Torn cabbage with red fermented beancurd ??????

I have no time to post any recipes lately, life was hectic I was working 6 - 7 days a week. This blog has been neglected hopefully you did not miss me much :).

Today's recipe is vegetarian, a cheap and cheerful stir fried cabbage with a rather unusual sauce. The secret ingredient is fermented red beancurd or hong fu ru ???. This recipe looks Sichuanese but I am quite sure it is from Beijing.

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Sichuan liang fen ???? (Starch jelly noodles)

Liang fen ?? is a jelly noodles made with starch and water. Starch and water is cooked to a thick custard, set and chilled. It is then cut into whatever shape and size you like then dressed in a Sichaun spicy sauce with some spring onion, coriander and few sesame seeds etc...





If you like rice noodles you will love liang fen. This jelly noodles is much springier and better texture than rice

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Braised daikon and carrot ????

Su shao luo bo ????

Luo bo ?? (??) this can mean either daikon (mooli or oriental radish) or carrot.
Su ? is vegetarian
Shao ? in cooking terms can mean boil, bake, roast, braise or stew. It's confusing I know!

This braised mixed root vegetable is rather tasty. I can eat this happily and don't miss any meat at all.

Ingredients:

400 - 500g daikon or mooli
350 - 400g carrot
2 clove of garlic,

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Stir fried blistered green chilli ????

Hu pe jian jiao ????

I was pleased to find some large green chillies from the market. I asked the store keeper if they are spicy he just shrugged his shoulders how helpful! In the end I bought a handful (just over 1/2 lb) to try in case they are not as nice as I thought. These chillies were quite long about 12 - 15cm long.



I love Sichuan Hu pe jian jiao ???? or stir fried blistered green

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Spicy sweet and sour tempeh

This tempeh is sweet. salty, spicy and sour. Very moreish. The recipe is based on Indonesian tempe kering (dry tempeh) with my own twist. I used Korean chilli paste which has a sweeter more mellow flavour. I don't have any lime leaf so I sub with lime zest.

Ingredients:
about 300g tempeh
1 chopped onion
2 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp Korean chilli paste (gochujang)
2 tbsp soy sauce
some sugar

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Biang Biang Mian

If you think supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is not easy to remember try the most complex Chinese character related to a noodle's name. This word is so complex it is not in any Chinese dictionary or any computerised Chinese type set. Take a look at one single Chinese word with 57 strokes!



This word reads as 'biang'




Biang biang mian (in Chinese charaters)

Biang biang* mian is a well

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Chinese leaf with vinegar sauce ????

Chu liu bai chai (cu liu bai cai) ????
Chu liu bai chai is a simple vegetarian dish, a well known Lu Chai ?? from Shandong ?? region where it is famous for the production of good quality vinegar.

This stir fried Chinese leaf or napa cabbage main flavour is the vinegar to give it a sharp taste. The vegetable is stir fried briefly to keep it crunchy.

Ingredients:
About 600g Chinese leaf or Napa

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Making Tempeh

Growing my own tempeh has been on my list of things to try. I have recently received a free sample of tempeh starter from Tempeh Info. So way I go to give it a try. I was a bit nervous to keep a constant temperature of around 30deg C to incubate the beans. I don't want to spend �� to buy/build an incubator, so I racked my brain and find what I already have at home. I started gathering a few

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Sweet corn juk (rice soup) ???

Sweet corn is in season again. One of the simplest way I like with fresh sweet corn is to make juk for breakfast/brunch. It's so simple just two ingredients plus lots of water. This juk is similar to Cantonese sweet corn soup without the chicken bits, meat stock etc..., very simple but refreshing with a lovely sweet flavour.Take about 3/4 cup of glutinous rice. Rinse and soak with 1 cup of water

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Konjac or konnyaku

Have you ever eaten S E Asian style Konjac candy, rubbery jelly/jello cups that look like these? I like them but in recent years this candy had very bad press and banned in some countries due to some children choked to death eating them. I reckon children could eat these jelly cups without chewing and also sucking the jelly out of the plastic cup can be dangerous because the lump of jelly can

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Almond tofu ????

Almond tofu is the Chinese version of panna cotta but much much healthier without the heavy cream and vegan friendly.Almond tofu in Chinese is ???? read as 'sin ren do fu' in Mandarin or 'hung yen dou fu' in Cantonese. This is a Cantonese cold dessert great for the summertime. Most Cantonese dim sum restaurants will have this dessert on their trolleys whizzing around you with all the other

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Mashed aubergine salad ???

Another aubergine (egg plant) recipe? You must think I am mad. Yes, every week when I go shopping if I see aubergines on offer I must bring some home. I bought four yesterday. I wanted to use half straight away because of limited fridge space and the other half later in the week.So what tickle my tastebuds this time? I want something guilt free (reasonably low fat), easy to make and tasty.

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Di San Xian ??? (stir fried potato, aubergine and green pepper)

Di San Xian (or more accurately read as 'dee sun sen') is a delicious vegetarian dish from Dongbei (north east China). The name Di San Xian ??? is translated as 'earth three fresh'.Potato is hardly ever added to any Chinese stir fries, but this recipe really works and truly yummylicious. Once you have tried it, you want again and again. The secret of this recipe is all the vegetables must be

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Fried gluten puffs ????

If you have read the last post you may be wondering what I like to do with the gluten.My favourite way to use gluten or seitan is to fry them in oil till they puff up and golden. Then they can be stuffed and/or braised. Fried gluten has a lovely nutty flavour, chewy and spongy. If you have eaten fried tofu puff, fried gluten is similar to fried tofu puff in texture and taste.Here is how to fry

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Homemade gluten or seitan ??

Chinese has been using hydrated gluten or seitan (?? 'mien jin' in Mandarin) as a meat substitute ingredient for hundreds of years. Gluten is very versatile can be used in hundreds of ways and recipes. Not only as vegetarian it can also cook with meat or seafood. Fried gluten balls can be stuffed with minced fish or prawn or veggie filling. I love gluten especially fried then braised.Gluten

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Buddha's Delight or Monk's Vegetables ???

On the first day of CNY many Chinese. especially Cantonese, will go meat free. Many will cook an assorted vegetarian dish using dried vegetables, edible fungi, tofu products and fresh vegetables. This dish is normally referred to as Buddha Delight or Monk's Vegetable, in Chinese is ??? (lo han zai) or simply ?? (zai choi).This dish is the custom in my family for this day every year. My mum would

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Vegetarian Stuffed Crust Pizza ????

I was given a large oval aubergine/eggplant/brinjal on my trip to the Camerons the week before. My vegetarian colleague had earlier asked me whether I know how to make pizza, and, it had been ages since I last made pizza. So, I�ll make pizza with this aubergine.

Vegetarian Stuffed Crust Pizza Recipe (for two 12 inch pizzas)
Crust (for 2 12 inch pizzas)

Ingredients:
3 � cups High Protein Flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 � tsp yeast
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix flour with salt. Pour in yeast mixture and olive oil. Knead until dough is no longer sticky. Leave to proof until double. Punch down and shape into pizza.
**
Well, I kept the dough overnight in the fridge after punching down (no shaping) because I wanted the pizza for lunch instead, and I�ll be waking up late.

Toppings (for 2 12 inch pizzas)

500 gm mozzarella cheese (some grated, some cut into strips)
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
1 red onion, sliced
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 yellow capsicum , sliced
1 big red tomato, sliced
1 big aubergine, sliced and pan fried with a bit of olive oil.
� cup button mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Assembly.
1. Roll out dough, pulling the edges until it�s bigger than the pan.
2. Arrange mozzarella strips on the edges and wrap them up by folding in the edges. Place shaped dough into an oiled pan.

3. Spread 1 Tbsp olive oil onto dough surface evenly.

4. Spread 4 tbsp of pasta sauce onto dough.

5. Arrange toppings starting with the heaviest, aubergine, tomato, onions, capsicum and mushrooms.

6. Sprinkle salt and pepper over pizza. Bake in a preheated oven at 190C for 15 minutes or until the crust is slightly golden
7. Take out from oven and sprinkle on grated mozzarella. Bake for another 12 minutes or until the crust is golden and cheese all melted and golden.

8.Cut pizza while it�s still hot and enjoy the stringy cheese dripping from the sides of the pizza.

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I made 1 for lunch, and baked another the next morning to bring to work.

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Crust recipe and tips for baking adapted from annamariavolpi

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