Easy white bean tacos

19 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by in gluten free, healthy, quick and awesome, salad, Sauces, Street food, tacos, tex mex, vegan, Vegetarian

≈ 8 Comments

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white bean tacos-1

white bean tacos-3

white bean tacos-2

Something quick and tasty to throw together when you really don’t feel like cooking, but you don’t exactly want to eat crappy food either. We’re not messing around with spices or taco seasoning here. These tacos are really just about the chili of the sambal oelek and the fresh sour lime juice.

See here for some more labor intensive, but pretty spectacular banh mi tacos.

Ingredients
Makes about 8 small corn four tortilla tacos

Prep and cook time: 20 minutes
2 cans white beans (cannelini, northern, white, etc), drained and rinsed
1/2 to 1 tsp sambal oelek (or more, depending on your spice skill)
fresh oregano and cilantro (save some for garnish)
fresh lettuce or greens of any kind (rocket, butter, boston, radicchio, kale, bok choi)
1-2 limes
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, slivered or minced
8 corn tortillas
fresh veg of your choice (avocado, radish, cucumber, tomato, corn, red onion etc)
salsa of choice
salt and pepper to taste

1) Prep all the veg. Wash and slice the vegetables thin. Either leave the leafy greens whole, or shred them as you like.
2) Heat up 2 tbs of olive oil and gently fry the garlic till soft. Add in the white beans, a bit of water, the sambal oelek, 2-3 tsp of chopped oregano and cilantro, and salt and pepper
3) On low to medium heat, cook the beans until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4) Fry the corn tortillas till hot, soft and a little golden brown.
5) To plate the tacos: Place a corn tortilla, add the lettuce, the fresh veg (such as radish, cucumber and avocado), the beans and a generous squeeze of lime. Repeat with remaining tacos.
6) Garnish with cilantro and serve with salsa on top or on the side.

Tofu banh mi tacos

08 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in gluten free, healthy, Mexican, quick and awesome, spices, Street food, tacos, vegan, Vegetarian, Vietnamese

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banh mi taco close up

I’ve been experimenting with flavorful (flavorsome?) tofu tacos and this combination of Vietnamese flavors with the corn tortilla works really well. You can even prepare the filling ahead of time as these are delicious at room temperature–no need to keep the tofu warm. For a vegan version, leave out the mayo or use a vegan mayo of choice.

Ingredients
Prep and cook time: 20 minutes
Makes 4-6 banh mi tacos
soft corn tortillas
1 block firm tofu
1 large jalapeno, thinly sliced
4-6 radishes, thinly sliced
2 small persian cucumber, sliced
1 carrot, julienned (or pickled carrots and daikon radish)
thinly sliced red onion
mayo (optional)
fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
2-3 limes
sriracha or other chili sauce

For the tofu marinade:
good quality soy sauce (or mushroom soy sauce, found at Asian market)
1 stalk lemongrass
2 birds eye chilies
1 tbs fresh grated ginger
2 fat garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
sesame oil
olive oil
pinch of sugar (optional)

tofu

tofu with carrot and cucumber

banh mi tacos from above

1) First, prepare the marinated tofu. Cut the tofu into small cubes or strips and set aside.
2) Peel the outer layer off the lemon grass stalk and then whack it a few times with the back of a knife or a wooden spoon. Cut the lemongrass into 3 or 4 pieces. Cut a slit into the birds eye chilies.
3) Add the lemongrass pieces, chilies, garlic, ginger, and pinch of sugar to a large bowl. Whisk in 1 tbs of sesame oil, 1 tbs of olive oil, and about 3 tbs of soy sauce (or 1 tbs of mushroom soy sauce, which is stronger).
4) Mix in the tofu strips. Stir a few times and leave to marinate while prepping the other veg.
5) Prepare the vegetable toppings. If you don’t have pickled carrot and daikon radish, mix julienned carrot with a splash of rice vinegar and set aside. Mix the sliced cucumber and radish with a 1-2 tbs of mayo.
6) After the tofu has marinated for 20 minutes or so, heat up a wok and fry the mixture (including the marinade) on a high heat. Stir frequently to keep anything from burning, but long enough to give the tofu a nice color. When cooked and heated through, discard the stalks of lemongrass. They are tough to chew on!
7) Assemble the tacos. Fry each corn tortilla till golden on both sides (no oil is necessary) and fill with the fried tofu, the cucumber and radish with mayo, the pickled carrot, a bit of red onion and sliced jalapeno (if you like spice) and the fresh cilantro.
8)Top it all with a splash of soy sauce, a drizzle of sriracha and a generous squeeze of lime.