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I love creating healthy and delicious recipes, eating, drinking coffee, traveling, hiking, swimming, taking photographs, shopping for vintage kitchenware, collecting books and music, singing (poorly), dancing (poorly), writing, fashion and working.

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April 26, 2012
in Vegetarian Tofu Japanese Food Healthy Food
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Japanese Style Tofu Salad  Tofu with scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers and wakame with a sesame miso dressing.

Japanese Style Tofu Salad 

Tofu with scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers and wakame with a sesame miso dressing.

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March 16, 2012
in Chinese Food Delicious Food Healthy Hot and Sour Soup Recipe Soup Vegan Vegetarian
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Hot and Sour Soup This is my recipe for hot and sour soup and it is absolutely delicious. I recommend making this with chicken stock and strips of chicken or pork and an egg as well. To add an egg to the soup, beat the egg in a bowl and stir into soup in a thin stream right before the last step of adding in the sesame oil. Chinkiang vinegar is a fragrant Chinese black vinegar that is easily found at an Asian grocery store. Sichuan peppercorns have a numbing effect on the mouth that some find undesirable but in its whole form have a scent reminiscent of black pepper, lavender and peppermint.  Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp chopped garlic 2 tbsp chopped ginger 2 tbsp Korean hot pepper flakes  1/2 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms 1 cup dried thinly sliced wood ear mushrooms, soaked in warm water 1/2 cup thinly sliced bamboo shoots 6 cups vegetable stock (I used Better than Bouillon mushroom base) 1 block extra firm silken tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubes 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar Chinkiang vinegar (I use Chundan brand) 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce large pinch of sugar 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional) 5 scallions, 4 chopped into 1 inch pieces and 1 finely chopped for garnish 3 tbsp corn starch 1 tablespoon sesame oil Method: Heat vegetable oil in a stock pot over medium. Add in chopped ginger and garlic and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Add in hot pepper flakes and continue cooking for another minute. Add in shiitakes, wood ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let soup simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir in the 1 inch pieces of scallion, vinegars, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, Sichuan peppercorns and tofu. Cover and simmer again for 10 minutes more. Mix together 3 tbsp cornstarch and 3 tbsp water. Slowly pour this mixture in a circular motion into the soup while stirring gently. Be careful not to break up the tofu cubes. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until the soup thickens. Stir in the sesame oil. Serve hot, garnished with the reserved chopped scallion.

Hot and Sour Soup

This is my recipe for hot and sour soup and it is absolutely delicious. I recommend making this with chicken stock and strips of chicken or pork and an egg as well. To add an egg to the soup, beat the egg in a bowl and stir into soup in a thin stream right before the last step of adding in the sesame oil. Chinkiang vinegar is a fragrant Chinese black vinegar that is easily found at an Asian grocery store. Sichuan peppercorns have a numbing effect on the mouth that some find undesirable but in its whole form have a scent reminiscent of black pepper, lavender and peppermint. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 2 tbsp chopped ginger
  • 2 tbsp Korean hot pepper flakes 
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
  • 1 cup dried thinly sliced wood ear mushrooms, soaked in warm water
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced bamboo shoots
  • 6 cups vegetable stock (I used Better than Bouillon mushroom base)
  • 1 block extra firm silken tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • Chinkiang vinegar (I use Chundan brand)
  • 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
  • large pinch of sugar
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
  • 5 scallions, 4 chopped into 1 inch pieces and 1 finely chopped for garnish
  • 3 tbsp corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Method:

Heat vegetable oil in a stock pot over medium. Add in chopped ginger and garlic and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Add in hot pepper flakes and continue cooking for another minute. Add in shiitakes, wood ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let soup simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir in the 1 inch pieces of scallion, vinegars, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, Sichuan peppercorns and tofu. Cover and simmer again for 10 minutes more. Mix together 3 tbsp cornstarch and 3 tbsp water. Slowly pour this mixture in a circular motion into the soup while stirring gently. Be careful not to break up the tofu cubes. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until the soup thickens. Stir in the sesame oil. Serve hot, garnished with the reserved chopped scallion.

7 notes

January 26, 2012
in Breakfast Chinese Food Food Recipe Vegetarian
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For a light breakfast this morning, I made a Northern Chinese soy milk soup called Dou Jiang. Soy milk soup probably sounds gross and looks gross to a lot of people, but it tastes freaking awesome and is total comfort food. I haven’t had Dou Jiang in at least 10 years and I am so happy to finally make it again. I remember enjoying a huge bowl of this good stuff every weekend when I was a kid, with a spoon in one hand and a Chinese cruller in the other to dunk into the soup with.

I usually eyeball all the measurements when I make this because there really is not a set rule on how much of each ingredient you are to use. Most of the ingredients can be adjusted to your taste, however I would not recommend using less than 1 1/2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar. The vinegar is really important to this dish, because it creates the texture that this soup is known for. This is a very simple recipe to make in under 5 minutes. You can also add dried shrimp or Chinese shredded dried pork, but I didn’t have any on hand. Actually, I really like Dou Jiang just plain like this.

Dou Jiang

serves 1

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsweetened and unflavored soy milk (I like Organic Edensoy)
  • 1 whole scallion
  • 2 tbsp chopped Sichuan preserved mustard greens (found at any Asian grocery store)
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • dash of sesame oil or chili oil
  • 1 Chinese cruller (found in the freezer section of any Asian grocery store. I like the Twin Marquis brand. Follow package directions to prepare.)

Method: 

Start by pouring your soy milk into a saucepan and turning on the burner to low. Stir occasionally. Don’t let the soy milk burn! Finely chop your scallions and place at the bottom of your soup bowl. Do the same thing with the preserved mustard greens. This stuff is really salty, so I would recommend quickly washing the pickled vegetable before cutting it up into thin slices. Add your rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil or chili oil to your soup bowl. By now your soy milk should be nice and hot. Pour the soy milk over your seasoning and voila! A wonderful and quick breakfast. Top with an extra drizzle of sesame oil or chili oil and maybe some toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately with a hot Chinese cruller. Unfortunately today I didn’t have any crullers but it was still awesome.