Green Jackfruit with Tofu

Mít & tàu hũ kho tương is a fairly common vegetarian dish in the Buddhist community. Mít ("jackfruit" in Vietnamese) is picked when it's still green. First, the young fruit is boiled to soften it. Then it's braised in soy sauce and used as a vegetable to accompany tofu. Like tofu, unseasoned green jackfruit is fairly bland but acts as a sponge and absorbs the flavors of the sauce.

The cooking procedure helps to give the jackfruit a soft texture that resembles the pork fat in thịt kho (braised meat), and the stringy texture of the jackfruit simulates the stringy texture of the meat. The result is quite pleasant and surprising. Next time you're in an Asian market, look for fresh young jackfruit; it's delicious!

Tofu Miso Soup

Tofu miso soup is very soothing. My little munchkin caught a bad cold and I thought the simple, clear broth would help with her congestion. To make the soup, I started by preparing a kombu dashi (Japanese stock) with fresh ginger. To make the traditional non-vegetarian version, just add shavings of bonito flakes, or dried and fermented tuna.

Once the stock was ready, I seasoned it with white miso paste. No salt is necessary as the miso paste is already well seasoned. Miso soup can be served with cubed tofu and accompanied with other vegetables such as soybean sprouts, enoki and shiitake mushrooms or baby spinach.

Miso paste is a fermented rice and soybean combination. I chose white miso paste which is fermented for a few weeks as opposed to regular miso (several months). I find the flavor to be less salty with a subtle sweetness. Don't be frightened by the size of miso containers sold in markets. Miso paste stores well in the refrigerator and you can make other dishes with it such as Asian salad dressing, other soup broths and vegetarian gravy.

Braised Tofu in Miso Broth

To make this dish, fried tofu is braised (cooked with a small amount of liquid) in miso broth. The recipe is ultra-simple and very flavorful. You could accompany this dish with sautéed Asian vegetables such as bok choy, choy sum, Chinese mustard greens or Chinese cabbage and steamed white jasmine rice.

You can also make use of the leftover miso broth. If you want to serve it as a soup with vegetables, add about 1 cup of boiling water to the broth to adjust the seasoning. What you'll end up with is a typical Vietnamese dinner meal: a serving of tofu and/or meat, steamed jasmine rice and soup on the side.

Braised Rolled Tofu Skin Recipe (Yuba)

Tàu hũ ky kho is braised rolled yuba (very thin sheets of tofu skin / bean curd) in a thick, mildly sweet soy sauce. This dish is supposed to resemble bò cuốn hành hương (rolled beef with aromatic shallots in Vietnamese). The many layers of bean curd give a meaty texture to the tofu.

I served them with steamed white rice and a Vietnamese soup called canh mồng tơi on the side. This dish is perfect for my house as everyone was satisfied and shared the same meal: rolled beef (I'll post the recipe soon) for the meat eaters and mock beef rolls for the vegetarians. Even if you don't have the same variety of diets in your house, you can of course still enjoy the benefits of this healthy and flavorful meal.  If you've never tasted tofu skins before, this is a great introduction.

Glass Noodles with Vegetable Stir Fry (Jap Chae)

 This glass noodle dish (also known as cellophane noodles, dam myun in Korean and harusame in Japanese) is made from sweet potato starch. The dish is very similar to chow mein, but aesthetically the noodles look translucent once they're boiled and their texture is chewier.

I prepared the noodles with king mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, pan-fried tofu, baby spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes and cauliflower. The dish is relatively easy and quick to make if you have all the veggies prepped in advance.