The other night I decided I wanted to try these tofu "fish sticks." The recipe looks good, I think, it wasn't all that difficult, so, I headed out to the kitchen to make them. Here's the recipe, compliments of www.about.com
TOFU "FISH STICKS"(vegan)
2 blocks firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed
1/4 cup soy milk
2 Tbs. EACH soy sauce; lemon juice; crumbled nori seaweed
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp. lemon pepper
Preheat oven go 350º F.
Slice tofu into strips and coat well with flour. In shallow bowl, whisk together soy milk, soy sauce, and lemon juice. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs, nori, and lemon pepper. Carefully dip tofu in soy milk mixture, then coat well in bread crumbs.
Bake 40-45 minutes, turning over once, until crispy and golden brown. Or, panfry in a bit of hot oil, until golden on both sides.
Serve with vegan tartar sauce, ketchup, bbq sauce, etc.
Ok, there ya have it. Were they good? I have NO clue, none at all. First of all, I had the crumbs all ready, and I decided to panfry mine, instead of put in the oven. So, I poured some oil in my skillet, and just left it there, no heat under it, while I pulled out my firm tofu, to drain and press. Can you tell when tofu has gone bad? Oh, yes, believe you me, you most certainly can. How? IT STINKS! And it stinks really, really nasty, nauseating, to be exact. Soooooo, what to do? The oil was waiting in the pan, the bread crumbs were ready, and no tofu. I was, uh, angry, to say the least. Ok, here's the end results of that fiasco:
JB's TVP "FISH CAKES"(vegan)
One cup of TVP granules, soaked for about 15 minutes in one cup of almost boiling water.
One cup bread crumbs, and by this time, I had seasoned them with garlic powder and just a dash of cayenne pepper.
About 1/4 cup of crumbled wakame, as I have no nori
juice of half of a large, fresh lemon
I mixed the bread crumbs, the TVP, and the wakame all together in a large bowl, and squeezed the half lemon all over it, mixing that in, also. Then I formed five patties, and panfried them in about 1/4 inch of hot canola oil. That's it. OH!!! Sorry...when I added the boiling water to the TVP granules, I also added a teaspoonful of liquid smoke. Ok, that's it, lol.
Were these good? OMG, yes, they sure were! I ate three of them for supper, and then the next afternoon, I ate the other two right out of the 'fridge, lol. They aren't difficult to make, and I know I will make them again some time. The next time I make them, I think I'll add some minced onion to the mix, and hopefully will have the ingredients to make a tartar sauce. They were good without a sauce, but I think tartar sauce would've set them off to perfection. Live and learn, right? What started out as almost a failure, because of the rotten tofu, turned into a wonderful, wonderful meal!!! I was very pleased with myself, lol.
Until next time, Happy Eating!!
Showing posts with label seaweed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seaweed. Show all posts
Monday, August 24, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Chickpea Cutlets(vegan); Chickpea-Hijiki Salad Sammiches(vegan)
No rain today, but I really wish it would, lol. You know I love rainy days. But, it's lovely out there, which is probably the way most folks prefer it. Besides, if it were raining, I might not get my "new" washing machine delivered this afternoon, and I'm really looking forward to having it.
BTW, I just posted another favorite website for you to browse, if you wish, another non-food blog. The name of it is "The Unclutterer," and it's extremely interesting reading, not the usual how-to unclutter and get organized for life type of thing at all. I did get a couple of really good ideas from it, tho, and some links to some other good sites, as well. Check it out when you have time.
I don't know if I've mentioned on here or not that I don't like chickpeas(garbanzos), but for years and years, I did NOT like them. Strangely enough, my taste seems to have changed, because suddenly, I think they're pretty darned good. Go figure, right? Both recipes today...LOL! I hear rain on the skylight, no kidding!!!...use chickpeas, and both recipes are keepers. The Chickpea Cutlets are from "Veganomicon," and the Chickpea-Hijiki recipe is from "Vegan with a Vengeance," and both books, as you probably already know, are by Isa Chandra Muskovitz, and Terry Hope Romero also co-wrote "Veganomicon." So, without further chatter, here are the recipes:
Chickpea Cutlets
Makes four cutlets
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup EACH plain bread crumbs and vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated with a microplane grater
1/2 tsp. EACH lemon zest, dried thyme, and Hungarian paprika
1/4 tsp. dried rubbed sage
olive oil for panfrying.
In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no whole chickpeas are left. Add the remaining ingredients and knead for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed.
Preheat a large heavy-bottomed nonstick or castiron skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile divide the cutlet dough into four equal pieces. To form the cutlets, knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a roughly 6 X 4-ince rectangular cutlet shape. The easiest way to do this is to first form a rectangular shape in your hands and then place the cutlets on a clean surface to flatten and stretch them.
Add a moderately thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. They're ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch.
Just in case you were wondering, you can also bake these, too!! Baking these patties gives them a toothsome chewy texture and firm bite. Preheat oven to 375ºF, lightly oil baking sheet. Brush both sides of each patty with olive oil, place on sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Flip patties and bake another 8-10 minutes until firm and golden-brown.
Well, I just found out why mine were so soft and chewy on the insides, lol: I didn't notice the part that says to turn them over and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Duh. Even so, they were good, and I enjoyed them. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was to cut the soy sauce to 1 tbs. instead of 2, as I'm not crazy about soy sauce. I made, of all things, some homemade tartar sauce to dip the cutlets in, and scarfed down two without any problem at all, and yup, will definitely make them again.
I think these would be good with just about any other kind of bean you like, and when I make them again, there's a good chance that I'll use either canellini or pintos, my two favorite beans. I also think that with the addition of some diced onion, and maybe some shredded carrot, the recipe would make great burgers, too.
As I said, I made tartar sauce, but some of the recommendations in the book were mustard sauce, mushroom gravy, and an onion gravy. They all sound good to me, but you can use whatever you like...of course!
Before I start the chickpea and hijiki recipe, for anyone that doesn't already know, hijiki is a type of sea vegetable...in other words, seaweed. I don't have any hijiki, but I do have dried wakame, which is also a sea vegetable, so that's what i used. The salad is wonderful, and is quite apt to become a regular sammich filling for me. This one comes from "Vegan with a Vengeance." Enjoy.
Chickpea-Hijiki Salad Sammiches
Makes four sammiches
1 Tbs. dried hijiki
boiling water
1(15-oz.)can chickpeas, drained
3 Tbs. Vegannaise
2 Tbs. EACH apple cider vinegar and minced onion
1/2 C peeled and shredded carrot
salt and black pepper to taste
sammich fixings(lettuce, tomato, and onion0
8 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
Place the hijiki in a small bowl and pour boiling water over it to cover. Cover the bowl with a plate and let the hijiki sit for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In a large bowl mash the chickpeas with a potato masher until no whole beans are left. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. when the hijiki is ready, drain and combine it with the chickpea mixture. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes; serve on toasted whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, and onion.
And that's all there is to it. It's awfully good, there's nothing else I can say about it, lol. The only thing I can add is that altho I'm still clueless as to what hijiki tastes like, I like the flavor of the wakame. I grew up in the state of Maine, and spent a fair amount of time around the ocean, so the wakame smell and taste sort of makes me a little homesick. And, my "new" washing machine is here, so I'm thru for today. Until next time, Happy Eating!!!!
BTW, I just posted another favorite website for you to browse, if you wish, another non-food blog. The name of it is "The Unclutterer," and it's extremely interesting reading, not the usual how-to unclutter and get organized for life type of thing at all. I did get a couple of really good ideas from it, tho, and some links to some other good sites, as well. Check it out when you have time.
I don't know if I've mentioned on here or not that I don't like chickpeas(garbanzos), but for years and years, I did NOT like them. Strangely enough, my taste seems to have changed, because suddenly, I think they're pretty darned good. Go figure, right? Both recipes today...LOL! I hear rain on the skylight, no kidding!!!...use chickpeas, and both recipes are keepers. The Chickpea Cutlets are from "Veganomicon," and the Chickpea-Hijiki recipe is from "Vegan with a Vengeance," and both books, as you probably already know, are by Isa Chandra Muskovitz, and Terry Hope Romero also co-wrote "Veganomicon." So, without further chatter, here are the recipes:
Chickpea Cutlets
Makes four cutlets
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup EACH plain bread crumbs and vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated with a microplane grater
1/2 tsp. EACH lemon zest, dried thyme, and Hungarian paprika
1/4 tsp. dried rubbed sage
olive oil for panfrying.
In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no whole chickpeas are left. Add the remaining ingredients and knead for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed.
Preheat a large heavy-bottomed nonstick or castiron skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile divide the cutlet dough into four equal pieces. To form the cutlets, knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a roughly 6 X 4-ince rectangular cutlet shape. The easiest way to do this is to first form a rectangular shape in your hands and then place the cutlets on a clean surface to flatten and stretch them.
Add a moderately thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. They're ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch.
Just in case you were wondering, you can also bake these, too!! Baking these patties gives them a toothsome chewy texture and firm bite. Preheat oven to 375ºF, lightly oil baking sheet. Brush both sides of each patty with olive oil, place on sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Flip patties and bake another 8-10 minutes until firm and golden-brown.
Well, I just found out why mine were so soft and chewy on the insides, lol: I didn't notice the part that says to turn them over and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Duh. Even so, they were good, and I enjoyed them. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was to cut the soy sauce to 1 tbs. instead of 2, as I'm not crazy about soy sauce. I made, of all things, some homemade tartar sauce to dip the cutlets in, and scarfed down two without any problem at all, and yup, will definitely make them again.
I think these would be good with just about any other kind of bean you like, and when I make them again, there's a good chance that I'll use either canellini or pintos, my two favorite beans. I also think that with the addition of some diced onion, and maybe some shredded carrot, the recipe would make great burgers, too.
As I said, I made tartar sauce, but some of the recommendations in the book were mustard sauce, mushroom gravy, and an onion gravy. They all sound good to me, but you can use whatever you like...of course!
Before I start the chickpea and hijiki recipe, for anyone that doesn't already know, hijiki is a type of sea vegetable...in other words, seaweed. I don't have any hijiki, but I do have dried wakame, which is also a sea vegetable, so that's what i used. The salad is wonderful, and is quite apt to become a regular sammich filling for me. This one comes from "Vegan with a Vengeance." Enjoy.
Chickpea-Hijiki Salad Sammiches
Makes four sammiches
1 Tbs. dried hijiki
boiling water
1(15-oz.)can chickpeas, drained
3 Tbs. Vegannaise
2 Tbs. EACH apple cider vinegar and minced onion
1/2 C peeled and shredded carrot
salt and black pepper to taste
sammich fixings(lettuce, tomato, and onion0
8 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
Place the hijiki in a small bowl and pour boiling water over it to cover. Cover the bowl with a plate and let the hijiki sit for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In a large bowl mash the chickpeas with a potato masher until no whole beans are left. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. when the hijiki is ready, drain and combine it with the chickpea mixture. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes; serve on toasted whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, and onion.
And that's all there is to it. It's awfully good, there's nothing else I can say about it, lol. The only thing I can add is that altho I'm still clueless as to what hijiki tastes like, I like the flavor of the wakame. I grew up in the state of Maine, and spent a fair amount of time around the ocean, so the wakame smell and taste sort of makes me a little homesick. And, my "new" washing machine is here, so I'm thru for today. Until next time, Happy Eating!!!!
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