Eggplant with basil and garlic

Ingredients:

2-3 Chinese eggplants, cut longitudinally

2 cups of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup of fresh holy basil

Sauce:

1 tsp of black soy sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp corn starch

2 tbsp water

Dissolve solutes in the water/soy sauces

Procedure:

1. Heat non-stick pan,add garlic, stir until fragrant

2. add eggplants

3. Add sauce mixture

4. Stir until eggplant is cooked (do not overcook)

5. Add basil, stir until fragrant

6. Turn off heat (do not overcook the basil)

7. Serve with white or if you're in a health-promoting mood, brown rice

freshly chopped garlic

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Christine Ho 

Egg Foo Young

Time: 15-20 minutes
Very easy & quick recipe

vegetarian egg foo young

cut cabbage

beat eggs with onion, black pepper

use firm tofu instead. I ran out of firm tofu so had to resort to silken tofu

cooking egg foo young

cooking sauce over low-medium heat

Ingredients:

sesame oil, 1 tsp

chopped onion, 1/2 cup

1/3 cup chopped green onion

1/3 cup chopped carrots

1/4 cup green peas

1/2 cup tofu (use firm tofu but if you do not have, silken is fine)

1 cup chopped cabbage

5 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Sauce/gravy:

1 tsp cornstarch

1-2 tbsp soy sauce, depending on how salty you want it to be

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup of hot water

Garnish:

cilantro

white pepper

1. Beat eggs in a large bowl with green onion, salt, black pepper
2. Add carrots, salt,cabbage to the bowl. Mix
3. Heat pan, reduce to medium heat, add oil, fry in onion
4. Add egg mixture to pan (1 cup at a time)
5. In a separate small pot, container of sauce ingredients. Turn on low-medium heat until it becomes a thick consistency
6.  Once egg is cooked, add sauce on top
7. Garnish with cilantro & white pepper
8. serve with rice

Enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day!

[Recipe adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/egg-foo-young/]

Taiwanese Noodles with Tofu Sauce

Taiwanese cabbage

simmering tofu

green onion to garnish

add olive oil to cooked noodles

sharing is caring :D

Servings: 2

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound noodles (1/2 a bag) 

1/2 cup vegetarian broth

2 tbsp dark soy sauce (or oyster sauce)

2 teaspoon light (regular) soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar (or young balsamic vinegar)

1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tbsp olive oil (add to cooked noodles to prevent clumping)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 pound tofu, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

One 8-ounce can bamboo shoots, drained and diced

4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced

2 stalk green onion, chopped

Side vegetables:
Boil water in a separate pan, add Taiwanese cabbage, turn heat off, stir and drain.

Procedure:

1. Cook the noodles or rice according to package instructions. Drain. Add olive oil to the cooked noodles.
2. In a small bowl, combine the vegetarian broth, dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, vinegar, five spice powder and brown sugar. Set aside.
3. Heat a non-stick pan over high heat. When the pan becomes hot, add onion & garlic and cook until light brown/fragrant.
4. Add tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add in  bamboo shoots &mushroom
6. Mix
7. Add broth & soy sauce mixture and allow it to simmer for several minutes under medium or low heat.
6. To serve, add the tofu mixture over the noodles.
7. Garnish with green onions

Enjoy!

[Recipe adapted from steamykitchen.com]

Fresh, healthy noodles

Non-veg: Vietnamese food court at Lion Plaza & Candy browsing at Mitsuwa

There's one week before Tet and already you see remains of fireworks covering the grounds at Lion Plaza. Vendors are selling flowers and Tet treats. The place is noisy with the flower market and fireworks. It feels like Tet.

I wish they have more vegetarian choices. I rarely go to Lion Plaza but when I do,  I indulge in the non-vegetarian options, such as bun mang vit and canh bun. It's a place to take visiting friends from afar who crave authentic Vietnamese cuisine.

our friend ordered banh cuon from Banh Cuon Tay Ho, $10--very generous portion!

Bun Canh, $8/bowl

Prices definitely went up since I've last ate there. Was it worth it? yes!

After dinner we visited Mitsuwa, a local Japanese supermarket...so many candy options!