TGiPho!

Readers, I don't know why I haven't made Pho before. I love the fragrant soup, the drama of adding toppings to your bowls, fixing the spiciness with green chilies and siracha sauce. It's hard to find vegetarian pho, at many Vietnamese restaurants, their vegetarian option is a version of Tom Yum, spicy and sour and delicious, but I end up jealous of my meat-eating friends and their bowls that smell of cinnamon and ginger and star anise.

In the Bay Area you can find several vegetarian vietnamese restaurants, and my favorite is Tofoo Com Chay in San Jose.   I think the owners of these restaurants are followers of Supreme Master Ching Hai and her message of veganism and climate responsibility.  Supreme Master fliers are on hand in the restaurant--I particularly like the messages from the animals.

This recipe makes enough broth for 8 servings of pho.  Or you could do what I did, have some that night, and save the broth in the freezer for 6 more bowls of pho! 

It's a very simple broth that can be adapted in your bowls.  Top it as you like, with more or less chilies and vegetables and herbs.  We can't find many of the garnishes provided in California pho shops like Thai Basil or culantro, so we just use cilantro and mint.  The first night I made the pho, we had tofu, the second we used my victory seitan. We found some pea sprouts at the local grocery, and that was really good.  Anything goes!

An added bonus: our house smelled amazing while the broth was simmering!

Vegetarian Pho

Makes 8 servings

Takes 1 (busy) hour

For Broth

2 medium onions

1 4-inch piece of ginger

1 cinnamon stick

5-6 stars of anise

6 cloves

For Bowls

Steamed cabbage

Noodles

Bean sprouts

Pea sprouts

Sliced shallots

Sliced green onions

Tofu

Seitan

Cilantro

Mint

Green Chilis

Lime

In the broiler or on the stove, char the onions and garlic until the skins are mostly blackened.  Let cool.

In a large pot, on medium heat, toast the cinnamon, star anise and cloves until they are very toasty and fragrant (do not burn!).  Add 10 cups of water, and bring to a boil on medium high heat.

Meanwhile, your ginger and onions should be cool.  Peel the onions and ginger, and then rinse them under water to remove all the charred bits.  Chop coarsely and add to the pot.  When the pot comes to a boil, turn the heat down to simmer, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

While that is happening you can prep your ingredients for the bowls.  For the noodles, place the dry noodles in a large heat-proof bowl and cover with bowling water.  Cover the bowl and let steep for 20 minutes.  This should be enough to cook the noodles, but gently simmer them for 5 to 10 minutes more if they are not cooked.

I like to cut my tofu into blocks and saute them on medium heat until golden on all sides.  I then cut them into little rectangles.

Thinly slice shallots and green onions, green chilies.  You can't see it in any of the pictures, but I gently steamed some cabbage for our pho as well.

By this time your broth should be ready.  Uncover the pot and take in the amazing smell.  Drain, very carefully, it's a big pot of hot liquid! Return the broth to very low heat and add 1 Tablespoon of salt.  Keep it warm, assemble your bowls.

Check the saltiness of the broth and add as much more salt as you like.  You can later add soy sauce or hoisin sauce to the individual bowls.  Pour into the bowls and enjoy! 

Thanks ladies!

Seitan is mine

Friends!  I did it, I made seitan, and it was delicious!  You may remember the Thanksgiving wheat meat disaster, in which I produced an inedible, squeaky, bland loaf.  I was dispirited, but I persevered, thanks especially to my good friend and seitan cheerleader, Abby.  She had sent me a recipe a while back, and she is such an advocate for thoughtful, impromptu cooking, that I just gave it a go with what I had.  The resulting seitan, was very tasty, with mushroom stock flavor and an aromatic whiff of clove.  I was apprehensive about the texture, but it was perfect, soft but with a good heft and density.  Even Paddy liked it!

After making it, I sauteed it to crisp it up, and put it into homemade veggie pho.

You can see it poking out from under the cilantro and mint.  So good!  The following day, I sauteed some sliced seitan with leftover brussels sprouts and rice.  Delicious!  I used it the day after that on pizza.  I sliced the seitan into strips and sauteed them with fennel seeds and a pinch of smoked paprika to make 'pepperoni'.  Yum.

Have fun experimenting with different flavors and uses for the seitan.  I know I will!

Seitan

Adapted from Abby Glogower's Recipe

Makes 2 generous servings (or enough for 1 person for 3 meals)

Takes 1 hour

1 mushroom bullion cube (I used Harvest Sun--if you have any stock, use that)

2 cups of water

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

dash of ground cloves

dash of pepper

1/2 cup Vital Wheat Gluten

a pinch of paprika and a pinch of pepper

1/8 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

In a shallow, wide pot (large saute pan works), bring the bullion, water, onion, garlic, pepper and clove to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine vital wheat gluten with the spices.  Add in the soy sauce and water, and combine with your hands until a dough forms.  It will be very wet, and a bit elastic, and will glom together.  Pull off eight evenly sized bits (you can divide dough in half, and each half into half, etc, to make sure the pieces are evenly sized), and flatten into patties.  Add to the simmering broth, spreading them out in the pan to give them room to grow, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed.  Turn the pieces over every 5–10 minutes to make sure both sides cook evenly.

Let me know what you use it for!

Pepper Stew with Corn Dumplings

As promised, Pepper Stew with Corn Dumplings. This recipe is based on a version my good friend Balázs made when he visited me in Berkeley a few years ago. He and his brother were on an American tour, and they called home to their mother in Budapest to make sure they were making the lecsó properly. It's a famous dish, and the Pixar film Ratatouille was called L'ecsó in Hungarian--the homey pepper stew substituting for the eggplant one that touches the grouchy critic's heart and inspires him to proclaim, "Anyone can cook!"

Balázs and Korecs took such care, peeling their peppers, and slowly cooking the tomatoes and onions. It was the height of summer, and everything was so fresh and delicious. This is a quicker version, vegetarian, which is not very authentic, and using canned tomatoes, but delicious all the same. We usually eat this over brown rice, and sometimes with a dollop of yogurt. The other night I had the brilliant idea to make dumplings for the stew, it was genius, I have to say.

Pepper Stew with Corn Dumplings
Makes 4 servings
Takes 1 hour

1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
3–6 peppers, Hungarian peppers ideally, but red peppers otherwise (not green--they go to mush!  Also, if you are using Hungarian peppers, be sure to remove the stems and seeds, they can be hot)

1 500 ml (16 oz or so) canned tomatoes

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons vegan margarine (or olive oil, or butter!)
1/2 cup ice cold water

In a pot, saute the onions and garlic on medium heat.  When they've softened, add the paprikas and saute until fragrant.  Add the peppers, and continue to saute until they've softened as well.  Add the canned tomatoes, salt, some black pepper, and turn down the heat to a simmer.

Combine flour, corn meal, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Mix in the margarine with your fingertips until the dough resemble course meal.  Add the water and combine to form a dough.  It will be heavy.  Divide into seven balls.  Drop them carefully into the stew.  Cover and simmer very gently for 20 minutes.  Check on the dumplings--they are done when you put a knife in them and they are cooked through.

The dumplings are like little pieces of cornbread that have already been dunked and soaked up all the juices!

Holiday Update (with recipe for apple cake!)

Happy New Year!  I think there's going to be a lot of good cooking this year, but first, some reflections on holiday baking.

My childhood friend Jessica's grandmother makes the absolute best Christmas Cookies in the whole-wide world, and following her recipe, I went a little crazy churning out dozens of Christmas trees, reindeer and little bells.  I used all the tricks, using only really cold dough, rolling out with powdered sugar, refrigerating again before going into the oven.  They came out beautifully!  They were so good with just a really simple milk and sugar glaze.

Perfect for a little snacking while opening presents, watching Harry Potter in pajamas, you know, the usual holiday activities.

I also went upscale with a champagne cocktail made with the elderberry cordial I made this summer.  So delicious (and classy!) with light, airy gougères!

Gougères are savory puffs, usually made with a hard cheese added to the dough.  I made them twice according to Dorie Greenspan's directions.  I followed the recipe exactly, except without the cheese.  On the second attempt, I forgot to turn down the oven, and baked them at 425 degrees for 24 minutes (turning the baking sheets half way through).  They turned out airier and crisper than the first attempt.

There was so much eating and cooking with friends and family!  I'll post just one more dish and include the recipe.  I made a vegan apple cake modeled on a delicious Italian apple tart that we had recently.  I looked into several recipes, but ultimately threw together my own.  It was so good!  And made the lactose-intolerant quite happy while the rest of us enjoyed a ridiculously indulgent trifle (or both!).

  

Apple Cake

Makes 10 servings

Takes 2 hours

3 medium apples
1 lemon, juiced
1 stick vegan shortening (or nut oil)

2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 cup grand marnier (I think bourbon would also be pretty good, or juice works too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coarsely crushed walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Peel, core and slice the apples, toss with lemon juice.

Melt 6 tablespoons of shortening in a large pyrex measuring cup.  Use the remaining two tablespooons to butter a 9 inch cake pan or springform pan.  What's left of that, put into a skillet to fry the apples.

On medium heat, saute the apples until they are golden and cooked, about ten minutes.  Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

To the melted shortening, add alcohol, honey, and vanilla.  Stir until honey is melted and everything is well combined.

Pour the wet and the walnuts into the dry and mix until combined.  Pour into the greased pan.  Arrange the apples in a pretty pattern on top.

Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours.  Cake will be done when cake tester comes out mostly clean.  It will be dense and a little chewy!

This cake tasted even better the next day and was great with a cup of tea.  I hope you enjoy it this winter.

Stay tuned!  Vegetarian Pho, homemade pasta, pepper stew with dumplings, orange bitters, ginger cake and more to come!

Happy New Year!