Forbidden rice bowl

Forbidden rice is a black rice, usually heirloom, and has a chewy and nutty texture and taste. When cooked, it releases purple colors. The rice was paired with sesame studded steamed bok choy, sauteed shiitake mushrooms with garlic and tamari, Hodo curry tofu nuggets, and orange sesame sauce (orange juice, ginger, garlic, tahini, Asian sesame paste, rice vinegar, organic honey, and grape seed oil).

Learning to play the fiddle

Seared tea infused tofu, kale, sesame studded rice, and fiddlehead tempura stack with yellow coconut curry sauce

Fiddlehead ferns are a short-lived spring time favorite of a lot of folks. It's apparently a baby fern and upon maturing, it will straighten out its coils to grown into a fern. They do have a very distinct taste, somewhat astringent and very earthy. To accentuate this, the little fiddles were dipped in tempura batter that was mixed with cold carbonated water and fried. Served on a bed of sesame seed studded jasmine rice, simply roasted dino kale, and seared tea-infused Hodo tofu. And to round it all out, a salty, spicy, sour, and sweet yellow coconut curry (ginger, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, store-bought yellow Thai curry paste, maple syrup, coconut water, coconut milk, lime juice, and apple cider vinegar) sauce pooled the plate. After blending the sauce, there were bits here are there that were not meant to be chewed so I took the extra 10 minutes to strain the sauce.

Classic Chinese tofu

Ma po tofu used to be one of my all favorite Chinese foods. I loved the soft tofu simmered in a pungent spicy sauce and with a lot of rice by it's side, I was set! Nowadays, tofu and I don't really have a good relationship, but there are others out there who do and should not miss out on this amazing classic Chinese dish (which, by the way, is typically simmered with ground pork).

Ma po tofu

Steamed brown rice

Pickled sesame cucumber

The local and super fresh Hodo silken tofu was simmered in a blend of garlic, ginger, spicy Asian bean paste, tamari, mirin, and vegetable stock. Amazingly enough, a cornstarch slurry which is typical in Chinese cuisine, was not needed. Since the dish was incredibly intense, a light refreshing pickled cucumber (boiled apple cider and white wine vinegar and sugar) balanced the dish.

Japanese flavours abound!

The subtle flavors of Japan can be found in a variety of things. Individually, the flavors are subtle, but when combined, your taste buds will be on fire!

In this dish, green tea soba noodles were tossed with a touch of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Raw shredded carrots and simply roasted kale and asparagus to top. Hodo has amazing tofu, so I had to take advantage of their tea-infused firm tofu. It's reminiscent of the dried bean curd my family used to get at the Asian market. Whole shiitake mushroom caps were simmered in toasted garlic and mirin, which is sweet Japanese sake. And the artichokes? Simmered in red miso. And to top it off, an amazing spicy peanut sauce made up of a blend of chunky peanut butter, ginger, garlic, tamari, organic honey, rice wine vinegar, red chili flakes, and a touch of sesame oil.

Nutty red Thai curry

One of my favourite cuisines is Thai food. It's a balance of flavors: salty, sweet, pungent, sour, and sometimes spicy. The best is when you make fresh curry paste on your own. Typically, red curry paste has dried shrimp in it, but in this version, the shrimp never made it in.

Nutty red Thai curry with tofu

To make the fresh curry paste, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, raw sugar, tamarind, Braggs Amino acids, Fresno chilies, shallots, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, cumin, coriander, tomato paste and fennel seeds (I know it's a laundry list of ingredients!) were blended together.

And the delectable curry started off with some coconut oil, red onions, carrots, cauliflower, firm tofu, asparagus, vegetable stock, and finishing with coconut milk. Allow all curry to simmer a bit so the flavors begin to meld together. The curry was garnished with a mixture of roasted almonds, sliced coconut, cashews and fresh chopped cilantro. And with some steamed brown rice, you couldn't ask for a better pairing.

Curried tofu rice bowl

Today marks the first day I have ever worked with Hodo tofu. It's actually quite nice. So nice that I found my soy-intolerant self wanting to eat the chewy textured firm tofu. The tofu was firm and held it's shape, but unlike other firm tofus which I have worked with before, the interior was not compact and hard. Rather it was airy and spongy. Along with other veggie accompaniments, marinated Hodo tofu highlighted the curried rice bowl.

Curried tofu rice bowl

The bowl was layers upon layers of goodies: Bloomsdale spinach, brown rice, grilled sesame broccoli, edamame, marinated and roasted Hodo tofu, and then ladled with a warm curry coconut sauce. The cubed tofu was marinated overnight in a bath of tamari, apple cider vinegar, garlic, curry powder, a touch of maple syrup, and filtered water. To make the sauce, yellow onions and garlic were simmered with cumin, coriander, and curry powders, filtered water and coconut milk. In lieu of the water, you can use vegetable stock. The sauce was then blended until smooth with a bit of roasted cashews, some of the tofu marinade, and a touch of apple cider vinegar.

Macrobiotic in disguise

A bit more details on macrobiotics. Chew your food 50 times. Yes, 50. That helps with digestion and some say, the slower you eat, the more enjoyment and nourishment you receive from from food, and thus, the less you will eat. In terms of composition, a meal should comprise of the following:

• Whole cereal grains, especially brown rice: 40–60%
• Vegetables: 25–30%
• Beans and legumes: 5–10%
• Sea vegetables: 5%
• Fermented foods, such as miso, sauerkraut, kimchee: 5%

So in writing the menu, here's what I came up with.

Ume shiso brown rice
Burdock and lotus root simmered in miso with wakame
Hoisin glazed roasted tofu

Short grain brown rice was steamed with an umeboshi plum infused water that had sat overnight, and then tossed with toasted sesame seeds, sweet rice vinegar, and freshly chopped shiso leaves. The root vegetables were simmered in a broth of sauteed ginger and red and white miso. After about 1 hour and 30 minutes, the veggies were mostly strained and tossed with hydrated wakame and a splash or two of yuzu citrus juice and sesame oil. Both yuzu and sesame oil are strong, so not much is needed. As for the tofu, I knew hoisin is a pretty strong sauce and thus did not marinate the tofu overnight. I tossed the tofu in a blend of ginger, hoisin, sherry vinegar, and white peppercorns and then roasted them in the oven. And to add accent to the dish, a honey sesame adorned the plate. Made with a blend of toasted sesame seeds, ginger, organic honey, nama shoyu, orange juice, and a touch of sesame oil, the sauce rounded out the dish and was really tasty over the rice.

How balanced and nourished would you feel after a meal like this?

A fusion on tofu

Being of Chinese descent, one would think that tofu and I are a match-made in heaven. This however, is not the case at all. Tofu, along with other soy products, does not make my belly happy. It's cousin tempeh, the fermented soybean, and I get along just fine. However, this does not deter me from putting tofu on the menu as I do know that many people do enjoy it. Hey, it's been made and eaten for over 2,000 years with its origins in China, so there must be something magical about it.

Coconut-crusted tofu cutlets with mac-mango salsa

Sesame and green studded brown rice

Organic firm tofu was marinated overnight in a mixture of tamari, filtered water, tahini, fresh lime juice, maple syrup, garlic, and a pinch of cayenne. The tofu was then drained, with the marinade reserved to make a sauce, and then coated with an aromatic blend of toasted coconut, finely ground cornmeal, cumin powder, chili powder, cilantro, and red chili flakes. What was surprising was that the tofu did not need any sort of adhesion prior to it's dive into the blend. It just needed a firm palm and press. To finish off the tofu, it was baked in the pizza oven on high temp until nicely golden brown. Served on a bed of brown rice tossed with toasted sesame seeds, Bloomsdale spinach, green peas, and sesame oil, the tofu cutlets were topped with a refreshing and hearty salsa made of roasted macadamia nut chunks, diced mangoes, diced red onions, cilantro, fresh lime juice, seeded and finely diced jalapenos, and a touch of agave.

One bake, two bake, three bake?

There was a lot of oven action involved in today's dish. On the menu was a baked penne with tofu "sausage", mushrooms, and broccoli. Of course, I would have loved to throw in all the ingredients raw and allow it to bake in the oven. That would have been the easy way. However, it left more uncertainty to the final product. The flavors, taste, depth, and texture was much more important to me than saving and hour or so of time. So there I was, baking away today.

Tofu "sausage", mushroom, and broccoli baked penne
Mixed greens with house balsamic vinaigrette

Before I assembled the casserole, everything was pre-cooked:

• a white wine marinara sauce made of extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, white wine, yellow onions, tomatoes, basil, tarragon, dried oregano, lemon juice, and also sun-dried tomatoes;
• tofu sausage where crumbled tofu was sauteed with a melange of roasted fennel, paprika, garlic powder, dried oregano, onion powder, red chili flakes, and tomato paste;
• broccoli and mushrooms simply tossed in extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted;
  
• penne pasta cooked in salted water and
• a nutty mixture of macadamia nuts, lemon zest and juice, and parsley.

All of the above with the addition of Daiya shredded mozzarella cheese were mixed together and put into a casserole dish. It was then layered with additional marinara and "cheese". After baking the casserole for about 20 minutes at 350F with foil on, the foil was removed. Bread crumbs tossed in melted vegan soy butter was sprinkled on top and the penne was then baked again at 400F for 8 minutes until brown. Next time I would oil the foil a bit as some of the cheese melted and stuck to the foil after baking.

Tofu, greens, and rice

In Costa Rica, I had been exposed to a lot of coconut, passion fruit, and mosquitoes, to name a few! I remember coming up with this menu in the car, while traversing over the rough landscape of the inland of Costa Rica. The idea really started with the rice (which originally had fresh passion fruit), and then my mind took it from there.

Green tea and tamarind marinated and broiled tofu

Chinese broccoli with hoisin sauce

Coconut and scallion jasmine rice

Organic firm tofu marinated overnight in a mixture of pure tamarind puree, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, Chinese five-spice powder, maple syrup, Braggs amino acids, and green tea. A note about Chinese five-spice: the blend of spices is apparently based upon the Chinese philosophy of balancing yin and yang in food. The most common combination is star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seed. It is quite fragrant. After marinating overnight, the tofu was broiled in a high temp oven, in this case, the pizza oven, and the marinade was reserved for a sauce to top the tofu while serving. I had the foresight to know that the tofu would be a bit dry, although flavorful, after it's encounter with high heat. The sauce was simply the marinade plus a touch of extra-virgin olive oil and sesame oil. Bite-sized Chinese broccoli was blanched and tossed with hoisin sauce and white pepper. And the jasmine rice was steamed with a blend of coconut milk, coconut water, and water (.5:.25:1.25 respective ratios for 2 cups of rice). Each component imparted a unique and subtle flavor and married along nicely.

Once upon a tofu

I find tofu to be very versatile. You can practically make in any way, shape, form, and flavor. It comes in firm, soft, silken, firm silken (I know it sounds like and oxymoron, but it really does exist!), infused, dried, etc. Today's dish was tofu fashioned in a Mexican way.

Chile-marinated grilled tofu with roasted tomatillo and sauce

Citrus infused quinoa

The tofu bathed overnight in a chile marinade made from re-hydrated and seeded guajillo chilies, chipotle chilies, sauteed red onions with cumin and smoked paprika, orange juice, fresh cilantro, and a touch of agave and lemon juice. The marinade was drained, reserved and warmed up while the tofu made it's way to the grill. The tofu was adorned with a roasted tomatillo and avocado sauce which included garlic, fresh cilantro, seeded jalapenos, a touch of citrus juice, and filtered water. And the quinoa was steamed with diluted orange juice and then tossed with extra-virgin olive oil, lemon and lime zest, and a touch of lemon juice. The dish was deep, light, and filling.

Massaman tofu curry

Thai curry in peanut butter and coconut milk? I discovered massaman curries in Virginia back when I was a carnivore. I do remember it being very good. It's just as delicious with a right balance of seasonal vegetables and tofu.

Thai-style massaman curry with kabocha squash and tofu

Sesame brown rice

I typically like to make my own curry pastes, but with the holidays around the corner and a huge prep list at hand, pre-packaged vegan yellow curry just had to do. The yellow curry paste was sauteed with additional ginger and garlic in grapeseed oil. Julienned red onions were added and sauteed until almost translucent. Carrots and kabocha squash were stirred in along with some water to help cook the vegetables. Smooth peanut butter was stirred in before the squash was fully cooked so that the peanut butter can melt into the curry paste. After which add enough water or vegetable stock to the simmer so that when tofu is added, they can swim around in the curry. Organic coconut milk, fresh lime juice, palm sugar, and kaffir lime leaves rounded out the remainder of the curry. Oh! And right during service, organic baby spinach was stirred in to the curry. The curry itself was incredibly flavorful and to avoid taste-bud competition, I left rice simple and stirred in some toasted sesame seeds.

Learning to deviate from the plan

Hiccups. And I don't mean the kind of the body, but rather of life. I noticed today that my energy was a bit out of balance in spite of my early morning practice and bike ride to work. I knew that today was going to be a bit of a challenge as the prep for the Swiss chard went awry yesterday. The chard was supposed to be stemmed from the leaf down, and as we all tend to do sometimes, we make mistakes. It was completely stemmed. However innocently done, I told myself that I would spend the extra time in piecing the leaves together so that I could make a roll. This morning, after about 7 of these attempts, I moved onto a different plan, one that required a lot less effort. Perhaps I gave up to early, or perhaps I took the smarter route. As of this moment, I'm still not sure.

Coconut sticky rice over Swiss chard
Miso simmered tofu
Yam "fries" with wasabi dipping sauce

Nishiki rice was steamed with diluted coconut milk (1 part coconut milk and 3 parts water) and then combined with sweet shredded coconut, scallions, and toasted white sesame seeds. This was the filling of the planned roll, but ended up as a compact scoop over steamed chard that was drizzled with a shoyu sauce of tamari, mirin, fresh grated ginger, and a touch of sesame oil. The tofu turned out really well. Firm tofu was simmered in a miso bath of white miso, sake, demerara sugar, and filtered water. When served, it was sprinkled with a light dust of the spicy togarashi, one of my most favorite condiments in Japanese cooking. And the yam fries? Simply roasted with a touch of oil, salt, and pepper. The wasabi dipping sauce was meant to be a mayonnaise, but adjustments were in order as the vegan mayonnaise I attempted to make didn't really turn out well. After much tasting and alteration, constituted wasabi powder, along with cashews, almonds, lemon juice, rice oil, soy milk, Dijon mustard, and a touch of maple syrup created end product. Lessons learned: improvisation and the flexibility to change from a pre-determined route makes life a lot easier. And leaving emotions out of the picture... work in progress and something I definitely look forward to.

Tofu mishap of 2011

In the kitchen, as with anywhere else in life, things are inevitably at times to not go as planned. This is exactly what happened to me today. I had prepared, to a "t", a brine for tofu. As this was my first brining attempt ever, I studied the recipe and carefully put all my careful attention to its execution. I allowed to tofu to brine overnight and proceeded with the original dish of a peppercorn crusted broiled tofu. Upon tasting, whoa! Too salty. Guess what, the tofu only needed to brine for 2 hours. So apparently brining is not the same as marinating. So the over-salty, over-brined tofu was a no-go. When I come across "failure", I tend to beat myself up, and get emotional. Today, was an anomaly. After discovering the mishap, I immediately went back to my original intention and knowing I did the best I could and with all my heart, I proceeded to move on and create (with the help of my fellow co-workers), a revised dish. Sometimes, mistakes are a blessing in disguise.

Peppered tofu, fall squash, and mushrooms

Pumpernickel farro

Simple mixed greens with whole-grain mustard vinaigrette

Let's talk about the tofu. Plain old tofu - no marinade and no brine - was gently simmered in a concoction of grapeseed oil, garlic, red chili flakes, fresh thyme, marsala wine, and crimini mushrooms. The squash was roasted separately with a touch of oil and coriander powder, after which, was gently stirred into the tofu and mushroom. And with a little bit of salt and pepper, the dish came to completion. Gentle was the key here. The farro was steamed with cacao powder, espresso, and caraway seeds, all classic tastes to that of pumpernickel. Additional seeds were fried in a bit of oil, then folded into the farro along with maple syrup. Organic mixed greens were tossed in a oil-free whole-grain mustard vinaigrette made of whole-grain mustard, red wine vinegar, filtered water, and honey. What is brushed below the bed of greens is a fresh beet juice reduction.

All in all, it wasn't the "perfect" dish, but then again, labeling is so passe...

Ready to roll?

This past Friday, the day before the Thanksgiving holiday week, we had anticipated very slow day. Much to my surprise, the following dish was sold out by 12:15. 45 minutes into service. Wow! Here are the details on the dish:

Spiced tofu and cabbage rolls with almond cream and coconut-mint chutney

Very green rice and spinach

This is a lighter take on a spring roll. Rather than frying, I wanted to bake it. So the question of the type of wrapper was in order. Filo dough crossed my mind, but in a high volume setting, the intricate handling of the delicate pastry sheets was out of the question. So brick dough, also know as feuilles de brick, came to the rescue. The brick dough was lightly brushed with extra-virgin olive oil on the outer shell and filled with seasoned firm tofu, shredded green and purple cabbage, fresh coriander, mint, and scallions. The seasoning for the tofu consisted of dry toasted coriander, fennel, and cumin seeds which were then finely ground. A touch of turmeric was added to the spice blend. Accompanied with rolls were an almond cream (toasted almonds, Braggs liquid aminos, maple syrup, and lime juice) and coconut-mint chutney (unsweetened shredded coconut, fresh mint, agave, lime juice, and coconut water).

To make the rice green, jasmine rice was steamed with matcha green tea powder and fresh minced ginger. Then it was tossed with edamame, fresh baby spinach, and a touch of honey, and extra-virgin olive oil.

Light, flavorful, and quite delicious.