Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Tofu with Pickled Ginger

WW wokking thru Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

Tofu. What is it? Basically, well actually, it is the curds of coagulated soy milk that have been pressed into an unappetizing looking block shape. It is low in calories, yet high in protein, iron, and calcium (depending on brand/type - read the label).

Those who are not vegetarians tend to shy away from it. After all, tofu is tasteless on its own. I've had tofu and thought, um, no thanks, I'll pass - other times, it was pretty good - as in this instance.  It's all in how it is prepared. So give it a chance - you may find it not as bad as you thought it to be (Bob/Patti).

Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Firm tofu

Bowl 2: Carrot, ginger

Bowl 3: Scallions, pickled ginger

Bowl 4: Dry sherry, soy sauce

Bowl 5: Salt, white pepper

Very simple dish to prepare. The tofu is cooked until it browns (mine may not look so brown, because the tasty - I'm sure - browned bits stuck something awful to my wok - not sure why), then removed, while the fresh ginger and carrots get a quick stir in the wok. The tofu is returned to the wok along with the pickled ginger and scallions and given a toss to mix everything together. In goes the broth mixture and seasonings, and stir-fried just until the carrots are crisp-tender. Three to four minutes, tops. Bam. Dinner is on the table. Gotta love stir-frying!

We had this with jasmine rice and steamed zucchini, and keeping with the ginger theme, I consumed it along with my favorite ginger beer.

  
Yes, there was a small amount left over, which I re-heated in the microwave the next day - still was tasty - the flavors being a little more pronounced even. 



We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 203, of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.

This stir-fry just so happens to be available on the Orange County Register's website. Click here for the recipe.

Wok Wednesdays | Peppery Vegetarian Rice

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young.

Spicily delectable!

Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Egg
Bowl 2: Ginger, red pepper flakes
Bowl 3: Carrots, mushrooms
Bowl 4: Vegetable broth
Bowl 5: Rice, scallions
Bowl 6: Pepitas (recipe called for pine nuts)
Bowl 7: Soy sauce
Bowl 8: Salt, white pepper

This recipe is actually made with brown rice, not white, which lends a nice earthy flavor, and the red pepper flakes gives it that spicy warm feeling. The recipe called for a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes to give it that peppery taste - I used a heaping quarter teaspoon, and thought it was the perfect amount. I also cooked my rice in vegetable broth rather than water, and subbed out the pine nuts for pepitas (I had them on hand). I was not shopping at the store that carries pine nuts in bulk, and did not want to buy more than I needed. The pepitas added a chewy texture, as did the brown rice.

My fried rice looks to be on the moist side. That would be because I did not read the recipe first. I'm so bad, I never really read a recipe until I'm starting to cook.

I quickly glanced at the ingredient list and saw that it called for one cup of rice. So when I was ready to make this, I went about making rice according to the package directions - not Grace's. She uses half cup less liquid, which would make for a drier rice, resulting in the grains being separated more.

I couldn't start over, for the secret to great fried rice, is using cold rice that was made the day before (though I always end up not making it till that morning... like I said, I'm so bad).

Did I say, this is delicious?!!! Hubby enjoyed this as well, and excited he was able to eat rice with chopsticks - a benefit from the stickier rice. :)

 

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 256, of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.  

The recipe is also available on Grace's friend's website, Sara Moulton dot com. 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!

WW: Vegetarian Five-Spiced Tofu

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by the fabulous Grace Young

This was such a beautiful looking stir-fry!

Grace recommends using fresh water chestnuts, for they are far more superior than the canned. She even suggests substituting jicama, Asian or Bosc pears, if fresh is unavailable. This I did not know - for I have a habit of reading the entire recipe at the time of prepping and not beforehand. If I had known, I would have made an effort to find fresh.

I normally pass on recipes calling for tofu. Never have been of fan of it myself, though my husband loves it. He thought it was good in this dish - me, I did not care for it. I thought it to be a bit tough and on the dry side.

The flavor of this stir-fry was on the mild side; it did not have the wow factor that I have come to expect from past recipes.

It's very rare that a recipe from this book doesn't excite me. Can't win them all I guess!

Stay tuned for our next WW recipe: Stir-Fried Chicken with Pineapple and Peppers

Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Five spice tofu

Bowl 2: Garlic

Bowl 3: Carrots, red & yellow bell peppers, mushrooms

Bowl 4:  Salt, pepper, sugar

Bowl 5: Soy sauce, dry sherry, sesame oil

Bowl 6: Water chestnuts, scallions, pickled ginger

Bowl 7: Cilantro

One rule of the Wok Wednesdays group is we are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 205 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!

 

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WW: Chinese Indian Vegetarian Fried Rice

Wok Wednesdays wokking thru Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

This is one of the easiest stir-fries so far that we have made. It uses few ingredients which means short prep time and easy cleanup. It takes even less time if you use leftover rice.

It is known (after reading SFTTSE) that for great fried rice, you use day-old, cold rice so your finished dish does not come out gummy and clumped together. However, this recipe goes against that advice. It uses fresh, hot, basmati rice (I made it ahead and used cold). Basmati rice is drier and less sticky than your typical long-grained rice, so it can be used immediately.

This is not your typical fried rice, at least not what I am used to having. It has no pork (hence vegetarian in the title), peas, or egg. The recipe calls for green onion, carrot, and green beans. I also added some edamame for protein since I was serving this as our main meal and not as a side dish. You toss the rice and vegetables with a mixture of soy sauce, ketchup and chili garlic sauce - this adds a bit of a punch.

At first bite, I thought - eh, it's OK. However this grew on me before I finished the bowl and it is actually quite tasty.  Hubby said a couple of times while he was chowing down, "this has some heat to it" and it does. He was also very proud of himself for finishing the whole bowl using chopsticks - something he has been trying hard to accomplish. Good job hon!

Really, the only Indian influence in this dish is the basmati rice and maybe the heat level.

Next time, and I will make fried rice again for it is one of Andy's favorite Chinese dishes - I will not use the edamame or the green beans. I did not care for them - I'll add peas and maybe even some egg.

Success meter (1-3): 3

The reason behind the poor quality photos above, aside from the fact that it is raining here in our first few days of summer - which equates to poor lighting - is my camera stopped working due to lens failure. Had to use Andy's phone camera. This happened three months ago on a hike, I've been lucky it lasted this long!

One of the rules of the Wok Wednesdays group is we are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 265 in Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like to join us or just want more information, click here or visit us on Facebook.

Book Ninety-Three: On Rice

by Rick Rodgers

Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew

I have made a few recipes from this book, and one recipe in particular I have made multiple times - and I was going to make it again for this post!

I had a few extra minutes so I sat and browsed through this book again; as I was flipping through the pages this recipe caught my eye and I thought it sounded tasty, and it would be something new. Boy am I glad I went with this one. It's good - and good for you!

I went to my local market and the Swiss chard looked pitiful - so off I went to Whole Foods (aka whole paycheck - my grandmother always said, "you get what you pay for" - that is always in the back of my mind and oh so true in this instance.) Not only did the chard look absolutely wonderful, but they also had the rainbow chard, which I always think is so beautiful - so that's what I went with.

I had a hard time resisting the urge to add more broth at the end - this is supposed to be a stew, not a soup. Still, next time, I may add just a little more...

The stew had such wonderful flavor. I'm wondering if it was the freshly dried bay leaf I used; I'll have to make this again with a regular store-bought bay leaf to see if there is much of a difference.

Take my word for it - this is good.
 
Success meter (1-3): 3 

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Citrus Collards with Raisins

Recipe from vegetariantimes.com




I have my friend Dorothy to thank for this easy and tasty recipe. She served hers alongside quinoa and baked yams. This would be a great side dish to any meal. Me, I had this all on its own for my dinner.

The recipe calls for collard greens but I had kale that needed to be used up. I'm sure this would be tasty with your favorite greens, being collards, kale, or chard. My raisins also needed to be eaten soon and were not as plump as when they were purchased, so I soaked them in the orange juice called for in the recipe; they were back to their soft, fat little selves.

The ingredients paired beautifully. The slight bitterness of the kale against the sweet raisins and the burst of citrus was delightful. I easily could have eaten more - if there was any.

Success meter (1-3): 3

I also added a bit of orange zest to the recipe.

If using a wok you may want to blanch the kale or whatever green you use, first, then dry it in a salad spinner. As good as this dish was, I would have liked the kale to be a bit more tender than it was.

You can find this wonderful recipe by clicking here.

Loaded Twice~Baked Potatoes

Recipe from Eating Well 

This is going to be quick - just like the recipe.

I was looking for something quick and comforting for dinner; this fit the bill. Serve alongside a green salad and you have a complete meal.

Omit the meat and you have a great vegetarian dish. Maybe even better!

Success meter (1-3): 3

I wanted to use ground turkey, or even chicken in the filling. Unfortunately Safeway does not sell

small increments of ground meat (I only needed four ounces) other than ground beef which is

called for in the recipe, so that is what I went with.

I substituted non-fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream and added cayenne pepper for a little heat.

You can find the recipe here.

Book Eighty-Nine: RAW The UNcook Book

by Juliano with Erika Lenkert

Butternut Squash Soup

I am far from becoming a vegetarian - I like my chicken and occasional burger. I purchased this book because the cover intrigued me; however I apparently did not look at it too closely while in the bookstore.

Not only are there ingredients I am unfamiliar with, which I'm sure if I ventured into a health food store I could make myself familiar with them; but I do not have the desire to sprout my own seeds, beans and grains, or purchase equipment needed to eat "raw" food - such as a dehydrator, juicer, or a power blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtech. Though I really would like a Blendtech or Vitamix...

I decided on this soup in that, it called for ordinary ingredients that can be purchased at the local market. No special trip to a specialty store, and no sprouting of any kind! And this was ready in a flash! A huge plus in my book.

I have a tendency to lean towards the unusual, and this was interesting to say the least. This has good flavor amazingly; if only I had a power blender it would have had a smoother consistency. I used my Cuisinart, and so the soup had a texture similar to the feel of grated carrot. This was not a bad thing mind you; just the picture in the book has a very creamy, dreamy look to it.

This was good.

Success meter (1-3): 3

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Yeah... this was good.

Dessert! :)