Vegan Yum Yum (30 page)

½ teaspoon hot chili sauce, more if desired
(like Sriracha)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon tamari
(or soy sauce)

4 cups water

5 to 6 fresh ginger slices

1 tablespoon mirin

1½ teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

¼ cup Chinese broccoli leaves, packed
(or substitute spinach or collards)

16 wonton skins

step 4
To fill the wontons, place 1 to 2 teaspoons of the broccoli-seitan filling in the center of the wonton. Wet the edges of the wrapper with water (a finger dipped in water works great) and seal into a triangle, removing as much air as possible from the dumpling. Make sure the edges are secure.

step 5
Set the triangle in front of you, pointing up. Wet one of the bottom corners. Hold the corners, one between each thumb and forefinger. Begin to bend the wrapper, as if you were forcing it into a horseshoe shape. Don't change your grip, and resist the urge to fold the corners over. Bring the two ends together, crossing them slightly, and press to seal. Going from the triangle shape to a completed wonton is one fluid motion.

step 6
Your dumpling should look like a fun little fish-boat-hat.

step 7
You can now freeze your dumplings or cook them right away.

step 8
To prepare the soup, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Reheat your broth to steaming, if necessary. Gently lower the wontons into the boiling water and cook until they become translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes if the wontons aren't frozen, longer if they are. Remove them from the water with a spider (or other slotted spoon device) and place them into the hot broth.

step 9
Take care to remove and discard any dumplings that have opened up during cooking. If they open, water gets inside, washes all the flavor away, and you'll be sad if you serve it or eat it. It will taste like watery mush, and I promise you won't be happy about it.

step 10
Ladle 3 to 4 wontons into a bowl and add a small amount of broth, enough to halfway cover the wontons. Make sure to get some greens in there, too. Serve immediately.

Chipotle Basil Corn Chowder

T
his soup has a kick to it, and it's a great way to use up summer produce. The soup pictured here used the corn, basil, potatoes, onions, and carrots that I got in my CSA share one week. Fresh corn will give the best results, but you can try frozen if it's all you've got; just be sure to rinse it under cool water before adding it to the soup to remove any weird freezer taste. If you're opening a new can of chipotle in adobo, freeze the rest for later use.

Chipotle Basil Corn Chowder

Makes 4 servings

step 1
Heat the olive oil in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add the onions and sauté until golden. Add the potatoes, carrot, and chipotle and stir to coat. Let them cook over medium heat for a minute, and don't worry if they start to stick.

step 2
Add the water and bouillon cube and mix well, scraping what's sticking off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover, cooking for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

step 3
Transfer all or half of the mixture to a blender (only transfer ½ if you want some potato chunks in the finished product). Add half of the corn, soy milk, salt, and lime juice and blend until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in most of the basil (keep out a few of the basil leaves for garnish) and black pepper to taste. Taste and add additional seasoning if necessary.

step 4
Ladle the soup into bowls and distribute the remaining corn over the top. Garnish with fresh black pepper and a few small basil leaves. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced
(½ cup)

5 small red potatoes, diced small
(3 cups)

1 cup shredded carrot

1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo, minced
(canned)

3 cups water

1 vegetable bouillon cube

3 cups fresh sweet corn
(5 to 6 ears)
, divided

½ cup soy milk

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lime juice

½ cup fresh basil, chopped

Fresh black pepper, to taste

Creamy Broccoli Dal

R
ed lentil dal and cream of broccoli soup got together and had a love child. This is a mild Indian-spiced soup with all the comforts of standard cream of broccoli. If you want to make a bigger batch, it doubles well. It's easy to make, too!

Creamy Broccoli Dal

Makes 2 servings

step 1
Heat the oil on medium-high to high in a 2- to 3-quart pot. Add the cumin and mustard seeds, onion, and lentils. Fry in the oil until the seeds are popping and the lentils have changed color slightly, being careful not to burn them. The onions should be soft and maybe even getting some color.

step 2
Add the broccoli, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every once in a while. At this point, the soup should be thick but still watery, and the broccoli should be soft.

step 3
Add the soy milk, soy sauce, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, red pepper flakes, and salt and turn down the heat; you don't want to boil the soup anymore or the soy milk might start to look funny. Stir well and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, your choice

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds
(black)

¼ cup onion, finely chopped

½ cup red lentils
(masoor dal)

1 whole broccoli stalk, peeled and finely chopped
(just over 2-plus cups, packed)
*

2 cups water

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup soy milk

1 tablespoon soy sauce
(or salt to taste)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
(optional)

Salt, to taste, if needed

*
Note: Trim off the bottom 1 to 2 inches of the stalk to remove the tough part, but use the tender parts of the stalk and the florets in this recipe. Peeling them with a vegetable peeler will remove any fibrous qualities of the stalk, but it's not necessary. You can chop the broccoli by hand, or cut it up into chucks and pulse them in your food processor until well chopped.

Homemade Vegetable Stock

M
aking your own vegetable stock is wonderfully easy and blissfully imprecise. There is only 20 minutes of active time, it doesn't really require a recipe, it uses up those veggies in your fridge you've been meaning to eat, it tastes great, it stores easily, and is highly customizable. If you're part of a CSA and the fall harvest of veggies has you overwhelmed, simply put the veggies you can't figure out how to eat in your broth. I would say there are only three required vegetables for your stock: onions, carrots, and celery.

Onions, carrots, and celery are known collectively as mirepoix, a classic part of French cuisine. All of these vegetables are aromatics, and you'll realize that as soon as you start cooking them together; suddenly your kitchen smells like Thanksgiving. You can fancy it up a bit if you feel like it by using parsnips instead of carrots, leeks instead of onions, or celeriac instead of celery. Mirepoix is a great culinary trick to keep up your sleeve; it's a great starting point for many, many recipes, especially soups and sauces. It's not called the holy trinity of French cuisine for nothing.