I asked my husband what people eat on new year’s eve in the U.S., but I got the impression that there isn’t really any specific dish.
So I decided to make Chinese-themed food, which I’ve been having craving for.
Vegetable pot stickers.
Mapo Eggplant and Tofu.
Vegan “Duck.”
I also made fried noodles, fried rice, and broccoli with chili garlic oil.
My craving was completely satisfied!
Now I need a little nap (or workout actually) before dinner.
I love Banh Mi, but I don’t get to make it as often as I like.
Because this sandwich requires certain ingredients, I do need extra planning or time to make one if I have to make from zero.
Luckily today I happened to have several key ingredients already.
Thus, I was able to put this together without much hassle.
I just purchased Daikon radish and cilantro.
I had homemade vegan meat (actually two types of meat!) already.
I had some leftover dishes that could be put together to make “pâté”.
And when this idea came to me, I was at an Asian grocery store which sells the type of baguettes (soft and light) that were perfect for Banh Mi sandwich.
Doesn’t this look great?!
I used homemade “pork” and “chicken” vegan meat for this, and they worked great, by providing different flavors and textures.
Ta da!
You can probably see the meat better in this picture.
You can also see how strong I look (I’m not that muscular, but in this picture I look very strong, don’t I (lol)?).
Definitely satisfied my Banh-Mi craving!
I was in a mood for Chinese food.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a go-to Chinese restaurant to get takeout from.
(I really need to get serious about finding one soon!)
So I decided to make Chinese “takeout” myself.
It took me 10 minutes, but I found these takeout boxes I had bought a long time ago and almost forgotten about.
So I was all set.
Lucky me. I happened to have homemade vegan chicken in the freezer.
So I made General Tso’s Chicken as a main dish.
Steamed and sautéed baby bok choy.
Salt and Pepper Crispy Tofu.
And fried rice.
Super happy with my plate!
No you don’t need to put the food in the container, but eating out of the container is a big fun part of eating Chinese takeout.
Who is with me?!
When I’m in a mood for rolled rice, I usually go for sushi rolls, but this time I wanted something different.
So I made Kimbap.
Sushi is Japanese, whereas, Kimbap is Korean.
When people hear the word “sushi,” they often think sushi means “raw fish.”
But it has nothing to do with the toppings but everything to do with how to flavor the rice.
Sushi actually means sushi rice, which is cooked rice flavored with salt, vinegar, and sugar.
Kimbap, on the other hand, does not use the same flavoring for the rice.
Its rice is flavored with salt and sesame oil.
I like my rolls with a lot of toppings and a little rice so that I can eat many without getting full to quickly (lol).
This time inside the roll are vegan omelet, vegan meat, kanpyo, cooked carrot, and fresh spinach.
It makes a perfect lunch.
Since there is a lot inside the roll, you can just grab and go if you are busy, but it’s still a pretty nutritious meal itself.
(But if it’s served with miso soup, that will be ideal!)
If you see the previous post, you can see how I got here.
This spicy Korean soup is great as is, but it’s also wonderful when you add rice or noodles.
This time I decided to add oats, and it turned out absolutely delicious.
This may be my new favorite.
Super filling and satisfying.
It also makes you warm (and sweaty!).
It’s usually known as Sundubu Jigae, spicy Korean tofu soup.
But since this is Halloween, I asked my husband to give this a fun name, and Devil Spit was what he came up with.
Yes, it’s spicy, but it’s delicious at the same time.
We used to go to a Korean restaurant by the University of Minnesota campus that served this soup, but since theirs is not vegan, now I make my own at home.
And you know what?
Homemade one is as good as the restaurant’s, if not better!
Yangnyeom is Korean spicy and sweet sauce, and I had craving for something like this today.
So I made sure to buy gochujang when I was at the Asian grocery store today.
But when I was there I found beautiful garlic chives sold as “garlic I decided to somehow incorporate in the dish.
Very happy with the result.
The vibrant color combination was very appetizing too.
My vegan eggs (previous post) turned out perfectly today, and I wanted to make something to showcase them.
I looked inside my fridge, and it looked like I had enough food to put together a bowl of bibimbap.
I’ve made bibimbap many times before without an “egg,” but the “egg” definitely gives it a complete look.
It really is a game-changer!
Soba salad is one of my favorite kinds of salad.
I love noodles, but I make sure there are lots of veggies mixed with them.
You can really use any veggies you like, but this time I used green peppers, carrots, cauliflower, edamame, and radish.
Peanut dressing is so good.
It’s rich, creamy, and tangy.
Doesn’t this look good?
I initially thought I made too much, but it was gone in no time.
It makes a perfect lunch.
Here the salad was served with scrambled tofu and fresh arugula-spinach mix.
When we spent two months in Okinawa Japan last winter, we found a small Taiwanese restaurant in the city of Naha.
They served simple yet tasty vegan breakfast buffet, but locals all knew that their zongzi was what you have to get if you visit this small restaurant.
Apparently, they sell out often, and we were lucky to be able to buy a couple when we went there for breakfast.
We brought them home (our airbnb) and tried them for lunch that day, and they were absolutely delicious!
I’ve never thought of making zongzi at home, but my craving was so strong that I decided to give it a try.
I found these bamboo leaves online.
I did some research, and this seemed like the best quality I could get in the U.S.
I looked for Japanese sweet rice (just because I’m familiar with it), but I could only find this Thai one.
It worked just fine.
Zongzi typically contains pork, but mine was of course made meatless.
Instead, you’ll find lots of veggies, mushrooms, and chestnuts in mine.
My craving was completely satisfied!
