Dong Gu Dau-Fu Pan (or Shiitake and Tofu Stir-Fry)

Welcome to Veg-uary (explained here)! I admit to having a certain amount of trepidation eschewing meat (and especially fish) for the next 28 days, but I remain excited and committed to expanding my culinary (anti-) skills. Plus, as the oldest spawn has decided she wants to follow a vegetarian diet, I have a certain amount of obligation to accommodate her nutritive wishes. I will be documenting here our vegetarian exploits, so expect lots of food porn over the next four weeks!

This is the last week for the Door to Door Organics contest, so for my first recipe of Veg-uary I've butchered another one of their recipes. Their "omnivore" option this week is Moo Goo Gai Pan, an Americanized version of a Cantonese stir-fry. I've transformed it into a vegetarian/vegan friendly meal by switching the "gai" (chicken) for "dau-fu" (tofu), and using augmented vegetable stock instead of the poultry-based counterpart. Shiitake mushrooms were on sale, so I went that route instead of the typical button mushrooms.

I'm no Cantonese linguist, but as far as I can determine through limited Google research, here is the break-down of the vocabulary used in the title of this dish:

Mu Gu = button mushrooms, which I opted to switch with shiitake mushrooms (dong gu).

Gai = Chicken, which I've substituted in favor of tofu (dau-fu).

Pan = Slices (well, at least I left one part unadulterated!).

You can visit the link above for the original recipe (which inexplicably neglects to tell when to add the mushrooms....weird). My version is below.

Dong Gu Dau-Fu Pan

Ingredients:
1 12oz block of firm tofu, drained and pressed
3 tbs peanut oil
salt and pepper
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lb (about 2 cups) baby bok choy, sliced
1 c vegetable stock*
1 tsp arrowroot powder
2 tablespoons nama shoyu or tamari, if desired (I used this in favor of additional salt)
4 c prepared rice or oriental noodles, as desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Slice the pressed tofu into strips about 1/2" thick. Using about a teaspoon of the oil, coat the tofum sprinkle with salt, and place on a baking sheet. Flipping halfway

through, bake for 30 minutes (or until tofu is golden).

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat in a large wok. Add onions and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and sauté another 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, add bok choy, and stir-fry an additional 5 minutes.

Combine arrowroot with 2 tablespoons of the broth and set aside. Pour the remaining broth into the wok and bring to a boil. Add the tofu and reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes, then stir in the arrowroot mixture. Allow sauce to thicken over medium-low heat, adding nama shoyu (if desired) and adjusting seasoning to taste. Serve over prepared rice or noodles of choice. As you can see in the photos, we had ours with noodles. Makes 4 2-cup servings.

*Regarding the vegetable stock: To impart more umami flavor to the stock, I simmered the mushroom stems, onion peel, a few peppercorns, and one whole allspice berry in the broth for about 20 minutes, then strained the broth before using. This extra step isn't necessary, but it's an easy way to kick up the mushroom flavor of the finished dish.

A Vegetarian Baby Shower - Part I - Mushroom Tartlets, Tofu Skewers, and Pineapple Cake

Is December really almost half over? I find it hard to believe that it is already almost the new year, and yet here we are.

While some may say debate that it's the most wonderful time of the year, I think everyone can agree that it's the most BUSY time of the year. Your own personal anti-chef has been busy, too. There's the job and the kids, as well as planning my next adventure in food. What may that be?

Starting January 1st, I'm going to embark on a mostly raw diet. My friend, Amber (of Almost Vegan), has been attending raw culinary school, which has pushed me from just pondering it to making the commitment in my head to do this. So I've been deep in the planning stages of this experiment of sorts. I bought a few new kitchen toys and signed up for a local co-op home delivery service for organic fruit and veggies (oh, the sacrifices I must make!). I've already given my first raw recipe a trial run, which I'll post about at a later date.

And now for the main event du jour: Recipes from my sister's baby shower! My sister is a

vegetarian, so the food naturally followed suit. I am splitting them into two posts for the sake of keeping my blog readable. On the menu were mushroom tartlets (recipe below), quinoa-stuffed sweet peppers, hummus (recipe HERE) and crudités, avocado sandwiches, tofu skewers (recipe below), a variety of flavored nuts, fruit bowl, and--of course--a virgin rum-runner punch.

First I want to show off the cake I made. My

sister's theme was pirates, so I created this rather messy-looking skull with sparkly blue eyes and the cutest pacifier ever. Can you read what it says? The cake was pineapple cake with coconut-

cream cheese frosting (recipe below--spoiler, I used cake mix). This recipe is totally a cheat, but after all I'm not the anti-pastry chef!

Now on to the recipes!

Mushroom Shallot Tartlets

Ingredients:

3 tbs peanut oil

2 c fresh mushrooms of choice, diced (I used shiitake, oyster, and baby portabellas)

4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced

1 tbs fresh sage, minced
1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbs vegetable stock

2 15-count packages of frozen mini fillo shells

1/4 c goat cheese of choice (I used Humboldt Fog)

3 oz enoki-dake mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the mushrooms and shallots for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms start to soften. Add the herbs, pepper, salt, and stock; stirring frequently, cook another 10 minutes or until most the liquid is cooked off.

Arrange the fillo shells on two baking sheets. Divide the goat cheese evenly among the shells. Do the same with the cooked mushrooms and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. If desired, garnish with enoki-dake mushrooms (as you can see in the photo, I ran out of time....the poor enokis were left in the fridge!). Serve immediately. Makes 30 tartlets.

Crispy Tofu Skewers

Ingredients:

1/4 c peanut oil

18 oz extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 1/4" cubes

1 tsp salt

1/4 c tamari

12 pearl onions

12 cherry tomatoes

1/2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into quarters and then cut into thirds to make 1" wedges

12 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 10 minutes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Salt the tofu cubes, then add in a single layer to the hot oil. Allow to fry for about 5 minutes, or until the bottom of the tofu is a golden-brown. Gently flip each cube and fry the opposite side for 5 more minutes. Depending on the height of the oil in the pan, the sides of the tofu may also need to receive contact with the cooking surface. The goal is the have all six sides golden-brown. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. When ready to assemble skewers, toss the tofu cubes with the tamari.

On each bamboo skewer place one pearl onion, one tomato, one cube of tofu, and one zucchini wedge. Arrange on a baking sheet and heat in oven 15 minutes. Make 12 tofu skewers.

Pineapple Cake and Coconut Cream Cheese Icing--for the lazy!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 box pineapple cake mix

2 15oz cans crushed pineapple, undrained

1 canister of cream cheese icing

1 tbs coconut flavoring

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the cake mix and the pineapple and beat on low speed until just combined. Pour into the greased baking p an of choice and bake in the preheated oven according to the recommendations on the box for the cake pan you chose. Obviously I went with a skull-shaped pan....

For the icing, simply heat the icing in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time until it's easy to stir. Mix in the coconut flavoring, and it's ready!

I was pretty pressed for time when cake-decorating came around, but that didn't affect the flavor negatively. For posterity, I also made chocolate cupcakes for those who weren't feeling the pineapple vibe.

Stuffed Eggplant Marinara

Eggplant season is here, and it is incredibly difficult for me to say no to this pretty purple member of the nightshade family. I started out wanting eggplant parmesan, but ended up with this thanks to my aversion to battering and frying (see the Fried Pickle Wontons for my favorite way around such things).

This dish uses crispy tofu to fill the texture void left by skipping the vat of frying oil; the protein boost doesn't hurt anything, either. If you don't want to be bothered with gutting the eggplant just to put its insides back inside, simply cube the eggplant before roasting, mix it all together in a 9x9 pan, and bake as instructed.

Stuffed Eggplant Marinara

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, halved lengthwise

1 tbs light olive oil

salt to taste

1 15oz can fire-roasted tomatoes

1 roasted red pepper, chopped

3 springs fresh oregano, stem discarded

6 sprigs fresh thyme, stem discarded

1 18oz block extra firm tofu, pressed, drained, and cut into 1" cubes

3 tbs peanut oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8oz baby portabella mushrooms, stems discarded, caps quartered

1/2 c shredded asiago cheese (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Brush cut side of eggplant with olive oil and season with salt. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove from oven and set aside.

Combine tomatoes, roasted peppers, oregano, and thyme in a bowl, crushing the larger tomato pieces. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and set aside.

Heat peanut oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tofu several minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

In the same skillet that the tofu was prepared, saute onions over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and saute another minute. Stir in tomato paste, coating the onions. Add the crushed tomato combination and stir. Reduce heat and allow to simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place mushrooms on a baking dish and bake for ten minutes. Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant, leaving a 1/4" shell. Chop the removed eggplant and combine in a large bowl with the mushrooms, tofu, and tomato sauce. Season with salt again, if necessary, then divide the tomato mixture evenly amoung the hollow eggplant halves. If desired, top with cheese. Bake in oven for 10 more minutes, or until heated through. Makes 8 servings.

Thai Basil Tofu and Asparagus

The farmers market opened last weekend, and I couldn't wait to see what would be offered. Despite it being early in the season, there was quite a bit from the local producers! Spinach, asparagus, green onions, various herbs....it was a thrill to walk through the booths again.

Naturally, I was eager to put my wares to the test. I've been craving Thai lately, and as I have a plethora of tofu in the fridge (there was a sale), that's the route I took. This is my variation of the dish my sister and I usually get when we go to the local Thai restaurant. The best part about making this myself is I don't have to ask the waiter to bring more basil!

Thai Basil Tofu and Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 lb block extra-firm tofu, drained, lightly pressed between paper towels, and cut into 1/4" thick strips

2 tbs peanut oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp tamari (soy sauce)

1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced (more if you like it hot!)

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tbs grated ginger root

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbs stir fry sauce

1 tbs water

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 lb asparagus, cut into 1" lengths

4 oz shiitake mushrooms, cut into matchstick sized pieces

1 lime, zested and cut in half

1 c fresh basil, chopped

1/2 c cashews

Directions:

Heat wok over medium heat; add 1 tbs of the peanut oil and all of the sesame oil. Lay the tofu strips in a single layer in the wok. Fry tofu for about 5 minutes on each side, or until a light golden brown. Sprinkle the tamari over the tofu and stir gently. Allow to fry another 5 minutes, then remove from the wok and set aside.

Heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add jalapeno, onion, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add stir-fry sauce and water and mix well.

Add bell pepper, asparagus, mushrooms, lime zest, and the tofu that was set aside. Stir, then cover and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes (or until the asparagus is a bright green).

Stir in basil, juice from 1/2 of the lime, and cashews. Cook an additional 2 minutes. If desired, garnish with additional basil and lime wedges cut from the remaining half of the lime. Makes 4 servings.