by : Reiko Main Dish, Rice/Grains, Tofu

V-“Chicken” Kebabs
Vチキンケバブ

Kebabs are exciting.

Even if you are eating the same food, the skewers make it exciting (well at least to me!).

The idea came when I perfected my vegan “chicken” by using the convection oven function.

This time I added some additional spices to flavor my “chicken” including cumin, ginger, paprika, and cinnamon.

I buy the commercial sized cumin.

You can tell how much I like this spice.

I also cooked some vegetables.

As you can see, I cook everything first and then put them on the skewers.

It may not be the “correct” way to make kebabs, but hey, it works.

I cooked this basmati rice with turmeric to add the bright yellow color.

Doesn’t it look great?

Did you see the beautiful creamy sauce on the dish?

Well, these are the secret ingredients.

I bought this Punjabi pickle a while ago at an Indian grocery store.

It has a very strong tanginess, and I was not able to eat it by itself.

So, I almost thought about throwing away.

And then I decided to add this along with the mango chutney to my vegan mayo, and it turned out amazing!

They both already contain a lot of spices, and they give this complex flavor that it would be hard to create from scratch.

These also work well when added to yogurt.

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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓　There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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by : Reiko Rice/Grains, Tempeh

Tempeh Fritters with Grapefruit Acar
テンペフリッター、グレープフルーツピクルス添え

One of my favorite Food Network shows is “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives”.

It’s entertaining (Love Mr. Fieri!), and also I get a lot of food ideas from the show.

Yes, most restaurants featured are not vegan, but that’s okay.

Veganizing cool dishes is a part of fun, if you ask me.

One of the dishes from the show that recently got my interest was “tempeh fritters” being served at an Indonesean restaurant, called Hardena. ↓

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tempeh-fritters-8891235

They make their tempeh from scratch, but I simply skipped the process and used the one from Trader Joe’s.

I did go grocery shopping to get some ingredients, like this one, Sambal Oelek.

But I also substituted a few things.

I didn’t have pineapple, so I used grapefruit instead.

This sweet and spicy pickles were so tasty.

Loved the fruitiness and freshness from the grapefruit.

I think it worked well.

I improvised the fritter batter, and it turned out great!

Vegan batter: AP flour, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, scallion, (I forgot to add turmeric. Maybe next time.)

The tempeh fritter was a good idea, but this addition of Indonesian pickles was brilliant.

I also had a little fun project for this meal.

I bought this at Daiso, a Japanese “dollar” store while we were in Hawaii.

This rice ring gadget worked so well!

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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓　There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Mushrooms, Rice/Grains

Veggie Tempura Rice Bowl
ベジ天丼

Tempura is my guilty pleasure.

You can really use any vegetables for tempura, but this time I happened to have some interesting things to use.

This was my first time to make tempura with Enoki mushroom, but when it was made into tempura, it became super crispy and the flavor was concentrated, which made it delicious.

Another thing I wanted to use was “Shiso” leaves.

The Shiso tempura was a huge hit too!

By the way this is how I store my Shiso leaves.

Put them in a glass of water, loosely cover the whole thing with a plastic bag, and refrigerate it.

I find that this keeps them fresh for a long time.

The big tempura in the middle is a mixture of onion and carrot, which is another favorite of mine.

Simple but tasty.

The tempura rice bowl is served with Kombu-broth (“dashi”) based sauce.

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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓　There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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by : Reiko Rice/Grains, Soup/Stew

Minnesooota Wild Rice Rye Berry Cream Soup
ミネソタ・ワイルドライスライ麦クリームスープ

Wild rice is considered a local food of the state of Minnesota.

I love its unique texture and nutty taste.

If I had a restaurant, I would make sure to have at least one dish that features wild rice to attract tourists.

Interestingly, there aren’t many restaurants that serve wild rice dishes.

My mother-in-law was given wild rice by her sister, and she shared some with me.

Along with the wild rice in this soup you’ll see rye berries (from my brother-in-law’s farm), onion, corn, broccoli, etc.

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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓　There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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by : Reiko Main Dish, Rice/Grains, Vegan Egg

Vegan Loco Moco with Lilikoi Mayo
リリコイマヨがけヴィーガンロコモコ

We had such a nice vacation in Hawaii this winter.

Each state has its own special food, but Hawaii has a selection of distinctively unique local dishes.

Loco moco is one of their popular dishes, and as much as I wanted to try it there, it was tough to find a vegan version that appealed to us.

So a few weeks later, back home in Minnesota, I decided to make it myself.

I started with making my vegan egg.

Check out this page to see how I make my vegan eggs. ↓

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/recipes-ive-tried-and-liked/

For the hamburger I used the Beyond brand’s burger.

I cook almost all our meals, but my husband is in charge for hamburger-cooking.

I guess we still keep some tradition even after switching to the plant-based diet.

Since we are making a Hawaiian dish, why not using an ingredient that was made in Hawaii?

I made passionfruit mayo with the passionfruit (lilikoi) jam I got from Hawaii.

This gives a nice sweet and tart flavor.

I have a link to my favorite vegan mayo recipe on this page as well. ↓

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/recipes-ive-tried-and-liked/

Doesn’t it look good or what?! 🙂

This definitely satisfied my Loco moco craving!

Aloha!

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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓　There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Rice/Grains, Vegan Meat

V-BLT Sushi Roll
V-BLT巻き寿司

I try not to post two similar things in a row, but I thought this one may make sense, V-BLT sushi following the V-BLT sandwich.

Inside the roll you can see lettuce, tomato, vegan bacon, and avocado.

I’m still not the best at rolling sushi, and it’s not as tight as I would like, but at least it kept the shape intact when cut.

This is a soy sauce dispenser, but it’s a piece of art.

I love how it feels in my hands.

Which V-BLT would you pick?

Sushi or sandwich?

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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓　There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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by : Reiko Rice/Grains, Salad, Sweets

Ryemeal Cookies with Cranberries
クランベリー入りライミールクッキー

So remember my brother-in-law got rye from his farm coarsely milled and gave me pounds of it.

Since my attempt to use it as “oatmeal” (previous post) was successful, I decided to venture out a bit further.

This time I decided to make cookies using my mother’s “Anzac Cookies” recipe and replaced the oatmeal and coconut with the rye flakes.

These turned out great!

Thin and chewy.

Exactly the way I wanted them to be.

Well one of the reasons I bake these yesterday was that we had a big family reunion, and I thought it would be fun to bring it to the potluck especially it took place at the farm!

It was a big hit, and I was glad I brought these.

The best thing was it became a conversation starter, and I think people can now remember me as the “rye cookie lady”!: since it is a large group of relatives, and we don’t meet often, thus, it can be hard for people to remember me.

Another thing I brought to the reunion was this rye berry salad.

This also features the rye harvested from the land.

A lot of people commented that they liked the salad, too.

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by : Reiko Breakfast, Rice/Grains

Caramel Apple Pie Ryemeal
キャラメルアップルパイ・ライミール

Yes, you read it right.

It’s ryemeal, not oatmeal.

My brother-in-law was at a tractor show the other day, and he found someone who was grinding wheat.

He asked the guy to grind his rye, and he agreed.

He only coarsely milled it, so these are like flakes.

Rye flakes cook beautifully in a microwave oven.

Just like oatmeal.

I served the hot ryemeal with fresh apple, lightly toasted almond slices, unsweetened plant yogurt, date caramel (dates, water, salt), and cinnamon.

This was so hearty and delicious!!

I will definitely make it again.

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