A couple of nights ago I made Aloo Gobi from Energise Your Life. I have had Aloo Gobi a couple of times in the past and I was really looking forward to making it. However, this recipe was a big disappointment. I don’t know if it is because I eat Indian food out often so I am use to more authentic flavors or this was just a terrible recipe in general.
To make this recipe I had to saute a little bit of turmeric, cumin and cayenne with extra virgin olive oil. Then add peeled tomatoes and maple syrup before adding quartered potatoes. The recipe said that the potatoes only needed 10 mins to cook, but perhaps I had the wrong type, as I only had Brushed. After letting the potatoes cook for a while I found the flavor was far too sweet and didn’t have enough spice. So I added a whole lot of sea salt and some curry powder. Lastly I added some cauliflower, but it didn’t look too exciting, so I added some peas. The end result was very underwhelming and disappointing.
To make things worse I took the advice from the book and tried to pair this dish with Basmati Rice cooked in Coconut Milk, Cumin and Lime. What a disaster. I don’t know why, but every time I try to make Coconut Rice it turns out stodgy and flavorless. This time was no exception. I also had to move the rice from the rice cooker into a pot on the stove since it refused to cook it anymore. It just keep putting it to warm.
So after a few good recipes, this one was not for us. Marco and I really didn’t want to take it for lunch the next day, but we had no choice. In fact there’s still some left over in the fridge but both of us are avoiding it lol.
Since the Aloo Gobi disaster, our China student has arrived back from China and we also have a new Chinese student. We decided to do pizza night, so we could all make our own pizzas and get to know the new student. I am not sure if the new student has ever had pizza before. The poor thing looked very confused or maybe it was just jet lag.
Last night I thought I might make something she is more familiar with. So I dropped past the Asian grocery store on the way home and got some Sweet Potato Starch Noodles and Asian veggies. I also got some Gold Vegetarian Sha Chao Buns, which are vegan frozen steamed buns. I also tried out some White Fungus in the soup. I first soaked them, but they didn’t soften very much. After I chopped them and discarded the really hard center. Are any of you familiar with White Fungus and how to cook it?
Both the girls seemed to like the soup. It was a bit spicy for our new student, but our other student loves spicy burn your tongue off flavors.They both didn’t touch their Sha Chao Buns. I don’t blame them after trying them. They were terrible. The inside didn’t taste too bad, but the actual bun tasted plasticy. Definitely will be making my own next time.
I didn’t have time tonight to include tonight’s recipe, Tempeh Sausages baked with Cherry Tomatoes…It was the best thing we’ve had all week.
Sweet Potato Noodle Soup with Tofu, Asian Greens and White Fungus (vegan, gluten free, nut free)
Ingredients:
handful white fungus
250g firm tofu
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons tamari (more for seasoning)
1 tablespoon chinese cooking wine
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
small nib ginger, finely diced
2-4 small red chillis
1 green onion, sliced
400g sweet potato starch noodle
1 litre vegan beef liquid stock
2 cups of water (or more if you need)
1/2 bunch asian greens, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch enoki mushrooms
15 snow peas, topped and tailed
handful of mint leaves to serve
Method:
1. Soak the white fungus in filtered water. Use just enough to cover. Soak for 10-20 mins.
2. Press the tofu then slice it into cubes. Then combine it with sesame oil, soy sauce, chinese cooking wine, garlic, ginger and chili. Leave it to marinate for at least 10 mins.
3. Heat a large pot and add the marinated tofu. Saute for 3 mins.
4. Add sliced onion and saute for a further few minutes.
4. Add the liquid stock and water. While its coming to the boil quickly slice the white fungus, then add the white fungus and its soaking water to the soup. Place on a simmer and cook for 15 mins.
5. Cook the starch noodles in boil water, according to pack directions.
6. Add the asian greens, enoki mushrooms and snow peas and cook for a few minutes. Add more soy sauce for seasoning if you need.
7. Add the starch noodles, then serve soup topped with mint leaves.
*Serves 6