Tofu is fairly recent regular addition to my kitchen /cooking. It is very similar to paneer, which is an Indian cheese that does not have any particular taste and can be used for sweet and savoury recipes. As a result I use tofu more regularly. It absorbs all the flavours and hence makes it very versatile.

A few years ago I bought a basic quick vegetarian recipe book from a supermarket and Scrambled Tofu was one of the recipes in it. It was a simple red capsicum, tofu and chives scramble. I like the idea and added a few other ingredients to give extra taste and flavour to the tofu. This is a good breakfast / brunch recipe, or even to eat as a healthy snack and a good alternative to scrambled eggs.

Scrambled Tofu

Like I improvised with the ingredients, you can use what ever combination of vegetables and herbs and spices that you like. This combination that I have used gives a very Chinese feel that is simple and fresh tasting.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 15 mins          Cooking time: 10 mins          Serves: 2

6 slices of toasted and buttered wholemeal bread

3 to 4 tbsp sunflower oil

200g soft tofu drained and cut into 2 cm cubes

5 to 6 chestnut mushroom cut into 2 cm chunks

1 each red capsicum and red onion chopped into 1 cm cubes

1 clove of garlic grated or minced

1/2 inch piece of ginger grated

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander with stalks

1/2 tsp soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1) Chop all the vegetables and heat (medium heat) a large sauce pan. Add the oil, the tofu and the vegetables, cook while stirring continuously until brown.

2) Add the seasoning and soy sauce and cook for a further few minutes. Switch off the heat and add the chopped coriander, serve on the warm butter toast, enjoy

My younger sister and two of my nieces love spring rolls. I have never really liked the taste of ready made vegetarian spring rolls, always preferring the home made ones.  I tend to make them in a large batch and freeze them so as they are ready to have when ever I want to make a complete Chinese meal. There are many different versions I have made. Out of them it is the Thai and Chinese versions that I truly enjoy.

Some of the dishes we learnt at a very early age, used to be at the ladies club. We used to meet up on a regular basis and food, flower arranging, house hold tips etc. used to be demonstrated. This is where we learnt how to assemble spring rolls, I remember when my mother and sisters used to do it all together, like a production line. Now when I make them on my own I have fond memories of how we used to listen to music and were gently coaxed into making sure we have enough paste and roll it tightly. After a few broken ones, we got there in the end Of course it is much easier now that we buy the ready made frozen pastries, as opposed to rolling them out ourselves, which is where we started – Oh the joys and convenience of ready made items to make cooking life easy

Chinese spring rolls

The good thing about this method of assembling the spring rolls is that there is a lot of pastry covering the filling, thus making them crispy and ensuring they are not torn, unless of course you leave the filling too wet.

Preparation time: 2  1/2 hrs plus defrosting time                                  Cooking time: 30 mins          Makes: 25 to 30

Ingredients

12 to 15 sheets of frozen pastry for spring rolls

1 cup each shredded cabbage & carrot

1 cup bean sprouts

1/2 cup each of frozen peas and sweetcorn

1/2 cup mixed sliced capsicums and spring onions

1/2  tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp sesame oil

oil for deep frying

* Make a smooth paste of 4 tbsp of plain flour and 1 or 2 tbsp of water to seal the spring rolls *

Method

1) Defrost the square sheets of pastry and cut in half to make rectangles, place in a damp cloth to stop them from drying out.

2) Chop, and grate the vegetables, heat the wok on high heat for a few minutes. Add the sesame oil and the vegetables and cook while constantly stirring. Once the vegetables become a little tender add the soy sauce, chilli powder and salt. Once you are happy with the texture and all of the water has evaporated, cool the mixture completely before making the spring rolls.

3) On a flat surface (I use a chopping board) cut the pastry into half so you have 2 rectangular pieces. Place one of the pastry sheets and spread the paste on the two longest edges. On one of the short edges leaving about an inch gap, place a spoonful of mixture on the pastry.

4) Close both the long sides into the filling, apply some more paste at the bottom of the pastry and slowly but firmly start to roll the pastry over the mixture and roll to  near the end. At a gap of an inch apply some more paste and roll completely. Place on a tray and cover with a damp cloth until ready to fry, continue with the remaining until all the mixture has been used up.

5) If you get any bits of torn pastry then simply patch up with the paste and let it dry up before frying them. Fry the spring rolls in hot oil for 5 mins or until golden brown, remove and place on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.

Serve hot with sweet chilli or chilli and garlic sauce, enjoy

If you look at the complete menu for a Chinese meal in our house, then you see sweetcorn soup, spring rolls, and stir fry with either rice or noodles. This was also the standard order when ever we used to go out to eat in Malawi. That used to be the set menu we would get, probably because that was all the vegetarian option that was available.  I remember how we used to keep on adding more pepper to the soup because that is what  our father did, and then as we got older adding the garnish also just like he did. The chilli in the vinegar gives it an added flavour and depth to the taste especially if you like the slightly tangy and spicy flavours. Just simple tastes and natural flavours, this is what you get from this soup, not to mention the health benefits of the key ingredient itself. Sweet corn is rich in vitamin A & C and folate and magnesium. Cooked sweet corn is said to become rich in antioxidants and believed to help fight cancer and heart disease, however you loose the vitamin C.

I don’t know why I don’t make it with out having the other Chinese dishes, as it is such a quick simple recipe and can be eaten with bread or rice crackers. Oh well will have to try and remember next time I am looking for a healthy filling snack

Sweetcorn Soup

I use frozen sweetcorn, however you can use canned or fresh, if using fresh you may need to add extra cooking time.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 5 mins            Cooking time: 20 mins          Serves: 2

2 cups frozen sweetcorn

2 litres hot water

2 tbsp corn flour

1/2 tsp soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

For garnishing

1 green chilli finely sliced

1 1/2 tbsp vinegar

Method

1) Boil the water in a kettle, measure the sweet corn and place both in a large heavy bottom pan on a medium heat.

2) Chop the chillies for the garnish and place in a small bowl with the vinegar to absorb the flavours.

2) Place all the remaining ingredients in the pan and let it boil for 15 mins or until the sweetcorn is tender. In a liquidiser or hand held blender blitz a 1/3 of the soup. Return to the stove and cook for a further few minutes, and you are ready to serve.

When I was growing up in Malawi, we used to go to a Chinese restaurant and this was one of the items we used to always have. I don’t know why it has this name but I guess that is part of the novelty of having this fun snack / starter / side dish. After many years, I made it last summer when my older sister and nieces came for the summer from Hong Kong. We just went by memory and recreated it but later I found a recipe from an old recipe file, which had cabbage and carrots in it also. It is a messy but fun dish to eat, kind of like Mexican tacos. All the same it is a good recipe to share with friends and family. Perhaps you can serve this dish as a self service meal, that way the lettuce leaves will not become soggy and people can have the amount of filling and garnish they want.

Ants on Trees

Like I mentioned above you don’t have to follow what I have done, you can put any vegetables into the lettuce leaves, or you can also perhaps add some soya mince.  Try and use lettuce which is going to remain crispy i.e. iceberg, little gems or Romanian.

Preparation time: 10 mins          Cooking time: 10 mins          Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 large onion sliced

1 cup sliced mixed capsicums (red, green and yellow)

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 little gem lettuce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp Chinese five spice

1 tbsp chilli garlic sauce

a handful of rice noodles

1 tbsp roasted sesame oil

oil for frying

Method

1) Slice all the vegetables, heat a wok or sauce pan for a few minutes and add the sesame oil and all the vegetables, stirring constantly, add the soy sauce, spice mix and the chilli and garlic sauce.

2) Cook for about 5 minutes, so as the vegetables are a little tender and there is not much liquid, remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

3) Heat the oil for frying on a medium heat, place small amounts of the rice noodles in the oil and fry, it will take about 1 or 2 minutes, drain on kitchen paper and continue until all the required noodles have been fried.

4) On washed and dried lettuce leaves, place some of the vegetable mixture and a small amount of the fried rice noodles and you are ready to enjoy, have fun

When we first used to make stir fry or Chinese sweet & sour stir fry in Malawi, we would use specific vegetables (cabbage, french beans, carrots etc.) and make the sauce at home. We would have it either with plain rice or fried rice. Then when we came here we saw the supermarkets with pre made sauces like hoi sin, teriyaki, black bean etc. As always we had to be cautious as these tended to contain some form of fish oil or sauce. The other thing with all the ready made sauces is that they have added preservatives to give them the long shelf life. So after trying a few brands which where vegetarian, we created our own version by using shop bought sauces and our own home made mix. However I do try and make the sauces at home to taste, this way I know what I am putting into it and each time the taste is different. The list of ingredients started to change also. After marriage I started adding tofu, mushrooms, and savoy cabbage to my stir fries. By making my own sauce at home I sometimes get the correct balance of vegetables and sauces and sometimes I get it wrong, however that is all part of the fun of cooking.

Vegetarian stir fry

I tend to use the most basic mix for the vegetables, however you can use what ever you prefer or have. I feel cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts are a must in Chinese cooking, so they will always appear in my stir fries unless I am trying out a new recipe. I use a grater for the carrot & ginger, which gives it the correct thickness for the stir fry, however if you use the shop bought mix you will not have to worry about this.

Preparation time: 15 mins            Cooking time: 15 mins            Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 cup sliced capsicums (any mix of colours will do)

1 bunch of spring onions sliced

1 inch ginger grated

2 cloves of garlic sliced

1 small white cabbage shredded

2 carrots grated

1/2 cup each cut diagonally baby sweet corn & sugar snap peas

2 cups bean sprouts

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp chinese five spice

sesame seeds to garnish

For the sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce

6 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp vinegar

4 tbsp corn flour

Method

1) Heat a wok on high for a few minutes, add the oil and the spring onions, ginger, garlic and capsicums. Saute for a few minutes and then add all the other vegetables apart from the bean sprouts.

2) While the vegetables are cooking make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and keep aside until needed.

3) On high heat constantly stir the vegetables so that they do not stick to the wok. Once the vegetables start to whilt a little, add the spice mix and the sauce mixture, stir and then add the bean sprouts, mix and you are ready to serve with either noodles, plain or fried rice.