Tempeh DIY

I'm on a fermented foods frenzy here. Now it's time for tempeh.

Tempeh is an indonesian fermented soy product loaded with protein.

It's got a nutty flavor and has got a tender but firm texture.

Again i collected information from many sources and did this:

1) Ordered tempeh starter (the mold spores) online.

2) Soaked 500 grams of soy beans for 10+ hours

3) De-hulled the beans by kneading and squeezing them for ever. (This part truly is a bore)

4) Cooked the soybeans for 30 min with 4 tbsp of apple cider vinegar added to the cooking water.

5) Drained the beans and dried them by returning the pot to low heat, constantly stirring.

6) Leaving the beans to cool.

7) Added the tempeh starter.

8) Packed in plastic bags, perforated every 1 cm or so.

Here it is 'sweating' away, mold growing.

9) Left to incubate at 29-30 degrees celcius for 27 hrs. I made a weird construction from chopsticks, cardboard and kitchen towels. I placed it on the top of my fridge, using the heat from the back of the fridge to keep the temperature high.

I think it's ready...

Finished tempeh

Grains, seeds and nuts can be added to make mixed tempeh. Also soy beans can be substituted by other beans or nuts. In future experiments I will try that for sure.

Inspiration:
http://www.tempeh.info/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTNoPrYmBGU

http://www.veganbaking.net/vegan-recipes/other-vegan-eats/how-to-make-tempeh.html

http://www.soya.be/how-to-make-tempeh.php
http://www.toomanychefs.net/archives/001785.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H3d9uJVYA0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHm1ukruZ_s&feature=related

Kombucha - my first brew :D

Kombucha is fermented tea said to have a million and two health benifits. It's got a tangy flavour and is slightly sparkling. I love it because it tastes great and makes me feel good.

In NYC i kinda got addicted to kombucha. I used to buy these in health food stores:

 

Now i'm brewing my own and just bottled the first batch.

Green Tea Kombucha with Strawberry

As I am incapable of following instructions or recipes, I ended up following different tips from a million places.

This is what I did:

1) Got my hands on a kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) and starter. You can buy it online or get it free from somebody who's brewing.

2) Brewed 2 liters black and 2 liters green tea - as i wanted to try both out.

3) Added 150 grams of sugar to each tea batch.

3) Let the tea cool.

4) Poured the tea into two big glass jars, making sure to leave room for some starter.

5) Added the kombucha scoby and the starter - covered with clean cloth, sealing with a rubber band.

6) Went away for a week and came back to the most delicous sparkling kombucha. The parents had made two beautiful kombucha babies.

7) Added strawberrys to some, ginger and rhubarb to some and left some without flavouring.

Any handling of the scoby and the clean utensils must be done only with clean hands. Hygiene is important to avoid other bacteria to invade the kombucha.

There's a lot of videos on youtube and webpages with detailed instructions and tips and tricks.

Kimbap with Kimchi

Rice:

2 1/2 dl korean rice or sushi rice
4 dl water

1 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Mix oil, vinegar, sugar and salt well while boiling the rice. Stir in gently after the rice have settled and cooled a little. 

Making perfect rice is an ART - find your own way...

Stuffing:

Cucumber
Avocado
Pickled ginger
Sesame seeds

Horse radish
Tofu
Spring onions
Blanched savoy cabbage

Umeboshi Purée
Carrot
Blanched spinach
Pickled radish

or whatever combination you prefer.

Roll like maki sushi. 

Check out how Maangchi rolls.

or the turbo roll.

Serve with kimchi.

Kimchi

This kimchi is 1 month old.

Ingredients

Salt
1 napa cabbage
1/4 dl sweet rice flour
1 1/2 dl water
1/4 dl sugar
1 dl save-the-fish sauce 
1/ - 1 dl red pepper flakes 고추가루  
4 chopped cloves of garlic
2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp chopped onion
4 chopped scallions

Directions 

Cut cabbage twice lenghtswise. Wash thoroughly. Rub carefully with salt, making sure that salt goes everywhere. 

Leave to rest for two hours. Then massage and turn and leave to rest for another three hours.

Mix sweet rice flour, water and sugar until it becomes translucent. Cool a little and mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Wash the cabbages thoroughly - and then once again. Wring in order to get as much excess water out.

Wear gloves and carefully spread the mixture everywhere on the cabbage. Finally massage gently.

Fill into a sterilized glass jar with a sealing lid. Leave for two days in room temperature in order to ferment. Store in the fridge.

The flavor develops a lot over time.

Check out Maangchi making non-vegan kimchi for procedure details.

Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

My dream last night took me back to last summer - a beautiful day with my dad in the garden. We were cutting down my cherry tree, harvesting rainbow carrots and zucchini.

Then we made stuffed zucchini flowers, here's my vague memory of the recipe I came up with:

Stuffing
grilled zucchini
capers
silken tofu
chives
parsley
garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper

Chop the vegetables, capers and herbs finely and mix with tofu and oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the flowers.
Make a twist at the top to close the flower. 
Like this:

Batter:
wheat flour
baking powder
salt
beer

Mix the batter - heat up oil, dip the flowers and deep fry. Be careful!
Serve immediately, with a slice of lemon. Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside - yum :D

Come summer and zucchini flowers I will review.

Mango Pickle

Hot, spicy, tangy indian mango pickle.

Ingredients
3 raw (as in not ripe - must be hard as rock) mangoes
1 green chili
2 1/2 - 4 tbsp red chili powder
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1-3 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2-3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sesame oil (optional)
1 tbsp curry leaves
1/2 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tbsp fenugreek seed powder
4-10 cloves of garlic
1 tsp asafoetida/hing (optional)
3+ dl vegetable oil (not olive oil)

Directions
Cut mangoes in small chunks. Remove the actual soft seed inside, but leave the shell of the seed on the mango pieces. Peel and half the garlic cloves. Chop the chili into small pieces.

Heat 2 dl oil and add cumin, then mustard seeds. When the mustard starts popping add curry leaves, chili, red chili powder, turmeric, asafoetida and finally mustard powder, fenugreek seed powder, fennel seeds and garlic. Stir and remove from heat after a minute or so. Add salt.

Mix all ingredients and fill into clean scalded glass jars. Squeeze the pickle down hard to avoid air pockets. Finally cover with 1/2 an inch of vegetable oil to seal off air. Store in the fridge. It's a good idea to give the pickles a stir after 3-4 days, add more oil to cover if needed.

The pickles mature in 1-2 weeks and last for months and months in the fridge.

Pumpkin and Smoked Tofu Dumplings

Serves 2-3

Ingredients
15 - 20 dumpling wraps

Stuffing:
1 small Hokkaido - steamed or oven roasted till tender
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 handful of finely chopped spring onions
1 handful of chopped fresh coriander
½ - 1 tbsp korean chilli flakes 고추가루
½ tbsp tamari
100 g finely chopped smoked tofu
½ tbsp sesame oil

Directions
Mix all ingredients and wrap them up.

Steam for 10+ minutes

- or fry.
Add a little oil to a frying pan. Heat and place dumplings. Cover bottom with water. Fry for 15 minutes under lid, until water is evaporated.

Serve as they are with Dumpling Dipping Sauce or in broth:

Crème Brûlée with Vanilla

Ingredients:

Serves 3

3 dl of vanilla soy milk or other vegetable milk
3 tbsp of confectioners sugar
1 tsp of vanilla sugar or seeds of a quarter vanilla bean
2 tsp of corn starch

Sugar for topping


Directions:

Heat soy milk slowly. Whisk constantly from now. Shake confectioners sugar and vanilla together with a little soy milk or water. (While whisking you ask? - YES ;)) Add to soy milk. Do the same with corn starch. Add slowly little by little - still whisking. When turned to custard, pour into portion sized bowls or whatever you wanna use. Leave to cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours (- or place in the snow if you cant wait)

When cooled - and just before serving - sprinkle sugar on top and blowtorch until the sugar caramelizes.

Take care if the containers are fragile and you're using a hardware grade blowtorch like I do and you're taking pictures at the same time... or this will happen to you too:

Rice Paper Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Rolls:

Ingredients:

Rice paper
1 clove garlic
1 small piece of ginger
½ red onion
1 grated carrot
2 dl small pieces of broccoli
2 dl mild sprouts
100 g smoked tofu
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Salt

Directions:

Sauté onions, garlic and ginger.
Add carrots broccoli, sprouts and sesame seeds
Salt to taste.
Soften rice papers one or two at a time.
Fill 'em and roll 'em.


Sauce:

Ingredients:
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp peanutbutter
1½ tbsp tamari
1½ spsk rice vinegar
1 red thai chilli, seeds taken out
Juice of ½ a lime
1 tbsp agave or maple syrup

Directions:

Blend everything.