Korean Noodle Stir-Fry and Soy-Glazed Tofu

Anyone who knows me knows that Korean food is one of my favourite cuisines. Unfortunately, it's not a very vegan friendly cuisine so I end up making my own dishes including cabbage kimchi, chajang myun/jajang myun and jap chae/chap chae. So when I saw that Robin had a recipe for Korean Noodle Stir-Fry (page 242) a.k.a. jap chae, I had to put that on my list of recipes to make. Instead of the seitan called for in the recipe, I made Soy-Glazed Tofu (page 283).



For the tofu, I used firm tofu pressed overnight in a Tofu Xpress (I think it is totally worth the money) and then marinated and baked. The marinade ingredients were well balanced and tasty and the tofu baked up perfectly in the time alloted. It is great hot or cold and worked great with the noodles. This recipe is super easy so give it a shot and quit buying pre-marinated tofu!

Now on to the noodles. Since I make a lot of Korean food, I had the specific noodles (dang myun which are made from sweet potatoes) on hand. Unless you have a Korean grocer or an Asian grocer that stocks Korean food, chances are you won't be able to find it. I buy mine online from HMart. You could substitute mung bean noodles or rice vermicelli but it really won't be the same since dang myun is firmer and chewier. Also, mung bean or rice vermicelli are a lot more delicate and could easily turn to mush if you're not careful.

My package of noodles was 12oz so I adjusted the other ingredients accordingly. Also the recipe says to soak the noodles for 5 minutes. That may be fine with bean noodles or rice vermicelli, but dang myun need to be cooked for about 5 minutes, then drained and rinsed with cold water. Well, I rinse them at least. Also if you're using uncut dang myun, after it's cooked, cut it with kitchen shears to manageable lengths so it won't be unruly.

For the vegetables I used everything called for an also threw in some sliced cloud ear fungus which doesn't taste like much but adds texture. Since it's a stirfry, add anything you'd like. Sometimes I add red pepper and spinach.

The dish itself is pretty easy to throw together, but there is prep work involved with cooking the noodles and slicing the vegetables. You'll want to have everything prepped before you start. Taste-wise, everything was perfectly balanced for me, but you can adjust any of the seasonings to your liking. Some people like sweeter jap chae, so taste it as is and then add more sugar if you lean towards the sweet side. This recipe makes tons, especially if you use 12oz of noodles, but fear not, the leftovers hold up really well when using dang myun noodles and are also great in lettuce wraps too.

If you are new to Korean food, this is a great dish to make because it doesn't have any flavours that you would be unfamiliar with (like cabbage kimchi), isn't spicy, but still very flavourful.

— Ms. Veganorama

(Not) Radiatore with Aurora Sauce

I wanted a quick fast dinner with simple ingredients, but the finished dish still had to be delicious. Flipping through the book I decided to make Radiatore with Aurora Sauce (page 196). Clearly that pasta above is not radiatore, but linguine. I didn't have any smallish pasta, but I didn't let that stop me. The sauce, while best with radiatore or even penne, still works great with long pasta.

Pre-vegan I used to make pasta with a tomato cream sauce a lot. Back then I used half & half reduced and mixed with a tomato basil sauce. Really simple but enjoyed by many. Post-vegan, I never really thought to make it again until now.

The sauce came together really quickly. Just aromatics, a large can of crushed tomatoes and herbs. I did add a teaspoon of sugar to cut the acidity because I pretty much always add a spoon of sugar to all my tomato-based sauces. For the cream part I used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. There's an option to use silken tofu as well but I wanted a richer taste so I went with the Tofutti. You could also use unsweetened and reduced soy creamer or a thick cashew cream. Really, you just need something creamy and rich. I also took the liberty of throwing in some baby spinach from our CSA share while it was simmering. The dish was tasty with a great balance of tomato with cream. You can't go wrong with a tomato cream sauce. Well, unless you hate tomatoes. And cream. :p

For the ingredients, use the very best crushed tomatoes you can get. The quality of the tomatoes can easily make or break a sauce. I like the imported Italian brand crushed tomatoes which taste far superior to many regular grocery story brands.

This recipe is marked fast and you could have it on the table in 30 minutes or less. Start preparing the sauce when you put your pasta water on the stove. Everything should stop cooking at roughly the same time and you've have a delicious plate of pasta that is a little different than just plain old marinara.

— Ms. Veganorama

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ETA: In less than one month, we've gone through over 100 recipes. Big round of applause to everyone! :)