Gado-Gado, Ottolenghi-Style

Here is my variant on Gado-Gado, adapted from the version in Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

To make it as written I would budget about an hour and a half, maybe more. But you can take some shortcuts if you want (it just might not be quite as yummy!)

Note: I haven't actually made the OTHER Gado-Gado on this blog since I posted it.. it was probably easier but I would say this is definitely yummier. The other one has some interesting topping ideas too though, and could be a good option if you're lacking in fancy ingredients like galangal and tamarind.

Totally worth the time to make the super satay sauce from scratch. I will write it out as I made it, which includes a small substitution as I couldn't get a hold of fresh galangal. If you can find it, the original calls for using fresh galangal in the place of the fresh ginger and dried galangal.

Ideally you will read through this whole recipe and think through your timing, as you may want to overlap preparing the salad with making the sauce in ways that make sense for the ingredients you choose.

Satay Sauce

This is the slow part and it could definitely be done ahead of time if you're organized. If you're rushed for time or want to use ingredients you're more likely to have on hand, you could always skip this part and make awesome no-cook peanut sauce instead.

Ingredients

• 4 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 roughly chopped lemongrass stalk
• 2.5 tbsp sambal oelek (makes for a sauce with some heat, but not really spicy... if I were making this for kids I would probably reduce the quantity or maybe just make them some kid-friendly peanut sauce and keep this deluxe sauce for those brave enough to eat it!)
• roughly the equivalent of a 5" long piece of fresh ginger (about 1-1.5" in diameter), peeled
• 2 slices of dried galangal, rehydrated in a small bowl of boiling water for a few minutes, cut into small bits (if you don't have dried galangal, just do a little more ginger instead)
• 4 medium shallots, peeled (this is probably the most annoying part of the recipe)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 tbsp salt
• 7 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp thick tamarind water (rehydrate about 1/4 cup tamarind in about 1/2-3/4 cup of boiling water, let sit at least 10 minutes or so, stir it together and mash the tamarind with a fork, then press out the liquid through a sieve)
• 1 1/2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk

Method

1. Use a small food processor or hand blender to crush the garlic, lemongrass, sambal oelek, ginger, galangal pieces, and shallots into a homogeneous paste.
2. Heat up the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the paste from step 1 and cook over medium-low heat for 40-50 minutes (until the oil starts to separate). Stir regularly. 
• While the paste is cooking...
• Prepare the tamarind water
• Combine the salt, sugar, and paprika in a small bowl
• Crush peanuts roughly in a food processor - leave them a bit chunky. Put the peanuts and water into a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the mixture thickens and most of the water has evaporated
3. Add the salt, sugar and paprika mixture to the pot with the paste. Also add the tamarind water. Stir and cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Add the cooked peanut mixture to the cooked spice paste then stir in the coconut milk

Spice paste is done.. keep it somewhere warm.

The Salad Part

This part is relatively quick - the time-consuming pieces are preparing tofu, roasting yams, and cooking rice... the rest is pretty speedy.

Ingredients (and some Method)

Note: you could do this part with basically whatever ingredients you want... the sauce is the key! But I will outline what I did today here. Note that in the original recipe there are potatoes instead of the rice and yams, and various other differences. 

These ingredients should be prepared first (like before or while you make the sauce) as they will take some time:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice. Cook this according to package directions or using your preferred method.
• 4 small yams, cleaned and sliced into 1/2" to 3/4" rounds (no need to peel) - toss these with some olive oil and kosher salt then roast in the oven at the same time as you roast your tofu (about 30-40 minutes, flip them over about half way through)...
• 1 block of extra firm tofu, prepared according to instructions in my post "The best way to prepare tofu" (you can roast the tofu and the yams at the same time)

These ingredients will cook quickly and the process is described below:

• 1 very small or half of a medium-large cabbage, cut into chunks (I cut a very small cabbage in half and then each half into 4 wedges, then halved the wedges to make 8 chunks per half cabbage)
• 1-2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 1-2 cups green beans, washed and trimmed
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• Something crunchy to sprinkle on top. I used these yam chips from Hardbite. The original recipe calls for crisp-fried shallots and cassava chips

Method (the rest of it)

1. If you haven't already, get the rice, tofu, and yams started cooking (see notes above). You should also hard boil your eggs if you haven't done that yet. See below for tips if you need them.
2. Once your sauce, rice, tofu, yams, and eggs are done ready... 
• Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil
• While the water is heating up, spread the cooked rice out in the bottom of a large casserole dish or serving platter
• When the water comes to a boil, add the cabbage and blanch it for 1 minute, then remove and drain it (I used a large slotted spoon to fish out as much as I could). Spread the cabbage out in a layer over the cooked rice
• Add the bean sprouts to the boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds, then remove and drain them. Layer these over the cabbage and rice
• Add the green beans to the boiling water and blanch for 4 minutes then drain. Layer green beans over the cabbage, rice, and bean sprouts.
• You're done the cooking part - go ahead and turn off the water pot.
3. If you need some time to finish getting other things ready, put the casserole/serving platter somewhere warm.
4. Before serving, layer the roasted tofu chunks and yam slices on top everything already added to the casserole/platter.
5. Serve the salad with the satay sauce, chopped cilantro, quartered eggs, and crispy chips on the side so everyone can add these in whatever quantity they like.

Kat's delicious dumpling dipping sauce

One of our go-to lunches is the Sum-m! Sesame Ginger Dumplings from Costco (which we keep in the freezer) with dipping sauce and salad. The dumplings come with sauce but in my opinion this one is far superior! 

When we're feeling splurgy, we get the dumplings from Dumpling Drop instead. If we were really on the ball, we would make our own dumplings... it's really not that difficult! And I know, from witnessing it firsthand, that they can even be assembled by headlamp in the bow of a canoe for a truly gourmet camping meal (first night only to make sure the filling is fresh).

Ingredients:

Roughly equal parts of the following (I normally use about 1.5-2tbs I think?):

• Soya sauce
• Rice vinegar

 Slightly less but almost the same amount of:

• Sweet chili sauce 

A few drops of:

• Sesame oil

(Optional) Either a little or quite a lot of:

• Minced cilantro 

Directions:

Put all of the above into a small bowl and mix well. 

Substitutions/alternatives:

• If all you have is soya sauce and rice vinegar, then roughly equal parts of each makes a perfectly fine sauce. 
• If you don't have rice vinegar, try to use something else reasonably mild but reduce the quantity by a little bit (eg. white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can work but don't use too much)
• If you prefer a spicier sauce that is less sweet, consider using Sambal Olek instead of the sweet chili sauce (you may want to use slightly less). Or if you want spicy and sweet, just add some in!
• The cilantro is certainly not necessary, but if you have it, it is a very nice addition!
• If you don't have the sesame oil, just omit it.
  

Sweet and Sticky Tofu bowls

 based on https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/asian-garlic-tofu/

Ingredients:

• 1 block of extra firm tofu
• 1-2 heads of broccoli cut into small florets
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste
  
• rice
  

Sauce:

• 1/4 c hoisin sauce
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  

 Garnish:

• Toasted sesame seeds
• diced spring onion or cilantro or...

Method:

1. Put the rice on to cook (and set a timer to cook for an appropriate amount of time.. no hand-holding on this part!)
   
2. Prepare tofu by slicing into 3 slabs horizontally, placing them on a clean folded tea towel on a large plate, place another clean tea towel on top followed by another plate, then put something heavy on top of that to press the excess water out. Leave for 10 - 30 minutes or more.
3. Meanwhile... mix together the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
   
4. Cut the tofu into small bite-sized cubes and toss in the sauce. Leave to marinate about 30 minutes
   
5. Meanwhile, prepare the broccoli for roasting by tossing in a bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt to your taste. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and heat the oven to about 375F. 
   
6. Put broccoli in oven and roast for about 15-20 minutes then flip and roast a further 15-20 minutes on the other side (until crispy and tasty)
7. (This would be a good time to toast your sesame seeds in a dry frying pan if they're not ready yet)
   
8. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan (cast iron or otherwise). When oil is hot, add in the tofu without too much of the sauce (but don't worry if a bunch goes in). Spread it out in a single layer and fry/sear (mine didn't get crispy since I put all the sauce in but it was still delish). Ideally, cook till crispy then flip to the other side and fry till seared.
9. At this point I would add the rest of the sauce to the pan and cook it a bit longer, stirring frequently.
10. Toss the sesame oil and diced spring onion/cilantro with the cooked tofu (either in the pan or a large bowl)
    
11. Assemble in bowls with rice, roasted broccoli, tofu, and sesame seeds sprinkled over top.
    

Thai-style Fried Rice

I figure I should actually post this here since it is one of my gotos when the fridge is mostly bare but I have leftover rice and various bits and pieces. It is open to major modifications.

Ingredients

• 500g chicken breast, pork fillet, prawn, beef, or tofu cut into thin strips
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 bunch chinese broccoli or gailan, carrot, snowpea, or baby corns (at most 2
• veggies to prevent too much moisture)
• 1.5 cups cooked rice per person
• 1/2 small onion, cut into strips
• 2 green onions cut into 3/4 inch long pieces
• 2 eggs (1 per person)
• 1 firm tomato cut into 8 wedges
• few cloves garlic, diced

Sauce:

1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
pinch of black pepper
1 tbsp thick sweet soy (ketjap manis)
1 tsp (maggi) seasoning sauce
(can substitute depending on what you have. For example, 2 tbs soya sauce, 1.5 tbs fish sauce, pepper, and a little sugar works perfectly well)

Seasonings:

1/4-1/2 lemon (for juice)
fresh coriander
sliced cucumber on the side as an accompaniment

Method

1. Heat oil in the wok
2. Add garlic
3. Fry meat until medium-cooked
4. Push meat to the side and add egg. Flip the meat on top of the egg so the egg coats it - let cook on one side a bit, then flip to cook other side.
5. Add onion and cook a little
6. (remove from heat if needed) Add: veggies, rice, and seasonings
7. Return to heat and mix well (can smush together with spatula)
8. Add tomato and mix in
9. Cook until the mixture is not too moist
10. Turn off heat and add a bit of lemon juice + coriander

Variations

Today I made this with sliced mushrooms in place of the meat. I fried up the mushrooms in oil with a little sprinkle of salt to draw out some moisture, added diced quartered carrots and cooked the carrots and mushrooms until they started to brown, then continued from step 4 with the eggs (so I used mushrooms + carrots in the place of the meat, since that's all I had). I skipped the coriander, garlic, and tomatoes since I had none (would have thrown in canned pineapple tidbits in the place of tomato but didn't have any of that either). I also often just use deli sandwich meat in this recipe - it's a good way to use it up if you have too much.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I have made a few different versions of these in the last while but these were some of my favourites!

I've consulted and made these from several recipes that are all similar, but this version uses the sauce from this one: https://joyfoodsunshine.com/asian-chicken-lettuce-wraps/

Ingredients

Sauce

• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 3 tbs hoisin sauce (or substitute with massaman curry paste)
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tbs peanut butter
• 1 tbs honey
• 2 tsp sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp powdered ginger

Chicken filling

• 1 lb chicken, ground or chopped small - I used thighs and pulsed them in the food processor
• 1-2 tbs peanut oil
• 1/2 - 1 onion, diced small
• 1 8oz can water chestnuts, drained and minced
• ~2 cups grated carrots (optional but very tasty)

Accessories

• 1/4 c roasted peanuts, crushed (I whizzed them in a mini food processor)
• chopped cilantro
• lettuce leaves
• cooked rice (optional)

Method

1. Whisk together the sauce ingredients until well-combined
2. Heat peanut oil in a large frying pan or wok. Once hot, add the chicken.
3. Cook until the chicken bits are starting to brown, stirring regularly - this will take some time.
4. Add onion and cook for 5 mins or until onion is becoming translucent. 
5. Add the water chestnuts and cook another 5 mins or so.
6. Add the sauce and simmer on low heat until the chicken mixture is evenly coated and everything is heated through.
7. Turn off the heat and mix in the grated carrots.
8. Assemble the lettuce wraps at the table and don't forget to top with peanuts and cilantro!

Simple Tasty Stir Fry

Ingredients

• broccoli florets
• mushrooms, quartered or sliced
• other sliced veggies of your liking or that you happen to have (carrots, cauliflower, snow peas, onion, etc)
• splash of soy sauce (say 1-2 tbs or so)
• splash of sesame oil (say 1/2 tbs or so)
• splash of water (about 1/4 cup?)
•  oil (I just use olive oil)

Method

1. Heat oil in pan on high
2. Add the veggies and stir for a few minutes until they are coated with oil and starting to look a bit cooked/browned
3. Add the water and cover with a lid to steam the veggies. Leave to cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Check for desired level of done-ness - go with a little underdone instead of a little overdone!
5. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil, stir it all up, and remove from the heat

If you want to get all fancy, here are a few ideas to jazz it up...

• toast some slivered almonds and/or sesame seeds before you put the oil in the pan then set aside to sprinkle on top at the end
• add some minced garlic and/or ginger to the pan with the oil before anything else
• fry some meat (either plain or dipped in beaten egg then a flour/salt/pepper mixture) before cooking the veggies - I'd cook the meat first, remove it from the pan to do the veggies, then add it in at the end with the sauces
• grind some pepper on at the end?

Chinese-style Beef and Veggie Stir Fry

The beef was slightly freezer-burned and the veggie assortment was slightly random, but it turned out to be delicious!

I basically followed this recipe, but I did things a touch differently: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/the-best-easy-beef-and-broccoli-stir-fry-99476

Ingredients

• a beef steak, cut into strips
• half of a large head of broccoli, cut into medium-small pieces
• a quarter of a large head of cauliflower, cut into similar-sized pieces
• half an onion, sliced
• half a zucchini, chopped
• a handful of pathetic-looking mushrooms (the pathetic part is optional)
• 1/3 cup soya sauce, divided (about a tablespoon and the rest)
• about a tablespoon of black bean sauce
• 3 tbs cornstarch, divided (2tbs and 1 tbs)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbs water, divided (2tbs and 1/2 cup)
• ground black pepper
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbs oil

Method

1. Mix 1 tbs soya sauce, 1 tbs black bean sauce, the garlic powder, 2 tbs cornstarch, and 2 tbs water in a bowl. Toss in the beef strips and coat with the sauce, as well as some ground black pepper. Set aside.
2. Prep the veggies.
3. Prepare sauce by mixing 1 tbs cornstarch, the rest of the soya sauce, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 cup water, and the brown sugar in a small bowl.
4. Heat the oil in a large pan or wok, add the beef and stir fry until just browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Put the veggies in the pan with a little more oil and stir fry about 4-5 minutes. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if need be to help deglaze the pan and prevent starchy bits from burning.
6. Add the beef back to the pan.
7. Add the prepared sauce (step 3) and stir fry for about 2 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Teriyaki Fish (Salmon) Fillets with Asian Salsa on Brown Rice

Ok this was a good dinner I happened to come up with tonight. And super quick/easy to make! Worthy of writing down and sharing. I served myself a second mini-helping just so I could take a picture (and well also because it was good!)

The first serving was much bigger!

A great opportunity to use the multi-slicing tool our neighbours brought back from Vietnam

Ingredients

Fish

• fish fillets (in our case, sockeye salmon)
• soya sauce
• rice wine vinegar
• maple syrup
• sliced lemon (optional)
• black pepper

Asian Salsa

• finely sliced carrot sticks
• 1 tomato, diced
• a few inches' worth of cucumber, diced 
• chopped cilantro
• finely chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

Dressing

• ~2 tbs rice wine vinegar
• ~1 tbs fish sauce
• ~1/2 tbs white sugar
• ~1 tsp chili sauce (sambal olek)
• ~1 tbs olive oil
• drizzle of sesame oil

Directions 

I. Rice

1. Start cooking some brown rice so that it will be ready in time
2. For extra rich and tastiness, stir 1 tbs of butter into the cooked rice prior to serving

II. Asian Salsa

1. Mix dressing ingredients together in a small dish
2. If you happen to have a fancy slicing and dicing tool from Vietnam then you can use it to make fun shapes with your veggies like nice fine carrot strips and squiggly cucumber chunks!
3. Put the chopped carrots, cucumber, tomato, and cilantro in a bowl 
4. Toss the veggies with the dressing
5. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over top

III. Fish Fillets

1. Preheat oven to 400C
2. Drizzle a little olive oil in a pyrex baking dish. Place fish fillets skin side down in the oiled pan
3. Drizzle roughly equal parts soya sauce, olive oil, and rice wine vinegar over each fillet (I didn't use too much)
4. Drizzle the fillets with maple syrup to your taste (I used less of the maple syrup than the other drizzles)
5. Place a slice of fresh lemon on each fillet and grind some pepper over top
6. Put the dish in the oven and bake for roughly 8-10 minutes for 1 inch thick fillets (adjust time based on thickness)

Serve either on plates or as rice bowls.

Vietnamese-style Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

Poor ilan is sick so yesterday in Vancouver we found him some Vietnamese hot and sour soup for lunch.  It was super yum, so today I decided to try to make something similar at home.  I pulled ideas from a whole bunch of different recipes and websites and here's what I ended up doing (roughly)...

Ingredients (prep everything first)

- 3 tbs minced garlic
- white part of two lemongrass stalks, sliced finely and minced
- 2 red chili peppers with seeds, finely sliced and minced (this made for spicy soup! Use 1 if you want it milder and/or remove seeds)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- some mushrooms (I think I used 7-8 creminis), quartered
- 3 celery stalks, cut into about 1cm long slices
- 1/2 head green cabbage, sliced into strips (next time I might leave it in somewhat bigger chunks)
- 3 large tomatoes, cut into 6-8 chunks
(You could use different veggies than the above if you like!)
- 1 can of pineapple tidbits
- 1/4 cup fish sauce plus a little more
- about 650mL of chicken broth (we had a yogourt container full in the freezer)
- if you have it, 2 tbs tamarind (I'm sure the soup would be fine even if you don't happen to have this on hand)
- about 1 cup boiling water to prep the tamarind
- fresh herbs for garnish: I used basil (even though I only had a wee bit), mint, and cilantro (could also use some spring onion, possibly even some fresh oregano)

Directions

1. Prep tamarind.  Put the tamarind paste in a bowl and add the boiling water.  Let sit about 15 minutes so tamarind softens.  Press the tamarind and water through a fine sieve into another bowl to extract as much tamarindyness as you can then discard the remaining tamarind chunks.

2. Prep the chicken. Slice the raw chicken across the grain into roughly 1/2cm thick slices.  Put in a bowl with some fish sauce and ground pepper then cover and put it in the fridge until you're ready for it.

3. In a large heavy bottomed soup pot, saute 2/3 of the garlic with the chili peppers and 2/3 of the lemon grass in some olive oil and/or schmaltz.  Once everything is nice and fragrant (about 30s), add 1/4 cup of fish sauce and cook for 2 minutes to reduce it.  Yes, it will smell intensely fishy.

4. Add the chicken stock and tamarind juice to the soup pot, adding a little extra water to help you get everything out of the bowls.  I'd add at least a cup or two of water at this stage.  You can also throw in the lemongrass tops in larger chunks if you like.  Bring to a boil.

5. Add the can of pineapple with juice and again rinse the can with water to get it all.  Add the chopped veggies (in my case, celery, mushrooms, cabbage, and the tomatoes - I added the tomatoes a little later than everything else and maybe should have waited longer than I did).  Reduce to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes (maybe less).

6. While the soup is simmering, heat some oil/schmaltz in a frying pan and add the remaining garlic and minced lemongrass.  Fry till fragrant (30s) then add a couple tbs of fish sauce.  Again, let it cook a minute or two to reduce down but not so much that everything starts sticking to the pan.  Add the sliced chicken and cook until just cooked through (about 4 mins).

7. Add the chicken to the soup, check to make sure everything is sufficiently cooked, and turn off the heat.

8. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh herbs.  Eat and enjoy!

ilan says: "If this soup doesn't cure me, nothing will!"

Yum Neua - yum yum!

I can't believe I've never tried to make Yum Neua before... this is one of my favourite Thai dishes that I also often tend to forget about. 

I found a recipe here and followed it pretty closely though I had to make a few substitutions based on what I happened to have (and not have) on hand: http://www.food.com/recipe/yum-nua-thai-beef-salad-89165

Changes I made to the dressing:
- I didn't have fresh chilies, so I used a small amount of dried chili flakes (probably less than 1/2 tsp which made for a salad with mild spice but far from spicy)
- I didn't have lemon grass, but I slivered a lime leaf and added the zest of the 1/2 lime I happened to have
- Since I only had 1/2 a lime, I added its juice plus the juice of half an orange (instead of all lime juice)

Changes I made to the salad:
- I only had about a third of a cucumber (and I certainly didn't bother to remove the seedy bit), so I also added a handful of quartered cherry tomatoes
- I had some basil, so I added that too
- I didn't have shallots, so I used a small bit of onion finely sliced and I mixed it with the dressing

Changes to the preparation:
I put half of the fresh herbs in with the beef as the recipe calls for, but I put the other half in with the lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  We tossed the beef mixture with the lettuce and veggies right before serving.

 Anyhow it was absolutely amazingly delicious!

Peanut Dressing for Salad, Spring Rolls, etc

A few days ago I decided I wanted to eat a salad with some kind of peanuty dressing.  I don't even know where the idea came from, but a quick google search found numerous recipes.  I went with one of the first ones and I've been pretty enamored with it ever since.  I've had it on salads and also used it as a dipping sauce for some vietnamese spring rolls that came on a hike a couple of days ago.  Delish!

The recipe comes from here: http://www.onceuponachef.com/2013/07/thai-crunch-salad-with-peanut-dressing.html

I basically follow the dressing recipe as is and put whatever I want in the salad itself, but here's a summarized version with my minor variations:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey 
• 1 tablespoon sugar (double this if you want it sweeter)
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Method:

Throw everything except the cilantro into the blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add in the cilantro and pulse/mix on low just enough for it to get chopped up and mixed in nicely (not so much that the whole thing turns green).

Gado Gado Goodness

This was a hit at a (mostly) meat-free, dairy-free dinner party last night.  A good assemble-your-own type dish for picky eaters and that could mostly be made ahead of time - leftovers will make great lunches!

The basic recipe came from the Moosewood Cookbook.  Basically Gado Gado is a mixture of fresh and cooked and crunchy things all drenched in peanut sauce and from there you can basically make it whatever you want.  This might look daunting, but it was really quite easy indeed and could be simplified or complexified as much as you want.

Here's how you make THE SAUCE:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 (or more) medium cloves minced garlic
• 1-2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 bay leaf

--> Cook the above in some butter or oil until the onions are translucent then add all the rest:

• 1 cup "good, pure" peanut butter (a great use for that massive jar of peanut butter)
• 1 tbs honey
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
• dash of tamari / soya sauce
• 3 cups water (yes I know it seems like way too much but just go with it)
• 1/2-1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like - I used about this and there was a very very mild bit of spice... I'll probably make it a 1/2 tsp next time)

--> Don't worry if the peanut butter's just in a big glob at first - give it a little time and a whisk and it'll mix in.  Simmer this mix on very low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-------------------

Now for THE REST OF IT.  I put the following ingredients on the table, but you could definitely mix this part of it up and put whatever you want under the sauce.  The Moosewood says that you should make an "artful arrangement of cooked and raw vegetables".  I challenged our dinner guests to make their own artful arrangements on their plates - some took this to heart, and others just piled up the food.

• raw spinach
• cooked rice (this is not in the original recipe but it was much appreciated in the meal)
• fresh bean sprouts
• steamed broccoli
• steamed carrots (you could do raw grated or juliened carrots instead but I didn't have much carrot)
• apple slices
• crispy fried tofu chunks (see below)
• cooked chicken (this was provided for the tofu haters at the table)

And some garnishes:

• fresh mint leaves (my addition - I think some basil would have been really good too)
• toasted sunflower seeds
• roasted peanuts
• lemon wedges (for juice)

---------------------

Moosewood also suggests the following which I either didn't have, didn't want, or completely forgot about:

• a drizzle of sesame oil
• raisins
• oranges
• shredded cabbage
• steamed green beans
• pieces of hard boiled egg

----------------------

THE TOFU

I basically did a variant on http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Gluten-Free-Tofu-Nuggets-1423597?columns=4&position=6%2F43

• Cut the block of tofu in half on the plane with the biggest surface area so that you can squish out a bunch of water.  Squish it with some paper towels if you happen to have them so it dries out a bit. 
• Cut the tofu into little cubes, about 1/2" big
• Marinate the tofu in some soya sauce (or get fancier if you want)
• Meanwhile, prepare a coating with the following ingredients (or something like it):

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• a largish 1/8 cup sesame seeds
• maybe a little flour? (I didn't use any myself and it was still fine)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• I also threw in some marjoram since it was the closest thing I happened to have to parsley flakes, which I would have used instead

• I didn't have any of the other ingredients in the yummly recipe so I just skipped them but you could add things like celery seed, onion powder, etc if you have them.
• Toss the marinated tofu in the coating and fry the chunks in a frying pan with oil (or bake them in the oven if your stove top is taken up with the other stuff.

Vegetarian Pad Thai

This will be a quick post - no pictures or anything too fancy, just linking to a very tasty veggie pad thai recipe I tried tonight.  You can find it at http://thaifood.about.com/od/vegetarianthairecipes/r/padthaiveg.htm

Changes I made:

1. Don't cook the rice noodles.  Just soak them in cold water for 1/2 to 1 hour then drain them well.  They should soften up enough, though you might find you need to stir fry them a little longer than the recipe suggests.

2. Add a little extra tamarind paste, sugar, and chili sauce (if you like spice) to the sauce recipe.  I used palm sugar instead of brown sugar, but I'm sure brown or white would be fine.  We also used a jalapeno (seeds included) instead of a chili pepper.  Turned out just the right level of spicy!

Other than that, basically just followed the recipe.  I'd like to try this with fresh galangal instead of ginger next time I manage to get a hold of some.

yum yum yum.