Tag: vegan
Shorbit Adas (Lentil Soup)
Shorbit Adas (Lentil Soup)
Lentil soup is the most popular soup in Syrian cuisine. It is a staple to have with every meal. There are many different variations of lentil soup. This is the basic traditional soup that you would find at restaurants and street stands in Syria. Simply sauté the onions for 10 minutes. Add in the lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Season. That’s it. Serve this soup with ojji (Syrian omelettes).
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 5 cups water
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions for 10 minutes.
- Pour in the water and lentils. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Season the soup with salt, pepper, and cumin.
Candied Cinnamon Peanuts
Candied Cinnamon Peanuts
I’m a huge fan of candied nuts, but they are kind of expensive for good quality. These candied cinnamon peanuts cost a fraction of the price. 2 quarts of the candied peanuts cost about $5 to make. You can easily pay $20 for that much. Candied peanuts (also known as groundnut sweet), are a popular street food snack all over West Africa. The candied peanuts are typically made with just 3 ingredients: peanuts, water, and sugar. This recipe has a few extra ingredients such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, and vanilla to enhance the flavor.While the price and taste is right, you will have to work for it. Roasting is easy. But after that, you will have to constantly stir the peanuts for 25 minutes in the sugar water mix. It feels like forever…forever…forever…At some point, you will think that you have done something wrong. The peanuts are in this carmelly sugar syrup all stuck together and it’s not going away. But then it does. You have to keep stirring to avoid burning. The sugar eventually crystallizes. Once you pour them on a baking sheet, they all break apart. Now is the time to salt them. Let them cool. Then try not to overfill your mouth with these nuts.Try this recipe with cashews, almonds, pecans, or walnuts.
Ingredients
- 4 cups shelled peanuts
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 1 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the peanuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes, stirring and rotating the pan half way through to have even roasting.
- Let cool.
- Place the water in a wide skillet. Bring to a boil. Stir in the white and brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and cayenne pepper.
- Stir in the peanuts.
- Over high heat, constantly stir the peanuts for 20-25 minutes until all of the moisture is gone and the sugar crystallizes. Make sure to keep stirring so the sugar doesn’t burn.
- Put back on the baking sheet. Season with salt while still hot. Least cool before eating.
Gungjung Tteokbokki
Gungjung Tteokbokki
Gungjung Tteokbokki translates to royal court rice cakes. Typically you see rice cakes in a spicy gochujang sauce, which in Korea is considered street food. This version of rice cakes is sautéed in soy sauce with vegetables and is seen as high class food. It is usually prepared with thinly sliced beef that’s sautéed with the mushrooms. I made this dish vegan and replaced the beef with more mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 16 oz korean rice cakes
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium green zucchini large julienne cut
- 1 medium carrot large julienne cut
- 1/2 small yellow onion sliced
- 3 green onion cut into 2” pieces
- 4 oz button mushrooms sliced
Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in the rice cakes. Cook until they float to the top. Strain in a colander, but don’t rinse.
- Put in a bowl with the soy sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.
- Mix together the sauce ingredients.
- Add 1 tbsp of the sauce to the mushrooms. Let marinate when you are chopping the other vegetables.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the carrots, zucchini, onions, and green onions. Add the salt. Sauté for just 2 minutes. Remove and put in a bowl.
- In the same pan, sauté the mushrooms for 2 minutes.
- Add in the rice cakes. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the sauce.
- Stir in the vegetables. Sauté for another 2 minutes.
