Monte Cristo Sandwich

I've never had a "real" Monte Cristo Sandwich but I've had them many times at the Chicago Diner. This is my ode to the sandwich! Also, the vegan turkey meat recipe is the same I posted recently for the California Reuben Sandwich.

Monte Cristo Sandwich

* Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

* Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours

* Ingredients (for vegan turkey meat):

• 2 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 cup vegetarian "chicken" broth*
• 1/2 (14 oz.) firm tofu package
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp agave nectar*
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• 1/4 tsp mesquite liquid smoke*

*  Ingredients (for sandwich):

• 2 tbsp vegan butter*
• 4 tbsp corn starch
• 1 cup non-dairy milk*
• 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
• pinch salt
• 4 pieces sourdough bread
• 1 tbsp olive oil, optional
• 1/2 package (5.5 oz.) vegan ham slices*
• 2 slices vegan muenster cheese, per sandwich*
• several slices vegan turkey meat, per sandwich 
  
• Dijon mustard, to taste
• vegan mayonnaise, to taste*
• powdered sugar, to top, to taste

* Recipe (for vegan turkey meat):

1. In a large bowl, add the vital wheat gluten.
2. In a food processor, add all the wet ingredients and nutritional yeast including the tofu and spices.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the wheat gluten. Mix well with a spoon then kneed with hands. 
4. Roll into a log that is 2.5 - 3 in. wide. Loosely roll foil around the seitan log and twist both ends like a tootsie roll.
5. Place in a pot with several inches of water. Have something holding it from the bottom so it is not touching the water (ex: a deep cookie cutter).
6. Steam for 1 hour.
7. When done steaming, take out of pot, allow to cool. When cool, slice thinly like deli meat.

* Recipe (for sandwich):

1. Melt butter in a large skillet. In a bowl, combine the corn starch, milk, flour, and salt. Mix until lumps are gone.
2. In a small baking pan, pour the french toast batter. Coat each side of the toast and fry in the pan until golden on each side. Once one side is fried, flip and fry the other side with the muenster cheese on top. Cover with lid to melt.
3. Fry the ham slices and several slices of turkey meat until slightly crispy. Add olive oil to the pan if the butter from the french toast runs out.
4. In a small bowl, combine equal parts mustard and mayonnaise.
5. Spread over one piece of french toast, pile on the ham and turkey, and top with the cheesy french toast. Cut in half. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with hash browns or breakfast potatoes.

* Notes: For vegetarian "chicken" broth, I used Frontier brand I got at my local health food store in bulk. Agave nectar is a honey replacement. You can find it in the organic section of your grocery store usually or with the honey. Liquid smoke gives a "meaty" smoky flavor to foods. I use it often in southern greens recipes to replace a bacon feel. For vegan butter, I used Earth Balance. I used soy milk for non-dairy milk but feel free to use whatever you please. For ham, I like Lightlife Smart Deli Ham. Chicago has a great cashew cheese company called Ste Martaen that has a muenster cheese. If you can't find it, use some other kind of white cheese whether is be Daiya or Follow Your Heart. Lastly, for vegan mayonnaise I used Earth Balance with olive oil.

Chick'n Katsu & Katsudon

If you have ever seen a bento box menu at a Japanese or Hawaiian restaurant, chances are you'll see katsu or tonkatsu (pork katsu). Tonkatsu is generally the more famous of the various types of katsu one can get, though there are also beef, chicken, fish, and minced meat versions. So, hey, why aren't their veggie versions?! Exactly. There is probably someone out there that makes or sells tofu katsu. I thought about trying that, but then I realized we vegans and vegetarians are mighty lucky to have the super nifty company, Gardein. "Chick'n Katsu" was born.


Chick'n Katsu

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 15 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 package of Gardein chick'n scallopini, thawed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 egg replacements, preparing according to package instructions*
• 2 cups panko
• 4 lemon wedges
• tonkatsu sauce, for dipping* 

* Recipe:

1. Pour oil into deep frying pan and cover at least 1 in. thick. Heat on high.
2. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder over chick'n patties.
3. Place flour on one plate, panko on another, and egg replacer in a medium bowl.
4. Dredge chick'n in flour, then saturate entirely with egg replacer. Coat with panko completely and press to make sure chick'n is well coated.
5. Slip chick'n into oil and cook until both sides are golden brown, about 5-10 minutes.
6. Drain chick'n on paper towels once removed from pan.
7. Using a sharp knife, cut into slices about 1/2 in. thick.
8. Serve with lemon wedge and tonkatsu sauce for dipping.

* Note: For egg replacer, I swear by Ener-G for all my needs. Tonkatsu sauce is used for all sorts of katsu. It's sweet yet tangy. Kikkoman has a vegan one readily available. This recipe was modified from Japanese Home Cooking by Shunsuke Fukushima.


Chick'n Katsudon

Katsudon is a combination of katsu and donburi. It generally involves an egg. Vegans don't eat eggs. I modified it with my own little scrambled "egg" recipe in order to compensate for this.

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 10 minutes
* Ingredients (for donburi sauce):

• 1 cup water
• 5 tbsp soy sauce or tamari*
• 5 tbsp mirin*
• 1 tsp vegan dashi*
• 1/2 tsp sugar*
• 1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

* Ingredients (for scrambled "egg"): 

• 1/2 package (14 oz.) firm tofu, pressed, smashed with fork
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder 
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast

* Ingredients (for chick'n katsudon):

• 4 chick'n katsu, sliced into 1/2 in. pieces
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced 
• 1 tbsp nori, ripped or cut into narrow strips

* Recipe (for donburi sauce):

1. Combine all ingredients in sauce pan.
2. Bring to boil and remove from heat.

* Recipe (for scrambled "egg"):

1. In a small skillet, heat the sesame oil and add the smashed tofu.
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes.

* Recipe (for chick'n katsudon):

1. Place serving of rice in a bowl. Add scrambled tofu, then one sliced chick'n katsu.
2. Add donburi sauce over the rice, egg, and katsu.
3. Top with scallions and nori.

* Note: One could probably use Bragg's Amino Acid in replace of soy sauce or tamari. Mirin is a sweet rice wine cooking liquid. VegWeb has a great vegan dashi recipe that one can store and use for later. I highly recommend it. Make sure your sugar is vegan. I modified this recipe from Japanese Home Cooking by Shunsuke Fukushima.



Thinking about it, the one thing I'm not sure one could actually veganize in Japanese cooking is shabu-shabu (if you've seen Lost in Translation, you know what I'm talking about). I guess someone could try it with seitan. That would be interesting to see!

Eggless Egg Salad

This was a request from my friend, Pam. It turned out pretty good! I've never had real egg salad (never ever liked eggs before I was vegan), so I don't have much to compare it to. But, I'd say it's awesome! 

Eggless Egg Salad

* Prep Time: 10 minutes

* Ingredients:  

• 3  tbsp onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 tbsp dill relish
• 3 tbsp stone ground mustard
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp agave nectar*
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 package medium grade tofu (14 oz.), pressed and drained, mashed*
• 3/4th jar vegan mayonnaise*

* Recipe: 

1. In a bowl, mash the tofu well.
2. Add the onion,celery, parsley, and dried dill to the tofu. Mix well.
3. Next, add the dill relish, mustard, lemon juice, agave, salt, and pepper. Combine well.
4. Lastly, add the mayonnaise. Combine well.

* Note: Agave nectar is a natural sweetener that is used to replace honey. You should be able to find it at your grocery store with the jams and honey. I used medium tofu in this recipe. If you wish, one could try this recipe with soft (not silken) tofu. Let me know how it turns out! I am not sure if it would be too "runny" which is why I opted for medium. For vegan mayonnaise, I prefer Vegenaise. 


Once you combine all the ingredients, if you feel the salad needs a little bit more of one of the ingredients, feel free to add more.