#very sweet so I added extra soy sauce for a more balanced flavor

[good-night-space-kid]

if you like rice and egg, might I suggest filipino breakfast? it's usually Sinangag, or garlic fried rice, that's made with day-old rice fried in oil and garlic + a fried egg, cooked until the sides are crispy but the yolk is still gooey + a viand of your choice (typical filipino breakfasts would be like. a hotdog, or some filipino style cornbeef, or fried lil fish called dilis, or some fried squid, or some tinapa, another kind of fish, but you can add whatever you like! the rice is the star of the show anyway)

It has taken me a while, but today I finally had the chance to make this! I looked up some recipes online for reference, but I don’t think I added enough garlic so it didn’t have enough flavor so I did end up adding some soy sauce which I didn’t see in the recipes I was looking at, but didn’t seem too far out there. It’s really tasty!!

The meat is deer marinated then simmered in a Thai braising sauce that I had laying around which I think goes very well with the rice. I don’t love hotdogs and I live about an hour from the center of the North American continent, so good fish is hard to come by. The deer, however, is very fresh and only about a week old since it’s one I got over break.

Thank you so much for the recommendation! I will definitely be making this more often because it was really easy and is very delicious.

[thehungrykat1]

Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken Grupo Feast: A Celebration For the Entire Family

Last Thursday, I had a delivery from Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken that truly made our weekend more enjoyable. We had always wanted to try out this Portuguese barbecue chicken restaurant before but this is just the first time we were able to do so. The weekend was coming up so we were delighted to find all their specialties, plus a few of their new signature items, all in one big Peri-Peri delivery. With over 40 branches around Mega Manila and counting, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar is one of the fastest growing restaurants in the country today. Owned and managed by the Shakey’s group, this unique barbecue chicken is truly catching the taste buds of the Filipinos with its distinct aromas and flavorful spices.

The best way to introduce anyone to Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken is with the Peri Grupo Feast. This family set is good for up to four persons and comes with 1 Whole Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken (choice of Classic or Picante), 1 Chicken Tenders Salad, 1 Pasta to Share (choice of Carbonara or Chorizo Bolognese), 4 Regular Sides, 4 Java Rice, and 1 Drink (choice of Lime-ade or House Blend Iced Tea). Best of all, you can get all of these for only P999, a huge discount of P641 from its regular price. However, this promo is only available until June 30, 2021, so you better act quickly!

The Peri Grupo Feast starts with a healthy bowl of Chicken Tenders Salad. I’m not really that much into salads but if it comes with these juicy and crunchy pieces of chicken tenders, then I don’t mind having this for myself. This is a light and friendly appetizer that will prepare you for the more exciting dishes to come.

The set also comes with one Pasta to Share with a choice of Chorizo Bolognese or Carbonara. The pasta is also good enough for up to four persons so everyone can have their share. I liked the generous amounts of cheese on top of my spaghetti bolognese.

The main attraction of the Peri Grupo Feast is their signature Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken. This whole classic chicken is marinated overnight in a special concoction of peri-peri chili, herbs, and spices then charcoal grilled. It also includes four servings of java rice plus a medley of sauces to choose from.

The term “peri-peri” actually comes from an African bird’s eye chili called piri-piri which releases a fiery spice and helps create a wealth of flavors in every dish. Peri-Peri chicken traces its roots from Portuguese origins but this has been tweaked a little bit to satisfy the Filipino palate. It’s not as spicy and fiery as its original version, but you can customize your experience with a variety of their signature sauces.

Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken comes with eight signature sauces from mildly sweet and tangy, to wildly smokey, and to flaming spicy. You can mix and match each of the sauces to create your own flavor adventure.

The Peri Grupo Feast also comes with 4 regular side dishes. Ours included coleslaw, mashed potato, corn and carrots, plus baked mac and cheese. In addition, you also get one liter of Lime-Aid or House Blend Iced Tea.

The Peri Grupo Feast is available for dine-in, takeout or delivery through their hotline at 7374-7374 (PERI-PERI) or other delivery apps, but if you order using their website at www.periperichicken.ph, you can get FREE Mozzarella Sticks to go with your set. As another added bonus, Shakey’s SuperCard holders also get FREE 4 pieces Peri Natas.

If you want to make your family gatherings even more flavorful, try their newly-launched Peri-Peri Grilled Wings. These are not your ordinary fried chicken wings because they remain juicy, smokey, and tender after grilling. The wings are available in nine different Peri-Peri signature sauces so you will sure find your favorite.

The hot and crackling fire makes Peri-Peri’s new Grilled Wings explode with deliciousness! You can create your own Flavor Adventure ranging from mild, hot, to extra hot chicken wings that are not only charcoal-grilled but seasoned in Peri-Peri’s signature mix.

Choose from 9 different flavors for your Grilled Wings. If you fancy a sweet blend of Asian flavors, try the Special Blend Asian BBQ with that slightly sweet flavor we enjoy. You can also try the Sweet Soy, Hoisin Sesame, Sweet BBQ, or the distinct Mesquite BBQ sauce for that smokey taste with a boost of chili.

Tour your tastebuds to South America with the creamy, tart and subtly-spicy Cajun Remoulade, a very interesting mayonnaise-based sauce.

If you like it spicy, they also have the Chili Peppa, a flavorful hot sauce with the citrus goodness of fresh lemons. On the other hand, if you want a good balance of spiciness, go for the Garlic Brew and Harissa Exotica sauces.

You can enjoy Peri-Peri’s Grilled Wings either Solo at P249 (6 pcs, 1 flavor), Duo at P399 (10 pcs, 2 flavors), or To Share at P599 (16 pcs, 4 flavors). These are also great to munch on while chilling at home while watching Netflix.

Together with our orders from Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, we also got to try some new variants from R&B Tea. R&B Tea is a milk tea brand from Singapore that seeks to redefine the tea experience today. We often indulge in very sweet and rich milk teas, so R&B’s fresh fruits and all-natural components is a healthy change of pace. R&B places great emphasis on the origins of the tea leaves and delicate preparation to ensure the perfect tea blend.

I tried the Peach Oolong Macchiato Tea, a light and fruity oolong tea infused with peaches topped with a thick later of cheese cream. This is a great beverage to have on a hot and tiring day. The Black Tea Macchiato has a more bold flavor with its black tea capped with cream cheese.

Their new Premium Brewed Tea Series comes with refreshing, bold and robust tea flavors which can be paired with their signature brown sugar pearls. There’s a choice of Black Tea, Jasmine Green Tea or Peach Oolong. You can order R&B Tea at most Shakey’s and Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken branches nationwide, but you can also call for delivery using their hotlines 7777-7777 (Shakey’s) and 7374-7374 (Peri-Peri). Ordering online is another option at www.rbtea.ph and you can also get them using food delivery apps such as GrabFood, Pick.A.Roo and FoodPanda. Now you understand why we had such a great weekend. Enjoy your Peri-Peri and R&B Tea deliveries!

Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar

7374-7374 (PERI-PERI) / 0917-7747374

www.periperichicken.ph

www.facebook.com/peripericharcoalchicken

Instagram: @pericharcoalph

[easyfoodnetwork]

From the Strategist: The Best Miso, According to Chefs

White, yellow, and barley miso | Courtesy of retailers

Chefs’ favorite white, yellow, and red miso pastes, from the Strategist

Miso, a fermented soybean paste, is an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be used for way more than just soup. “Miso is produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and koji (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae) and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients,” says Nick Kim, chef and partner of omakase restaurant Shuko. The result is a paste that is high in both protein and vitamins, and packs a ton of flavor. A staple in Japanese cuisine for millennia, miso paste has countless uses in the kitchen, but “different misos are used for different reasons” based on the type and associated flavor profile, explains Maiko Kyogoku, the owner of Japanese restaurant Bessou in New York City.

The three basic types of miso include white, yellow, and red; as a general rule of thumb, “white miso is the mildest, yellow miso is more fermented, and red miso is the most assertive fermented flavor,” explains Masayoshi Takayama, the chef and owner of New York City’s Japanese and sushi restaurant Masa. To find the best kinds of miso you can buy, we asked Kyogoku, Takayama, Kim, and 14 other chefs about their favorites. As with lots of cooking ingredients, finding the right miso comes down to personal taste, Takayama notes, so we also asked the chefs how they use their favorite misos to help you choose the right one for your pantry.

Editor’s note: If you want to support service-industry workers who have been impacted by the coronavirus closures, you can donate to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, which has set up a COVID-19 Crisis Relief Fund, or One Fair Wage, which has set up an Emergency Coronavirus Tipped and Service Worker Support Fund. We’ve also linked to any initiatives the businesses mentioned in this story have set up to support themselves amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Best overall white miso

Hikari Organic Miso Paste, White

All of the chefs we spoke to say that white miso paste is a must-have for home cooking. Four of our experts — Kyogoku, Ryan McCaskey, Cara Nicoletti, and James Beard Award–winning chef Christopher Gross — recommend Hikari white miso for its accessibility and quality. According to Kim, “White miso is the best option for home cooks, and it’ll be a great gateway to try the other types of miso out there.” Because white miso is generally only fermented for three months and made with a higher rice content, it boasts a mild, sweet flavor that is perfect for soups, sauces, dressings, and marinades. “The best choice for home stock is white miso since it is the mildest kind,” says D.J. Eusebio, the chef at Terranea Resort’s Bashi. “It is also the most versatile and can be used in many various recipes,” including for glazed baby carrots and bread pudding (two things Eusebio says he makes with it).

Best less-expensive white miso

Yamabuki Mutenka Shiro Miso

“Specialty miso is a luxury to use at home,” says Sam Lawrence of Estela. “For most applications, I use a relatively cheap brand called Yamabuki Shiro Miso,” which he says is a light, delicate variety that is quite versatile. “It works well for curing fish and vegetables, as well as seasoning sauces and soups.”

Best low-sodium white miso

Namikura Shiro Miso

If you’re looking for a “healthier” white miso, you might try this kind recommended by Robbie Wilson, the chef and owner of Bird Dog in Palo Alto (which is currently accepting donations so that it can provide meals to the medical workers at Stanford Hospital). “This is a white miso that is made with 1.5 to two times as much white-rice koji as cooked soybeans, so it has a lower salt ratio than most traditional miso,” he says, adding that it still provides good flavor.

Best sweet white miso

Ishino White Miso

Kazushige Suzuki, the head sushi chef at Sushi Ginza Onodera, keeps this saikyo miso paste, a sweeter white variety that originated in Kyoto, stocked in his kitchen to use in dips for fresh vegetables or sauces (he says a very simple sauce can be made with just saikyo miso and vinegar). This is also Tsukimi’s executive chef Takanori Akiyama’s favorite miso to use at home and at his restaurant. Compared to other white miso, “this one is milder and more balanced, which makes it more versatile,” he explains. Kyogoku also likes using a sweeter, Kyoto-style miso. She says it’s “extremely smooth and will lend a creaminess to any dish,” but that it’s an especially lovely ingredient to use in winter-vegetable miso soups, salad dressings, and seafood marinades. “I love making Japanese-yam or daikon-radish-leaf miso soup with it when the temperature gets chillier.”

Best overall red miso

Shirakiku Miso Aka Soy Bean Paste

Most of the chefs we spoke with say that home cooks should keep at least one white miso paste and one red miso paste — which are on the opposite ends of the pungency spectrum — in their pantries for maximum versatility. Because red miso is fermented for longer, it usually has a stronger, saltier flavor compared to those of white and yellow misos. Therefore, they say, it should be reserved for heartier dishes, since it can easily overwhelm simpler food. Gene Kato, the chef at Chicago’s Momotaro, likes to use the “savory, slightly smokey” red miso when cooking meat because “the stronger flavor profile of the miso” balances out richer proteins; Kyogoku suggests using it as a base for mapo tofu. Eusebio calls this affordable red miso paste from Shirakiku his favorite (it is also the red miso we found most readily available online).

Best less-expensive red miso

Umasa Red Miso

Matthew Dahlkemper, the executive chef of Crafted Hospitality’s Temple Court, likes this red miso from Umasa because it has a “little extra funkiness and umph” that he says works well in any ramen or grilled vegetable dish.

Best overall yellow miso

Cold Mountain Light Yellow Miso

Yellow miso is more fermented than white miso but still has a mild flavor. Both Kim and Masaru Kajihara, the executive chef at Sakagura East Village, recommend using it in soups and sauces. Kim specifically likes the one from Cold Mountain, which is more readily available online. Gaby Dalkin, an L.A.–based chef, recipe developer, and the author of the forthcoming cookbook Eat What You Want, is also a fan of Cold Mountain’s miso, including its “sweet and mild” white miso.

Best awase miso

Horikawaya Nomura Awase Miso

Awase miso is a cross between red miso and white miso. While several of the chefs we spoke to recommend buying the two types separately and then mixing them as needed for recipes, Lawrence told us he loves this already blended awase miso from Horikawaya Nomura. “It has the depth of flavor and richness of a stronger miso, but is less salty and intense,” he says.

Best barley miso

Eden Foods Certified Organic Mugi Miso

If you’re familiar with the three basic types above and are looking for a new miso paste to try, J.T. Vuong, chef and co-founder of Yaki Tiki and Rule of Thirds, recommends a barley miso. Instead of rice koji, it’s made using barley koji, which gives it a distinct flavor profile that Vuong says “has a great balance of sweetness, aroma, and savoriness, without being overbearing or overly salty.” His tip is to blend the barley miso with some sweet saikyo miso and then use that mixture as a base “to make a well-balanced miso soup that is both rich and elegant.” Gross’s go-to brand is Eden, which makes a barley miso that is easy to find online.

Best less-expensive barley miso

South River Miso Company Three Barley Miso

Carolina Santos Neves, the executive chef of American Bar, told us about South River Miso Company, which is a Massachusetts-based, family-owned operation that makes a line of organic miso. Of all of the brand’s miso styles, she says that her favorite is its three-barley miso, which is aged for three summers to give it a “rich, hearty flavor,” according to the brand.

Best hatcho miso

Maruya Hatcho Miso

Those who prefer very earthy flavors should try a hatcho, or 100 percent soybean, miso paste, Vuong says. He describes hatcho miso as super-savory, with an almost fudgelike texture, and says it makes a great addition to braises and hearty stews. But Vuong notes that “a little bit of this goes a long way, since the flavor is much more concentrated and intense.”

Best chickpea miso

Momofuku Labs Hozon

If you consider yourself a miso connoisseur and want something completely new to experiment with in the kitchen, Wilson suggests this Hozon paste from Momofuku Labs, which is “made from chickpeas, rather than soybeans,” but with the same miso-making method. The chickpeas offer a lot of sweet flavor, he says, and the paste can be used in all the same recipes you would use a traditional miso.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3cefyKo https://ift.tt/3fsNd58

White, yellow, and barley miso | Courtesy of retailers

Chefs’ favorite white, yellow, and red miso pastes, from the Strategist

Miso, a fermented soybean paste, is an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be used for way more than just soup. “Miso is produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and koji (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae) and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients,” says Nick Kim, chef and partner of omakase restaurant Shuko. The result is a paste that is high in both protein and vitamins, and packs a ton of flavor. A staple in Japanese cuisine for millennia, miso paste has countless uses in the kitchen, but “different misos are used for different reasons” based on the type and associated flavor profile, explains Maiko Kyogoku, the owner of Japanese restaurant Bessou in New York City.

The three basic types of miso include white, yellow, and red; as a general rule of thumb, “white miso is the mildest, yellow miso is more fermented, and red miso is the most assertive fermented flavor,” explains Masayoshi Takayama, the chef and owner of New York City’s Japanese and sushi restaurant Masa. To find the best kinds of miso you can buy, we asked Kyogoku, Takayama, Kim, and 14 other chefs about their favorites. As with lots of cooking ingredients, finding the right miso comes down to personal taste, Takayama notes, so we also asked the chefs how they use their favorite misos to help you choose the right one for your pantry.

Editor’s note: If you want to support service-industry workers who have been impacted by the coronavirus closures, you can donate to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, which has set up a COVID-19 Crisis Relief Fund, or One Fair Wage, which has set up an Emergency Coronavirus Tipped and Service Worker Support Fund. We’ve also linked to any initiatives the businesses mentioned in this story have set up to support themselves amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Best overall white miso

Hikari Organic Miso Paste, White

All of the chefs we spoke to say that white miso paste is a must-have for home cooking. Four of our experts — Kyogoku, Ryan McCaskey, Cara Nicoletti, and James Beard Award–winning chef Christopher Gross — recommend Hikari white miso for its accessibility and quality. According to Kim, “White miso is the best option for home cooks, and it’ll be a great gateway to try the other types of miso out there.” Because white miso is generally only fermented for three months and made with a higher rice content, it boasts a mild, sweet flavor that is perfect for soups, sauces, dressings, and marinades. “The best choice for home stock is white miso since it is the mildest kind,” says D.J. Eusebio, the chef at Terranea Resort’s Bashi. “It is also the most versatile and can be used in many various recipes,” including for glazed baby carrots and bread pudding (two things Eusebio says he makes with it).

Best less-expensive white miso

Yamabuki Mutenka Shiro Miso

“Specialty miso is a luxury to use at home,” says Sam Lawrence of Estela. “For most applications, I use a relatively cheap brand called Yamabuki Shiro Miso,” which he says is a light, delicate variety that is quite versatile. “It works well for curing fish and vegetables, as well as seasoning sauces and soups.”

Best low-sodium white miso

Namikura Shiro Miso

If you’re looking for a “healthier” white miso, you might try this kind recommended by Robbie Wilson, the chef and owner of Bird Dog in Palo Alto (which is currently accepting donations so that it can provide meals to the medical workers at Stanford Hospital). “This is a white miso that is made with 1.5 to two times as much white-rice koji as cooked soybeans, so it has a lower salt ratio than most traditional miso,” he says, adding that it still provides good flavor.

Best sweet white miso

Ishino White Miso

Kazushige Suzuki, the head sushi chef at Sushi Ginza Onodera, keeps this saikyo miso paste, a sweeter white variety that originated in Kyoto, stocked in his kitchen to use in dips for fresh vegetables or sauces (he says a very simple sauce can be made with just saikyo miso and vinegar). This is also Tsukimi’s executive chef Takanori Akiyama’s favorite miso to use at home and at his restaurant. Compared to other white miso, “this one is milder and more balanced, which makes it more versatile,” he explains. Kyogoku also likes using a sweeter, Kyoto-style miso. She says it’s “extremely smooth and will lend a creaminess to any dish,” but that it’s an especially lovely ingredient to use in winter-vegetable miso soups, salad dressings, and seafood marinades. “I love making Japanese-yam or daikon-radish-leaf miso soup with it when the temperature gets chillier.”

Best overall red miso

Shirakiku Miso Aka Soy Bean Paste

Most of the chefs we spoke with say that home cooks should keep at least one white miso paste and one red miso paste — which are on the opposite ends of the pungency spectrum — in their pantries for maximum versatility. Because red miso is fermented for longer, it usually has a stronger, saltier flavor compared to those of white and yellow misos. Therefore, they say, it should be reserved for heartier dishes, since it can easily overwhelm simpler food. Gene Kato, the chef at Chicago’s Momotaro, likes to use the “savory, slightly smokey” red miso when cooking meat because “the stronger flavor profile of the miso” balances out richer proteins; Kyogoku suggests using it as a base for mapo tofu. Eusebio calls this affordable red miso paste from Shirakiku his favorite (it is also the red miso we found most readily available online).

Best less-expensive red miso

Umasa Red Miso

Matthew Dahlkemper, the executive chef of Crafted Hospitality’s Temple Court, likes this red miso from Umasa because it has a “little extra funkiness and umph” that he says works well in any ramen or grilled vegetable dish.

Best overall yellow miso

Cold Mountain Light Yellow Miso

Yellow miso is more fermented than white miso but still has a mild flavor. Both Kim and Masaru Kajihara, the executive chef at Sakagura East Village, recommend using it in soups and sauces. Kim specifically likes the one from Cold Mountain, which is more readily available online. Gaby Dalkin, an L.A.–based chef, recipe developer, and the author of the forthcoming cookbook Eat What You Want, is also a fan of Cold Mountain’s miso, including its “sweet and mild” white miso.

Best awase miso

Horikawaya Nomura Awase Miso

Awase miso is a cross between red miso and white miso. While several of the chefs we spoke to recommend buying the two types separately and then mixing them as needed for recipes, Lawrence told us he loves this already blended awase miso from Horikawaya Nomura. “It has the depth of flavor and richness of a stronger miso, but is less salty and intense,” he says.

Best barley miso

Eden Foods Certified Organic Mugi Miso

If you’re familiar with the three basic types above and are looking for a new miso paste to try, J.T. Vuong, chef and co-founder of Yaki Tiki and Rule of Thirds, recommends a barley miso. Instead of rice koji, it’s made using barley koji, which gives it a distinct flavor profile that Vuong says “has a great balance of sweetness, aroma, and savoriness, without being overbearing or overly salty.” His tip is to blend the barley miso with some sweet saikyo miso and then use that mixture as a base “to make a well-balanced miso soup that is both rich and elegant.” Gross’s go-to brand is Eden, which makes a barley miso that is easy to find online.

Best less-expensive barley miso

South River Miso Company Three Barley Miso

Carolina Santos Neves, the executive chef of American Bar, told us about South River Miso Company, which is a Massachusetts-based, family-owned operation that makes a line of organic miso. Of all of the brand’s miso styles, she says that her favorite is its three-barley miso, which is aged for three summers to give it a “rich, hearty flavor,” according to the brand.

Best hatcho miso

Maruya Hatcho Miso

Those who prefer very earthy flavors should try a hatcho, or 100 percent soybean, miso paste, Vuong says. He describes hatcho miso as super-savory, with an almost fudgelike texture, and says it makes a great addition to braises and hearty stews. But Vuong notes that “a little bit of this goes a long way, since the flavor is much more concentrated and intense.”

Best chickpea miso

Momofuku Labs Hozon

If you consider yourself a miso connoisseur and want something completely new to experiment with in the kitchen, Wilson suggests this Hozon paste from Momofuku Labs, which is “made from chickpeas, rather than soybeans,” but with the same miso-making method. The chickpeas offer a lot of sweet flavor, he says, and the paste can be used in all the same recipes you would use a traditional miso.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3cefyKo via Blogger https://ift.tt/3ceOv1y

[wsmith215]

Asian Lettuce Wraps with Chicken

The moment we turned 16, my high school friends and I used our newfound freedom (and the ability to borrow our parents’ cars) to meet for dinner at a certain favorite Asian restaurant chain. We felt very adult and fancy, especially when we split an order of Lettuce Wraps. Tender ground chicken cooked in an outrageously addictive, sweet-and-salty Asian sauce, then piled inside crisp lettuce cups, this famous restaurant appetizer has since become one of my favorite healthy dinner inspirations.

I first wrote about the arrival of the aforementioned illustrious Asian restaurant chain in my Kansas hometown (and the love affair with Asian lettuce wraps that it sparked), back when I shared this recipe for copycat P.F. Chang’s Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps. My love for them hasn’t dwindled in the slightest. 

As it turns out, you also share my lettuce wrap love! The vegetarian version is still one of the most popular on my site, and today’s chicken version has earned a similar set of stellar reviews.

P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps are made of less accessible ingredients that I’m not as likely to have around, like mirin and shiitake mushrooms.

When I set out to create a copycat version, it was important to me that they be made with simple ingredients that are easy to find at most grocery stores. You may even have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now!

These healthy lettuce wraps are fancy without being fussy and flavorful without requiring hours of work. They can be made in the slow cooker or on the stovetop. Each option is equally as delicious, so choose whichever fits best with your schedule.

Whether you’re looking for a simple recipe that will impress anyone you serve it to, an easy weeknight dinner with wholesome ingredients, or a nutritious stand-in for your weekly takeout order, these Asian lettuce wraps are for you.

Asian Lettuce Wraps—A Healthy Recipe Love Story

These Thai chicken lettuce wraps have the same sweet crunch and addictive taste as my original vegetarian recipe, but they’re made with ground chicken instead of tofu.

They also offer a few other advantages over the original.

Crock Pot. This recipe is made in the slow cooker so you have maximum flexibility. Prep it now, then go about your business. In a few hours, dinner is ready to serve.Scalability. While I love my vegetarian lettuce wraps, a comment I frequently received was that they were gone in a single evening.

While a clean plate is the most sincere of compliments for any home cook, as a lover of meal prep (and anytime I can cook once and eat more than once), I also recognize the benefit of having leftovers.

Today’s recipe for healthy Asian lettuce wraps yields a more generous portion of the filling. Any amount you don’t finish tonight will last in the refrigerator for several days and can be frozen for several months, making them a meal prep dream.

How to Make Lettuce Wraps

What makes this recipe special is its blend of nuanced flavors and textures, along with a well-balanced incorporation of healthy food groups. Every spoonful provides double-duty servings of both protein and vegetables. 

From the “Why can I not stop eating this???” tasty sauce, to the crunch of the water chestnuts, the ingredients blend together beautifully. Every bite delivers.

The IngredientsGround Chicken. Ground chicken is quick-cooking, mild, and it will soak up the flavor of the sauce without overpowering it. Perfect! Plus, it’s packed with filling protein.Hoisin + Soy Sauce. The sweet, sticky, salty, and umami base for our sauce. Think of hoisin as sweet Asian BBQ sauce (YUM!). If you aren’t able to use soy sauce, you could try tamari or coconut aminos instead. Rice Vinegar. It provides a touch of acid to balance the sweetness of the hoisin and saltiness of the soy sauce. It’s a staple in Asian-style recipes like this one. You can also use it in any of these recipes that use rice vinegar.Sesame Oil. A richly nutty and toasty counterpart to the sweetness in our sauce. This one is hard to swap; if you cook Asian food often (or aspire to), you’ll love having it on hand.Ginger + Garlic. Twin flavor bombs in Asian cooking. Fresh ginger is best but you can swap in one-third the amount of ground ginger in a pinch.Mushrooms + Grated Carrots. Even if you don’t like mushrooms, I highly doubt you will notice them here! They are chopped super small, and their flavor deepens the sauce without making it taste like mushrooms. Plus, the added veggies help make this dish more nutritious. Mushrooms bring antioxidants and Vitamin-B, and carrots are packed with Vitamin-A. Red Pepper Flakes. Just a little for some heat.Water Chestnuts. The delicious “crunch” factor. They are mild but oh so worthwhile. Butter Lettuce. Butter lettuce is the kind of lettuce used for lettuce wraps. The leaves are tender and slightly sweet, making them the ideal vessel for our filling. The inner hearts of romaine lettuce also work well. Need another option? You can use iceberg lettuce for lettuce wraps, if that’s what you have on hand.The DirectionsCombine the sauce ingredients.Brown the chicken in large skillet. Add the green onion, ginger, and garlic.Place the mixture in the slow cooker, and stir in the vegetables, red pepper flakes, and sauce. Cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours. Add the water chestnuts and remaining green onions.Scoop the mixture into the lettuce cups, and DIG IN!

Recipe AdaptationsBeef Lettuce Wraps. Swap the ground chicken in this recipe for lean ground beef. The flavor will be different but still tasty.Turkey Lettuce Wraps. Use ground turkey instead of ground chicken. This swap is nearly imperceptible.Shredded Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Since this recipe is designed for cooking ground meat (versus a whole chicken breast), instead I’d recommend making this Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken or this Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken, then folding it into lettuce cups.To Make Vegetarian. See my recipe for Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps (linked above). Please note this recipe is made on the stovetop only and would not translate to the slow cooker, as the tofu would overcook.How to Store, Reheat, and Freeze Lettuce WrapsTo Store. Leftover filling can be stored in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store your lettuce separately in an airtight container or ziptop bag in the refrigerator. I like to wrap my lettuce leaves in a dry paper towel or clean kitchen towel before placing them in the container/bag to help preserve their crunch.To Reheat. Gently rewarm the filling in a large skillet on the stove over medium-low heat. You can also reheat this recipe in the microwave. Fill lettuce cups just before serving.To Freeze. Place leftover filling in an airtight freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and serve with fresh lettuce cups.What to Serve with Lettuce Wraps

Since these lettuce wraps offer both protein and veggies in a single serving (like this Egg Roll in a Bowl recipe), we enjoyed them as a standalone dinner. If you want to serve them with a side dish, here are a few ideas:

Rice. Serve them with brown rice or quinoa, and you’ll hit every food group in a single meal.Veggies. Add even more vegetables by pairing these wraps with a side of Roasted Frozen Broccoli.Salad. A crisp, flavorful salad like this Asian Cabbage Salad would be tasty. I’ve also mixed the lettuce wrap filling with romaine for an easy salad.

Want to get really wild? Take a note from my “I work from home and anything in the fridge is fair game for lunch” book. Try this healthy lettuce wrap filling mixed with scrambled eggs and a few extra shots of soy sauce. SO GOOD!

More Healthy Versions of Takeout Favorites

Recommended Tools to Make Asian Lettuce WrapsProgrammable Slow Cooker. I love that it switches to “keep warm” at the end of the cooking time so my food rarely overcooks.Dutch Oven. This one is perfect for browning the meat and preparing the recipe on the stovetop.Measuring Spoons. These are easy to store and can go in the dishwasher.

Whether you’re new to lettuce wraps or consider yourself a lettuce wrap connoisseur, I hope you’ll give this tasty recipe a try! If you do, please let me know what you think in the comments below. I love hearing from you.

Healthy Crockpot Asian Lettuce Wraps with ground chicken or ground turkey, green onions, and fresh veggies. Better than PF Chang’s! This fresh, healthy slow cooker recipe is easy to make, and the sauce is so flavorful and not too spicy. Serve with lettuce cups or rice for a delicious meal.

1/2 cup hoisin sauce 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce — plus 1 tablespoon, use tamari to make gluten free 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 pounds ground chicken breast 1 small bunch green onions — thinly sliced, white/light green and dark green parts divided 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 2 cloves garlic — minced (about 2 teaspoons) 8 ounces baby bella cremini mushrooms — finely chopped 1 1/2 cup grated carrots — from about 3 large carrots 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes — reduce to 1/4 teaspoon or omit if sensitive to spice 2 cans water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped — (8 ounce cans) drained and finely chopped 2 heads butter lettuce

Lightly coat a 5-quart or larger slow cooker with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, stir together the hoisin, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high. Add the chicken and brown the meat, breaking it into small pieces. Continue cooking until no longer pink, about 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the white and light green parts of the green onions, ginger, and garlic. Cook 30 additional seconds.

Transfer the meat mixture to the slow cooker. Stir in the chopped mushrooms, carrots, red pepper flakes, and sauce. Cover and cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours until the mixture is thickened and the chicken is ultra tender. (Do not be tempted to cook on HIGH, as the chicken will become tough.) Stir in the water chestnuts and green parts of the green onions.

To serve, separate the butter lettuce leaves and fill with the chicken mixture. Enjoy hot.

TO MAKE ON THE STOVETOP: Prepare the recipe through step 2 in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Reduce the heat to low and let cook until the chicken and mushrooms are very tender and the sauce has thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. Check and stir periodically. Stir in the water chestnuts and green tops of the green onions. Enjoy!I do not recommend cooking this recipe on high in the slow cooker. The filling does best over low heat so that it becomes nice and tender.TO STORE: Leftover filling can be stored in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store your lettuce separately in an airtight container or ziptop bag in the refrigerator. I like to wrap my lettuce leaves in a dry paper towel or clean kitchen towel before placing them in the container/bag to help preserve their crunch.TO REHEAT: Gently rewarm the filling in a large skillet on the stove over medium-low heat. You can also reheat this recipe in the microwave. Fill lettuce cups just before serving.TO FREEZE: Place leftover filling in an airtight freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and serve with fresh lettuce cups.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: Asian Lettuce Wraps, Easy Chinese Food, Healthy Lettuce Wrap Recipe

Nutrition InformationAmount per serving (1 (of 8), about 1 cup filling) — Calories: 247, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Carbohydrates: 21g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 10g, Protein: 28g

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[matthewb-japan]

Basic Japanese Cuisine - Week 1

The first day of Basic Japanese Cuisine focused on getting us reacquainted to working in a kitchen at CIA. I found myself excited by the change in pace from the academic classes I took this past semester. We began the class with a lecture on geographical and historical factors that have impacted Japanese Cuisine. I found it interesting how the wealth of fish available in Japan is due to the juncture of warm and cold currents on either side of the country. You may ask why this matters, and oh boy, let me tell you. It creates ideal conditions for plankton to grow which attracts smaller fish thus attracting the larger fish. The jagged coastline of Japan also leads to seclusion of different species of fish in certain inlets. We also covered changes made to Japanese Cuisine from the Nara period through the Meiji period. After lecture we covered the differences between usuba, deba, and yanagi knives. Usuba are meant for cutting and peeling vegetables, deba are for filleting fish or cutting meat, and yanagi are used for cutting sashimi or thin slices. This was followed up by practicing various knife skills.

We used these daikon and carrot cuts for a fried tofu dish, agedashi dofu, topped with a starch-thickened ankake sauce. We enjoyed this with a bowl of rice and miso soup. A delicious meal and an exciting class left me excited for the rest of the semester.

Day two highlighted the importance of interacting with food using all five senses as well as the importance of seasonality in Japanese Cuisine. Some key points were how much different types of plateware can covey themes of the season just as well as the ingredients themselves can. Colors like green and blue can symbolize stability or peace while yellow and red suggest warmth or stimulate the appetite. Plateware can be wooden, lacquered, stone, or even natural objects such as seashells. Following this fascinating lecture, we practiced sashimi cuts on konnyaku (a gelatinized starch, because fish is too expensive for rookies) and learned how to prepare rice. We washed the rice several times until the water ran clear and then allowed it to dry for ten minutes before letting the rice cooker take over. We also made a marinated spinach salad with a sesame dressing. We ground the sesame seeds in a tsuribachi with a tsurikogi, a stoneware basin and wooden stick similar to a mortar and pestle. We enjoyed our salad and rice along with more miso soup and konyakku that we simmered in a spicy, dashi-based sauce.

Day three was centered around dashi. I’ll elaborate on this more later, but allow me to touch on the basics. Ichiban dashi (the most popular style) consists of katsuobushi (smoked and dried Bonito flakes), dried kombu seaweed, and water. These two ingredients lend umami to the finished broth which can then be used in simmered dishes, soups, marinades, and many other preparations. Kombu is gently heated in water for roughly thirty minutes until the optimum flavor has been extracted. You then remove the kombu and bring the water to a simmer before adding the kombu. This only needs to cook for roughly a minute before straining through a coffee filter.

After making our dashi it was time to put it to good use. We made a red miso soup with usuage (fried tofu) and daikon, a white miso soup with chicken and mushroom that we seasoned with yuzu kosho (a fermented chili and yuzu paste) for an extra kick, and a clear soup garnished with mushroom, spinach, and shinjo (a shrimp paste dumpling).

Day four was the continuation of learning how to make Japanese soups. We removed our “dashi training wheels” and made the amount we needed for the day. I predicted we would get quite good at making dashi, as we would need to make enough daily for our many preparations. We did not have a long lecture this day, but we did highlight some of the important aspects of making soups. Clear soups are important in Kaiseki meals because they show the chef’s skill in producing a perfect dashi (as it’s the main flavoring component). I found it interesting how an aromatic ingredient is often added right before serving a soup to enhance the experience for the guest. Common aromatics include: grated ginger, thinly sliced scallions, and yuzu peel. After this short lecture, sensei Murashima jumped into showing us our daily mis en place.

He explained that it was important to cut everything to precisely the same size so everything cooks evenly. We also talked about how meats are typically sliced thinly in Japanese cooking because they are not always easily accessible. We poured sake over the fish prior to steaming it in order to firm the flesh of the finished product and remove any unwanted odors or flavors. We also tasted the different between typical, green edamame and the black variety. The darker edamame was richer in taste but is not as widely available (making it more expensive). I thought the purée soup would be gritty from the beans but it blended quite smoothly. The best part of family meal was easily the pork miso soup. The flavors melded together so well and it warmed me up inside with the cold Fall weather quickly approaching.

On day five, we made the transition from soups into nimono (simmered dishes) and mushimono (steamed foods). Before demo time, we put the kitchen aside and had a guest lecture from Dassai about their sake. They told us about their brewery in Yamaguchi prefecture and how special their junmai daiginjo sake is. This quality of sake is the highest premium and must use rice grains that are at least 50% polished. Dassai chooses to polish their rice grains to 23% to achieve the greatest balance of aroma and flavor. They told us that sake is often thought to be a wine, but it is quite different. For example, it is better enjoyed fresh rather than aged. Their signature sake (Dassai 23) has a fragrance of berries, apples, and pears with a clean finish that lingers after tasting it. It was nice to enjoy the lecture and tasting, but it quickly became time to return to the kitchen.

Our two steamed dishes for the day were chawanmushi, a sort of savory egg custard, and dobinmushi, a broth with garnishes that is steamed in a clay pot. We cooked two different types of simmered dishes. The first dish had all the ingredients simmered together. It was called Niku Jaga which translates to “meat potat”. We learned about the importance of adding sweet ingredients (mirin and sugar) before adding salty ingredients like soy sauce. The sugar molecules are much larger and take more time to absorb into the large chunks of potatoes. The finished dish was so richly flavored and craveable.

The other simmered dish was a tofu dumpling simmered in a dashi-based sauce. This dish had all of the ingredients simmered separately and then combined onto a plate to be served. This style is better for ingredients with very different cooking times. It also was more technique driven than the latter. Our two steamed dishes were put together and cooked in the convection steamer when both teams were ready. It is important to have all of the ingredients seasoned and placed correctly in the vessels because they cannot be poked and prodded at while steaming. After a delicious family meal, I was ready for the weekend ahead of us and dreamed about eating more niku jaga that night.

[jenroses]

Turkey Day Menu 2017: GF and allergy friendly

From http://jenrose.com/turkey-day-menu-2017-gf-and-allergy-friendly/

Courtesy of my sister, who is willing to adapt menus for other allergy issues. Comment here if your needs are different. 

First off, we have multiple allergies and food issues. In short:

Me; Militantly gluten free and no strawberries or sulfites due to allergies. Also allergic to crustaceans (lobster, crab, possibly shrimp?), peanuts, hazelnuts, lima beans, oats, banana, and weird issues around standard commercial dairy and eggs, but I do fine with certain local products on eggs and dairy. I also randomly have issues with tomatoes, garlic, onions, some veggies,  peppers, but there are meds I can take that help reduce inflammation to tolerate those. Some forms of garlic are better than others. I avoid most soy, refined sugar and mold-type cheeses due to inflammation issues.

My eldest: Allergic to soy, egg, dairy, peanuts and wheat.

My middle: No citric acid or citrates, reacts to wheat in weird ways, same for natamycin

Hubby has texture/taste issues (goes beyond dislike, not an allergy) with visible egg, set gelatin, and most cheese (except pizza.)

Youngest is Intensely picky.

A turkey dinner is actually one of the easiest meals to adapt.

So, within those parameters, here is our menu, according to Sis, with bullet commentary by me.

  Turkey: 20 lb Shelton free-range, brined with herbs and spices, salt water, and apple juice or cider with no added citric acid

I don’t usually brine turkeys, but I trust Sis. Dad uses wine on the turkey, I cook at high heat and don’t touch it or baste it or brine it, but I might slip some kind of fat under the skin.

Stuffing: Costco gluten free bread cubes, better than bouillon based broth, herbs and spices, soy/dairy/egg/gluten free sausage, chopped apples & walnuts

I haven’t looked at Costcco’s gluten free bread cubes, but it’s really hard to get bread that everyone can have. Happy Campers is probably the best bet. Elegant Elephant has a sourdough loaf that can also be converted to cubes easily. Middle kiddo and I can both do Franz gluten free. Eldest and I can both do BFree. Bread is very regional, don’t be afraid to investigate. Other good substitutions include riced cauliflower, quinoa, and brown rice. Just substitute those for the bread in your favorite stuffing recipe, and be prepared to either cook the grains in broth and/or adjust the liquid content down.

Sausage: standard breakfast sausage is our usual–use whatever standard breakfast sausages you can tolerate. We use sausage-shaped ones, but loose sausage can also be used. Nuts are optional, sub sunflower seeds if you want the texture but can’t do tree nuts, or omit.

Apples work for us, cranberries and raisins are other options we’ve used in the past.

Better that Bouillon is something we also call “Chicken squishy” (or “beef squishy”) and is well tolerated by all of us. We use the organic low sodium version from Costco. Vegan options exist. Turkey is probably the ideal for this meal.

  Potatoes: potatoes, olive oil, salt

I mean, you can do almost anything with potatoes, ranging from just swipe a little oil on the skins and bake, to peel (or not) and boil and mash. Contrary to popular belief, mashed potatoes are fine without milk and butter, especially if they’re going to be buttered later and doused with gravy. Sub chicken broth or veg broth for flavor and texture if you want creamier potatoes, and Earth Balance for butter if you really want them “buttery”.

Pro flavor tip: While I love a peppery olive oil, if you get the “Extra light Napoleon” it tastes very buttery, a la melted butter.

Sweet potatoes*: plain, roasted whole

*actually Garnet or Jewel Yams (which are sweet potatoes, but very orange.)

The neat thing is that sweet potatoes take zero work. Stick them in the oven at whatever temp and roast until squishy.

Once roasted, the skins slip off and they can be sliced or mashed and amended as people like after. One of my favorites involves mashed sweet potatoes with coconut milk, coconut sugar, and spices like ginger and cinnamon. For dairy-and-citrate having people, slice the cooked sweet potatoes and layer with butter, maple syrup, orange and/or lemon zest, orange and/or lemon juice, ginger, nutmeg and paprika.

If you must have them with marshmallows, see my marshmallow recipe. Make the marshmallows with vanilla, not peppermint.

One year we made purple yams, garnet yams, and Japanese sweet potatoes, and mashed them separately and let people pipe them onto their own plates.

This was more work than it was worth given how picky my children are, but a lot of fun for those who both like sweet potatoes and like playing with their food.

Gravy: tapioca or rice flour, better than bouillon based broth, herbs and spices, assorted drippings and giblets

Most of the liquid should come from the turkey, plus the cooking water from any boiled potatoes if you have it, which can be boosted with Better than Bouillon if needed.

Holler if you want to know how we do gravy.

Cranberry sauce: cranberries, sugar and/or honey

I’m lobbying for maple syrup.

Homemade cranberry sauce is the absolute easiest thing. Put cranberries and sweetener in a small pan on the stove. Simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust flavor with more sweet, spices as desired. It really is that easy. It goes from whole berries to sauce sort of all-of-a-sudden. Cook for a minute or two longer to thicken.

Not middle-child safe as cranberries are inherently high in citric acid.

You can make a similar sauce with frozen blueberries.

Applesauce can fill a similar ecological niche on the dinner plate for those who can’t have citric acid.

Green beans: fresh green beans, garlic, mushrooms (I’m hoping for chanterelles), olive oil, salt

Probably using some sort of frozen garlic as I react less badly to frozen garlic than to fresh or dried.

If you can find a safe cream of mushroom soup, use that if you want a more casserole-y thing

Pacific Foods has a yes-dairy-no-gluten condensed cream of mushroom soup.

Adding coconut milk (full fat) to the above would give a similar effect.

This will taste outstanding even if it’s not creamy.

If dairy isn’t a problem, use butter

Add a little wine if you can tolerate it

And the best mushrooms you can get.

Brussels sprouts: Brussels sprouts, uncured bacon

*side-eyes hard*

I hate Brussels sprouts.

But they’re hypoallergenic

I guess

Raw sauerkraut

Plain, lactofermented sauerkraut is delightful and will help with digestion. It also adds a bright acid note to a heavy meal

We buy it. Sonoma Brinery is fantastic, but Trader Joe’s also has a very good version.

Oregon Brineworks Ginger Roots would be fantastic and pretty alongside a turkey dinner.

Vanilla ice cream

Sparkling cider

We watch for added citric acid but lots of brands are fine

Wine

“Well Red” from Trader Joe’s is no-sulfites-detected and passably drinkable

“Our Daily Red” is a cooking wine that is no sulfites detected but kind of awful tasting

If you can find Orleans Hill Zinfandel, it may be the best NSD wine I’ve ever had.

Gluten free pies:

We buy gluten free crusts that everyone can eat. IDK the brand

Where you can’t buy safe crusts, chop sunflower seeds or whatever nuts can be tolerated very fine (not paste) and toast them with a safe butter substitute and press them into the pan a-la crumb crust.

If they’re not staying up, just line the bottom like a cheesecake

Or do a straight up custard

It is possible to substitute gluten free flour for wheat flour 1;1 and palm oil, coconut oil or Earth Balance (we do the soy-free) for the fat, and then follow almost any pie crust recipe. Or google “gluten free pie crust” if you want.  We just buy crusts, it’s easier and the texture is more consistently what we want.

Pumpkin (eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, spices)

Note that this is a dairy-free recipe.

It’s basically just exactly the recipe on the Libby’s label but substituting eggs for the dairy

It’s a lot of eggs

It tastes better that way

and sets up VERY well.

Not safe for my eldest

Egg-free pumpkin (tapioca starch, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, spices)

Note that this is corn-free, vegan, soy, egg, dairy and gluten free.

I would use coconut sugar

Apple (apples, brown sugar, spices, rum)

When I make apple pie, I mix the rum (or whiskey, but that’s not necessarily gluten free) with butter, sugar and a little starch to make a “hard sauce” that gets mixed in with the apples

People have gotten tipsy off of my apple pies

We have used booze to stop the apples from browning (it may not work but people think the browning is booze)

(they’re probably right.)

If citric acid is an issue, don’t use lemon in your pie

If it’s not, definitely use lemon in your pie.

Cherry (cherries, tapioca starch, sugar, almond extract)

Use almond flour for the crust if you want to really punch up the cherry almond goodness.

[jasonwhorl73-blog]

Vegan Des Moines: Options in Iowa’s capital

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Vegan Des Moines round-up including Brightside Kitchen, Zombie Burger, Ice Cream El Michoacano, Open Sesame, and vegan donuts at Whole Foods.

In recent years Des Moines has really stepped up its game where vegans are concerned!

It used to be that when I was visiting my hometown, it was a strain finding exciting vegan-friendly options. But nowadays, the choices are plentiful and growing.

Today I’m highlighting some of the vegan Des Moines options at restaurants, food trucks, and grocery stores.

Brightside Kitchen

Brightside Kitchen is a vegan establishment owned by Deanne & Steve Bryce. It’s tucked away inside of Mercy’s Health & Fitness Center in Clive, Iowa.

They serve plant-based fare for breakfasts & lunches throughout the week. You can check them out Monday through Friday between the hours of 7 am and 2 pm. They also serve brunch on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm.

The eatery focuses on whole foods, plant-based cuisine. Order at the counter and then you can eat it at one of the handful of tables or take it to go.

They offer smoothies, soup, salads, wraps, sandwiches, and a bowl of the day that changes throughout the week.

On one visit, I ordered the special – a Mexican-inspired bowl. It was made with seasoned lentils, roasted vegetables, and a fresh green salad.

It was popping with flavor and incredibly fresh. There was enough left over for lunch the next day.

(I enjoyed it so much, I made my own vegan burrito bowl inspired by it when I got home!)

I also had one of their signature BBQ sporc sandwiches at an Iowa Farm Sanctuary event. It’s pictured at the top of this post.

In addition to making some delicious lunches & brunches, Brightside Kitchen offers vegan cooking classes & catering.

Zombie Burger

Zombie Burger is a Des Moines favorite amongst vegans & non-vegans alike.

They have locations in the East Village of downtown Des Moines, as well as locations in Jordan Creek, and the Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville.

(You can read about the Coralville location in my vegan Iowa City post.)

One note about the East Village location – it does get busy. So if you’re going during a popular mealtime, prepare for a wait.

My favorite thing to order is the Undead Glenn, which is the Beyond Burger topped with shredded lettuce, pickles, and vegan zombie sauce. (My husband orders this one with a double patty, like a vegan Big Mac.)

The zombie sauce is similar to a spicy Thousand Island dressing with sriracha instead of ketchup.

I’ve also heard high marks for the Lucile, which is the Beyond Burger topped with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, guacamole, and vegan chipotle mayo.

Zombie Burger really gets the Beyond Burger preparation right – crispy around the edges and meaty on the inside. Plus, the bun is nice and fresh. The downtown location also offers vegan cheese for an extra charge.

Order the burgers with a side of regular or sweet potato fries. Just make sure to get them without any non-vegan dressing.

Ice Cream El Michoacano

Ice Cream El Michoacano is a casual, order-at-the-counter restaurant on Merle Hay Road. There are tables for dining in at the restaurant. Or food can be made to go.

It’s a non-vegan restaurant. However, everything at Ice Cream El Michoacano can be made vegan. That includes flautas, sopes, empanadas, burritos, tacos, and velvety refried beans.

They have soy-based vegan meat, as well as vegan cheese that I’ve heard is Follow Your Heart.

You can ask at the counter for a vegan menu, or look on their website. 

Vegan sopes are made with a layer of masa dough that’s been fried into a cup. It’s crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They are topped with a soy-based meat, beans, lettuce, and vegan cheese.

A super delicious & decadent option!

Vegan flautas are filled with mild potatoes. The fried tortillas are topped with non-dairy cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado. They are served with a fried jalapeño on the side. 

Vegan refried beans are topped with non-dairy cheese and guacamole.

They said that typically they serve a thin avocado sauce as their guacamole. But if you want a chunky guacamole, just ask for the thick style.

The guacamole has lots of bright lime flavors and tastes very fresh. The refried beans are beautifully smooth.

Of course, you can also get tacos. They offer a variety of sauces & styles. My husband is especially a fan of their pineapple salsa. 

Since “ice cream” is in the name, you may be wondering if they have vegan ice cream as well. It’s my understanding that they offer mango chile & lime non-dairy flavors. Although, I haven’t spent a lot of time exploring the ice cream case.

Vegan donuts at West Des Moines Whole Foods

Vegan donuts are a unicorn in Iowa – nearly impossible to come by. While other nearby states like Nebraska, Illinois, and Minnesota have vegan donuts fairly readily available, Iowa isn’t so lucky.

(Although, there is a donut shop in Cedar Falls & Waterloo that has rotating vegan options. I haven’t made it there yet to try them!)

But before you get in the car and start driving for hours to cure your donut cravings, visit Whole Foods in West Des Moines instead.

They are now selling vegan donuts in their bakery. You can buy them individually. Or they sell them in packages of six for $10.99.

FYI: These are not yeast-raised donuts. You won’t find a puffy glazed donut or cream filled vegan long john here. They are cake donuts. I’m typically not a cake donut fan. But for cake donuts, these are quite good & very fresh.

While you are at Whole Foods, pick up desserts from Chicago Diner in their bakery case, Beyond Meat sausages, and Miyoko’s cheese.

Open Sesame

Open Sesame Lebanese café is a located in the Des Moines East Village. It’s a small space, but decorated in such a way that feels like a special, hidden gem.

The vegan options are not marked on the menu. However, when we were there, the staff had no problem pointing us to vegan dishes and/or telling us how to modify non-vegan offerings.

I had the vegetarian sampler plate with hummus, baba ganoush, falafel, tabouli, and dolmas. It is vegan by default.

Everything was excellent, even the tabouli, which I don’t typically like. (I’m not a big parsley fan.) However, the tabouli had a perfect hit of lemon to balance the bitterness of the parsley.

They’re open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11-2, and for dinner from 5:30-9. They are closed Sunday & Monday.

Gusto Pizza Company

Gusto Pizza Company is a non-vegan pizza shop with lots of vegan topping options.

They have four locations – one on Ingersoll Avenue, two in West Des Moines, and one in Johnston. But I’ve only personally visited the Ingersoll location.

Gusto is a great place to go with a group, because there are plenty of long tables. And the menu is huge – meaning everyone can get exactly what they want.

Gusto uses Daiya cutting board shreds for their vegan pizzas. Regular Daiya isn’t my favorite. So I was really impressed by the big improvement of the mozzarella cutting board shreds on their dairy-free pies.

Their vegan topping options include: roma tomatoes, cremini mushrooms, kalamata olives, a variety of peppers, onions (red, green & yellow), Giardiniera relish, green olive relish, diced apples, capers, pineapple, black bean corn salsa, butternut squash, and artichokes.

5 Borough Bagels

One of my favorite low cost things to do whenever I’m visiting New York City is to walk into almost any random bagel shop and get a vegan bagel.

In places like Iowa, vegan bagel toppings are usually limited to peanut butter or hummus. But in New York City, non-dairy bagel spreads abound with fillings like olives and mixed vegetables in their vegan cream cheese.

When I’m in the city, I’ll pick up a toasted bagel, filled to the max, and walk to Central Park to sit on a rock and tuck into breakfast.

Now that experience can be repeated at 5 Borough Bagels in Clive. (Sorry. Central Park not included.)

When owners, Sarah & Toney Chem, moved to Iowa from NYC, they decided to take a doughy piece of the Big Apple with them.

They have two vegan filling offerings – spinach artichoke and cinnamon walnut. Both fillings are tofu-based and taste homemade.

The spinach artichoke spread reminds me of Kristy’s tofu chèvre with a definite taste of tofu and highlights of spinach and artichoke. The cinnamon walnut has big chunks of walnuts and some sweetness to make it more of a dessert-style filling.

They don’t skimp on the spread, which I appreciate. It pushes the bagel into meal category. They can be topped with additional vegetable slices as well.

Toney suggested adding cucumber, tomato, and spinach to my spinach & artichoke spread on an everything bagel. You know how I love a good bagel sandwich. This was perfection.

David opted for the cinnamon walnut spread on a sesame seed bagel, which he also enjoyed. The bagels were fresh and chewy, just like you want.

With the exception of the chocolate chip bagels and cheese bagels, the rest of the bagel options are vegan.

Toney checked with their bagel baker, and she confirmed that the seeded bagels do not include an egg wash. The seeds are applied right after the bagels are boiled.

They also have three types of non-dairy milk available for coffee drinks. Soy, almond, and coconut milk are on the menu. My husband ordered a black coffee, and I went with a soy latte. Both were full-bodied and delicious.

Des Moines Farmers Market

The downtown farmers market runs from the first Saturday in May through the last Saturday in October.

It has a festive, fair-like atmosphere with food vendors, locally grown produce, live music, arts and crafts. It’s a great place to meet up with friends and enjoy the summer vibes.

Grab a smoothie, juice, or raw tacos at the Fresh Café & Market tent at the corner of 3rd & Court Avenue.

Malo

Malo is a Latin restaurant in downtown Des Moines with a nice outdoor patio and a few menu items that are vegan upon request – including a portobello taco & crispy onion and avocado taco. 

The onion & avocado taco is vegan by default. It comes with fresh avocado, chipotle crema made with cashews, pico de gallo, and crispy onions like you might find on green beans at Thanksgiving.

The Portobello taco is vegan by request. (Just ask them to leave off the queso fresco.) It’s topped with guacamole and salsa roja. The Portobello mushrooms are marinated in a spicy chili sauce.

All of the tacos can be served on corn or flour tortillas.

I was prepared to have the avocado tacos be my far and away favorite, but the Portobello mushroom tacos came in for a surprising win. They had a good spicy kick to them and a well-rounded flavor.

Cool Basil

For more of a sit-down restaurant vibe, Cool Basil in Clive is a great option.

While this Thai restaurant isn’t entirely vegan, they’re happy to prepare dishes without fish sauce, oyster sauce, and eggs when possible. You just have to ask.

Plus, when you get your receipt at the end of the meal, the words “no fish sauce, no oyster sauce” are printed right on it.  That gives some assurance that the message got through to the back of the house.

They don’t offer seitan.  However, tofu is available or they can replace meat with extra vegetables.

I like to get something different every time I go, as there are plenty of vegan-izable options to go around to vary your order.

Fong’s Pizza

Fong’s Pizza has a few locations – downtown Des Moines, Drake area, Ankeny, and Cedar Rapids. It is a quirky, divey restaurant, specializing in unusual pizzas.

They have one listed vegan pizza on the menu, or you have the option of building your own.  The white crust is vegan, but the whole wheat isn’t since it contains honey.

They offer Daiya for vegan cheese. Or you can go cheeseless, as is my preference. For the base, you can go with marinara or olive oil.

When we were there, we ordered one half and half pizza. Mushrooms, tomatoes, bell pepper, and onions on one side. On the other, sauerkraut and potatoes.

The potatoes taste like they are simply blanched and sliced, as opposed to being browned on the stove or seasoned in any way. The pizza was pretty bland.

But if you happen to be in Des Moines, the atmosphere is fun. And they have late hours, which is nice.

Another pizza option in downtown Des Moines is Blaze Pizza. They also have vegan cheese on the menu, and they cook them in a brick oven. Although it is a fast food-style pizza experience, I actually prefer the flavor of Blaze Pizza over Fong’s. Read all about Blaze Pizza in this post on vegan fast food.

Centro

For a sit-down option, Centro in downtown Des Moines has some vegan options.

Tofu gnocchi is on both the dinner and weekend brunch menus. The dish includes lots of vegetables in a coating of garlicky olive oil.

When I had this dish, I found it to be inoffensive but dull. It reminded me of something you might get a hotel restaurant, where they’re feeding a lot of guests from around the globe and don’t want to be too daring with flavor.

Although I almost never use one in a restaurant, I was glad there was a salt shaker on the table to add something. I’ve heard that asking for marinara sauce instead makes for a more tempting dish.

Centro has pizzas on offer, which can be ordered without cheese. David went that route and ordered a tomato, basil, and mushroom pizza. He also got a small salad on the side.

He liked the wood-fired flavor of the crust, but didn’t think it would be a pizza he’d go out of his way to get again.

Centro offers brunch on the weekend. And it’s one of the few places in town that has a tofu scramble. It’s served with potatoes & fruit.

Des Fresh Foods

Des Fresh Foods is a vegan food truck in Des Moines.

The menu & location changes, of course, but has included things like a chick sandwich, mac and cheese bites, summer squash tacos, street corn, and lotus cookie.

I recommend going early, as when I went it was near the end of the night. And they were running out of food.

Check out their Instagram or Facebook page to see where they are and what’s on offer.

Other vegan Des Moines resources & news:

Veg Life Des Moines

VegLife Des Moines is an awesome non-profit that hosts vegan meet-ups & potlucks, restaurant tours, and a yearly Vegan Fest.

Connect with them on their website or Facebook page to keep up with the events they are organizing throughout the year.

Dirt Burger

A new vegetarian restaurant, Dirt Burger, is slated to open on June 14, 2019 in the East Village. I’ll add details once I’ve had a chance to visit!

Originally posted June 2014. Content updated June 2019.

Source: https://cadryskitchen.com/vegan-des-moines-iowa/

[turkeyfeet8-blog]

Vegan Des Moines: Options in Iowa’s capital

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Vegan Des Moines round-up including Brightside Kitchen, Zombie Burger, Ice Cream El Michoacano, Open Sesame, and vegan donuts at Whole Foods.

In recent years Des Moines has really stepped up its game where vegans are concerned!

It used to be that when I was visiting my hometown, it was a strain finding exciting vegan-friendly options. But nowadays, the choices are plentiful and growing.

Today I’m highlighting some of the vegan Des Moines options at restaurants, food trucks, and grocery stores.

Brightside Kitchen

Brightside Kitchen is a vegan establishment owned by Deanne & Steve Bryce. It’s tucked away inside of Mercy’s Health & Fitness Center in Clive, Iowa.

They serve plant-based fare for breakfasts & lunches throughout the week. You can check them out Monday through Friday between the hours of 7 am and 2 pm. They also serve brunch on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm.

The eatery focuses on whole foods, plant-based cuisine. Order at the counter and then you can eat it at one of the handful of tables or take it to go.

They offer smoothies, soup, salads, wraps, sandwiches, and a bowl of the day that changes throughout the week.

On one visit, I ordered the special – a Mexican-inspired bowl. It was made with seasoned lentils, roasted vegetables, and a fresh green salad.

It was popping with flavor and incredibly fresh. There was enough left over for lunch the next day.

(I enjoyed it so much, I made my own vegan burrito bowl inspired by it when I got home!)

I also had one of their signature BBQ sporc sandwiches at an Iowa Farm Sanctuary event. It’s pictured at the top of this post.

In addition to making some delicious lunches & brunches, Brightside Kitchen offers vegan cooking classes & catering.

Zombie Burger

Zombie Burger is a Des Moines favorite amongst vegans & non-vegans alike.

They have locations in the East Village of downtown Des Moines, as well as locations in Jordan Creek, and the Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville.

(You can read about the Coralville location in my vegan Iowa City post.)

One note about the East Village location – it does get busy. So if you’re going during a popular mealtime, prepare for a wait.

My favorite thing to order is the Undead Glenn, which is the Beyond Burger topped with shredded lettuce, pickles, and vegan zombie sauce. (My husband orders this one with a double patty, like a vegan Big Mac.)

The zombie sauce is similar to a spicy Thousand Island dressing with sriracha instead of ketchup.

I’ve also heard high marks for the Lucile, which is the Beyond Burger topped with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, guacamole, and vegan chipotle mayo.

Zombie Burger really gets the Beyond Burger preparation right – crispy around the edges and meaty on the inside. Plus, the bun is nice and fresh. The downtown location also offers vegan cheese for an extra charge.

Order the burgers with a side of regular or sweet potato fries. Just make sure to get them without any non-vegan dressing.

Ice Cream El Michoacano

Ice Cream El Michoacano is a casual, order-at-the-counter restaurant on Merle Hay Road. There are tables for dining in at the restaurant. Or food can be made to go.

It’s a non-vegan restaurant. However, everything at Ice Cream El Michoacano can be made vegan. That includes flautas, sopes, empanadas, burritos, tacos, and velvety refried beans.

They have soy-based vegan meat, as well as vegan cheese that I’ve heard is Follow Your Heart.

You can ask at the counter for a vegan menu, or look on their website. 

Vegan sopes are made with a layer of masa dough that’s been fried into a cup. It’s crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They are topped with a soy-based meat, beans, lettuce, and vegan cheese.

A super delicious & decadent option!

Vegan flautas are filled with mild potatoes. The fried tortillas are topped with non-dairy cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado. They are served with a fried jalapeño on the side. 

Vegan refried beans are topped with non-dairy cheese and guacamole.

They said that typically they serve a thin avocado sauce as their guacamole. But if you want a chunky guacamole, just ask for the thick style.

The guacamole has lots of bright lime flavors and tastes very fresh. The refried beans are beautifully smooth.

Of course, you can also get tacos. They offer a variety of sauces & styles. My husband is especially a fan of their pineapple salsa. 

Since “ice cream” is in the name, you may be wondering if they have vegan ice cream as well. It’s my understanding that they offer mango chile & lime non-dairy flavors. Although, I haven’t spent a lot of time exploring the ice cream case.

Vegan donuts at West Des Moines Whole Foods

Vegan donuts are a unicorn in Iowa – nearly impossible to come by. While other nearby states like Nebraska, Illinois, and Minnesota have vegan donuts fairly readily available, Iowa isn’t so lucky.

(Although, there is a donut shop in Cedar Falls & Waterloo that has rotating vegan options. I haven’t made it there yet to try them!)

But before you get in the car and start driving for hours to cure your donut cravings, visit Whole Foods in West Des Moines instead.

They are now selling vegan donuts in their bakery. You can buy them individually. Or they sell them in packages of six for $10.99.

FYI: These are not yeast-raised donuts. You won’t find a puffy glazed donut or cream filled vegan long john here. They are cake donuts. I’m typically not a cake donut fan. But for cake donuts, these are quite good & very fresh.

While you are at Whole Foods, pick up desserts from Chicago Diner in their bakery case, Beyond Meat sausages, and Miyoko’s cheese.

Open Sesame

Open Sesame Lebanese café is a located in the Des Moines East Village. It’s a small space, but decorated in such a way that feels like a special, hidden gem.

The vegan options are not marked on the menu. However, when we were there, the staff had no problem pointing us to vegan dishes and/or telling us how to modify non-vegan offerings.

I had the vegetarian sampler plate with hummus, baba ganoush, falafel, tabouli, and dolmas. It is vegan by default.

Everything was excellent, even the tabouli, which I don’t typically like. (I’m not a big parsley fan.) However, the tabouli had a perfect hit of lemon to balance the bitterness of the parsley.

They’re open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11-2, and for dinner from 5:30-9. They are closed Sunday & Monday.

Gusto Pizza Company

Gusto Pizza Company is a non-vegan pizza shop with lots of vegan topping options.

They have four locations – one on Ingersoll Avenue, two in West Des Moines, and one in Johnston. But I’ve only personally visited the Ingersoll location.

Gusto is a great place to go with a group, because there are plenty of long tables. And the menu is huge – meaning everyone can get exactly what they want.

Gusto uses Daiya cutting board shreds for their vegan pizzas. Regular Daiya isn’t my favorite. So I was really impressed by the big improvement of the mozzarella cutting board shreds on their dairy-free pies.

Their vegan topping options include: roma tomatoes, cremini mushrooms, kalamata olives, a variety of peppers, onions (red, green & yellow), Giardiniera relish, green olive relish, diced apples, capers, pineapple, black bean corn salsa, butternut squash, and artichokes.

5 Borough Bagels

One of my favorite low cost things to do whenever I’m visiting New York City is to walk into almost any random bagel shop and get a vegan bagel.

In places like Iowa, vegan bagel toppings are usually limited to peanut butter or hummus. But in New York City, non-dairy bagel spreads abound with fillings like olives and mixed vegetables in their vegan cream cheese.

When I’m in the city, I’ll pick up a toasted bagel, filled to the max, and walk to Central Park to sit on a rock and tuck into breakfast.

Now that experience can be repeated at 5 Borough Bagels in Clive. (Sorry. Central Park not included.)

When owners, Sarah & Toney Chem, moved to Iowa from NYC, they decided to take a doughy piece of the Big Apple with them.

They have two vegan filling offerings – spinach artichoke and cinnamon walnut. Both fillings are tofu-based and taste homemade.

The spinach artichoke spread reminds me of Kristy’s tofu chèvre with a definite taste of tofu and highlights of spinach and artichoke. The cinnamon walnut has big chunks of walnuts and some sweetness to make it more of a dessert-style filling.

They don’t skimp on the spread, which I appreciate. It pushes the bagel into meal category. They can be topped with additional vegetable slices as well.

Toney suggested adding cucumber, tomato, and spinach to my spinach & artichoke spread on an everything bagel. You know how I love a good bagel sandwich. This was perfection.

David opted for the cinnamon walnut spread on a sesame seed bagel, which he also enjoyed. The bagels were fresh and chewy, just like you want.

With the exception of the chocolate chip bagels and cheese bagels, the rest of the bagel options are vegan.

Toney checked with their bagel baker, and she confirmed that the seeded bagels do not include an egg wash. The seeds are applied right after the bagels are boiled.

They also have three types of non-dairy milk available for coffee drinks. Soy, almond, and coconut milk are on the menu. My husband ordered a black coffee, and I went with a soy latte. Both were full-bodied and delicious.

Des Moines Farmers Market

The downtown farmers market runs from the first Saturday in May through the last Saturday in October.

It has a festive, fair-like atmosphere with food vendors, locally grown produce, live music, arts and crafts. It’s a great place to meet up with friends and enjoy the summer vibes.

Grab a smoothie, juice, or raw tacos at the Fresh Café & Market tent at the corner of 3rd & Court Avenue.

Malo

Malo is a Latin restaurant in downtown Des Moines with a nice outdoor patio and a few menu items that are vegan upon request – including a portobello taco & crispy onion and avocado taco. 

The onion & avocado taco is vegan by default. It comes with fresh avocado, chipotle crema made with cashews, pico de gallo, and crispy onions like you might find on green beans at Thanksgiving.

The Portobello taco is vegan by request. (Just ask them to leave off the queso fresco.) It’s topped with guacamole and salsa roja. The Portobello mushrooms are marinated in a spicy chili sauce.

All of the tacos can be served on corn or flour tortillas.

I was prepared to have the avocado tacos be my far and away favorite, but the Portobello mushroom tacos came in for a surprising win. They had a good spicy kick to them and a well-rounded flavor.

Cool Basil

For more of a sit-down restaurant vibe, Cool Basil in Clive is a great option.

While this Thai restaurant isn’t entirely vegan, they’re happy to prepare dishes without fish sauce, oyster sauce, and eggs when possible. You just have to ask.

Plus, when you get your receipt at the end of the meal, the words “no fish sauce, no oyster sauce” are printed right on it.  That gives some assurance that the message got through to the back of the house.

They don’t offer seitan.  However, tofu is available or they can replace meat with extra vegetables.

I like to get something different every time I go, as there are plenty of vegan-izable options to go around to vary your order.

Fong’s Pizza

Fong’s Pizza has a few locations – downtown Des Moines, Drake area, Ankeny, and Cedar Rapids. It is a quirky, divey restaurant, specializing in unusual pizzas.

They have one listed vegan pizza on the menu, or you have the option of building your own.  The white crust is vegan, but the whole wheat isn’t since it contains honey.

They offer Daiya for vegan cheese. Or you can go cheeseless, as is my preference. For the base, you can go with marinara or olive oil.

When we were there, we ordered one half and half pizza. Mushrooms, tomatoes, bell pepper, and onions on one side. On the other, sauerkraut and potatoes.

The potatoes taste like they are simply blanched and sliced, as opposed to being browned on the stove or seasoned in any way. The pizza was pretty bland.

But if you happen to be in Des Moines, the atmosphere is fun. And they have late hours, which is nice.

Another pizza option in downtown Des Moines is Blaze Pizza. They also have vegan cheese on the menu, and they cook them in a brick oven. Although it is a fast food-style pizza experience, I actually prefer the flavor of Blaze Pizza over Fong’s. Read all about Blaze Pizza in this post on vegan fast food.

Centro

For a sit-down option, Centro in downtown Des Moines has some vegan options.

Tofu gnocchi is on both the dinner and weekend brunch menus. The dish includes lots of vegetables in a coating of garlicky olive oil.

When I had this dish, I found it to be inoffensive but dull. It reminded me of something you might get a hotel restaurant, where they’re feeding a lot of guests from around the globe and don’t want to be too daring with flavor.

Although I almost never use one in a restaurant, I was glad there was a salt shaker on the table to add something. I’ve heard that asking for marinara sauce instead makes for a more tempting dish.

Centro has pizzas on offer, which can be ordered without cheese. David went that route and ordered a tomato, basil, and mushroom pizza. He also got a small salad on the side.

He liked the wood-fired flavor of the crust, but didn’t think it would be a pizza he’d go out of his way to get again.

Centro offers brunch on the weekend. And it’s one of the few places in town that has a tofu scramble. It’s served with potatoes & fruit.

Des Fresh Foods

Des Fresh Foods is a vegan food truck in Des Moines.

The menu & location changes, of course, but has included things like a chick sandwich, mac and cheese bites, summer squash tacos, street corn, and lotus cookie.

I recommend going early, as when I went it was near the end of the night. And they were running out of food.

Check out their Instagram or Facebook page to see where they are and what’s on offer.

Other vegan Des Moines resources & news:

Veg Life Des Moines

VegLife Des Moines is an awesome non-profit that hosts vegan meet-ups & potlucks, restaurant tours, and a yearly Vegan Fest.

Connect with them on their website or Facebook page to keep up with the events they are organizing throughout the year.

Dirt Burger

A new vegetarian restaurant, Dirt Burger, is slated to open on June 14, 2019 in the East Village. I’ll add details once I’ve had a chance to visit!

Originally posted June 2014. Content updated June 2019.

Source: https://cadryskitchen.com/vegan-des-moines-iowa/

[weighttlosssfast]

Five healthy meal prep recipes using the same ten fresh ingredients. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, these are easy and tasty weight loss meal prep ideas.

Weight Loss Meal Prep

You guys have been asking for meal preps that use the same ingredients to make different meals, so I am hooking you up with 5 healthy weight loss meal prep recipes using the same 10 fresh ingredients. I have all the meals covered in this weight loss recipe: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All of the weight loss recipes are big on flavor and easy to make.

I decided to use boneless and skinless chicken thighs as the main protein – they have so much flavor and don’t dry out very easily unlike breasts. All of these recipes are perfect for weight. Yes, even the pesto pasta. You can actually meal plan pasta and lose weight thanks to low carb shirataki noodles, I love these noodles!

Easy meal prep ideas for the week using the same 10 fresh ingredients.

Meal Prep Recipes For Weight Loss

This meal prep is designed so you spend 60-90 minutes cooking on Sunday or Monday, and you have at least 5 healthy meals done for the week. I say at least because the breakfast meal prep recipes can last 2-3 days, especially the frittata. There is nothing like finishing your weekly meal prep and knowing that you have a bunch of healthy and tasty meals to help you lose weight.

I believe this is the only way to help lose weight and stick to your weight loss goals. Cooking your own meals and exercise – it is that easy. You have to know what goes into your body if you want to stay healthy once you start eating out. You have no idea what ingredients they are using. Weekly meal prep will keep you on your diet and help you reach your health goals.

I use the low carb shirataki noodles to make the pesto pasta and the noodle and veggie stir fry. My favorite brand is pasta zero by Naysoya. They have no funky smell and work great as a noodle substitute. Just make sure to follow the directions below and cook the excess moisture out of the noodles in a dry non-stick pan. Otherwise they will make the dish watery.

I have a few other recipe on my blog that use shirataki noodles that you should check out. This ramen meal prep is low carb and tasty and these salmon patties with low carb noodle stir fry are a must.

Healthy Meal Prep Recipes For The Week

These meal prep recipes are easy to make and huge on flavor. Just because you are trying to lose weight doesn’t mean you need to eat bland, boring food! You will notice that all five of these meal prep recipes are seasoned aggressively and have layers of flavor. The most important thing is for you to taste as you are cooking and then adjust accordingly. These healthy meal prep recipes are all about a balance of flavor, meaning you have to use salt, spice, sour, and sweet. If you can do that in all your dishes, they will taste good almost every time!

Make sure to check out my healthy meal prep page. It has over 100 recipes for losing weight and eating healthy. Also subscribe to my FlavCity YouTube channel for the best meal prep recipe videos online!

I'm showing you how to meal prep for the week using only 10 fresh ingredients. These healthy meal prep ideas are all different, but use the same fresh ingredients and are perfect meals for losing weight.

Avocado or grapeseed oil

Kosher salt

Fresh cracked pepper

For the stir fry:

Coconut amino acid or low sodium soy sauce

Sriracha or chili sauce

Toasted sesame oil

Avocado oil

Olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil

For the lunch salad:

Couple cracks fresh pepper

For the shakshuka:

Begin the cooking process by making the chicken needed for three of the recipes. Make the spice rub by combining the smoked paprika, cumin, and thyme in a small bowl and mix well. Season the chicken thighs with a generous pinch of salt and spice rub on each side. Rub the spice rub all around the chicken and allow to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Pre-heat a large pan, preferably cast iron, over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of oil, wait 30 seconds, then add the chicken. Cook for 5 minutes without touch the chicken, then flip. This will allow the chicken to get nice and crusty. Cook another 5 minutes then remove from pan. Once the chicken has cooled, it will keep in the fridge for 5 days or can be frozen for 2-3 months. The best way to reheat the chicken is in a 400 F oven for 10 minutes, if using the microwave, place a wet paper towel over the container and make sure not to over-heat or the chicken will get dry.

For the stir fry, drain the shirataki noodles well and place in a non-stick pan. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes so the excess moisture can evaporate, you know the noodles are ready when the bottom of the pan is white and dry. Remove noodles from pan, roughly chop them a couple times and set aside. Pre-heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of oil along with the onions, bell peppers, and green beans. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute and then whisk the eggs very well and add to the pan. Lower the heat to medium and stir well to break up the eggs, once they have scrambled add the noodles to the pan and mix well. Add 1 tablespoon of amino acid, 1 teaspoon of sriracha, and ½ teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. Mix well and check for seasoning, you may need more of the sauces. Lower the heat to low, slice the cooked chicken, and add to the pan. Remove from heat, serve and enjoy. Stir fry will keep in the fridge for 3 days, but can’t be frozen. The best way to re-heat is in a hot non-stick pan or if using the microwave, place a wet paper towel over the container and make sure not to over-heat or the food will get dry.

For the frittata, pre-heat oven to 400 F. Pre-heat an oven safe 6-8 inch non-stick pan over medium heat with 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the onions, bell peppers, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a couple cracks of pepper. Cook for 5 minutes then add the kale, cook for another 3 minutes until kale has wilted down. Whisk the eggs vigorously, turn the heat down to medium-low, and add the eggs. Use a spatula to mix everything very well and continue mixing to break up any large chunks of eggs. Once the eggs have come together a little, but the mixture is still very wet, transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and use a clean spatula to carefully remove the frittata from the pan. Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy. Frittata will keep in the fridge for 3 days or can be frozen for 2 months. Re-heat in a 400 F oven for 5-10 minutes or if using the microwave, place a wet paper towel over the container and make sure not to over-heat or the eggs will get rubbery.

For the pesto pasta, drain the shirataki noodles well and place in a non-stick pan. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes so excess moisture can evaporate, you know the noodles are ready when the bottom of the pan is white and dry. Remove noodles from pan, roughly chop them a couple times and set aside.

For the pesto sauce, bring a small pot of water to a boil and season with ½ teaspoon of salt. Boil the kale for 2 minutes and drain. Add the kale, garlic, parsley, walnuts, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a couple cracks of pepper to a food processor or blender. Blend until well incorporated then add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and continue to blend until the mixture looks like a loose paste, adding more oil if necessary. Check for seasoning, add more salt if needed.

Add the noodles to a clean bowl and add enough pesto to coat, toss well adding more pesto if needed. Serve pasta and top with sliced chicken. Save any leftover pesto in the fridge for 5 days. Pasta and chicken will keep in the fridge for 5 days, but can’t be frozen. The best way to re-heat is in a hot non-stick pan or if using the microwave, place a wet paper towel over the container and make sure not to over-heat or the food will get dry.

For the lunch salad, to a large bowl add the kale, tomatoes, bell pepper, walnuts, raisins, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Add the vinegar, olive oil, and mix very well. After re-heating the chicken, slice thin and add to the salad. Serve and enjoy. Salad should not be dressed until right before eating, or can be dressed a few hours ahead of time because kale doesn’t get wilted very easily.

For the shakshuka, pre-heat oven to 450 F. Pre-heat an oven safe 8-9 inch pan over medium-high heat along with 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the red peppers, onions, garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a few cracks of pepper. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Add the kale and cook another 2 minutes. Place the tomatoes in a food processor or blender, and pulse until it looks like a can of chopped tomatoes, making sure not to turn it into a smooth puree(or use canned chopped tomatoes). Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until the consistency has thickened up and it’s not so watery and loose. Add the agave nectar, turn the heat off, and stir well. Use a spoon to make two dimples the eggs can sit in, and carefully cracks the eggs into the pan. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 5-7 minutes until the eggs are set. Remove from oven, garnish with parsley, and enjoy. Shakshuka will keep in the fridge for 3 days and can be warmed in a 400 F oven for 7 minutes or in the microwave.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

The first thing you should do is cook the chicken, as it is used for 3 of the recipes.

Each recipe makes one meal, but the frittata and shakshuka can make two meals.

You can buy “pasta zero by naysoya” shirataki noodles at whole foods and walmart. They have no odor and are a fantastic low carb, low calorie noodle option.

Two of the recipes use good quality extra virgin olive oil, I have a promo code for a $1 bottle of some fantastic olive oil you guys should try out. https://www.freshpressedoliveoil.com/c/APFC002_REF_MW_Q317/tj

The kale used for the recipes is called black kale, also know as lacinato or dinosaur kale. It is softer and more pleasant to eat than curly green kale.

Macros for stir fry with 2 pieces of chicken:529 calories25 grams of fat12.9 grams of net carbs63 grams of protein8 grams of protein

Just discovered you via your Trader Joe’s haul video on YouTube, Bobby, and am excited about trying this weight loss food prep! May have missed this in the instructions, but how many people are these recipes intended to serve?

Loving your recipes and I’ve shared your site with several Keto friends. Just one small suggestion learned in Italy for your frittata. Add a tablespoon or two of one of your favorite grated hard cheeses to the eggs. Some stays in the mixture and a little goes to the bottom and forms a slight “crust”. I’m honestly not rewriting your recipe; I am sharing only because of your love of pecorino romano – lol.

I have a question about the agave syrup. I was led to understand that it was a highly processed item that uses chemicals (or something) to extract it from the plant. Can you clarify this information for me? Thanks so much for your informative and entertaining videos. They will help my healthy eating step up a couple of notches…..or many.

Agave nectar is definitely not extracted that way. It’s extracted in a way similar to how maple syrup is extracted. It then gets boiled down to concentrate it. Glad you are enjoying the channel! Keep on cookin’!

Hi Bobby I’m from Australia and found your site on You Tube. I’m 67 years old or young whichever way you look at it. I want to thank you for all your informative information on the foods we eat. I’d love to see these videos shown in classrooms to educate students. I wish I had all this information available to me sooner. I have had breast cancer but in remission for the last 6 years. You have helped me change my diet. I will definitely be getting your new cookbook and will encourage my family to do the same. I’m am subscribed to your you tube channel and get excited when I find a new one waiting for me to view in my inbox. I hope you enjoyed your stay in Australia. I have been to the USA several times and loved it. I hope you go from strength to strength because we need more people like you that care about what we are putting in our mouths. Best wishes

So happy you found our channel. Thank you so much for watching and for writing this nice post. I completely agree with you that more people should care about what they put in their bodies. I wish you continued good health! Keep on cookin’ and I know you will enjoy the cookbook!

I really love the frittata. Already added it to my recipe collection 😉 I’m tracking my calories with Yazio (https://www.yazio.com/en/food-diary), so I always appreciate easy recipes with few ingredients. Meal preps make my calorie counting so much easier. I’ve been struggling with my weight, but didn’t manage to diet during work. Short breaks and snacks in between kept me from doing it. Calorie counting in combination with meal preps are ideal for me. The logging of the food takes no time and I also save so much time thanks to the meal preps. Now I can keep up my diet even during work and don’t have to miss out on great food. So thanks for the awesome recipes! Next thing I want to try out are the shirataki noodles. This is very new to me and I’m excited how these work out 🙂

Hi Bobby, Thank you so much for sharing the Shirataki Noodles recipes! I am in NYC and don’t not see the Nasoya pasta zero brand here at whole foods and we don’t have access to a Walmart. Could you please recommend another brand for Shirataki Noodles? Thank you!

[easyfoodnetwork]

White, yellow, and barley miso | Courtesy of retailers Chefs’ favorite white, yellow, and red miso pastes, from the Strategist Miso, a fermented soybean paste, is an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be used for way more than just soup. “Miso is produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and koji (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae) and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients,” says Nick Kim, chef and partner of omakase restaurant Shuko. The result is a paste that is high in both protein and vitamins, and packs a ton of flavor. A staple in Japanese cuisine for millennia, miso paste has countless uses in the kitchen, but “different misos are used for different reasons” based on the type and associated flavor profile, explains Maiko Kyogoku, the owner of Japanese restaurant Bessou in New York City. The three basic types of miso include white, yellow, and red; as a general rule of thumb, “white miso is the mildest, yellow miso is more fermented, and red miso is the most assertive fermented flavor,” explains Masayoshi Takayama, the chef and owner of New York City’s Japanese and sushi restaurant Masa. To find the best kinds of miso you can buy, we asked Kyogoku, Takayama, Kim, and 14 other chefs about their favorites. As with lots of cooking ingredients, finding the right miso comes down to personal taste, Takayama notes, so we also asked the chefs how they use their favorite misos to help you choose the right one for your pantry. Editor’s note: If you want to support service-industry workers who have been impacted by the coronavirus closures, you can donate to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, which has set up a COVID-19 Crisis Relief Fund, or One Fair Wage, which has set up an Emergency Coronavirus Tipped and Service Worker Support Fund. We’ve also linked to any initiatives the businesses mentioned in this story have set up to support themselves amid the coronavirus pandemic. Best overall white miso Hikari Organic Miso Paste, White All of the chefs we spoke to say that white miso paste is a must-have for home cooking. Four of our experts — Kyogoku, Ryan McCaskey, Cara Nicoletti, and James Beard Award–winning chef Christopher Gross — recommend Hikari white miso for its accessibility and quality. According to Kim, “White miso is the best option for home cooks, and it’ll be a great gateway to try the other types of miso out there.” Because white miso is generally only fermented for three months and made with a higher rice content, it boasts a mild, sweet flavor that is perfect for soups, sauces, dressings, and marinades. “The best choice for home stock is white miso since it is the mildest kind,” says D.J. Eusebio, the chef at Terranea Resort’s Bashi. “It is also the most versatile and can be used in many various recipes,” including for glazed baby carrots and bread pudding (two things Eusebio says he makes with it). Best less-expensive white miso Yamabuki Mutenka Shiro Miso “Specialty miso is a luxury to use at home,” says Sam Lawrence of Estela. “For most applications, I use a relatively cheap brand called Yamabuki Shiro Miso,” which he says is a light, delicate variety that is quite versatile. “It works well for curing fish and vegetables, as well as seasoning sauces and soups.” Best low-sodium white miso Namikura Shiro Miso If you’re looking for a “healthier” white miso, you might try this kind recommended by Robbie Wilson, the chef and owner of Bird Dog in Palo Alto (which is currently accepting donations so that it can provide meals to the medical workers at Stanford Hospital). “This is a white miso that is made with 1.5 to two times as much white-rice koji as cooked soybeans, so it has a lower salt ratio than most traditional miso,” he says, adding that it still provides good flavor. Best sweet white miso Ishino White Miso Kazushige Suzuki, the head sushi chef at Sushi Ginza Onodera, keeps this saikyo miso paste, a sweeter white variety that originated in Kyoto, stocked in his kitchen to use in dips for fresh vegetables or sauces (he says a very simple sauce can be made with just saikyo miso and vinegar). This is also Tsukimi’s executive chef Takanori Akiyama’s favorite miso to use at home and at his restaurant. Compared to other white miso, “this one is milder and more balanced, which makes it more versatile,” he explains. Kyogoku also likes using a sweeter, Kyoto-style miso. She says it’s “extremely smooth and will lend a creaminess to any dish,” but that it’s an especially lovely ingredient to use in winter-vegetable miso soups, salad dressings, and seafood marinades. “I love making Japanese-yam or daikon-radish-leaf miso soup with it when the temperature gets chillier.” Best overall red miso Shirakiku Miso Aka Soy Bean Paste Most of the chefs we spoke with say that home cooks should keep at least one white miso paste and one red miso paste — which are on the opposite ends of the pungency spectrum — in their pantries for maximum versatility. Because red miso is fermented for longer, it usually has a stronger, saltier flavor compared to those of white and yellow misos. Therefore, they say, it should be reserved for heartier dishes, since it can easily overwhelm simpler food. Gene Kato, the chef at Chicago’s Momotaro, likes to use the “savory, slightly smokey” red miso when cooking meat because “the stronger flavor profile of the miso” balances out richer proteins; Kyogoku suggests using it as a base for mapo tofu. Eusebio calls this affordable red miso paste from Shirakiku his favorite (it is also the red miso we found most readily available online). Best less-expensive red miso Umasa Red Miso Matthew Dahlkemper, the executive chef of Crafted Hospitality’s Temple Court, likes this red miso from Umasa because it has a “little extra funkiness and umph” that he says works well in any ramen or grilled vegetable dish. Best overall yellow miso Cold Mountain Light Yellow Miso Yellow miso is more fermented than white miso but still has a mild flavor. Both Kim and Masaru Kajihara, the executive chef at Sakagura East Village, recommend using it in soups and sauces. Kim specifically likes the one from Cold Mountain, which is more readily available online. Gaby Dalkin, an L.A.–based chef, recipe developer, and the author of the forthcoming cookbook Eat What You Want, is also a fan of Cold Mountain’s miso, including its “sweet and mild” white miso. Best awase miso Horikawaya Nomura Awase Miso Awase miso is a cross between red miso and white miso. While several of the chefs we spoke to recommend buying the two types separately and then mixing them as needed for recipes, Lawrence told us he loves this already blended awase miso from Horikawaya Nomura. “It has the depth of flavor and richness of a stronger miso, but is less salty and intense,” he says. Best barley miso Eden Foods Certified Organic Mugi Miso If you’re familiar with the three basic types above and are looking for a new miso paste to try, J.T. Vuong, chef and co-founder of Yaki Tiki and Rule of Thirds, recommends a barley miso. Instead of rice koji, it’s made using barley koji, which gives it a distinct flavor profile that Vuong says “has a great balance of sweetness, aroma, and savoriness, without being overbearing or overly salty.” His tip is to blend the barley miso with some sweet saikyo miso and then use that mixture as a base “to make a well-balanced miso soup that is both rich and elegant.” Gross’s go-to brand is Eden, which makes a barley miso that is easy to find online. Best less-expensive barley miso South River Miso Company Three Barley Miso Carolina Santos Neves, the executive chef of American Bar, told us about South River Miso Company, which is a Massachusetts-based, family-owned operation that makes a line of organic miso. Of all of the brand’s miso styles, she says that her favorite is its three-barley miso, which is aged for three summers to give it a “rich, hearty flavor,” according to the brand. Best hatcho miso Maruya Hatcho Miso Those who prefer very earthy flavors should try a hatcho, or 100 percent soybean, miso paste, Vuong says. He describes hatcho miso as super-savory, with an almost fudgelike texture, and says it makes a great addition to braises and hearty stews. But Vuong notes that “a little bit of this goes a long way, since the flavor is much more concentrated and intense.” Best chickpea miso Momofuku Labs Hozon If you consider yourself a miso connoisseur and want something completely new to experiment with in the kitchen, Wilson suggests this Hozon paste from Momofuku Labs, which is “made from chickpeas, rather than soybeans,” but with the same miso-making method. The chickpeas offer a lot of sweet flavor, he says, and the paste can be used in all the same recipes you would use a traditional miso. from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3cefyKo

http://easyfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/05/from-strategist-best-miso-according-to.html

[vegancookbooks0]

Tempeh Bacon

Smoky marinated tempeh strips are pan-fried to delicious perfection to make this scrumptious tempeh bacon! Stuff it in a sandwich, sprinkle it on a salad, or snack on it by itself.

I never liked bacon when I ate meat, but I never met a vegan bacon I didn’t like! At least not a homemade one. Coconut bacon and tofu bacon are both awesome. But tempeh bacon is my absolute favorite.

Vegan Bacon

Vegan bacon in just about any form is super easy to make. Mix up a smoky, salty, and slightly sweet marinade (I use liquid smoke, soy sauce, and maple syrup to get these flavors). Soak some vegan food in the marinade, and cook it. That’s it!

Why Tempeh?

Tempeh is a great ingredient to make vegan bacon out of. It’s packed with protein, soaks up marinade well, and is easy to slice up thinly and pan-fry like bacon.

How to Make Tempeh Bacon

First grab yourself a block of tempeh. I’m using store-bought tempeh here, but you can also make your own.

Slice it up super thin! If you can get your slices just 1/4-inch thick, that’s perfect!

Now mix up your marinade. I’m using soy sauce, maple syrup, and liquid smoke, like I mentioned above, plus a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar to add a bit of tartness and balance the flavors.

Pour your marinade over the tempeh. Ideally you’ll want to let it soak for 30 minutes, but a couple of minutes is fine if you don’t have that much time.

Now heat up some oil in a skillet. Make sure you’re using a good nonstick surface. I’m a big fan of well-seasoned cast iron.

When the oil is hot, add your tempeh slices. Place them in the pan in an even layer. You might need to cook the slices in batches in order to avoid crowding the pan.

Let the tempeh cook for a few minutes on each side, until the slices are browned and crispy. Tip: rotate or shift the pan around a bit while the tempeh cooks, to ensure that the cooking surface is evenly heated and the tempeh bacon cooks evenly.

When the tempeh is almost finished cooking I like to spoon some of the extra marinade over it. Let it cook for a minute or two more, until the liquid cooks off.

Tempeh Bacon Tips & FAQ

Tempeh has a slightly bitter flavor, and not everyone is a fan. To minimize this flavor, try steaming your tempeh for a few minutes before incorporating it into a recipe. For details on how to steam your tempeh, see this post.

The tempeh slices, especially if they’re very thin, can be delicate. Be gentle when handling and flipping them.

Feel free to adjust the seasonings in the marinade as you get a feel for how to make tempeh bacon. Add more maple for sweeter bacon, or more liquid smoke for smokier bacon. You can even add spices like garlic powder, cayenne pepper, or smoked paprika to enhance the flavor.

Can this tempeh bacon be made gluten-free? Yup! Just substitute gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce.

How can the sodium content of this tempeh bacon be reduced? Try using a low sodium soy sauce.

Can this tempeh bacon be baked? I’m sure it can, but I haven’t tried. Try baking it on a lightly oiled or parchment paper lined baking sheet at 400°F for 10 minutes on each side.

How should tempeh bacon be served? Pretty much the same way regular bacon is served. Try stuffing it in your favorite vegan sandwich, use it to top your favorite soup or salad, or serve it alongside a tofu scramble.

This recipe calls for cutting your tempeh in strips, because strips pretty universal when it comes to bacon. But depending on what you’re using it for, you may want to consider dicing it (this is great for salads) or crumbling it (as I did in this stuffed mushroom recipe).

Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!

Tempeh Bacon

Smoky marinated tempeh strips are pan-fried to delicious perfection to make this scrumptious tempeh bacon! Stuff it in a sandwich, sprinkle it on a salad, or snack on it by itself.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Marinating time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 106 kcal

Author Alissa Saenz

Ingredients

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 (8 ounce or 227 gram) package tempeh

2 tablespoons canola oil (or high heat oil of choice)

Instructions

Stir the soy sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, and liquid smoke together in a small bowl.

Slice the tempeh, width-wise, into thin (approximately 1/4-inch) strips.

Place the tempeh strips into a shallow dish and pour the soy sauce mixture over them.

Let the tempeh marinate for about 30 minutes. Gently turn the strips or use a spoon to drizzle some of the marinade over them once or twice while they soak.

Coat the bottom of a medium nonstick skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat.

When the oil is hot, add the tempeh strips in an even layer. Only add as many strips as you can fit without crowding. Cook the rest in a second batch.

Cook the tempeh strips for about 5 minutes, gently flip them with a spatula, and cook them for about 5 minutes more, until browned and crispy on both sides. Turn or shift the pan a couple of times while the tempeh cooks to ensure even heating.

Transfer the cooked tempeh strips to a plate. Cook the rest (if there are any) in a second batch, adding a bit more oil to the pan if needed.

Serve the tempeh bacon immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Tempeh Bacon

Amount Per Serving (4 slices (or 1/6 of total batch))

Calories 106

% Daily Value*

Sodium 454mg19%

Potassium 110mg3%

Carbohydrates 6.4g2%

Fiber 2.7g11%

Sugar 2.1g2%

Protein 5.4g11%

Calcium 3mg0%

Iron 6mg33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Sharing is caring!

from http://easyveganrecipes.info/tempeh-bacon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tempeh-bacon from http://easyveganbreakfasts.blogspot.com/2020/04/tempeh-bacon.html

[easyveganbreakfasts]

Tempeh Bacon

Smoky marinated tempeh strips are pan-fried to delicious perfection to make this scrumptious tempeh bacon! Stuff it in a sandwich, sprinkle it on a salad, or snack on it by itself.

I never liked bacon when I ate meat, but I never met a vegan bacon I didn’t like! At least not a homemade one. Coconut bacon and tofu bacon are both awesome. But tempeh bacon is my absolute favorite.

Vegan Bacon

Vegan bacon in just about any form is super easy to make. Mix up a smoky, salty, and slightly sweet marinade (I use liquid smoke, soy sauce, and maple syrup to get these flavors). Soak some vegan food in the marinade, and cook it. That’s it!

Why Tempeh?

Tempeh is a great ingredient to make vegan bacon out of. It’s packed with protein, soaks up marinade well, and is easy to slice up thinly and pan-fry like bacon.

How to Make Tempeh Bacon

First grab yourself a block of tempeh. I’m using store-bought tempeh here, but you can also make your own.

Slice it up super thin! If you can get your slices just 1/4-inch thick, that’s perfect!

Now mix up your marinade. I’m using soy sauce, maple syrup, and liquid smoke, like I mentioned above, plus a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar to add a bit of tartness and balance the flavors.

Pour your marinade over the tempeh. Ideally you’ll want to let it soak for 30 minutes, but a couple of minutes is fine if you don’t have that much time.

Now heat up some oil in a skillet. Make sure you’re using a good nonstick surface. I’m a big fan of well-seasoned cast iron.

When the oil is hot, add your tempeh slices. Place them in the pan in an even layer. You might need to cook the slices in batches in order to avoid crowding the pan.

Let the tempeh cook for a few minutes on each side, until the slices are browned and crispy. Tip: rotate or shift the pan around a bit while the tempeh cooks, to ensure that the cooking surface is evenly heated and the tempeh bacon cooks evenly.

When the tempeh is almost finished cooking I like to spoon some of the extra marinade over it. Let it cook for a minute or two more, until the liquid cooks off.

Tempeh Bacon Tips & FAQ

Tempeh has a slightly bitter flavor, and not everyone is a fan. To minimize this flavor, try steaming your tempeh for a few minutes before incorporating it into a recipe. For details on how to steam your tempeh, see this post.

The tempeh slices, especially if they’re very thin, can be delicate. Be gentle when handling and flipping them.

Feel free to adjust the seasonings in the marinade as you get a feel for how to make tempeh bacon. Add more maple for sweeter bacon, or more liquid smoke for smokier bacon. You can even add spices like garlic powder, cayenne pepper, or smoked paprika to enhance the flavor.

Can this tempeh bacon be made gluten-free? Yup! Just substitute gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce.

How can the sodium content of this tempeh bacon be reduced? Try using a low sodium soy sauce.

Can this tempeh bacon be baked? I’m sure it can, but I haven’t tried. Try baking it on a lightly oiled or parchment paper lined baking sheet at 400°F for 10 minutes on each side.

How should tempeh bacon be served? Pretty much the same way regular bacon is served. Try stuffing it in your favorite vegan sandwich, use it to top your favorite soup or salad, or serve it alongside a tofu scramble.

This recipe calls for cutting your tempeh in strips, because strips pretty universal when it comes to bacon. But depending on what you’re using it for, you may want to consider dicing it (this is great for salads) or crumbling it (as I did in this stuffed mushroom recipe).

Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!

Tempeh Bacon

Smoky marinated tempeh strips are pan-fried to delicious perfection to make this scrumptious tempeh bacon! Stuff it in a sandwich, sprinkle it on a salad, or snack on it by itself.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Marinating time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 106 kcal

Author Alissa Saenz

Ingredients

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 (8 ounce or 227 gram) package tempeh

2 tablespoons canola oil (or high heat oil of choice)

Instructions

Stir the soy sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, and liquid smoke together in a small bowl.

Slice the tempeh, width-wise, into thin (approximately 1/4-inch) strips.

Place the tempeh strips into a shallow dish and pour the soy sauce mixture over them.

Let the tempeh marinate for about 30 minutes. Gently turn the strips or use a spoon to drizzle some of the marinade over them once or twice while they soak.

Coat the bottom of a medium nonstick skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat.

When the oil is hot, add the tempeh strips in an even layer. Only add as many strips as you can fit without crowding. Cook the rest in a second batch.

Cook the tempeh strips for about 5 minutes, gently flip them with a spatula, and cook them for about 5 minutes more, until browned and crispy on both sides. Turn or shift the pan a couple of times while the tempeh cooks to ensure even heating.

Transfer the cooked tempeh strips to a plate. Cook the rest (if there are any) in a second batch, adding a bit more oil to the pan if needed.

Serve the tempeh bacon immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Tempeh Bacon

Amount Per Serving (4 slices (or 1/6 of total batch))

Calories 106

% Daily Value*

Sodium 454mg19%

Potassium 110mg3%

Carbohydrates 6.4g2%

Fiber 2.7g11%

Sugar 2.1g2%

Protein 5.4g11%

Calcium 3mg0%

Iron 6mg33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Sharing is caring!

from http://easyveganrecipes.info/tempeh-bacon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tempeh-bacon

[foodgemsg]

https://ift.tt/2F9cikv Read on our visit to Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner Restaurant 2020 Part I by FoodGem

Chinese New Year is approaching and let’s find ways to usher luck into the New Year of the Rat. One of my favourite traditional practices of Yu Sheng or Lo Hei while saying and receiving auspicious well-wishes. And also spoilt for choices with so many variety and style of CNY Treasure Pots.

Hai Tien Lo at Pan Pacific Singapore

Abundance Wealth Yusheng is inspired by “Shan Shui” (Mountain Water). The inspiration comes from Chef Ben’s admiration of traditional Chinese painting featuring natural landscapes. Using shredded vegetables creating a stunning artful portraying a grand mountain overshadowing a group of little mountains, representing prospering growth. Each paper boat filled with deep-fried flour crisps symbolising an abundance of wealth in the new year. The other luxurious toppings on the yusheng including lobster, abalone and accented with Gold and Silver Flakes.

Backed by rich cultural traditions, Treasure Pot is a must to welcome the new year with abundance and good fortune. Hai Tien Lo’s signature Premium Wealth Treasure Pot is packed with 12 stellar ingredients of Whole Abalone, Fresh Lobster, Goose Web, Dried Oysters, Sea Cucumber, Fish Maw, Pork Knuckle, Roasted Duck, Bean Gluten, Chinese Mushrooms, Black Moss and White Radish. Amidst fastidious planning, strong culinary artfulness and long hours of cooking, this grand delicacy is flooded with hearty flavors and flawless taste.

Hai Tien Lo’s signature Premium Wealth Treasure Pot is available for both dine-in and takeaway from 9 January to 8 February 2020.

A series of auspiciously-named menus exhibit an astounding cluster of fresh ingredients highlighting Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Whole Abalone, Sea Conch and Korean Ginseng; Baked Fillet of Sea Perch in Champagne Sauce; and Double-boiled Bird’s Nest with Almond Cream served in Young Coconut. Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Whole Abalone, Sea Conch and Korean Ginseng is double boiled for three hours and left it overnight for the extra flavour. Strong flavours with a natural sweetness in the soup and the premium ingredients like abalone, sea conch and scallop are perfectly executed and tender to bite.

Baked Fillet of Sea Perch in Champagne Sauce made an impressive presentation. The gentle champagne sauce had a nice balance with the fresh sea perch. The baked sea perch was flaky with a nice juice oozing out. I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to ever get tired of this champagne sauce. The thin and shatters easily crisp cracker added another dimension to this dish.

Nothing beats a bowl of warm Double-boiled Bird’s Nest with Almond Cream served in Young Coconut after a meal. Smooth, with a slight creamy almond cream texture, and a generous serving of bird’s nest.

Chinese New Year Set Menu featuring finest Cantonese delicacies available from 9 January to 8 February 2020.

Hai Tien Lo at Pan Pacific Singapore

7 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square Singapore 039595

Jiang-Nan Chun at Four Seasons Singapore

A series of celebratory menu crafted Executive Chinese Chef Tim Lam featuring impeccable dining in modern vibe at Jiang Nan Chun.

This luxurious Abundance Lobster, Abalone and Salmon Yu Sheng combines the use of ingredients that represent prosperity, abundance and good fortune. I’m impressed with the freshness of daily sourced lobster, abalone and salmon alongside with hand-shredded seasonal vegetables, healthy crunch including pumpkin seeds, melon seeds and sunflower seeds, and homemade condiments and sauces. This yusheng comes with the right amount of sauce with a nice balance of sweetness and nuttiness.

Double-boiled Bird’s Nest Soup is served with generous servings of bird nest strips, whole dried scallops and sea whelk. The sea whelk and scallops are soaked in the sweetness of chicken soup immediately awakens up your appetite!

Jiang Nan Chun Signature Roasted Duck had tender and juicy meat, crispy skin, and it’s roasted leaving a hint of smokiness. The fats layer beneath the duck skin must have melted and marbled into the meat as the skin can be easily lifted from the surface.

Fish is a must eat during the Chinese New Year because fish in Chinese (鱼) sounds the same as in Chinese (余). Simple dish of steamed star garoupa uses very few ingredients to bring out the good flavour and bouncy texture of fresh fish. The superior soy sauce a bit of sweet and savoury umami to this dish.

Chilled Coral Seaweed with Peach Resin as I like the crunch adding to this dessert as finale.

Festive Dining at Jiang-Nan Chun starting from 6 January to 8 February 2020.

Jiang-Nan Chun at Four Seasons Singapore

190 Orchard Blvd, Singapore 248646

Yan Restaurant

Yans celebrates the joyful arrival of spring once again with a new 6 course menu curated by Head Chef Ng Sen Tio. Enjoy its classic Cantonese fare of elegance as the restaurant offers a range of flexible seating arrangements from plush booth seats to larger tables and private dining rooms.

 As depicted by the auspicious phrase 步步高升, Yan rendition of its savoury Shunde-style yusheng not only features a mountain of crispy vermicelli adorned with shreds of vegetables, it was also topped with crunchy mee pok, you tiao and gold flakes.

Steamed Star Grouper with Yunnan Preserved Vegetables and Cordyceps Flower not only brims with auspiciousness but also with deliciousness. The head and tail of the fish is said to be arranged in the shape of a dragon that symbolises power, strength and good luck. The fish was indeed rather fresh and had an excellent texture.

Finally, savour the Yàn Harvest Pen Cai, a grand claypot of a total of 18 different ingredients such as abalones, whole conpoy, roast pork, fish maw, sea moss, sea cucumber, scallops and more. Each Pen Cai is individually prepared before being combined and simmered with flavourful braised duck gravy.

I typically get excited when it comes to desserts, especially unique ones such as this large bowl of Hot Purple Sweet Potato Cream with Bird’s Nest, Ginkgo and Mini Glutinous Rice Balls. Besides loving the lovely colour, I also enjoy the taste and the sweetness level is just right for me. I could feel the strands on bird’s nest as I ate and I was just hoping the Mini Glutinous Rice Balls weren’t that soft and had some bite to it.

Do note that Festive set menus are available from 1 January 2020 – 8 February 2020.

Lunar New Year ala carte menu is available from 25 January 2020 – 8 February 2020.

Yan is reviewed by Alvin.

Yan Restaurant

#05-02 National Gallery Singapore 1 St Andrew’s Road Singapore 178957

The post Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner Restaurant 2020 Part I appeared first on foodgem: Food & Travel.

[victoria-bonadonna]

Basic Japanese Cuisine: Week 1

Week one was a great start to get us in to basic Japanese cuisine and get us back in the kitchen. We started out slow, with Japanese knife maintenance, knife cuts, and basic stock cookery- aka- dashi. We were taught how to sharpen a single bevel knife, and the difference between that and a double bevel knife. After learning how, I figured out that sharpening a single bevel knife is much easier- because rather than trying to figure out the perfect angle to sharpen at, the knife does it for you due to the prominent angle that is already there. There are three main types of Japanese knives. The usuba is used for cutting and peeling vegetables, the deba is a more heavy style, used for cutting meat and breaking hard things – its density helps cut bones/ shells, and the yanagi which is used to cut sashimi or cutting finished things such as cooked meat. We made a fried tofu dish using our daikon and carrot cuts from that day. On top of the tofu was a thickened anake sauce. Accompanying the tofu was a bowl of rice and miso soup.

Day two we started off by discussing the importance of variables other than just the flavors of the food. We discussed the importance of seasonality to determine things like colors, flavors, ingredients, and the plate ware used. Everything about a dish should reflect the season so that the diner knows the chef prepared it using the best resources of the time they are in. We were shown many examples of beautiful plate ware and we discussed what would be used for each season- for example a clear glass plate could be used in summer to represent the coolness, or a plate with a cherry blossom could be used in the spring time.

Afterwards we learned how to use a sashimi knife, holding it a certain way and angle to get the size slice we would want. We were able to practice on konyaku which is a type of gelatin made from starch. We practiced on this rather than fish because we wanted to practice on something a little easier and less expensive due to the fact that it was our first time cutting sashimi. Next we learned how to wash Japanese rice. The washing process is important because we are polishing the rice with our hand to get rid of any surface blemishes. For our rice, after we rinse it and massage it, it is important to let it sit in a bowl of water. This is in order to rehydrate it- this is important because at this point the rice is at least a year old, from last year’s harvest, so we need to put in a little extra effort with rehydration. If it was freshly harvested we would be able to skip this process.  To cook our konyaku we just quickly boil it to remove any unwanted aroma. We cooked it in a flavored dashi. We also had a spinach salad. Here we blanched and shocked the spinach, squeezed it out, and let it sit in a flavored dashi so it could soak up these flavors. The spinach was dressed with a sesame dressing which we made in a suribachi. A suribachi is a large clay bowl that is textured on the inside- it is used for grinding this which is done with a large wooden stick. In addition we had miso soup made with tofu, thin fried tofu, daikon, carrot, and scallions.

Day three was focused on Dashi- the master stock of the Japanese. Itchiban dashi is made with water, dried kombu (seaweed) and dried katsobushi (bonito fish flakes). Itchiban dashi is the most widely used type in japan. In addition, dashi is made with seafood/ fish bones, or just kombu to make it vegan. The best type of dashi is made from freshly shaved katso. As soon as oxygen touches the fish flakes it will start to change the color and flavor. However, more popularly, katso can be found in packages that had air pumped into them to help avoid oxidizing. It is best to use these packs very soon after opening. We made the itchiban dashi by adding kombu to room temperature water and bringing it to a simmer for 30 minutes. (Due to the type of water we have in New York we cook the kombu for 30 minutes as opposed to Japan where they can cook it for 10 minutes due to the water they have.) We take out to kombu and bring it to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil we add a ladle to cool water to just slightly drop the temperature. At this time we add our bonito flakes, soak them, bring it back up to a boil, turn off the heat, and let them cook for 1 minute. We can skim off any bubbles but DO NOT STIR. After this minute our proper flavor should be reached. We immediately strain the dashi through a coffee filter and we have our finished dashi. We also learned the Japanese way to break down a fish. We scaled it, took out the gills and the guts. We washed the fish thorough after this so we can take out any residual blood to get the best possible flavors. We removed the head, and then removed the fillets from the bones. The bones would be saved for dashi the next day and the fillets will be used to make a clear soup the next day as well.  

After making our dashi we prepared our many soups in which we would use the dashi. We had a red miso soup with the fried thin tofu (Usage) and daikon and a white miso soup with chicken and mushroom (the chiciken was able to hold its juicy flavor and not dry out because prior to cooking we coated the chicken in starch. This helped the chicken retain its moisture.) Lastly, we had a clear soup which had a shrimp paste and scallop dumpling (Shinjo), as well as spinach and mushroom.

Day four was a continuation of learning about dashi. We made our dashi from the fish bones which we had salted the previous day. The salt here helps to increase the umami of the final product as well as to help take any fishy aromas out of the fish and help the dashi not taste fishy. To start, we pour hot water over the fish until it turns white/ opaque. We pour off the water and immediately rinse the bones in cool water. This process helps to remove any impurities and helps to produce a cleaner finished product. The filet of seabream were steamed on top of a piece of kombu with a little bit of sake on top of the fish. The fish was folded in a circle and scored on the skin side; this was to give form and texture. To accompany our clear soup with sea bream we had daikon and small pieces of yuzu peel with the pith removed. The yuzu was place there so when the guest takes the top off of the bowl they get hit with the fresh yuzu sensation. In addition to clear soup we had pork miso soup (ton jiru). This was made with thinly sliced pork, and small plank cuts of daikon, carrot, konyaku, and sweet potato.

In this soup, we used a combination of white and red miso (we increased the amount of white miso because it was a colder day and the white miso would help give a better warming sensation). Next, we had a pureed soup (surinagashi) made with edamame. We tasted regular edamame vs black edamame. The black one was a much deeper, richer, and almost saltier flavor than the regular type. The black edamame is very hard to come by and is famous in Tamba for its production there.

Day five started with a special guest lecture from Dassai Sake producers. This company is 4th generation and their factory is located in the Yamaguchi prefecture. Here, their only goal is to brew for taste. While normal sake producers polish their rice to 50 or 60%, Dassai goes the extra mile and polished each rice grain down until there is 23% of the rice left from its original size. They told us about their new facility that will be opening down the road from CIA. The company hopes to produce a higher quality sake than they already make in Japan and they are very excited for the future. Cooking today shifted to simmered (nimono) and steamed (mishumono) foods. We made Nikujaga which as a hearty and homey meat and potatoes dish.

While making this dish we learned the proper way to season it. We flavor the dish with both sweet and salty elements but it is good to do it in two separate steps- sweet, and salty. Here we will start with the sweet flavorings (mirin) and left it to cook in the food before adding in the salty (soy sauce). The purpose to staggering this is due to the fact that the sugar molecules are larger than the salt molecules. If they are added at the same time the food will first absorb the salt and the salt could over power. In order to achieve balance you would stagger the addition. Also, the addition of salt makes it harder for the food to absorb more flavors, which would make it even harder for the food to absorb the sweet if they were added at the same time. We also made a tofu dumpling (hirosu). The tofu dumpling was made with extra firm tofu, and the consistency produced would be able to reflect that of meat. The dumpling had a thickened dashi based sauce. We also had chowamushi which is a savory egg custard with dashi. We made it with shrimp, chicken, mitzuba, shiitake mushroom and matsutake mushroom (the Japanese equivalent to truffle mushrooms). Lastly we had dobemushi which is a very formal clear soup. Here, all of the ingredients would be put into a small tea pot in a slightly flavored dashi. The Soup would be accompanied with half a sudachi (citrus similar to yuzu) which would be used season soup as much as the consumer wished.

This week was a great start to the Japanese cooking course and the Nikujaga left me to crave Japanese food all weekend.  

[oovitus]

Easy, Cheesy Vegan Loaded Potatoes with Broccoli & White Beans

 As many of you know, I’m not one for New Year’s goal-setting or themes or programs, or even resolutions. I know that they can all be motivating and inspiring and great, depending on the context. But I spend enough time vying with unrealistic expectations from day to day; I like to enter a new year gently, and in some ways it takes more for me to accept things as they are than to contemplate what I’ll be changing.

All of that said, I don’t like to discourage the positive energy that can emerge at this time of year, especially when it takes the form of folks resolving to take good care of themselves, whatever that means. I’m a big fan of Veganuary, which inspires a lot of people to give veganism a dedicated try. And here on the blog, I do sometimes give fresh thought to new content, ideas, initiatives.

This year, in the spirit of that gentle entrance I just mentioned, it feels appropriate to use the first few weeks of the month (which I have off from the DI!) to reflect on some of the strategies that allowed me to make it through my 15 weeks of clinicals fed entirely by home-cooked meals. Until September, I’d been working from home, which gave me the good fortune to cook often and when I liked. I wasn’t really sure that I’d be able to sustain a meal plan once the DI started, but—for economic reasons as much as the fact that I like to cook/eat homemade food—I’m glad I did.

Cooking my way through my first two rotations often meant knowing when not to cook (i.e., rely on some of my go-to vegan store-bought products). Sometimes it meant throwing together meals in 20-minutes or less, which has never entirely been my cooking style, mostly because I haven’t needed it to be. And sometimes it meant cooking and meal prepping when I could have been doing other, fun things. It was all a balancing act, a question of knowing when to cut corners and when not to.

Between now and mid-January, I’ll be sharing some of the practically-not-recipe-recipes that I relied on when the going got tough, meals so simple that I’d normally not consider them as contenders for the blog. They’ll be a little basic, but they’ll also be an honest reflection of how/what I’ve been eating.

I’ll also be doing a big post on my batch cooking/meal prep process, since I get so many questions about it on Instagram! I’ll talk about how I plan, store, freeze/defrost, balance the things I choose to make each week. If you have any particular questions about my weekly process, please feel free to comment or email or DM me on the ‘gram—I’d love to address the topics that people want to hear about.

For today, here’s one of those quickie meals I mentioned. If you batch cook the baked potatoes over a weekend and make the cheese sauce at that time, it’s a 5-minute dinner. Even if you prepare it all at once, it demands only about 15 minutes of active work (the rest of the time is spent waiting for the potatoes to bake, and you could absolutely microwave them if you wanted to—I often do).

I’ve made a lot of vegan cheese sauces and mac n’ cheese sauces in my day. I’d venture to say that this is my all-time favorite: the most cheesy, the most creamy while also being relatively low in fat and not overly rich (I’ve made some very cashew-heavy sauces—this one’s got potato to help balance things out). It’s based on the sauce for my carrot mac, with some adaptations.

Since I bake potatoes for the recipe anyway, I use one of them for the sauce. I do think that red peppers add a special combination of tartness and sweetness that enhances the sauce, and I always have a jar of roasted red peppers in my pantry. But you can substitute a handful of steamed carrots or cauliflower or zucchini, too—you’d be surprised at how adaptable the sauce is.

To make the dish, you start by baking the potatoes. You split them, mash the flesh lightly with some non-dairy milk (or Earth Balance, or broth, or vegan parm), and top them with white beans (or chickpeas, or navy beans) and broccoli florets (or brussels sprouts, or green beans, or kale, or whatever you’ve got). The cheese sauce gets piled on top.

That’s it. This is the very definition of a “throw together” meal, but it’s hearty and tasty and good, and in spite of how little it takes to make it, it’s got plenty of nutrient density. It works well with sweet potatoes and Japanese potatoes, too. Here’s the recipe—perhaps you’ll tuck it away for a day when you need something real comforting, real fast.

Easy, Cheesy Vegan Loaded Potato with Broccoli & White Beans

5.0 from 2 reviews

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Recipe type: main dish, quick & easy

Cuisine: gluten free, soy free, tree nut free option, no oil

Author: Gena Hamshaw

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 3-4 servings

Ingredients

For the vegan cheese sauce:

1 cup (about 5 ounces) cooked white potato (or sweet potato) flesh

2 roasted red bell peppers from the jar, drained, or 1 fresh red bell pepper (substitute a heaping half cup of steamed cauliflower or carrots)

¼ cup (1 ounce) raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours and then drained (substitute ¼ cup silken tofu)

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon mellow white miso

¼-1/2 teaspoon fine salt (to taste)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar or rice vinegar

½ teaspoon dry mustard (or 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard)

½ teaspoon turmeric

¾ cup + 2 T water

For the potatoes:

2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and pricked over with a fork

A few tablespoons non-dairy milk, broth, or a little Earth Balance/vegan butter

Vegan parmesan (optional)

1½ cups (1 can) cannellini or navy beans, rinsed and drained

3 cups broccoli florets, fresh or frozen, cooked according to preference (you can steam, microwave, or boil), or another green vegetable

Instructions

To make the sauce, blend all ingredients together in a powerful blender till completely smooth and creamy (1-2 minutes).

To make the meal, preheat the oven to 400F. Place the potatoes on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, or until fork tender.

When the potatoes are ready, split them. Use a fork to mash the interior of each half gently, using a tablespoon or so of non-dairy milk, vegetable broth, or a little pat of vegan butter to make the potato a little creamy. You can add some vegan parmesan now for extra flavor, if you like.

Add ¼ cup white beans to each half and mash them gently into the potato with your fork. Pile about ¾ cup cooked broccoli florets on top. Pour the cheese sauce on top (about ¼ cup, or to taste). Serve.

Notes

The cheesy sauce will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge and can be frozen for up to 6 weeks. It yields 2 cups.

3.5.3251

If your potatoes are generously sized, each half is a decent meal on its own. If you have small potatoes, you can use a whole potato for each portion. I had this very meal for lunch today, seeking something easy because I’ve definitely got a cold. It was so good, and I added Brussels sprouts this time! The cheese sauce will yield a full 2 cups, so once you’ve made it, you can use it throughout the week on vegan mac n’ cheese, on top of grains, in quesadillas or tacos or burritos, or whatever.

Wishing you all an easy end to this inter-holiday week. Look forward to a lot more low-stress recipes in January, and I’ll be back this weekend with some recipes and reads.

xo

The post Easy, Cheesy Vegan Loaded Potatoes with Broccoli & White Beans appeared first on The Full Helping.

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23 Big Family Dinner Recipes to Feed a Crowd

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[Photograph: Liz Clayman, J. Kenji López-Alt, Morgan Eisenberg]

When I need to cook for more than a few people, my default is to whip up a big batch of pasta or maybe a pot of stew. But it’s something I do only occasionally, which means a couple of solid recipes are enough for me. On the other hand, if you’re cooking for large groups on a regular basis, there’s a good chance that turning out the same vat of pasta night after night is going to get old pretty quickly.

The good news is that we have a variety of more creative dishes that will feed half a dozen people or more, giving you plenty of options for getting a dinner on the table that’ll make your entire crowd happy. Here are 23 of our favorite big-batch dinner recipes, from steak fajitas to pulled pork sandwiches to a Mexican-style tamale pie.

At Least 6 Servings

New Orleans–Style Red Beans and Rice

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

This smoky, spicy New Orleans classic is actually remarkably simple to make for such a complex-tasting dish: It takes only about half an hour to sauté all the meat and vegetables, after which you’ll add the rest of the ingredients and simply…let it cook. After the beans have turned tender and the liquid has reduced, you’ll have a creamy, flavorful stew that’s ready to serve over heaps of steamed white rice.

New Orleans–Style Red Beans and Rice Recipe »

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Fajitas

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

A single two-and-a-half-pound flank steak is plenty of meat to feed a crowd, and the regularity of its shape makes cooking and serving easy. Good fajitas are all about a flavorful marinade and cooking the meat properly. Here, we treat the steak with a mixture of soy sauce, oregano, ground ancho chili, cumin, garlic, sugar, oil, and lime juice, then grill it using a two-zone fire until it’s charred on the outside and tender on the inside. Serve with your favorite fajita fixings—though, with the flavor it’ll get from this marinade, we don’t think you’ll need much more than lime juice, onion, cilantro, and maybe a little salsa.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Fajitas Recipe »

Chicken Massaman Curry With Wheat Beer and Potatoes

[Photograph: Emily and Matt Clifton]

Massaman curry is a Thai dish with Middle Eastern roots, meaning that instead of the intense heat of a red or green curry, it’s infused with a softer, richer warmth. We make our version of the dish with store-bought massaman curry paste, but doctor it up with star anise, cinnamon, and palm sugar. Belgian wheat beer might seem like an odd addition to a Thai/Middle Eastern dish, but its bitter, citrusy notes work quite well with the other flavors.

Chicken Massaman Curry With Wheat Beer and Potatoes Recipe »

The Best Chili Ever

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Before everyone starts yelling: I’m sure that your chili is in fact the best ever. But for those of you looking for a new recipe, we stand firmly by this version. The best chili is complex, incorporating plenty of sweet, hot, bitter, fresh, and fruity elements; to that end, we flavor ours with an intense combination of dried and fresh chilies, plus cumin, cloves, coffee beans, unsweetened chocolate, and more. The secret weapons here? Anchovies, Marmite, and soy sauce—you can’t pick any of them out in the finished dish, but they seriously boost the chili’s savoriness. If you’re scandalized by the very thought of a chili with beans, move right on down to the chili con carne recipe below—and if you’re not a meat-eater, don’t miss our fantastically rib-sticking vegan chili.

The Best Chili Ever Recipe »

Real Texas Chili Con Carne

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

For the Texas-chili purists out there, this chili con carne remains faithful to tradition. No beans here; just hulking cubes of beef chuck, an onslaught of dried chilies—some sweeter, some hotter, some fruity—and spices. At the risk of making some enemies in the Lone Star State, we do add a couple tablespoons of fish sauce for extra umami—honestly, your guests will never know it’s there!

Real Texas Chili Con Carne Recipe »

Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

I can’t think of many ways to feed half a dozen mouths that are easier than this chile verde. Roughly chop some vegetables and pork, throw it all in the pressure cooker, and purée everything but the pork (an immersion blender makes easy work of this step) after it’s done cooking. That’s it. The result is a stew of tender chunks of pork smothered in a deeply flavored sauce that tastes like it takes all day, but actually comes together in less than an hour.

Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde Recipe »

White Chili With Roast Turkey or Chicken

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Have leftover roast poultry on your hands? Put it to use in this simple white-bean stew flavored with a potent mix of jalapeños, Poblanos, and roasted Hatch chilies. Keeping it easy, we use canned beans here and dump them straight into the pot along with all of their starchy liquid, which helps give the chili some extra body.

White Chili With Roast Turkey or Chicken Recipe »

Pressure Cooker American Beef Stew

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Yes, you can make a satisfying beef stew on a weeknight, thanks to the wonders of pressure-cooking. Searing beef chuck in large pieces helps the meat retain moisture, while two separate batches of vegetables—one long-cooked with the rest of the stew, the other added near the end—give the stew optimal flavor and texture. As with our chili recipes, we look to a few umami bombs—Worcestershire, soy sauce, and anchovies—for help enhancing the stew’s meatiness. With a pressure cooker to speed up the process, the whole thing is done in an hour and a half.

Pressure Cooker American Beef Stew Recipe »

Osso Buco (Italian Braised Veal Shanks)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Sophisticated yet comforting, this Milanese classic is made by braising veal shanks in a hearty wine- and vegetable-based sauce until their rich marrow renders out. For a little balance, we serve the dish with a bright mixture of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic, called gremolada. Pair the osso buco with saffron-tinged risotto alla milanese to keep it traditional.

Osso Buco (Italian Braised Veal Shanks) Recipe »

Traditional French Cassoulet

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

There are a few noteworthy details about our take on cassoulet, but perhaps the most striking is our choice of poultry. Though the French stew is typically made with duck confit (duck being a cheap protein in medieval southern France, where cassoulet originated), we find that using chicken along with some duck fat keeps the dish truer to its peasant roots when made today. Regardless of whether you use duck or chicken, make it fresh poultry—confit comes out drier and stringier than fresh meat when stewed.

Traditional French Cassoulet Recipe »

Creamy Garlic Chicken Spanakopita Skillet

[Photograph: Morgan Eisenberg]

This recipe supplements Greek spanakopita, a savory spinach and feta pie wrapped in phyllo dough, with chicken, turning an appetizer into a one-pot dinner. The addition of a creamy, garlicky gravy makes this a pleasant sort of spanakopita–chicken pot pie hybrid. Draining the spinach well in a colander after it’s wilted ensures that you don’t end up with spinach soup.

Creamy Garlic Chicken Spanakopita Skillet Recipe »

French Onion Strata (Savory Bread Pudding)

[Photograph: Emily and Matt Clifton]

This recipe transforms the caramelized onions and bubbly Gruyère of French onion soup into a savory bread pudding that will feed six easily. Unlike a sweet bread pudding, which requires the bread to be super soft, here we soak it only briefly so that it bakes up with a range of textures. Caramelizing onions is as slow a process as you want it to be—we recommend adding a little sugar to speed things along.

French Onion Strata (Savory Bread Pudding) Recipe »

Real Bouillabaisse (Bouillabaisse Marseillaise)

[Photograph: Liz Clayman]

Order bouillabaisse—a rustic French seafood stew flavored with saffron, fennel, and orange zest—at a restaurant in the United States, and you’re likely to get something packed with scallops, mussels, lobster, and other shellfish. That can make for a delicious dish, but an authentic bouillabaisse is focused squarely on the finfish. We like to use a variety of lean, firm, oily, and gelatinous fish, in order to pack the stew with complex flavors and textures.

Real Bouillabaisse (Bouillabaisse Marseillaise) Recipe »

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Potato and Kale Soup With Sausage)

This simple Portuguese stew is made with inexpensive ingredients and comes together in just half an hour. Packed with shredded kale and two kinds of potatoes (russets, which break down to thicken the soup, and Yukon Golds, which hold their shape to stay in distinct chunks), caldo verde is one of my favorite dinners for a chilly weeknight. I usually make it with chicken stock and linguiça; use vegetable stock and cut the sausage to make this recipe vegetarian.

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Potato and Kale Soup With Sausage) Recipe »

Mexican Tamale Pie (Tamal de Cazuela) With Black Bean Filling

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Not to be confused with American tamale pie, which is chili covered with cornbread, tamal de cazuela is essentially a giant tamale made in a cast iron skillet—which is much easier than making real, individual tamales. Our version uses a masa dough leavened with baking soda and is filled with ancho chili–spiked refried black beans; it’s easily made vegetarian by replacing the chicken stock in the dough with water.

Mexican Tamale Pie (Tamal de Cazuela) With Black Bean Filling Recipe »

Tuscan Ribollita With Summer Vegetables

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Ribollita is a rustic Tuscan stew packed with vegetables and thickened with bread. This recipe calls for summer squash, zucchini, green beans, and spinach, but part of ribollita’s beauty is that you can throw in basically any vegetables that look good at the market. As the weather cools down, this recipe for a more winter-appropriate ribollita will give you inspiration on how to adjust the dish for cold-season produce.

Tuscan Ribollita With Summer Vegetables Recipe »

The Food Lab’s No-Boil Baked Ziti

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Baked pasta dishes are generally some of the easiest ways to feed a hungry horde. This baked ziti, in particular, is a snap because you don’t need to boil the noodles—simply soak them in water before mixing them with tomato sauce, cream, and ricotta cheese. We also add eggs, to give the casserole some structure, and cubes of mozzarella, which melt into gooey, stretchy pockets.

The Food Lab’s No-Boil Baked Ziti Recipe »

At Least 8 Servings

Easy Oven-Baked Pulled Pork Sandwiches

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

A whole smoked pork shoulder is a delicious way to feed a crowd, but I don’t always have the energy for real-deal barbecue. Fortunately, oven-roasted pulled pork is almost as satisfying, much easier, and achievable in any weather. If you miss the flavor of actual barbecue, a little bit of liquid smoke is not out of place here. Be careful, though—it’s really easy to add too much, so err on the side of caution.

Easy Oven-Baked Pulled Pork Sandwiches Recipe »

Cochinita Pibil (Yucatán-Style Barbecued Pork)

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

The southern United States doesn’t have a monopoly on barbecued pork shoulder. Yucatecan cochinita pibil isn’t spicy, but instead gets a sweet, earthy aroma and flavor from achiote seed, Ceylon cinnamon, oregano, cloves, and citrus, plus the banana leaves it’s smoked in. Traditionally, the dish is made with hard-to-find Seville oranges, but a combination of lime, orange, and grapefruit juices will get you pretty close. We recommend serving with warmed corn tortillas, Yucatán-style pickled onions, and a fiery salsa typical of the region.

Cochinita Pibil (Yucatán-Style Barbecued Pork) Recipe »

Choucroute Garnie à l’Alsacienne (Alsatian Braised Sauerkraut With Mixed Meats and Sausages)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

This celebration of pork may not ever become a regular part of your diet—and that’s probably for the best—but it’s a great splurge for special occasions. Choucroute garnie translates to “garnished sauerkraut,” which, we admit, seems like an understatement considering the mountain of pork shoulder and loin, salted pork belly, slab bacon, ham hock, smoked pork chops, and assorted sausages that the cabbage is served with. Yet underneath all that meat, this dish really is about the choucroute, so make sure to find good-quality sauerkraut—or make your own.

Choucroute Garnie à l’Alsacienne (Alsatian Braised Sauerkraut With Mixed Meats and Sausages) Recipe »

Classic, Savory Shepherd’s Pie (With Beef and/or Lamb)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Our version of this pub favorite features a carrot- and pea-studded meat sauce—lamb is traditional, of course, but the recipe will work just as well with ground beef, or a combination of the two—topped by a layer of rich, creamy mashed potatoes. For extra depth and complexity, we add a trio of ingredients you’re more likely to find in ragù than in shepherd’s pie—red wine, tomato paste, and Parmesan cheese—and we sneak in a couple of noted British umami powerhouses, Worcestershire sauce and Marmite.

Classic, Savory Shepherd’s Pie (With Beef and/or Lamb) Recipe »

The Best Spinach Lasagna

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

The best spinach lasagna requires getting two things right: the spinach, and the noodles. That means sautéing the spinach in a mixture of butter and olive oil for the best flavor, and using fresh pasta sheets rather than store-bought no-boil lasagna noodles. The last trick is in the ricotta—we process half of it until it’s smooth and add the other half as is, ensuring that the filling turns out creamy but with the small ricotta curds you expect in lasagna.

The Best Spinach Lasagna Recipe »

At Least 10 Servings

Bollito Misto (Italian Feast of Mixed Boiled Meats)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Not to be outdone by their Alsatian neighbors to the northwest, Italians have a meaty feast of their own: bollito misto. The dish is traditionally made with cuts of beef that you’re not likely to find in an American butcher shop, but you can make a good version improvising with what you can find: oxtail, tongue, short rib, shanks, and chuck roast, plus chicken. There are many sauces to choose from, but we’re happy to pair our bollito misto with a cilantro-based salsa verde and a tomato- and red pepper–based salsa rossa.

Bollito Misto (Italian Feast of Mixed Boiled Meats) Recipe »

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