DDD #53 – Spicy Garlic & Ginger Green Beans

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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So easy & delicious over rice or my Garlic & Ginger Cauliflower Rice.

Spicy Garlic and Ginger Green Beans

INGREDIENTS

12 oz green beans

1 onion – sliced

1 TBS (more or less – to taste) crushed red pepper

Splash of soy sauce

1-2 TBS coconut oil (or olive oil)

4 garlic cloves – minced

1 TBS ginger – minced

Sesame seeds as garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a very large saute pan (or wok) – heat the oil on high heat.  Add the onions, green beans & crushed red pepper.  Stir & cook until the green beans are cooked to your desired softness.  I like them a bit crunchy & probably cooked them for between 5-8 minutes.  At the very end, add the minced garlic & ginger & stir to incorporate.  Cook for maybe a minute or two.  Garnish with sesame seeds & eat it as a side or over rice.  Ymmmmmmm!

The top video there is trailer for my novel.  The second is me reading from it a while back – at Vroman’s.

DDD #51 – Vegan Red Coconut Curry Pad Thai Noodles with Crispy Garlic Tofu

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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Red Coconut Curry Pad Thai Noodles with Crispy Garlic Tofu

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

1 lb tofu

oil

3 TBS red curry paste

1 15 oz can lite coconut milk

1 TBS fresh ginger – minced

2 TBS minced garlic

1 TBS soy sauce

for the marinade

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS low sodium soy sauce

1 TBS minced garlic

1 TBS minced ginger

1 TBS crushed red pepper

for the noodles

1 lb noodles (either fresh Pad Thai noodles or a pound of cooked & drained noodles of your choice)

1 small onion – diced

1-3 jalapenos – sliced

Your mix of fresh vegetables (I used 1 15 oz can of baby corn, 1 small can diced water chestnuts, 1 cup broccoli florets, 1 cup chopped purple cabbage, 1 cup chopped carrots, 1 cup sliced snap peas, 1 cup frozen peas)

Garnish: lime wedges, cilantro, sesame seeds and maybe another can of warmed coconut milk with red curry paste whisked in to use as a gravy over the noodles – for those that like a saucy dish)

DIRECTIONS

Optional – cut the tofu in half so you have two large squares about 3/4 inch thick.  Put them between paper towels & cover with a heavy pan for 30 minutes to release some moisture.

Cube the tofu.  Whisk the marinade together & marinate the tofu for 30 minutes or longer.

Heat a TBS or oil & over high heat – fry the drained tofu.  Let it sit a few minutes on each side before turning until it is well browned.  Set aside.

Heat 1 TBS oil in a pan & saute the onion & jalapeno.  When soft, add the remaining vegetables (retaining the frozen peas to add later) and saute a few minutes.  Add garlic, ginger & soy sauce.  Stir to combine.Add curry paste & coconut milk.  Stir & add fresh or cooked noodles.  If it gets too dry – add some water.  Heat through.  Stir in the frozen peas & heat through.

Plate each serving & top with the crispy tofu.

Garnish as you desire.

I warmed another can of coconut milk & whisked in more red curry to drizzle over each serving.

Devour!

DDD #31 – Sweet & Spicy Vegan Island Chicken with Pineapple

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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This is a very easy recipe & it is very flexible.  You can use the veggies that I did or sub in ones you prefer.  You could use jalapeno for a spicy dish or add brown sugar for a sweeter dish.  Click the image below for the recipe video & please subscribe to my channel.

Sweet & Spicy Vegan Island Chicken with Pineapple

INGREDIENTS

2 TBS coconut oil

9 oz vegan chicken

1 jalapeno – diced (optional)

1-2 cups dice fresh pineapple

1 red bell pepper – diced

1 cup carrots – chopped or grated

1-2 cups broccoli florets

3 garlic cloves – chopped

2 TBS soy sauce (or liquid aminos or tamari)

2 TBS sriracha

2 TBS ginger – minced

juice if 1/2 lime

2 TBS brown sugar (optional – I did not use it as I am not a fan of things too sweet)

Cornstarch

S&P

2 cups cooked rice OR tortillas (for tacos or wraps) OR lettuce leaves (for lettuce cups)

Garnish: cilantro or sesame seeds or sliced scallions

DIRECTIONS

Thaw the chicken, cube it & toss with some cornstarch.  Set aside.

Heat the coconut oil in a large pan or wok.  Add the veggies (bell pepper, broccoli, jalapeno, carrots) & saute until soft.  Add the vegan chicken tossed in cornstarch. Add the soy sauce, sriracha, ginger & combine.  Add brown sugar (if using – I did not). Combine & then add pineapple.  Combine & then add rice (if doing a stir fry).  Stir in the garlic & squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lime.  Season with S&P to taste.  Heat through & serve (either with rice or as tacos, wraps or lettuce cups).  Garnish as you desire & devour!

Vegan Spicy Lemongrass & Ginger Beef with Purple Cabbage Fried Rice

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2016

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

I had a head of purple cabbage in my fridge that was the size of a basketball.   I decided to add half of it to some leftover rice to accomplish two things: not waste all the cabbage & to extend the quantity of rice with some guiltless & vibrant cabbage.  I am very happy with the result both in color & the crunch the cabbage adds to the texture.  I recommend it very highly.

Purple Cabbage Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS

(I used a tad more cabbage than rice but the ratio is up to you.)

2 cups cooked rice

2 cups chopped purple cabbage

1/2 onion – diced

1 cup grated or slivered carrots

1-5 cloves garlic – chopped

2 or more TBS fresh minced ginger

1 TBS sesame (or other) oil

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a large wok or saute pan.  Add the onions, & cabbage & saute until they begin to soften.  Add the carrots, rice & ginger & stir to combine & warm through.  Add the garlic and saute another minute or two.  Serve.

Vegan Spicy Lemongrass & Ginger Beef

Serves 2 very well

INGREDIENTS

3 stalks of lemongrass – cut into 3″ lengths & smashed with the handle of a knife (to bruise them & release the flavor.  The cooked lemongrass is inedible so pick around it in the finished dish.)

8+ ounces seitan (or other meat replacement like – Beyond Meat Chicken or Gardein beef or pork products)

3 dry red chilies (optional – they are quite spicy) – crumbled a bit

3 garlic cloves – chopped

2 or more cups of fresh green beans – trimmed

1 TBS sambal oelek or garlic chili paste (more for extra heat)

3 TBS vegan mushroom or oyster-favored sauce

2 TBS minced ginger

1 TBS ground anise or szechuan pepper

2 TBS dark soy sauce (it gives the seitan that dark & beefy color)

1 TBS liquid aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)

1 TBS shao xing rice wine

2 TBS brown sugar

Potential garnished: sliced red or green jalapeno peppers, basil or mint or cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a wok or large pan & add the dry red chilies – if using.  Add the lemongrass & saute a minute or two.  Add the green beans & saute on high heat until they begin to sear a bit.

Add the remaining ingredients.  Add about 1/4 cup water to aid in steaming the beans a bit & create some sauce.  Heat through – until the sauce thickens.  Serve with rice.

Spicy Vegan Szechuan Beef & Vegetable Stir-Fry

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2016

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This is really easy & does not use any ingredients that are especially exotic.  I added WAY too many hot peppers & blasted my face off with this one – so – I will recommend using less spice here than I did.  I used Gardein Beefless Tips that I found in the freezer section of my local Ralph’s.  You can use these or any other meat replacement you prefer.  The ratio of veggies is an entirely personal one.  You can take my suggestions or wing it – or just go straight beef & rice.  Your call.  But it is easy & bursting with flavor!

Spicy Vegan Szechuan Beef & Vegetable Stir-Fry

Serves 4 with cooked rice

INGREDIENTS

Cooked rice of your choice

2 TBS coconut oil (or other cooking oil)

9 oz meatless beef – defrosted

2 cups broccoli florets

2 bell peppers – seeded & cut into strips

3 carrots – chopped

1 leek or medium onion – chopped

1 large zucchini – chopped

4 oz mushrooms – sliced

1-2 jalapenos or serranos (seeded to lessen the heat) – or to taste – diced

1-3 tsp cornstarch (optional)

for the sauce

2 TBS vegan oyster-flavored or mushroom-flavored sauce

1 TBS minced ginger

1 TBS minced garlic

2 TBS chili garlic sauce (or sambal oelek)

1 TBS liquid aminos (or tamari or soy sauce)

1 TBS dark soy sauce

1 tsp chili oil

1 TBS sesame oil

1 TBS dark berry jam (or molasses or brown sugar)

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook the rice & set aside.

Mix the sauce & pour it into the bag with the faux beef & smoosh it around to marinate.

Heat the coconut oil in a wok or large fry pan.  I added the leeks & carrots & mushrooms first – because they take the longest to soften.

Add the fest of the produce.  Broccoli & zucchini cook fastest – so I added them last.  Once the veggies are cooked to your liking, stir in the beef & marinade.  You might want to add a bit of water – but not much.  If the sauce feels too thin – whisk in a tsp of cornstarch.  Mine did not need it but yours might.  Toss to heat through & serve with rice.

Vegan Black Jasmine Pork Fried Rice with Egg (Thai Rice Berry)

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2016

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Follow Your Heart came out with a vegan egg (photo above stolen from Google).  The first time I tried it – I was put off by the fact that it is a powder you add water to & that it takes FOREVER to set & become eggy.  It seemed like a chemical rubber to me & I talked shit about it a bit.  When I decided to make a fried rice – it crossed my mind that this egg might work better as part of a larger dish – without the pressure of having to stand on its own.    So – I made it again.  I noticed that the powder even has a very faint eggy-sulfur smell – that I did not notice the first time.  And – this time – I let the pan get very hot before I added the mix.

And – this time – it came together a bit more quickly.  I added some salt to it before it set & scrambled it until it was no longer wet.  And tasted it.  And, this time, I kinda liked the result.  The visual isn’t perfect but the taste & texture were actually pretty good.  I wonder how a quiche or chilaquiles might turn out with this stuff.  I will experiment & report back.  But – if you crave breakfast eggs – I am changing my thumbs down on these to a pretty enthusiastic thumbs up.   Omelettes might be the ideal way to use this stuff – because added flavors & textures can only help.

One thing – once set – these eggs don’t break up like real egg & so – cut up – they look sorta plastic (visually – see below) and were lost & overwhelmed in this rice.  Just FYI.

As to this rice dish – it was just an excuse to make my awesome Vegan Char Siu or Chinese BBQ Pork Ribs – above.  Those fuckers are so convincing & delicious – I just had to make them again the very next day!  I also had a myriad of random vegetables to use up & I really wanted to experiment with the vegan egg again – so – this dish was born.  It is a pretty straight-forward stir-fry & you can add anything you want to it or lose anything from it that you don’t like or have around already.    Two notes – the egg gets sorta lost in this so it might be a waste to use them for this dish and – I stirred the chopped “pork” into the stir-fry where the heat sorta steamed their crispy, stickiness away.  In the future – I would top each plate with a portion of the ribs — on top or on the side.

Also – I made this with my newest rice discover – Thai Rice Berry (black jasmine) rice.  ANY rice will work – but I had this left over so that is what I used.

I saw this new rice at my favorite Thai grocery store – Bangluck.   $10 for 5 pounds – so I could not resist.  I looked it up online & found THIS:

Riceberry  Rice is the new variety of rice that has been bred in Thailand. The rice is deep purple in colour; this rich dark colour is typical of plants that yield high nutrition. Rice berry rice is cross pollination of three hardy and loved rice strains; they are:

• Thai Hom Mali Race – also known as fragrant jasmine rice, the highest quality and most sort after rice in the world, after cooking it retains its structure but takes on a soft fluffy consistency.
• Hom Nin Rice – has well known and documented antioxidant properties, but this grain can become a little chewy if it isn’t cooked through.
• Khao Dawk Mali 105 – a hardy seed which will grow in a broad range of agricultural environments.

The cross-pollination of these three rice plants has resulted in Riceberry Rice, a new and exciting rice variety. Riceberry takes on the best attributes of each of the grains that were used in its inception. The light fluffy texture and flavour from Thai jasmine rice, high in minerals and antioxidants from Hom Nin rice and hardy and high yield characteristics of Khao Dawk Mali 105.

Riceberry Rice Nutrition Profile

Riceberry rice is rich in many antioxidant that help our immune system stay healthy. It contains significant levels of:

• Beta-carotene
• Gama Oryzanol
• Vitamin E
• Folic Acid
• Tannin
• Zinc
• Fiber
• Bran Oil

These antioxidants, vitamins and minerals give riceberry rice a nutrition profile that is relatively unique. The dark purple colour it matures signifies it high nutrition content and gives it a unique appearance when served.

The rice is also extremely high in fiber and bran oil, this natural aids digestion and helps keep the stomach free from disease.

Thai Rice Glycemic Index

Riceberry rice has been graded as low-medium in the glycemic index. The abundant fiber and bran oil which it contains helps to reduce the risks of diabetes by hindering the absorption of sugars into the blood through the stomach. It also helps the pancreas function better.

– See more at: http://www.thenaturalhealthmarket.co.uk/riceberry-organic#sthash.388tjdGM.dpuf

Vegan Black Jasmine Pork Fried Rice with Egg (Thai Rice Berry)

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

Vegan Char Siu or Chinese BBQ Pork Ribs

3-4 cups cooked rice

2-3 TBS olive or coconut oil

1 small onion – diced

1 large carrot – diced

1 red (or other) bell pepper – diced

1-6 chili peppers (I used 2 serrano & 4 jalapeno – but I love heat)

2 cups purple cabbage (or green or both) – chopped

1 head Swiss chard – ribs removed & chopped

4 radishes – sliced

1 cup peas

4 TBS liquid aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)

1 TBS minced ginger

1 TBS minced garlic

2 Follow Your Heart vegan eggs (optional)

GARNISH – more radish slices and/or lime wedges, sliced scallions or sliced green garlic

DIRECTIONS

Make the pork ribs & set aside.  When cool enough to handle – chop them up.

If using the eggs – make them, chop them up & set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan or wok.

Basically – just dump everything (except the rice, egg & ribs) in there & cook until the veggies are soft.  You might want to wait until it is close to done before adding the peas so that they don’t get all smooshed.  Add the rice & combine.  My photos show adding the egg & ribs to the pan but I think they would work better added to each serving when you plate the rice.

Plate the portions & top with chopped egg & pork and any garnish you prefer.