I don’t think I’ve made a secret of the fact that I love to cook. When I was fat, when I wasn’t a vegan I loved to cook then, and now that I know just how important food is to my own health & fitness goals I might love it even more…even if I don’t always have enough time to dedicate to it.
Sometimes though, I just wanna get in the kitchen and make something delicious and nutritious. This was one such meal.
After a week spent editing and re-writing One Night in Paris while also writing for my clients and my latest romance novel, I wanted to get lost in true crime and vegan food. Sounds fun, right? 😛
Well I’m not gonna lie and say this is a super easy vegan meal, but it’s not hard. It just had a few moving parts. You need a little bit of organization and a good amount of counter space (which I do not have) and you’re good to go.
Healthy Ingredients
One of the things I really love about this dish is how fresh and healthy it is. With ingredients that include carrots, leeks, and edamame beans, you’ll get plenty of nutrients without a lot of calories.
This is the perfect vegan meal when you’re busy because it is satisfying, it’s healthy enough that you won’t feel sluggish after the meal is over and it’s so damn good you’ll wish for just a few more bites.
So…let’s get to it, yeah?!?!
Kitchen Tools:
*Cutting board
*Knife
*Baking sheets
*Storage container with lid
*Vegetable peeler
*Mixing bowls
Ingredients:
*Firm tofu, cut into cubes
*Carrots
*Sesame seeds
*Soy sauce
*Edamame beans (shelled)
*Leeks, sliced
*Garlic, cooked
*Pickled ginger, chopped
*Chili pepper, diced
*Lemon zest/peel
Instructions:
*Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
*Use the vegetable peeler to peel carrots into thick strips or ‘noodles’. I used about 2 large carrots and went down until it was hard to peel. Then I diced the rest and added it to the edamame salad. Set carrot noodles in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
*For the tofu: season the cubes with ground ginger, turmeric, curry, salt, chili powder and black pepper. Sprinkle with soy sauce, Sriracha and a few drops of sesame oil. Place in storage container with a lid and shake like crazy until the tofu is coated. Let it marinate while the oven pre-heats.
*Edamame salad: Place a skillet over medium heat and add the leeks and carrots, cooking for 5 minutes or until soft. Add water or broth if necessary to keep it from sticking. Toss sliced garlic in along with edamame and cook another 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in chopped lemon peel or lemon zest and soy sauce. cook until everything is heated through and turn off heat.
*For carrot noodles: toss carrots in soy sauce, rice vinegar, black vinegar and a dash of agave, salt and pepper. Top with sesame seeds.
*Serve everything together. I served it bento box style–separately–but you can do it however you want.
Enjoy!
What’s your favorite go-to Asian meal when you cook at home?
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