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Saturday, September 1, 2012

Vegan Japanese dinner part 2: the tofu dish



Fried tofu puffs simmered in vegetable broth 




Finally I find some time to write the second recipe of my Vegan Japanese dinner. The starter was avocado sashimi, and this is the 'main' (I am using the word main as this is the 'main' protein course). Then there will be two vegetable dishes (one cooked and one raw) to accompany the tofu, and to finish in traditional Japanese style, the rice and the soup.

But now for the recipe:

1 bag of fried tofu puffs (in NZ they are available in Chinese stores)
1.5 l vegetable stock
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
Onion weed (or garlic chives) to finish
Soy or tamari sauce to serve (optional)

If you don't know what onion weed is you can find it here, now that it is spring it grows wild everywhere in Oratia, and I forage heaps of it!.

Wash the onion weeds and chop finely. Keep aside (the flowers too). Chop the celery and peel and cut the carrot into thick irregular pieces, I like to make them look a little 'geometric' to look pretty alongside the tofu puffs. Bring the stock to boil, then add the cut vegetables and tofu puffs. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked, drain (keep the vegetable stock aside as you will need it for a sauce and the soup later on - I will publish those recipes in the next few days). Serve the tofu puffs and vegetables in pretty bowls, and top with chopped onion weeds, finishing with some onion weed flowers to decorate (and eat, as they are edible). Serve with soy or tamari sauce. 




Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

18 comments:

  1. This looks delicious and quite simple. It never occurred to me onion weed was edible, but that makes sense! Love the styling/photography.

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  2. You can eat the bulbs, the stalk and leaves and the flowers. Yes, very edible :-)

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  3. Ahh there is so much onion weed near my house! My grandma used to be in love with the stuff and planted it in our garden where it overtook EVERYTHING!!

    I love the fact you're using tofu puffs -one of my favourites. People should use these more!

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  4. Onion weed it is considered an invasive weed, so we should eat more of it :-).

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  5. Devo dire che l'aseptto è meraviglioso!!! Ma mi piace ancora di più il contorno con tutte quelle stoffine! Baciii

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    1. modo perfetto per me per sfoggiare la mia collezione di stoffe giapponesi (ne ho montagne nei cassetti!)

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  6. Gorgeous AND delicious-looking, as usual!! Hope your weekend is going well!

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  7. Simple yet delicious! Great recipe and photos too!

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  8. Ha un aspetto delizioso! E poi che presentazione :-)

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  9. non ho fatto molte volte uso di tofu, ma la versione in brodo mi manca, ciao buon WE.

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  10. Devo confessare che sono davvero prevenuta nei confronti del tofu......ma quello che presenti tu sembra sempre così buono che devo provare per forza!! Ciao carissima, buona domenica, Franci

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    1. Questo non sa da 'tofu' nel senso stretto della parola, proprio perche' e' fritto e 'arioso', e poi prende molto il sapore del brodo che usi.

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  11. I have always been a fan of tofu. This seems simple and quick to prepare and I love it cooked in vegetable stock.

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  12. Yes very simple and quick, impossible to go wrong with it!

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  13. I'm so impressed! a beautiful dish and creative use of tofu :)
    Mary x

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  14. That looks so tasty and colourful at the same time! :D

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  15. Japanese food has so many vegetables and vegan recipes but I rarely share them for some reason. I'm so happy you are sharing this wonderful dinner series and introduce Japanese food is not all about sashimi or sushi, and wagyu beef dishes. :)

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  16. I will have to look for these little tofu puffs, because your recipe using them sounds so delicious, Alessandra.

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