Hot and Sour Soup

Adapted from Veganfood.net.

4 TBL cornstarch
10 TBL water
8 TBL rice vinegar
2 TBL dry sherry
4 TBL Bragg’s or soy sauce
1 tsp White pepper
1 TBL oil
4 inches fresh ginger, grated
1 medium onion, sliced finely
16 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 block firm tofu, cubed
2 cups broccoli
1-2 tsp cayenne
2 quarts veggie stock
1/2 package brown rice noodles
1 cup shredded jicama
siracha

Mix the cornstarch, vinegar, water, sherry, Braggs, and white pepper together until smooth.

Heat the oil in large pot and saute the ginger, onion, and half of the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Add the stock, bring to the boil and add the remaining mushrooms, cayenne, carrot.

Add tofu cubes, simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add broccoli and cook gently for 3 minutes, then slowly stir in the vinegar/cornstarch mixture until the soup thickens.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and cook noodles about 3 minutes, until al dente.

Serve soup with noodles, and top with jicama and siracha.

Isa’s Mushroom Hot Pot and Lettuce Wraps

Don’t worry, this is still a ginger post! We borrowed Isa’s new Mushroom Hot Pot recipe and this delicious Lettuce Wraps recipe from the Veggie Converter.

We followed the lettuce wrap instructions with minimal changes. We reduced the agave and soy sauce, and subbed tiny pan-fried tofu cubes instead of seitan. (Yes, actual size was cute x cute.) This was SO GOOD. If you’re soy-free, try diced, pan-fried mushrooms, or maybe even jackfruit?

The soup turned out really well, with lots of surprising flavors in every bite. We used tons of cremini mushrooms and some veggie broth instead of the mushroom broth, and not as much coconut milk (full-fat) instead of the 1 can of reduced fat. We also ditched the bell pepper, added extra tomato, and extra red pepper flakes. For the mix-ins, we used what we had on hand: fresh cilantro, green onions, mung bean sprouts, and grated jicama. And of course, lots of extra lime juice in each bowl. The jicama gave the soup a similar mouthfeel to rice noodles, for an added heartiness!

Jicama and Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

Sometimes you need to eat salad with your hands.

Contrary to the past week’s post, we eat actually eat a lot of uncooked foods. Salads, of course, and sometimes desserts, but also raw noodles, curries, and other tasty treats. One of our favorite recipe books is Ani’s Raw Food Asia: Easy East-West Fusion Recipes the Raw Food Way, which is full of terrific and accessible recipes for jazzing up raw foods. Though not completely raw (because of the peanut butter), this lettuce wrap is inspired by Ani!

8-10 lettuce leaves (we used romaine, but iceberg or butter lettuce would be easier to handle)
1 cup mushrooms, quartered and sliced
1 cup  jicama, grated
1/2 cup red onion, chopped into thin pieces
2 TBL ginger, sliced thinly
1 lime, juiced
1 TBL peanut butter
1 tsp Bragg’s or soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Combine lime juice, peanut butter, Bragg’s, and sesame oil and whisk well. Toss with mushrooms, jicama, ginger, and red onion, and marinate for 30 minutes. Serve spooned into lettuce leafs.

Bet you can’t eat just one!