Vegetarian Watercress Red Dates Longan Soup

Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) grows well in water and are widely cultivated throughout Asia. Old water cress plant that have produced flowers are bitter, so it is wise to choose young plants for your cooking. Watercress is rich in iodine, iron, calcium, folic acid, Vitamin C and A. Apart from that watercress is known to prevent lung cancer, aid digestion and prevent thyroid problem.
I normally use watercress to cook soup. I have added some Chinese Red dates (ang cho) which is good in improving Chi. For some additional sweetness, I also put in some dried longan which is effective in warming up our body! Check out this clear watercress soup with longan and Chinese red dates (ang cho) recipe.

Ingredients
Watercress, 1 bunch
Water, 5 rice bowls
Dried Longan, 5 pcs
Chinese Red Dates, 5 pcs
Salt to taste
A little soya sauce
Olive Oil, 1 tablespoon

Bring water to a boil. Add in the longan and Red dates. Let it simmer for a while. Then put in the watercress, salt, soya sauce and olive oil. Boil until the watercress turn a little yellowish. Serve hot!

Simple Stir Fried Choy Tam (Brussel Sprouts Leaves) with Garlic

I love the crunchy texture of Choy Tam (Brussel Sprouts) leaves. It tastes real good if it is plainly stir fried with garlic. Some vegetarian do not take garlic but some do. Anyway if you don’t take garlic, then you can omit this ingredient when stir frying the Choy Tam.
My family normally eats this dish with steamed rice. It is very simple to prepare and probably takes you around 5 minutes! The secret to preparing a good and nice is that your wok must be very hot. If you fry it at high temperature for a short period, there will be a very nice ‘wok hei’ (wok burn) aroma.

Ingredients
Choy Tam, cleaned
Garlic, 3 cloves, chopped finely
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon

Heat up wok and add in some vegetable oil. Adjust the heat to high and put in the choy tam. Fry for a short while and add little water. Add salt to taste. Quickly take out the choy tam from the wok to prevent further cooking.

Quickie Vegan Paprika Potato Soup Recipe

This recipe is a bit similar to tomato soup. For the tomato taste, you can either use tomato ketchup or canned tomato paste. Tomato ketchup normally has sugar added in to it but canned tomato paste does not. Therefore it you use canned tomato paste; you will need to balance the sour taste with a little sugar.
I used paprika to spice up the soup a little and it resulted in a totally new flavours! I love the aroma of toasted bell peppers, which is actually the ingredient used to make paprika. I have also added garlic to this dish but it you do not take garlic, it is ok to exclude it. For the creamy taste, you can use either cream or vegan cheese. If you like the soup to be smooth and without any chunky ingredients in it, then you can blend it. Feel free to add vegetable like celery or lettuce for additional flavour and fibres!

Ingredients
Potato, 1 pc, cut into cubes
Tomato, 1 pc, minced
Tomato Ketchup, 10 table spoons (or one small can of tomato paste, add a little sugar)
Vegan cheese (or normal cheese if you are not a full time vegan), 3 table spoons
Corn, ½ cup
Garlic (optional), 2 cloves, minced
Olive oil, 2 table spoons
Water, 2 rice bowls
Salt to taste
Paprika powder, 1 teaspoon
Bay leaf, 1 pc
Oregano, a dash
Thyme (dried), ½ teaspoon
Pepper, a dash
Soya sauce (optional), 1 teaspoon

Put water into a pot and bring to a boil. Add in the ingredients. Lower down the heat and let it boil for around 20 minutes. Serve with toast or crackers!

Vegetarian Tau Kan with Toasted Peanut Recipe – Nasi Lemak Sambal (Chilly)

I have posted many dishes using Tau kan which is a wet type of bean curd sheet that many vegetarian ingredients vendor have in stock. It is normally kept frozen because the quality would deteriorate rapidly if kept at room temperature and mould would form in not time at all. Tau kan by itself is actually tasteless but it soak up gravies and flavours quite well.
In this recipe I used tau kan as a vegetarian replacement for anchovies which is a vital ingredients in making sambal for nasi lemak (coconut milk rice).
Nasi lemak is one a popular Malaysian food which is normally eaten during breakfast. But then, there a also many outlets serving this wonderful dish at any time of the day!

Ingredients
Taukan, 3 blocks, cut into strips
Onions, 1 pc, slice thinly
Chilly paste, 2 table spoons
Lime Juice, from 3 limes
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Peanut, toasted (or you can buy from the local kacang putih man), ½ cup

Deep fry tau kan until crispy and put aside to drain away any excess oil. Heat up frying pan and add in around 3 table spoons of vegetable oil. Sautéed onions and chilly paste until you can smell nice aroma coming out from these ingredients. Add in lime juice, salt and sugar to taste. Add in peanuts and taukan. Sever with nasi lemak (coconut milk rice)

Vegetarian Potato with Thyme and Tomato Recipe – Hailam Style

I used Hailam style (a Chinese Clan) chicken chop gravy for this potato recipe. I could not use Worcestershire sauce because it is non vegetarian therefore I just have to use a little vinegar and Chinese soya sauce as substitutes.
However this is not a fully Vegan dish because I used normal butter. I wonder if this would be a good side dish to tofu steak. LOL!

Ingredients
Potato, 3 pcs
Tomato, 1 pc, cut into four
Thyme, ½ teaspoon (dried)
Vinegar, 1 teaspoon
Chinese light soya sauce, 2 table spoons
Sugar, ½ teaspoon
Butter, 1 tablespoon
Pepper, a dash or more
Bbq sauce, 1 tablespoon
Corn flour mix with little water to thicken gravy
Salt to taste

Boil potato until it turn soft. Remove skin and cut into bite sizes. Then put the potato aside.
Heat up pan and put in the butter. Add a little water, thyme, vinegar, light soya sauce, sugar, pepper, barbecue sauce and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and add in the tomato. Thicken the gravy with the corn flour and water mixture. Pour it over the potato! Bon Appétit!

Vegetarian Sambal (Chilly) Tofu with Cauliflower for Nasi Lemak (Coconut Milk Rice)

The best thing about deep fried tofu is that it will soak up all the tasty gravy in a dish. In this recipe I sautéed the sambal (chilly) gravy then add in the deep fried tofu and cauliflower. This spicy dish is a real good companion for Malaysian famous nasi lemak (coconut milk rice).
I also added more chillies in to it for extra kick.

Ingredients
Chilly, 5 pcs
Ginger, 1 inch length, remove skin
Serai (lemongrass), 2 pcs
Shallots, 5 pcs
Tamarind juice, from 2 tablespoons of tamarind
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Tofu, 3”x3”x3”, cut into small cubes
Cauliflower, 1 rice bowl
Vegetable oil 4 table spoons

Blend chilly, ginger, serai and shallots until fine. You can also use a pestle and mortar to do this. Somehow, most Asians prefer to use the second method because they claim that the dish would turn out tastier this way!
Deep fry the tofu until golden brown and put aside. Heat up wok and put in the vegetable oil. Then, sautéed the blended ingredients until fragrant. Add in the tamarind juice, salt and sugar to taste. Put in the cauliflower and fry until it is cook. Lastly, add in the deep fried tofu. Dish up and serve with the nasi lemak rice!

Vegetarian Fried Porridge Recipe – Nibong Tebal Style

Nibong Tebal and Serdang (not KL Serdang) in Northern Malaysia is famous for its’ fried porridge. They don’t actually fry the rice or porridge but they pre fried the ingredients before adding them to the porridge. I tried to come up with a vegetarian version using fu chuk as substitute for meat.
It turns out quite nice!

Ingredients
Rice, ½ bowl, rinse and cook into porridge
Garlic, 5 cloves, chopped finely
Fu chuk(fried beancurd sheets), 3 pcs, cut into strips
Marmite, 1 teaspoon
Dark Soya Sauce, ½ teaspoon
Light Soya Sauce, 2 table spoon
Sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Cilantro and spring onions for garnishing

Sautéed garlic in hot vegetable oil until fragrant. Add in the fu chuck, marmite, dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, sesame oil and salt to taste. Fry for a short while until a nice aroma permeates the air. Pour all the ingredients into the cooked porridge. Garnish with cilantro or Chinese parsley and spring onions before serving.

Vegetarian Penang Fried Kueh Teow (Flat rice noodles) Recipe - 2nd Version

This is one of The Pearl of Orient, Penang famous hawker food. The fried kueh teow sold by Penang hawkers are normally non-vegetarian type as they have cockles, lard and prawns in it. So, for a vegetarian version, it is not possible to get the same taste as the non vegetarian ones. Penang Char Keuh Teow is lighter in colour and drier than southern version. However, taste wise, it is actually up to the person’s preference!

Ingredients
Kueh Teow (Flat noodles), 1 rice bowl
Soya sauce, 2 table spoons
Dark Soya Sauce, ½ teaspoon
Vegetarian Oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon
Egg, 1 pc
Salt to taste
Chilli Paste to taste
Fu Chuk, 2 pcs, cut into small slices
Vegetable oil, 2 table spoons
Pepper, a dash
Garlic (optional), 1 table spoon
Bean sprout (taugeh), ½ bowl

Heat up wok and put in the vegetable oil. Sautéed garlic until fragrant and add in the kueh teow. Fry for a short while then add in the soya sauce, dark soya sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, salt, chili and pepper. Fry thoroughly then add in the eggs and fu chuk. Lastly, put in the bean sprout and stir until it is cook a little so that it will remain crunchy.

Vegetarian Chap Choi (Chap Suet, Mixed Leftovers Vegetables) Soup Recipe

Normally the Chinese descendents in Malaysia would cook this soup whenever they have lots of leftover dishes especially during Chinese New Year. Instead of using leftover dishes I used all the leftover vegetables that were not used up for my family reunion dinner. There are many versions but I would like to separate it into two types; thick and thin soup variety!
The thick soup variety is packed with flavours and is very sour. The thin soup ones are a little milder. Which types is better? It actually depends on your preference and taste buds!

Ingredients
Chinese mustard (Gai Choy), portion up to your preference
Carrots, 2 pcs, cut into chunks
Assam Keping (Assam Fruit slice), 2 pcs
Tomato, 3 pcs, cut into four
Salted Plums, 3 pcs
Pepper corns, 1 teaspoon
Dried chilies, 5 stalks
Vegetable oil or olive oil, 2 table spoons
Salt to taste
A little sugar
Put water in to a pot and bring to a boil. Add in the ingredients and cook until the mustard turn a little brownish in colour. Add salt and sugar to taste. You can balance the sourness by adding more sugar to your preference. Serve with white rice.

Vegetarian Organic Bihun (Rice Vermicelli) in Fragrant Gravy Recipe

This is a very versatile recipe and it is a very suitable meal at anytime, no matter if it is a hot or cold day! I never grew tired of eating bihun (rice vermicelli) and organic bihun is full of natural fibers. No bleach is used to in organic bihun, which explain its brown appearance. Stay healthy and eat nutritious organic bihun!

Ingredients
Organic Bihun (Rice Vermicelli), 1 rice bowl, soak in water until soft
Soya Sauce, 2 table spoons
Dark Soya Sauce, ½ teaspoon
Vegetarian Oyster sauce, 1 table spoon
Shallots (optional), 3 pcs, slice and deep fried until crispy
Sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
A little corn starch mix with water
Vegetable oil, 1 table spoon
Eggs (optional), 1 pc
Salt to taste

Heat up wok and add in a little vegetable oil. Put in the bihun, soya sauce, dark soya sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce. Fry until it has nice aroma, then add in the eggs and sesame oil. Stir fry for a short while or until egg is cooked. Add a little water, enough to cover all the bihun. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste and thicken the gravy with corn starch water mixture. Garnish with lettuce and crispy shallots before serving!

Baked Vegetarian Sweet Potato with Vegeroni Pasta Recipe

I love this recipe because it is very simple to prepare and everyone in my family likes it. Since it is a vegetarian dish, I used sweet potato to give an extra natural sweetness. For the cheese I just use normal one but if you are a full time Vegan, you can opt for Vegan cheese. I choosed multicolored sweet potato, so the dish turned out to be very colourful!

Ingredients
Sweet potato, boiled until soft, cut into chucks, 1 bowl
Onions (optional), 1 pc, cut into small pieces
Oregano, 1 teaspoon
Hickory Barbecue Sauce, 5 table spoons
Cheese, or Vegan Cheese, to taste
Vegeroni, 1 bowl, boil in hot water until soft
Corn, green beans and carrot frozen mix, ½ bowl
Capsicum, 1 pc, cut into small pieces
Salt to taste
Olive oil, 2 table spoons

Put all the ingredients in a baking tray. I normally put the vegeroni pasta at the bottom so that it will not dry out during baking. Arrange the cheese on top of all the ingredients. Cook the dish in preheated oven at 200 Dec C for 25 minutes. Serve while still hot!

Simple Chinese Style Stir Fried Broccoli with Snow Peas Vegan Recipe

My kids love broccoli and it is a very easy dish to prepare. Simple stir frying gives the dish a nice aroma and it can be considered a healthy meal too.
I have added garlic and Chinese Wine to this recipe, so if you don’t take these two ingredients, you can exclude them.

Ingredients
Broccoli, portion around 1 rice bowl
Carrot, 1 pc, cut into bite size
Snow peas, ½ rice bowl
Ginger, 4 to 5 slices
Garlic, 3 cloves, minced (OPTIONAL)
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce, 1 table spoon
Salt to taste
Corn flour mixed with a little water
Sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
Chinese Shao Shing Chiew (cooking wine, OPTIONAL), 1 table spoon

Heat up wok and put in a little vegetable oil. Sautéed garlic and ginger until fragrant. Put in the carrot, broccoli and snow peas. Stir fry for a while. Add the vegetarian oyster sauce, salt, sesame oil and Chinese Cooking wine. Add a little water and then thicken the gravy with corn flour water mixture. Serve with white rice.

Quickie Baked Vegan Tofu with Cheese and Thyme Recipe

I love the aroma of freshly baked cheese. In order to create an East meets West recipe, I used tofu with cheese and western popular herb such as thyme. Baking saves me some time when I am preparing dinner for my family. I just need to set the timer in the oven and the dish would be ready by the time I finish cooking other things else. This dish would make a complete meal for the family because it loaded in protein and greens as well. For carbohydrate, you can eat these tofu dish with steam unpolished rice.
Check out my Quickie Vegan Tofu Cheese and Thyme Recipe.

Ingredients
Soft Tofu, 1 large piece
Vegan Cheese (you can use normal cheese, if you are not a full vegan), enough to cover the tofu
Thyme, 1 teaspoon
Celery, cut into 3” length
Tomato, 1 pc, cut onto four
Soya sauce, 1 table spoon

Arrange all the ingredients in the baking tray. Add a little water. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes at 200 Deg C. Serve with steamed rice.

Vegeroni Pasta in Tomato Soup

I love to use Vegeroni pasta in my recipe. It is a good way to get my kids to eat some greens. The green coloured vegeroni has spinach powder in it and the red ones have carrot powder. Therefore these Vegeroni are naturally coloured using plants produce!
This recipe goes down well with our appetite especially on cool rainy or snowy days.
Here is my recipe for Vegeroni Pasta in Tomato Soup

Ingredients
Vegeroni, any desired amount, put in boiling water and cook until it turns soft. Drain away excess water

Tomato Soup
Tomato paste, 1 small tin
Fresh tomato, 2pcs
Garlic, 3pcs
Onions, 2 pcs
Celery, 2 stalks
Cream, ½ cup
Bay Leaves, 1 pc
Thyme, 1 teaspoon
Oregano, 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
A little olive oil

Put water in pot and bring to a boil. Add in all the ingredients and cook until soft. Take out the bay leaves. Take out all the solid ingredients from the soup using a sieve. Put the solid ingredients in a blender and blend until the texture turns smooth. Put it back into the soup. Pour the soup over the vegeroni and serve. You can garnish it with parmesan cheese. Happy Cooking!