Mango Salsa Fresca (Pico de gallo)

Mango Salsa Fresca (Pico de gallo) 

Pico de gallo and Salsa is one of the easiest yet most flavorful thing you could ever made. The only skill you need is chopping vegetables and mixing them all together. It is such a perfect combination of  ingredients that can develop a flavorful, refreshing dish. The different between Pico de gallo and Salsa is that Pico de gallo is made from fresh uncooked ingredients and usually presented in a chunky pieces. Salsa Recipe can be found here. What I am sharing today is one of my favorite Pico de gallo that people raving about when I served this at dinner party. Mango really helps bring the flavor to another level. Try this recipe or if you have your favorite recipe, try incorporate mango in and you will know what  I am talking about. 🙂

Ingredients

2 tomatoes, cored and dice
1 ripe mango, peel and dice
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp of lime juice ( about half a lime)
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of cilantro
1 tsp chopped jalapeno pepper (optional, if you like some kick)

Directions

• In a bowl, combine diced tomato, diced mango, chopped onion, cilantro and jalapeno together
• season with salt and lime juice. Stir to mix and let it stand in refrigerator for about 15 mins for ingredients to release juices and develop flavor
• Give it a taste of the juice and adjust salt, lime and jalapeno (if you want spicier, but the flavor should be already well balance)
• Serve with your favorite quesadilla, burrito, taco or tortilla chips

Hope you enjoy!

Vegan Tri-color Quesadilla

It is getting closer to Forth of July and I am sure you everyone is planning on making something delicious for the occasion.  It is always in the summer when we celebrate this so BBQ is the fun way to enjoy summer and celebrate freedom. There are a lot of plant-based yummy options we can make and enjoy for BBQ cookout such as veggie hotdog, veggie burger, grilled veggies, corn on the cob, chips and salsa just to name a few. Or try this sweet potato, pinto bean, spinach quesadilla that goes very well with salsa and guacamole. It is easy to eat bite size appetizer that is perfect for patio BBQ party. Just have to cook in and take them out for guests to enjoy.

I made this when I have friends or family come over for an informal dinner or a drink. It is easy to entertain this way without spend too much time making it in the kitchen and miss the conversation with your friend at the table. You can prepare the filling in advance. It only take a few minutes to put them all together. I received a good feedback serving this with my mango salsa. All the fresh vegetable ingredients with combination of different flavor and texture come together very well in this dish. I hope you like it! and give this a try!

Ingredients

1 can or about 1 1/2 cup cooked pinto bean
1 large sweet potato, skinned and cut into cubes
spinach
2 tsp of chopped garlic
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro
Daiya Vegan Cheese (or hummus)
4  tortillas ( I used Gluten-free Rudi’s Tortillas)

Directions

• In a large nonstick pan, saute garlic, onion and spinach in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat until just tender. Season with some salt and pepper then remove vegetables from pan. Set aside
• In another saucepan, add cube sweet potato with filtered water and bring to the boil until tender (check it by using fork) about 15-20 mins. Remove from the heat and drain out all the water out. Mash sweet potato with fork. It is ok to be left a little chunk in in there
• Put the saucepan with mashed sweet potato back on to the stove (sweet potato is still little wet at this stage) using the lowest heat. Add Pinto Bean and use fork to mash it again. Season with salt, cumin, chili power. Stir continuously until the mixture are drier ( be careful not to burn it) about 5 mins. Add chopped fresh cilantro and stir a few times before remove from the stove and set aside.
• Coat the clean pan with cooking spray, and place one tortilla in pan. Sprinkle Daiya cheese evenly over tortilla. Then add layer sweet potato mixture over the cheese and spinach on top of sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle another layer of cheese and top and covered with a second tortilla. Cook until golden on both sides, for approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side*. Remove quesadilla from pan, and repeat with remaining ingredients.

*Tip one flipping quesadilla ; Take a flat plate and cover the quesadilla. Lift the pan up and turn it upside down with another hand holding the flat plate. Then slowly put uncooked side quesadilla down from the plate to the pan again. 

• Cut each quesadilla into 8 triangles with a pizza cutter. Serve hot and enjoy it with Homemade Mango Salsa and Guacamole.

Thai Vegan Pineapple Fried Rice (ข้าวผัดสัปปะรด)

On Vegan Pizza Day, I bought two pineapples, it was on sale, to make hawaiian pizza.  After making pizza, freeze some for smoothie and ate it raw as fruit, I still have some pineapple left.  I don’t like to waste anything and always find my way to use every bit of leftover possible (before it goes bad). I also have some leftover brown rice from our dinner the night before. Leftover rice is perfect for fried rice because it become drier and will not turn mushy when stir fried with other ingredients.  So I have ingredients just perfect for Thai Pineapple Fried Rice! Did I mention I am Thai ? 🙂

Pineapple fried rice is one of the well-known one dish meal in Thai cuisine. The combination of sweet and sour from pineapple, the aroma of curry powder and the crunchiness of toasted cashew will satisfy your palate. To make it very authentic, make a soy chili sauce to go with fried rice. You will be dining exotic food at the comfort of your own home.

Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking Time: 8-10 mins
Yield : 2 servings

Ingredients

2 1/2- 3 cup cooked rice ( white or brown) I used brown in the photo
3/4 cup diced pineapple
3/4 cup dice carrot*
1/2 cup dice onion
1/4 cup chopped green onion*
1/4 cup raisin/dried cranberries (optional)
1/2 cup toasted cashew
1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil ( I used coconut oil)
3 1/2 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce/tamari
2 1/2 tsp of sugar
2 tsp of curry powder

*The idea is to have at least 4 colors of vegetables in your stir fried ( yellow, orange, green, white, brown, red) you can add colored vegetable such as mushroom, green and red bell pepper. 

Directions

• Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium to medium-high.
• When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onion, stir until onion turn translucent ( about 1 mins or so)
• Add carrot and other ” take time to cook” vegetables such as mushroom and bell pepper, stir for few minute till half cook
• Add rice and pineapple and season it with soy sauce, sugar and curry power, continually stirring and tossing for about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if desired.
• Add green onion, raisin(if using) and cashew. ( You don’t want to cook green onion too much and you want to keep cashew crunchy) Give it a few good stirs, turn the heat off and serve hot!

Tip for eating like Thai People 🙂 Mix some soy sauce with lime juice and dash of sugar. Put some chopped thai chili (or other spicy chili) into the soy mixtures. Drizzle on top of fried rice. Enjoy! and don’t forget to eat the rainbow 🙂 

Happy Vegan Pizza Day 2013 with Hawaiian Pizza

Hawaiian Pizza

To celebrate Vegan Pizza Day today, I made Hawaiian Pizza! and I want to share it with you. Making Pizza is fun as the possibility for topping is endless and everyone got their own favorite topping. I love adding fruit to my savory dish. It give natural sweetness to the dish and go well with a little spiciness. I hope you like it. Bon Appetite!

Prep Time: 1 hours 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 oz of pizza crust yeast / dry active yeast (1 envelope)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2/3 up warmed water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 can tomato sauce
Daiya mozzarella  cheese
Toppings for Hawaiian (brown mushroom, pine apple, onion and jalapeno pepper)

Directions

• Combine the yeast, salt, sugar and water in a bowl of the stand mixer ( or blender for dough making) and run it for about 10 seconds
• While mixer is running, add 1 cup of flour at a time, alternating with olive oil until the doll is smooth and forms into a ball
• Transfer the dough to oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for about an hour
• Preheat oven to 425 F
• Lightly floured the surface of you counter, divided the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll out the dough into desire shape. (I don’t have pizza pan so I bake them in baking tray for 4 individual size)
• Top with tomato sauce, cheese, mushroom, onion pineapple and jalapeno. ( use other desired topping if you like but this one is testy 😉
• Bake for about 15 mins, till the bottom turn light brown. Enjoy! and Happy Vagan Pizza Day

Miso glazed eggplant

If you are following my posts, you can guess that I like making Japanese food. Though I enjoy  almost every international food, Japanese is one of my favorite and it is easily made vegan. This miso glazed eggplant is my favorite appetizer to order at japanese restaurant. I didn’t like eggplant that much when I grew up but the flavor of this one has changed my mind, little sweet and salty with an aroma of sesame.

I had been searching for the recipe and tried to make this at home. The traditional recipe would normally require Mirin, a sweet cooking alcohol that is commonly used in japanese cooking, and sake ( Japanese Alcohol Beverage). Those two ingredients are very pricey and I do not want to spend too much to make one simple dish.  So here the simpler version of mine with a few ingredients that you probably already have in you pantry. I couldn’t tell the major difference in flavor and I quite like the result. Now, I can enjoy my favorite appetizer at home, at the fraction of a cost of dining in restaurant, and you can too.

Mizo Glazed Eggplant

Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

1 eggplants
2 tbsp miso
2 tbsp agave or maple syrup
1 tbsp sesame oil + some for blushing
sesame seed and green onion ( for garnish)

Directions

• Preheat oven 350F
• Cut eggplant in half lengthwise
• Brush sesame oil on cut side and baked eggplant cut side down for about 30 mins
• In a small bowl, mix together miso, agave and sesame oil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.
• Once eggplant is cooked and soft ( fork can be easily insert into eggplant meat) take it out of the oven. Turn cut side up and brush it with prepared sauce and drizzle with some sesame seeds.
• Change setting from Bake to Broil (High), Put eggplant back into oven cut side up for a few minute until sauce turns dark brown ( I like it a little burnt 🙂
• Remove from the oven, garnish with slices of green onion. Serve hot and enjoy!

Eating Tip: Though skin can be eaten, enjoy only the meat for this recipe. Skin can be tough and the meat is easily came off the skin.