Easy Coconut Curry Seitan Stir-fry

Here is a twist on the classic stir-fry using seitan.  I love whipping up a simple seitan for dinner as an option for our protein.  Even though you can make seitan itself as flavorful as you want, I like to keep it simple when I'm using it in a sauce.  That way there's no competing for flavors in the dish.  Because I was making a coconut curry sauce, I knew I wanted our seitan to be a simple one.  See below for that recipe as well as for the rest of the stir-fry. 

Easy Coconut Curry Seitan Stir-fry

Ingredients:

Prepared seitan (recipe below)
2 Tbs.canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 yellow onion, quartered and sliced
1/2 head of green cabbage, sliced
2 Tbs. fresh ginger, peeled and chopped small
1 Tbs. green curry paste
1 - 15oz. can coconut milk
1 bunch of cilantro chopped (w/out bottom stems), about one cup

Directions:

[For the seitan: 
2 cups gluten flour
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegan Worcestershire sauce
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients well.  After it comes together quickly, knead a few times, just to make sure there are no dry spots.  Wrap several times in aluminum foil and steam for one hour.  Let cool a few minutes.]

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Slice the seitan in "thinnish" rectangles, about two inches long.  Add the seitan to the pan and cook for ten minutes, or until the seitan is browned on all sides.  Stir frequently.  Salt and pepper the seitan to your taste while sauteing.  Add the onion, cabbage and ginger, and cook for another five or ten minutes, until they are fork tender.  Move the seitan and veggies to the side of the pan with a spatula.  Drop the green curry paste on the cleared side of the pan.  Add the coconut milk to the paste and whisk well.  Stir back in the seitan and veggies into the curry coconut sauce.  Cook for two or so minutes, until it is heated through.  Add the cilantro and stir well.  Ready to eat!  Served over noodles, this makes a complete meal.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Curried-Tomatoey Cauliflower and Garbanzos

First let me apologize for the truly crummy photo of this wonderful dish.  This is so good and is definitely one of my favorites, so I'm bummed that I couldn't take a decent photo of it.  Some shots, like this one, were too red, others were bland-white and others unappetizing brown.  Ah, so be it.  It's a tasty dish, just trust me.  I mentioned a couple of posts ago for my Savory Yellow Split Pea and Cauliflower Soup how I really like mixing tomato flavors and cauliflower, and this is definitely a dish that showcases that partnership well.  I first found the inspiration for this dish in one of those little booklets that come with an exercise DVD set purchased off an infomercial.  The ingredients are basically the same, I think - it's been so long - but, the quantities of each have changed over the years into what pleases me best.  Oh, yeah!  I guess you can serve this over rice or cous cous, but I love it just by itself.  And, it's so healthy, I completely pig out on it.  I mean, of course, I watch my portion control, so my family can have their share, ahem.  Give this a try, and see if you don't shovel spoonful after spoonful in.

Curried-Tomatoey Cauliflower and Garbanzos

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 head of cauliflower, coarsely chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 white onion, halved and sliced
1 - 6oz. can of tomato paste
2 cups water
1 - 15oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1 Tbs. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium high heat.  When hot, add the cauliflower and onion and cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently.  Turn the heat down to medium.  Add the tomato paste and water directly into the pan.  Stir gently to blend.  Cook for another two or three minutes.  Turn the heat down to medium low and add the rest of the ingredients.  Cook for another five minutes, or until the cauliflower is fork tender.  It should be a bit brothy, but not soupy or dry -- just right!  Can eat like this or serve over your favorite grain.  Mm-mm-mmm!  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Creamy Pumpkin Curry Soup

I've been trying to continue to come up with creative ways to use up my pumpkin puree, and I've never made a pumpkin soup before, so I thought I'd give it a try with the ingredients I had on hand.  It turned out pretty well, and I will make this again.  I'll keep you posted as I develop more pumpkin recipes - I've been working on some bars.  :-)

Creamy Pumpkin Curry Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
4 cups of pumpkin puree
5 cups of vegetable broth
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced thinly width wise
More basil for garnish, if desired

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot on medium heat.  Add the red onion, and cook for at least fifteen minutes, until caramelized.  Add the next six ingredients (pumpkin puree through pepper), and cook for a half hour.  Lower the heat to low, and add the soy milk and basil.  Cook for five more minutes.  Ladle into bowls, and add additional basil for garnish.  Simple and elegant.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Cheatin' Curry Tofu

This is one of my favorite curry dishes that I make a couple of times a year, but I can't take full credit for it. I'm cheatin' with a box! However, I can't help myself because the end product is this saucy gravy concoction that I just love. The spice comes in three heat levels, and when I cook for the whole family, I use mild. I kick it up to medium or hot, if it's just going to be my husband and me. But, I'm well aware that anything beyond mild is going to send my uber-masculine husband into a hiccup fit. So, I just sit back and chuckle at him when that happens. You gotta give me a break, though - the man hiccups from eating slightly spicy mustard! The spice is called Golden Curry and is made by S&B. I hope you like it, too.

Cheatin' Curry Tofu

It looks like this in the beginning, and you break it into individual bars.

The end result, with a salad on the side.

Cheatin' Curry Tofu

Ingredients:

Brown rice
1 Tbs. canola oil
2 pkgs. extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into triangles

1 and 1/2 cups of veggies - we used:
2 medium zucchinis, sliced diagonally
2 celery stalks, sliced diagonally

1 green onion, sliced diagonally

1 pkg. S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix with heat of your choice

2 and 1/2 cups of water

Directions:

Cook brown rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu, and cook until partially browned, about 20 minutes over medium high heat. Stir occasionally. Add the veggies, and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the water and bring to a boil. Break up the big bar into its smaller bars and add to the sauce. Turn the heat down to medium low, and stir constantly until the bars are dissolved. This will thicken up into a wonderful curry gravy. Serve the tofu mixture over the brown rice. A salad on the side rounds out the meal. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Curried Yellow Split Peas with Tofu

This is such a simple dish. I'm always wondering what I can add to tofu to stretch it out for meals and vary it, and I'm always wondering if I can add tofu to such and such a dish to see how it tastes. A couple of years ago, this started out as just curried split peas (I'll post that later), and then one day, I thought, "Hmm, what if I add tofu?" And, it works great! It's become a family fave; this time when it was cooking, my oldest blessing as usual looked over the stove to offer her approval or disapproval. When she saw this pot, she licked her lips in anticipation. That's always a good sign. So, enjoy this easy, tasty dish - from our home to yours.

Curried Yellow Split Peas with Tofu

Ingredients:

1 lb. yellow split peas, sorted for grit
1 32 oz. box organic vegetable broth
3 cups of water
1 pkg. extra-firm tofu, water-packed, drained and diced very small
1 Tbs. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

In a large pot add the peas and broth. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, adding water as needed to prevent the peas from sticking to bottom of the pot. Add the tofu, the rest of the water and the remaining ingredients. Cook for another fifteen minutes, or until the peas are tender. You don't want this to be super brothy, but there will be a brothlike consistency to it, which will thicken up any leftovers. If you sense that the beans are cooking too hard, or the liquid is cooking down too quickly, turn the heat down to medium-low for the remainder of the cooking time. Deeelicious. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Tofu Curry Salad Sandwich

This is a tasty little sandwich that we like to eat on occasion. It's inexpensive, quick and yummy, so what's not to like?

Tofu Curry Salad Sandwich
Ingredients:

1 pkg. extra-firm tofu, drained
3/4 cup Vegenaise
1 Tbs. curry powder
3 green onions, trimmed and sliced thinly
2 stalks celery, sliced lengthwise and then thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Red leaf lettuce, leaves separated and washed
Good multi grain, whole grain bread

Directions:

Mash the tofu with a fork in a medium mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, except the lettuce and bread, and mix thoroughly. Chill before serving, if you wish, or serve immediately. Spread a nice amount between two slices of bread, add some lettuce to it, and dig in! Nice, fast dinner for a busy night. Feeds five hungry vegans.