Fried Rice Vegan Style

One of my very first entries on Vegan Miss was for vegan fried rice. I love that recipe still and it has had major success on VegWeb in the past too. I modified the recipe a bit and used brown rice instead here.

Fried Rice Vegan Style

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice 
• 1/2 block (14 oz.) firm tofu, pressed, sliced
• 2-3 tbsp peanut oil
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 cup carrots, sliced
• 1 cup green beans, diced
• 2 cups broccolini (or broccoli), chopped
• 2 cups bell peppers, variety of colors, sliced 
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup frozen peas
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp mirin*
• 1/2 tbsp dried Thai basil (optional)
• black pepper, to taste
• sesame seeds, to garnish
• green onions, sliced, to garnish 

* Recipe:

Instagram Photo (User: veganmiss)

1. Chop all the vegetables and get them prepared. While you are prepping, heat 1 tbsp of peanut oil in a wok over medium heat. Once hot, add the slices of tofu and cook on both sides until golden.
2. Cook the rice while you are prepping the vegetables as well.
3. Once the tofu is cooked, remove from wok and set aside. Add the remaining peanut oil, then put the onions in the wok. Once the onions start to turn translucent, add the garlic and ginger. 
4. Next, add in the carrots, green beans, broccolini (or broccoli), and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables start to become tender. Add the mushrooms and peas. Cook through. 
5. When the vegetables are done cooking, add in the cooked brown rice and tofu. Toss and mix well. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, Thai basil, and pepper. Taste to see if the fried rice needs a little more soy sauce, vinegar, or mirin. 
6. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

Note: Mirin is often used in Asian cooking. You can usually find it in the Asian food section of most grocery stores. 

Mango & Lychee Tofu Stir-Fry

Down in Springfield, IL, I like to get the mango dish at Osaka. See my review of the restaurant here. I get a lot of Thai here in the city, but I never see a mango entree like I do down in Springfield which is disappointing! I tried to recreate it, but alas Osaka's is better, I think. Here is the recipe anyways (I added lychee too)!

Mango & Lychee Tofu Stir-Fry

* Prep Time: 15 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1/2 package (12 oz.) firm tofu, triangular cut
• sesame oil, for cooking, to taste
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1/3 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, sliced
• 1/3 cup red and yellow bell peppers, sliced
• 1/4 cup baby corn
• 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/2 can (14 oz.) mango pieces
• 4 lychee (from can), sliced*
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar*
• 1 tbsp vegetarian fish sauce*
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp lychee juice (from can)
• 1 tsp mango juice (from can)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt, to taste
• fresh parsley, to top
• green onion, sliced, to top

* Recipe:

1. Before starting the recipe, prepare all the vegetables so they are ready to go in the wok when needed.
2. In a wok, fry the tofu on both sides until golden in some sesame oil. Set aside.
3. Add more oil and fry the onions until translucent. Add the rest of the veggies in order of what takes longest to cook (i.e. carrots first) and salt and cook until tender. Toss in the tofu.
4. In a bowl, mix the liquid ingredients for the sauce. Add to the vegetables and cook until reduced in half.
5. Top with parsley and sliced green onion and serve with rice.

* Note: Lychee is an Asian fruit that can normally be found canned and in the Asian aisle of the grocery. You could choose to make this with just mango if you want. Make sure your sugar is vegan. Vegetarian fish sauce is something you can find at an Asian grocery store, usually. It may be called vegetarian oyster sauce as well. You could make it yourself too.

Tempeh Crab Cakes

For a brunch party with some friends, I made these tempeh crab cakes. I've had tofu ones before at restaurants and made them from The Conscious Cook as well. I wanted to kind of change it up with tempeh. I admit, I don't often cook with tempeh. It's definitely something that has grown on me with time. If you have any great recipes with tempeh, send them over my way as I'd love to explore more recipes. My friend Emily blogged about our brunch over at her blog, Running On Vegan. Check it out!

Tempeh Crab Cakes

* Prep Time: 20-25 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 package (8 oz.) tempeh, finely chopped*
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped 
• 1/2 cup yellow and red bell peppers, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, finely chopped 
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup lobster and oyster mushrooms, finely chopped*
• 5 tbsp vegan mayonnaise*
• 1/2 medium lemon, juiced
• 1/4 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce*
• 1 "egg" replacer, follow box instructions*
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning*
• 1/2 tsp dried mustard
• dash of cayenne, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 sheet nori, toasted, crumbled*
• 1/3 cup round crackers (like Ritz), crushed
• all-purpose flour, to dust
• peanut oil, to fry

* Recipe:

1. In a very large bowl, mix the tempeh with all the vegetables. Add in the condiments and spices. Mix well.
2. Over a burner, toast a sheet of nori on each side. Crumble into the bowl. Add the crackers. Mix contents well.
3. Heat a large skillet with peanut oil over medium heat.
4. On the counter, dust with flour. Form the crab cake mixture into medium sized balls. Flatten a bit and coat the entire crab cake in flour.
5. Fry on each side until completely golden.
6. Serve with vegan tartar sauce or horseradish sauce and coleslaw.

* Note: For tempeh, I used Lightlife Organic Garden Veggie Tempeh. I used dehydrated lobster and oyster mushrooms for this (rehydrated them for the recipe), but if you could find fresh ones, that would be best. For vegan mayonnaise, I used Earth Balance Olive Oil Mayo. Auntie's Naturals Organic Vegan Worcestershire Sauce is what I used in this recipe. I used Ener-G for my egg replacement. Old Bay seasoning is a seafood spice mix that is sometimes used in things like crab cakes. You can find it in your regular grocery store with the spices. Lastly, nori is the seaweed used to make sushi rolls. You can find it with Asian and Japanese products at your grocery store. 


For vegan tartar sauce or horseradish sauce, Follow Your Heart just came out with jars of both. If you can find them, I recommend the horseradish one. I really enjoy it! I also have a lemon dill tartar sauce recipe here on Vegan Miss.The coleslaw is a recipe of mine from when I made California Reuben Sandwiches a little bit ago.

Southwestern Skillet

I've never actually had a traditional Southwestern skillet before, vegan or otherwise. I'm not a huge fan of spicy foods, Tex-Mex-style food, and I never ate eggs prior to being vegan. My friends wanted to try and make this for a brunch, so behold the Southwestern Skillet.

Southwestern Skillet

* Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients (for potatoes):

• 5-6 red potatoes, cleaned and cubed
• 1/2 medium red pepper, diced
• 1/2 medium green pepper, diced
• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp parley
• salt & pepper, to taste
• olive oil, to coat entire bottom of skillet

* Ingredients (for scramble):

• 1 package (16 oz.) firm tofu, water pressed out
• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp tumeric
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup vegan cheddar cheese, shredded*
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 medium tomato, diced

* Ingredients (for sausage):

• 1 box (8 oz.) vegan sausage crumbles*
• 1 tbsp olive oil

* Recipe (for potatoes):

1. Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add onion, garlic, and peppers, and sautee for 1 minute.
2. Add potatoes and seasonings. Cook until brown and tender.

* Recipe (for scramble):

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Sautee onions until soft.
2. Add garlic, crumble tofu into skillet, and add spices.
3. Slightly brown tofu and add diced tomatoes. Sautree for 3-5 minutes or until tomatoes are cooked.
4. Top with cheese and cover with lid to melt.

* Recipe (for sausage):

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the sausage crumbles with olive oil and cook until brown.

* Recipe (for assembly):

1. Assemble by layering potatoes on the bottom of a plate then the sausage and "scrambled egg" and cheese.
2. Top with salsa and chili peppers if you like spice. Serve with a side of toast. Perfect for brunch for two or as hangover food!

* Note: For cheese, I used Daiya cheddar shreds. One could shred other brands by hand. The sausage crumbles were Upton's Natural's brand that I chopped up fine. One could use Boca crumbles, Yves, or Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage in replacement. Lastly, feel free to add some veggie bacon to this too such as Yves Canadian Bacon or Lightlife Smart Bacon.  

Moo Shu Tempeh

These last couple posts have been inspired by just your average weeknight meal sort of thing. It is not everyday one can make something like an Italian "Beef" Sandwich!

Moo Shu Tempeh

* Prep Time: 1 hour
* Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 5 tbsp sake
• 1 tsp + 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 4 oz. tempeh, sliced thin*
• 5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
• 4 button mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup green onions, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1/2 medium Japanese eggplant, sliced into thin strips
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1 14 oz. can chop suey vegetables*
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp sugar*
• 3-4 tbsp hoisin sauce*
• 1 cup napa cabbage, chopped

* Recipe:

1. Combine 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp sake, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 2 tsp cornstarch in a small bowl. This is the marinade for the tempeh.
2. Add tempeh to a small ziplock bag, pour in the marinade mixture, and chill in refrigerator for at least one hour.
3. Add 1 tbsp sesame oil to a medium sized frying pan. Heat on medium heat.
4. Add the mushrooms, green onions, garlic, ginger, eggplant, snow peas, bell peppers, chop suey vegetables, salt, and pepper to the pan. 
5. In a small bowl, combine 3 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp sake, 1/2 tsp cornstarch, and 1/2 tsp sugar. Add to the vegetable pan. Also add the hoisin sauce. Cook for about 10 minutes.
6. While the vegetables are cooking, in small pan add the last 1 tbsp of sesame oil to the pan. Heat on medium heat and add the marinated tempeh. Brown on each side; about 5-10 minutes.
7. In the last several minutes of cooking, add the tempeh and napa cabbage to the pan with the vegetables. Cook for a few more minutes.
8. Serve with moo shu wrappers, tortillas, or homemade moo shu pancakes.

* Note: I used Lightlife Organic Garden Veggie Tempeh. It's my favorite out there. For chop suey vegetables, I used La Choy brand. Feel free to use fresh been sprouts and some canned water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, etc. Make sure your sugar is vegan! For hoisin sauce, I used the Iron Chef brand at the store. Personally, I didn't care for it. I'm sure there are a lot of other brands out there that are better. Now I know!


To serve this, I used a really basic homemade moo shu pancake recipe I found. It wasn't amazing and I added some egg replacer to it. I would recommend trying to make a much more fancy moo shu pancake recipe. I remember how they taste and this was not doing it for me at all. In contrast, if you are feeling lazy or don't want to mess with the pancakes, just use tortillas. I couldn't find any moo shu wrappers in the store, but from Googling, they all seems to have egg in them. If it were me next time, I would just toast up some tortillas!