Vegan Soba Mee Goreng With Teriyaki Tempeh

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There’s no denying I love a good stir fry. It’s easy, speedy, and it transforms any left overs you have in the fridge. One night, it occured to me that I haven’t had fried noodles for a while and I had this sudden craving for the sweet mee goreng I used to have as a child when I was growing up.

So I created this noodle recipe inspired by that memory. I wanted to create something as delicious but I wanted something better, healthier and more nutritious. Most stir-fry noodles are dripping in oil which makes me cringe sometimes.

This recipe only uses two tablespoons of oil for four servings. It’s a cross between soba noodle salad and mee goreng and it’s full of the colours and flavours I love from the stir fry noodles in my childhood.

Vegan Soba Mee Goreng With Teriyaki Tempeh
Recipe Type: Lunch
Cuisine: Vegan
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A comforting but healthy fried noodles that is slightly sweet, slightly salty, fragrant, substantial and every bit delicious.
Ingredients
  • 1 bunch baby broccoli, roughly chopped
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sweet soya sauce
  • 250g tempeh*, cut into cubes
  • 2 bundles of buckwheat noodles
  • 8 okras, sliced
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • Ground pepper
  • 1/3 cup tbsp teriyaki sauce
Instructions
  1. Melt 1 tbsp oil in a wok on high heat, fry marinaded tempeh for 1 minute, flip and cook until golden brown, set aside.
  2. Cook buckwheat noodles according to packet instruction.
  3. Melt 1 tbsp oil, add sliced onion and sauté until soft. Add garlic and fry for about 1 minute. Add chopped broccoli, stir for 30 seconds.
  4. Add 1/3 cup of water into the wok and stir for 10 seconds.
  5. Add sliced carrots and okras.
  6. Add soy sauce, sweet soya sauce, and sesame oil. Toss all ingredients to combine.
  7. Season with ground pepper.
  8. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.
Notes
Tempeh is a delicious health food made from fermented soy bean. It’s rich in protein and is a perfect substitute for meat.

Vegan Soba

 

Roasted pumpkin and lentil salad with shiso leaves

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I’ve only started using purple leaves or shiso leaves (also known as perilla leaves) a few months ago when I discovered this interesting looking plant amongst all the familiar herbs in the vegetables section. It has a very fragrant smell and it has this striking purple colour on one side of the leaf and a deep green colour on the other side. If you’re familiar with Japanese or Korean food, you may have come across this item without realising it (which I did). It is very popular in Korean cuisine in particular and is usually served pickled.

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It tastes somewhat like coriander (has a fragant note to it) but not as strong. At first, I didn’t know what to use it with so I experimented a fair bit. It seems to work on a lot of things. At the very least, it never ruined anything to which I added the shiso leaves. It adds an interesting flavour to Chinese stir-fries and it gives any salad I make a nice herbaceous twist.

It turns out that shiso leaves are rich in dietary fibre, essential minerals such as calcium, iron and potassium, and vitamins A, C and riboflavin, and the leaf components are undergoing research for potential anti-inflammatory properties. Needless to say, there are many reasons to try this delicious herb.

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One night recently I was rushed for time and had to make something quickly for dinner. So I made pumpkin and lentil salad with shiso leaves (among a few other things) and I was really surprised with how well it turned out. There’s not much preparation involved with this. Just roast the pumpkin (you can even leave the skin on if you can’t be bothered peeling it), cook the lentils, chop the shiso leaves, and combine everything in the bowl with olive oil and some seasonings. It is a great salad to have when you need something quick but more substantial than just salad greens.

Roasted pumpkin and lentil salad with shiso leaves
Recipe Type: Salad
Cuisine: Glutenfree, sugarfree, vegan and paleo
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A delicious and comforting salad that equally light and satisfying. It’s low in fat, high in fibers, vitamins and minerals and full of fresh flavours and aroma.
Ingredients
  • Half of butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into big chunks
  • 4 sprigs of shiro leaves (about 10 medium size leaves)
  • 1 cup of green lentils, rinse well
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1/3 cup of roasted pinenuts (optional but highly recommended)
  • Sea salt
  • Cracked pepper
Instructions
  1. Place pumpkin onto a nonstick roasting pan. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and generously sprinkle with sea salt. Toss to mix. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 25 minutes or until cooked (if you can pierce it using a fork, it’s done).
  2. Meanwhile, transfer the lentil into a pan and cover with water, add 1/2 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Turn down the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain and rinse in cold water
  3. When the pumpkin is cooked, remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes until cool enough to handle. Chop into cubes.
  4. Pick shiso leaves from the sprigs. To chop the leaves,stack them on top of each other, roll them into a cigar and then slice thinly.
  5. Transfer all ingredients into a bowl, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  6. Devour!
Notes
To roast pine nuts:[br]You can roast them in the oven for 15 minutes at 170C but the quickest way is on the stove. Heat a dry non-stick pan (no oil, no nothing) over medium heat for a couple minutes and add the pinenuts. Allow the pinenuts to toast for 30 – 45 seconds and then toss them in the pan. Repeat this process every 30 seconds until you start seeing them just turning brown, then remove and let them cool.[br][br]Be careful not to burn them.  They can go from nicely browned to burnt very quickly, so keep an eye on them.

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Simple Acai Berry Smoothie

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Here’s another ‘superfood’ with which you should get acquainted. Açaí (ahh-sigh-ee) is a berry harvested from palm trees found in Brazil and Peru in Central and South America. It has become really popular due to its varied health benefits, as it is high in antioxidants, minerals, healthy fats, and vitamins.

 

Açaí berries come in several forms such as dehydrated in capsules, in frozen pulp, or as freeze-dried powder. I have only used the freeze-dried powders but I’m keen to try the frozen pulp form as it has a stronger taste, texture, and higher nutritional content. Though the freeze-dried form is very convenient to have laying around as you can add it to juice, smoothies, porridges, desserts, and pretty much anything which takes berries, to instantly boost the nutritional content of your meal.

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Avocado and Tomato on (sprouted bread) Toast

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I can be quite elaborate in the kitchen. Not on weekdays, because I’m usually busy with work but weekends – I can spend hours in the kitchen, making a 3 course meal for dinner, testing new recipes, experimenting with different ideas, ingredients, etc. I’m a bit obsessive with trying new things. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m adventurous or if I suffer from slight ADHD. Probably both. Sometimes I feel like a failure when I can’t think off anything ‘new’ or exciting to try and make.

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But lately I’ve been doing a lot of self reflection and just trying to be in the moment. To focus on what’s really important, knowing very well that I can’t do everything. Being a bit of type A personality this is very hard to accept but I’m slowly coming to terms with it. Now, instead of worrying what to have for breakfast, I focus more on making sure I make the most of my weekend with Buzz whom I only get see on the weekends and my furbaby Missa. As a result, I’m much more relax and less moody now, though Buzz might disagree with me on the ‘moody’ part. But really, it’s been pretty awesome. We now have more time in the morning because I don’t spend hours in the kitchen perfecting my healthy–vegan-gluten-free-sugar-free-paleo-(fill the blank) waffle recipe. Now, most Saturday and Sunday morning we would go out for a run around the park or the beach one day and then workout at the gym the other day. When we get home I would make avocado and tomato on toasted sprouted or sourdough bread for our post workout meal/ breakfast. It’s our new weekend routine and we look forward to it every week.

Avocado and tomato on toast

Image credit – BessotedGrace.com

I now realised that not every meal needs to be gourmet or complicated to be enjoyed, relished and shared. A healthy and delicious meal can be as simple one, two, three. So yeah, I’m pretty proud of this breakthrough and happy to be sharing it with you.

Avocado and Tomato on (sprouted bread) Toast 

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 2 vine-ripen tomatoes
  • 3 slices of sprouted bread
  • 2 tsp of virgin olive oil
  • sea salt and pepper

Method

  1. Cut avocado in half, remove the core and score the flesh in one direction. Make sure you go deep enough until you touch the skin without going through it.
  2. Slice the tomatoes thinly using a sharp knife.
  3. Toast you bread and stand to cool for a few minutes.
  4. Assemble to toast. Scoop the avocado flesh and place the slices onto the toasted bread.
  5. Add sliced tomatoes and season with freshly cracked pepper and some sea salt.
  6. Drizzle with some olive oil and serve.

Optional flavour and nutritional booster

  1. Garnish with fresh mint or parsley for added freshness
  2. Sprinkle with chia seeds or flax seed for superfood boost
  3. Spread a bit of vegemite on the toasted bread before assembling for an interesting flavour twist and extra vitamins

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Interview with James Aspey from Voiceless 365

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James Aspey is a 28 year old vegan, animal rights activist from Sydney, Australia. He became a Personal Trainer after winning his battle with cancer, and helped others live healthier, more positive lives for 9 years. During that time he learned about the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, adopted it for himself, recommended it to others, and after learning about the horrors of the animal cruelty industry, became vegan for ethical reasons. He then took a 365 day vow of silence to raise awareness for animals and promote peace over violence, in his campaign, Voiceless365.

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Can you imagine not being able to speak for the whole year? I certainly can’t. When I heard about what James was doing, I was mind-blown. I have so much respect for this guy! James speaks for the first time after his campaign not too long ago and I thought, I need to have him on the blog! He kindly accepted my interview request and man, what an amazing guy James is. I am so thrilled to be sharing his story with you. Check it out.

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