Tag Archives: sriracha

Spicy Thai Coconut Hummus

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I do most of my shopping at this health food store called Earthfare. They have everything a vegan family needs!  They have vegan friendly toiletries, wines, desserts, etc.  Their deli offers vegan nuggets, salads, sushi, and much more!  I just love that place!

Anyway, so a few days ago, my daughter and I had lunch there.  My daughter had a whole wheat grilled Daiya “cheese” sandwich with a side of raw broccoli and fruits.  I had some vegan brown rice sushi, Mary’s Gone crackers and hummus.  I don’t usually buy hummus because I just usually make them myself, but boy was I glad that I picked up the Thai coconut hummus from the deli!  I instantly was addicted to it!  It was spicy, it was delicious, tangy, and coconutty!

I told myself, “I HAVE TO TRY TO MAKE THIS AT HOME!”  So, I looked at the ingredients and I was very excited to see that I already had most of the ingredients on the list!  There were some things that I didn’t have, but I just improvised.

So, I made the hummus, it is not exact, but it is VERY similar.  Both are deliciously awesome!  And, I am happy to share the recipe with you! :)

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of cooked garbanzo beans
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 4 tablespoons of tahini
  • 2 tablespoons of safflower oil
  • 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 3 tablespoons of organic tamari
  • 2 tablespoons of Asian chili paste (garlic paste)
  • 2 tablespoons of minced shallots
  • 1 clove of garlic from an elephant garlic or 6 cloves from a regular-sized bulb of garlic
  • 4 teaspoons of lemongrass paste
  • 3 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of Celtic sea salt
  • 3 pinches of cardamom
  • 4 to 8 tablespoons of organic sriracha (hot sauce) *note: this is optional and adjust to heat preference*

Directions:

  1. Throw everything in the food processor and blend (except for hot sauce)!
  2. Add hot sauce and adjust heat to your liking.  (note: if you want to make this for your young child, I would omit the hot stuff…I put a tiny bit of chili paste for my daughter’s hummus).
  3. Enjoy!
  4. Serve with fresh veggies, crackers, crusty bread, vegan naan, tortilla, etc.

Mary's Gone Crackers and hummus.

Breaded Coconut Curry Eggplant Fries

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This recipe was featured on: 

Certified Yummly Recipes on Yummly.com

I just love eggplant!  I love eggplant sandwiches, eggplant curry, eggplant and tofu stir fry.  But, today I wanted to create something a bit different.  So I made these delicious, coconutty, and crunchy eggplant fries.

Reasons to love eggplant:

  1. It is a wonderful source of fiber.
  2. It is a great source of Vitamin B1 and B6.
  3. It is a great source of potassium.
  4. It contains copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, niacin and folic acid.
  5. It helps reduce cholesterol.
  6. It contains antioxidants.
  7. It is a good food for type 2 diabetics.
  8. It helps fight cancer.

So, eat up those eggplants!

Ingredients:

  • 1 eggplant (med-large)
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups of whole wheat panko bread crumbs (Ian’s brand)
  • 1.5 cups of unsweetened and unflavored almond milk
  • 1 cup of unsweetened and all-natural shredded coconut
  • 4 tablespoons of Braggs liquid aminos
  • 4 teaspoons of curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon of ginger powder
  • 1 vegan bouillon cube
  • coconut oil (3 to 5 tablespoons)

Dipping sauce #1 ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons of VEGENAISE (vegan mayo)
  • 1 tablespoon of Asian chili paste

(mix together)

Dipping sauce #2 ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons of VEGENAISE (vegan mayo)
  • 3 tablespoons of Sriracha hot sauce

(mix together)

Note: dipping sauce is not necessary.  It is obviously healthier without it.  My daughter likes these plain or with ketchup.

Directions:

  1. Peel and slice eggplant into fry-sized pieces.
  2. Preheat oven to 385 degrees.
  3. Mix bouillon cube, liquid aminos, ginger powder, and curry powder together.  Set aside.  Note: if your bouillon cube does not mix well, heat up the milk for a minute.
  4. Mix flour and shredded coconut together and set aside.
  5. Grease your cookie sheet with coconut oil.
  6. Pour out the panko crumbs on a plate.
  7. Dip eggplant into the non-dairy milk mixture.
  8. Roll it into the flour.
  9. Dip it into the non-dairy milk mixture again.
  10. Roll it into the panko bread crumbs.
  11. Place onto your cookie sheet.
  12. Bake for 20 minutes.
  13. Serve with your sauces. 
  14. Enjoy!

Note: dipping sauce #2 is spicier than #1.  Dipping Sauce #1 is just a bit sweet and mild.

My child loved them as well!

Spicy Dynamite Tofu and Veggies in Wonton Cups

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I have been wanting to make these for over a year now and the reason why I haven’t is because I have not been able to find vegan wonton wrappers.  But, a couple of weeks ago, I found some at the local Asian market and it got me pretty excited!  I thought about all of the things I could do with these wonton wrappers!…vegan cream cheese wontons, hummus filled wontons, wonton cups, baked wonton chips, etc.

One of the things I wanted to do was mold them into cups and fill it up with something delicious and spicy!  For this appetizer/snack, I used a lot of ingredients that I used when I would make my vegan sushi. 

I baked the wonton wrappers and filled it up with some tofu and veggies mixed with DYNAMITE SAUCE!

Note: “dynamite sauce” is a mixture of vegenaise and sriracha.  I usually serve it up with vegan sushi.

Ingredients:

Note: if you don’t have dulse granules, you can just use the rice seasoning to substitute it.  Just add your seasoning and hot sauce little by little until you get to where it isn’t bland or too spicy.

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Spray your cupcake pan and place one wonton wrapper in each of the cupcake making holes (12).
  3. Place wontons in the oven and bake for exactly 6 minutes.
  4. Then, set the crunchy wontons aside.
  5. Now, make the filling.
  6. Heat pan and spray olive oil on it.
  7. Add minced garlic and chopped onions.
  8. Cook for about a minute in med-high heat, then add the cubed tofu.
  9. Cook the tofu for about 5-10 minutes.
  10. In a mixing bowl, add carrot, zucchini, liquid aminos, rice seasoning, and the tofu you just cooked.
  11. Mix it up and start adding sriracha and dulse granules.
  12. When you are done, start filling the wonton cups with your “dynamite” tofu mix. 
  13. Then add sprouts.
  14. For those who like it EXTRA spicy, add more sriracha!
  15. Serve and enjoy!

Hummus-stuffed wontons!

Vegan Sushi Night

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My cousins, who are living in Germany, came over to visit yesterday.  I wanted to make them delicious vegan food and my daughter has been asking for sushi, so I decided to make vegan sushi.  Sushi is awesome!  I love making it, I love seeing it, and I especially love eating it!   When I make sushi, I feel like I am creating art!  Not only is it beautiful, it is deliciously wonderful.  There are so many possibilities with sushi.  You can make it as simple and as elaborate and fancy as you want it.  Plus, it saves you money if you make it yourself!  I made 20 rolls of sushi yesterday (5 slices each).  Now, if I went to a sushi restaurant, I could have easily spent over $7 per roll.

To make sushi, you need the following:

  • bamboo sushi mat
  • paddle
  • rice
  • rice seasoning
  • nori sheets
  • sushi vinegar
  • knife
  • pickled ginger
  • wasabi
  • veggies (yesterday I used asparagus, sprouts, carrots, avocado, and cucumber)

If you are too lazy to get the tools individually from the store (like me), you can get the sushi making kit below.  This, my friends, is how I learned to make sushi!
Sushi Chef Sushi Making Kit

This kit comes with a cookbook, a rice paddle, a sushi mat,  nori sheets, pickled ginger, soy sauce, sushi rice, wasabi, and sushi vinegar.  All you would need to buy are your fresh toppings.

Note: For a healthier sushi,  you can use brown rice instead of sushi white rice and liquid aminos instead of soy sauce.    You can also buy some crunchy Gardein Soy nuggets to stuff your sushi rolls with.

 Directions:

  1. Cook rice according to directions.
  2. When rice is cooked, add sushi rice vinegar (directions on the bottle).
  3. Add rice seasoning (I use JFC – Nori Komi Furikake (Rice Seasoning) 1.7 Oz.)
  4. Lay out your nori sheet.
  5. Add rice to nori sheet using rice paddle.
  6. Add your fresh toppings.  You can do this on the rice side and make the nori sheet on the outside, or you can flip it over and make the rice on the outside of your roll.

    Note: I wrap the mat with saran wrap for sanitary purposes.

  7. Roll with your mat.
  8. Slice and serve with wasabi, pickled ginger, and liquid aminos.

Also, every time I make sushi, I always serve it up with some “dynamite sauce”.  It is a mixture of Vegenaise and sriracha (equal parts).  It is delicious!

Another topping you can add to your sushi: Tempura green beans (click here for recipe)!

ENJOY AND HAVE FUN!!!!

Jenny’s Spicy Noodles

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My good friend Jenny made this dish last year at our veggie meet up group’s Halloween party.  Everyone, myself included, loved it!  So, I asked her for the recipe  so I could share it with you folks!

Jenny’s recipe:

13-16 Oz Whole grain spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbs rice wine vinegar ( or white vinegar)
2 tbs sesame oil
2-4 tbs Sriracha hot sauce
4 cups slaw mix (or bag of slaw mix)
6 green onions, sliced
4 tbs sesame seeds

In her recipe, she uses sriracha, but I just used some other Asian garlic hot sauce because I ran out of sriracha last week.  I also omitted the use of oil and added some broccoli, fresh ginger, water, and a little bit more rice vinegar.

Here is my tweaked version of her recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz box of whole wheat linguine pasta
  • 1/2 cup of liquid aminos
  • 1/2 cup of organic creamy natural peanut butter
  • 6 tablespoons of rice vinegar
  • 6 tablespoons of water
  • 4 tablespoons of Asian garlic hot sauce or sriracha (if you can’t take the heat, this is still yummy without the hot sauce….I made my daughter’s without it and it was delish!)
  • 4 cups of slaw mix (mixture of shredded cabbage and carrots)
  • 1.5 cups of broccoli (chopped )
  • 6 green onions (diced)
  • 6 tablespoons of sesame seeds
  • 4 tablespoons of grated ginger (I used a cheese grater)

Directions:

  1. Cook your noodles.
  2. While your noodles are cooking, pour vinegar, peanut butter, liquid aminos, ginger, water, and hot sauce into your wok or large pan.
  3. Simmer in low heat for a few minutes until the peanut butter is melted.
  4. Then, add broccoli, green onions, and slaw mix.
  5. Mix together with the sauce then add linguine noodles.
  6. Mix some more!
  7. Serve and enjoy!

So filling and delicious!!!!….and, healthy!!!!

 

 

Update: July 2012

I decided to add sprouts, Gardein Scallopini, and tomatoes to the dish…so delicious!!!!

Spicy Noodle Soup and Vegan Grilled “cheese” Sandwiches

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I love having this type of soup when I am not feeling well and or during cold weather.  I love how the spices, noodles, and veggies just go together.  Note: I mix up the veggies I use in this soup depending on what I get in my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box.

This is my version of “chicken soup” because 1. ginger can reduce cold and allergy symptoms, 2. garlic is known as the “poor man’s antibiotics” , 3. carrots is just so good for you in so many ways, and it is just a “feel good” comforting soup.   In this soup, you have your protein, your grains, super veggies, and beneficial herbs/spices.  Enjoy!

Spicy Noodle Veggie Soup with Vegan Grilled "cheese" Sandwich

  • 6- 8 cups vegetable broth  (depending how much ‘soup’ you want)
  • 1 package of firm tofu (squared)
  • 3 oz of organic somen (Asian Pasta)…about 2/3 of a package
  • 1/2 cup of carrots (diced)
  • 1 zucchini (diced)
  • 1 small red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup of peas
  • 1/4 cup of onions (diced)
  • 1 cup of fresh spinach
  • 1.5 to 2 table spoons of fresh garlic (finely diced)
  • 1 table spoon of fresh ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of sriracha (Asian hot sauce)
  • 1.5 tablespoons of toasted sesame seed oil
  • a pinch of turmeric
  • salt and pepper to taste

Boil vegetable broth and add noodles.  Cook until noodles are a bit soft and add all of your veggies (except for spinach), sesame seed oil,  herbs, and spices.  Simmer all together for a total of 15 to 20 minutes.  When the carrots are a little bit soft, you can turn off the heat and then add your spinach.

Note: putting the zucchini in 10 minutes before the soup is done will keep it a bit crunchy.

Grilled “cheese” Sandwich:

  • 2 slices of whole grain bread
  • Earth Balance vegan butter to spread on bread
  • 2 slices of vegan cheddar “cheese”

 

Vegan Sushi

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Ok, so I think most people out there like to eat sushi.  But, making it, is really an experience.  It is more satisfying for me to make sushi for myself and family than going out to eat and spending a bunch of money on sushi and drinks.  I may not be the best sushi roller, but making sushi makes you feel like you are creating beautiful art.

To make sushi rice:

  • 2 cups of sushi rice (you can also use brown rice, but you have to add more water to make it sticky)
  • 2 and 2/3 cup of water
  • 1/4 cup of sushi rice seasoning (you can also make this with: 1/4 cup of rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar, and1 tsp of salt)

Note:  I also like to use this rice seasoning in addition to the sushi vinegar seasoning.  I sprinkle it on the rice after it has been rolled.  It just contains sesame seeds, sea weed, sugar, and salt.

Before cooking the rice, you must rinse it in cold water.  Bring to boil over high heat, cover pan and simmer for 25 minutes.  Then, remove from heat.

While you cook the rice, prepare your veggies and sauce.

Here are the veggies I like to use:

  • carrots (sliced thin and lengthwise)
  • cucumber (sliced thin and lengthwise)
  • avocado (sliced thin and lengthwise)
  • asparagus ( sauteed in sesame seed oil for a few minutes…I love toasted sesame seed oil on veggies)
  • sprouts

Note:  you can also add cooked and seasoned tofu, tempura veggies, tempeh, etc.

Sauce for the roll:

  • 4 tbsp of Veganaise
  • 1 tsp of wasabe

After the rice is cooked, and while it is super hot, scoop it into a glass bowl and add the sushi rice vinegar seasoning and mix it together.

Lay out your sushi roller (cover it in plastic wrap…it is more sanitary) and lay an un-toasted NORI SHEET on it, and spoon the rice onto it.  Flatten and spread out the rice.  Add veggies and spread a line of the Veganaise wasabi mixture and roll.

Note:  It is much easier to roll it with the nori sheet on the outside rather than on the inside.

Rolling sushi with the nori on the outside is less time consuming.

Serve with wasabi (horse radish/hot sauce), tamari (soy sauce), ginger salad, and or vegan miso soup.  Warm sake is also great with sushi ;-) (note: most sake is vegan, but not all).

Optional:  you can make “dynamite” sauce and top off your sushi with it.

Dynamite sauce:

  • Veganaise
  • Sriracha sauce (hot sauce)

The easiest way to learn how to make sushi is this:

This sushi making kit comes with everything you need to start out with.

Sushi making is addicting to me.  It is so much fun!

Sushi + sake + family/friends = happy :-)

Enjoy!