Vegan Zha Jiang Noodles

I love these vegan black bean noodles. Known as Zha Jiang Mian (炸醬麵) in China or Taiwan and even Korea. These are great for summer when the heat is too intense for soups. Traditionally, Zha Jiang Mian is made with pork. I love this vegan version made with tofu — you really don’t miss the meat here! I’ve made it for western friends and they all love the black bean sauce.

If you’re new to bean sauces, they come in spicy, sweet, and salty variations. It can be intimidating but also forgiving if you buy the wrong kind. Just adjust the seasoning to taste. The brands I used for this recipe is pictured below.

Black bean paste, sweet bean paste and my favourite knife cut noodles.

Vegan Black Bean Zha-Jiang Noodles (炸醬麵）

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons salty bean paste (or Soybean Paste / Dou ban Jiang豆瓣醬)*

• 6 tablespoons of sweet bean paste (Tian Mian Jiang 甜麵醬）

• ½ cup Shaoxing wine, rice wine, or sherry

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1.5 cup (120 grams) chopped mushrooms (I use white button or king oyster mushrooms)

• 1 package (285 grams) of firm tofu, patted dry and crumbled into pieces

Fragrant Oil *

• ½ cup oil

• 1 onion cut into 8 wedges

• 1 green onion, chopped coarsely

Other Ingredients

• Noodles of choice*

• Shredded cucumber and carrot

• Chopped cilantro or green onions (optional)

Instructions

1. Place all the bean pastes in a large mixing bowl, add the Shaoxing wine, and mix until well combined. Set aside.

2. Using a large non-stick pan, add ½ cup of oil, the chopped onion, and green onion. Cook over medium-low heat until the onions turn brown and crispy, around 8-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to discard or save the onions for other dishes.

3. In the same pan, add the crumbled tofu and fry until golden brown. stirring continuously. Add in the mushrooms, and cook until softened and aromatic.

4. Stir in the bean sauce and turn the heat to low. Stirring constantly until the sauce evaporates into a chunky mixture. Adjust with sugar or salt to taste.

5. Cook noodles as directed and set aside.

6. To serve, spoon sauce over noodles and top with shredded cucumber, carrot, green onions, or cilantro (optional). Serve warm.

Cooking notes:

• If you’re new to bean sauces, they come in spicy, sweet, and salty variations. It can be intimidating but also forgiving if you buy the wrong kind. Just adjust the seasoning to taste.

• The black bean paste is very salty! Go easy on it if it’s your first time cooking with it.

• Substitute the fragrant oil with different flavored oils like shallot oil.

• I like to double the portions for leftovers. The sauce is very good served with summer vegetables over a salad.

Tofu Gado Gado

My husband made this Indonesian Tofu Gado Gado for me in the early stages of our relationship. It’s a great example of our mutual love for food — fresh flavors, filling, light, and exotic without being too fiery. A classic you’ll come back to again and again.

I’ve tweaked some ingredients to maximize the use of dried pantry goods. For the salad — feel free to substitute with bean sprouts, julienned carrots, purple cabbage, radishes, or top with crispy shallots. I’ll say that the warm potatoes with crispy napa cabbage are the highlights for me here.

Halve or double the portions depending on the party size you’re serving.

Tofu Gado Gado

Serves 4 people as a main course, 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 pack of fried tofu*

• 500 grams potatoes, cubed into 1-inch pieces

• 4 eggs (omit for vegan)

• 200 grams green beans, ends trimmed and halved lengthways

• 200 grams Napa cabbage, washed and finely shredded

• 1 Persian cucumber or 1/2 cucumber, sliced into thin rounds

• a handful of coriander leaves, picked and roughly chopped

• 4 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped

Spicy Peanut Dressing

• 50g peanut butter

• 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce 

• 1/2 tbsp honey

• 1 tbsp fish sauce* (omit for vegan/vegetarian)

• 1 tbsp cane sugar

• 1 garlic clove

• 1-inch piece of ginger

• 2 fresh or dried red chilies (optional)

• Juice of 1 lime

• 75 ml coconut milk

Instructions

1. Using a large pot, bring 1.5 liters of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes, and eggs and cook for 9 minutes. While the ingredients are cooking, prepare an ice bath. When the timer goes off, transfer the eggs into the ice bath and chill. Continue cooking the potatoes until fork tender.

2. Using a blender or food processor — blend all of the peanut dressing ingredients. Adjust the salt and spices to taste. Add more coconut milk or water for desired consistency. Set aside.

3. When the potatoes from step 1 are almost tender, add the green beans, fried tofu, and boil for 1-2 minutes until tender and bright green. Drain the vegetables, tofu and run under cold water until chilled. Slice the fried tofu into bite-sized pieces.

4. Peel and cut the chilled eggs in half. Assemble the salad by layering potatoes, green beans, tofu, sliced cucumber, and eggs. Serve immediately with peanut sauce, chopped peanuts, and cilantro.

Cooking Tips:

1. Substitute fried tofu with firm tofu (cubed and fried) or with tempeh.

Three Cup (Sanbei) Tofu

A plant-based dish with intensely good flavors.

If you have ever been to Asia — you’ll know what I am talking about when you eat at those hole-in-the-wall street restaurants. A gathering place where all levels of society come together and order enough food to cover several tables. You don’t go there for fine dining but for the clatter of smoky woks, clinks of Taiwanese beer bottles (guava juice for the kids), scooters lined out the door, and the non-stop motion of the city.

Traditionally, this dish is made with chicken that I’ve adapted with tofu for plant-based cooking. The name three-cup refers to the equal ratio of rice wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil. The ingredients have evolved and been adapted over time to suit different regions in Taiwan and China. 

This is a dish that is healthy enough to be a household staple, though it doesn’t guarantee any leftovers based on experience. The generous amounts of ginger, garlic, basil, and sesame oil create flavors that are intense and captivating to the taste buds.

If you are new to Taiwanese cooking wine/Mijiu 米酒 — I recommend you pick up a bottle at your local Asian grocery (I get mine from T & T in Vancouver). There are substitutes you can use like Chinese rice wine, sake, dry sherry, or plain vegetable stock but you’ll get the best results from Taiwanese cooking wine. It’s what I grew up with.

This is the brand I get from my local Asian store. Made in Taiwan.

Three Cup Tofu

Serves 2,

Ingredients

• 14 oz (1 package) medium-firm tofu, drained and patted dry

• 3-inch knob of ginger, sliced into thin pieces*

• 5 cloves garlic, sliced

• 1 Thai red chili, chopped into pieces

• 1 packed cup of fresh Thai basil, roughly chopped

• 1/3 cup cornstarch

• oil for cooking

Sauce

• 3 tbsp Taiwanese cooking wine 米酒 (sub rice wine/sake/vegetable broth if you must)*

• 3 tbsp soy sauce⁣ or Tamari

• 3 tbsp sesame oil⁣

• 1 tbsp sugar⁣

• ⅓ cup [80g] water⁣

Instructions

1. Dry the tofu with paper towels (I let mine drain on a paper towel while I prep). Slice the tofu in half lengthwise and cut each half into 1cm-thick slices or cubes.

2. Place the cornstarch in a large bowl and coat the tofu slices one by one, on all sides. Add more cornstarch if needed. Lay the coated tofu slices on a large plate for frying, making sure not to overcrowd them.

3. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, fry the tofu until golden and crispy, flipping every 3–5 minutes. This will take around 10 minutes. If the tofu cooks too quickly, lower the heat to medium.

4. While the tofu is frying. Add all the sauce ingredients into a bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

5. Remove tofu from the pan and set it aside in a bowl. In the same pan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the ginger pieces until brown and golden, around 1 minute. Add the garlic and chili until they are crispy and become incredibly fragrant. Making sure the aromatics do not burn.

6. Pour in the sauce and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the tofu slices and toss to combine. Lower the heat to medium, add the Thai basil and cook until the sauce has reduced to a syrupy state. Turn off the heat and serve warm with rice. 

Cooking Notes:

Ginger: Make sure to fry the pieces until golden brown on all sides. Ginger, unlike garlic — lasts a lot longer in hot oil. Make sure to separate their cooking processes.

Taiwanese Cooking Wine/Rice Wine: See the photo here for the brand I use.

Garnish: Serve with Thai basil, cilantro, or green onions.

Miso Soup with Yu Choy and Dashi Stock

I bought a bag of shiitake mushrooms for vegetarian dumplings the other day and was left with an abundance of dried mushrooms. I have never cooked with shiitake mushrooms till recent and they remind me of street food in Taiwan and a lot of my mother’s cooking.

I remember savouring these explosions of flavour in chicken broths, in the mountains of fried rice noodles grandmother would make when we visit, and in the sticky rice steamed in bamboo leaves during festivals. I also remember being made fun of in elementary school because my classmates told me they looked like tiny slugs. Not to be deceived by looks — these mushrooms are essential to Asian cuisine and can be found in hot pots, stir fry and everything savoury. Something I proudly stock in my pantry nowadays.

Here is a recipe for miso soup using a very simple dashi stock. The watermelon radish serves more as a garnish but adds such a beautiful touch.

My apologies in advance for the abstractness of this recipe, I hope you taste as you go and refrain from taking too many photos as I’ve let food burn in the process. I enjoy serving this soup as an attractive appetizer or for evenings when I want something light and warm. For friends or myself.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Dashi stock
5–6 Dried shiitake mushrooms
Handful of dried kombu (2-3 slices or half a cup if they are sliced)

1. Lightly rinse shiitake mushrooms. Do not wash kombu as the white residue adds flavour. Wipe kombu with a paper towel if you wish.

2. Fill a jar with two cups of water, soak the mushrooms and kombu. Seal and let sit for a few hours or overnight. The stock keeps well so you can make it a few days in advance

Miso Soup
Medium-firm tofu, one package, cut into blocks
Handful of baby yu choy
Miso paste, 3-4 tablespoons
Ginger, 2 slices
Soy sauce, to taste
Watermelon radish, sliced as thin as possible (use a mandolin)
Coriander or arugula, for garnish

Instructions

1. Remove mushrooms from slice into pieces. Discard the stem if you find them tough. Wash baby yu choy and chop into 2-inch pieces. Save some of the flowering tops for garnish. Cut tofu into small squares.

2. Heat the dashi stock and ginger in a pot till it comes to a simmer. Add miso paste and stir to taste. Add tofu to the pot until it boils. Taste the soup, add a few drops of soy sauce if it needs more flavour. Stir yu choy stems in till it comes to a boil again. Add the leafy parts to the soup at the last possible minute.

3. Garnish with sliced radish and coriander. Serve immediately.

Notes: I have found that arugula is a fantastic addition to miso soup. Feel free to substitute baby yu choy with other greens. I have started adding dried anchovies to the soup though the additional taste of fish may not be for everyone.