Recipe: Vegan Coconut Tofu Curry

Vegan Coconut Tofu Curry
If you are craving a curry dish but have never cooked indian before, this is the dish for you. The recipe is simple and the ingredients are easy to find. If you are a more experience with cooking curries or want to give this recipe a little more nutritional value, you can include seasonal local vegetables, which I have done (photo shown at the end of recipe) but for this recipe, I will keep it  simple.


Serves 5
Ingredients:
2lbs extra firm tofu pressed and cubed*
salt and pepper to tasted
1T Grape Seed Oil
1/2T Vegetable Oil 
2T curry 
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 large white onion thinly sliced
1 14oz can coconut milk
2 & 1/2 fresh tomatoes diced. Separate the 1/2 tomato
3T vegan sugar (I used Florida Crystals® Organic Cane Sugar)
1 8oz can tomato sauce 
1 vegan bouillon cube (I used Rapunzel)
1/2T vegan butter (I used Soy Garden)+
2 whole dried red peppers+**
1/2 fresh lime quartered to serve+

1. Open and press tofu. Salt and pepper, cube, then set aside*
2. Heat oils and curry powder in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Stir constantly.
3. Add garlic and onion, coat in curry for 1 minute.
4. Add tofu cubes, toss lightly until coated in curry. Reduce heat to medium and cook until browned. Be sure to flip cubes every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes. (Flip tofu cubes lightly to prevent breakage. Push from the bottom of the pan).
5. Add coconut milk, tomatoes (all but the 1/2 you set aside), vegan sugar, tomato sauce, bouillon cube, and vegan butter. Stir ingredients to combine.
6. Bring dish to a simmer, cover for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is a good time to begin cooking your long-grained rice.
7. Remove the cover, add red peppers, and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally.
8. Serve dish on rice garnished with a side of limes and topped with reserved tomatoes. 

+ Optional
* Always try to get fresh tofu. My all-time favorite brand is Fresh Tofu Inc., which I found at my local health food store Perelandra Natural Food Center in Brooklyn, Heights. For this recipe I used Extra Firm Nasoya because my local store does not have any other brand. It's alright you just have to press it longer and make sure to be extra careful while stirring your dish. My trick to pressing tofu is place the tofu in a strainer in my sink and put a piggy bank on top. No I am not kidding. I give it about 10 minutes, flip the tofu and do it again for another 10 minutes. Photos below.
** For a spicier dish, add dried pepper at step 6. If that's not enough, add another dried pepper. You can also remove the red peppers when dish is done, chop, and sprinkle on top.

Post and Pre Press

Pressing Tofu

With broccoli, carrots, & peas.

Topped with coconut flakes.

Vegan in Houston, Texas: Omni Hotel

Houston (Wikipedia)

I just got back from a trip to Houston, Texas for work! I presented and tabled at a conference, which took place at the Omni Houston Galleria Hotel. I wish I could have tried some local vegan spots but my conference schedule was jam-packed so I ended up staying on the property my entire trip. That's okay though because I have to go back for another conference in February. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!

The first thing I want to note is that before I travel I always get some sort of granola bars to hold me over incase I can't find anything to eat or need to supplement a not so vegan-friendly meal. This is especially important during work travel because I need to keep my energy up. This trip, I waited until the last minute to prep for my trip and didn't get a chance to pick up any bars so I was a little nervous heading in.

Omni Hotel Website

Luckily, I didn't have a problem at the Omni. I got in really late on Sunday and since I registered for the Omni Select Guests Rewards Program, I got complimentary coffee every morning and a free bottle of water. I was happy to see that soy milk was an option for my coffee and ordered that every morning. It was dropped off at the my door while I was in my white hotel robe getting ready! ha.  

The conference itself had breakfast, lunch, cocktail hour, and a few catered breaks. I am assuming they were from the hotel kitchen. For breakfast they had some really nice fruit platters, which was not very filling but okay for a morning. I also had some cereal dry. 

In between meals, I snacked on the Carr's Table Crackers, grapes, and strawberries that were served with the cheese platters- again not filling but alright since I was busy tabling at the event. Other snacks included peanuts, popcorn, and delicious fruit kabobs.

The best part was lunch- I became friendly with the hotel staff and let them know I was vegan so they prepared my salad without cheese and gave me a non-dairy dressing. They also did a nice roasted vegetable and pasta dish for me. On day two, I had another really great roasted vegetable and broccoli dish. They first brought out a vegetarian friendly ravioli but quickly brought me the vegetable platter once I explained my restrictions. 

For dinner on my first night, I went with a few conference participants to NOÉ Restaurant and Bar. A quick look at the menu was a vegan's worst nightmare! Haha, no I over exaggerate but the main courses are far from vegan friendly. I went over to ask our server if they could make me a vegan dish. He knew right away that it meant no meat, dairy, eggs, and then I emphasized no butter. They brought out an Israeli cous cous dish and roasted whole vegetables. It was great! The dishes went really well together and they even came over to make sure it was made to my liking. *Thumbs up NOÉ!*

The last day of the conference had a nice cocktail hour with food pairings. I enjoyed some really tasty vegetable sushi paired with sake.

Not a bad choice for vegan friendliness in Houston. Though I am excited to go back to see what the rest of the city has to offer. The hotel was knowledgable about veganism and very accommodating with my requests.

Vegan Travel Tip #1:

Always prepare for travel with granola or snack bars as meal supplements.

Vegan Travel Tip #2:

Sign up for hotel rewards programs, you never know what the perks will be!

Vegan Travel Tip #3:

Make friends withe hotel staff, they will hook you up.

News Scoop: May Wah in NYTimes

I thought it was pretty cool that NYTimes did a story on May Wah "Where ‘Chicken’ Actually Tastes Like Chicken" and I thought I would sum up my thoughts, feelings, and experiences with their products.

For you those of you that don't know, May Wah makes soy and wheat based meat substitute products. They can be fried, grilled, baked, and even microwaved.

They are very popular among New York City vegan and vegetarian restaurants. The NYTimes article says, "The market also supplies many of the city’s vegetarian restaurants, though she [the owner] preferred not to say which." But when you vist NYC-based vegan restaurants, you can tell which ones use May Wah. Some of their famous dishes use the meat substitute-  Foodswings (famous for their drumsticks), Wild Ginger, Terri, Red Bamboo (famous for their chicken parm).

May Wah products are generally tasty, which is why many omnivores find it an "acceptable" substitution in their meaty dishes. I have personally had multiple experiences dining at May Wah heavy resturants where my omnivore friends say "If I could eat like this everyday, I would be vegan too".  This makes me assume that the choice of May Wah as a meat substitute is what keeps omnivores going back to these restaurants. Of course, they've learned how to prepare May Wah in a tasty way but would they be as successful without May Wah? I would argue that they wouldn't. Conversely, some health conscious vegans steer clear of the products because like most meat substitutes, they are highly processed (which was not focused on in the article).

I've personally used their products a few times from Thanksgiving chicken pot pie, drum sticks and chicken nuggets to "pork" fried rice, you really can't beat May Wah taste. And I must say, their products fry incredibly well. What's great about visiting the May Wah retail store is that, as you can see from their website, their products are priced very low. You can buy them at an affordable price and make your own versions of the dishes your favorite restaurants make.
For example you can get 10 drumsticks for $10, so $1/drum stick, plus the cost of breading (maybe .50c each drumstick) something that would cost you $2.50 each at Foodswings + the cost of time and travel. Will it taste as good? Maybe! There are tons of vegan fried chicken recipes out there, start experimenting!

In general, when it comes to taste, there is no better meat substitute on the market than May Wah. Just don't go adding it as a staple to your diet, there are much healthier proteins out there (tempeh- which is fermented soy, beans, nuts, and seeds). It is much healthier to center dishes around non-processed foods. And for those wondering May Wah does have gluten free options and they ship all through the United States.

And thanks NYTimes for bringing some attention to NYC vegan options.

Recipe: Pasta with Garlic and Oil- Farm Fresh Style

Pasta with Garlic and Oil- Farm Fresh Style
Sometimes, you just want a light vegan Italian inspired meal and this is a quick and easy recipe to satisfy that need. What's great about it is you can prepare the garlic and oil sauce before work, which makes the dish tastier and quicker on prep time at night. You can also substitute any seasonal green for the broccoli and enjoy this all year round. Just so happens the farmers market had some nice broccoli and the last of the seasonal heirloom tomatoes. I would also suggest substituting sun-dried tomatoes during winter...
You can also use fresh herbs for this dish but I used dry in this instance. Next time I make it with fresh herbs, I will update the recipe.
Now let's get to it.

Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
1/4c olive oil
1 head garlic finely chopped
1t red pepper flakes (to your taste)
1/2t parsley
1t basil
1/2t oregano
1/2t salt 
1/2t pepper
3/4lb pasta thick spaghetti+
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 head broccoli cut into florets 
1/2 heirloom tomato chopped
1 package faux chicken optional (I used Gardein)+


1. In a small bowl mix olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Set aside to let flavor develop.*
2. Bring water to a boil. 
       a. Add bouillon cube and mix until dissolved in water. 
       b. Add pasta when water reaches boil and cook as instructed by 
            your pasta box. Cook al dente because your pasta will go back into the 
            heat.
       c. Add broccoli to water when there is 4 minutes left.
       d. When water is done boiling, strain pasta and broccoli with large strainer 
           and reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water.
3. While water is boiling, put garlic and oil sauce into a sauce pan and heat on low for 7 minutes.
4. When oil is finely heated, add faux chicken and saute until browned to your liking (I like it crispy so I cook for about 7 additional minutes). 
5. Add pasta and broccoli to the garlic and oil pan. Add reserved pasta water. Combine and heat through for 5 additional minutes. 
6. Salt and pepper to your liking.
7. Serve dish with heirloom tomatoes.

+ Items that can be removed or are gluten-free modifiable
*Like I said, the earlier you make this sauce the tastier the end product. If you come home from work and want to relax, push yourself to make this prior to relaxing, take a break and then continue on with the recipe.