fresh roll bowls with crispy tofu.

helllloooo, out there!

i’ve been totally MIA this summer with a zillion things going on in my life, like planning our big marriage celebration partay extravaganza, renovating our basement, trying to stay afloat in my freelance work and still have a fun summer and maintain a personal life, ha!

now that fall is here, and all i do in my free time these days is watch bon appétit cooking videos on youtube, i am really, really pumped to get back to cooking and my recipe-making ways!

this is a recipe i made back in july, and just never got around to sharing it. but, it’s still worth sharing because i always crave a fresh roll, and we can find all of these produce items year-round. so, IT’S ALL GOOD.

ok. fresh roll bowls.

when you want the freshness of a fresh roll, but don’t want to dilly dally around and actually take the time to roll them up. i’ve just substituted thin rice noodles for the rice papers and thrown everything into the same bowl! yum!

this was my first attempt at cooking tofu, i believe. i used queen minimalist baker’s crispy tofu method and it worked like a charm, even for a tofu-first-timer. i coated it in a fresh, zingy peanut sauce, and mmm mmm mmm, twas it ever tasty and satisfying.

this was most excellent back in july, when all you want is something refreshing & light after consuming hot dogs and burgers for days on end. this would really be excellent year-round, though. because who doesn’t like a bowl of flavorful freshnezzzz in februaryyyy??

ok. glad to be back on here. putting these photos & recipes out into the internet abyss is a much more personally cathartic creative outlet than my professional creative freelance work, and i miss it when i take big breaks. it’s most fulfilling when i see that someone has made one of my recipes, so i am excited to get back to this. 😊

Fresh Roll Bowls with Crispy Tofu

Serves 2-4

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Peanut Sauce-

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

• 1/4 cup minced shallot

• 1 inch knob of ginger, grated

• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 1 tsp. soy sauce, or coconut aminos

• 1 TB lime juice

• 1/4 (+) cup room temperature water

• pinch of red chile flakes

For the Crispy Tofu-

I used this exact method from Minimalist Baker for quick & crispy tofu!

For the Fresh Roll Bowls-

• 1 cup thin rice noodles (cooked according to package instructions)

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• 1 cup shredded red cabbage

• 2 cups chopped crisp hearty greens, romaine, or spinach

• 1/2 a large cucumber, sliced into thin ribbons

• 1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped

• 1/4 cup Thai basil

• 1/4 cup fresh mint

• 1/2 cup snap peas, snapped or chopped

• 1/2 cup sliced green onion

• lime juice

• rice vinegar

• plum sauce

• fish sauce

Instructions-

Prepare and gather all the fresh vegetables and herbs as instructed. Set in fridge to keep cool, or just set aside.

Prepare the peanut sauce as instructed in a small bowl and gently stir the ingredients together, or simply add everything to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Add the the water slowly until the desired thickness or thinness is achieved.

Follow these instructions from the greatest resource in simplified vegan & plant-based recipes, Minimalist Baker. Gently toss the slightly cooled, crispy tofu in the peanut sauce.

In a large bowl, toss the cooked rice noodles in a bit of plum sauce, a dash of rice vinegar, the juice of 1 lime, and dash of fish sauce, if desired. Add all the hearty vegetables and toss gently.

Add the more delicate veggies and herbs very last, during plating - such as the cucumber ribbons, mint, and basil. Top with the peanut sauce coated crispy tofu squares. Add a pinch of salt or dash of fish sauce, red chile flakes, or additional lime juice as desired. Serve immediately!

Customize these bowls as you see fit - prawns, shrimp, shredded chicken, beef, meatless - you know!

qp

cabbage chicken pad thai.

it’s technically like a no-noodle chicken cabbage pad thai curry, but i didn’t wanna throw you off with a weird long title.

also - super almost vegan (just remove chicken & use alt fish sauce) and super customizable in the veggie or protein department!

AND… best news ever:

i finally figured out the missing flavor in homemade thai dishes that i’ve been searching for FOR-EV-ER.

i have made thai curries at home over and over and over, adding one new ingredient at a time that i always think will be THE ONE missing link, but it’s never been quite right…

until now.

i have found it. this is the one.

LIME LEAVES, PEOPLE.

lime leaves.

i should have freakin known. there’s a whole thing in that movie no reservations with catherine zeta jones where she’s a chef and she hauls her chef boyfriend all over town looking for her signature secret ingredient - which ended up being kaffir lime leaves.

i knew it somewhere deep in my head.

i was actually buying thai basil at the store and admiring these edible flowers. i noticed the box of “lime leaves,” took one sniff and i knew that was the flavor i’ve been searching for.

i pretty much ran home and made this right away. i was so excited to discover how much flavor lime leaves give off when you steep them in coconut milk. it’s such a specific taste and it really makes your homemade thai dishes extra legit.

this is kind of a “curry” recipe because it has the base of a thai curry - then you add a TON of freshly shredded cabbage which soaks up all the coconut milk and all the salty curry flavors to become noodley! and then voila, it is a cabbage pad thai with ALL the right flavors.

at thai restaurants, pete & i usually order panang curry & chicken pad thai - and i always end up mixing them together a bit, so this recipe is kinda like that idea!

the tenderized cabbage actually does a pretty good impression of noodles in this form. i was so pleasantly surprised! just don’t over cook them so they keep a little bit of that al dente crunch & chewy factor.

plz don’t be intimidated by the ingredients list - you can do itttttt. and once you buy all the thai flavors/spices/jars of various things (fish sauce & red curry paste are just staples around here now!), you’ll be making thai food for daaaays.

think of them as a homemade thai food investment.

No-Noodle Cabbage Chicken Pad Thai

Serves 2-4

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken breast, thawed & filleted

• red chili flakes, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil.

• 2 cloves or 1 TB garlic, minced

• 2 TB fresh ginger, minced (or Gourmet Garden Ginger paste)

• 1 TB Gourmet Garden Lemongrass paste, optional

• 2 tsp. tamarind concentrate

• 1 TB fish sauce

• 1 1/2 TB. Thai red curry paste

• 6-8 lime leaves, whole or ripped in half

• 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk

• 2 heaping cups green cabbage, thinly shredded with mandoline

• 2 heaping cups purple cabbage, thinly shredded with mandoline

• 1/2 a red bell pepper, seeded & sliced

• 1/2 a green bell pepper, seeded & sliced

• 1/2 cup broccoli florets, optional

• mung bean sprouts

• fresh Thai basil, lots!

• 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

• 1 lime

• fresh mint or cilantro, optional

Instructions -

Using a mandoline, shred the green & purple cabbage until you have at least 2 heaping cups of each. It should be about half a head of each cabbage. Shred or cut it to about the thickness of noodles (not too thin or the cabbage might get soggy).

In a large pan, cook the chicken breast in 1 TB olive oil and garlic on medium heat, seasoning with salt, pepper, and red chili flakes for spice. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and allow it to rest on a cutting board before slicing.

In the same pan with the chicken & garlic remnants, add the sliced chicken back into the pan with fresh ginger, lemongrass paste (optional), tamarind concentrate, and red curry paste. Toss well to coat. (***Note: If you’re making this recipe using real noodles instead, cut down the salts by half [salt & fish sauce]. There’s extra sodium here to compensate for the large quantity of raw cabbage.)

Add 1 whole can of coconut milk to the pan and stir. Drop in all the lime leaves and some Thai basil to steep as it simmers on medium/low.

Prepare & slice the remaining veggies, herbs, and toppings.

Toss half of the green & purple cabbage in the coconut milk to coat. The liquid should thicken and become almost gravy-like. Add the remaining cabbage, bell peppers, and broccoli, if using. Toss everything to coat using tongs until the cabbage has tenderized and resembles the consistency of noodles. The liquid from the pan should mostly be soaked up into the cabbage “noodles” when it is ready to eat. You may remove the lime leaves before eating if desired - they are pretty tough to chew.

Divide into servings and top with lots of fresh Thai basil, mung bean sprouts, lime wedges & chopped peanuts. Optional: fresh mint, cilantro, or edible flowers for garnish.

Serve immediately and enjoy leftovers within 1-2 days.

qp