CT Side-B – Unexpected greatness on the other side of the culinary world

Thailand Vegetarian Festival 2024
タイのベジタリアンフェスティバル

Thailand Vegetarian Festival, also known as J- (or Jae (Jay) Festival, started yesterday, October 2nd.

During this period many shops and restaurants offer vegetarian/vegan options.

I’ve heard that although they call it “vegetarian”, most of the food they mark as “vegetarian” are vegan, but I’m not 100% certain.

We found out that Chinatown is the place where you can really experience this festival, so we went to check it out.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the size.

There were so many vendors participating in this event.

The yellow sign indicates that the vendor offers vegetarian/vegan food.

These “Takoyaki” were very tasty!

There were also a lot of naturally vegan vendors, like fruit vendors.

I got one of my favorite fruits, jackfruit.

I only paid 50 baht for it, and it was delicious!

This intricately designed Thai tea ice cream bar was also tasty.

In the evening, they close the street to cars so that people can really enjoy strolling and experiencing the food from the street vendors.

We went there in the afternoon.

There were already a lot of vendors, and it was not too crowded, so we were happy that we got there early.

If you are interested in vegetarian/vegan food, check it out!

The festival goes until October 11th.

Today I went to Max Valu, a grocery store, and I was happy to find out that they are participating in this event as well.

They set up a nice sized vegan/vegetarian section inside the store.

I bought a couple of meals to try.

Supporting the businesses that are participating is my way of supporting the event.

I also saw some convenience stores offering vegetarian/vegan options during this festival.

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October 3, 2024

by : Reiko Sweets

Vegan Black Chocolate Cake
Vブラックなチョコレートケーキ

If you ask me, chocolate is always a good idea.

I made a cake with the same recipe when I had my father-in-law and his wife over for dinner in Minnesota.

It was a big hit, so I kept the recipe in my “keep” folder.

The only thing I changed was using coffee in place of water.

I always like to sneak some coffee in my chocolate treats.

I had to take a picture.

It looked like art!

I poured the batter into the pan, but I coulndn’t stop licking the batter stuck in the bowl.

So good!

This was where I was contemplating if I should use my finger (lol).

Just out of the oven.

Looked dark and so handsome!

I wanted to bake it in a round pan, but I didn’t have one.

I did have a brownie square pan, but I didn’t want to make a square cake, which would remind me of grocery store cakes (lol).

So I used my Shoku-pan bread pan, and it worked out great.

It’s not round but still looks elegant.

I thought about making ganache, but I decided to go with powdered sugar.

This cake is so moist and delicious.

It’s a perfect snack to enjoy during a break from my Thai language studying.

It’s going.

Slowly.

I really enjoy learning the grammar, and I can make simple sentences.

The problem is that I don’t have many opportunities to actually speak the language…

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September 30, 2024

by : Reiko Breakfast, Products, Tofu

Vegan Brunch in Bangkok
バンコクでヴィーガンブランチ

My husband and I both had craving for the western-style brunch for a while.

There is something about a plate full of breakfast food like a toast, “eggs,” and “sausage”.

I found good firm tofu at the grocery store I usually go to, and it worked great as scrambled eggs.

At the same store I found this vegan meat and decided to make breakfast sausage patties with it.

It’s a simple version.

I just added fresh herbs, garlic powder, and salt.

The texture is strangely similar to that of real meat.

They turned out great.

I was happy with both the texture and the taste.

According to their website, the main ingredient of this Meat Zero ground meat is soy protein, and the red color is from beetroot coloring extract.

https://www.meatzerobrand.com/en/meat-zero-plant-based-ground-meat/

I have mixed feelings about this as usual.

Since we switched to the mostly plant-based diet, I’ve been going back and forth regarding the use of high-processed vegan meat products.

A part of me does not want any in my diet, and another part of me thinks it’s okay to have a little bit.

I don’t think it is going to resolve any time soon, but I do know that I want to start making my own vegan meat again soon (once I’m a bit more comfortable in my new kitchen).

I love our little dining table for two.

My husband made us iced coffee with oat milk (yum!).

Very satisfied!

Do you like your scrambled “eggs” with ketchup or without?

I’ve been looking for good vegan butter.

I do see several vegan options here in Bangkok, but I haven’t found any which has the ingredients that I’m comfortable with.

So, for now I’m using peanut butter for my toast.

Good news is that I just got an immersion blender a few days ago, so I am planning to make my own vegan butter soon!

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September 28, 2024

by : Reiko Asian Food, Main Dish, Soup/Stew

Vegan Red Thai Curry
Vレッドタイカレー

When my husband bought this Massaman curry paste https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2024/09/18/, he also got the same brand’s red curry paste.

As the Massaman curry, the red curry paste has whole-food plant-based ingredients without preservatives.

https://siam.recipes/collections/curry-pastes

Once you cut up and sauté your choice of vegetables (and meat if you like; I used fried tofu), you just add the paste, water, and coconut milk.

Continue to cook, and when all the vegetables are cooked through, it’s ready to serve.

So easy!

I just added a little sugar and salt, but otherwise it was perfect!

It was creamy, rich, and delicious.

We had some leftover, and I look forward to red curry meal number two!

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September 27, 2024

by : Reiko Uncategorized

Vegan Matcha Madeleines
V抹茶マドレーヌ

The madeleine is so simple yet so delicious.

One of my favorite sweets.

You probably guessed.

Yes, I brought this pan from Minnesota as well.

It’s one of my favorite pans.

There are different madeleine pans, but I find this shape elegant.

With the recipe I use, I can make five.

As usual they disappeared quickly.

This time I didn’t perfectly follow my usual recipe and replaced some ingredients with what I happened to have in my kitchen at that time (e.g., all purpose flour for cake flour, etc.).

They still turned out fine, but I will go get cake flour next time to achieve a little more delicate texture I like in my madeleines.

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September 27, 2024

by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta

Homemade Pasta with Creamy Tomato V-“Meat” Sauce
ホームメードパスタとクリーミートマトV”ミートソース

Homemade pasta was another thing that I missed making and eating when we didn’t have a functional kitchen.

It seems to impress people easily, but making pasta at home is not that hard.

The dough looks a bit shaggy at this time right after it was mixed and formed into a ball, but…

Once it rests for 20 minutes or so, the dough becomes smooth and ready to be rolled out.

While my pasta dough is resting, I make sauce.

It’s a creamy tomato type sauce.

I also prepared crumbled tofu (marinated and fried), vegan meat (from a store, and cooked at home), and sauteed king mushrooms x garlic to add to the sauce later.

I didn’t have a rolling pin, so I used my husband’s can of soda (I just wrapped it with a parchment paper), and it worked perfectly (lol).

(I don’t want to buy a lot of kitchen tools if I don’t have to. I’m trying really hard not to clutter my small kitchen.)

The important thing about cooking homemade pasta (or store-bought pasta) is that you don’t want to overcook it.

Especially homemade pasta cooks so fast, and you want to make sure you take it out of the water when it’s still al dente.

Combining everything all together.

I got fresh Italian parsley from my planter.

So happy that I have easy access to a few fresh herbs.

Chopped Italian parsley and quick vegan “parmesan cheese”.

Lunch is ready.

I really should make pasta more often.

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September 25, 2024

by : Reiko Bread

Baking Shoku-Pan in Bangkok
バンコクで食パンを焼いてみた

Bangkok is a cosmopolitan city, like Tokyo, and you can find any kinds of food from all over the world.

Especially Japanese food is easy to find in Bangkok。

It’s everywhere.

So, finding Shoku-Pan in Bangkok is not a problem.

You can even find specialty stores that sell authentic Japanese Shoku-pan.

However, finding “vegan” Shoku-Pan is a challenge.

But that’s okay.

Because I came prepared.

I don’t know how many people pack their bread pans, but this made it into my suitcase from Minnesota.

The flour and yeast I bought here are working great.

Dough rises very well.

I’m still loving my bee wax wraps.

I’m so proud that I haven’t bought plastic wraps.

What can I say?

My oven rocks!

I’m almost feeling bad that I doubted you, Mr. Oven.

When I looked for an oven, there were a few things that were important to me.

One of the things was the size.

I wanted at least 30 L just so that I could bake Shoku-Pan.

And I’m glad that my 30 L oven handled Shoku-Pan baking perfectly well.

The kitchen smelled SO good!

The bread turned out amazing!

So soft and fluffy.

A little note for myself.

*This is for a 1.5-KIN pan.

*Milk = I used soy milk

*Warm = lukewarm

*1 teaspoon yeast = approx. 3g

*Baked for 30 min.

*Cover the top with parchment paper once it turns brown.

By the way it was a nice sunny day yesterday, perfect for laundry.

When we lived in the U.S. I never hung laundry outside because we had a dryer inside the house.

It was convenient because we could do laundry anytime even when it was pouring rain.

Now we hang laundry outside, and I don’t mind doing it.

One. I now have time.

(If I was still working full-time, I would feel very differently!)

Two. I like the smell of the sun on the clothes and towels.

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September 23, 2024

by : Reiko Bangkok Restaurants, Eating Out

Vegano Bangkok – Whole Pizza
バンコクで大好きなヴィーガンピザ、今回は一枚丸ごと。

I already talked about Vegano Bangkok ( https://vegano-bangkok.com/ ) which serves awesome vegan pizza in this post. ↓

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2024/08/06/

We’ve been going back quite regularly, and recently my husband declared “Pizza Sunday”, so I have a feeling that we will continue to be there a lot (lol).

In my previous post I posted pictures of slices, but now we mostly order a “regular”, so I decided to post pictures of a whole pizza pie so that you can see what it looks like.

We usually order Vegan Thai Spicy Chorizo.

Like I said in my previous post, everything is exceptional, from the crust, sauce, vegan meat, to the vegan cheese.

But on this one, the pesto is also a must-try.

It has such a unique taste.

I don’t believe it’s basil.

My guess is kaffir lime leaves???

We usually finish this 12-inch pie, the two of us, for dinner.

With a can of lemon raspberry soda.

I’m not a huge fan of pizza.

But for their pizza, I happily agree to have a weekly pizza night!

Theirs is really the best vegan pizza I’ve had.

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September 23, 2024

by : Reiko Sweets

Vegan Lemon Rosemary Cake
Vレモンローズマリーケーキ

Okay.

My oven works.

I baked Ciabatta.

Now I baked a cake.

So, this means moving forward I can’t blame my oven if things do not turn out well! Ha ha.

To make a lemon cake, I went to a grocery store to get lemons.

They had yellow-colored lemons that I was familiar with, but they were also selling these green ones as “lemon”.

Well, it was written in Thai, but my translation app clearly indicated they were “lemon”s.

Whatever it was, it gave this cake wonderful citrus tartness I was looking for, so I was happy.

I also decided to use rosemary from my little garden for the cake.

I chopped it finely and added it to the cake batter.

Just out of the oven.

It made the kitchen smell so good!

A lot of lemon icing drizzle went on top.

The more the icing, the happier it makes my husband. 🙂

I decorated the cake simply with fresh pomelo, Thai “lemon”, and rosemary.

The cake turned out wonderful.

It was so moist, and the sweetness was spot-on.

Very happy with the result.

I used Ms. Anthea’s recipe as a base.

https://www.rainbownourishments.com/vegan-lemon-olive-oil-cake/#recipe

I highly recommend it.

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September 22, 2024

by : Reiko Bangkok Restaurants, Restaurants

Delicious Vegan Japanese Food in Bangkok
バンコクで美味しいヴィーガン和食

Today we decided to check out Asiatique, a night market.

So, I searched for a restaurant near Asiatique so that we can have lunch before heading to the market.

I found Veg Japan on Google Maps.

The reviews and the menu looked both good, so we decided to give it a try.

It’s about a 20-minute walk from the Saphan Taksin BTS station.

The sidewalk is adequately wide, and it’s an easy walk.

We enjoyed looking at local shops and restaurants along the way.

Veg Japan is hard to miss because of the Japanese lanterns in front.

We got there around 12:00 noon, and it looked like they had just opened.

Inside the restaurant you’ll find a lot of nostalgic old Japanese posters.

They are a vegetarian/vegan restaurant, but apparently, they pay close attention to details of everybody’s dietary needs!

They clearly mark each item on their menu with “Vegetarian”, “Vegan”, “Shojin (no onions, garlic, etc.)”, “Indian Vegetarian (no eggs or alcohol, but may include dairy), and “Islamic halal (no alcohol)”.

Pretty impressive.

We both started with cold green tea.

Hydration is always important in Bangkok.

There were so many things I wanted to try, but I decided to go for vegan sushi platter.

I absolutely loved it!

Everything was delicious.

I was skeptical of the vegan salmon and tuna, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Their texture was spot-on.

I wouldn’t have known it was not real fish if not told!

Oh, the Konnyaku with miso sauce was amazing, too.

My husband had Imo-Katsu Teishoku (set).

The sweet potato Katsu was perfectly fried and wonderfully crispy.

The set came with rice, miso soup, three kinds of pickles (generous amount!), braised broccoli, and burdock-carrot Kimpira.

He absolutely loved everything.

We will definitely go back.

Hopefully soon.

It’s a bit away from where we live, but it’s worth the trip.

They have a noodle soup and an eggplant dish I’m interested in, so I want to try them next time, although it will be hard not to have the same sushi platter again (because it was so good!).

And believe it or not, today’s lunch only cost $20!

ーーーーーーーーーー

After leaving the restaurant we did go to Asiatique as planned.