I am a big fan of cuisine from different cultures. It's kind of like armchair travel in a way. You get to taste the exciting flavors of specific countries and for me anyway, it's like being transported to that place. Well, sort of. I'd rather get on a plane and actually travel to these countries but this will have to be my best option for now.
Let's start with indian food. I've never been to India but man do I love their food! I am a curry-holic. It must have something to do with my Thai background (we Thais like our curries too!). I think I make curry more often than anything else. It's one of the easiest things to cook too. Just throw a bunch of garlic, onions, veggies, spices, water and tomatoes in a pot, let it simmer and throw on some rice for a spicy delicious dinner. My favorite indian curry is Aloo Chana Masala which is basically a potato and chickpea curry.
This curry is perfection. I add peas to mine for some color. Recipe can be found
here. It has step by step instruction which you will find delightful.
I also crave Pav Bhaji at least once a month. This is a spicy mashed vegetable curry served with buttered rolls. I used
this recipe and substituted Earth Balance margarine for the butter. It is soooo good.
Ah, Morocco! How I would do anything to travel there! I might be idealizing but it seems like such an exotic, colorful desert paradise. The food always looks amazing too. I recently purchased a vegetarian cookbook called
Olive Trees & Honey where I found a recipe for this vegetable stew which has sweet potatoes, squash, chickpeas and carrots topped with an onion-cinnamon concoction. It was gorgeous on top of couscous.
Lebanese food is really simple and fresh. It is considered one of the healthiest of cuisines. It relies on an assortment of fresh vegetables and salads, lemon juice and copious amounts of olive oil and garlic. I am a huge fan of this type of cooking. This eggplant stew recipe which is from the
Tables of Lebanon cookbook is a delicious and healthy meal served on top of rice. (Sorry about the dark photo.)
And from the same cookbook, hummus along side za'atar spice in olive oil and pita bread for dipping.
When you think of japanese food, do you think of sushi first? I do. I never ate sushi before going vegan because I hated seaweed and seafood. I went online to do some research and I found a way to make vegan sushi without using nori (the seaweed wrapper around sushi rolls). Spring roll wrappers make a perfect roll. When I make sushi, I usually use both nori (for my husband) and spring roll wrappers for mine. Check it out.
I'll end this post with some thai food. I grew up eating lots of it and unfortunately most of it was meat based. Here in Los Angeles, you will find a plethora of vegan Thai restaurants that serve delicious and tantalizing thai favorites like Pad Thai, Pad See You and Tom Yum Kai using mock meats and fresh vegetables. It's actually quite good! I go every now and then if I don't feel like cooking my own. When I do cook thai food, it's usually curry. Here is a karee curry with coconut milk, tofu and vegetables served on top of rice with a side of purple slaw. Mmm. mmm. mmm.
Feel free to comment if you want any of these recipes. I'd be happy to share them with you via email.
