The 30-Minute Vegan - Mark Reinfeld [59]
If You Have More Time
Become a dhal connoisseur. Replace the lentils with an equal amount of mung beans, or yellow or green lentils. Add more liquid if necessary as the beans cook. To enhance their digestibility, soak the beans overnight. Add salt and/or soy sauce to taste and adjust the other spices, depending on the bean used.
THAI COCONUT SOUP
This soup is most authentic if you can find the kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, Thai basil, and galangal ginger. Regular ginger and basil will suffice, in a pinch. With the lemongrass, you want to use the softer, bottom white portion of the stalk and be sure to finely mince it. You can also crush the whole stem and place it in the pot at the beginning of the preparation and remove before serving.
SERVES 6
3 cups water or vegetable stock
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves, or 1 teaspoon lime zest
1¼ cups chopped yellow onion
2 carrots, sliced thinly
3 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh galangal ginger
2 cups small broccoli florets
2 cups chopped bok choy
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh lemongrass
1 teaspoon seeded and minced jalapeño or other hot pepper
1 pound extra-firm tofu, small cubes (see page 27)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon mirin (optional)
2 tablespoons minced fresh Thai basil
3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
1. Place the water, coconut milk, and lime leaves in a large pot over medium heat. Begin prepping the veggies in the order in which they appear above, placing them in the pot as you go.
2. After adding the tofu, allow the soup to cook for 5 additional minutes, or until all of the veggies are just tender.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, remove the lime leaves, and enjoy.
If You Have More Time
You can enhance the flavor of the tofu cubes by marinating and roasting them before adding them (see page 28).
SHIITAKE-SEA VEGGIE CHOWDER
Having been raised in New England prohibits us from comparing this dish to that famous chowder. But the similarities as far as warmth, comfort, and satiation are striking. We like to use a large (4½-quart) skillet for making this soup, but any medium-size pot will also do the trick. Cut the veggies small to speed up the cooking process, and keep the flame on low so that you can start the thicker veggies cooking while you’re chopping the others, adding them into the skillet as you go.
SERVES 4 TO 6
½ cup arame or hijiki
4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups diced russet potatoes, unpeeled
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup diced yellow onion (about ½ onion)
1 cup diced carrot (about 1 medium-size carrot)
1 cup diced celery
4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
4 cups shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, chopped small (about 8 ounces)
½ cup macadamia nuts
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
¼ cup minced fresh Italian parsley
1. Soak the arame in 3 cups of water and set aside.
2. Heat the oil, potatoes, salt, and pepper over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, while chopping the other veggies. Have 1 cup of water on hand and add small amounts to the pan as needed to prevent the potatoes from sticking and burning. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and shiitakes as you go and keep stirring occasionally until all of the vegetables are soft and tender (3 to 5 minutes after the shiitakes are in). Lower the heat to low.
3. Place the macadamia nuts in a blender and slowly blend while adding 2 cups of the arame soak water (see Tips and Tricks). Blend on high for as long as necessary to grind the macadamias into a milky liquid.
4. Add 1½ cups of the sautéed vegetables to the blender along with the soy sauce and nutritional yeast. Blend for another 20 seconds, or until creamy.
5. Pour the blended mixture back into the sauté pan and add