Moosewood Tofu Vegetable Dumplings

1 oz dried shiitake mushrooms (rehydrate by pouring boiling water over them and let sit for 20-30 minutes)
2 cups boiling water
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbspn grated fresh ginger root
1 tspn ground anise
1 cup peeled and grated carrots
2 cups minced fresh mushrooms (about 6 oz)
1 cup minced Chinese cabbage
1 tspn canola or vegetable oil
4 oz. pressed tofu, crumbled
3 tbspn soy sauce
2 scallions, minced
1 tbspn hoisin sauce (optional)
1 tspn chili paste (optional)

1 package of wonton/dumpling wrappers

-Reconstitute shitake mushrooms, cut off and throw away tough stems
-saucepan on medium-low heat, combine shitake, garlic, ginger, anise, carrots, fresh mushrooms, cabbage and oil.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stir frequently.  Add the tofu, soy sauce, scallions, and optional hoisin sauce and chili paste, cook for 3 minutes, mix well.
-Place a rounded teaspoon of tofu vegetable mixtre on the center of the wrapper.  Moisten the outer edges of the wrapper, fold one corder over to the diagonally opposite corner to form a triangle, press edges together to seal the dumpling.  Use a little more water if the wrapper opens at the joint.  Place the filled dumplings on a large platter or several plates, cover with clear plastic wrap, refrigerate them until use.
-Cook one of three ways 1.) gentle simmer in water or broth for 5 minutes 2.) saute them in a skillet with a bit of oil for 2 minutes on each site.  Pour 1/4 cup of water, cover and steam for 4 minutes.  3.) Steam in a steamer basket or sieve over boiling water for 7-10 minutes.
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Japanese Style Dipping Sauce:
Whisk together 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar, and 1 minced scallion. 

Tofu Sukiyaki - yum!

Serve this in bowls over rice. Be sure to include lots of the broth in each bowl.

Make rice.

1 package firm tofu
1.5 cups mirin
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 cups water
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tbs. minced fresh ginger
2 oz. uncooked saifun (or bean thread) noodles
1 cup sliced onion
6 leaves napa/savoy cabbage, cut into thin strips
1 stalk celery, cut in thin diagonal strips
handful of slender green beans, trimmed and cut in half
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 handfuls mung bean sprouts
2 handfuls snow peas, trimmed, cut in half
6 scallions, cut into thin strips (the whites and the greens)

-Cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes, and boil them in a saucepan full of water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
-Combine mirin, soy sauce, water, garlic, and ginger in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and add the boiled tofu. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
-Add the uncooked noodles and cover again. Turn off the heat, and let it sit for 10 minutes or until the noodles are edibly tender. At this point, it can sit for up to several hours before serving time.
-Return to the heat shortly before serving. LEt it reach a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Add onion, cabbage, celery, green beans, and mushrooms, and cover. Five minutes later, add the remaining vegetables, cover again, and remove from heat. Wait another 5 minutes, then serve.

Soba with Hijiki & Stir Fry Veggies

1/4 cup Hijiki, soaked for 30 minutes, drained
3.5 tbspn soy sauce
2 tspn sugar
6 ounces soba
1.5r tbspn peanut oil
1 bunch scallions, whites thinly sliced, greens sliced diagonally
4 tspn chopped fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, chopped
2 carrots, juliennce strips
5 large mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt
1 tbspn rice wine mirin
4 cups Napa cabbage, sliced
2 tspn dark sesame oil
2 tbsp seasame seeds, toasted
Chili Oil

-Put hijiki in a saucepan with 2 tbspn soy sauce, sugar, and water to cover. Simmer for 15 minutes or until soft, drain, reserve liquid.
-Cook the soba in boiling water until tender, 5-7 minutes. When the water foams up, add a cup of cold water to bring it down, repeat if necessary. Drain & raise well under running water.
-Place the peanut oil in a wok and heat until hot but short of smoking. Add the white parts of the scallions, giner, and garlic and stir-fry over high heat for a minute. Add the carrots, mushrooms cook another minute, then add 1/2 tspn salt, the remaining soy sauce, and the mirin. Toss, then cover the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the soba, cabbage and most of the hijiki and toss until noodles are heated through. Turn off heat and toss with dark sesame oil & sesame seeds. Garnish with remaining hijiki, scallion greens and drops of chili oil to taste.

Vermicelli Noodles with Thai Sauce

1 lb dried rice vermicelli
4 oz tofu
1 Tbspn Red Curry Paste
2 oz fresh galangal or gingerroot, peeled and chopped
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 tspn salt
1 1/4 cup hot water
2 tspn palm sugar or light brown sugar

To garnish:
cilantro
red chili, finely sliced
Snow Peas

- Soak the vermicelli in a bowl of hot water for 15-20 minutes
-fry up the tofu. Add curry paste, galangal or ginger, coconut milk, and salt in a food processor and smooth. Add the hot water and mix again.
-Pour mixture from blender into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the sugar. Cook another 3-4 minutes.
-drain the vermicelli and transfer to a bowl, pour over the sauce, garnish with chopped cilantro, tofu Snow Peas and red chili. Serve

Coconut Rice

1 3/4 cups coconut milk
1/2 tspn turmeric
1 1/2 cups basmati rice, washed and drained
8 small onions, roughly chopped
black peppercorns
1 tspn salt

To Garnish:
fine strips of scallion
slivers of toasted fresh coconut

-put the coconut milk in a saucepan, stir in the turmeric, then add the rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

-add the onions, peppercorns, and salt to the pan and simmer gently for another 10 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Careful not to let the rice burn!!

-Serve with Garnish, yum!

Green Curry with Straw Mushrooms

1 1/4 cup coconut milk
3 Tbsp Green Curry Paste
1 1/4 cup Vegetable Stock
4 small round eggplants, cut in rounds
any other vegetables you like
4 shallots
3 Tbsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
bamboo shoots
1 tspn salt
4 tspn vegetarian nam pla (fish sauce) or soy sauce
1 oz krachai or 3 inch piece of fresh galangal, peeled and sliced
14 oz can straw mushrooms, drained
1/4 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

Garnish:
handful of fresh basil
2 tbsp coconut milk


-heat the coconut milk in a saucepan, add the curry paste, and stir. Add the stock and then teh eggplants, sugar, salt, nam pla or soy sauce, krachai or galangal, shallots, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the bell pepper, reduce the heat and cook for a few minutes more.

Serve in a bowl, garnished with basil and drizzled with coconut milk.

Spicy Thai Green Papaya Salad

* 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
* 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Thai fish sauce
* 1/4 cup minced shallot
* 3 Thai bird chiles or Serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
* 3 tablespoons coconut-palm sugar or golden cane sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 2 medium-large green papayas, peeled, seeds removed, and shredded or julienned (2 to 2 1/2 pounds)
* 2 carrots, peeled and shredded or julienned
* 2 tablespoons chiffonade fresh mint leaves
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus 1/3 cup leaves, for garnish
* 1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts, for garnish

Directions

In a blender combine the lime juice, fish sauce, shallot, chiles, sugar and garlic and blend until smooth. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Combine the papayas, carrots, mint leaves and chopped cilantro. Add the dressing and toss to combine thoroughly. Garnish with the cilantro leaves and chopped peanuts. Serve immediately.

Hijiki Seaweed Salad with Carrots

1 cup dried hijiki seaweed
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoon slivered/shredded ginger
3 carrots, julienned
block of tofu, cubed
edamame/soy beans
pinch or two of salt (to taste, or more soy sauce)
rice vinegar or mirin
Toasted sesame seeds

-Cover the hijiki with water and soak for 15 minutes. Drain, then put in a saucepan, cover with fresh water to cover and add the soy sauce. Bring to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes, then drain again.

-Heat oil or a bit of water in a wide skillet over high heat. Add the ginger, soy beans and carrots, tofu and stir-fry until the carrots become soft, about 2 minutes or so. Add the seaweed and cook five minutes more, tossing frequently. Add a bit more soy sauce and let it cook off. Taste and season with salt and or soy sauce. If it is too dry, sometimes I add a bit of toasted rice vinegar or mirin. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Thai Ginger Coconut Soup - Tom Kha

3 cups coconut milk
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 stalks lemongrass, bruise it with butt of knife and chop into couple inch pieces (will remove later)
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (will remove later)
10 black peppercorns, crushed
10 kaffir lime leaves, put cuts in it and/or tear, gives it such good flavor!
2 cups button mushrooms
1/2 cup baby corn cobs
4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp fish sauce

Garnish
2 red chilies
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
avocado
bean sprouts

-Bring the coconut milk and stock to a boil in a saucepan. Add the lemongrass, ginger, peppercorns, and half of the kaffir lime leaves. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes.

-Strain the stock into a new pan. Return to heat, add the button mushrooms and baby corn. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

-Stir in the lime juice, fish sauce to taste, and the rest of the lime leaves. Serve hot, garnish with red chilies, scallions, and cilantro.

Tender Ginger Tofu Soup

Women in Okinawa have the longest lifespan in all of Japan. A study of Okinawan centenarians attributes their lasting health to low calorie intake. Okinawans mainly eat tofu and sea vegetables, staples that are naturally low in calories. In this recipe, the tofu soaks up the flavors of the mirin, chili-garlic sauce, and natural inflammation-reducer fresh ginger, which helps with nausea and has proven to help arthritis and ovarian cancer in many studies.

2 c chicken, miso, vegetable broth
1 3/4 c water
1/4 c mirin (aka sweet sake, low-alcohol rice wine. You can substitute brown sugar, but it won't give you the same authentic Japanese flavor.)
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp fresh minced ginger root
1 tsp chili-garlic sauce (like Sriracha)
1 14 oz firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
1 1/2 c shredded carrots
6 oz snow peas, trimmed and cut in half diagonally
1/4 c chopped fresh chives

-Combine broth, water, mirin, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic sauce, bring to a boil.
-Stir in tofu, carrot, and snow peas and return mixture to a boil.
-Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
-Stir in chives and serve.

Miso Soup

2 Tbsp Dried Wakame
3 cups water
.75 oz packet dashi stock base
2 Tbsp white miso
12 oz. silken tofu (drained and cut into cubes)
1 cup thinly sliced shitake mushroom caps
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

-Soak wakame in water for 10 minutes or so, or until fully hydtrated; drain
-Bring water to boil, add dashi packet, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, remove packet.
-Ladle a half cup of dashi into a small bowl, whisk in miso and set aside.
-Stir tofu and mushrooms into pot, simmer for a few minutes. Stir in miso mixture, top with scallions and soy sauce. Serve :)

Buddha's Delight

In keeping with the Buddhist tradition of cleansing the body with only vegetables, Jai must be eaten on New Year's Day. The dish has been eaten in one form or another for hundreds of years. It contains 18 different ingredients, including dried black moss, dried bean curd and ginkgo nuts, but this simplified version is just as good and much easier to prepare.

* 2 tsp. dark sesame oil
* 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
* 8 Chinese dried mushrooms
* 2 oz. dried bean thread noodles, broken into 4-inch pieces
* 1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
* 3 scallions (white and light green parts), cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 small clove garlic, minced
* 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
* 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced on diagonal
* 1/2 cup canned sliced water chestnuts
* 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, julienned
* 15-oz. can baby corn, drained
* 8 oz. snow peas, strings removed
* 8 oz. Chinese (Napa) cabbage (1/4 small head), cut into 2 x 1-inch pieces
* 8 oz. firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 2 Tbs. soy sauce
* 2/3 cup vegetable broth

Sauce

1. Make sauce: In small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients. Set aside.
2. In medium bowl, soak mushrooms in 1/2 cup cold water until softened, about 30 minutes. In another bowl, soak noodles in hot (not boiling) water to cover 5 minutes.
3. Drain mushrooms and squeeze dry (reserve soaking water to use in soups). Cut off and discard stems; thinly slice caps and set aside. Drain noodles and set aside.
4. In wok or large deep skillet, heat vegetable oil over high heat. Add mushrooms, scallions, garlic and ginger and stir-fry 1 minute. Add carrot, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, snow peas and cabbage and stir-fry 2 minutes.
5. Add sauce, cover and cook 5 minutes. Gently stir in noodles and tofu until well coated. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until most of the sauce is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Serve at once.