Sesame Seitan Using Homemade Seitan

I love trying to replicate recipes.  Especially those that I really miss being able to order since moving away from NY.  I used to get this awesome sesame vegan chicken recipe from a place called Zen Palate which would deliver directly to my apartment on my days off or whenever I felt too tired to make dinner.  Since coming back to Michigan, the ability to purchase vegan "meats" isn't as easy, so whenever I get the chance, I stock up.  I've also been making several batches of seitan and freezing small portions of them so I can prepare a quick, tasty meal.  This meal came together very fast thanks to that prepared seitan.  Yum!

 

 



Tasty, Crispy Yummy Sesame Seitan


2-3 Servings of seitan, homemade or store bought
Canola or refined coconut oil for shallow frying

Broccoli or other veggies to have on the side, steamed

White or brown rice to serve.

Sauce:
1/2 cup filtered water
1 cup unchicken broth
2-4 tablespoons rice vinegar (I used 3)
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1/2 cup organic sugar or agave
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons sesame oil (un-toasted)
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus additional to garnish
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder


1.  Prepare the sauce: in a medium sauce pan add all of the ingredients.  Whisk together well. 
2.  Turn the heat on medium and cook until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens considerably.  Set aside to cool slightly until ready to use.
3.  Cut the seitan into small pieces, dry well.  Briefly pan fry in a small amount of canola or refined coconut oil until crispy.  Place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.
4.  Once all of the seitan is cooked, place in a bowl with a generous amount of the sesame sauce.  Toss well.
5.  To serve, place a portion of the rice on the plate, followed by a serving of the sesame seitan and the steamed vegetable.  Top the seitan with additional sesame seeds.  That's it!

A close-up of the deliciousness.

Enjoy!

Koko

Eggplant and Soy Chicken with Brown Rice and Mixed Green Salad

The one thing I miss a lot about being away from NY, is the ease in finding vegan "meat" products.  There is a really great food coop here in Michigan that carries a ton of amazing, healthy, organic products, which I love, but I sometimes just really crave vegan chicken and other "fake" meats!  And they only carry veggie burgers, seitan, etc.  I remembered that there was this tiny, funky little health food store called Edson Farms that I literally had not been to for over ten years, and after finding out that it was still in business, I rushed over.  I remember that store carrying a ton of soy meat products.  After running over to the freezer section where those fake meats used to be, I was shocked to discover the same selection of veggie burgers and loaves that the coop carried.  There were only two packages of vegan "chicken strips" left in the freezer, which I immediately grabbed, for fear someone would take them, and rushed home. 

This just all goes to show how much I took for granted living in NY and the accessibility of really anything I wanted at any point.  Oh sure, I can and likely will order some fake meats online, but it was so much more fun and so much more interesting to be able to walk into a vegetarian supermarket and be able to purchase almost every item in there replicating all kinds of meats.  I was soooooo spoiled!  The whole reason I was wanting the soy chicken anyway was to make soy chicken and eggplant, a dish I used to get delivered to my apartment in Brooklyn all the time - pretty much every day I had off.  It was so delicious and I miss the ease and freedom of being able to pick up the phone and have something literally delivered right to my door.  So I found the soy chicken, had a couple Japanese eggplants in my fridge and made this dish.  It was out of control good!  Now I'll just have to have some soy chicken delivered and make this delicious dish again!  Yum!

Looks just like it did from Zen Vegetarian!

Omg, crazy good!

The whole delicious meal.  Just like in Brooklyn!

8 oz. soy chicken strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 small Japanese eggplants, halved and sliced on the diagonal
1/2 red onion, julienned
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons mushroom soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1.  Place one tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium sized saute pan over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the soy chicken strips and saute till browned and crispy.  Set aside.
2.  In the same pan over medium heat, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the pan is hot, add the onion  and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until beginning to soften.
3.  Add the eggplant and saute, stirring frequently for several minutes.
4.  Place the lid on top of the pan and lower the heat slightly, allowing the eggplant to steam.
5.  After about 5 minutes of steaming, the eggplant should have softened.
6.  Add the mushroom soy sauce, filtered water, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Cook for a couple minutes, or until the water evaporates about halfway and the sauce has thickened.
7.  Season to taste.  Serve over brown rice.  Enjoy with a nice side salad.  That's it!


Enjoy!

Koko

Vegetable Chow Mein & My New Job

So I recently started a new job.  Very recently in fact.  On Wednesday to be precise.  I haven't wanted to say anything because everything was so overwhelming and stressful.  I'm still not going to say very much because it is still very stressful and overwhelming, but I'm going to start my 3rd day today.  Let me start first by saying that I lost my job at the beginning of the year as a private chef.  I had worked for the family for 6 months as their private chef and  had a good time doing it.  I loved the people in the family- they are all very nice.  It was just very far away - 1 1/2 hours each direction from Brooklyn to Queens.  I had to take the train from my house, transfer to another train at Times Square, take that train to the end of the line in Queens and then take a bus to get to their house.  I was only working there 4 hours a day, four days a week, which was great, but the commuting was atrocious, especially if the train was operating on a weekend schedule.  I had to wake up at 5 am to get there by about 7:00 am and by the time I got home, it was like putting in a full 8 hour day, but getting paid for 4.  It was nice to have a lot of free time when I did get home, but also very tiring.  We decided to temporarily stop the cheffing because the family was having too many outside commitments that would keep them out of the house for too long, and they consequently wouldn't be home enough to eat the food I prepared.  It was all very sudden and I panicked about not having a constant source of income and living in nyc.  It's damned expensive here!  So I started looking immediately. 

On the 5th I found an ad on Craigslist (where I've found most of my jobs since moving to ny), responded, and heard back within a couple days.  It took 1 1/2 weeks to actually fit our schedules together (I was of course starting on my dreaded jury duty at the time!), I heard back from them several days later and was offered the position!  Yay!  It's at a co-op in Brooklyn, is a 15 minute walk away (no $104 metro card per month!) and pays competitively.  I am of course managing the food departments.  There has never really been a supervisor there before, so there is a TON of stuff that has to be fixed and discussed as well as policies and procedures created and implemented.  It is also a salary position that requires long hours (Hubbs doesn't like that!).  So believe me, I have my work cut out for me. 

Also, during the next couple weeks, I have to familiarize myself with the department, which means I have to work all of the shifts, from opening at 6 am, to closing at midnight.  Once this is done, my schedule will stabilize and I can get back to some semblance of normality.  Tonight is closing.  And let me tell you, I have not worked so late in over 6 years, so we'll see how the walk back home through Brooklyn is at midnight (grimace).  It's a lot lot lot of work, but I'm sure it will all work out.

Anyway, my reason for saying all of this is that I likely will not be putting up complicated or involved recipes lately because this new job is exhausting.  So, I'll be putting up some simple recipes or other recipes, I've partially typed up and neglected lately.  So, this is a simple recipe I had the Hubby start (meaning bringing the water for the pasta to a boil) when I worked the mid shift yesterday (finishing at 8 pm).  So it came together very quickly, which was much appreciated by both of us!

Vegetable Chow Mein:

 

Tasty and Simple!



Serves 4

1/2 bunch chow mein noodles, cooked in salted water until al dente

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 bunch broccoli, separated into florets

1 celery stalk, julienned

1 carrot, julienned

1 medium onion, julienned

3 tablespoons tamari

1 1/2 tablespoons mirin

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 pinches cayenne pepper

sesame seeds, for garnish

1.  In a large wok over high heat, add the olive oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the broccoli and saute, stirring frequently for 2 minutes.  Add the celery, carrot and onion and saute for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently. 

2.  Lower the heat to medium.  Add the cooked chow mein noodles and toss to coat with the veggies.  Add the tamari, mirin, toasted sesame oil, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  Toss very well to coat.  Season to taste with more tamari if desired.

3.  To serve, place a portion of the chow mein on a plate, top with the sesame seeds and more tamari if desired.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Vegetables in a Brown Sauce with Vegan "Chicken"

I have been living in this neighborhood in Brooklyn for over 3 1/2 years now and occasionally get take out from this place called Zen Vegetarian House.  It's a mostly vegan place and is pretty decent, although they do rely rather heavily on fake meat.  It's ok to have occasionally.  Sometimes I get into this kick where I am craving a certain dish but do not want to buy it out - hello spending too much money and eating too much oil and salt!  So, I figure out a way to make it at home, and have a great time doing it.  At Zen I usually get a vegan chicken dish with some kind of veggies - usually eggplant or green beans.  This time when I made it at my house, I wanted to add more veggies, so I did and it was awesome.  Hubby liked it too, once he got rolling his eyes at my calling it "chicken" out of the way.  He still gives me a funny look every time I call something chicken or meat or whatever, making me backtrack and call it chicken or meat with those awesome air quotes.  You know what I mean.  Keeps me on my toes I guess!  Anyway, take a look at the recipe and enjoy a takeout meal that you can make yourself. 

Vegetables in a Brown Sauce with Vegan "Chicken":



Rice, Sauteed Veggies in a Brown Sauce & "Chicken"



Serves 4

Sauteed Veggies:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
2 carrots, cut on the diagonal
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced on the diagonal
3/4 cup snap peas, tough ends removed
1/2 cup orange or red bell pepper, julienned
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Brown Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1 1/2 cups filtered water
1/4 cup tamari/shoyu
3 tablespoons vegetarian Oyster/Mushroom Sauce
2 tablespoons arrowroot mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

Cooked white or brown rice, to serve

Vegan Chicken or other meat replacement, cooked and ready to eat.

1.  Prepare the brown sauce first. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the oil.  Allow it to become hot and add the garlic.  Saute the garlic for 1-2 minutes or until golden and fragrant, but not browned.  Add the ginger and cook for an additional minute. 
2.  Add the filtered water, tamari or shoyu and the vegetarian oyster sauce.  Whisk well to combine all ingredients.  Bring the ingredients up to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. 
3.  In a separate bowl, mix together the arrowroot powder and water until the arrowroot is dissolved.  Pour this mixture into the simmering liquid, whisking immediately.  Allow the sauce to continue to simmer, whisking periodically until thickened.  Turn off the heat, cover the pot and get started on the veggies. 
4.  For the veggies, place a large wok over medium-high heat and add the oil, allowing it to become hot.  Add the broccoli, carrots and onion and saute for several minutes.  Add the remaining veggies and continue sauteing until tender-crisp.  Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper - not a lot, just enough to give the veggies some flavor. 
5.  Place a couple ladle-fulls of the brown sauce on top of the cooked veggies, stirring to combine.  Season to taste.
6.  To serve, place a serving of rice on your plate, followed by a generous serving of the veggies in the brown sauce.  Top with the veggie chicken, or any other kind of protein source/meat replacer.  Drizzle with additional brown sauce if desired.  That's it!  Super easy and tasty!

Enjoy!

-Koko