flowers have four petals arranged as a cross. A cross with arms of equal length is a symbol of the sun. Cabbages are extremely hardy and thrive in cold damp winters and are capable of withstanding temperatures which would destroy many other crops. In my first year of growing cabbages I had problems with clubroot, I was told to twist a narrow strip of tinfoil around the roots of the cabbage plants to prevent cabbage fly, but I never did, as I had been fortunate in the coming year. I also read that it is worth planting a stick of rhubarb amongst cabbage plants as it apparently prevents club root. However, the one thing I still seem to be doing wrong is not planting them deep enough, as every cabbage grows up in the air like a football on a pole, rather than thick to the ground. I must find a way to remedy that next year.
There are a variety of Cabbages: Green white, red and even purple cabbages and the ruffled leaves of Savoys are familiar to most of us. But over the past few years, we have seen the appearance of newer varieties, in particular Asian cabbages with their milder flavours, subtle differences and their culinary uses are still unusual to many of us. Under the category of Chinese cabbages, we find varieties such as Napa, the tall Michihli (also called celery cabbage), the flat cabbage, the flowering white cabbage, Tai-sai, Lei-choi, and Pakchoi, also known as bok choy; and under the European category we find: minicole, hispi, greyhound also known as sweetheart, the name changed perhaps to make us look at it with more appeal.

Cabbages are a good source of vitamin C and potassium. The cabbage has a place in almost every cuisine from Korean kim chee, German sauerkraut, and Irish colcannon. However, even with the infinite number of cabbages appearing at our grocery stores and supermarkets, we as Brits are still not as creative with it and end up making the usual dishes at home, such as as coleslaw, bubble and squeak or stir-fries – all of which I have been guilty of. But it is not just our lack of creativity that limits our use of the cabbage. The cabbages somewhat unglamorous reputation has also halted many of us from cooking or even eating it in our homes. For centuries, the over cooking (boiling to death) of cabbages has put us off the taste; and if it is not the taste, it is the smell. Anyone who has sat near a kitchen or entered a building where a cabbage was being boiled would not have been able to escape its anti-social emission (pooh-wee). Modern science has explained the smells of the cabbage as simply a release of hydrogen sulphide, but this fact still has not done the cabbage any favour. It will take a Great chef to transform the cabbage into a culinary delight, so that is graces many a table with joy and delight. Until then, please enjoy my humble offering of cabbage spring rolls.
I had originally thought about getting D to make some of his coleslaw, but then changed my mind for something different. I decided to make these spring rolls with subtle oriental flavours. I am sending this post to Cinzia of Cindystar for Weekend Herb Blogging #205, the weekly event founded by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and now coordinated by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once.

I liked the cabbage spring rolls the subtle flavour of the sesame oil came through, but I did not enjoy the dipping sauce. This dipping sauce contained grapefruit marmalade which I found too bitter for me. I also thought the flavour of the marmalade overwhelmed the subtle flavours in the spring rolls.

Red and Green Cabbage Spring rolls
Makes about 12
Ingredients
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 large white onion, finely sliced
1 small red cabbage, cut in half then finely sliced
1 small white or green cabbage, cut in half then finely sliced
3 stalks of celery, finely sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
Black pepper to taste
About 12-16 large spring roll wrappers
Oil sealing and for baking
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan. Add the onion and saute over moderate heat until translucent. Add celery and cook for a few minutes until well coated. Now divide the onion mixture in two and transfer to another pan. To one pan add the red cabbage, to the other add the green cabbage and sauté until the cabbage are cooked through and translucent. Season to taste with soy sauce and pepper.
When the mixture is cool, divide it amongst 12 – 16 spring roll wrappers. I lightly sealed the wrappers with some oil. Then baked them in the oven on a lightly greased tray at gas mark 5 for 10 minutes, then flipped them over for a further 5 minutes on the other side.

Marmalade dipping sauce
½ cup of orange or grapefruit marmalade
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
½ grated ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
Dash of cayenne pepper
Method

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a small serving dish and set aside. Adapted from Vegetarian Celebrations by Nava Atlas.

Teriyaki Tomatoes and beans with caramelised red onion

I decided to make this recipe as I way to use up some of the green beans and tomatoes. I am not too sure what to say about this dish, as I wasn't bowled over by it. It was very unusual. The combination of oriental flavours in the form of the teriyaki sauce certainly sounds like it would clash somewhat with the caramelized onions, but actually they complimented each other well. It is not a dish I would make again, but it was interesting to try and a change for my taste buds.
Teriyaki Tomatoes and beans with caramelized red onion
Serves 4
Ingredients
500g green beans
250g firm red tomatoes, quartered
250g or 1 tin of cooked haricot beans* (see note below)
4 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 red chilli, finely sliced
1 large handful of coriander, chopped
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Salt and pepper
For the caramelized red onion
250g red onions
4 tbsp chilli oil
½ tsp soft brown sugar
1 inch long piece of ginger, grated
2 cloves of garlic
Dash of tabasco
Method
Top and tail the green beans and cook in salted water until al dente. Then drain and set aside.
For the caramelized red onion: peel the onions and cut in half along the length, then cut into thin slices, again following the length. Heat 2 tbsp of the chilli oil and fry the onion over a gentle heat until soft, gradually adding the sugar, grated ginger, garlic, Tabasco, salt and pepper. The onion will caramelize, when this consistently has been achieved. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

In the same pan, heat the remaining chilli oil and quickly sauté the green beans, adding the tomato quarters turning and tossing for 1 minute. Then add the beans, teriyaki sauce, diced chilli and coriander. Serve with some plain boiled rice and top with the caramelized onion. Finally sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Recipe Adapted from The New Cranks Recipe Book

*I didn’t have any cannellini beans, so substituted it with haricot bean. It didn’t work very well, I think butter beans would have been a better substitute.

Roasted teriyaki tofu steaks with glazed vegetables

In my attempt to try eating and cooking more with oriental flavours, I decided to make a recipe I had seen in Celia Brooks Brown book New Vegetarian. I followed the instructions to the pe for the roasted teriyaki tofu steaks, but changed some of the ingredients for the glazed green vegetables.

I served the tofu steaks with boiled rice, rather than the recommended egg noodles. In my head I still can't seem to get round to eating noodles. I think somewhere in my psyche my aversion to noodles is somehow connected to that 'take-away flavoured noodles in a pot' product Ugh, which I must add I have also never tried in my life. Honest! I know, I know the two are completely different products, but I can't seem to shift my poor attitude towards noodles. I promise I will try noodles at some point, just not right now.
Back to the roasted teriyaki tofu steaks. I was really impressed to learn that teriyaki sauce is quite easy to make at home, providing you have the ingredients of course which are sake, soy sauce and mirin with a dab of sugar. After marinating the tofu in the teriyaki sauce (the longer the better I think), it was baked in the oven gas mark 7 for about 10 minutes.

Celia described the roasted teriyaki tofu steaks as 'succulent' in her book. I totally agree. I can happily eat tofu this way.

Now one more packet of tofu to use up, before I go to Paris - Oh I am getting excited now!

Oriental mushrooms and tofu

I know I live in a nation that has a fondness for Chinese Take away meals. However, I am someone who rarely orders a take away or goes out to restaurants, whatever their ethnic specialism. Therefore oriental flavours are still very new to me. So I decided to make this Oriental mushrooms and tofu dish to introduce myself to aspects of this cuisine.

I know this recipe is not authentic to a particular country or region, but some of the ingredients listed here are associated with Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean cuisine. For me experimenting with and tasting these ingredients continues to be a good way to widen my food and cultural knowledge.
The mixed oriental mushrooms used in this dish were grown in the UK, and the pak choi or bok choy was grown in Kent.
Oriental mushrooms and tofu
Serves 2
Ingredients (can be doubled to serve 4)
250g deep fried tofu cut into chunks. I deep fried my own tofu pieces in peanut oil.
2 tablespoon of soy or tamari sauce
½ teaspoon of chilli oil
1 tablespoons sunflower oil
½ tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
100ml water
150g carrots, cut into matchsticks
125 g mixed oriental mushrooms, thickly sliced
4 spring onions , cut into 4cm strips
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 medium pak choi, thickly sliced
Fresh coriander, coarsely chopped, to serve

Method
Preheat oven gas mark 6

Place tofu chunks on the baking tray and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of tamari or soy sauce and chilli oil. Cook in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Put the sunflower oil and sesame oil in a wok or frying pan and gently heat. Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until tender, but with some bite. Add the hoisin, remaining tamari or soy sauce, rice vinegar and water, and continue to cook for a few minutes.

Stir in the spring onions, roasted tofu chunks, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Using a separate wok or frying pan, stir fry the pak choi for a few minutes, until cooked but still crunchy.

Serve with plain boiled rice, with a mound of pak choi and the tofu and mushrooms spooned alongside. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve.

Adapted from Jane Noriaka's New Vegetarian Entertaining