This batch makes 22 small meatballs, and the recipe was inspired by the one on Cake Maker to the Stars.

Here’s what we used:

• 2 dl granulated TSP (in Finnish: tumma soijarouhe)
• 2 dl vegetable stock
• 1 dl diced leek
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste, depending on the stock
• 1 teaspoon dried chili
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fried onion
• ½ dl gluten flour
• ½ dl water

I started by setting the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

To start with the dough, I combined the stock and the soy granules in a bowl, and set aside. I chopped the leek into small bits, sautéed it in olive oil for a couple of minutes, added the chili, marjoram, and thyme, and stirred to mix. By now the soy granules had absorbed all the vegetable stock, so I added them into the frying pan, and sautéed the mixture for a few more minutes. Then I added the sesame seed oil and the soy sauce to the pan. I removed the frying pan from heat, and added the crushed garlic and the store-bought fried onion, stirred them in, and let the mixture cool down a bit.

When the soy granule mixture wasn’t too hot to touch anymore, I added the water and the gluten flour, and kneaded the dough for a couple of minutes. At this point, I tried rolling a meatball in my palm, testing the consistency of the dough. It was still quite soft, but firm enough to roll into balls – just what I was aiming at.

I rolled the dough into 22 small meatballs, which I put on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. I sprayed them with olive oil on all sides, and put them in the oven for 10 minutes. Then I flipped them over one by one, and baked for another 10 minutes. By then they were nicely browned, and a little crunchy on the surface.

Usually on May Day the weather is still quite cold, so the picnic is more of a symbolic start of the summer, but this year the weather was really nice and warm, in Finnish terms at least. We enjoyed the soy meatballs together with potato salad and smokey tofu spread seasoned with sage, of which we’ll blog about later!

We cooked the brown rice in our pressure cooker, and it was ready in 20 minutes – the exact time it took to fry the tofu and make the stir-fry. The vegetables were slightly sweet and a little sour with a hint of sesame, and were a perfect accompaniment to the very five-spicy tofu. The tofu recipe makes enough for four, so the two of us had tofu leftovers for lunch yesterday, but the veggies were gone in no time. Reheating stir-fries isn’t very recommended anyway, since the whole point of stir-frying is to maintain the crispy freshness of the vegetables.

Tofu:

• 500 g firm tofu
• 2 teaspoons five spice powder
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sherry wine
• 1/2 tablespoon agave syrup (or other sweetener)
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• some oil for frying
• (cilantro for garnish)

I cut the tofu block in slices about 1 cm thick, wrapped them in cheese cloth, and pressed them for about half an hour. Then I cut them in small triangles (I really like triangular food), tossed together all the marinade ingredients, and let the tofu marinate in an air tight container in the fridge for about 3 hours.

When the rice was cooking, Heikki heated the oil in our wok pan on high heat until it was very hot, and fried the tofu triangles until they had browned a little. We covered them to wait until everything else was ready, and sprinkled them with a little cilantro before serving.

Veggies:

• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 and 1/2 dl broccoli florets
• some oil for frying

I cut the onion in wedges, broke the broccoli in small florets, and cut the carrots and the bell pepper in small triangles.

Heikki wiped the wok with a piece of paper towel after he had fried the tofu, and then he heated a little more oil in the pan until it was really hot. First, he fried the onions for a few minutes, then added the carrots and fried them for a minute or so, and last he added the bell peppers and the broccoli, and kept on frying for a minute, not more, all the time tossing everything around in the wok with two wooden spatulas.

Slightly Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon potato starch

While Heikki was stir-frying, I mixed the sauce ingredients together, and when the veggies were done, I stirred the sauce to mix in the starch that always sinks to the bottom, and poured the sauce in the wok. Heikki tossed the veggies to coat them in the sauce, and heated it for 15 seconds or so to thicken.

Now, we ladled the rice and the veggies in warmed serving bowls, and immediately enjoyed our New Year’s dinner.

Another reason I prefer hard-cover cookbooks: perfect for tofu pressing!

This is what we used (makes enough for two):

• 100 g rice noodles
• 200 g carrots, scrubbed and cut into thin strips
• 300 g cabbage, cut into thin strips
• 1 dl cashew nuts
• 250 g firm tofu, pressed and cubed
• 1 slice of ginger, about 1 cm thick, crushed
• about 3 tablespoons canola oil for frying

For the sauce:

• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried, crushed chili in oil (We used Lao gan ma brand)
• 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon agave syrup
• 2 teaspoons brown rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

First, I put the noodles in a boiling pot of water. While they were cooking, Anni was slicing the vegetables. I pressed the tofu with cheese cloth for a couple of minutes, and cut it into cubes. I tasted the noodles now, and yes, they were already beyond al dente, so I poured them into a colander, and rinsed them in plenty of cold water, so that they wouldn’t get stuck into each other.

Then I heated about 2 tablespoons oil in a wok over high heat, and fried the tofu cubes until they were slightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. I poured the tofu out of the wok to a plate, and put rest of the oil in the wok, and waited a while for the oil to heat up. Now it was time to fry the veggies.

I put the ginger in the wok first, and stirred it around for maybe 20 seconds, and then added the carrots. Stirring continuously, I fried the carrots for about half a minute, and then added the cabbage, and fried them for about 2 minutes more. Whatever vegetables you are using, put the hardest vegetables in first, so they have more time to cook, but don’t fry them for too long! It’s nice if they still have some crunch, I think.

Next, I added the noodles. I put them in a bit at a time, mixing them with the vegetables. If you add all the noodles at once, it’s easy to end up with one big lump of noodles, all the veggies around it, which is, well, unsatisfactory.

While I was frying, Anni prepared the sauce. It’s easy to make, just combine all the ingredients in a cup, and stir. This time we used garlic, lemon juice, chili oil, soy sauce, agave syrup, brown rice vinegar and sesame oil. Yummy!

Once I had fried the noodle-veggie-mix for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously, I added the tofu back in, stirred for a few seconds more, and then poured in the sauce. Once it was mixed in, the noodles were ready to eat!

Variations

One thing to take into consideration with this dish is that the tofu tastes a bit mild when prepared this way. We don’t mind, I think it creates a nice contrast to the otherwise strong flavours of this dish, but there are a couple of easy ways to season the tofu.

One variation of the dish would be to marinate the tofu beforehand and otherwise prepare it exactly the same way, or alternatively, use unmarinated tofu, but once you have fried the tofu, pour in part of the sauce on top of them, stir until the tofu cubes have absorbed the sauce, and then remove them from the wok, and prepare the rest of the dish as explained above.

The ingredients were improvised from what we had in the house, and we managed to use up a few items that had been sitting in the fridge since pizza night; half a bell pepper and a small chunk of Cheezly vegan cheese. I don’t think Cheezly contributed to the taste very much. The quiche was delicious, and with some more elegant garnishes could very well be served to guests as well. I had a slice for lunch the next day, as pictured above, and the flavors were even better after a night in the fridge.

Crust:

• 3 and 1/2 dl wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 dl liquid vegan margarine
• 1 dl plain unsweetened soy milk

First, I mixed the flour, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Then I poured the margarine and the soy milk in the bowl, and mixed the dough with my hands until it formed a firm ball. Now, I rolled it out with a rolling pin to form a round shape a little larger than our pie tray. After Heikki had greased and floured our pie tray, I placed the crust in it and evened up the edges.

Filling:

• 2 small onions, finely diced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil for frying
• 2 dl walnuts
• 350 g firm silken tofu (we had 1 package of Mori-Nu)
• 20 g Cheezly Edam (optional)
• 1 dl soy milk
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

First, Heikki diced and fried the onions in olive oil until they had browned a bit. Meanwhile, I placed the walnuts, the tofu, soy milk, lemon juice, and vegan cheese in a bowl, and mixed them with our immersion blender until the mixture was smooth and light brown. Now, I added the rest of the ingredients, stirred with a spoon to combine, and adjusted saltiness. Then I poured the filling in the crust.

Garnish:

• 1/2 small red bell pepper

Heikki sliced the bell pepper thinly, and I arranged the slices over the walnut filling.

Now, we baked the pie on the middle rack of the oven, in 175 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Then we placed the pie on the lower rack of the oven, baked an additional 10 minutes, and let it cool down for 15 minutes.

We had the loaf with plain old mashed potatoes and the delicious Tarragon Sauce from the Parsley Soup website. In the sauce, I used soy milk and brown rice vinegar, and whisked in about 25 grams of grated vegan Cheezly that we had left over from our pizza night.

Here’s what I used:

• 4 and 1/2 dl textured soy protein granules
• 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• The Dry Mix:
  • 2 dl cashew nuts, finely ground
  • 2 dl bread crumbs
  • 1/2 dl gluten flour
  • 3 tablespoons potato starch
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• The Wet mix:
  • 2 and 1/2 dl water
  • 2 teaspoons bouillon powder
  • 5 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1 tablespoon dark syrup
  • 3 teaspoons sesame oil

First, I placed the soy protein granules in a cooking pan, and covered them with plenty of fresh water. I added a teaspoon of vegetable bouillon, and brought the mixture to boil. Now, I let the soy protein granules simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring every now and then. They absorb a lot of water, so I had to be careful and add a little water when they ran dry. After cooking, I placed the granules in a sieve and rinsed them with cold water.

Now, I chopped the onion in our small food processor, and fried it in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until translucent. Then I mixed the dry mix and the wet mix in separate bowls, and then combined all the ingredients in one bowl; the dry mix, the wet mix, the soy protein, garlic, and onion. I mixed the dough carefully with a wooden fork, until everything was thoroughly combined.

I sprayed a glass oven pan with olive oil, placed the loaf dough in it, and sprayed some more olive oil over the loaf. Then I baked it in 175 degrees Celsius for one hour and 15 minutes.

Marinade:

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon raw cane sugar (optional)

After rinsing about 500 grams of choi sum, we cut a slice of the stems off, and then just steamed it for about 5-7 minutes, until the leaves had turned dark green. Then we placed the choi in a serving dish, sprinkled the marinade over each and every piece, and devoured it while it was still hot.

The secret of this recipe, well, there’s no secret really: like pretty much always with marinades, the longer you marinate, the better the result. (I guess there’s an upper time limit somewhere, but trust me, you will eat the tofu before that.) A good rule of thumb is that the less time you have to marinate, the more thoroughly it makes sense to dry and press the tofu first.

This marinade is adapted from a recipe at Epicurious, but it’s a classic Chinese combination of garlic, soy sauce and sesame seed oil:

• 500 g tofu
• 1 dl soy sauce (or less, if the sauce is very salty)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
• 3 teaspoons grated ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 green chili pepper (or dried chili or Sambal Oelek, for example)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 teaspoons raw cane sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons of lime juice

First, I drain and press the tofu. I usually do it like this: I cut the tofu into slices 1-2 cm thick, then wrap a kitchen towel between the slices, and then put a weight on top of the slices, or press them with my hands. I specifically take care not to use too much strength, so that the texture of the tofu stays intact. Once the towel is wet, I replace it, and repeat the procedure a couple of times. This dramatically improves the ability of tofu to absorb tastes, so I almost always do this, unless I’m super hungry or in a hurry.

The next step is to cut the tofu into pleasing shapes. I usually end up with tofu cubes, but you don’t have to be so boring. Now, I place the tofu in a container with a tightly sealable lid.

Next I just cut, grate or crush the ginger, garlic and chili into tiny pieces, and combine them with the rest of the ingredients. I pour the marinade over the tofu, close the container, and shake it thoroughly. Then, I place it in the refrigerator, ideally overnight, but at least for a couple of hours, shaking it every now and then.

Tofu prepared this way is great for grilling or frying. We’ve used it in grilled kabobs, spreading the rest of the marinade on the vegetables before barbecuing, or in stir-fries. In the photo above the tofu was just fried in a pan, on high heat, until browned.

What I used:

• 400 g white cabbage

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1½ teaspoons cane sugar

I cut the cabbage in squares, and then boiled a big pot pot of water. The cabbage was cooked for 2 minutes, so it softened just a little bit, and then drained in a colander.

Then I just mixed the sauce ingredients in a glass and put the cabbage in a serving dish. It’s important not to mix the cabbage and the sauce before everything else is ready to be served. In the table, I just poured the sauce in the salad and tossed it to coat every piece of cabbage evenly.

This salad was served with Stir-Fried Tofu and Leek and white jasmine rice: