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Vegetarian bun rice noodle salad
You may wonder why I'm posting a recipe for bun, a Vietnamese salad rife with mint, basil, and lettuce, served with some sliced meat (or "meat") over a bed of rice noodles and lime sauce.
The answer is that it's really quick and easy to make, given that you have a package of rice noodles and some salad mix. I've been eating quite a bit of it over the past week and a half as I recover from a nasty bout of flu.
Bun is also easily made kosher given that you use a kosher tofu or mock meat. Vegetarian ham has the most satisfying consistency, but kosher tofu is much easier to find.
As for kosher soy sauce, Kikkoman has you covered. I recommend the green bottle (low-sodium).
Vegetarian bun (Vietnamese rice noodle salad)
1 package rice noodles (medium-thickness pancit bihon noodles work well for this, though Vietnamese bun rice noodles are best)
1/2 cup sliced vegetarian ham (or marinated tofu)
3 cups washed, dried, and torn lettuce leaves (about a head of lettuce, or one package of spring mix)
mint and basil leaves to taste (I use about half a bunch of each, usually around 20-40 leaves)
Juice from 2 limes (about 1/4 c)
about 1/4 c soy sauce
A few dashes of vegetarian fish sauce (optional)
1 T nutritional yeast (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 t sesame oil (optional)
1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. After they're done cooking, rinse well under cold running water for 1 minute. They should separate easily and not stick together. Drain well.
2. While the water for the rice noodles is coming to a boil, pan-fry the vegetarian ham or tofu until golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Arrange lettuce in a bowl. Toss in mint and basil leaves, then add rice noodles. Top with vegetarian ham.
4. Just before serving, mix the lime juice, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and optional seasonings together. Pour over the salad, toss, and serve.
Root vegetable mash
For Shabbat dinner last week, a friend made a wonderful root vegetable dish that reminded me a lot of a trick my ninang uses with her mashed potatoes. (She doesn't add anything to her mashed potatoes except tons of garlic, and they turn out just as creamy as if you'd used milk and butter.) It was beautifully simple, appropriately in season, and worked well as a side for the savory, marinated, grilled portobello caps, tofu, and eggplant. You can do this with any starchy root vegetables--turnips, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, rutabagas, beets, etc. In the case of turnips, especially, mixing them with something sweet like carrots or beets takes off their bitter edge. Root vegetable mashFor every 2 people:
1 lb root vegetables, peeled and diced
1 T olive oil
1-3 cloves garlic (optional), minced
1-2 c water or vegetable broth (less if you like a thicker mash, more if you like a thinner one)
Herbs, salt and pepper to taste (Earthy herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme work well here.)1. Heat a pot over medium to medium-high heat. When the pot is warm, add the oil.
2. If using, add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Drop in the root vegetables and stir until they develop some color.
3. Add water/broth and cover. Turn heat down to medium-low, add herbs, and let simmer until vegetables are fork tender, around 20-30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher or fork until creamy. Correct the seasoning and serve hot.
1 lb root vegetables, peeled and diced
1 T olive oil
1-3 cloves garlic (optional), minced
1-2 c water or vegetable broth (less if you like a thicker mash, more if you like a thinner one)
Herbs, salt and pepper to taste (Earthy herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme work well here.)1. Heat a pot over medium to medium-high heat. When the pot is warm, add the oil.
2. If using, add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Drop in the root vegetables and stir until they develop some color.
3. Add water/broth and cover. Turn heat down to medium-low, add herbs, and let simmer until vegetables are fork tender, around 20-30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher or fork until creamy. Correct the seasoning and serve hot.
Coconut lime cookies dipped in macadamia nuts
That recipe uses baking powder and cornstarch for the binding and leavening, which I find to be the most handy replacements for eggs, as I usually have those handy.Instead of the typically Middle Eastern flavors of rosewater and pistachio, I use typically Asian/Pacific Islander flavors of coconut and lime. If you can find them, replace the limes with calamansi. If you want mango cookies instead, replace the coconut water with mango juice. If you want orange cookies, replace the lime juice and zest with orange juice and zest. The amount of cornstarch in the powdered sugar is sufficient to tie the cookies together. If you don't have powdered sugar, use 1 1/4 c sugar sifted with 1/4 c cornstarch.Vegan coconut lime cookies dipped in macadamia nuts Dry ingredients:
1 3/4 c flour, sifted
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 c coconut flakes
1 t baking powderWet ingredients:
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/4 c coconut water
2 t vanilla extract
1 t lime or calamansi zest, grated (use your Microplane!)
1 T lime or calamansi juiceGarnish:
1/4 c macadamia nuts, chopped (use a food processor)
1/2 c coconut flakes0. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two cookie sheets with cooking spray or line them with parchment paper or Silpats.
1. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together.
2. In a smaller bowl, blend the wet ingredients.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and incorporate the dry ingredients. It should form into a dough.
5. Make the garnish: If not already chopped, pulse the macadamia nuts and coconut flakes together in a food processor until just blended. Otherwise, just mix the chopped macadamia nuts and the coconut flakes.
6. Assemble the cookies: Resist the urge to eat all of the cookie dough. Roll about two teaspoons of dough into a ball. Dip the ball into the garnish, flattening it out a little bit. Set the cookie, garnish side up, on the cookie sheet. Repeat, spacing the cookies about two inches apart. You can fit 12-16 on one cookie sheet.
7. Bake cookies at 350F for 12-13 minutes. Let rest on the cookie sheet until they firm up, about five minutes, then transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely.
If there are any left, serve with some tea.
Ginataan mais, or sweet corn cooked in coconut milk
One of my favorite holiday dishes is ginataan mais, a sweet, sticky porridge of creamed corn, coconut milk, sweet rice, and sugar. It's a fun dish to bring to potlucks and usually disappears first. Best of all, it's completely pareve (and kosher for Passover if you eat kitniyot).
Ginataan mais
1 ~14oz. can coconut milk
2 cans water (use the coconut milk can)
3/4 cup sweet rice (glutinous rice, malagkit rice)
3/4 cup sugar
1 ~14oz. can cream-style corn (it's sweetened and thickened with cornstarch)Boil 1 can coconut milk + 2 cans water in a 2- or 3-quart pot on medium-high to high. It doesn't matter if it's nonstick or not. If you put the lid on it, leave it open a crack so it doesn't boil over.
Once the mix is boiling, turn the heat down to medium and add the rice. Stir continuously until the rice is cooked. This will take around 10 minutes. The rice is done when it is soft to the tooth, like al dente pasta. You may feel the mix thicken slightly; this is normal and tells you that the rice is nearly done. If you don't stir continuously, the rice will collect at the bottom of the pot and become a fairly effective glue.
Once the rice is cooked, add 3/4 cup sugar and 1 can cream-style corn. Stir to combine.
When the corn is heated through and the mix starts to bubble again, it's done. This usually takes about 3-5 minutes. It will thicken slightly as it cools down. Serve hot or cold.If you get bored with the basic recipe (and it takes quite a while to get tired of it), you can try adding chocolate or fruit. My lola made it with langka (jackfruit) yesterday and it was wonderful. Add whatever you're adding when you add the sugar.
2 cans water (use the coconut milk can)
3/4 cup sweet rice (glutinous rice, malagkit rice)
3/4 cup sugar
1 ~14oz. can cream-style corn (it's sweetened and thickened with cornstarch)Boil 1 can coconut milk + 2 cans water in a 2- or 3-quart pot on medium-high to high. It doesn't matter if it's nonstick or not. If you put the lid on it, leave it open a crack so it doesn't boil over.
Once the mix is boiling, turn the heat down to medium and add the rice. Stir continuously until the rice is cooked. This will take around 10 minutes. The rice is done when it is soft to the tooth, like al dente pasta. You may feel the mix thicken slightly; this is normal and tells you that the rice is nearly done. If you don't stir continuously, the rice will collect at the bottom of the pot and become a fairly effective glue.
Once the rice is cooked, add 3/4 cup sugar and 1 can cream-style corn. Stir to combine.
When the corn is heated through and the mix starts to bubble again, it's done. This usually takes about 3-5 minutes. It will thicken slightly as it cools down. Serve hot or cold.If you get bored with the basic recipe (and it takes quite a while to get tired of it), you can try adding chocolate or fruit. My lola made it with langka (jackfruit) yesterday and it was wonderful. Add whatever you're adding when you add the sugar.
If you omit the corn and add chocolate, you make champorado. If you omit the corn and add glutinous rice balls, it becomes bilo-bilo, which warrants a post of its own.
