by : Reiko Asian Food

Korean Lunch
コリアンランチ

Here is the last post of the three-part Korean series.

And this was the reason why I decided to have Korean lunch.

I wanted to try the Korean liqueur called Mak Gul Li for a long time, and when I found out that a local liqueur store carries it, I didn’t waste any time to go and get a bottle.

Basil Korean Savory Pancakes.

Sweet Spicy Korean V-Chicken.

I also made a few side dishes.

The Mak Gul Li was not exactly what I had expected.

I guess I wanted it to be a little more sweet, tangy, and thick.

It was still pretty good though.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Vegan Meat

Dakgangjeong Korean V-Chicken
甘辛コリアンVチキン

Okay.

The Korean theme continues.

My husband recently picked up soy meat from an Indian grocery store.

He wanted me to cook it, and I thought this dish would be a good one for the occasion.

Doesn’t it look great or what?!

The sweet and spicy glaze was just so beautiful and delicious.

It coated the “chicken” very well.

The meat was supposed to be deep-fried, but instead I pan-fried it.

It still achieved the nice crunchiness outside, and I was happy with the result.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Vegan Fish

V-Scallop Basil Jeon (Korean Savory Pancake)
V帆立バジルチヂミ

Today I knew I wanted a Korean-themed lunch.

This is actually one of the three-part post.

I hope you come back to see the other two so that you’ll be able to see why.

I like Okonomiyaki, Japanese-style pancake, but I have to say I equally like the Korean-style one, Jeon.

This time I added vegan scallops (king mushroom!), red onion, scallion, and basil.

I know basil is not a typical ingredient for Jeon, but at the farmers market today I was not able to find garlic chive, which is a popular ingredient.

I actually really liked the basil in it.

Unexpected, subtle, but added a great flavor.

I prepared sauce for dipping, and my husband really liked it.

I actually liked the pancake itself and enjoyed it without the sauce.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Root Vegetables, Sandwiches, Tempeh

Shiso Renkon Banh-Mi
紫蘇蓮根バインミーサンドイッチ

When I have a sandwich, I usually feel like I should have another dish like soup or salad to go with it to provide additional nutrition, but with Banh-Mi I don’t feel that way because it’s full of vegetables and passes as a complete meal.

I usually make bread myself for sandwich, but for banh-mi I go to a specific Asian grocery store that sells this called “French Bread.”

It’s crunchy outside but soft and super light inside, perfect for banh-mi

I also bought Renkon lotus root from the same store today to use for the sandwich.

This is one of my husband’s favorites.

For the “meat” part I used Renkon and tempeh steak.

Inside the bread you’ll find homemade vegan “pate”, cucumber slices, tempeh and Renkon steak, pickled radish and carrots, and Shiso leaves.

The flavors are a bit different from the traditional one because of the use of Shiso instead of cilantro.

We loved it though!

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Breakfast, Tofu, Vegan Meat

Breakfast Spring Rolls
ブレックファスト生春巻き

Spring rolls are fun to eat, but not fun to make!!

I’m pretty good at folding things (e.g., pot stickers), but not so good at rolling things.

It’s hard to roll things tight, which is my problem.

This time I was faced with extra challenge, and some of them did not even close.

I probably put too much stuff inside.

But because of that you can see what’s inside (you have to find something positive in everything, right?).

If I remember it correctly, inside were homemade seitan meat, turmeric tofu, carrots, cabbage, peppers, noodles, sprouts, and cilantro.

Served with three different sauces, peanut, sweet chili, and black bean.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Noodles/Pasta, Nuts/Seeds, Tofu

Black Bean Noodles with Tofu, Walnuts, and Garlic Chives
焼き豆腐、胡桃、にら入り韓国ブラックビーンヌードル

I haven’t gone back to the Korean grocery store I recently discovered, but I’ still enjoying making Korean black bean sauce.

It goes with everything, and I usually make a big batch to keep in the fridge.

You can add anything to black bean noodles, but this time I went with tofu steak, garlic chives, and walnuts.

When I want something protein and crunchy, I like to use walnuts.

It works well not only in baked goods, but also in savory dishes.

It turned out to be such a tasty meal.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Rice/Grains, Vegan Egg

Enoki Tenshin-Han
えのき天津飯

Tenshin-Han is a Chinese dish popular in Japan.

It’s rice covered with omelet and served with thick sauce.

Tenshin-Han, is what we call this dish, but I’m not sure what Chinese people call it (or if it’s even a Chinese dish) or if it is served at Chinese restaurants in the U.S. and if so, what they call it.

I added a lot of Enoki mushroom, one of my favorite mushrooms.

It has a unique texture, and because of that some love it and others not so much (unfortunately my husband is not a fan of Enoki, so I feel a bit guilty buying them quite regularly; I made sauce without Enoki for him ).

I had craving for this dish, and it made me happy.

So good!

My vegan omelet (main ingredients are tofu and chickpea flour) turned out great too.

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by : Reiko Asian Food

Curry Tteokbokki
カレートッポギ

I got a bag of Tteokbokki from a Korean grocery store the other day.

I thought I would like it, but what I didn’t know at that time was that I would love it.

My husband is not a big fan of rice cake in general, but he even liked it.

So I was excited to cook it (or eat it) again.

The rice cake doesn’t have strong flavor, so I like to serve it in rich thick sauce/soup.

This time Japanese curry and Hijiki seaweed accompanied it, and it was a good idea.

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