VEGETARIAN YAM RICE WITH TOFU SOUP

For simplicity, I will not be sharing the exact quantity of ingredients for the rice and soup. This is because if you are regularly preparing meatless dishes, you can mix and match the items you have in hand according to availability in your kitchen. Except that the main ingredients could be yam but also this can be substituted with pumpkin, too.

Easy, healthy home-cooked meal for your family suitable for the old and young.

Ingredients For Yam Rice [Plus/Minus]

Rice [according to number of servings]

Yam - cut into cubes

Long Beans - cut short sections

Red carrots - peeled and cut cubes

Some Okara bits [dried soy kelp] or mock meat

Some dried mushrooms - soaked and cut cubes

Some King Oyster mushrooms - rinsed and cut cubes

Some chopped ginger

Some chopped Chinese celery or Coriander leaves and red chillies

Seasoning

Vegetarian oyster sauce

Mushroom stock granules

Light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

pepper

sesame seed oil

1. Prepare the ingredients as mentioned above. 
2. Heat some oil in a non stick pan,  fry yam pieces until lightly brown, then add mushrooms to fry until fragrant.  Add in ginger, okara bits and other ingredients using except rice.  Stir fry to mix well.
3. Lastly add in rice and seasoning ingredients.  Continue to stir fry until aromatic and well mixed.
4. Dish up into rice cooker pot.  Add in enough boiled water [about 1 to 1.5 cm above ingredients].  Give it a good stir, taste to adjust seasoning.
5. Then cook rice in rice cooker as normal.
6. When rice is cooked, fluff up before serving with soup. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves or Chinese celery and red chillies and dash of pepper [own preference].

Ingredients For Tofu Soup

Some dried mushrooms and black fungus - soaked and cut thin strips

Some Erngyii mushrooms - tear into strips

Some red carrots - cut strips

Some Szechuan Vegetable - cut strips and rinsed several times

Some Okara bits

Some dried beancurd sticks - soaked and cut strips

Tofu - cut strips

Some chopped ginger

boiling water

Seasoning

some mushroom stock granules, salt and pepper to taste

some sesame seed oil

1. Dry fry mushrooms over medium heat in a non stick wok until aromatic.  Add in some oil,   ginger and Okara bits.   Stir fry to mix ingredients for awhile before adding Szechuan vegetables and carrots.  
2. Continue to stir, then add in black fungs and beancurd stick strips.  Stir well, then add in boiling water for the soup.
3. Bring to boil for 5-10 minutes before adding tofu.   Add seasoning to taste.  Bring to a rolling boil for 1-2 minutes.
4. You can thicken soup with some cornstarch water or cook as a clear broth soup.  Drizzle some sesame oil and dash of pepper before serving.
5. Scoop soup into soup bowls, garnish with chopped coriander leaves etc.
6. Serve with some black vinegar [optional].

MALAYSIAN LOCKDOWN MEALS [3]

More homey and simple Stay At Home recipes for the family.  Serve with rice and some cut chillies or sambal belacan can be appetising and satisfactory home-cooked meals.  

My husband bought too much ham for sandwiches which cannot be finished before the expiry date.  So I used the remaining pieces to fry vegetables and also to fry with macaroni.  It's easy, workable and edible, not necessary only to go with bread.

Dish 6 - Stir Fry White Bok Choy With Ham

Ingredients

300 gm white bok choy - wash and cut [separate the white and green parts]

30 gm red carrot - peeled and cut thin strips

2 pieces smoked ham [round ham] - cut strips [can use any types]

2-3 dried red chillies - soaked and cut small pieces

some chopped garlic and ginger

Seasoning

salt, chicken stock granules and pepper to taste

1. Prepare the ingredients as above.  Add oil to a non stick pan, turn on the heat, add in garlic, ginger and dried chillies.  Stir fry until fragrant.
2. Add in the carrots and ham.  Fry until fragrant, then add in white part of bok choy.  Stir fry over medium high heat for several seconds, add in the leafy greens until cooked through.  
3. Add seasoning to taste.  Stir to mix well.
4. Dish up to serve.

Dish 7 - Savoury and Sourish Tofu with Assorted Ingredients Thick Soup

Ingredients

2 dried mushrooms - soaked and cut strips

1 inch thick Szechuan vegetable [zha choi] - sliced and cut strips - rinsed several times [no need to soak]

50 gm red carrot - peeled and cut strips

30 gm lean meat - cut thin strips [optional]

2 pieces dried beancurd sticks - soaked and cut strips

1 piece tofu - cut thin strips

1 tsp chopped ginger

900 ml hot water or more

black vinegar 

cornstarch water for thickening

Seasoning

mushroom or chicken stock granules

salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare the ingredients as stated above.  Heat a claypot or soup pot with some oil, saute ginger and mushrooms until fragrant.  Add in meat if using, stir until meat is firm and turned white.
2. Add in Szechuan vegetables, carrots and then dried beancurd strips*. Continue to stir until aromatic, pour in hot water.  Bring to boil for 10 minutes or more to bring out the flavour of the Szechuan vegetables.  You may not need to season soup with salt. *[if dried beancurd strips are soft add in later with tofu]
3. Lastly, add in the tofu, stir well to mix.  Add some hot water if soup is too thick.  Add seasoning to taste.  Bring to boil for 2-3 minutes.  Thicken with cornstarch water.
4. Serve hot in soup bowl with black vinegar and chopped coriander leaves or spring onions.

MALAYSIAN LOCKDOWN MEALS [2]

These two dishes are simple and easy to prepare with minimal ingredients and some easy to get ingredients such as fresh assorted Yong Taufu.  It is as delicious, appetising and nutritious. 

Dish 3 - Steamed Savoury Rice With Assorted Ingredients

Ingredients

[serves 2-3]

200 gm rice - washed and drained

3 shallots - peeled and sliced thinly

1 tsp chopped ginger

2-3 dried mushrooms - soaked and cut cubes

2-3 strips preserved radish [cai por] - coarsely chopped 

30 gm red carrot - peeled and cut cubes

chopped spring onions

1/2 tbsp each cooking oil and sesame seed oil 

Seasoning 

1 tbsp each oyster sauce and light soy sauce

1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp mushroom stock granules

1. Prepare the ingredients as above.  Heat pan with oil, saute shallots and ginger until aromatic and brown.  Add in cai por, mushrooms and carrots.  Stir fry until well mix and fragrant.
2. Add in rice and seasoning.  Continue to fry until all ingredients are well mixed.  Dish up into a steaming tray.
3. Add enough hot water to rice.  Stir and taste to adjust seasoning.
4. Steam rice for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through.  
5. Off heat.  Fluff up rice before serving.  Garnish with spring onions, chilli sauce or cut chiilies.  Serve rice with Yong Taufu Vegetable Soup.

Dish 4 - Yong Taufoo Vegetable Soup

several pieces of yong taufoo - cut into bite size pieces

1 piece tofu - cut bite size pieces

some bok choy - wash and cut 

some red carrots - peeled and sliced

seasoning to taste

dash of pepper

1. Bring water to boil.  Add in carrots and yong taufoo pieces.  Boil until yong taufoo pieces are tender.  Add in tofu and vegetables until cooked.
2. Season soup with salt and pepper to taste.

VEGETARIAN HERBAL SOUP

I had prepared this meatless herbal soup to serve with my Vegetarian Yam Rice [see previous post]. Again another lovely, tasty, delicious and healthy soup that goes well with flavoured rice [Yam Rice]. The herbal flavour is not too strong and not overwhelming. Probably, you may not know it is a herbal soup without seeing the pieces of 'Dong Quai'. Just perfect, light soup to enjoy with rice. 

I did not weigh the herbs used. If you wish to prepare this soup, probably you need to look at the pictures to see the exact quantity used for this amount of water.

I have used an electric rice cooker to prepare this soup.

Ingredients For Herbal Soup

[serves 4-5]

900 ml water

3 pieces dang qui

2 pieces huai San

2 pieces dang shen

5 pieces huang qi

5 piece chuan xiong

1 tbsp Wolfberries [guo qi]

some yuk chok

5-6 red dates

Other Ingredients

10 pieces frozen vegetarian flavoured tofu

2 pieces firm beancurd - cut and fried

3 pieces dried seaweed knots - soaked and drained

6 dried mushrooms - soaked and halved

a handful of soaked black fungus [bok nee]

Seasoning

1 tbsp each light soy sauce and mushroom flavoured sauce

1 tsp salt to taste

1 tsp mushroom stock granules

1/2 tsp pepper to taste

1. Bring water to boil in an electric rice cooker [Porridge Mode].  
2. Rinse the herbs.  Add all the herbs to water.  Close lid, continue to cook for about 30 minutes.  Turn off the rice cooker.
3. Add in other ingredients and seasoning.  Switch cooker to quick cook mode, close lid and leave to cook for another 30 minutes.  Off heat.  Taste to adjust seasoning.
4. Serve hot with rice. [I served it with Vegetarian Yam Rice previous post].