Friday!!!!! I really like the sound of it. Even though I am tired this morning after our normal midnight arrival from our Holland jaunt on Thursdays, I am surviving, after 2 cups of coffee. I only had 5 1/2 hours of sleep and managed to wake up at 5:30am to pick up my friend to break out with kickboxing. Whoa, was it super hard to get into it! After 15 minutes of warming up and teaching my friend how to punch on hand pads, I started waking up.
This week has been a good one and at that one that somes a blur too. I managed to work out 4 days at 6am and I plan to do a zumba class on Saturday before heading out to the cider mill for some fun! I cannot wait to pick out my own pumpkins and chow down on some apple cider donuts and hot apple cider. Looking forward hanging out with friends.
My kitchen inspirations have been somewhat exciting this week, with only the whole Banana Coconut Cream Pie to show for it. I did make a lunch dish inspired by OhSheGlows that I will be sharing soon and also a new Asian dish I had never tried before.
I have come to realize that I tend to keep it safe when it comes to making Asian dishes. I know how to prepare vegetable sushi, stir-fries galore, and noodle dishes, but I am not very familiar with standard Chinese favorites, like Chop Suey or Lo Mein, Moo Shu dishes, Sweet and Sour and so forth. When I came across Chow Vegan’s post on Tofu “Egg” Foo Yung, I knew I had to try my hand at making something different.
The Asian cuisine tends to be one of my FAVORITE cusine to focus on weekly. It promises a huge plateful of vegetables with some delicious protein and carb on the side. Egg Foo Yung is typically an omelette that is found in the British and Chinese American cusine, according to Wikipedia. The authentic Chinese recipe comes from Shanghai and is known as Fu Yung Egg Slices.
Even though Chow Vegan used black salt to bring in the “eggy” flavor to this Chinese-American, I did not have time to go and search for this product so I used dulse flakes and tamari to go with a more alternative fishy flavor. The tofu, after it is pressed is normally used for tofu scrambles to substitute for regular eggs so I figured I would be fine not using the black salt. I also decided to pan-fry the tofu cakes in sesame oil as the traditional recipe calls for, since I was making this on a really busy evening.
Vegetable ToFoo Yung
makes 4 patties
4 fresh button or baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 stalks green onion, chopped
2 ounces water chestnuts
1 garlic clove, minced
7- ounce package of extra-firm tofu (1/2 a package)
1 Tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons dulse flakes
1/4 cup flour or a little less
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
Drain and rinse the tofu, wrap in paper towels and place a heavy weight on top. Press for about an hour or use a tofu press. While the tofu is pressing, chop the vegetables.
Heat a medium non-stick skillet with 1/2 Tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat. Add the 5 ingredients and sauté for 5 minutes. Place in a bowl and set aside.
Heat another 2 Tablespoons sesame oil on medium heat.
Crumble the tofu and add the rest of the ingredients and blend well together. Divide the mixture in 4 patties and add to the hot skillet. Pan fry for 5 minutes on each side until lightly browned. (My oil was to hot, whoops, so they came out a little darker) I drizzled with Sriracha sauce.
Pressed Black Sesame Cabbage Salad
serves 2 generous portions
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 carrots, julienned or shredded
1/2 cup daikon julienned
1 1/2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds
Julienne or shred the vegetables and place in a bowl. Add the rice vinegar, salt, maple syrup and using your hands, massage the dressing into the vegetables. Set aside for 10-15 minutes and massage the vegetables again. You can also use the tofu press to place portions of the salad to press excess liquids.
You can keep the dressing, and serve alongside the Tofoo Yung and wild rice. Enjoy!
