Tofu

by : Reiko Breakfast, Tofu

Southern Style Ticken and Waffles
南部風〝ティキン”＆ワッフル

Chicken and Waffles is probably the best example of a great sweet-savory dish.

To tell you the truth, I’ve never had chicken and waffles in my life, and then I started a plant-based diet.

But I was always interested in the concept, and this morning I decided to make my vegan version.

If I would make chicken and waffles, I knew my “chicken” had to be the southern style fried chicken.

I used super extra tofu from Trader Joe’s.

The tofu was microwaved for about a minute to remove excess water.

I tore pieces up so that each piece had an irregular shape to make them look like chicken.

They were marinated first for about 15 minutes, and then coated with spiced flour before deep-fried.

And voila!

How beautiful isn’t my “Ticken”?

And here is the end result.

The waffles were light, crunchy, and slightly sweet.

My Southern fried Ticken was placed on the waffle.

Served with fresh baby arugula/spinach and radish salad, homemade curried fig mayo, and a little drizzle of maple syrup.

This was absolutely delicious, y’all!

When you make a bite with everything, waffle, Ticken, salad, mayo, and maple syrup, the flavors explode in your mouth.

I would personally give it the title of the king of sweet-and-savory brunch.

After the big meal, I thought a little walk would be a good idea.

So my husband and I strolled down to the local farmers market.

I was really hoping to find figs, but no luck…

Instead, however, I found beautiful flowers, and my husband bought these bouquets for me.

The yellow color always brightens up my white kitchen and my spirit!

Happy Sunday everyone.

Note to myself…
Southern Style Ticken: super extra tofu (torn with hands), marinade (soy milk, a lot of Louisiana hot sauce; it curdles; keep it refrigerated), spiced flour (1.5 cup (more than enough but easy to work with) all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of paprika, salt)
1. Microwave tofu for about one minute and remove excess water. Sprinkle salt generously. Cover and refrigerate for 10~15 minutes.
2. Marinate the tofu in the marinade for about 15 minutes.
3. Put marinated tofu in the spiced flour and coat well. Splash the marinade on the tofu and coat with the flour again to create the clumpy bits. Deep-fry in 350F oil until browned and crispy.

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August 5, 2018

by : Reiko Jackfruit, Rice/Grains, Tofu

Taco Quinoa
タコキノア

I think I’m getting better with the timing, because I now have another “taco” dish for Tuesday!

I’m so proud of myself, but it’s probably not that difficult as we do eat some kind of “tacos” often.

For this particular occasion I cooked both Jackfruit and tofu as a main filling, so it was kind of a “deluxe” version.

The jackfruit, tofu, and all the fixings were served over red quinoa.

And a cherry on top was the chipotle cream made by my husband.

He has recently started wanting to make creams and sauces like this by himself.

He has watched me cooking for a long time, and he is now actually pretty good at it.

(To be honest, it makes me a bit sad although I’m immensely proud of him at the same time, when I think that he doesn’t need me anymore; I guess that’s probably how mothers feel when their kids grow up (lol).)

His chipotle cashew cream was delicious.

Tasty!!

Don’t worry.

The leftover JF and tofu were put to good use.

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July 23, 2018

by : Reiko Jackfruit, Salad, Tofu

Birthday Party with Tacos!
タコスでバースデーパーティー

Today we had an official birthday party for my husband.

Celebrated it with the family, and it was great to see everyone.

It was originally my mother-in-law’s idea, and she even offered her place for the party.

Since my husband always tells me not to throw a surprise party, so I didn’t hide the plan from him.

At the same time, I felt a bit bad because my mother-in-law maybe wanted it to be a surprise for him, and I took the fun away.

We decided to keep things simple and decided to make tacos, because we thought it wouldn’t be too complicated to feed vegans (basically the two of us) and non-vegans (everyone else).

I cooked non-vegan “meat” and my mother-in-law made the actual meat version.

(One of the guests thought the tofu was “chicken”!)

I also made black bean corn quinoa salad and baked three different kinds of cookies.

I initially thought about making a cake myself, but since I haven’t perfected the frosting (non-coconut flavored) yet, I decided to order it from Dulceria Bakery.

My husband picked this Mexican Cajeta Cake (caramel cake).

I thought it was a bit too sweet for me, but he liked it, so I was happy.

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July 14, 2018

by : Reiko Sandwiches, Tofu, Vegan Egg

Go Local! V-Egg Salad Sandwich
ローカルがいいね、Vエッグサラダサンド

I got beautiful whole grain English muffins from a co-op store.

While I was at the store, something caught my eye.

“Minnesota Local”.

Since we changed our diet and now pay so much more attention to what food we buy, certain key words get my attention, like vegan, plant-based, no preservatives, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, organic…

And “local” is also one of them.

Well, it’s actually a big one for me.

This green tomato chutney was produced by Urban Roots, a local organization that help “youth interns to develop leadership, entrepreneurial, and life skills” through their Market Garden, Conservation, and Cook Fresh Programs.

This is how I built this sandwich.

First, tomato and onion slices.

Spinach.

And then crunchy tempeh.

They look pretty awesome already at this point.

But wait.

It gets even better.

A heap of V-egg salad goes next.

Left-over V-egg salad goes into my pretty Pioneer Woman cup to be stored and enjoyed later.

Now here is the main supporting actor!

Green tomato chutney from Urban Roots.

I love when the producer lists the ingredients up front, not in small print hiding in the back.

This always means that the maker is proud of their product!

And I liked what I saw.

They apparently create wonderful flavors.

The tomato chutney was a GREAT addition to this sandwich.

The only other thing I need is a glass of home cold-brewed coffee.

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June 9, 2018

by : Reiko Main Dish, Mushrooms, Sandwiches, Tofu

Truly Awesome Blue Cheese Burger
凄いヨ！ブルーチーズバーガー

Blue cheese burger has always been one of my husband’s favorite burgers.

Remember?

I just made plant-based blue cheese using the recipe from this book.

Well, there was a reason my husband asked me to make the blue cheese first.

Since I couldn’t decide if I wanted to use tofu or portabella mushrooms for the “burger”, I decided to go with both.

Can you tell how beautifully the blue cheese melted?

Onion slices were placed first, and then teriyaki-balsamic glaze was generously drizzled over everything.

I mean, really, how awesome does this look?!

These burgers were prepared for the Memorial Day Weekend, and it was a perfect main dish.

Happy Thursday everyone.

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May 31, 2018

by : Reiko Asian Food, Tofu

Fresh Exotic Larb Salad
エキゾチック・ラーブサラダ

I was beyond excited when I found that larb salad can be prepared vegan at Nong’s Thai Cuisine Restaurant.

It was so good that I had to try making it at home.

I’m not a huge fan of seitan (or any gluten hunk), but when you really want the certain meaty texture, I do use a small quantity of it.

I also used fried tofu as the major part of the dish.

People think it’s a “meat” dish, but what really make this larb salad so special are fresh herbs and veggies,

Lime, mint, cilantro, scallion, shallots…

So fresh and delicious!

This flavor combination is no longer new to me, as I’ve been plenty exposed to Southeast Asian cuisine long enough, but it still strikes me as “exotic”, and I love it.

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May 12, 2018

by : Reiko Main Dish, Tofu

Hawaiian Miso BBQ Tacos
ハワイ風味噌BBQタコス

Sometimes I come up with a food idea because I want to use a certain ingredient.

I found a beautiful pineapple at a local grocery store, and it was so fresh and sweet.

This is how I eat.

I just peel the skin, and cut it up into big chunks.

Of course, I wanted to share it with my husband, but he does not like to eat big chunks like these.

So I decided to make pineapple salsa because I knew that is something he would enjoy.

Then, I had to think.

What kind of dish can I make to use this salsa for.

I did have some tofu and corn tortillas, so I decided to go for tacos.

Warm corn tortillas were loaded up with mashed avocado, miso BBQ glazed crispy tofu cubes, and of course, pineapple salsa.

This was a big hit, and my husband really enjoyed them.

Recently I was invited to an extended family’s baby shower.

Unfortunately I cannot attend the shower, but I wanted to send the future parents a card.

A little note enclosed with the baby shower invitation requested a book instead of a card, and I decided to get one of my favorite books to read as a child, “Guri and Gura”.

While googling the book, I found out that there is an English translated version, but it was so much more difficult to get (and ridiculously more expensive), so I got an original (Japanese) version, and I translated it myself.

I also thought it is kind of cool that this will be the baby’s first Japanese book to see.

It has been a long time since the last time I read this book, and I actually forgot exactly what the book was about.

So when I found out it was about the two mice who love to cook, I chuckled.

I guess I was already interested in food even as a young child…

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April 30, 2018

by : Reiko Asian Food, Rice/Grains, Tofu

Yakko Rice Bowl
冷奴どんぶり

You may ask what is “Yakko”?

Well, you probably already know what it is.

It’s another name for “tofu”.

I don’t know why but we often use the term “yakko” to describe tofu dishes.

Napa cabbage.

One of my favorite leaf vegetables.

It’s crunchy, juicy, and I love the crunchy texture and the slight sweetness.

Radish is something I almost always have in my fridge.

Rice, a slice of soft tofu, and a mountain of fresh veggies, as well as fixings, such as grated ginger and chopped scallion.

Simple garlic chili sauce: garlic chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, oil

Very refreshing and satisfying.

This is a kind of lunch I can eat everyday.

By the way, these plates are also hand-made.

Since I don’t have much experience, when I put glaze on, I have some rough idea of the color my plates are going to be, but other than that I really have no idea of how (how dark, light, etc.) they will look.

So it’s always a kind of surprise when I go pick them up at the studio.

Yes, I still need to practice, but it’s so satisfying to eat out of a bowl my hands created.

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April 8, 2018

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Breakfast, Tofu

Anything Goes Shakshuka
こんなのもいいシャクシュカ

Shakshuka was one of my favorite weekend breakfast dishes.

So when I switched to the 100% plant-based diet, I thought I would have to say good-bye to it forever.

But once I became more confident in plant-cooking, I thought maybe I could still enjoy the dish with a little twist.

So this shakshuka was made with soft scrambled tofu instead of poached eggs.

Well, anything goes, after all, when it comes to home-cooking right? (lol)

This shakshuka not only has a totally different look outside, but also contains a lot of yumminess inside, like lentils and eggplant,which makes the dish a little more substantial.