Honey Tofu (or Chicken)

This was our first try with this recipe

This dish is SO tasty.

The left-overs? Equally as tasty.

Zok time: Prep time about 20 minutes, and cooking about 20 minutes

This includes the fact that he did the (currently) usual process of 2 woks, one with the chicken and one vegetarian.

The oh so tasty sauce soaks into the rice, making the left-over delicious - even cold.

The chicken and the tofu are treated the same way (of course tofu is easier since it is you know...tofu...and you can't under or over cook it- one of the reasons that it is a wonder food)

 I asked Zok how you know the chicken is cooked since it is coated with the cornflour and he said "you can tell." well, I suppose if you are a meat eater this is true.

This is for 2 people so double it if you are more.

A box of firm tofu (did you read what I said about the left-overs? yeah use the whole block)

1 egg white

1/2 c. (you can use less zok is a 'more' sort of person) Cornflour

about 1/4 c. vegetable oil (so you can re-coat your wok as you do new batches of ingredients)

small white onion, or basically whatever you consider a good amount (for me this is barely any for Zok more) cut very fine

2 carrots (the more the merrier) cut into lengthwise- not 'matchsticks' more like a skinny french fries.

Snow peas (the more the merrier) cut into squares, about the same size as you cut your tofu works well

2 heaped tablespoons of honey 

 toasted almonds (optional)

First take your cubes of tofu (or chicken if you must) and dip them into your bowl of egg white and then lightly dust with cornflour, best to shake off any excess put aside

Heat your wok and coat with a bit of oil

Stir fry your tofu in batches (or chicken)

Put them aside on something to drain (a paper towel is fine)

Reheat your wok and add a bit more oil to stir-fry your onion for about 4 minutes

add in your carrot for about 4 minutes

then your snow peas about 2-3 minutes stirring (or flipping) all continually

Make your your wok is still quite hot, and add in your honey and coat your vegetables thoroughly

Now add in your tofu (or chicken or both) and once again mix until well coated

Serve up immediately and add your toasted almonds (or not, we didn't)

Serve with the rice of your choice

 

 

Yaki-udon (Chicken optional)

The only thing that takes a lot time with this recipe is soaking the shiitake mushrooms if you are using dried ones- we used fresh because we luckily can buy them that way.

We use dried Udon noodles, which are cooked for about 7 minutes (like cooking pasta) but you need to then immerse them in cold water until you need to add them into your stir-fry

As usual our recipe is for 2 people (well Zok's two people which honestly I think is more like three)

5 or so shiitake mushrooms - thinly sliced caps only (discard the stems)

half of a mushroom stock cube

(if you use dried mushrooms you'd soak your dried shiitake in boiling water and keep about 1/8 of cup of the liquid to add into the stir fry instead of using the cube)

1 clove of garlic crushed

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 tbl. rice vinegar 

1 tbl. sugar

1/4 cup of soy sauce (Japanese - which is lighter than some)

1 tsp. lemon juice (fresh if you can)

250 g. / .5 lb of udon noodles (fresh if you have them)

250 g. firm tofu (we fried ours as small squares and then cut them into half)

250 g. / .5 lb of chicken thigh fillets thinly sliced* (optional)

1 clove garlic finely chopped

1 small red capsicum (bell pepper) thinly sliced

spring onion thinly sliced (about 2)

1 tsp. peanut or sesame oil

(this is a good dish to add in kale, cabbage, or any Asian greens although Zok doesn't always agree to that)

First combine your crushed garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, lemon juice and mushroom stock into a large measuring cup- set aside

Cook your noodles (Fresh udon would only boil for a couple of minutes, whereas dried takes longer (Zok says 5-7 minutes and to add some olive oil to the water))

Now heat your wok on high, add about half your oil to coat (if you are going non-vegetarian you will now cook your chicken)*

Zok cooks his chicken to add in last- in a different walk (so one batch is completely vegetarian)

++Tip- If you are doubling this recipe, cook your chicken in batches, it should take about 5 minutes for each batch- cook and put aside, repeat.

If you are going veg- then start with just your oil, and add in the remaining garlic (the sliced garlic),  mushrooms, pepper (capsicum), and any other greens you choose and stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes to soften up your veg.

Add in your noodles and stir-fry for one minute

Now, add your chicken or just your tofu

add spring onion, the rest of your oil and your soy-spice-mushroom stock mixture

Just stir fry until everything seems coated 

Voila! You are done.

 

Chicken (or tofu!) Pot Pie

Perhaps I wanted to have this dish because in 2013 I missed out on autumn all together- but I got a craving for vegetable pot pie 

We couldn't find a recipe we liked, but Zok felt puff pastry was key, and I just wanted a sort of tofu/veg/gravy  interior so Zok just winged it, as if he was making a soup- I would say the pies were almost too savory but Zok disagrees

Zok in truth used 2 vegetable stock cubes to the 500 mil of water, and I would used one

This is a great sort of left-over or clear out the vegetable crisper type of recipe as you really can't go wrong - it is too easy

Mushrooms

Carrots

Onion

Garlic

Tofu

Fried Chicken (optional)- but Zok is really happy with his new skillet from North Carolina so any excuse to fry something...

Peas

Butter

Egg (to coat your topping)

Puffed Pastry Sheets (ready to cook)

Gravy

First melted 50 g of butter into a large pot

Add in chopped onion (about half of a medium brown onion)

Saute for 2 minutes

Add in diced carrots (2 medium)

Add in 3-4 thinly sliced mushrooms

1 clove crushed garlic

Saute until vegetables get a bit soft and fragrant

Add in salt and pepper

Any herbs you might want 

1/3 cup of plain flour

Saute - stirring constantly for about 3 minutes

1/2 cup of milk

mix and bring to boil

then add

500 ml of vegetable stock (use your already made stock you've jarred up, frozen or the ever helpful vegetable stock cube - any will do)

Mix well and bring back to boil

add in tofu (or chicken)

then the mixture should quickly reduce to a gravy thickness

fill your desired cookware, (Zok was super excited to use as many types as possible)

fill to about 1 in. below the top

Place them all into the refrigerator to cool for about 15-20 minutes

Meanwhile

Take out your puffed pastry sheets and cut to overlap your cookware

 Zok would say to cut your air slits now

Then mix up on egg and get a pastry brush or something to use

Then pull out your cooled cookware

Coat the edges (rim) with a bit  of the egg wash

Cover with pastry

Brush the tops with egg wash

20 minutes 180 C (or about 400 f) or until golden brown

(Remember to always pre-heat your oven to the correct temperature before placing your food in to cook)

 

Phad si-iew

During our recent road trip through North America, Zok seems to have gotten back into a habit of eating meat- often.  Either the trip or the fact that he had some dental work done which caused him to attempt ten days of 'soft' food.  A concept that did not want to or could not grasp.

My phad si-iew had tofu but no chicken.

Zok of course - had both chicken and tofu.

We left out the egg-but if you want to add egg, just cook it first-it should come out omelet style, and you can slice it and put it aside and just add it in at the end of your stir-frying

(This recipe is for about 2 people)

250 g or .5 lb of rice noodle thick ones which are about 2 cm or 3/4 inch

1 tbl. peanut oil

1 egg (optional)

250 g of chicken or beef (optional)

250 g (for us about half a block) of firm tofu

30 ml or 1 fl. oz of kecap manis

about a 2 tbl. of soy sauce

about a tbl. of fish sauce (this can always be switched out with any other veg. sauce to add flavor-mushroom being the most common)

150 g or 5 oz of bok-choy, gai larn (chinese broccoli), kale or leafy green of your choice

150 g or 5 oz of broccoli (I like both types in mine)

a dash of ground white pepper

Drain your noodles and set aside

If you are frying your tofu, cut it into desired shape, fry and set aside on something porous (paper towel, designated tea towel)

Heat your wok(s) over high heat, and add in your peanut oil reduce to medium, add your noodles and cook for a couple of minutes

combine all your sauces soy, fish, kecap manis (you can add water if you think the sauce is too thick, I prefer mine thicker)

Add your vegetables and white pepper

Lastly add in your tofu (and egg/meat) and stir fry it all for a couple of minutes

Serve up !

Dried or fresh: First soak them in a large bowl of boiled water (hot) completely covered so you can then separate the noodle strands. Zok likes to soak his for his entire prep. time so about 20 minutes to a .5 hour.

Zok used a second wok, and using the same sauce he cooked his chicken in a second wok, and then just added this into his portion.

San Choy Bau or Zok's version of Lettuce Cups

This dish is all about the prep.  Because really it is just a wok stir-fry.

The process is about 20 - 30 minutes prep and 10 minutes cooking.

Zok uses two woks, one for his pork version, and one for my tofu version.  This works out well because I also don't like as much spring onion, and Zok adds diced chillies to his.

1/4 cup (60 ml) oyster sauce (veg. style which we think is really a mushroom sauce)

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/4 (60 mil cooking sherry)

1 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 tbls. vegetable oil

1/4 sesame oil

2 crushed cloves of garlic

3 tsp. grated fresh ginger 

6 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal

100 g (about 3 oz) bamboo shoots, finally chopped (we use canned)

100 g (about 3 oz) water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped (we use canned)

Zok uses about 500 g (1 lb) of pork mince from the local butcher

and for me most of a block of tofu (we have used both soft and firm it's really a consistency choice)

Whole lettuce leaves (we use iceberg) rinsed and trimmed.

First your stir fry sauce, Combine:

oyster, soy, sherry and sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Then heat your wok(s) over high heat, and add your oils, roll your oil around to coat the wok.

Then add the garlic, ginger, and half of the spring onion, and stir-fry for about a minute

Then add your mince (or tofu) and cook about 4 minutes

Add your bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and the rest of your onion (and any chillies if you go that way), then pour in your stir-fry sauce and cool for about 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens up a bit.

Then put your mixtures in a hot pot or some dish with a lid

and set them out with the lettuce leaves to make your lettuce cups.

Tom Ka Gai aka Chicken or Tofu and Coconut Soup

To be honest I don't think I have ever gotten this recipe to be as good as the takeaway I used to get in Seattle, but with no other options I will keep trying!

I think a lot depends on your coconut milk, if it is too sweet the soup isn't as complex. Also Zok only had this in a Thai place in Bellingham, WA, years ago so we don't have the same reference point.

This like most soups is easy for a fast meal.  I think you can add vegetables as you like, I have had it in Thai places with various vegetables, we used both broccoli and carrots

5 cm (2 in.) piece fresh galangal

2 cups (500ml-16 fl oz) coconut milk

1 cup (250 ml/8 fl oz) chicken or vegetable stock (we use a soup cube veg. for this one)

1 box of firm tofu

3 chicken breast fillet, cut into thin strips (Optional or additional)

1-2 teaspoons finely chopped red chillies

2 tbl. fish sauce (you can use mirin as a substitute)

1 tsp. soft brown sugar 

Any vegetables you might want to add

Coriander leaves (optional or absolutely not if you are me)

Peel the galangal and cut it into thin slices.  Combine the galangal, coconut milk and stock and carrots in a medium pan (we just use the woks).

Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally

Add the tofu (if no one is vegetarian, you can add your chicken now, or cook it separately in another wok and add into the bowl of soup directly)

Toss in your broccoli (or any vegetable that is softer than a carrot by example)

Add chillies

Simmer for 8 minutes

Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar 

If using coriander add in now

Serve immediately