Vegetarian Dishes

Tofu
Tofu is an excellent supplement of protein/meat, it needs simple preparation, but some flavours have to be added.  I cook it by steaming, braising and also frying and adding other ingredients such as vegetables or nuts.
Last week I cooked tofu with a difference, wrapped in spinach mixture, poached, then served with a sauce.  It looked so good on a plate and tasted better.

Tofu Wrapped in Spinach and Served with Mango sauce.

The recipe is shared, from my kitchen to yours.  Have fun and happy cooking.

Tofu Wrapped in Spinach

Ingredients

Firm tofu and chopped garlic, salt

Roll a strip of this tofu (30cm) with the garlic and salt

Spinach Mixture

3 tablespoons cooked spinach (chopped and squished until almost dry)

½ cup toasted bread, chopped

1 egg

1tablespoon oil

Salt to taste- a tiny pinch

(Mix all together)

To wrap and To Cook

You need cling plastic, baking paper and foil

Put a piece of cling plastic on a working bench

Put the spinach mixture, spread it out to the length of the tofu

Place the prepared tofu on it, then roll it to make sure the spinach mixture coats the tofu.

Wrap and twist both ends of the plastic tightly

Now put the foil with the baking paper on top, and place the wrapped tofu on it

Roll it again to cover it properly

Poach it on boiling water, and cook for 11 minutes.

Take it out, drain and keep in the wrapper until ready to serve.

Serve hot or room temperature with a sauce

It is delicious with mango sauce or silky peanut sauce.

Preparations and The Cooking Process

Spinach mixture: cooked chopped spinach, toasted bread, egg, salt and oil.

A slice strip of tofu with salt and chopped garlic

Spinach mixture on a cling plastic wrap to wrap the tofu

The tofu wrapped in the cling plastic wrap

The final wrapping: wrapped tofu is ready for poaching

Noddles
A delicious soup, using vegetable stock is another tasty vegetarian dish.  This soup is speedy to prepare and using only a few ingredients.
Mie Soa Soup with Zucchini ( Fine White Noodles with Zucchini)
A bundle of fine white dry noodle (it is available in the Chinese Grocery Store), Vegetable stock or only hot water, peeled and sliced zucchini, crushed garlic, salt and white pepper to taste.
Bring the stock or water to boil, add in the sliced zucchini, cook for one minute, then add in the fine noodle, crushed garlic, salt and pepper to taste, continue cooking for two or three minutes.
Serve at once, garnish the soup with chopped parsley and fried shallot.  How easy is that, and it is very delicious.

Fine White Noodles Soup with Zucchini

Pictures of the Ingredients

Dried Noodle in Packet

The Fine Dried Noodles

Sliced and Peeled Zucchini

Cheese and Pastry

Using pastry for vegetarian pies.  The filling is so essential for delicious pies, as the pastry, you could easily buy ready-made from the shop.  

I made the sour cream light pastry the other day, and I filled the pastry with two layers of filling, one is caramelised onion with Parmesan cheese, and topped up with mixed egg, spinach and feta.

Boat Pies with Two Fillings.

It is delicious to go with garden salad, it does not need a sauce at all as it has full flavours.  The sweetness of the caramelised onion blended together with the salty and creaminess of the two kinds of cheese, the spinach and the egg worked together with the full flavour, which make it so perfect.

Sweets and cakes are not too difficult to make, as long as you use egg, cream and milk.  Custard parcel is the sweet pie that I baked. I    did it with my water pastry, filled with custard and cooked apple in syrup.  It is suitable for a dessert to end everyday meals or serve it as morning tea to go with a hot drink, coffee or tea.



The process of baking: bake in a hot oven for 22 minutes until the pastry is a brownish colour.  Dust with icing powder while still warm.


To serve and cook balance diets for vegetarian is a chapter by itself.  I have to learn first.  However, if I have to do it, I would be cooking using more nuts, legumes, eggs, vegetable oil and cheeses.  Fresh leafy salads and a lot of fresh fruits or poached fruits served daily.
My family love rice, and rice makes delicious vegetarian food, for savoury and also for sweets.  I will share recipes of my rice dishes soon.


Bread
Home baking of a Quick

Sun-dried tomato bread

Bread or savoury scones to serve with soup or salads for lunches. Sun-dried tomato quick bread is delicious, served with nut loaf and salad.
The quantities of the ingredients are, one cup full self-raising flour, chopped three sun-dried tomatoes, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/3 cup milk, a little salt.  Mix all ingredients together, stir and fold quickly.  Spoon and put it on greased tin.  Bake in a preheated hot oven at 175 degrees C for 25 minutes.



All these dishes are only ideas or suggestions.  I am sure you are creative enough to create delicious and healthy vegetarian meals.  Recipes are not needed.




More vegetarian dishes to come using rice and garnishes.





Thanks For Visiting
Until Next Post
Susy