Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

A hurried shot of dinner last night-- tortillas get cold fast!


Yesterday we had to go to town on various bits of business, and we decided to have lunch at a little cafe, the Roadrunner Cafe, that's been in Courtenay for years, attached to a motel, but never really attracted our attention.  But I've been intrigued by their new sign "Tortilla Factory" for some time, so we thought we'd go check it out for lunch.  It's under new management, a couple and their daughter, it looked like, and the female half of the couple, and the cook, is from Mexico.  It's very diner-like inside, with colorful, but kitchy, Mexican décor.  The menu is small (they serve breakfast and lunch and close at 2 PM) and not terribly vegan-friendly, but, as they advertise, they have a few vegetarian entries and lots of gluten-free choices.  One, the Veggi-Lover's Quesadilla, can be made vegan, though, by asking for no cheese and more veggies in the filling.  It comes with mildly spicy pureed beans and fresh salsa.  (BTW, the tortillas are served soft, not fried, so nothing is greasy!) There is also a cheese quesadilla with a bean sauce.  Hmmm, I wonder if they would do the veggie quesadilla with the bean sauce??  One can only ask!  Anyway, the service was friendly, the tea was nice and strong and came in a Brown Betty teapot, and the price was right!  Of course, I had to take home some fresh tortillas!  (Those of you south of the border or who live in Vancouver, may not realize how hard it is to purchase fresh tortillas in small BC communities!)



On the way home, I asked DH for some dinner ideas, and he suggested crepes with asparagus (we had some asparagus in the fridge).  But I was still over-the-moon about the fresh tortillas, and wanted to eat them immediately, so I asked, why not asparagus in tortillas instead of crepes?  He was all for it, so this is what I came up with in a very short amount of time (making it up as I went).  It was very fast and easy and very tasty!


You could use more filling, if you like, and eat it with a knife and fork!

Printable Recipe


BRYANNA'S ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOM SOFT TACOS WITH LIME AND CHILE CREMA
Serves 3

12 small fresh corn tortillas
Crema:
Filling:
4 tsp. olive oil
8 medium white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly-sliced
1 lb. asparagus, cleaned, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths
salt to taste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. hot smoked paprika (pimenton) (you could use chipotle powder for more heat)
OPTIONAL:  about 1/2 cup grated vegan cheese (I used white Daiya)
Garnishes (optional):
chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
hot tomato salsa
sliced avocado tossed in lime juice
hot sauce

Make the Crema before you start anything else.  (I had to make the Tofu Sour Creme, as well, but that only takes a few minutes and the rest will keep in the fridge for another meal.)  Whisk everything together.  If you have a small squeeze bottle, scoop the Crema into that.

Heat the tortillas in a tortilla warmer, or warm them in a covered casserole in the oven, OR in the microwave for a minute or two (if you use the microwave, heat them AFTER the Filling is done). Here's advice on using a terra cotta tortilla warmer in your stove's oven, and here is advice for using it in a microwave.  You can use other types of covered casseroles or tortilla warmers.  You can also wrap them in foil and use the oven.  You could wrap them in cloth and use a bamboo or other steamer.  Here is a page with examples of the many ways to heat soft tortillas: http://ask.metafilter.com/16385/Warming-Tortillas.

To make the Filling, heat the oil in a large wok, stir-fry pan or skillet (preferably well-seasoned wok or cast iron skillet, or nonstick pan).  When it's hot, add the onion and mushrooms, sprinkle with salt (to help release the juices) and stir-fry like crazy!  Add a small splash of hot water if it's sticking.  When the onion wilts, add the garlic and stir-fry a bit more.  Add the asparagus pieces and stir-fry, keeping the asparagus moving.  It's okay of it chars a bit.  Sprinkle with a little more salt and the cumin and paprika.  Add about 1/4 cup of veggie broth, white wine, or water.  Cover and cook over high heat just until the liquid is gone and the asparagus is crisp-tender.

If you use the vegan cheese, you can add it before serving or sprinkle it on top of each serving.  My Daiya cheese was frozen, so I crumbled it on top of the vegetables and put the lid over it for a minute to melt it.

Quickly microwave the tortillas if you haven't got them warming already (see above).

For each serving, place 2 hot, soft tortillas on a warmed dinner plate and top each with another tortilla (so you have 2 stacks of 2 tortillas each).  Scoop 1/6th of the filling down the middle  of each torilla stack. Drizzle of squirt some of the Crema over each mound of filling.  Serve immediately and let the diners add their own garnishes before folding the tacos and eating (leaning over the plate) with lots of napkins!  Very satisfying!


Enjoy!

(Sorry I've been posting so infrequently lately-- family business.)

I don't live in L.A.-- I live on a little island off of Vancouver Island, on the west coast of Canada. But I have read about those Korean BBQ tacos from Southern California (my mother's old stomping grounds from when she was a kid). They have been a smash success being sold from the Kogi Korean taco trucks.

Here's what their website says: "Born from late-night hunger by founders Mark Manguera, Caroline Shin-Manguera and Chef Roy Choi, the Kogi truck is a traveling Los Angeles landmark that serves up Korean Mexican tacos, day and night.

... Quality Korean barbecue meets traditional, homemade tortillas and fresh veggies to create a taste that carries the rhythms of LA street culture and exudes the warmth of all that California sun. Under the direction of Chef Roy Choi, Kogi has developed a menu that delivers high-end food at street level prices.

Twitter is used to communicate truck locations and Chef Roy Choi’s daily specials to well over 50,000 loyal followers. Add some wheels to the mix and you’ve got yourself a restaurant that geographically responds to the flavor of the crowd – from Silver Lake to Eagle Rock to all the way down to Orange. Currently Kogi operates 4 trucks – Azul, Verde, Naranja and Roja – and fresh out of the kitchen at the Alibi Room in Culver City."

I first saw a recipe for Korean Tacos on the Steamy Kitchen blog from last July-- meat version, of course (kogi means "meat", BTW).  I just got around to trying a vegan version of Korean tacos today for lunch. I don't know why it took me so long-- it was fast, easy and scrumptious. Making your own veggie version is probably going to be the only way you can enjoy it if you are vegan or a vegetarian. The Kogi BBQ blog has a post about eating veggie from their trucks, so read up if you're vegan or vegetarian and interested-- there is fish sauce in their kimchi and the organic tofu is cooked on the same grill as everything else-- it's a small truck.

One of the Kogi BBQ trucks

If you are curious about the combining of cultures in food, the Kogi BBQ blog has a post called "Ess Not Fusion". Here are some excerpts:

"I can see the confusion over the fusion label — there are a lot of Korean flavors. There are a lot of Mexican flavors. And sometimes some trashy American flavors mixed with some Salvadorean influences. It’s confusing. But just know that our food is not confused: it knows EXACTLY what it is."

and:

"FUSION implies you take 2 disparate things and FUSE them together. You join two things together with duct tape, you can see where one thing ends and the other begins. It’s fascinating, and yet it’s not natural. Like French Japanese or Korean Italian. Those cuisines didn’t come together through a natural affinity, a natural progression over time. For example: Mexican Italian. I’ve seen it done and done well — but it’s that European element that’s usually utilized to “elevate” a food and make it more marketable as a “serious” cuisine. Moreover, the intention behind fusion is usually to catch someone’s attention, to spark or speak to a trend.

We didn’t go in here thinking, “Let’s bring Mexican and Korean together because it’ll be weird and cool.”

The thing is, Mexican Korean flavors coming together is only a natural progression. For generations, Chicanos and Koreans have lived side by side in K-town. Tortillas are commonly found in supermarkets around here — and it wasn’t uncommon to bring a bag of those Mission tortillas to a Korean barbecue in the height of summer. What do you think happened when those Korean peoples ran out of rice?

That’s why we don’t call it fusion.

But what we do call it is Angeleno."

Okay, on to what I did with this today...

I did have a container of Korean fermented hot pepper paste (gochujang) in my refrigerator, and I added liquid smoke to my sauce because smoky BBQ meats are generally used in these tacos. I used corn tortillas because that's what I had, and, anyway, I think they taste better than wheat tortillas. I didn't have any kimchi (Korean spicy cabbage pickle), or cucumbers to make Quick Cucumber Pickle (remember, I live on an island and the store is closed on Sundays.) But that wasn't really a problem. I searched through my fridge and found a turnip, some red and green peppers already cut, and some green onion-- good enough. I made a tasty quick pickle/salad with that and we were in business.


Printable Recipe

PS: If you want to make your own vegan kimchi to use as a condiment with this dish, try Julie Hasson's recipe-- easy-peasy, she says. You may be able to find a commercial version without seafood (many varieties contain either fish sauce or salted shrimp)-- see this article for the regional differences in ingredients.

BRYANNA'S VEGAN VERSION OF KOREAN-STYLE SOFT TACOS WITH KOGI BBQ SAUCE
Servings: 4
Yield: 8-12 tacos

Adapted from a recipe here. For the "kogi" (which means "meat"), you can use reconstituted Soy Curls™, your favorite type of seitan, commercial "chicken strips", Field Roast "Celebration Roast" cut in strips, even strips of fried tofu or tempeh. I have include a recipe for a Quick Turnip Pickle, but you can use vegan kimchi instead, or use both. This recipe, including the pickle, is very quick to make!

1 lb (16 oz.) shredded or julienned chicken substitute of choice (see text above)
8-12 / 7" corn tortillas
KogisStyle BBQ Sauce:
2 tablespoons Korean fermented hot pepper paste (gochujang)
3 tablespoons organic unbleached granulated sugar
or 2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar (or a little more to taste)
1/2-1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Quick Turnip Pickle:
1 medium purple and white turnip, peeled and shredded or grated
1/2 a medium red bell pepper, seeded cut into short slivers
1/2 a medium green bell pepper, seeded cut into short slivers
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or lime juice
1/2 teaspoon organic unbleached granulated sugar or agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon dried red chili pepper flakes
salt to taste

For the BBQ Sauce, whisk all of the ingredients together until sugar has dissolved. You can make this ahead of time and store it in a covered jar the refrigerator, if you like.

The type of Korean hot pepper paste that I use

Jar of Korean fermented hot pepper paste (gochujang)

To make the Quick Turnip Pickle, mix together all of the ingredients. Taste for salt. Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate as you make the tacos.

Never heard of a "Nanaimo Bar"? Well, you kind of have to be Canadian! Named after the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia, which is just one hour's drive south of us on Vancouver island, they are a wildly popular item in coffee bars and during the Christmas holidays. The first time this square was published under that name was in the early 1950's in the Vancouver Sun newspaper. I believe it was for a recipe contest.

I've always thought these were way too sweet, so I've been promising myself to make what I call a "grown-up" version-- vegan, of course, less sweet, with better ingredients, a little Kahlua, and a modern touch. Yesterday I worked on this as a Valentine's Day treat for my sweetie, and...success! The recipe will be in a new book coming out at the end of 2010.

Here are the Nutrition Facts: Nutrition (per bar): 142.0 calories; 56% calories from fat; 9.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 100.3mg sodium; 45.9mg potassium; 13.7g carbohydrates; 1.1g fiber; 6.2g sugar; 12.6g net carbs; 2.0g protein; 3.4 points.

I compared it with an ordinary Nanaimo bar and these have less sugar, less fat, NO cholesterol, and twice as much fiber and protein!



On a more practical level, I've been pretty busy with some deadlines, and some family stuff, so dinners have tended to be fast and simple. This is one quick meal we had on the spur of the moment:


"Breast of Tofu" Soft Tacos: corn tortillas heated quickly in a dry cast iron skillet, and filled with sliced pan-fried "Breast of Tofu" (which is in almost all of my books), organic baby greens, guacamole, vegan cheeze shreds (Galaxy Foods soy mozza singles, in this case), and salsa.


A plate of stir-fried asparagus and mushrooms with garlic, roast potatoes, and a zucchini "meatloaf" that I devised for the Fieldroast book I'm working on-- very yummy, like a "turkey" meatloaf!


Enjoy!