Everyday Food

Well, today, I was surfing the channels and came across an awesome PBS cooking show called Everyday Food. It's a show with real recipes for real people, i.e. those with not alot of time or skill. I'm going to try a few of these recipes over the next few weeks and report on them. That Martha Stewart does think of us non-gourmet chefs every now and then. The website for the Everyday Food magazine is also online.

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Vegetarian Thai Cooking

After making a decent Thai green curry sauce over the weekend for my housewarming party, I realized that some of the ingredients in the sauce are not necessarily "kosher" for vegetarians. I got to thinking, how can I make vegetarian Thai or Vietnamese food. In general, much of Thai/Vietnamese food employs the use of fish sauce (nam pla), oyster sauce, or shrimp paste. So our goal is to try and find suitable substitutes.

A recommended substitute for fish sauce (nam pla, nuoc mam chay) is light soy sauce or just soy sauce. Soy sauce is not always good enough on its own. So, one recommendation that I read is to mix a small amount of it with fermented tofu and salted yellow beans. You should be able to find fermented tofu at your local Asian grocery store. Apparently, though, you should also be able to find products labelled as "Vegetarian Fish Sauce." I've personally never found it, but maybe I've never looked hard enough.

Shrimp paste (kapi) can be substituted with soy bean paste (yellow bean paste) or fermented tofu.

Dried shrimp (Goong Haeng) is a little tricky. According to what I've read, this is nearly impossible to substitute. The thaigrocer.com suggests that bean products or roasted nut products can be used. However, many more suggest that it should be omitted entirely.

Oyster sauce can be easily substituted with Vegetarian Oyster Sauce. This is readily purchased in most Asian grocery stores in the United States.

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Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

This recipe might take a little longer than normal. It's not a soup that you want to try if you are in rush, but boy is it tasty.

This soup is based on a recipe I obtained off the back of a tofu package (Nasoya Silken Tofu) and a website I perused. This soup comes in many variations, the following is my favorite. I usually don't use any meat and chicken broth to make it vegetarian. As for seasoning, the red pepper and hot chili oil are usually omitted unless you want some pain.

Ingredients

1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/2 can (6 to 8 oz) of bamboo shoots (drained, rinsed and julienned)
1/4 cup dried wood ears (black fungus) if you got it
1/4 to 1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (6 large pieces)
1/4 lb julienned chicken or lean pork (optional)
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken or vegetable broth (or 1 1/4 cup water if pork is used)
7 to 9 oz of silken tofu (about half a package of tofu)
2 tsp minced ginger (optional)
4 tbps soy sauce
1 to 2 tbsp white vinegar
2 to 3 tbsp cornstarch with 3 to 4 tbsp water
1 large egg (optional)
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp sesame seed oil

Other optional items:

hot chili oil, scallions

Preparation Time:
1 hour (to soak and wash wood ears and dried mushrooms)
20 to 30 minutes of cooking time

Directions

1. After soaking the wood ears for about 30 minutes or until they are soft, carefully wash them to remove them of sand. Then slice them finely. You should be able to buy wood ears at any local Asian grocery store. The dried shiitake mushrooms should also be soaked for about 1 hour in order to soften them. Wash carefully and cut off the stems and slice coarsely.
   
2. Next, slice the tofu into 1/4" to 1/2" cubes.
   
3. In a 2 to 3 qt saucepan, combine the meat, carrots, bamboo shoots, with the vegetable or chicken broth (fat free is best). If you want to add ginger, add it in now. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Reduce the heat and let simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
   
4. Put in the tofu and add the soy sauce and vinegar. Let simmer for another couple of minutes.
5. Make sure the cornstarch mixture is well-combined. Then add into the soup. Let mixture get to a boil, then turn the heat to low.
   
6. Beat the egg well and while stirring the soup vigorously, gradually pour in the egg. Let the mixture warm up for a minute or so, then turn off the heat.
   
7. As a last step, add in the pepper and/or the hot chili oil. Garnish with diced scallions.

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Let's Eat In Tonight!

As a graduate student, I have limited time and financial resources. However, I still have to eat. I could go out and get something from a restaurant, but that can quickly add up and restaurant food is not always nuitritious or well-balanced. My other option is to cook at home. Luckily, I enjoy cooking and trying new dishes. This blog is about cooking as a graduate student. I'm not a culinary genius, but I like to think I could be one. Join me and my colleagues while we try to make good food given limited time and money.

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