When I posted about seasoning rice, I got asked what I was eating it with. Well, here’s the recipe. It’s really hard to find gluten-free vegetarian options at Chinese restaurants. Most of the times I’ve been able to eat out, it’s been fried tofu, which is lovely the first few times but after a while starts weighing you down. Some things are just better to make yourself.

I didn’t press my tofu before making this but it would probably help the texture of the tofu. You could swap in tempeh cubes, seitan, or shredded chicken. To keep it gluten-free, make sure to use a wheat-free soy sauce.

Healthy Tofu Stir-Fry

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings)

• 1 block firm or extra firm tofu, cubed
• 2/3 cup bean sprouts
• 2/3 cup broccoli slaw
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar OR 3 Tablespoons liquid sweetener
• 1 Tablespoon sriracha sauce(optional)
• 2 Tablespoons cooking starch(arrowroot, tapioca, or corn) + 2 Tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil(optional)

Method:

1. Heat up a large frying pan over medium heat and toss in the tofu, bean sprouts, broccoli slaw, soy sauce, sweetener and sriracha. Mix thoroughly
2. Cover with a lid and let the contents steam until the vegetables are tender and the tofu has taken on a brown color, about 5-10 minutes.
3. Dissolve your cooking starch in the water and pour it into the pan. Quickly mix the contents around while the starch turns the cooking liquid into a glaze.
4. Finish with salt and sesame oil if using. Serve hot with vegetables or rice.

This goes great with seasoned rice or healthy Chinese broccoli. I wouldn’t omit the sweetener or it would taste rather bland. If you don’t use the sriracha, add about 1/2 Tablespoon of rice vinegar instead to make the flavor pop.

Hi, again. I’m back after a short posting hiatus. I figured I needed to post something if only so that my parents don’t think I died. I’ve done plenty of writing over the past few days, but not about food; it’s mostly been commentaries on ancient elegiac and epic poetry, and I figured no one wants to read that(I don’t even really want to read that). And cooking? Oh, cooking. Well, there’s plenty of time for that now.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I really don’t like sriracha sauce—at least not on its own. It’s far too spicy for me; even just thinking about pouring large amounts of it over food makes jump back. I do, however, love the flavor it adds to sauces with a little sweetness to balance the heat. I’ve made this sauce with maple syrup and soy sauce a few times lately and poured it over everything: Lentils, quinoa, eggs—there’s no bad combination.

If you’re a sriracha fan, I’m sure you’ll love this. Even if you’re not a sriracha fan, give it a shot and you might just be surprised how much you like it.

Maple-Sriracha Lentils

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

• 1 cup dry lentils
• 3 cups water
• 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons sriracha sauce

Method:

1. Cook the lentils for 30-40 minutes in the boiling water until they’ve become tender and soaked up all the liquid.
2. Turn off the heat and add in the soy sauce, maple syrup, and sriracha and mix, letting the lentils sit over the burner for a couple minutes to absorb the sauce.
3. Serve hot or cold as leftovers.

The sriracha adds a great complexity to a sauce that’s only 3 ingredients. For a little more depth of flavor you can add a Tablespoon of toasted sesame oil at the end of cooking.

And now I have 6 weeks with not much to do and a full kitchen at my exposal so expect to hear a lot more from me.

The downside(or benefit depending on how you look at it) of making things like quinoa in big batches is that you have the same old food meal after meal. Luckily, quinoa is one grain that’s easy to dress up. You can eat it in the morning in place of oatmeal, or later on in place of rice. Here I used it to make a tasty, higher protein version of fried rice.

I’ve never really found rice interesting, even as fried rice from a halfway decent Chinese takeout restaurant. This, however, I could eat meal after meal. The vegetables and egg add a play of textures and the quinoa has a nice nutty flavor to it to compliment the sesame oil. Add some stir-fried tofu or chicken and you’re good to go.

Of course, if you have leftover rice you could make the same recipe subbing in rice for quinoa and have a more traditional dish.

Fried Quinoa

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients(makes 2 servings)

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce(use wheat-free tamari for a gluten-free meal)
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized chunks
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 4 eggs

Method:

1. Heat the oil and soy sauce in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until the oil starts to bubble.
2. Add in the onion and sauté until translucent.
3. Add in the quinoa, pepper, and bean sprouts. Toss the pan to mix. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa on the bottom of the pan begins to pop.
4. Crack the eggs directly into the pan. Lightly mix them in with the other ingredients. Continue mixing until the all the whites and yolks have cooked through.
5. Plate and serve hot. Can be kept in the refrigerator and reheated as leftovers for up to 3 days.

I ate this as leftovers and it was most definitely better the next day, with a strong, nutty sesame flavor and crunchy bean sprouts.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions on tempeh recently. I want to put all my thoughts into a post about it but until then you’ll only get recipes, which is pretty good considering half the time I eat tempeh it’s raw, cold from the fridge. I would not suggest eating it that way if it’s you’re first time; it would be a horrible, bland introduction to something that can be so tasty.

If tofu is soy chicken, tempeh is soy beef. It’s much firmer, earthier and has a chew to it. Naturally it’s a great vegetarian substitute for beef in Asian dishes, like beef and broccoli. Since broccoli was one of the three vegetables I liked growing up(the other being carrots and olives), beef and broccoli was what I always chose on Chinese take-out night. This recipe keeps all those same flavors and textures, but with whole food ingredients anyone can enjoy.

You can substitute rice vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar for a more traditional ingredient list. I like apple cider vinegar here because it replicates the sweet, fruity flavor of plum sauce common in Asian cooking.

Tempeh And Broccoli(inspired by Caitlin)

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients(makes 2 servings):

• 1 block of tempeh, diced
• 6 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon soy sauce(or wheat-free tamari)
• 2 Tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, preferably toasted
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cups broccoli, steamed
• 1/2 onion, julienned
• 1 bell pepper, julienned(optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Combine the tempeh, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, agave, and chili powder in a large pan and heat it on a burner set to medium-high.
2. Cook for about 5 minutes flipping once until the liquid thickens up like a sauce.
3. Add in the broccoli, onion, pepper, and garlic powder. Continue cooking over medium heat until the moisture has boiled off of the pan and the onions turn soft(about 5 minutes).
4. Remove from the heat and season with salt. Plate and serve hot.

When this is cooked the tempeh should be fork-tender with a sweet, nutty flavor and fall apart in your mouth. It’s a great introduction to a food that could become your best friend.