Spicy Orange Tofu

For the vegetarians who are looking for a veggie version of spicy orange chicken, here is a good recipe you can use. Though you can buy the sauce for this in some stores, it isn't that difficult to put together the sauce yourself as most of the ingredients would be there in almost any kitchen or can be acquired easily. I know you would all agree when I say home made is always better than store-bought. So why wait? Go try this tomorrow. This goes well with fried-rice or with Indian breads like chapati.

Ingredients for Sauce
1 cup chicken broth/veggie broth
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste; can be substituted with chilli paste
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Method:
To make the marinade, whisk together chicken broth, orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, orange zest, Sriracha, ginger and white pepper in a large bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir in 2 tablespoons cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened about 1-2 minutes; keep warm.

Rest of the ingredients:
1 block firm tofu, pressed
For cooking:
2 Tbsp canola oil
4-6 cups fresh or frozen veggies (carrots, broccoli, onion, peppers, spinach, summer squash, bok choy, etc.)
Method:
To press tofu, place block of tofu on cookie sheet, cover with foil, and weigh it down with a heavy pan (I use a large cast iron skillet). Let press for about 1/2 hour, and add a few more pounds of weight - cans of beans or veggies work great. Let press for at least another 1/2 hour. This will drastically improve the  texture of your  tofu. Cut tofu into small (1/4 in) cubes,  heat a wok or large frying pan with 2 Tbsp canola oil. Add tofu -and cook over high heat until lightly browned tofu. Add veggies as desired ,cook, stirring often, until veggies are just cooked through. Stir in the sauce. Serve with rice or noodles. Makes 3-5 servings

Ja Jiang Mein

This is an original recipe of Martin Yan, our Chinese cooking guru, slightly modified to suit our taste. As per the chef, Chinese men cook this easy dish when they invites dates over. As today was a very tiring day for me, I was not in a mood to cook.  Jai wanted to impress me with his culinary skills and went over some recipes he had saved to try. He made this in under 15 minutes.. And he did a fairly good job of impressing me with this easy and delicious dish
Ingredient:
For the Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup sweet bean paste
1 tbsp chile garlic sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp oil

Rest of the ingredients:
10 oz. dried wheat noodles
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup diced onion
1 cup soy granules, soaked and drained (or ground meat)
2 cup chopped spinach

Method:
Make a sauce by combining all the ingredients listed under sauce. Cook the noodles as per the package directions, rinse with cold water and drain.
In a hot wok, add oil, swirl to coat the sides, add the garlic and cook stirring for about 10 sec. Add the onion, stir-fry until almost translucent. Add the soy granules and cook for about 1 min. Add the spinach along with the sauce and cook until the sauce boils and thickens slightly. Now toss the noodles with the sauce.
Serving suggestion:
Serve with  thinnely julienned cucumber and carrots.

Hot and Sour Soup

When I said I am going to make some soup for lunch, Jai asked me if I could make  him his favorite hot and sour soup. Luckily  I had all the necessary ingredients when I checked the refrigerator. This soup can be made quickly once you get all your ingredients ready. If you are a person who love hot and sour flavors then this is your soup to try.
Recipe Source: Tyler Florence
Ingredients
4 dried Chinese fungi (about 1 ounce), such as wood ears or cloud ears or , re-hydrated sliced shitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons canola oil
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon red chile paste, such as sambal oelek
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup-1/2 cup rice vinegar or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch sugar
1 bunch green onions, cut fine
4 garlic cloves,made to fine paste
1/2 onion,minced
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
2 quarts Chicken Stock/Veggie stock
1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Chopped green onions and cilantro leaves, for garnish
Method:
Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.

Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar ,green onions,garlic cloves paste, white peppercorns in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.

Gobi Manchurian

This is one of the universally loved Indo-Chinese dishes. I haven't come across anyone, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, who doesn't like this. The beauty of this is that you can have it as an appetizer/starter or as a side-dish that goes well with fried-rice, noodles or any of the Indian breads. Even though this involves deep frying, for those health-conscious friends of mine there is another option. Instead of deep frying the fritters, you can bake it at 400 degree F in an oil sprayed baking tray. Just make sure that you add a tablespoon of oil in the batter before dipping the cauliflower to get crispy fritters.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Maida or All purpose flour
1 Cauliflower
1/4 cup Corn Flour
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tbsp Oil
3 tsp Tomato Sauce
3 tsp Chilli Garlic Sauce
1/2 tsp Soya Sauce
1 tsp Vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped Onion
1/4 cup Spring Onion
2 tsp Garlic
1/2 tsp finely chopped Green Chilli
1 green pepper sliced
1 tsp Corn Flour
1 tsp Sugar
Method:
To make Fritters
Mix allpurpose flour and corn flour, black pepper, salt, in a bowl ,add water, stir well and make a medium thick batter not too thick or too thin.
Cut florets from cauliflower, dip florets in batter and deep fry till they turn golden color.
For Sauce : The amount of sauce given is for a dry version if you want a more saucier version double or triple the ingredients.
Heat  oil, add chopped onion and saute till onions becomes translucent. Add green chillies and garlic. Saute for 30 secs. To this add black pepper, tomato sauce,  chilli garlic sauce / chilli sauce , vinegar, soya sauce,green pepper, sugar, salt to taste and mix well. Add fried cauliflower fritters, coat well with sauce.Garnish with spring/green onion

General Tso's Tofu

All three of us like tofu dishes. Though I make a variety of different dishes with tofu, this one is the most loved tofu dish in our household ever since I tried it the first time couple of years ago. This one goes well with   any of the Chinese rice preparations, with plain rice or even with any of the Indian breads.
Recipe source: Allrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) box firm tofu
1 egg
3/4 cup cornstarch or all purpose flour mixed with salt and pepper
vegetable oil (for frying)
3 chopped green onions
1/2 chopped onion
2 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
red pepper flakes
3 tbs of worchester  sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Method:
 Drain, dry and cut tofu into one inch chunks-You can freeze the tofu the night before to get a more"chicken-like" texture, if desired.Mix egg with 3 Tbs of water.Dip tofu in mixture.Sprinkle cornstarch over tofu to completely cover.Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden brown and set aside. Drain oil.
 Heat 3 Tbs vegetable oil in pan on medium heat and add onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about two minutes (be careful not to burn garlic).Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes and vinegar.
Mix 2 Tbs of water and 1 Tbs cornstarch and pour into mixture, stirring well.Add fried tofu and coat evenly.
Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.

3 Minute Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil - 1 tbs
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Baby bok choi - 1 lbs, cut length-wise into quarters

For the Sauce:
Vegetable (or Chicken) broth - 1/3 cup
Rice wine - 2 tbs
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Corn starch - 1 tsp
Black bean garlic sauce, 1 tsp
White pepper - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Combine all the ingredients listed under the sauce in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the corn starch. Heat a stir-fry pan over high heat and add oil, coat all side. Add garlic and cook for 10 sec. Add the bok choi and stir-fry until tender crisp for 1 1/2 to 2 mts. Add the sauce and cook stirring until the sauce thickens and coats the bok choi (for about 30 sec)

Turmeric Rice

Ingredients:
Long grain rice - 2 cup
Water - 3 cups
Vegetable oil - 1 tbs
Turmeric powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Minced garlic - 1 !/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Chill paste - 1 tsp

Method:
Combine all the ingredients and pressure cook for 5 mts. Fluff with the fork and serve.
Goes well with any curry or you may make a fried rice with this and call it golden fried rice

Source : Martin Yan's Quick and Easy

Marbled Tea Eggs

This is something that Aishwarya and me tried making for Easter.We wanted some thing new to share with her little friends.I am sure you may be wondering why now  as its way past Easter.This can be had any day by itself or with your favorite Chinese food
Ingredients:
Eggs-8

Green onion-1 Chopped

Ginger -2 tsp minced

Soy sauce-1/4 cup

Dark soy sauce-1/4 cup

Dark brown suagar - 2 tbs

5 spice powder - 1/2 tsp

Star anise - 3

Cinnamon sticks -1

Method:

Boil the eggs with water covering them, over medium heat for 10 mts. Cool the eggs and gently tap each egg all over with a spoon until there are hairline cracks covering the entire shell. Return the eggs to the pan, add all the remaining ingredients and top up with enough water to cover the eggs. Simmer for 15 mts at low heat. For more intense color you can boil up to 1 hr. Let the eggs cool in the liquid in refrigerator, overnight. You can store this up to 1 week this way. When ready to serve, remove from the liquid, peal off the shells and serve.

Source: Martin Yan's Quick and Easy

Spicy Kishimen Noodles

What I love about this noodle preparation is that this tastes so refreshing. It is just right for spring or summer and can be prepared ahead with things that are in your kitchen.
This is great for pot-lucks as it tastes good hot or cold and goes well with grilled items.
Ingredients:
Dried kishimen noodles - 8 oz. (can be substituted with Soba or Udon noodles)
Cabbage - 2 cup, sliced
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Sliced ginger - 1/4 cup
Fresh cilantro - 2 tbs chopped
Green onions - 2, julienned

Dressing :
Vegetable oil - 2 tbs
Fresh lemon juice - 2 tbs
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
Sweet chilli sauce - 1 1/2 tsp
Ground turmeric - 1 tsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp

Method:
Heat a pan to medium heat; add the sesame oil, sliced ginger; after 30 seconds add cabbage and cook till 3/4 done. Set this aside.
Cook noodles per package directions; drain and rinse with cold water and then drain again. Mix it with the cooked cabbage.
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the dressing together and pour this over the noodle mixture. Add the cilantro and green onions and toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate to serve later.

Eggplant in Plum Sauce

Last summer, when we were on our way back from our vacation in Hawaii, we got stranded at the airport for over 5 hours, owing to some snag with our aircraft. We had lunch from the Chinese deli at the airport and this was one of the dishes that we had then.  I enjoyed it so much that I had been trying out various recipes to recreate that taste. Though I came closer, there was something missing in all those. So I had been on the lookout for the authentic recipe for the eggplant dish.
My husband came upon this recipe while searching for something to make for Mother's day, so he surprised me by making this for me today for dinner, as he knew I had been on the lookout for this. This tasted like the one we had that day at Hawaii..
(Now, I realize that the secret ingredient was the Plum sauce.)
This goes well with fried rice.
Source: Martin Yan's Quick and Easy
Ingredients:
Egg plant - 1 lbs, roll cut
Garlic - 3 cloves, chopped
For the sauce:
Plum sauce - 3 tbs (can be substituted with date sauce)
Rice wine - 2 tbs
Sesame oil - 2 tsp
Soy sauce - 1 tsp
Dark say sauce - 1 tsp
Chilli sauce-1 tsp
Method:
To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients and whisk to blend evenly and set it aside.
Deep-fry the egg plant pieces until golden brown, about 3 mts, at 350 degree F. Drain on a paper towel.
Heat a frying pan, add 2 tsp of oil, add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 20 sec). Now add the egg plant and sauce and bring to a boil. Cook stirring for 1 minute.

A peek into my Mother's day breakfast-in-bed (courtesy my husband and daughter):

Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup

You would have known by now that I am crazy about sweets. I am willing to try out anything sweet any time of the day. But the only problem with this is that I tend to put on extra pounds. So the solution I found was to have soups and salads for lunch so that my calories are balanced.
This soup below is an easy one that has both proteins and vegetables and is tasty too.
Ingredients:
Sweet corn, cream style - 1/2 can
Vegetable broth - 4 cups
Carrots - 1/4 cup, diced
Corn - 1/4 cup
Beans - 1/4 cup
Corn flour- 1 tbs
Egg - 1
Rice vinegar - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - to taste
Method:
Bring to a boil the sweet corn, vegetable broth, carrots, corn and beans together in a pan. Remove the scum if any forms while boiling. When the vegetable are almost 3/4 done, add the vinegar. Mix the corn flour in 2 tbs of water and add to the boiling soup, little by little, stirring continuously. When the soup thickens, add a well beaten egg, little by little and mix it thoroughly with a spoon. You can add salt and pepper to your taste. If you want the real "restaurant" taste, add a pinch of ajinomoto (MSG).

Yin Yang Tofu

Tofu is a relatively young ingredient in my repertoire. It has only been 10 years since I had started using this in my dishes. Whenever I come across a new recipe for tofu that I think will suit our tastes, I gives it a try.
This is a variation of the recipe that I got from Martin Yan's Invitation to Chinese Cooking. I substituted some of the ingredients with what I had in my pantry. It turned out true to its name - one half soft and sweet and the other robust and spicy. It was indeed a harmony of flavors, colors and textures.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
For Yin sauce:
1/3 cup vegetable stock
3 tbs oyster  flavored sauce (vegetarian)
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp pepper

For Yin Tofu:
1 tbs cooking oil
14 oz. firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2" cubes
5 oz. spinach (or you can use button mushrooms, sliced)

For Yang Sauce:
3 tbs white vinegar
2 tbs tomato  ketchup
1 tsp soy paste
1/2 tsp chilli-garlic sauce
1/2 tsp sugar

For Yang tofu:
1 tbs cooking oil
14 oz. soft tofu, drained an cut into 1/2" cubes
5 oz. spinach (or you can use 2 oz. frozen peas and 1/4 cup water chestnuts, sliced)

Method:
Combine the ingredients for the yin and yang  sauces in separate bowls. Place a wok over high heat. Add 1 tbs of oil, coat all sides of the wok. Add firm tofu, spianach and the yin sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. (If you are using mushrooms, water might come out when cooking, in which case add 1 tsp corn starch mixed with 1 tbs water to make the sauce thick.)
Once the sauce thickens, place it on one side of the serving platter.
Clean the wok and place it over high heat; add 1 tbs oil and coat all sides of wok. Add the soft tofu, spinach and the yang sauce. Repeat the process just as in the case of yin tofu. Place the prepared tofu on the other side of the platter and serve.

Pot Stickers

With the Chinese New Year celebrations in the air and we being in California which is a melting pot of cultures from around the world, I thought it only appropriate to try out this Asian specialty. Pot-stickers, as these are called, are the shallow or dry-fried dumplings, known by a variety of names such as Mo-Mo, Jiaozi, Gyoza etc in various Asian cultures.
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup soy granules
2 tbsp soy paste (thicker soy sauce)
1/4 tsp chilli paste
Salt and pepper to taste
15 Wonton wraps (you can get these from Asian super markets in the freezer section)

Method:
Heat one table spoon oil in a pan. Add ginger, green onions and cabbage and saute this for a minute. Now add the soy granules (I don't pre-cook the granules but add them direct as they are small and there is enough moisture in the other ingredients). Saute it all together for another minute and then add the chilli paste, soy paste, salt and pepper. Saute till the whole mix is dry.
Take the wonton wraps one by one, fill each with about 1 to 2 tsp of the mixture, wet the edges of the wraps with water and fold it in the middle and seal the edges. Heat a pan and brush a very thin coat of oil on the surface and place the filled wontons on the pan. Turn them the other side around after 30 seconds and let them cook for another 30 seconds. Take the pot-stickers off the pan now. Once all the pot-stickers are  done this way, add 1 glass of water(you can substitute it with vegetable broth) to the pan and once it starts boiling place the pot-stickers back in the pan. The water would be just enough to touch only one side of the pot-stickers. After 3 minutes, turn the pot-stickers and cook them covered for another 3 minutes or till there is no more water in the pan. Some of the pot-stickers will be sticking to the pan - don't feel disappointed, as they are supposed to do so, being "pot-stickers" :-)
Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.

Orange Tofu with Mushrooms

I had heard so much about how good the orange chicken is and always wanted to make the "veggie" version of it. Then I came across this recipe from PhamFatale and so wanted to try it out. I made some changes to the original recipe, substituting some of the ingredients with my own.
Ingredients:
1 (12-ounce) package firm tofu
1 small white onion
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced
2 cups orange juice, freshly squeezed
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar, depending on how sweet the oranges are
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1-1/2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
7 tablespoons tapioca starch
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2/3 cup water
5 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
12 button mushrooms,  sliced
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon green onion

Method:
For the orange sauce mix the tapioca starch, soy sauce,2 teaspoons brown sugar, ketchup, tomato paste, chili garlic sauce and 2/3 cup water . Set aside.

In a pan,pour 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the minced fresh ginger and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Add 1 1/2cups of orange juice. Bring to a boil. Add the tapioca mixture  that is set aside and stir constantly to prevent the starch from sticking to the bottom of the wok. Continuously stir the broth as it will thicken very quickly.

In  wok, heat about 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the garlic and onion saute till the garlic turns slightly golden.Add the sliced mushrooms. When the color is translucent and shiny, season with salt. Add about 1/2 cup of orange juice and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. The mushrooms should be tender, yet still firm. Transfer the mushrooms to the orange sauce which should be thick and syrupy. If you find the sauce to be too thick, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of water.
Drain and pat dry the tofu.Slice the tofu into 1" thick pieces.Fry the tofu in medium heat on all sides and immediately dip the tofu into the orange-flavored sauce. The tofu will deflate instantly. Finish with lime juice, cilantro,green onion and black pepper. Toss well.

Steamed Eggplant

This is one dish I like as this requires no oil and on the days that I feel like having something healthy this is the dish I go for.This goes well with just plain jasmine rice or with Indian flat breads.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon light-flavoured vinegar (try rice vinegar or white vinegar)
2 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoon caster sugar
2 teaspoon Chilli paste
1 eggplant (a big one)
2 tablespoon Cilantro
Method:
Combine soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and sugar in a bowl. Set aside. Slice eggplant into thin slices and place on a heatproof plate. Place plate in a steamer, cover with lid and steam for 15 minutes. Pour over sauce and steam for another 5 minutes. Garnish with 1 finely sliced small red chilli and chopped cilantro.