dinner – Page 8 – morestomach

homemade bánh cướn chay – vegan rolled cake

Published on August 5, 2014August 3, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach21 Comments

today marks 100 days
since gpa’s passing
as is tradition
dw & i went to temple on sunday

the 100 days milestone
is actually a celebration,
signifying the end of tears,
though mourning is up to 3 years.

from my limited knowledge
a vegetarian diet is typical
during the mourning period
i could be spreading rumors
i’m likely spreading rumors

either way,
i finally figured out
how to make bánh cướn,
meaning rolled cake,
and i veganized it
making a mushroom filling
and a spicy soy sauce to dress it

homemade bánh cướn chay
adapted from luke nguyen

makes about 18 rolled cakes

note: i’ve tried the steam method, years ago, and my gpa laughed at my attempt. it convinced me that this is the kind of dish that is so much easier to purchase already made. however, i’m a stubborn fool. i made this about a month ago, with fairly good results. i used a huge ass heavy bottom pan that was difficult to handle so the crepe came out thicker than i liked. this 2nd time around i bought a 7 1/2″ non-stick pan which was much lighter and easier to maneuver with. the key is to pour the batter when the pan is hot and immediately lid. if you get into a rhythm, ~~good for you~~, the process is quite pleasant, despite the tender fingertips. also: exact measurements for the filling and sauce are kinda lacking cus i was working on the fly. ~~sorry about that.~~

spicy garlicy soy sauce – gluten free

1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce, i use tamari
1/4 cup water
2 generous TBL rice vinegar
2-3 tsp sugar
2 tsp fried garlic OR 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 red chili, chopped finely, optional

mix everything together in a jar. this is a taste preference, add more of less of each ingredient and adjust according to taste.

filling
1 container of mushrooms (i used baby bella, though any will do), chopped
3 pieces of dried wood ear mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water, chopped
1 small white onion, diced
5-6 strands of chive blossoms, diced
salt/pepper to taste

in saute pan heat up some olive oil, just enough to coat the bottom. when hot add in the diced white onion and saute until fragrant. season with salt. allow the onions to get translucent. next add in the mushrooms and saute until the mixture has reduced a smidge, season with salt/pepper. i let it go for about 5 minutes on med-high heat. take pan off heat, add in about half the diced chive blossoms and mix. put mixture in bowl, set aside.

batter
200 g rice flour
60 g tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
600ml (approx. 2 1/2 cups) cold water
oil – veg or canola

add above ingredients in bowl, whisk until combined.

in the pan that you’re gonna use, drizzle some oil to coat the pan. i use a clean rag or paper towl to spread the oil evenly around the pan. the temp is around med-high.

pour a small ladleful of the batter (aim for 2-3 TBL), rotating the pan to cover the base with a thin layer of the batter. immediately cover with lid and allow to cook for about 30 seconds.

have a prepared well-oiled tray/cutting board/plate ready.

remove lid and flip the noodle sheet onto the oiled surface. set aside the pan on a cool burner (though if you’re working with a partner, you can keep on cranking out the sheets)

scoop a TBL or so of the mushroom filling on the sheet, fold the top over, fold the 2nd sides in and then fold top side again to shape a roll.

repeat process until everything is used up, make sure the pan is well oiled between takes. sometimes there’s more filling than the there’s batter, or vice versa. it happens.

top with fried scallions and fried garlic, garnish with the rest of the diced chive blossoms and dress with spicy soy sauce.

additional accompaniments: sliced cucumbers, cilantro, mint, lightly steamed bean sprouts.

BAM!

my other vietnamese dishes:
vermicelli noodles (bún thịt nướng)
chicken noodle soup – phở gà
pickled carrots & daikon
beef stew – bò kho

pickled beets + urban picnic

Published on July 21, 2014July 21, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach13 Comments

i’ve been into quick pickling
this summer,
mainly because we have a glut
of vegs,
also because
it’s good for digestion,
and because
we have a lot of jars,
either i chuck ’em or use ’em.

when i’m in a mood
and food is the last thing
i want to play with,
we have picnics,
stuffed heaped on bread,
though not as fancy as this,
still very satisfying.

what’s your fave pickled veg?
(and, can you send me some?)

pickled beets

*note: this is the kind of recipe that is going to require you to use some common sense. beets vary in size, you might like your beets more tender, or more al dente. this is just a guideline.

12 small – medium beets, scrubbed and peeled
drizzle of oil (olive oil, i used organic canola oil)
dry italian seasoning (though fresh rosemary or thyme would be nice)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vinegar
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
2 -3 wide strips lemon zest
3 – 5 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks

heat oven to 400F.

meanwhile, with netflix going (i was watching Arrow, i think i’m gonna hit up The Returned next), scrub beets and peel. (i have a love hate relationship with this step. you can roast them first and then it’s easier to peel the skin away while warm, but i find that messy, with oil and random bits of herbs sticking to your hands. it’s up to you.) cut up any large beets so they’re all approximately the same size. place beets on baking dish lined with large piece of foil. drizzle with oil, top with italian seasoning, salt/pepper. cover with another sheet of foil and roast for 45min – 1 hour, until beets have reached desired doneness. this time around i made them tender, but the batch before that were toothier. do what you like.

when beets are warm to the touch, slice them up in either 3/8″ rounds or wedges. (i’ve done it where i sliced the beets before roasting, which made for much quicker roasting time, again, up to you.)

meanwhile, stir sugar, salt + 2 cups in sauce pan. bring to a gentle boil and stir until sugar dissolves. take off heat, stir in the vinegar and remaining seasonings. allow to cool.

in clean mason jars (or in our case, our huge 1/2 gallon mason jar) put the beets in a layer formation. (note: you can also add in sliced onions or cucumbers). half way up, pour a bit of the brine in, along with the various seasonings. continue to layer up with remaining beets and pour the rest of the brine into jar. if there is any leftover space in the jar, add a bit more water & vinegar (1:1 ratio) to top.

refrigerate for a day or so and consume. they do last awhile, just remember to use clean utensils when extracting the beets from the jar to keep from contamination etc.

BAM!

also pictured:
dutch oven bread
bruised cucumber salad

3 veggie dumplings in spicy sauce

Published on June 24, 2014June 23, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach32 Comments

inexplicably
i’ve been stressed lately,
last week i spent an
inordinate amount of time
fretting over the overabundance of greens
we picked up from our csa.
we went all in this summer,
doing a full family share,
with the thought process of
hitting the stores less,
eating salads more,
thereby providing us with more time
to do other things,
like
fret apparently.
by mid week,
with just barely a dent in
our stash of foliage,
i was decidedly despairing
over the potential of verdant decay
in the fridge
before the next csa day.

—

my discontent has merged
in other areas —
i’ve discovered white strands,
slyly mixed in with the ink
black of my hair,
making it stark in contrast.
i’m so vain i know.
then,
like any other person who goes
through the comparison game
i almost damn near shut this space down.
i’m so dramatical i know.
so what to do?
what do i generally do when i need
some perspective?
i take a break,
i simplify,
i purge.
and that’s exactly what i did.
my rss feed,
purposefully limited,
was trimmed further,
as was the twitter & ig space.
it’s nice to not carry around all
that clutter.
as pushed over the ledge
by this read,
from my fave ballerina baker.

—

this dish is simple:
3 main ingredient filling,
comprised of summer freshness,
it’s light in bulk
so you won’t be left feeling
like donkey ass.

3 veg dumplings in spicy sauce
inspired by olives for dinner
makes 22 dumplings/gyozas

1 1/4 cup fresh peas, i don’t like frozen but it’ll do if that’s what you’ve got
garlic scape, amount up to you, i used just one coil & it was plenty fine
handful greens, i used dinosaur kale, though chard, arugula, spinach are fine
1 tsp sesame oil
1/8 cup (more or less) chickpea flour (any flour would do, i just happened to grab this)
salt/pepper to taste
dumpling/wonton wrappers (the kind i had on hand were made of wheat flour, but if you’re able to find rice flours ones, then this dish would be entirely gluten free)

sauce
1 TBL light soy sauce
1 tbTBL dark soy sauce
1 3/4 cup hot homemade stock
2 TBL chili oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar

in a food processor whiz up the garlic scape and greens, you want it to be fine and almost mushy. next, whizz the peas, you don’t want it mushy, you want it to be kinda chunk, there may even be some whole peas. transfer mixture into bowl. add in the sesame oil and salt/pepper. if the mixture is wet, add in the flour, you don’t want it super dry, but you don’t want it wet that it will soak the wrappers. use your best judgement.

add about a teaspoon dollop per sheet, and shape however you want, just ensure that it is fully sealed.

you can either steam them, boil them or fry them up. i went the fried and then steamed route.

heat up a pan with a bit of sesame oil. put the gyoza in a fan-like pattern in the pan, fry them, covered, until the bottoms are nice and crispy. pour in 1/4 cup of water and cover, being careful of splatters. steam for about 5 minutes and remove lid, making sure all the water has evaporated.

for the sauce/soup, heat all the ingredients in a sauce pan. you can either dip the dumplings in the thinned out sauce, or you can just pour the soup/sauce over the dumplings.

BAM!

my other dumpling/gyoza concoctions:
tofu gyoza
soup dumplings

miso ramen

Published on May 29, 2014May 28, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach13 Comments

so what ended up happening was:
i looked in the freezer
for any kind of inspiration
something to catch my fancy
i’ve been in a rut lately, you see
not cooking much
just throwing of stuff on a plate
and calling it The Pile
and then whining
two hours later
that i was hungry
and that we should go get ice cream
and so,
in the cavernous back there
(just kidding, my freezer is tiny)
hidden behind the veggie bouillon cubes,
wedding cake,
and various i don’t know whats
was a lone package of ground pork
leftover from last autumn’s csa pork stash
i had it in my heart to make
dandan noodles uh-gain
but
despite how utterly delicious that dish is
i required something more inspired,
something completely inappropriate
for the lingering heat & humidity
we’re finally getting
so ramen came along

you can get the full on recipe here
i’ll just list a few of my tweaks:

i used So Delicious Coconut creamer instead of soy milk
i didn’t bother to fancy up my eggs, a simple soft-hard boiled egg was fancy enough
i used a mild miso, it didn’t specify if it was yellow or white, it just said mild
i used dashi flakes instead of dashi granules (it’s what i had in the pantry)
i used dried wood ear mushrooms instead of shitake (it’s what i had in the pantry)
last: i used water instead of stock, because i completely forgot to buy some AND i didn’t feel up to making any

BAM!

japchae – vegan

Published on May 5, 2014April 30, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

most saturdays you’ll find me
unshowered at 3pm
no judgement please
if we don’t go out
i won’t shower until bedtime
it’s usually a battle of
doing something
or
doing nothing
what ends up happening is
something gets started
i get bored
and nothing is finished

currently our spare room
is empty of its usual dressing room fixings:
vanity
mirror
dresser
water cooler bottle that holds all our change
window curtain
all that shit is
in the hallway
the fire marshall would have a fit,
if we had a fire marshall

spackling
choosing paint
priming
choosing paint
more priming
eventual painting
it takes time
and the concentration
and determination
of a warrior to complete it

guys
i am no warrior
instead i paused partway
and went into the kitchen,
not emerging until dinner time
the room may still have naked walls
i may walk into the room to grab undies
only to backtrack into the hallway to grab said undies
i may have skipped the whole painting step
and started on the whole decorating step,
a step i’m sure i’ll leave incomplete, ahem,
but damn
dinner was done
and in fact,
it was dinner for 3 nights
bam!
fine. you can call me part-warrior

japchae – vegan & gluten free
makes about 5-6 servings

*note: i don’t know if this authentic or not, this is just a guess based on the various times i’ve had it at restaurants etc. the vegs were in the pantry waiting to be used up, make use of whatever you have on hand or whatever is in season. i used tamari to keep it gluten free but soy sauce is fine too. personally, i liked this much better as a leftover than fresh.

1 package of korean sweet potato noodles
3 zucchinis, sliced into thin strips
3 carrots, peeled and cut into match sticks
half a medium onion, sliced
2 stalks of celery, diced at an angle (optional, dw likes fancy knife work)
3-5 dried woodear mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water, and then sliced thin
splash or two of soy sauce or tamari
drizzle of sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
oil for frying

cook up the noodles according to package instructions

in a big pot or pan, heat up some oil, whatever you wanna use, i used olive oil. add in the onions and carrots. saute for about 3-4 minutes, or however soft you want your carrots to be. next, add in the wood ear mushrooms and celery. at this point, add in a splash of soy sauce or tamari

add in the noodles AND zucchini strips, stir until everything is well mixed and the zucchini has been warmed though and has softened. add another splash or two of soy sauce or tamari, toss it till it’s mixed though

at the last second, drizzle in sesame oil to coat through. this is for fragrance mainly, not so much for taste. garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

bam!