Spicy Noodles with Multi Colored Vegetables & Tofu in Spiced Corn Flour Sauce

Noodles has always been on our weekly dinner menu. But method of making noodles is evolving. My mum made it very simple, she served noodles tossed with stir fried leeks and carrot to add some color. I tasted different varieties of noodles when I lived in Southeast Asia. Some of these mouth watering varieties are mee goreng, hokkien mee, chow mein, lo mein, pad thai etc., Each of these varieties has its own unique ingredients and sauces.

The Beauty of Broccoli

Lotus Root Stir-fry

First of all apologies for my short period of absence. It had been very challenging and struggling few weeks. Gradually things are coming back to normal phase and I'm getting back to routine. 
  

Lotus Root is not a common vegetable. As it is in the name, this is the root of lotus flower mainly used in Asian cuisine. It is used in soups, stir fries, deep fried, braised, pickled in hot and sour garlic chili sauce and also used in traditional herbal medicine. Click here to see picture of lotus root.

I picked this vegetable due to its nutritional benefits; lotus root is rich in Vitamin C, B group of vitamins and also has healthy amounts of minerals like copper and iron.  You can buy this vegetable from Chinese grocery stores.

It has a crunchy sweet taste; a close comparison could be raw carrot. However compared to carrot it is mild in sweetness and it remains crunchy even after cooking.

My recipe is a fusion between Chinese style and Sri Lankan style, to spice it up I’ve added curry powder and curry leaves for its pungent aroma and I’ve also added vinegar as sour flavor nicely blends with crunchy lotus root.

 

Stir Fried Eggplant in Spicy Chilli Sauce

Eggplant is my all-time favorite vegetable. There are variety of ways to cook them. You could make smoked eggplant salad, fried eggplant, eggplant gravy, mashed eggplant curry (North Indian Baigan Bartha) and this one is Chinese style. Even though I’ve tried similar style eggplant in Singapore Chinese vegetarian restaurant; I never bothered to try it at home.

But once I saw it demonstrated by Kylie kwong in Masterchef Australia, I immediately noted it down and tried it no sooner I got all the ingredients. We can call it Ami’s twisted version, because I made small modifications in steps as well as ingredients. My DH’s reaction to this dish is “Superb”. Eggplant’s taste is relatively bland that’s why it easily blends with any type to spices or gravy. Fried eggplant has a mild sweetness and when it is mixed with a spicy hot and sour sauce, eggplant absorbs and blends well with this aromatic tangy sauce. It’s a “must try” for all eggplant lovers like me.

How often do you get inspired by cooking shows? I always do. Some of my favorite chefs on TV are Michael Smith, Jamie Oliver, Chef Wan (Malaysian), Anna Olson, Nigella Lawson and Laura Calder. These are some of the other celebrity chef inspired recipe creations in my kitchen.

Michael Smiths Red Bean & Rice Stew

Jamie Olivers Chickpea Soup & Vegetarian Spaghetti

Nigella Lawsons Pumpkin & Chickpea Soup

Soy Marinated Curry Chicken (100% Vegan & Vegetarian)

This curry is deceptive; because you can make them (non-vegetarians) believe that it’s real meat. I always make this curry when I’m entertaining non-vegetarian guests. Some of them think that I’ve prepared a meat curry especially for them.

Mock chicken, lamb, chicken breasts, prawns and fish are some of the popular fake meats available here in Southeast Asia.  They are made with soya, mushroom stems and other preservatives. Its texture is very much like meat.

It’s a very popular delicacy among Chinese served in restaurants. Some Chinese practice vegetarianism on 1^st and 15^th of each month of Chinese lunar calendar.

It’s not one of my favorite, as I’m used to being a vegetarian for 18+ years and even when I was non-vegetarian I only liked sea food and didn’t really enjoy meat. But my DH loves mock meat. But I only cook them during special occasions. It’s not advisable to consume mock meat regularly as they are highly processed.

Stir-fried Tofu with Peppers

My prayers and good wishes to all affected people in Japan ! God.....please give strength to cope with this situation. Stop worrying, it won't help those who are suffering.

Tofu is not my favorite food, but I still try to take it due to its health benefits.. I make stir fried dishes, or add tofu to noodles or fried rice or soups.

Tofu is an excellent source of protein for vegetarians, also is a great source of calcium and iron. Regular intake of tofu helps to reduce serum cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride concentrations. Tofu is an essential ingredient in oriental cuisine, but increasingly becoming popular among western vegetarians.

This is a mildly spicy stir fried dish with three colored peppers, good to serve with rice or noodles. It takes only few minutes to prepare this wholesome dish.

Ingredients
Serves 2-3


100g firm tofu – cut into cube size
¼ of each green, red and yellow peppers – thinly sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic and ginger
50g shitake mushrooms thinly sliced
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste


Method


Heat oil in a pan, sauté garlic ginger for a minute. Add tofu, mushrooms stir fry for 5 minutes. When they turn into golden brown color, add soy sauce and tomato puree stir well.

Add chili flakes, salt to taste. Remove from heat and serve with your choice of main meal.

Mock Fish Curry

This is a meatless delight for vegetarians / vegans craving for chewy and meaty texture dishes. Similar to mock fish there are other vegetarian mock items such as chicken, lamb, duck, beef, drumstick, prawns etc.,  Mock meat dishes can be tried at Chinese Vegetarian Restaurants and in Singapore and Malaysia certain Indian restaurants serve them cooked in Indian style. Mock meat can be bought in Chinese super markets.


Ingredients
Serves 4-5


To marinate
500g Mock fish cut into 3” size slices
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp plain yoghurt


To make curry
1 onion diced
1 tbsp minced garlic and ginger
Few curry leaves
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp tomato puree
100ml yoghurt
100 ml milk
1 tbsp tamarind paste
300ml water
100ml vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing


Method


Mix soy sauce, tomato puree and yoghurt to make a paste. Add mock fish pieces and marinate for 30 minutes.


In large pan heat oil, add mock fish in batches, deep fry till skin is golden brown. Drain with slotted spoon, and leave them to dry in kitchen towels.


To make curry, heat remaining oil in a pan, add onion, garlic ginger, curry leaves, mustard, fenugreek and fennel seeds sauté for a minute.


Add yoghurt, tamarind paste, tomato puree, curry powder, chili powder. Stir for 2 minutes till it forms a thick paste. Add milk, water and salt to taste. Close the lid let it boil for few minutes.


When gravy starts simmering, add fried mock fish, mix well.


Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with rice /bread /roti /chapathi.

Kang Kung Belacan

Kang kung also known as water spinach, is rich in iron, and good to alleviate anemia.  Kang kung is also rich in calcium, vitamin A & C.


Blanched kang kung in rich spicy sauce, is a delicious way of eating greens with rice or noodles. Same cooking method can be applied to other leafy vegetables such as Chinese spinach (Amaranth), choy sum and pak choy.

Serves 2-3
Ingredients
500g Kang kung washed and roughly chopped
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic and ginger
4 dry red chili thinly sliced
2 tsp corn flour mixed in 50ml cold water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion chopped


Method


To make the sauce, heat oil in a large pan, sauté onion, garlic ginger for 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, red chili and corn flour, mix well for a 2 second and turn off hurt. Sauce should be creamy. Set them aside.


Boil water in a sauce pan, when water is boiling add 1 tsp salt, kang kung, leave for 2 seconds. Drain them using colander and wash with cold water.


Mix blanched kang kung with sauce, serve immediately. 

Vegetarian Chicken Curry

This is a meat substitute known as mock meat. It’s made with textured soya protein and mushroom stems.  Available in variety of forms like lamb chops, fish slices, beef and prawns. 100% vegetarian mock meat is popular among Buddhist Chinese during their vegetarian days. This can be found in Asian / Oriental stores.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

For Marinating

300g of mock chicken – you may use preferred mock meat

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp vegetable oil

For curry1 onion chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic and ginger

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp plain yoghurt (optional)

2 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp garam masala

200 ml milk mixed with 100ml water (200ml coconut cream)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Method

Marinate mock chicken by mixing them with soy sauce and tomato puree, set it aside for 1-2 hours.

Heat oil in a pan add marinated meet, stir fry till it’s skin is crispy and turns into golden color. Set them aside.

Heat oil in same pan add garlic ginger, onion, curry leaves, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds sauté for a minute. Add tomato puree, yoghurt, curry powder, chili powder stir well, till it forms a thick paste.

Add milk diluted in water, salt and bring to boil. When curry forms a thick gravy, add mock meat, turn off heat add garam masala.

Serve hot with steaming rice / roti / bread.

Vegetable Noodles

This is a complete meal with all vegetables, mushroom, tofu, mixed in a sauce made with soy sauce,tomato puree, veg stock & tomyum


Serves 2-3
Ingredients
50g tofu cut into cube’s
50g shitake mushroom sliced
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 carrot thinly sliced
1 celery stick sliced
100g cabbage chopped
50g kalian Chinese brocoli

For sauce
1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
2 spring onion’s chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tom yam
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp corn flour mixed in cold water
1 stock cube
1 red chili finely chopped
200g Noodles

Method
Heat oil in a pan stir fry tofu and mushrooms, sprinkle a little bit of soy sauce, stir fry until tofu is slightly brown and set aside.

In the same pan stir fry carrots, celery and cabbage for 2 minutes. Vegetables should not be overcooked. set aside.

To make the sauce, put some oil in pan, add garlic onion ginger, stir fry. Add soy sauce, tomato puree, tom yam paste, sugar, corn flour mixture, stock cube, chopped red chilies.

Boil the noodles, when noodles are boiled add chopped kalian, leave for a minute, drain noodles n kalian, it’s not necessary to completely drain the water.

Put the noodles in sauce, mix add rest of the vegetables, lower the heat and add chopped Kai lan (Chinese brocoli) or spring onion n serve hot.