Tteokbokki with vegetables

April 2, 2023

   

We've been eagerly awaiting the opening of Lunar Mart, a Korean and Japanese grocer that's had 'coming soon' signs up at Barkly Square for months. I stopped in for a browse on their opening weekend and bought an assortment of snacks and cooking ingredients. I was most excited to get my hands on Korean rice cakes.

   

I first came across these rice cakes at Easy Tiger, where they were served with mushrooms and soy beans. The rice cakes are like thick, stout rice noodles, with a texture a bit like mochi and the comfort value of gnocchi. I also recalled that more recently our friend Hayley has been cooking tteokbokki at home, so I asked her for her favourite recipe, and she pointed me to From My Bowl. This suited us well: we already had both gochujang and gochgaru at home, and with lots of vegetables included it looked like a full meal in a single pot.

   

I mucked around a bit with the proportions - in particular, I doubled the amount of cabbage involved, but it cooked right down and didn't ever threaten to overwhelm the carrots, mushrooms or rice cakes. Once the preparatory chopping was done, everything simmered together easily and we had warming bowls of a new comfort food in about half an hour.

Tteokbokki with vegetables

(slightly adapted from a recipe on From My Bowl)

3 cups vegetable stock

1/2 head wombok

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 large cloves garlic, minced

2-3 tablespoons gochujang

1 tablespoon gochugaru

2 tablespoons tamari

1 teaspoon sugar

150g shiitake mushrooms, sliced into bite-sized pieces

500g Korean rice cakes

1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, for garnish

sesame seeds, for garnish

Place the stock in a very large saucepan and bring it to a simmer over high heat. Add the cabbage, carrot and garlic, reducing the heat a little and simmering for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the gochujang, gochugaru, tamari and sugar. Add the mushrooms and simmer for 1-2 more minutes. Add the rice cakes and simmer everything for 15-20 minutes, stirring along the way. It's done when the rice cakes are tender and the sauce has thickened.

Turn off the heat and garnish in the pot, or ladled into bowls, with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Tyler's Milk Bar

April 1, 2023

   

We've noticed a few veg*n friends recommending Tyler's Milk Bar in their social media, and it was a convenient spot for breakfast when we had some Preston errands to run. This milk bar is whole-heartedly nostalgic, with pastel and retro decorations and op-shopped plates. The menu includes meat but is very veg-friendly, with mock-meat and mock-dairy substitutions available for just about everything except for the chicken toastie and chicken roll. Gluten-free options are also well-labelled and abundant.  

   

We were both attracted to the green eggs & ham ($14), and ultimately Michael ordered it with a side of mushrooms ($6). These start with dense, homely crumpets, then work up to thick mock-ham/bacon, sunny-side-up eggs and then green sauce. It's a cute, tasty set-up and pleasantly distinct from the usual brunch menus around town.

   

I ate a deceptively filling little bacon and egg English muffin ($12.50). This was another homely baked bread, with mock-bacon that might've been even thicker, a fried egg, some cheddar, and a memorable tomato-capsium relish. It paired perfectly with a tangy orange juice ($4.80).

Tyler's menu is an appealing one for the cooler months ahead, with several toasties and a baked potato also on offer. The counter's typically bursting with sweet treats too. It'll be top of our to-eat list when we next have a morning in Preston.

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Tyler's Milk bar also appears on Mamma Knows North.

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Tyler's Milk Bar

656 Plenty Rd, Preston

0413 657 864

food, kids' food & all drinks

https://www.tylersmilkbar.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a step up on entry. The interior is densely packed with furniture, and there's a courtyard that we didn't see, nor did we visit the toilets. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter.

Savour Cafe & Juice Bar

March 31, 2023

   

Savour Cafe & Juice Bar opened at the southern end of Sydney Rd a couple of months ago. I generally think of cafes and juice bars as the stuff of daylight hours, yet Savour is currently open from 4pm until midnight. When we popped by in March, Savour featured nightly Ramadan banquets, so they were extra focused on night time eats!

While the banquets are clearly elaborate meals, the regular menu looks more snacky: up front is ice cream, kulfi, golgappa, shakes, juices, falooda and lassy. Only after scanning these fun drinks and bites will you reach the salads and meal deals. No dietary features are labelled - vegetarian options seem to be decently covered, but vegan and gluten-free eaters will have to pick their way through very carefully.  

   

The staff helped us cobble together a combination of regular and buffet-related dishes to share. Pani puri (6 for $10) are a rare treat for me, and I enjoyed their crunch and the brightness of the mint water. The veggie samosa had fantastic pastry and we'll likely order them any time we visit for savoury food.

   

We also shared veggie pakora, a large bowl of dal, and butter naan, with the complex, hearty dal being the highlight. Of course we had to try some fun drinks from a menu where they're so prominent! Up top you'll see my mango falooda ($7.99, left) and Michael's mango lassy ($6.50, right). Michael was satisfied and I was over the moon with my medley of noodles, syrup, seeds, jelly, dairy and nuts.

The staff were very friendly and helpful, even while they were clearly busy preparing for a packed-out Ramadan feast in the hours to come. I'm looking forward to returning when they're running at a more regular pace, perhaps for an omelette paratha and definitely for another multi-coloured drink or icecream.

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Savour Cafe & Juice Bar

41 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

0466 407 342

menu: 1, 2

https://hotandcoldcorner.com/

Accessibility: The entry has one step up. Furniture is standard-height tables and chairs with backs. There's a clear way through to a low counter for ordering and paying. We didn't visit the toilets.

Marinated Brussels sprouts

March 26, 2023

   

I have already found a new home for my copy of In Praise of Veg, but I tucked away a few more recipes to try before passing it on. I've been poised especially to use the 'seventies dinner party sprouts' one as soon as I noticed good Brussels sprouts at the shops. They're briefly marinated in a sweet soy mixture and cooked on high heat to achieve crisp, slightly burned edges.

My sprouts didn't have the high colour contrast of Zaslavsky's - perhaps I should have spread them across two trays to give them a bit of room and extra browning. The flavour was also more subtle than I expected but still very satisfying, especially with the peanuts in the mix. The room temperature leftovers were at least as good as the first go-round, and we ate them alongside leftover corn & tomato salad.

Marinated Brussels sprouts

(slightly adapted from a recipe in Alice Zaslavsky's In Praise of Veg)

500g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

roasted peanuts, to garnish (optional)

chopped red chilli, to garnish (optional)

marinade

2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or golden syrup

2 tablespoons tamari

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

Preheat an oven to 220°C. Place a baking tray in the oven to heat up.

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a shallow container. Arrange the sprouts in the marinade and get them thoroughly coated in the liquid.

When the oven and the tray are hot, carefully retrieve the tray and line it with paper. Spread the sprouts out across the tray and hold onto the remaining marinade. Bake the sprouts for around 10 minutes, until they're slightly burned at the edges.

Serve the sprouts dressed in the leftover marinade, garnished with peanuts and chilli (if using).

Corn & tomato salad with torn croutons

March 13, 2023

 

  

We wanted a side salad to go with our big ol' bolognese and Cindy had her eyes on this corn and tomato salad before the summer veggies started to disappear. It takes almost nothing to throw together - the only cooking we had to do was a quick dry fry of the bread to make our croutons - the rest is just chopping and stirring. It's crunchy and sharp and beautifully colourful - a super simple crowd pleaser.

Corn & tomato salad with torn croutons

(a recipe from Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg's Six Seasons)

kernels from 3 ears of corn

500g mixed tomatoes, cut into chunks

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 cups croutons

1/2 cup toasted nuts (the original recipe is pistachios, but we had almonds)

1 handful basil leaves

1 handful mint leaves

salt and pepper

olive oil

Combine the corn, tomatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper in a big bowl.

Add in the croutons, nuts, basil and mint and toss everything gently.

Add a splash of olive oil and check the seasonings. Serve!

Vegan bolognese

March 13, 2023

We had a quiet public holiday Monday lined up and I decided it was time to tackle something a bit time-consuming: a classic bolognese sauce from the Smith & Deli cookbook. The actual processes are super simple, just a lot of stirring and simmering, but it's the kind of recipe that fills up an afternoon. You start chopping after lunch, and by the time you saute everything and then simmer the whole pot for as long as you can handle, it's time to put the pasta on and settle down for dinner. It's worth the time you put in to it - rich and hearty with a lovely depth of flavour and nice gentle hit of acidity from the capers. We ate it on spaghetti all week and I simply could not get enough.

   

Vegan bolognese

(from Smith & Deli-cious by Shannon Martinez and Mo Wyse)

80ml olive oil

1 brown onion, diced

1 small carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

8 button mushrooms, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons capers, mashed up

2 tablespoons caper juice from the jar

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups soaked textured vegetable protein (TVP)

1 cup soy milk

1 cup red wine

400g diced tomatoes

700g passata

1 cup beef stock

2 teaspoons powdered porcini

1 bay leaf

small bunch of basil leaves, torn

handful of parsley leaves, chopped

salt

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and stir through the onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms and a good shake of salt. Fry on low heat for 10 minutes or so, until everything softens and starts to turn golden.

Stir in the garlic, capers, caper juice, chilli flakes, oregano and tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the TVP until everything is well combined.

Stir in the soy milk and cook, until it's almost entirely absorbed. Add the wine and simmer some more - until it reduces down by at least half. Add the diced tomatoes, passata, beef stock, porcini powder and bay leaf, plus salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat for as long as you can be bothered - an hour or so is good. 

Check the sauce again and add salt, sugar or pepper as needed - stir through the basil and parsley and you're done, ready to serve with spaghetti or to use in lasagne or whatever you like.

Nico's II

March 13, 2023

   

Nico's is now ensconced among our favourite lunch treats in our neighbourhood. And at last we've tasted their third vegetarian option, the truffle mushroom melt ($16). While the fresh sandwiches are voluminous, the melts are compact. Yet they hold a lot - here there's roasted portobello mushroom, black truffle paste, chipotle, tallegio, Swiss cheese, American mustard, and koji chimichurri. It's rich and savoury, but not overwhelming. For extra contrast, we split one of these and a salad sandwich between the two of us.

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You can read about the other veg*n sandwiches we've eaten at Nico's here.

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Nico's 

1 Piera St, Brunswick East 

menu 

https://www.nicos.melbourne/ 

Accessibility: Nico's has a wide, flat entry. Furniture is a series of medium-spaced, medium-height tables and backless stools located outdoors. We ordered, paid and picked up our food from a medium-height counter. We didn't seek out toilets.

Brother Bon IV

March 12, 2023

   

On the long weekend in March, Michael and I cycled around the northern suburbs running a few errands, timing it all to include dinner. Wazzup Falafel wasn't where we expected it to be, and The Moor's Head wasn't open either - there was nothing for it but to fall back on long-time fave Brother Bon.

With Wazzup's falafel wraps and FSP still fresh in our minds, we both gravitated to the 'burgers with chips' section of the menu. Michael was taken with the chicken souvlaki ($27), which is wrapped in a spring onion pancake! We both appreciated this flaky, savoury innovation. Chips were excellent and plentiful, which was just what Michael wanted after our previous dinner fails.

   

I dithered over three other mock-chicken options, and eventually took heed of the "chef's recommendation" emoji attached to the katsu chicken sando ($28.50). It is well earned! The chicken fillets aren't dense or chewy, and they have the crispiest crumb around. The chicken is packed up with a mild slaw into thick, soft and slightly sweet white bread. There are more of those excellent chips, served here with a fine vegan gravy.

Brother Bon have hit after hit across their extensive menu - we won't bore of it any time soon.

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You can read about one, two and three of our previous visits to Brother Bon.

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Brother Bon 

377-379 High St, Northcote 

9077 1335 

menu pages 1, 2 

https://www.brotherbon.com.au/ 

Accessibility: The entry is flat and tables are moderately spaced. We ordered at our table and paid at a low-ish counter. Toilets are individual non-gendered cubicles with a shared sink space. A cubicle I have used included menstrual product disposal, and another one was marked for both wheelchair access and a baby change station.