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Tag Archives: kombu

Vegan pho

07 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by Zoli in gluten free, healthy, soup, spices, vegan, Vegetarian, Vietnamese

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

banh pho tuoi, kombu, vegan pho, vegan vietnamese food, vegetarian pho

vegan pho-5

If you don't already have all these whole spices, you can pick up a cute little packet like this in an Asian grocery.

If you don’t already have all these whole spices, you can pick up a cute little packet like this in an Asian grocery.

vegan pho-1

They said it couldn’t be done!

Ok, ok. ONE person told me it couldn’t be done. In kind of a patronizing way. So I say to that one person: PHBLTTT! In any case, there are Buddhist Vietnamese who have vegan pho once in a while themselves, so this is already a thing.

I am a little sad that I used the last of my flat rice noodles in a spicy coconut soup, so my pho has — ahem– somen noodles in it instead. WHA?? I know, I know. But just look past the noodles! Look at the broth, the cilantro, the chilies instead! We do what we can after all. We do what we can…

Behold, my vegan pho recipe!

Ingredients
Serves 4 small bowls or 2 large bowls

for the broth
6 cups vegetable stock (or 6 cups water, one vegetable boullion cube)
2 inch piece of ginger
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
6 dried mushrooms (such as shitake)
1 palm-size piece of dried kelp (kombu)
4 tbs quality light soy sauce (light in color, not in sodium)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp rock sugar (or palm sugar or jaggery)
2 star anise
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves
3 cardamom pods
1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/2 tsp szechuan peppercorns
1/4 tsp black peppercorns

For the soup
flat rice noodles (Bánh Phở Tươi)
tofu (optional)
mushrooms (optional)
1 red or green chili, sliced thinly
1/2 raw onion, sliced thinly and soaked in water
2 spring onion, sliced thinly
handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup bean sprouts
wedge of lime

1) Start the vegan pho broth by charring the onion and ginger. Keep the skin on both and place on a grill over an open flame. Turn the ceiling fan on for this one! No worries if the onion skin lights on fire and floats away as onion ash. Cook the onion and ginger on all sides for about 10 or 15 minutes. Rinse in warm water and rub the blackened skin off. The onion and ginger will be warm and soft and smell amazing. Cut the onion in quarters. Smash the ginger and chop it into a few pieces.
2) In a small frying pan, dry roast the spices (star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, coriander and peppercorns) until fragrant.
3) Bring the 6 cups of veggie stock to boil and adding the garlic, kelp, charred onion and ginger, dried mushrooms, and spices, soy sauce, salt and rock sugar.
4) Simmer about 20 minutes. Strain all the vegetables and whole spices from the broth, but reserve the mushrooms.
5) While the broth is simmering, prepare the noodles and soup toppings.
6) For the flat rice noodles (Bánh Phở Tươi), you can use dried or fresh (look for them in the refridgerated section of Asian grocery). Cook the noodles according to the instructions, then set aside.
7) Wash and chop all the fresh vegetables, such as cilantro, spring onion, raw white onion, mushrooms, bean sprouts, chilies and wedge of lime.
8) When the broth is ready and strained, return it to the heat and bring to a simmer again. Get your bowls, noodles and veg all ready. Use a large spoon strainer to dip a serving of the noodles into the hot broth to reheat, then place the (now hot) noodles into the bowl. Heat the tofu, mushrooms and bean sprouts this way too if you like.
9) Top the hot noodles with plenty of broth, the vegetables (cilantro, onion, chilies, etc) and a wedge of lime. Repeat for as many bowls as you are making.

YUM!!!

vegan pho-4

vegan pho-6

Don't look too close--I used the wrong noodles!

Don’t look too close–I used the wrong noodles!

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Vegetarian paella

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Zoli in gluten free, kids, rice, spanish, spices, vegan, Vegetarian

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

artichokes, kombu, one-pot vegetarian dinner, paella, rice dishes, shitakes, vegan, vegetarian main, vegetarian paella

vegetarian paella

I really should invest in a proper paella pan because I love to make paella. It’s not too complicated to prepare and fun to cook in the way one-pot dinners are fun (yeah, that’s right, fun). No last minute rushing around to plate everything at the same time or brown butter or whisk a sauce. As long as all the prep work has been done in advance, this is just a matter of assembly and setting a timer. Fun!

Bonuses: hearty and warming, will feed a crowd, does not have to be eaten instantly or Christmas will be ruined, great for kids of all ages. If your kids don’t like something (such as tofu or green olives), they can pick it out of the rice while you sigh in frustration. Oh and did I say this is a one-pot veggie-packed dinner yet?

So my recipe may sound a bit odd at first with the kombu and shiitake mushroom thing but they add so much flavor to the vegetable stock and the end product is richly delicious–even without shellfish or chicken. Ha! I almost think it’s a stroke of genius on my part as the slimy shiitakes are mussel-like and the dried kelp adds a salty fishy umami you might otherwise get from shrimp.

Of course, this recipe from La Tienda creates a perfectly fine vegetarian paella too.
The most important thing for paella is to cook the rice properly. It is finished by steaming the rice in the rich vegetable broth. Eat this its own, with salad, or as part of a tapas meal with Spanish tortilla, roasted peppers, pan con tomate, nuts, cheese and white bean salad… you get the idea.

Vegetarian paella
Serves 6-8
adapted from La Tienda

olive oil
3 1/4 cups water with 2 veggie bouillon cubes
1 cup arborio rice and 1/2 cup brown rice (or 1 1/2 cups bomba rice)
1 palm-size piece of kombu (dried kelp)
1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
1 white or yellow onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 celery stalk, diced
4-5 tomatoes quartered or 200g tinned tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped (optional)
1 can artichoke hearts, halved
1/2 block pressed tofu, cubed (optional)
1/3 cup peas
pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp paprika
Spanish green olives
parsley or chives and lemon wedges to serve

1) First prepare the stock. Bring the water to boil, then turn off heat and add in dried shitakes and kombu. Cover and let sit at least 30 minutes. Take out the kombu and reserve for something else or toss. Strain the shiitakes, chop them and set aside. Prepare all the vegetables while the stock is soaking.
2) Use a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pan with a lid. Cover the bottom of the pan with good Spanish olive oil (about 4 glugs) and heat. Add in the chopped garlic, onion, bell peppers and celery. Sautee on med-low heat about 15 minutes.
3) Add in the rest of the vegetables (except the olives), rice and spices and gently cook a couple more minutes. I like to add potato when I am eating with the kids as they are tater fans. Leave it out if you like.
4) Add in the stock, tofu, shitake mushrooms from the stock and olives. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for about 10 or 15 minutes.
5) Preheat the oven to about 350F. Cover the top of the pan with tinfoil and then put on the lid. Press down tightly to air seal.
6) Put the pan in the oven for another 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and the stock has been absorbed. Arborio risotto rice takes a while to cook so taste it and see. If it is still a little crunchy, reseal and put back in the oven. The paella should not be soupy. All the stock should be absorbed and the rice should be tender and moist.

Top with parsley and pass around lemon wedges to squeeze over the paella.

DSC_0098
DSC_0104
DSC_0117

vegetarian paella

vegetarian paella

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