Veggie Sweet & Sour Soup

My attempt to get rid of the cough that has been plaguing Angelo this week. A little sweet, a little sour, a pinch of spice to knock that cold right from your chest.

Ingredients:
1 large carrot, sliced thin
3 celery stalks, julienned
Quarter onion, sliced thin
mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 red pepper julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar (rice or white)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp spicy sesame oil
1 cube vegetable bullion
2 tbsp brown sugar
Sriracha sauce to taste
4 cups water
Angel hair pasta

In large sauce pan, saute onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and ginger in the sesame oil till the celery and onions start to turn clear. Add 1 cup of water and vegetable bullion. Allow to simmer till bullion has incorporated (of course you can use stalk, but bullion was all I had and it worked well).

Add vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and Sriracha and bring the pot back to a simmer. Add the remaining three cups of water, 1 at a time. Test flavor, add more soy/sugar/spice/vinegar as desired. Add mushrooms and peppers (I like them a bit more crispy when the soup is finished so I wait till the end.) Add about a good fist full of angel hair pasta directly to the pot. Cook 8 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and lime & eat!

I added some tofu for a little extra protein, but this would be good with shrimp or chicken.

Grilled Tofu Rice Bowl with Sauteed Greens and Egg

For this recipe, prepare the tofu as described in the Tofu Taco recipe (pressing the water out).  This time we'll lightly marinate the tofu in the sauce, rather than brushing the sauce on, but grilling instructions are also the same.

Serves 2

1/2 block of extra firm tofu, drained and pressed

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp brown sugar (heaping)
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 small garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 tsp grapeseed or canola oil
6 oz washed spinach, stems removed, torn to bite sized pieces (I do not like to use baby spinach for this type of dish as I find it gets mushy)
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1/2 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 bell pepper, diced
2 eggs
Basmati Rice
Sliced green onion, sriracha, soy sauce, kimchi for garnish

Prepare tofu and set aside.  Mix the next 6 ingredients and pour into a shallow dish.  Dip the tofu in the marinade and allow to sit for 1 minute, then turn to coat other side.  Repeat 1x on each side, then grill for 3-4 minutes on each side at medium heat.  Dice tofu when finished and set aside.  Reserve leftover marinade for next step.

Go ahead and get the rice started (prepare as much as you want to your liking) before moving to the next step.

Add 1 tsp grapeseed oil to saute pan, heat on medium.  Once hot, add shallots and saute 2 minutes.

Add bell pepper and saute for another 2 minutes.  Add zucchini and tofu, then pour reserved marinade into pan and simmer for a final 3-4 minutes.  Finally, add spinach to mix, turn off heat, cover and move to final step.

Get out one last fry or saute pan.  Fry up two eggs - we like ours with the yolk really runny so that it cooks on the hot veggies and really adds flavor to the whole dish.

While you are frying your eggs, have a friend prep the dishes.  By now, your rice should be done, so portion it out into two shallow bowls.  Split the veggies and grilled tofu and pile on top of the rice.  Now the egg should be done - top both bowls with one fried egg.

Garnish with condiments to your liking.  I like mine topped with slide green onions, a bit of sriracha, and kimchi.

Enjoy!

Cold Chinese Noodles

Serves 4

1/2 pound thin spaghetti

1/2 cup sesame oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2-4 tablespoons hot oil (depending on your heat preference)

4 scallions, white and green parts, sliced

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain. While spaghetti is cooking, mix remaining ingredients together. Place drained pasta in a bowl and toss with sauce. Allow noodles to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

This is terrific as a side dish for grilled Asian flavored meats, poultry and tofu.