SOME NEW YEAR'S THOUGHTS ABOUT COOKING, AND TWO VERY EASY, ALMOST-NO-FAT ASIAN SOUPS

Vegan Vietnamese "Fisherman's Soup"

My first blog post of 2009-- didn't think it would be this late! I'm afraid I've been in a bit of a funk, being snowed in etc.. I've been cogitating on the whole business of cooking and writing and the recession and agriculture and global warming......I was thinking about how I started out, as a young mother with four kids, living the "homesteading" life of the 70's, with very little money and alot of good intentions.

I had always cooked, ever since I can remember, and I was lucky to grow up in California, exposed to the foods of many cultures. I could make a good meal with whatever we had around. Although I could not afford to eat in expensive restaurants, I read copiously about food and cooking and experimented as much as possible.

Eventually I started writing newspaper columns and teaching classes, and that led to writing books and doing workshops, even opening a restaurant at one point. Along came the internet and, now a grandmother, I had to learn a whole new way of communicating!

It is easy to get sucked into the so-called "glamour" of the cooking business-- although most of it is hard work, often solitary, and messy at that! Cooks and cookbook writers almost have to be celebrities these days! And we seem to have to find more exotic and rarefied ingredients to keep people interested.

But is that really wise, I wonder, with the global economy slipping, with global warming? I'm not necessarily advocating the "100-mile diet" (which, in my neck of the woods, would leave a vegan with not a heck of alot of choices in the winter!)-- read what Earthsave Canada's David Steele writes on that subject here. (This is a pdf file-- if you want a Word doc version, I can send it to you.) What I am advocating is learning to cook, for one thing, and learning to cook well from a more limited pantry. Great cooks all over the world have done this from time immemorial.

I wrote this in my book "Nonna's Italian Kitchen":

"One of the first things I realized when I began doing research for this book was that you don't have to have a pantry full of exotic ingredients in order to cook Italian. I found that I was using a fairly modest list of ingredients over and over again to create an infinite number of dishes.

With dry pasta, good extra-virgin olive oil, good-quality canned tomatoes, dried chickpeas, lentils, cannellini (white kidney) and romano (or pinto or cranberry) beans, arborio and long-grain rice, cornmeal, red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar, lemons, onions, garlic, celery, a few carrots, some good-quality vegetarian broth cubes, salt and peppercorns, and a few herbs, perhaps some wine, you can be ready for anything. What makes the cusine complex is the use of fine quality ingredients, and the way these ingredients are combined, adding fresh in-season produce and fresh crusty Italian bread.

Italian cooks plan their menus around what vegetables and fruits are in season or available that day, and always have the above-mentioned items on hand. This can be a very liberating concept to North American shoppers-- going to the market without a detailed list!"

About those "fine quality ingredients"-- you don't need to buy mail-ordered [from Italy] "artisan-made" pasta extruded through bronze dies, and "estate-bottled" olive oil and balsamic vinegar at upwards of $60 a bottle!. (It seems to me that as soon as what was once an impossible-to-find ingredient becomes readily available, the "food gurus" introduce a few more rare and expensive ingredients. This keeps so-called gourmet cooking in the realm of the elite.) Buy the best that you can afford, grow your own herbs, buy fresh produce from a good vendor (and grow some of your own, or buy locally). If you have time, make your own pasta, broth and bread, but, if you don't have time, experiment until you find some ready-made that fits both your budget and your taste buds-- it can be done!

And, if we don't always have the "right" ingredient, use what you do have-- in my book "Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen", I wrote:

"After all, Chinese cooks are nothing if not inventive, and have always worked wonders with whatever ingredients were available to them in the far-off countries to which they have emigrated over the years. The most important ingredients have always been fresh, good-quality vegetables."

I think it's inevitable that we WILL have to cook with a more limited pantry and many of us with a limited budget. For those who don't learn to cook, this will mean poorer health, because they will probably fall even deeper into the fast-food trap. Those of us who love to cook, and those willing to learn to cook, or to cook differently, will fare better. And we can eat wonderful food-- look at the peasant cuisines around the world!

Anyway, I'm rambling, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Home cooking has always been my strong suit and vegan home cooking has been a real exploration for me. I've also been eager to make delicious home cooking accessible for those of us with little time, and those of us who want to eat more healthfully and without a dependence on fat for flavor. So, I'll keep exploring for the next generation of cooks. (Notice my new subtitle?)

Here are two homey, tasty, quick, easy, and cheap soups that we like!



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S CHINESE VEGAN VELVET CORN SOUP (WW Core Plan-Compatible)
Servings: 4

Corn is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Chinese cooking, but, when it was imported from the Americas, the Northern Chinese took to it readily. This soup, which often contains chicken or crab in its non-vegetarian incarnation, is extremely popular, even at formal banquets, but it's VERY quick and simple to make. It is also a very comforting soup.

6-7 oz firm or extra-firm tofu (not silken)
1 tablespoon vegetarian stir-fry sauce (vegetarian "oyster" sauce)
1/2 tablespoon oil
VARIATION: use 6-7 oz. smoked tofu instead of the 3 ingredients above.
4 cup good-tasting vegetarian "chicken-style" broth
14-15 oz can of creamed corn (this product contains no dairy ingredients)
1 cup frozen petit pois (baby peas)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
freshly-ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water
1 teaspoon roasted (Asian) sesame oil
OPTIONAL: (do not use if you use the smoked tofu variation)
1 Tbs soy "bacon" chips or bits OR 2 tablespoons chopped vegetarian "ham" or "bacon"

Cut the tofu into very small dice or thin slivers and toss with the stir-fry sauce. Heat a large heavy wok or skillet over high heat. When it's hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot , add the tofu, then turn the heat down to medium-high and stir-fry for several minutes. Don't brown the tofu, just let the sauce be absorbed by the tofu. Set the tofu aside.

NOTE:
If you use the smoked tofu option, just cut it into slivers or small dice-- you don't have to coat it or stir-fry it.

Mix the broth, creamed corn, peas and soy sauce (and the optional soy "bacon" or "ham" at this point, if you're using it) in a medium pot or saucepan. When it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook gently until the peas are barely tender. Add the tofu, pepper to taste, and dissolved cornstarch, stirring. Simmer until the soup thickens, then drizzle the sesame oil on top and serve.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 164.1 calories; 22% calories from fat; 4.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 1198.3mg sodium; 194.8mg potassium; 27.1g carbohydrates; 2.8g fiber; 5.2g sugar; 24.4g net carbs; 9.3g protein; 3.1 points.


The Vegan Vietnamese "Fisherman's Soup" before serving

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN VIETNAMESE "FISHERMAN'S SOUP" (WW Core Plan-Compatible)
Servings: 6

This fresh-tasting soup and, despite the long list of ingredients, is easy to put together. (If you are really in a hurry, you can use chopped garlic and ginger from jars, and already-shredded cabbage in a bag.) It is very low in calories and fat, but filling and spicy. You can use authentic Vietnamese ingredients, or substitute more common North American ones, still with good results. Bean sprouts are a must, though!

6 large dried shiitake (or Chinese black forest) mushrooms
2 cups boiling water
3 cups good-tasting vegetarian "chicken-style" broth
2 cups shredded cabbage (I use savoy)
1 can (19 ounces) pineapple tidbits, unsweetened, with juice
1 large onion, chopped or thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, in matchstick pieces
1 cup canned or fresh diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 stalks lemon grass OR 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons sugar or 1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
OPTIONAL: 2 tablespoons dulse flakes or nori flakes OR a small piece of kombu seaweed
2 cloves garlic, chopped (1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon Asian (fish-free) red pepper sauce (or to taste)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 ounces medium-firm tofu OR extra-firm silken tofu, cut into small cubes (can be reduced-fat)
Last-minute additions:
2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint, basil, or cilantro (or 2 teaspoons dried)
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate or paste OR 1/4 cup lime or lemon juice
2 pinches salt
Garnish:
fresh bean sprouts, and chopped or slivered green onions for garnish

Soak the dried mushrooms for 30 minutes in the 2 cups boiling water, covered. After 30 minutes, drain them, saving the soaking broth. Trim off the tough stems, which you can discard. Slice the mushroom caps thinly. While the mushrooms soak, prepare all the other ingredients.

In a large pot, mix the broth, cabbage, pineapple and juice, onion, carrot, sliced mushrooms, mushroom soaking water, tomatoes, soy sauce, lemon grass or lemon peel, sugar, ginger, optional seaweed, garlic, red pepper sauce, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down to medium-low and simmer, covered, just until the cabbage and carrots are crisp-tender-- about 15 minutes. Add the tofu, stirring gently, and simmer about 5 more minutes.

Add the herbs, tamarind concentrate or lemon or lime juice, and salt.

Taste for seasoning. Serve each bowl topped with fresh bean sprouts and slivered green onions.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 173.6 calories; 10% calories from fat; 2.3g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 449.8mg sodium; 648.5mg potassium; 35.1g carbohydrates; 5.2g fiber; 23.4g sugar; 29.9g net carbs; 8.6g protein; 2.9 points.


Happy New Year!