The Cooking Streak Continues: Aloo Gobi

Last night's dinner was a little too simple to truly enjoy thanks to my penchant for multitasking and stressing myself out. If I was going to extend the cooking streak to three days, I was going to need something to properly wreck my kitchen and double as my exercise for the night. Given my love of all things Indian (see: The Triple C, Vegetarian Korma, and Robin), I knew exactly how to complicate dinner to perfection. I would make my favorite bhendi and garlic naan to go along with newcomer aloo gobi and stress my tiny apartment kitchen to its limits (I'm quite ready to have the house full time).

Aloo Gobi
Adapted from Love and Lemons
Servings: 4
Time: 35 minutes

Poor tofu had to wait all alone for so long

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup firm tofu, drained well and cubed
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 small yellow potatoes, chopped into small cubes
3 tsp curry powder (plus more for tofu)
1 tsp cardamom (plus more for tofu)
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp grated ginger
1/3 cup water
1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 handfuls spinach
Juice of 1 lime
Cilantro
Red chili flakes to taste
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Just one of 3 pots I had going at once all for myself.

1. Sear the tofu in the olive oil over medium heat with a mixture of salt, pepper, curry powder, cardamom and red chili flakes.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side until a light crust forms. Set aside.
2. In a large pan, saute the onions in coconut oil over medium heat until tender and translucent.
3. Stir in the curry powder, salt, black pepper, cardamom, and cumin and coat well.
4. Add in the ginger, garlic, and potatoes. Stir once then let cook for 3-5 minutes without stirring.
5. Pour in the water, cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let simmer 10-15 minutes until the potatoes become tender and the water is evaporated.
6. Mix in the cauliflower and cook until tender 5-8 minutes.
7. Add the coconut milk, peas, spinach, and lime and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Stir in the cilantro and tofu to warm it back up. Adjust the seasoning and serve with naan.

So many things going on, but all of them working perfectly together for awesome veggie overload.

Aloo gobi was a fantastic compliment to the spicy bhendi and warm, comforting garlic naan. The potatoes, tofu, and cauliflower add much needed heartiness, while the peas and coconut milk bring just the slightest bit of sweetness. The curry and cardamom fuse it all together for a dish that tastes just as amazing as it smells and holds its own in the inevitable mixing of all components that is essential to any good Indian meal. 

Okra: an all-star in Cajun, Indian, and BBQ.

Stay tuned to see if I can extend the streak to four- a feat unheard of since the good old unemployment days of yore.

It's so pretty, multiple angles were required.

Sushi Saturday: Miso Soup

Sapporo may not have been used to make the miso, but it was instrumental in the night's success.

Kevin and I had a shocking realization this past week- We had not partaken in a massively extravagant cooking adventure in months. The most recent non-grilling event was our delightful Mother's Day Waffle-Off back in May (imagine that- law school, surgeries and jobs take up time), so it was time to revisit our cooking guy love with a vengeance! We would prove our culinary dominance and our bravery by having a night filled with the best Japanese cuisine has to offer- Miso, Tempura and Sushi.

Would we be able to rekindle our cooking chemistry with a one of a kind Sushi feast, or would we be felled by giant beers, sake and questionable fish?

Miso Soup
Adapted from All Recipes
Servings: 4-6

Soft tofu doesn't stand up to cutting well.

Time: 20 minutes

2 tsp dashi granules
4 cups water
2 tbsp red miso paste
1 tbsp white miso paste
8 oz silken tofu, drained and diced
2 Chinese Chives, diced into 1/2" pieces.

1. Combine the water and dashi in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in the tofu and green onion.
3. Simmer lightly for 3 minutes and serve.

I managed to not make a single "Miso horny" joke once all night! Adulthood achieved (Ahhhh, crap...)

While Kevin proved his manliness by getting oil scorching hot for deep frying the tempura (but more so I could cleverly force him to peel and devein all the shrimp), I took care of the standard appetizer fare of steamed edamame and miso soup. I was amazed at how simple it was to make miso. Seriously, just twenty minutes and essentially stirring like 5 ingredients into a pot of boiling and then simmering water is all that's required. Mixing red and white miso provided some complexity to our simple soup and allowed it to stand up to any restaurant miso I've ever had. We were definitely off to a great start to our flavorful journey to Japan (plus it's always super cool watching the miso clouds form and move about).

Kevin's fancy camera makes our mushy edamame look far more exciting than it was (note: be careful when steaming still frozen edamame). Also, enjoy the sneak peak of our tempura.

Stay tuned for the final two amazing chapter of Sushi Saturday: Sapporo Tempura and Sushi Rolls and Nigiri Galore! Watch as our creativity increases as a direct function of sake consumption!

The secret to fancy pictures is selective blurriness. Kevin's fancy camera makes me feel like I'm writing for an actual serious food blog. Take that, uninteresting tuna!

Grilled Pork and Tofu Bun Thit Nuong

My roommates and I decided to start the week out right with a wholesome family dinner. We were craving some bun thit nuong, but our favorite (and frequently mentioned) Vietnamese restaurant was closed, forcing us to make it ourselves. Luckily, we were only a great deal of chopping and some minor grilling and frying away from one of the freshest and most satisfying meals we could possibly imagine.


Grilled Pork and Tofu Bun Thit Nuong
Servings: Plenty
Time: 40 minutes

This dish is pretty much a test of your chopping skillz.

Cucumber, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
Jalapeno, thinly sliced and partially seeded
Carrots, julienned 
Scallions, thinly sliced
Pork
Firm tofu, drained and cut
Oil
Salt
Cilantro
Mint
Lime, cut into wedges
Fish Sauce
Sriracha sauce
Vermicelli, prepared according to the package
Weird, store bought tray of egg rolls

The "meat" options. Just skip the pork, fish sauce and egg rolls for a vegan dish.

The odd tray with some egg rolls

1. Prepare for maximum sous cheffery by cutting the cucumber, jalapeno, carrots, scallions, cilantro, mint, and lime.
2. Cook the vermicelli rice noodles as described by the box.
3. Bake the odd tray of egg rolls you bought then didn't use for a party as directed. 
4. Grill some pork. If you're lazy like we were, buy pre-marinated Asian Pork. If not, you can marinade it in some sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, honey, pepper, onion and garlic. If you have a grillmaster roommate, I recommend you let him deal with the raw meat while you prep the tofu.
5. Heat up some oil in a large frying pan (just enough to cover the bottom) and add your drained and cut tofu (try to cut the height into thirds and then the rest into eighths). Fry for about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden browned. Lightly salt before flipping. Then let the excess oil drain in a plate covered with paper towels.
6. Make the bowl of awesomeness that is bun by topping your vermicelli with the veggies, pork, tofu and egg rolls.
7. Dash on some fish sauce and sriracha to taste and enjoy.

My plating would have been perfect if not for the stray sriracha.

Most people judge the greatness of a Vietnamese restaurant by their banh mi (sandwiches), but, for me, the true test of a quality eatery is its ability to make some outstanding bun. Dating back to my excursions with Alex to the trendy hipster central Pho Cafe of Silverlake, I have been hopelessly in love with the rice noodle dish with all the right fixings. This family prepped meal showed me that I'm never more than about 40 minutes away from the utter delight of bun.

Dennis joins the cats in bread meme trend with some egg roll wrappers. I actually picked the least ridiculous picture of Dennis for this.

Every bit of this myriad of ingredients serves to make a complete dish. The cucumber and carrots add the necessary crunch to beautifully meld with the soft noodles, while the pork and tofu lend saltiness and heartiness and the mint, cilantro and lime round things out to give a veggie filled dinner beaming with freshness that can't be beat. The jalapeno and sriracha add some well appreciated kick to make sure all your taste buds are covered. Fortunately, we made enough to last a few more meals because this is definitely one dish I am not ready to be done with. More importantly, though, we were able to get rid of the impulse buy tray of egg rolls that had been haunting our fridge before it expired.

Indian Bonanza Part I: Vegetarian Korma & Crispy Tofu

You'll have to come back for part 2 to learn about the bhendi and garlic naan.

The other day I noticed something was amiss with my cooking lately. I hadn't made a vegetarian meal since I moved to Texas (despite what you might have heard, they don't actually force you to eat meat here), so I decided to remedy this with a good old fashioned Indian feast. After the Kaya Toast appetizers, I knew I had go all out to even hope to have the rest of the dinner at a close level of delicitude, so I made the amazing cashew curry known as korma, bhendi, crispy tofu and fabulous garlic naan.

Vegetarian Korma

Modified from Allrecipes.com

Servings: 4-6

Time: 60 minutes

Olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 potatoes, cubed

8 baby carrots, peeled and sliced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

4 oz tomato sauce

1 1/2 tbsp curry powder

3 tbsp ground, unsalted cashews

1 cup green peas

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

Salt to taste

Sriracha sauce for spice

Cilantro for garnish

1. Sauté the onion in oil over medium heat until soft and translucent.
2. Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for another two minutes.
3. Mix in the potatoes, carrots, jalapeno, tomato sauce, curry powder and cashews and stir for until the potatoes are tender.
4. Stir in peas, bell peppers, salt, sriracha and heavy cream. Cook covered at a low simmer for at least 10 minutes (but the longer you give it the more the flavors can develop).

Ever since the first time I had korma at Tara's Himalayan Restaurant, it instantly became my favorite. The cashew based curry is by far the premier dish to dip your naan into (just pretend you're carbo loading for a big race and keep eating). It has all the perfect combination of veggies and the right amount of creaminess to bring an entire meal together. If you're not a fan of tofu, you can substitute seitan into the dish for your veggie protein. Just add it at the end right before you cook it covered. It has a great texture to go with the dish.

Crispy Indian Tofu

Adapted from Eggless Cooking

Servings: 4

Nutritious and fun for building things

Time: 90 minutes (60 inactive) 

1 (14 oz) packet firm or extra firm tofu

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp curry powder

1tsp cayenne pepper

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salt to taste

My sweet tofu drainer

1. Squeeze the excess juice out of the tofu by wrapping it in paper towels and placing it between two plates with a weight on top (just use a can of food). Let sit for 20 minutes.
2. Cut the tofu in half then make approximately 2 cm cubes.
3. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a ziploc bag then add the tofu and coat evenly.
4. Let marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 425.
6. Bake the tofu on a cookie sheet for 25 minutes, turning once midway. 
7. If you don't want them crispy stop now, but if you do (and you should they're way better with a little texture) broil them for 10 minutes.

I've never been a huge fan of tofu because it's fairly hard to give it any flavor or texture (although it's great in tofu kale lasagna). Since I couldn't find seitan at HEB (shockingly it has a very small vegetarian "meat" section), I figured I'd give tofu another shot and found this wonderful recipe. Broiling it at the end is key to give it that crispy exterior that makes it much more pleasing to the palate. Although it did have good flavor to it, I would recommend doubling the spices in the marinade to boost it even more. The nice crunch paired quite well with the creamy korma to provide a solid first half to the Indian Bonanza.

Stay tuned tomorrow to learn how to make a delightful tower of garlic naan!

Judging by Alexis' plate, I'd say the meal was a success.