Recipe: Crispy Sweet and Spicy Tofu

This delicious tofu recipe will change the way you view tofu forever! They are so simple to make but full of sweet and spicy flavor. You will love these especilly if you like spicy and/or Korean food!

You will need:

• 1 firm (or extra firm) tofu
• ¼ of a chopped onion
• 3 chopped small cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoonful of ketchup
• 1 tablespoonful of gochujang (Korean chili paste)
• 3 tablespoonfuls of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoonful of agave nectar (or brown sugar)
• 2 tablespoonfuls of potato starch (or flour)
• 1 tablespoonful of sesame oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Water

First things first, let’s prepare the tofu. Chop tofu into cubes, however big you would like. Then, mix the tofu, potato starch, and some salt in a clean plastic bag. Fry the tofu on an oiled pan in a low to medium heat. It should look something like this:

Cook them on all sides to make them crispy all around. When they’re cooked to your liking, go ahead and remove them from heat. I like to keep them on a paper towel to drain some oil. Let’s have a closer look, since these are fried to its perfection. ;)

Use the same pan and add the chopped onions and garlic. Feel free to other vegetables like carrots and green bell peppers to enhance the taste. When the onions are soft, it’s time to make the sauce. Add soy sauce, ketchup, gochujang, agave nectar, and 2 tablespoonfuls of water. You can decide how spicy you want this to be; you can always substitute gochujang with ketchup.

After they cook for awhile, add some more water (about 4-5 tablespoonfuls) and add the sesame oil. You can add some peppers to enhance the taste. Reduce the sauce until it looks something like this:

Now you’re ready to mix in the tofu! And then... yes you guessed it! Time to eat this delicious dish!

Meal Ideas: Very Berry Breakfast Smoothie

Here is another recipe for your breakfast bowl! This amazing smoothie bowl is a great way to start your day, I promise! 

I really started drinking smoothies for breakfast about 5 months ago. Before then, I used to either skip breakfast because I didn't have time or eat random things I could find from my house, school, or work. Making breakfast used to be a chore. But not anymore! You have no idea how much I look forward to making breakfast! Once you fall in love with the beautiful colors and taste, you will understand what I mean. 

To make things even better, smoothies are so easy to make! Just dump all the ingredients into your blender and turn on the switch! You can go fancy by adding fruits on top and make smoothie bowls if you have the time. Some days when I know I will have a busier morning the next day, I throw in the ingredients into the blender the night before (which takes about 2 minutes to do), so I can just blend, pour, and walk out the door the next morning.

Anyways, let's get on with the recipe, shall we?

For the smoothie, blend together strawberries, blueberries, 2 bananas, apple, and nondairy milk (I used soymilk). You will get this beautiful purple smoothie that's naturally sweetened by the fruits. No need to add additional sweetening agent! After pouring the smoothie into a bowl of your choice, top with as many fruits as you like. As you can see from the pictures, I topped with the ingredients that I used for the smoothie itself. 

Wasn't that so easy? Give this a try!

Want to add some veggies into your smoothie, how about my Green Breakfast Smoothie?

Product Review: Gardein Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Wings

Brand: Gardein

Product: Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Wings

Price: $4.19

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

This is another product that I had picked up during my last trip to Target (see my previous Product Review: Simply Balanced Korean BBQ Chicken). Gardein? Sounds like they know what they're doing! Let's try it.

First of all, they had 10 "wings" in there. 10!! That is equivalent to about 42 cents per wing, not including the tax. I don't know about you, but that seems a bit too expensive. I know all meatless products tend to be expensive though... Good thing I don't buy these often. 

In a bag, there are "wings" as well as a sauce packet. Depending on the cooking method (stovetop, conventional oven, or toaster oven) you put the sauce before or after cooking the "wings." It was very easy too prepare and takes less than 10 minutes. I used the stove top to make them, and I advise you not to put too much cooking oil for the product is pretty oily itself. 

I cooked the entire bag, and the result looks like the picture below. And no green onions are not included. 

Let's talk about the taste. It's a bit too salty for my taste, but it is as they described it: sweet and tangy barbecue.  You can't expect them to taste exactly like chicken wings (because they don't) but they have charm of their own. 

I am not the type to count calories, but in case you are, a serving (4 wings per serving) of this is 120 calories. Meaning, if you were to eat the entire bag in one sitting, you will be consuming 300 calories from this product. I'm not sure if that's going to help you decide whether or not to try this product, but there you go.

I also tried wrapping them in a taco shell just for fun. I liked it; I just wish I had more veggies inside the taco.

So overall, this is not a bad product. This delivers what the package promises. Too expensive and processed for everyday meal, but once in awhile seems okay. Will I purchase this product again? I'm not too sure. Maybe it will depend on the day's mood.

Meal Ideas: Vegan Chickpea "Tuna" Salad

I officially pronounce myself as the garbanzo bean fan! After you make this Vegan Chickpea "Tuna" Salad, you will be one too, if you're not one already. 

I had ONE can of garbanzo beans left, and I debated for awhile on what I should do with it. Did I want to make hummus? Toast them in the oven? Eat it with greens? So many choices. At the end, I decided I would make this delicious "Tuna" Salad that I can save in the fridge for couple days. Everything I make is pretty easy to make, so it's safe to assume that this will be very easy to make as well. 

You will need: a can of chickpeas/ garbanzo beans, half of bell pepper, 1/4 of a large cucumber, 2 large scoops of Veganaise, 1 large scoop of sweet pickled radish, 1/2 scoop of dijon mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper. 

I don't have exact measurement because I like to eyeball things.. (As you would notice that many of my meal ideas/ recipes don't have exact measurement.) It's probably because I am impatient. In Korea, we say use the "right amount (적당히)." If you're Korean, you know what I'm talking about. 

Anyways, first things first, mash those chickpeas! A $1 fork would do the job just fine.

 Chop your bell pepper and cucumber. Do you like my bell pepper slicing skills? I learned this skill from watching Food Network.

 And dump it into a large bowl like so. Then add the rest of your ingredient, and you are finished! So easy, isn't it?

You can eat this with crackers, bread, or even by itself. Also, you can use celery (more common ingredient in making Tuna Salad) instead of cucumber. I only used cucumber because I didn't have any celery left in the fridge and because my mom used to make me Tuna Salad with cucumbers.

Even if you are not vegan or vegetarian, I think you would really like this too! Try it some day!

Meal Ideas: Stuffed Avocado

Let's face it. Who doesn't like avocados? They're so rich and creamy; they're the gift from the Mother Nature. They just go with everything, and you can transform them into so many different things like savory pasta sauce to sour but creamy salad dressing to sweet chocolate pudding! 

Today, we are going to make something that will allow avocados to become the center of attention! What do you think about some stuffed avocados? It's very easy to make. Grab an avocado, slice them in half, and fill them with whatever stuffings you like!

I kept mine very simple and very leftover-food-friendly. In my avocado halves, I stuffed them with a mixture of black beans, corns, and tomatoes. Then I drizzled them with some sriracha. (PS: You will be amazed how magnificent the combination of sriracha and avocados is) Ta-da! That's it. So simple and so delicious!

Product Review: Simply Balanced Korean Barbecue Meatless Chicken

Brand: Simply Balanced

Product: Korean Barbecue Meatless Chicken

Price: $3.99

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

 

Before I start, I must say how happy I was to see a fridge dedicated to vegetarian/ vegan "meat" options at Target in Brea! It's not a big section, but I really do appreciate it. As always, I love you, Target!

Okay. Moving on. I discovered this during my last trip to Target and thought, "Oooh Korean BBQ! I must try this!" I thought this would be a great product to share with my boyfriend, who is a total meat lover.

Inside you will see about 2 handful of "chicken strips" and 2 packets of "Korean BBQ sauce." To prepare, you cook the "chicken strips" in a microwave oven or stovetop then just mix in the sauce. Simple to make and doesn't take long to cook at all. 

The chicken strips are made of soy products. It's very chewy and reminds me of fish cakes. I didn't mind them too much. It wasn't anything special, and I don't have much to say about it. 

The sauce on the other hand, I was very disappointed. It's not a bad sauce, but it reminded me of more Chinese American (i.e. Panda Express) type of sweet spicy tangy sauce rather than a Korean BBQ sauce. I am not sure what I was expecting, but it did not remind me of Korean BBQ at all. Did they even use gochujang? I don't even know.

Lastly, let's just say they are not so generous with the quantity. I used about half of the bag to make my snack (see picture below; bottom left) and it really isn't much. Boo.

 

Perhaps I had way too much expectations about this product? Anyways, I personally don't recommend it mainly because of its sauce and quantity. Maybe if you weren't looking for a Korean BBQ flavor, this might work for you. If you try this, let me know! 

Meal Ideas: Green Breakfast Smoothie Bowl

Who wouldn't want to start their day with a bowl of gifts from the mother nature?! Today I made this beautiful breakfast smoothie bowl that everyone would love!

To make my smoothie, I used Nutribullet that I got almost a year ago. I use it and abuse it, and it still works like a charm! If you don't own a blender and are looking to invest in one, I definitely recommend Nutribullet! 

Let's get to the recipe, shall we? Blend together kale (as much as you want!), a banana, frozen mangoes (I used tropical mixes with peaches and pineapple), and almond milk. Top with your favorite fruits and seeds. I used some more banana, frozen blueberries, frozen mangoes, chiaseeds, and some ground flaxseeds. 

This is such a fun way to eat breakfast, not to mention so pretty to look at. Oh how do they taste? They taste fantastically delicious! You will fall in love for sure.

Meal Ideas: Baked Vegan Sriracha Cauliflower Wings

Superbowl is not complete without a set of "wings"!! That's why for this superbowl season, I decided to use cauliflower to make some spicy hot "wings" to go with some football! 

First things first, you make the batter. I used about 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water along with paprika, garlic salt, and pepper. But this is completely up to you; you can adjust the flour to water ratio to get the thickness you want. Just a tip is, the thicker they are, more batter will stick to cauliflower. Also, feel free to use different types of flour to suit your taste. 

Nicely coated. Wouldn't you say? Then they went into the 400F oven for about 20 minutes.

When they're done, the next step is to toss them into some kind of hot sauce to go with. I didn't have any Buffalo sauce at home. So being an Asian that I am, I used a 1:1 mixture of sriracha and coconut oil. Coconut oil taste tend to be strong, so you can use other types of oil if you don't like that.

 Toss toss toss! And back in the oven they go for additional 8-10 minutes until they're nice and crispy. That's it! Serve with some celery sticks and vegan ranch, and they're good to go!

 Be careful! They're hot!