Audrey's Specialty Fried Rice (Vegan)

A lot of people think that a day old (refrigerated) rice are the best rice for fried rice. I disagree. I like fried rice to be made from fresh steamed rice. I also prefer to use Japanese rice. And, it is against my belief to use whole grain rice for fried rice regardless of how much more nutrient it has. Boo hoo to fried whole grain rice. That is so wrong!

Have you noticed that mushrooms, when stir-fried, smell like eggs? OK, maybe I'm saying it cuz I like eggs and I'm boycotting eggs. Deprivation leads to hallucination? hahaha

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked rice (remember to cook it!)
6 oz firm tofu (cut into cubes)
1 cup of mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup of broccoli (cut into bite size pieces)
1 cup onion (chopped)
1 stalk of green onion (chopped)
1/4 cup of cashews
Vegetable oil
Garlic
Low-sodium Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Cook the 2 cups of rice in a rice cooker. Follow the directions from the rice manufacturer.
2) Stir-fry the broccoli and set aside. (Add 2 tsp of vegetable oil on high heat. When the wok is hot, add 1/2 tsp of garlic followed by broccoli. Add about 2 pinches of salt and set aside. Cook until it's soft but not too soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.)
3) Add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to the wok and when it's hot, add the onion and stir until it's lightly browned, and then add the mushroom and the tofu. Continue stirring until the mushroom and tofu is lightly browned. Add a pinch or 2 of salt.
4) Add the rice follow by 2 tbsp of soy sauce and stir. Make sure the soy sauce is evenly mixed into the rice. If it's soggy, continue stirring until the liquid evaporates. (If you did something wrong and your rice is too soggy, not enough of it will evaporate, you should give up after 5 min.)
5) Shake in some pepper. (I put a lot of pepper cuz i like it spicy!) Add some salt if needed. Stir the rice to mix in the seasonings.
6) Stir in the broccoli.
7) Add the cashews.
8) Add the green onion.

Almond Waffle ( or Banana & Almond - Vegan)

(Note: This recipe can be made into vegan if substitutions are used - that is, no eggs or milk.)

(serving: 4-6)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup of soy milk mixture)
1 egg, lightly beaten (or 1 banana, mashed up)
6 tbsp of butter, melted (or 6 tbsp vegetable oil)
1/4 cup of almonds

(To make the buttermilk substitute, add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk)
1) Sift the flour (or use pre-sifted flour). Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a bowl. Stir in the sugar.
2) In a second bowl, beat the buttermilk, egg and butter together (or mix together the soy milk and lemon juice mixture, the mashed banana, and vegetable oil). Then add to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth.
3) Add the almonds and mix thoroughly.
4) Spoon the batter into a heated waffle iron and spread flat.
5) Cook until the waffle is crisp and golden.
6) Serve with fruits like Raspberry, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries, topped w/ maple syrup.

Spicy Vegetarian Korean Tofu Stew

I love going to this Korean restaurant in Newark because I love their their Spicy Korean Tofu Stew. It's so yummy, but the problem is that it is not vegetarian because they use beef broth. There are probably places where they use vegetable broth but most of the time, it is beef or pork or chicken broth. (If anyone knows of any Korean tofu place that uses vegetable broth, please let me know.) So, what's the solution? It's to make my own Spicy Vegetarian Tofu Stew. And so I found this recipe online and I converted it so it's vegetarian. OK, so just a little warning. I'm not Korean, so I cannot say if the result is authentic or not, probably not but, it's pretty good!

Spicy Vegetarian Korean Tofu Stew
3-4 servings
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Korean Red Pepper Powder (You can find this in an Asian grocery store under the spice section)
4 cups vegetable broth (or 2 cans of Swanson's vegetarian vegetable broth)
1 cup cabbage (cut into bite size pieces)
1 tbsp soy sauce
4 cups soft tofu
3-4 scallion (chopped)
1 tbsp sesame oil
5-6 fresh shiitake mushroom
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 package of enoki mushroom
(optional) 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch
salt to your taste

1) Heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper powder until garlic starts to turn brown.
2) Add the vegetable stock, cabbage, frozen peas & carrots, shiitake mushrooms & soy sauce. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
3) Lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 min. Add the enoki mushrooms and tofu. Bring it to a boil and it simmer for 5 more min.
4) At this point, u can adjust the seasoning with salt and red pepper. (Be careful, the red pepper is really spicy, add this a little at a time.)
5) Dissolve the cornstarch in some water and add to stew. This optional, only add if u like your soup to be thicker.
6) Add the sesame oil and green scallion.

Winter Minestrone

This Winter Minestrone recipe is my favorite recipe from Sunset Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. It might be a bit hard to find as it's pretty old. You'll probably find it a used bookstore. Or, you can call me up and I'll let you borrow it! It's my all time favorite Minestrone soup recipe. I think it tastes better than Olive Garden's Minestrone soup.

Winter Minestrone
Serving: 6 to 8
Preparation Time: ~45 min.
Cooking Time: ~1 1/4 hours

Per Serving: 362 calories (37% from fat), 14g protein, 45g carbohydrates, 15 g total fat (0.9 g saturated fat), 21 mg cholesterol, 1,615 mg sodium.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon dry basil
1/2 teaspoon each dry rosemary, dry oregano, and dry thyme
1/4 cup pearl barley, rinsed and drained
2 medium-sized thin-skinned potatoes (about 12 oz total), diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 quarts homemade or canned vegetable broth
1 large turnips, peeled and diced (I always skip this cuz umm..I don't like turnips!)
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans or white kidney beans (cannellini)
2/3 cup small dry shell or elbow macaroni
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 1/2 cup of shredded jack cheese (I always skip this too hehe.)
Salt and Pepper (to your liking, I always skip the salt when using Swanson's vegetable broth cuz it's already plenty salty)

1) Heat oil in a 5 to 6 quart pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft (~8 to 10 min).
2) Add barley, potatoes, carrots, and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and boil gently for 20 mins. (If you're not adding turnips like me, skip step 3 and just simmer for another 20 min.)
3) Add the turnip, cover and continue to cook for 20 more min.
4) Stir in beans and their liquid, macaroni, tomato paste. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and boil gently until macaroni is tender to bite (~12 to 15 min).
5) Add cabbage and cook, uncovered, until cabbage is tender-crisp (~5 min).
6) Add salt and pepper to taste.
7) Add cheese (or skip it hehe).

Vegetarian West Lake Soup

The West Lake Soup is one of my all time favorite soup. I've adapted it to my new diet, substituting tofu & mushroom for beef. mmmm.....yummy!

Vegetarian West Lake Soup
(about 4 to 6 servings)
- 2 cups of homemade vegetable broth (or 1 can of swanson's vegetable broth)
- 2 cups of water
- a package of soft tofu (12 oz, cut into small cubes)
- 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots
- 1/2 a cup of straw mushrooms
- 1 egg white (optional)
- a stalk of green onion (chopped)
- a bunch of cilantro (chopped)

1) In a small to medium pot, add 2 cups of vegetable broth, 2 cups of water, and 1 cup of frozen peas and carrot. Bring it to a boil.
2) Add the straw mushroom and tofu.
3) When it starts boiling again, pour in the egg white. (You need to pour and stir the soup at the same times so that the egg white won't clump together. For a thicker consistency, you can dissolve a teaspoon of cornstarch in a little bit of water and pour the mixture into the soup.)
4) Add the green onion and cilantro.
5) Add pepper and salt to taste.

Vegetarian Egg Roll

I found this egg roll online somewhere but since I didn't save the site address, I can't find it anymore. :( But the good news is, I remember how to make it. I made some modifications to it and it turned out pretty good and thought I'll share it with my friends.


Vegetarian Egg Roll
(makes about 9 to 10 egg rolls)
- a package of egg roll wrappers (you can find this in an Asian grocery store in the freezer section)
- a cup of fresh shiitake mushroom (julienned)
- a cup of bean sprouts
- a cup of cabbage (julienned)
- 1/2 a cup of carrot (julienned)
- 1/2 a cup of green onion (chopped)
- 1/2 a cup of bamboo shoot (cut to thin strip) - you can find this in the canned vegetable section
- a teaspoon of garlic (minced)
- a teaspoon of ginger (grated)
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoon of soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste.

1) In a small bow, beat the egg and add 2 teaspoon of soy sauce and set aside.
2)Fire up a wok, add some oil, when hot enough, add the garlic and ginger.
3) Add the cabbage, bean sprouts, mushrooms, carrot, and bamboo shoot and stir fry for a few minutes until the cabbage are soft.
4) Add the egg mixture, stir fry for about a min to a minute and a half.
5) Sprinkle some salt and pepper.
6) Remove from wok, put in a bowl.
7) Wrap them up and deep fry them until they are golden brown in color.

Serve with sweet and sour sauce. It can be an appetizer or a main dish when eaten with rice. oh it's so yummy! And you don't have to worry if anything is under cooked cuz it's all veggies so no food poisoning.

How to wrap egg roll.
1) Scoop about 2 tablespoons of fillings into the center of the egg roll wrap. Spread the filling out along the middle of the wrap in an elongated fashion.
2) Fold in the sides then roll them up.
3) Seal it w/ some water.

stormy weather

...weather reports says that this storm is one hell of a storm. We haven't had a storm this bad in 2 years. As I was laying in bed this morning listening to the pouring rain outside, i thought to myself......mmmm...rain...ramen...pho...hmmm...so good. Then while deeply engrossed in thoughts of ramen and pho, I suddenly remembered that I was a vegetarian! "No, no ramen, no ramen, no pho Audrey!!!" A voice inside of me said. I have to say that it is very hard to make the switch as my culture (or our society in general) is deeply rooted in eating meat and most of the comfort food has meat in them. I thank this little voice inside of me who constantly tells me to say no to my many many cravings. Day 4 as a vegetarian!!!! I can do it!

Vegetarian Ma-Po Tofu

Ma-Po Tofu
a package of 12 ounce soft tofu (cut into cubes)
a package of Ma-Po sauce
6-8 fresh shiitake mushrooms (cut into thin slices)
chopped green onion
minced garlic (about 1 teaspoons)

1) Add some oil onto a wok.
2) When hot enough, add the garlic, followed by the mushrooms.
3) Add the package of Ma-Po sauce.
4) When the sauce starts boiling, add the tofu cubes.
5) It's done when the sauce starts boiling again.
6) Garnish with green onion.

New Beginning

Today is my 3rd day as a vegetarian! Yay! I love it and I'm not turning back. I had always love to eat and being Chinese, meat was at every meal and on top of that I constantly had cravings for stuff like Hot Dogs/Corn dogs, Ramen and Spicy Buffalo wings. Despite knowing about how the agribusiness industry is treating the animals, I turned a blind eye to it. I didn't want to think about it. But every once in while, my conscious would kick in and when I looked at my birdie friends, they seemed to be saying, "how could u do that, how could u do that Audrey, that's a chicken wing you're biting into!!!!". Anyways, so finally, I can't take it anymore and took a shot at being a vegetarian again. I feel that as an animal lover, I have finally taken a stand for what I believe in, that is the welfare and interests of the animal friends we share the planet with.