Colour of Gaia

A dish that I cooked few months back - Stir-fried Leek, simply paired with deep-fried bean vermicelli, carrot and Vegetarian mushroom (mock meat).

Stir-Fried Silver Sprout

I didn’t cook this dish for many years and it is getting a little difficult to find fresh and beautiful bean sprout that is a little bit longer at the wet market near my place now. Few days back, I just purchased 200g+ bean sprout (S$0.30) from the wet market and removed the head and tail. It is a little bit time consuming but I kind of like doing it. I would sit there and enjoy removing the heads and tails of every single bean sprouts. If you don’t like this task, purchase those bean sprouts with the heads and tails removed.

For this recipe, I didn’t have red or yellow capsicum, so I garnish with spring onion and edamame bean. It is real simple, the secret is high flame and a very quick stir-fry about 30-45 seconds (so get your salt ready!). It does not matter, it look a bit raw in the wok, once you dish it out, it will be just nice and delicious. Seasoning is just salt and the lovely taste comes from the bean sprout with out tail and heads.

Preparation: 10 mins Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 200g beansprout, head and tail end removed
° 1 slice ginger or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° salt, to taste
° 2 stalks spring onion, cut into 5cm lengths and soaked in ice water
° 1 fresh red chilli padi, for garnish
° some edamame (optional), for garnish

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger or garlic and fry till fragrant.
2. Throw in the beansprout and stir fry briskly for 30-45 seconds. Season to taste with salt and add in the chilli.
3. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with spring onion, chilli, edamame and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried King Oyster Mushroom with Basil Leaves

Basil leaves is often used to stir fry chicken. For this recipe, I replace the chicken with king oyster mushroom which had the texture of chicken meat. Remember to keep some basil leaves for garnish.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 125g king oyster mushroom, cut into cubes
° 5 dried chilli, cut into section
° 25g basil leaves
° 1 cloves garlic or 1 slice ginger
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° ¾ tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the garlic or ginger, dried chilli, basil leaves and fry till fragrant.
2. Throw in the king oyster mushroom and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add in the vegetarian oyster sauce mixed with water. Stir fry for another ½ minutes or till well mixed.
3. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with some fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Zucchini with Fermented Beancurd

Well, Chow Vegan left a comment in one of the zucchini dishes I had. She said that she used fermented beancurd to stir-fry, so I gave it a try. This is another way to cook zucchini. I guess if I could get some green zucchini, this dish will be more colourful and just omit the spring onion. Freshly chopped chilli can be used to replace the dried chilli flake too.

Preparation: 5 mins, with 30 mins standing time Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g yellow zucchini, cut into slices
° 1 teaspoon salt
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° 2 cloves garlic or 1 slice ginger
° 1 cube fermented beancurd, mashed with 1 tablespoon water
° ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes, for garnish
° ½ teaspoon freshly chopped spring onion or coriander leaves, for garnish
° some roasted sesame seed (optional), for garnish

Method
1. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt to the zucchini, mix well and leave for 15-30 minutes for the liquid to drain. Rinse and gently squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
2. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the garlic or ginger and fry till fragrant.
3. Throw in the zucchini and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add in the mashed fermented beancurd and stir-fry till well mix.
4. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with dried chilli flakes, spring onion or coriander leaves and sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Vegetarian Adam Fish with Power Beans (Petai)

This is real simple and you don’t have to be a great cook to whip up some delectable vegetarian food at home. I brought a pack of ready to serve vegetarian food – Pure Vegetarian Asam Fish by Vegetalk. Just to make this dish impressive, I added petai to it. You can choose other vegetable like lady’s finger, egg plant etc if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 100g petai, halved
° 1 (230g) pack pure vegetarian asam fish
° 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method
1. Heat up the pure vegetarian asam fish in wok and set aside. If it too dry, add some water.
2. Heat oil in another wok. Add the petai and fry for 3 mintues.
3. Throw in the petai to the pure vegetarian asam fish.
4. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Quick Stir-Fried Beijing Cabbage with Lily Buds and Black Fungus

This is a common dish where we can find at the Vegetarian Stall in Food Court or Coffee Shop. You can even add some deep-fried tofu to this dish to make it more nutritious, if desired. Both dried lily buds and black fungus are a good source of iron.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g Beijing cabbage, cut into strips
° 20 dried lily buds, trimmed, soaked and knotted
° 8g dried black fungus, soaked and trimmed
° 1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil

° some red chilli (for garnish), sliced

° some chopped corriander (for garnish), chopped


Seasoning
° 100ml water
° ½ teaspoon corn flour
° ½ teaspoon sugar
° ½ teaspoon light soy sauce
° salt and pepper, to taste
° granulated mushroom bouillon (optional), to taste

Method
1. Place all the seasoning ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Fry the garlic or ginger for half a minute or until fragrant.
3. Add the lily buds, black fungus, Beijing cabbage and stir fry 2 minutes. Pour in the seasoning and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
4. Dish up, garnish with chilli or coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Zucchini with Fresh Bamboo Shoot

Has no idea what to do with zucchini? Besides doing a seasoned zucchini, zucchini pasta, you can also do a simple stir-fry. Replace fresh bamboo shoot with silken tofu, if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g yellow zucchini, cut into cubes
° 100g green zucchini, cut into cubes
° 75g fresh bamboo shoot, blanched and cut into cubes
° 1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger
° salt to taste

° 1-2 slices carrot (for garnish), finely chopped

Seasoning
° 120ml water
° ½ teaspoon sugar
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil
° 1 tablespoon corn flour

Method
1. Combine all seasoning ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the garlic or ginger and fry till fragrant.
3. Throw in the zucchini and bamboo shoot and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Pour in the seasoning and stir-fry till the sauce thicken.
4. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with finely chopped carrot and serve immediately.

Enoki and Shiitake Mushroom with Vegetarian Oyster Sauce

This delicious mushroom dish can be prepared quickly and easily. I added a small amount of dried lily buds which has lots of protein, irons, vitamin A and good for revitalizes the blood and strengthen brain function. Thin silken tofu shred can be added, if desired.

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g enoki mushroom, base trimmed and cut into small section
° 2 (50g) fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced
° 25g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 12 dried lily buds, trimmed, soaked and knotted
° some sea moss (optional)
° 1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° some fresh coriander leaves (optional), for garnish

Seasoning
° 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, or to taste
° 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, or taste
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil
° 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine (optional)
° 125ml water

Method
1. Place all the ingredients for the seasoning in a bowl, mix well and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Add the garlic or ginger and fry till fragrant.
3. Add the enoki mushroom, shiitake mushroom, dried lily buds and stir-fry for 1 minute. Pour in the seasoning, carrot and stir-fry for another 1 to 1½ minutes. Lastly add in the sea moss.
4. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Beijing Cabbage with Vegetarian Mock Abalone

Had opened a can of vegetarian mock abalone yesterday and there was still some left in the refrigerator and therefore I used it to stir-fry cabbage. You may also use it to stir-fry noodle to or just heat up.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250g Beijing cabbage, cut into strips
° 25g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 75g-100g vegetarian mock abalone
° 1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° salt and pepper, to taste
° 3 tablespoons vegetarian mock abalone sauce

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the garlic or ginger for half a minute or until fragrant.
2. Add the cabbage, carrot and vegetarian mock abalone. Stir fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of sauce from vegetarian mock abalone. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Dish up and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Tempeh with Gochujang Chilli Paste

Lately, I have been doing quite a lot of recipes related to Korean Cuisine. I am not affected by the Korean wave, its just that I find that some of the Korean dishes can be easily veganized and it is simple to cook. Only by experimenting and veganizing other cusines, that veg*n dishes portfolio will grow …

This recipe is inspired by the Korean dish – Stir-fried Gochujang chilli paste - also known as Yangnyum Gochujang which calls for beef and is used for traditional bibimbap. Instead of using beef, I used gochujang to stir-fry tempeh. Serves with plain cooked rice or cold noodle.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g fresh tempeh, cubes or diced
° 100g onion (optional), peeled and diced
° 1½ tablespoon olive oil
° 2 tablespoons gochujang chilli paste
° 60ml water
° ½ -1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° some toasted sesame seeds or spring onion, for garnish

Method
1. Place the gochujang, water and sugar in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Fry the tempeh and onion until fragrant.
3. Add in gochujang, toss well and stir fry for 1 minute. Sprinkle with sesame oil.
4. Garnish with sesame seeds or spring onion and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Capsicum with King Oyster Mushroom

A simple colourful Stir-Fried dish! Stir-frying is a healthy cooking process that preserves vitamins and minerals and at the same time keeps the crunchy texture of the food.

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 50g red capsicum, seeded and diced
° 50g green capsicum, seeded and diced
° 1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
° salt and grounded black pepper, to taste

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the garlic or ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the king oyster mushroom and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Throw in the capsicum and stir-fry for another 1 minute. Season to taste with light soy sauce, salt and black pepper.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Beijing Cabbage with Tempeh

Wondering what can we cooked with tempeh which has higher content of protein, fiber and vitamins compare to tofu. Here is a quick and simple stir-fried vegetable with tempeh, you can add more tempeh if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 pieces (100g) fresh tempeh, deep-fried and sliced
° 125g Beijing cabbage, cut into strips
° 50g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° salt and pepper, to taste

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Fry the garlic or ginger for half a minute or until fragrant.
2. Add the carrot, cabbage and tempeh. Stir fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some water if it is too dry.
3. Dish up and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Pumpkin with Fresh Lily Bulb and Wolfberries

Oh, I have too many fresh lily bulbs. Besides using to cook the broccoli, I still have lots of them left. Guess, pumpkin, lily bulb and wolfberries can be a nice combination. Corn flour or cornstarch can be used instead of tapioca starch.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g pumpkin (weight after peeling), cut into chunks
° 25g fresh lily bulb, petals separated
° ½ teaspoon wolfberries, soaked
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° ½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
° 1 teaspoon tapioca starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
° 125ml water
° fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the pumpkin and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the pumpkin is soften.
3. Throw in the lily bulb, wolfberries, water and bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar and tapioca starch mixture to thicken the sauce.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Snow Peas with Fresh Lily Bulb

This is a simple and easy stir-fry dish.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g snow peas, trimmed
° 20g-25g fresh lily bulbs, trimmed and peeled
° 10 carrot slices
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Throw in the snow peas and stir-fry briskly for 30 seconds.
3. Add in the lily bulbs, carrot slices and stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.