Veganacious

Archive for the ‘Asian cuisine’ Category

There is an art to forming fortune cookies, but once you catch onto it, the process is very easy.  The cookies must be formed while warm, so you may need to just cook two or three cookies at a time. Luckily, they are simple to make and don’t take long to form, either.  I would heartily recommend that, once formed, they are put into a muffin tin  or tiny tea cup to keep their shape until they are fully cooled.

History of Fortune Cookies

Fortune cookies are actually an American invention, created by either a Cantonese or Japanese man in the early 1920s, probably in California, but they have become a standard post-meal offering in Chinese restaurants in the U.S.

Have strips of fortunes prepared before you begin making the cookie dough.  Type them on the computer or write them by hand, but be sure they are ready before the cookies are begun.  Once the fortune cookies come out of the oven, you will need to move quickly, so the fortunes must be handy and ready to insert. Have gloves ready if possible, too, because the fortune cookie shape needs to be formed while the cookies are hot.

How to Make Fortune Cookies

The recipe below makes about a dozen cookies. Once you learn how to make them more quickly, double the recipe.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Blend with a stick blender or electric beater:

• 1 TB ground flax seeds
• 5 TB water

Puree until very creamy, about one minute.

In a bowl, add:

• 1/2 C. unbleached flour
• 3/4 C. powdered sugar, packed

Mix together.  Add:

• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp vegan butter
• the contents of the blender.

Mix together gently.  Add enough water, if needed, to make a batter, somewhat like pancake batter, only stickier and a little thicker.  The batter must be liquid enough to spread on the silpat cookie sheet but thick enough to hold its shape.

Use a silpat if you have one, or grease the cookie sheet with vegan butter or oil.

Use a tablespoon measure, and put 1 TB of dough on sheet for each cookie. Spread the batter thinly and evenly, but not so thin there are any holes. You should have two or three nice rounds.  Pop into the oven and check back in a few minutes. Within ten minutes, they should be lightly browned around the edges and cooked through in the center.  Try to keep your cookies even in depth so they will cook evenly. If the edges are too thin, they will brown too quickly.

Now is the fun part.  Take them out of the oven when ready. Use a large spatula, and remove one circle. If you have heat resistant gloves, use them; otherwise, be aware that the cookies will be HOT! Put a fortune in the middle of the cookie and bring the edges together, into a “D” shape.  Fold the spine of the “D” backwards over the edge of a teacup and put to rest in a small muffin tin or in the teacup.  Allow to cool.

Working quickly, repeat the procedure.  Then put another batch back in the oven and repeat.

This is time consuming, but a simple procedure.  You can personalize the fortunes for special people and put them in a Chinese takeout package for a very lovely gift.  They are also great to have on hand for parties with special fortunes designed just for the group at hand: your book club, tennis partners, or vegan meetup group.  Once you have learned to keep the cookies nice, even and lightly browned, you should have a crunchy sweet fortune cookie to share with your friends!

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Yellow split mung beans are a versatile and healthy addition to your diet. They can be purchased in Asian markets, in the ethnic food section of some general markets, and are also available online.  I discovered them originally when I stumbled upon a great Asian soup recipe that utilized them.  Since that time, I have found them to be invaluable.  One of my favorite uses is in Korean-style pancakes, called Pajeon.  These easy pancakes can be cut into strips and dipped into a delicious sauce; they can be served for lunch or dinner and are great reheated.  Here is an easy way to make them your favorites, too.

Use one cup of split mung beans; rinse and soak in clear water for two or more hours.

Recipe for Korean Pancakes Vegan-American Style

Drain the mung beans.  Prepare shredded and chopped vegetables (1 large carrot, shredded; 2 stalks scallions, finely chopped; 1 C. shredded cabbage or squash (optional).  Other vegetables may be substituted, according to taste, but be sure to add the scallions!  Set the vegetables aside.

Add to blender, along with the soaked and drained mung beans:

4 cloves garlic

2 TB. sesame oil

1 – 2 TB. water

Blend with the soaked mung beans.

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I had difficulty getting these photographs because the kids were eating these strips quicker than I could get a shot of them!  This is one of the most versatile of vegan recipes.  These high protein strips are great served with stir-fried vegetables and rice, or with oven roasted potatoes and a salad.  They are a great addition to wraps, as well. For the summer grill, the seitan can be cubed and put on kabobs with veggies like sweet onions, peppers and broccoli.

The Seitan Recipe

Prepare one recipe of Seitan.

• 1 Cup wheat gluten flour
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 3 TB nutritional yeast
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 1 TB oil
• 1/2 Cup water

Mix all ingredients and knead a few mintues until mixture stretches easily. Flatten out into an large oblong.  Cut in half, then half again, continuing to cut into long, thin strips.

Cook in vegetable broth for 15 minutes or so and allow to cool.

The Teriyaki Sauce

Make sauce by adding the following:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 TB fresh ginger, grated
• 1 TB oil
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2  cup brown sugar
• few grinds of cracked black pepper

Marinate the strips in the sauce briefly.  Broil gently (not too close to heat) until lightly crisp (I used a 9″ x 13″ pan, which was just about right).  Baste again when partially broiled. Turn strips over and baste them with sauce liberally.  Broil gently again; repeat basting.  Remove from heat when they turn dark brown and crusty.

4 servings with double sauce, enough for use later.  One batch of teriyaki is enough for two batches of seitan and two pounds of baked tofu. The extra sauce may be frozen for later use.

Seitan, 1/4 recipe

Teriyaki sauce, 1/8 recipe

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