I’ve blogged about rolls a lot like these before, but it was back when ten people read my blog (and most of them were in my family). These are an updated vegan version, without the noodles inside because I think they’re a lot better (not to mention easier to roll up) this way. The marinated tempeh provides a nice textural contrast to the vegetables in addition to some protein. I think the marinade would also work really well for chicken, if you’d rather put that in yours.

These are perfect for hot summer days because of how little cooking is involved, and they’re superbly light and refreshing. I love dipping them in either sweet chili sauce (look at Asian grocery stores) or hoisin sauce with some chopped peanuts stirred in. If you’re not going to eat them right away, through a damp tea towel over them so the wrappers don’t dry out.

Recipe:
(marinade adapted from Haiku Tofu)

1 package tempeh
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 chopped fresh Thai chili
2 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp vegetable oil

8-10 rice paper spring roll wrappers
1 small bunch green leaf or butter lettuce
1 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup fresh mint
2 carrots, julienned
1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded, julienned

Sweet chili sauce or hoisin sauce with chopped peanuts, for dipping

To make the tempeh, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, chili, and garlic in a medium saucepan. Cut the tempeh into thin strips and add to the soy sauce mixture. Add enough water to just cover, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 12 mintues, or until all the liquid has been absorbed, watching carefully so you don’t scorch the bottom of the pan.

Heat the oil in a wide skillet and add the tempeh in a single layer. Cook, flipping once, until golden on both sides. Remove from heat.

To assemble: Have all filling ingredients ready, and fill a shallow pan with warm water.

Submerge the rice paper in warm water until pliable, about 30 seconds. Shake off excess water, then place on a clean cutting board. Pile a little lettuce, cilantro, mint, carrots, cucumber, and tempeh in the center, fold in the sides, and roll up burrito-style. Slice in half and transfer to a plate.

Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling, and serve with dipping sauce.

I thought pot stickers were one of those things I’d never eat again when I stopped eating meat. Of course it’s possible to make them without meat but the few vegetarian pot stickers I tried before were definitely not worth eating. These, however, have a great mix of vegetables and crumbled tempeh, and are flavored with mushrooms and grated ginger. Paired with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce there isn’t much out there I’d rather eat.

Even if you’re not vegetarian, I HIGHLY recommend the blog Herbivoracious. It’s beautiful, healthy food and a lot of the recipes involve Asian flavors, which I totally love. This was the first of MANY recipes I plan to try from that blog!

Recipe:
(adapted from Herbivoracious)

8 oz tempeh, sliced very thinly
1 1/2 tbsp + 1 tsp + 1 tsp canola oil
1 cup thinly sliced napa cabbage
6 green onions (white and light green parts only), minced
12 small brown button mushrooms, chopped
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 pinch sugar
1 egg
1 10-ounce package of potsticker wrappers
canola oil and water for cooking

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp of oil in a wide skillet. Add the tempeh in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides. Set aside to cool, then crumble into a medium bowl.

Add 1 tsp of oil to the pan after removing the tempeh. Add the napa cabbage and stir fry for a few minutes, until most of the moisture is gone. Add to the tempeh.

Heat the remaining tsp of oil in the pan and add the mushrooms. Stir fry for a few minutes (until soft), then add the wine. Cook another 30 seconds, then transfer to the bowl with the tempeh and cabbage.

Stir in the ginger, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar.

To assemble:
Have a small bowl of water handy.
Place one pot sticker wrapper on your work surface, and put about 2 tsp of filling in the middle (definitely err on the side of less filling…it will be much easier to crimp that way).

Dip your finger in the water and trace halfway around the circumference of the wrapper.

Fold the wrapper in half, sealing the filling inside.

Crimp the seal between your fingers.

Now repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

If you want to freeze the pot stickers for later use, line a baking sheet with parchment and arrange them so they are not touching.  Put the tray in the freezer until they are completely frozen, several hours.  Then transfer them to freezer bags until ready to use.  You won’t need to defrost them,  just cook them as follows straight from the freezer.

To cook:

Heat 1 tbsp of water in a wide frying pan with a tight-fitting lid.  Add the pot stickers so they are not touching.  Cook for about 2 minutes, or until golden on the bottom.  Add 1/3 cup water and immediately cover the pan.  Cook for about 3 minutes,  then remove the lid and continue cooking until all the water has evaporated.

Serve with soy sauce and rice vinegar mixed in equal proportions.

I make hummus all the time. I just love having it in the fridge as an easy snack, and it’s rare that I don’t have all the ingredients on hand. Baba ghannouj, on the other had, is a little more “special occasion” to me. The ingredients are pretty similar, with smoky eggplant rather than garbanzo beans, but the process is slightly more complicated.

There’s the charring of the eggplant that has to come first, and that takes a little more effort than just opening a can of garbanzos.

Some people recommend roasting the eggplant in a hot oven, others suggest putting it under the broiler. I will stick with the burner on my gas oven, even if it makes a little bit of a mess. The most crucial thing is to make sure the skin gets very charred, and the whole eggplant is very soft. Once that’s accomplished, the rest is easy! Like hummus, you’ll want to play around with the amounts listed. Some people like a lot of lemon, others prefer more garlic. When I have fresh mint around, I love to chop up a few leaves and mix them in to add another layer of flavor.

Recipe:
1 large eggplant
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
fresh mint (optional)

Place the eggplant over a gas burner and turn every few minutes until all the skin is black and charred and the entire eggplant is very soft. Place in a bowl and cover with a clean towel. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, scrape off and discard the skin (I like to use a paring knife to scrape it off). Put the eggplant into the food processor (if there are a lot of large seeds, throw them out, but most of the time I don’t bother).

Peel the garlic and mash it up with the salt in a small mortar and pestle. Once you have a smooth paste, add it to the food processor with the remaining ingredients. Pulse until smooth, then taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve garnished with fresh mint

It’s a tradition in my husband’s family to have an appetizer party a few days before Christmas. I always love finding new recipes to try, and this year, this and my favorite appetizer (salad rolls/fresh spring rolls – whatever you call them, I love them!) were my contributions.

The inspiration for this recipe came from the goat cheese my sister in law just gave us because she wasn’t going to be able to use it up before she goes on vacation, and the GIANT bag of potatoes we bought on our first shopping trip for our new apartment. With a little guidance from White on Rice Couple, these appetizers were really easy to put together, and disappeared within a few minutes!

Of course you could use a mandoline to slice the potatoes evenly, but I think it’s a whole lot more fun to practice your knife skills (and believe me, mine need practice) and slice them by hand!

Recipe:
adapted from White on Rice Couple

4 small Russet potatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
a few big pinches of sea salt
about 5 ounces goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 F and line several baking sheets or jelly roll pans with parchment or Silpats.
Scrub the potaotes well, then slice about 1/8″ thick using a mandoline or sharp knife.
Toss with the olive oil, rosemary, and salt.
Spread in a single layer on the prepared pans, then put into the oven. The baking time will depend on how thin your slices are, so bake for 10 minutes then flip each slice over. Check every few minutes after the initial 10, and remove the chips that are golden brown.
Once all the chips are no longer hot, use a butter knife to dab a little goat cheese on each one.

We were having friends over for dinner, and after planning the menu, I remembered that one of the guests HATES eggplant. I had already bought everything I needed to make this, so I whipped up a batch of hummus to serve along with it, so she would have something to eat.

As it turns out, I didn’t need to do that, because this turned out to be the first eggplant-containing food she has EVER liked! That should show all you eggplant-haters out there how awesome this stuff is. Lots of spices, a little bit of heat, and diced eggplant and tomato all simmered together to make this fabulous dip. After cooking, you can either mash it up with a potato masher, or leave it chunky (which is what I did, and it was great).

Recipe:
(adapted from about.com)

1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped
5 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro and parsley, mixed
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
large pinch sugar
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a large, deep skillet or pot. Cover and simmer over medium to medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the heat if necessary to avoid burning the zaalouk.

Taste and adjust seasonings before serving. If you want a smoother texture, you can mash up the vegetables with a potato masher

Serve warm with bread or crackers for dipping

I didn’t really think about the fact that I might not feel like making Korean food every day, or that what I’d end up craving about 80% of the time would be comfort foods from home (including things I never really even ate when I was still in America). But instead of making my own kimchi or perfecting bulgogi, I have been sticking to pretty basic non-Korean food.

I saw jijimi (also called buchimgae, according to my students) listed on a few menus (mostly drinking places, because apparently it’s usually a bar snack), and thought it sounded like something that was worth a try. I did a little web research, and ended up making this, which seems to be a cross between Japanese okonomiyaki and jijimi. There are numerous possibilities for adapting this recipe to include different vegetables and toppings, and I fully intend to experiment with it some more. I think it’s pretty tasty dipped in soy sauce mixed with vinegar or topped with kimchi, and of course, a nice cold beer would be a welcome accompaniment.

Recipe:
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 cup water
a generous pinch salt
2 c thinly sliced cabbage
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil

for serving:
kimchi
soy sauce and rice vinegar

Whisk together the water and egg, and gently stir in the flour and salt. Fold in the vegetables and sesame seeds. It won’t look like typical pancake batter, it will probably look more like coleslaw.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over high. Swirl the pan so the oil is evenly distributed. Pour the cabbage mixture into the pan and spread to the edges so it is evenly thick.

Cook 3 to 4 minutes each side, or until golden brown. If the bottom begins to burn but the top is still very runny, turn the heat down.

Flipping can be a bit of a challenge. If you need to, slide the pancake, cooked side down, onto a plate, and then invert back into the pan to finish cooking. When cooked through and golden on both sides, cut into quarters to serve.

Mix the soy sauce and rice vinegar in a one-to-one ratio for dipping, or top with kimchi.

A long run early in the morning is the perfect time to think – I just let my mind wander, and most of the time either a song gets stuck in my head or I start thinking about recipes.  On a particularly beatuiful run along the river the other day, I found my thoughts occupied by tuna salad.  But not just any tuna salad; this one is special.

I spent one summer in college working at a deli making sandwiches. It was a family-run place near the beach, and our customers were mostly people escaping the smoldering heat of the central valley for a weekend on the coast.  It wasn’t my dream job by any means, but it definitely had it’s perks. For one, the owner’s father made fresh mozzarella every morning and I will never again be satisfied with the bland, flavorless, rubbery mess that you find in the grocery store.   For another, I discovered a whole new way to make tuna salad. This may not seem terribly earth-shattering, but for someone who only ate tuna mixed with mayo and sweet relish, it was a delicious eye-opener.

So while I was running, I realized I needed to re-create the tuna salad that changed my opinion of canned fish.

It’s been a few years since I made this at the deli, so I don’t remember the exact recipe they used. I know it included capers, red onion, and olive oil, with no mayonaise in sight.   It’s like your average tuna salad’s more sophisticated (and healthy!) cousin.

Recipe:
2 6-oz cans solid white albacore in water, drained
1 tbsp chopped capers
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on crackers, in lettuce cups, or on sandwiches.

My husband came home from the store the other day with the largest head of cabbage I think I’ve ever seen. It’s pumpkin shaped, and barely fits into the produce drawer in the refrigerator. Cabbage is one of his favorite vegetables, so this was a big score for him… but for me, well, there are many vegetables I’d rather eat.

Still, I like to be accommodating, so I’ve been trying to dream up new applications for cabbage in the kitchen. You can only have so much cabbage stir fry or coleslaw (and this is coming from the girl with an incredibly high tolerance for repetition), so I knew I needed to branch out if we were ever going to get through the abundant quantity currently occupying the bulk of the refrigerator.

I would like to take a moment to convey my new-found affection for ground pork. It’s readily available here, and much cheaper than ground beef, so I’ve been using it much more often than I ever did at home (when I think I only ever used it in pot stickers). It just begs to be mixed up with great Asian flavors like sesame oil, soy sauce, and green onions, and I’m perfectly willing to oblige. I realize it’s not the healthiest meat out there, but I tend to use it sparingly, so I’m confident my arteries are not completely clogged yet.

So, anyway, about all that cabbage. I had seen some appetizing recipes for lettuce wraps floating around, and thought ‘why not make cabbage wraps instead?’ So I did. With pork and rice, so you can almost count these as a complete meal!

Recipe:
3/4 pound lean ground pork
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
3 tbsp chopped green onions
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup cooked rice
soft outer leaves from one head of cabbage

Combine the pork, ginger, green onions, soy sauce, and sesame oil and mix well.
Cook in a large nonstick frying pan until the pork is thoroughly cooked, then add the rice and stir.
Cut the cabbage leaves into 3″ triangles (or just tear into pieces that are about 3″ on each side).
Spoon about a tablespoon of filling onto a piece of cabbage, fold it up, and eat!

I found this absolutely GENIUS recipe for cooking rice without a rice cooker: (It works really well if you have a pan with a glass lid, so you can see how much water has absorbed)
1. Rinse about 1 1/2 cups of short-grain rice
2. Place in the bottom of a saucepan, put your hand flat on top of the rice, and fill the pan with water just until your knuckles are covered.
3. Cover the pan, put over high heat, and boil for about 6 minutes
4. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. If it looks like all the water has been absorbed, turn off the heat and let the pan sit for about 15 minutes. If there’s still water, simmer until it’s gone, then let the pan sit for about 15 minutes. Don’t remove the lid!
6. Give the rice a good stir with a wooden spoon before serving.

Here’s the general idea:
1. Mix about 1 cup of cooked rice with about a tablespoon of rice vinegar
2. Place a sheet of nori in front of you, and spread about 2/3 of it with rice (the rice should be about 1 cm thick)

I learned through trial and error that you want the side with the rice toward you, and the uncovered nori away from you.
3. Put a few pieces of cucumber and a few sticks of tofu along the middle of the rice, and carefully roll it up. You don’t need one of those fancy looking sushi-mats, just your own two hands.

The end doesn’t look that pretty, but it’s okay.
4. Cut into slices about 3/4″ thick and enjoy!

Now that I know how easy it is, next time I’ll branch out and use some more interesting fillings.