Eggless Quiche

I got a new kitchen (with induction stove, microwave, and oven all included) installed in my to-be apartment at home! I really was looking forward to testing the oven!

I found a pastry dough in the freezer, and decided to tackle an egg-free version of quiche. Going with what vegetables were available, I quickly stir-fried some shredded carrots, celery, cauliflower, and frozen green peas. To that, I added some crushed tofu (about half a block).

To bind it together, I made a béchamel sauce which had Greek yogurt instead of milk or cream (for a healthier option, as well as for thickening purposes. I was really surprised when the quiche came out of the oven somewhat yellowed! I guess the browning from the oven, plus the color of the carrots kind of helped to bring out such a color. I am very happy with using tofu and béchamel to bind things together into a quiche, so I'll likely make it again.

Casserole (step-by-step)

Remember the Lazy Student Casserole? I suddenly had an urge to eat it again today, so I did.

First, I looked at what I had in the fridge. Quite a few vegetables, so I selected a few and sliced them. In my assortment: zucchini, bellpepper, mushroom, eggplant, potato, and ripped-up iceberg lettuce. I also chopped tofu into thin strands, as I didn't fell like putting cheese on top this time.

First heat up a small pot, then take it off the heat and coat the bottom and a bit of the sides with some plain oil. Then layer your ingredients, making sure the potatoes are not the bottom-most. I think most casseroles have cheese, but not this time. I opted for some cilantro over the top of everything. You can season in the middle, wherever you wish. I put some Provincial herbs, salt, pepper, and dried chili flakes.

Cook on medium-low heat 15-20 minutes until veggies are tender. I had some troubles and put the heat too high, resulting in a burned the bottom layer, but it was good nevertheless. Portion out and serve!

Mapo Tofu

I got the recipe for this from a friend, and I had a lot of tofu to use up. My cousin was going to make it at first, but due to time constraints, I ended up making it.

Recipe as my friend sent it to me:

I didn't have light soy sauce, so I omitted it, and just put 3 tbs of dark soy sauce. Didn't have black bean paste, but had the actual black beans, so I mashed them with a bit of water to turn them into a paste. The tofu wasn't exactly silken, but it was soft enough. It was served with black rice with diced sweet potato mixed in.

Norimaki (sushi)

When I have mozzarella and avocados, the first thing I think of is that I can make sushi with it. Like I've mentioned before, it has somehow become normal to put strips of mozzarella in my sushi...

I really liked the arrangement of the plate today, so I decided to make a blog post about it =D

Clockwise from the top left: cucumber, tofu, carrot, avocado, and mozzarella.

For a simple make-it-yourself dinner, we just set out the nori sheets cut in half, rice (black rice this time), cut up ingredients, and wasabi and soy sauce, and each of us rolls our own. I usually make a roll, cut in 4, and then eat it dipped in soy sauce and wasabi powder.

The two end pieces are not as pretty, but the middle pieces are nice! ^_^

Lazy Student Casserole

What do you do when you cook for yourself and you're lazy to stand by the pot and stir? You make a casserole. (Stove-top one, I don't have an oven yet).

It's really simple really. Just slice your veggies, layer them in a pot, cook on low heat. DONE! If anyone's interested, I got the recipe from a manga (Cooking Papa), once again. Even though it's never sure exactly how safe it is to test recipes from fictional characters, I like getting inspired by them.

With the potatoes inside, you don't even need any rice or anything. The veggies will leak out some juice, so it's not bad to mop up with bread if you're still hungry enough. Feel free to change the veggie type, just make sure the potatoes are not the bottom-most layer.

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What do you do when you're lazy (not counting instant noodles and such stereotypical student food)?

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RECIPE (full meal for one person)

  Ingredients

• 2 small potatoes (or 1 large one)
• 1/3 zucchini/courgette
• 3 white mushrooms (champignon de Paris)
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 piece tofu
• 150 g mozzarella
• salt, pepper, chili flakes, Maggi soy sauce, Provencal herbs
• neutral oil

  Procedure

1. Slice everything
2. Heat a small pot, then remove from heat. Coat the bottom with some mild oil (I used olive oil)
3. Layer your veggies (this is the order I used, the bottom-most one being the one at the bottom of the list):
                   Mozzarella
                   Tofu + soy sauce + pepper + chili flakes
                   Bell pepper
                   Mushroom
                   Potato + bit of salt
                   Zucchini + herbs
4. Return to the stove, close the lid, and let cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes or until all the veggies are cooked through
5. Enjoy~

Onigiri!

Once again home alone, with some leftover salty, poached tofu in the fridge and leftover rice in the rice cooker, I thought "hey, I can try making onigiri!" (onigiri are rice balls, sometimes with filling, usually wrapped in nori seaweed)

Some of them contain chopped poached tofu and chopped boiled carrots, others have a chopped tofu and mayo mix. I had some leftover chopped carrots, so I added them as a side.

I mixed in some salt, sugar, and rice vinegar into the rice to make sushi rice, just for fun and additional flavor. I even tried making faces with the nori seaweed, but they're kind of failed... =D

Sandwich

June 12, 2013

Just a sandwich I made for lunch one day. The particularity is that I tried marinating some tofu slices in a ginger-soy sauce-sugar marinade before baking them.

Some of the leftover pieces were left in the still-warm oven, and surprisingly turned into something similar in texture to commercial fake meat.

I tried reproducing the effect, but it didn't work out... Will have to figure out how exactly it all happened, then I'll post it here ^^

Soup and Tofu

I made lunch today, for a bunch of people (we were 7 around the table).

Potato Soup:
This was based on a soup one of my teachers used to make which was delicious. However, I didn't have the recipe, and tried making it from memory... there wasn't enough potato, and there was too much spices.

Since it wasn't quite there yet, I won't post up the recipe.

Sweet and Sour Tofu:

I tried imitating my aunt's tofu. Again, not quite there yet. My cousin helped me a lot.

Asian poached tofu

Note: Serving sizes may vary. I cook with what I have, for those who need food at the time.

This is a typical dish that my parents or aunts make often.

Recipe~ (5-6 servings)

Ingredients:

- 2 pieces of soft tofu (not silky, just soft)

- Soy sauce

- Ginger

- Mushroom seasoning (as explained here)
- Salt, sugar, pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Dice the tofu.
2. Put the tofu in a pot along with all the seasoning.
3. Add minced ginger.
4. Cover the pot, then cook on low heat for a long time, occasionally stirring so the tofu is cooked evenly.

Some tofu recipes

So over the last few months, I've developed 2 tofu recipes~ (actually, the 2nd one was made today~)

Sorry... no pictures.

Caramelized Tofu
Ingredients:
- 1 tofu
- frying oil
- a piece of ginger
- water
- soy sauce
- sugar
- salt
- (starch, optional)
Procedure:
1. Cut the tofu into medium-sided slabs.
2. Fry the tofu until golden all over. I usually use a deep-frying method. In the end, the inside of the tofu should be full of holes, like a sponge.
3. Mince the ginger into thin strands. Heat up the water, and once it boils, add the ginger in. You should end up with a very small amount of ginger tea ^^
4. Add sugar and keep on reducing the water by heating until you obtain a syrupy substance.
Optional: If you don't want the sauce to be too sweet, add some corn or potato starch or some pectin to gelify the sauce.
5. Add in some soy sauce and salt. The result should be a golden color. To test the consistency, put a drop of the sauce in a bowl of cold water. The sauce shouldn't dissolve, nor should it solidify. It should be kinda squishy. Basically syrupy.
6. Take the pieces of fried tofu and roll them in sauce. Lay them out neatly on a plate, and pour the rest of the sauce on top. Enjoy~

Zucchini-Tomato Tofu
Ingredients:
- 1 tofu
- butter
- 1 zucchini
- 1 tomato
- frying oil
- 1 pinch paprika
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 pinch Italian seasoning
- 1 small piece of ginger
- sugar, salt, pepper to taste
Procedure:
1. Cut the tofu into small slabs.
2. Rub the bottom of  the pan with an oiled napkin. It shouldn't be too oily. Set the tofu on it, until the surface turns slightly golden, but the inside still remains the same.
3. In a saucepan, sauté the diced zucchini with butter. Once softened, add the diced tomato. Stir frequently until the tomatoes liquify.
4. Mince ginger and add it into the sauce with the rest of the ingredients.
5. Put the tofu on a plate and pour sauce on top. Enjoy~