Category Archives: peanut free

Spicy coconut soup with red curry paste

15 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by in comfort food, gluten free, healthy, peanut free, rice noodles, Sauces, soup, Thai, udon noodles, vegan, Vegetarian

≈ 6 Comments

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coconut-soup-1coconut-soup-2It was so cold this morning that it hurt to breathe through my nose. I would have cursed the day I got a dog except that she was so happy running around the frozen meadow that it gave me the strength to endure the cold after all.

This is the kind of weather that requires a very hot bath, very hot tea, and very hot, spicy soup.

Ingredients for a big pot of soup
Serves 4-6
vegetable oil
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste* (or more if you like it spicier)
5-6 cups vegetable stock
1 palm-sized bit of dried kelp or kombu (optional)
1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 can coconut cream or coconut milk (use less water, if using milk instead of cream)
1 – 2 tsp palm sugar
Combination of sliced/chopped vegetables, such as 1 cup mushrooms, 2 cups dark leafy greens of choice (kale, spinach, dandelion, chard, etc) 1 cup bell peppers, 1/2 cup baby corn
1 cup firm tofu
Large handful of cilantro/coriander
lime
green onion or chives
Serve with glistening rice noodles, fat chewy udon or sticky jasmine rice

*I used homemade vegan kaeng kua red curry paste. Recipe coming soon!! In the meantime, this is the High-Heel Gourmet’s excellent post about homemade red curry paste.

1) For a bit of extra flavor, bring vegetable stock to a boil and add in the kelp/kombu. Simmer for ten minutes then remove kelp.
2) Heat up a large soup pot with 2-3 tbsp of oil, enough to coat the bottom. Then add the curry paste (recipe for vegan kaeng kua red curry paste coming soon) and fry the paste until cooked and fragrant. Do not burn!!
3) Add in half the can of coconut cream or the thick part of the coconut milk first. Stir and cook until the oil starts to separate in the pan. At this point, add in the remaining coconut cream/milk, and the vegetable stock. Then add in palm sugar and a splash of soy sauce. Only use light soy sauce as a darker soy sauce will affect the color of the soup.
4) Once at boiling point, turn heat to low and simmer while preparing vegetables.
5) Wash and slice mushrooms and peppers. Wash and chop the greens to desired size (I used dandelion greens and they were delicious. The bitter flavor cooked out of them by the time I ate the soup). Cut the tofu into bite-size cubes. (I used slices of tofu sheets in my soup as that is all I had).
6) Add the vegetables and tofu into the soup broth and simmer till cooked, about 10 or 15 minutes.
7) Cook noodles or rice according to packet and set aside for serving.
8) When ready to eat the soup, add the chopped spring onion, chopped fresh cilantro/coriander and a squeeze of lime juice at the end. This is a key ingredient to freshen the soup with the cilantro and lime and also add the vital sour note from the fresh lime juice.
9) Taste the soup and adjust seasoning if needed.
10) Garnish soup with extra cilantro and lime. Serve with noodles or rice.

Bánh xèo – Vietnamese crepes

28 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by in breakfast, crepes, gluten free, healthy, peanut free, salad, Sauces, Street food, vegan, Vegetarian, Vietnamese

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banh xeo with mushrooms

banh xeo with mushrooms

with tofu

with tofu

banh-xeo-2

banh-xeo-4

banh-xeo-5

Why yes, now that you ask, I AM obsessed with vietnamese food. Especially these babies. I probably make bánh xèo at least once a week. Crispy pancakes that taste of creamy coconut and turmeric, wrapped up with fresh herbs and vegetables and dipped in a savory spicy sauce. YUM!

Traditionally, these are made with shrimp and pork, which I do not eat. I use tofu, mushrooms or sliced vegetable sausage instead. Other important things that you should not forgo are mint, cucumber, and bean sprouts. But the other fillings are flexible.

Ingredients
Makes about five crepes/bánh xèo
1 cup Bánh xèo flour (or rice flour mixed with a tsp of corn starch) from asian market
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
pinch of salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups coconut milk (or more if batter is too thick. the batter should be thin like crepe batter) or coconut cream but this is thicker than coconut milk so add a little water
a splash of light beer or lager (really helps with the crispiness)
a light vegetable oil
1/2 white onion, sliced finely
mushrooms, vegetable sausage or tofu, sliced

For the filling:
bean sprouts
sliced cucumber
fresh herbs like mint, basil, cilantro
sliced carrot (optional)
large lettuce leaves like romaine, green leaf or mustard greens to wrap up everything, (optional)

For the vegetarian sauce (traditionally fish sauce, not soy sauce is used):
3 tbs soy sauce (or vegetarian fish sauce)
1 tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp minced onion, carrot and cilantro
slivers of fresh chili for spiciness
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbs of water (if needed)

To make:

1) Prepare all the vegetables and the dipping sauce first. Then you can fry each crepe and eat it hot as it comes out of the frying pan.
2) Make the batter by whisking the banh xeo flour with turmeric, pinch of salt, coconut milk and splash of beer–about 1/4 cup–until smooth.
3) Heat up a good dollop of oil in a small to medium non-stick frying pan. Banh xeo is named after the sizzling sound the batter makes when it hits the frying pan so you want enough oil to hear it sizzle!
4) Add a few pieces of thin sliced onion and a few of the mushroom or tofu slices. Fry on medium-high heat until starting to cook, then ladle in the batter. How much will depend on the size of your frying pan/crepe. I use a small ceramic frying pan to make fairly small crepes. The trick is the same as normal crepes–ladle in the batter, and then swirl around so that the batter coats the pan evenly. You may need to practice this a few times to get it right.
5) Cover the crepe with a lid to cook the top of it. Keep the heat on medium high to crisp up the edges of the crepe and make the bottom nice and golden brown.
6) When done cooking –only a minute or two–fill half with fresh bean sprouts and then fold over. One crepe is done! Now add more oil and cook the next.
7) To eat: either stuff the crepes with cucumber and herbs and eat with knife and fork (and the dipping sauce!). Or cut in half and use a large lettuce leaf as a wrapper to eat the crepe halves with the fresh herbs and dipping sauce.

Here is one youtube video about cooking and eating banh xeo.
And here is another youtube video to help.
I recommend watching both to get a good idea of this recipe.