Chinese Takeout at Home for the Lazy Vegan

Most of the time, especially in this strange year we’ve all found ourselves caught in, your desire to have vegan takeout is prompted more by convenience than by taste. Right?

When I lived in Los Angeles and, to a certain extent Germany, there were more than a few takeout places that just had damn good food. But, more often than not it’s the case that the best selling point of the vegan takeout is that I don’t have to cook it. Which doesn’t say much good about you or the restaurant.

But the absolute best thing about 2020 is the abundance of options when it comes to vegan food choices. You no longer have to make your own vegan eggroll wrappers and hope for the best, now you can just buy frozen vegan eggrolls, vegan potstickers, dim-sum, or whatever your favorite vegan Chinese takeout is, and make it yourself!

And that’s just what we did. Quick and easy vegan fried rice with tofu and vegetable gyoza.

We kept it simple with vegetable fried rice and vegan potstickers, but if you’re in search of more, don’t skip the frozen section of your local market because even here in Romania, they are always adding new vegan options to their shelves.

The ingredient list is pretty simple, but as always you can add or subtract whatever you like.

Whatever you want in your vegan fried rice, add it. Leeks instead of onions? Do it! Broccoli or zucchini? Do it! You have to eat it so you might as well choose vegetables you actually love to eat.

Boil the rice according to instructions, and if you want a proper vegan fried rice, cook it as early as possible so it has time to cool down and you can separate the grains.

Sauté vegetables in oil or water if you’re doing the whole oil-free vegan thing until they reach desired doneness. When it comes to fried rice, I like my veggies with a little bit of a bite, but do what you like.

Pop the gyozas in the air fryer if you have one, otherwise you can cook them in oil on top of the stove. But you could also brush them with oil and bake them on a high heat for about 10 minutes. If you’re not sure, just follow the instructions on the packaging.

Back to the rice. Fluff it with a fork, add to veggies along with seasonings & spices. Toss over medium-high heat until well blended. Serve with gyozas on top and, if you want, a dipping sauce made up of soy sauce, Sriracha and scallions. If you enjoy burning your nostrils, add a dollop of wasabi sauce.