by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta, Potatoes/Squash, Soup/Stew

Curry Udon with Tempura
天ぷらカレーうどん

Curry Udon is one of the ultimate comfort foods in Japan in my opinion.

The Japanese curry soup is rich and so flavorful, and the udon is thick and chewy.

I can eat just that, but today I wanted my curry udon a bit special, and I made tempura.

I found these mini king mushrooms (if they are king’s babies, are they supposed to be called “princes”??? lol) at the local Asian grocery store, and they were made into tempura along with kabocha squash.

Love tempura.

I like almost any vegetables when they are made into tempura, but kabocha is definitely one of my favorites (eggplant tempura is another good one).

Doesn’t it look great?!

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Potatoes/Squash, Soup/Stew

Kabocha Thai Green Curry
かぼちゃタイカレー

The first time I tried Thai curry with Kabocha squash in it, I fell in love.

The sweet and soft squash was just perfect in the creamy spicy soup.

The restaurant that I know serves Kabocha Thai curry is a bit far from our house, and I’ve also learned that it may not be vegan; our waitress told us it was the first few times, and then another waitress said it wasn’t.

So I decided to make it myself.

I made a big pot.

Since we are having extremely cold weather in Minnesota right now, it’s not a bad idea to have a big pot of soup in the house.

Delicious, and very satisfying.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Noodles/Pasta, Soup/Stew

Curry Noodle Soup with V-Meatballs and Edamame
Vミートボール枝豆のせカレーヌードル

When I make Japanese style curry, I first enjoy it over rice.

Japanese curry is thick and rich, and it goes so well with rice.

I usually make extra so that I have left-over to make curry noodle soup.

I transform the curry into less thick broth to go with my noodles, by adding a few things, such as water, dry Kombu seaweed (to flavor the broth), sugar, and soy sauce.

The soup was delicious!

This time I added homemade vegan meatballs and edamame, and topped it off with scallion.

These meatballs get so juicy when they absorb the broth.

I hope everyone had a good start of the week.

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Leaf Vegetables, Rice/Grains, Soup/Stew

Broccoli Risotto with Mini Bok Choy and Lentils
ブロッコリーリゾット

I don’t know why, but any dish that looks green makes me smile.

I guess it’s a happy color for me.

These mini bok choy was from a local Asian grocery store.

It was so fresh, cheap, and delicious!

Broccoli risotto was accented with a little white miso that gave some richness to the flavor.

The risotto was served with sautéed mini bok choy and crunchy lentils which had been flavored with sweet and spicy soy glaze.

Can a healthy food like this be a comfort food at the same time?

Well, I have to say yes.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Noodles/Pasta, Soup/Stew

L-Style Dan Dan Noodle Soup
Lスタイル担々麺

Dan dan noodle soup is rich, spicy, flavorful, and warm.

Noodle soup makes you warm, but dan dan noodle soup seems to make you particularly warm, maybe because of the spiciness and the richness in the flavor combination.

The traditional dan dan noodle soup has spicy ground meat as the main topping.

My version has mashed lentils, and this was an awesome idea (if I may say so myself!).

I loved the texture and how they soaked up the soup.

The soup is rich, flavorful, and spicy, just the way I wanted.

Noodle soup has always been my comfort food.

It always makes me warm, physically and my soul as well. 🙂

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by : Reiko Bread, Soup/Stew

Broccoli Cheddar K-Soup
ブロッコリーチェダーKスープ

I love soup.

I though I tried almost every kind of popular soup.

But then I realized that I had never had broccoli cheddar soup.

At a restaurant or at home.

Never!

Since I had this awesome homemade vegan cheddar cheese in the fridge, I decided to go for it.

I did a little research on how to make it, and then I realized that ingredients are so simple.

I wanted my version a bit more whole-food friendly, so I decided to add a secret ingredient: Kabocha.

Creamy, cheesy, rich, flavorful, yet, not heavy.

The cheddar melted beautifully, and I was just amazed by how well delicious this soup turned out!

And lucky me.

Earlier I went to my favorite vegan bakery and got these beautiful croissants.

Loved every single bite!

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Bread, Potatoes/Squash, Soup/Stew

Potato Chickpea Curry with Roti
じゃがひよこ豆カレーとロティ

I like Indian food, especially curry.

If I had to choose one country’s food to eat for the rest of my life (besides Japan’s), it may have to be Indian food.

This smells so good.

So does the whole kitchen!

Actually, the main reason I made curry was I needed something that would go well with my homemade roti.

I tried this recipe, and I really enjoyed the whole process, including forming the dough into these cute little guys before flattening them.

The roti turned out great!

Warm, soft, and flaky.

Perfect!

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by : Reiko Potatoes/Squash, Soup/Stew

Chili and Chips
チリ・アンド・チップス

Chili and Chips!

First, chili.

I used my homemade vegan meatballs.

They were roughly crumbled and they kept their texture in chili really well.

Potatoes are not probably the typical thing that accompanies chili, but why not?!

I oven-baked them, and they turned out delicious!!

I probably like these more than fried ones.

I like my chili with something sour, cheesy, and creamy, so that’s what I made.

This is cashew-based, and you can do so much with the nuts.

More fixings.

This was my first time to have potatoes with chili, but I really liked it!

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by : Reiko Soup/Stew

BB (Basic and Best) Roasted Veggie Soup
BB（ベーシック・ベスト）ローストベジスープ

It feels like winter just hijacked our state.

Fall came and went too quickly this year.

One of my favorite things to make this time of the year is soup.

Roasted veggie soup is so simple yet so delicious.

This mug is the perfect size for soup.

The handle is big and easy to hold.

I also love the organic texture.

This is rather the type of soup that you “eat” instead of “drink”.

And I’m perfectly okay with it.

If you add lentils like I did this time, it can be a meal itself.

This soup was simply finished with salt, pepper, and some herbs.

This way you can really appreciate the flavors from the beautifully roasted vegetables.

I sometimes make a big batch, and then add things the next few days so that we won’t get tired of eating the same thing, although we usually finish it without having a chance to do so!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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by : Reiko Rice/Grains, Soup/Stew

“Z” Keema Curry
Z キーマカレー

Keema Curry is typically made with ground meat.

I happened to have homemade plant-based “ground meat”, and I decided go for it.

My other co-star in this curry is zucchini.

I always try to find a way to sneak in some seasonal vegetables in my dishes.

Served with brown rice.

Delicious!

We’ve been having unexpectedly hot weather in Minnesota the past few days, and this curry was perfect.

It’s funny that we tend to enjoy eating spicy food on a hot day, but it’s always true.

And like any other curry, it tastes better the next day.

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