Vegetable Fried Rice

I've never made an Asian dish that tastes anything like it does from a restaurant, not to say my creations aren't delish, just not the same. This fried rice right here is the closest I have ever got to making it taste like takeout. In our house we eat it as a main dish for dinner and sometimes, on a special occasion, I'll throw in some egg rolls. This is another frequently requested meal from my husband and makes great leftovers!

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Vegetable Fried Rice
Prep time: 30 min (to cook rice) Cook time: 20 minutes Servings: 4
Recipe from: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/fried-rice-recipe/ 

Note: First, this recipe calls for Oyster sauce, which is not technically vegetarian friendly, but for those, like my husband, who can handle a little seafood, it is a great addition into fried rice! Second, I cheat a little and use a frozen pea and carrot mix for my veggies. Decreases prep time, which I love! And third, the recipe I follow calls for chilled rice, but I've tried it both ways and I haven't noticed much of a difference. 

3 Tb butter, divided
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups dried rice - I use brown jasmine
3 green onions, sliced
4 Tb low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. oyster sauce
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
salt and pepper

• cook rice according to package directions
• chop the onion and garlic and whisk the eggs
• Whisk together soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and green onion in small bowl and set aside
• Melt 1/2 Tb butter in large skillet over medium-high heat and cook egg until scrambled
• Remove egg from pan and set aside
• Melt 1 Tb butter in pan and cook onion until soft, then add garlic and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, making sure not to overcook or burn the garlic
• Then add the frozen peas and carrots to onions and garlic and cook until warmed through
• Add the rest of the butter to the vegetables to melt, then add the rice and fry the rice for about 3 minutes stirring frequently
• When rice is done frying, pour in the soy sauce mixture  and eggs and stir until combined
• Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat

Vegan Cuban Bowls

It's been awhile...once again. It's been so long since I've posted a recipe that I logged on to post a recipe and now I can't remember what I put in it...

But today I've got a FANTASTIC recipe shared with me by my friend Tiffany. Tiffany has a blog where she shares her great recipes. She makes great food, so I was really excited to try this recipe, especially since it uses plantains. I love them, but I've never made at home before. 

The key to the plantains (which Tiffany shared with me) is to let them get nice and dark. You pretty much want them almost black. This makes them sweeter and oh so yummy. My grocery store almost always only has green plantains. This time I bought two and one of them ripened in about five days and the other is still going. Be patient, it's worth it. 

And as you can see we did not eat ours in a bowl, any dish will do. My husband opted to eat his with some sour cream (non vegan), but I ate it without and it was still amazing. I also warmed my canned, rinsed beans with a little vegetable broth, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder just to add another layer of flavor. Oh and the coconut oil is also key. It brings such a wonderful hint of flavor to the dish. I don't like heat in my food, so I left the jalapeno out of the pico de gallo, but if you do, then leave it in!

My husband LOVED LOVED LOVED this recipe. He came home and saw the plantains and he was like a little kid in a candy store. He kept exclaiming how good it was and extolling my cooking talents. So, Tiff, thank you! My husband is now convinced I'm a wonder in the kitchen. 

 I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! 

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Vegan Cuban Bowls

Prep time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Servings: 3

Recipe from www.tiffanystriedandtrue.blogspot.com

For the Pico de Gallo:

1 cup diced tomato

3 Tb chopped cilantro leaves

3 Tb minced red onion

1/8 tsp salt

1 Tb minced jalapeno (optional)

For the Cuban Bowls

2 Tb coconut oil, divided

2 cups cubed red sweet potato (yam)

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large, ripe plantain

1 14.5oz can black beans, rinsed

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 avocado, sliced

lime wedges

• Combine the tomatoes, cilantro, onion, jalapeno, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Toss well and set aside to let the flavors come together.

• Peel the plantain by drawing a sharp knife along the long ridges down the sides (there should be three or four), then peeling off each side of the peel in sections. Slice the plantain crosswise on an angle into coins.

• Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the cubed sweet potato as well as the cumin and ½ teaspoon salt. Toss well, then turn the heat down to medium. Saute until golden brown and fork-tender; 5-7 minutes. Transfer the cooked sweet potato to a bowl; tent with foil to keep warm.

• Add the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan and allow it to melt. Fry the plantain pieces until golden, about 1 or 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

• Warm the black beans in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat (or by microwave in a covered bowl).

• Assemble the bowls by dividing all of the ingredients equally between the two bowls in the following order: brown rice, black beans, sweet potatoes, plantains, avocado, and pico de gallo. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing.

Vegetable Egg Rolls

I've wanted to make egg rolls from scratch for a long time but never had the courage to try them until I saw this recipe.  It looked rather straightforward and it was! I can't believe how easy it was. The only thing that took some concentration was rolling them tight and keeping an eye on them while frying so they wouldn't burn.

These deliciously crispy egg rolls are filled with cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and garlic. But I also think green onions, snow peas, bean sprouts and glass noodles would be good in these. They're given a bit of flavor using soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. The recipe I followed called for chinese rice wine and since I do not plan on ever having that ingredient on-hand, I decided to add a splash of rice wine vinegar for the acidity and a bit more sugar for the sweetness. I hoped that would cover the flavor profile of the wine and I think it turned out really nice.

We ate these with fried rice and my 20 month old LOVED them! She looked so cute while eating them that I couldn't resist taking a picture. She wanted them so badly that she had a tough time while I snapped a few pics on my iphone pre dinner (yes I had to do that on the floor by my window because the pics in the kitchen had no light and made them look like brown blobs). Luckily she was rewarded for her patience (see below)!

Just a note about the wrappers. I could only find "spring roll wrappers" in my local grocery store. But I don't think there's much difference between spring roll and egg roll wrappers. At least as I can tell. I found these and they worked great.

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Vegetable Egg Rolls
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Servings: 15 rolls
source: Detours in Life

Note: once you get the wrappers out of the package, they can dry out very quickly, so place them under a damp towel to stay moist. 

3 cloves garlic, minced
12oz bag of coleslaw mix (about 3/4 of a 16oz bag)
3 large carrots, shredded
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
8oz of shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 Tb olive oil
1 Tb soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

To seal egg rolls:
1 Tb cornstarch
1/4 cup water

• In large frying pan or wok over medium high heat, heat oil and saute cabbage, carrots, garlic, ginger and mushrooms 
• Add soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper and continue to saute until vegetables and cooked through and cabbage has wilted
• Remove vegetables from heat and lay them out on a baking sheet to cool to room temperature
• Once vegetables are cooled, you need to squeeze out all the  moisture. I did this by literally squeezing with my clean hands. You could also do this in a large tea towel and ring out the water. 
• Heat 1-2" of oil in high-sided pan to 350 - 375 F. 
• Put a large heaping Tb of the vegetable mixture in one corner of a wrapper. Roll that corner up until the middle, folding the sides in, and finish rolling to the other corner. Seal the wrapper with the cornstarch and water mixture on the tip of your finger. 
• Fry rolls in oil for about a minute or so each side, or until they're a nice golden brown. Keep an eye on them because they can burn quickly!