Kung pao seitan with asparagus

February 24, 2014

This dinner had me pulling some home-made seitan from the depths of the freezer and our ol' Charney cookbook from the shelf. It's a formula we know well - cook some rice, chop some veges, stir-fry 'em quickly with a few condiments from the pantry. But there's something about this recipe that I don't think we would have managed on our own: the seitan chunks are chewy and satisfying but not overpowering, the asparagus and capsicum are fresh and crunchy, there's just enough savoury sauce clinging to the veges, and there are whole dried chillies that I'd never let Michael toss in without a chef's express instructions.

The balance was dead on - I reckon this kung pao is at least as good as the ones we've eaten around town.

Kung pao seitan with asparagus
(adapted slightly from a recipe in Ken Charney's Bold Vegetarian Chef)

2 tablespoons tamari
2 teaspoons mirin
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon black bean or chilli bean sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon arrowroot
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 carrot, thinly sliced into half-moons
1 large bunch asparagus, chopped into bite-sized lengths
340g seitan, preferably chicken-style, chopped into ~1cm cubes
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 small dried red chillies, 1-3 of them broken open
1 red capsicum, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
230g can water chestnuts, drained

Chop the vegetables and seitan as directed above and set them aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, mirin, sugar, sesame oil, Worcestershire sauce, bean sauce, pepper, arrowroot and 1/4 cup water. Set the sauce aside.

Heat up the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the carrot and asparagus and stir-fry them for about a minute. Pour in 1/4 cup water and allow them to steam for a further minute. Add the seitan, garlic, and chillies and stir-fry for half a minute. Add the capsicum and peanut and stir-fry for another half-to-one minute, until the capsicum is slightly softened. Pour over the sauce and gently stir it through the vegetables until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the water chestnuts and serve over rice.

N2 Extreme Gelato

Update 15/06/2023: N2 is now closed.

February 21, 2014

With half of our Thai dinner packed away for later, I had room for dessert and persuaded Michael to stop by N2 with me. I was keen to see what kooky combinations were currently on their menu after lamenting the LAB's somewhat staid flavours the other week.

Actually, N2 Fitzroy has toned down the 'weird science' theme compared to its Sydney sibling. Though there are safety goggles for staff and copious clouds of nitrogen vapour, I didn't see any conical flasks, white coats or antiquated instruments - they were going for a cuter vibe of LEGO figurines and plush toys with their fake grass.

The flavour selection seemed toned-down too, mostly variations on chocolate and lemon, but this was probably just the luck of the week - their wall of past flavours harks back to days of kaya toast, vegemite, miso caramel and Earl Grey. The major moment of novelty was the syringe full of chocolate ganache served with the mochachino cups ($8). I made the mistake of saving it up for the second half of the mild coffee custard gelato and focusing first on the crown of cream and cocoa nibs; the ganache set firmly in the tip, and sprayed messily when I stubbornly forced it.

N2's best trick was actually that they serve vegan options! The mango and lemon tea sorbets ($6) were clearly marked as such. Though it seems neither comes with toppings (one point to the LAB), we were really impressed by the mango's luscious texture and really-true-to-the-fruit flavour (two points to N2).

I will probably pop my head back in, hoping to try one of N2's more adventurous flavours, but they might struggle to beat Berrissimo up the street, where veg*ns have more control over what's in the mix.

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You can read about our visit to the original Sydney store here.

There's been a lot of hype around N2 in the six months it's been in Melbourne, see The Modern Connoisseur, I'm So Hungree, grazing panda, confessions of a little piggy, new international students, peach-water, Adventures of a Melbourne Girl, Poppet's Window, Wild Mixed, I Spy Plum Pie, Ichigo Shortcake, Mr & Ms, this (hungry) little piggy, Just Keep Eating with Miss M & Miss K, THE BUTLER BROADSHEET, Eat. Play. Shop., Where food is, Mango Macarons, A Sheepish Flog, Mon's Adventures, Food Diary, The Hungry Excavator, The Urban Ma, Woo Food, Sweet & Sour Fork, Ms I-Hua, Nurikko Visits, Seasoned Plate, Hold The Peas, de-brief me, Klaus & Fritz, MoMo & Coco and Little Wanderings. Reviews are a little less effusive on PETIT MIAMx, Melbourne Din(n)ing Blog, Missy Ness' Food Train of Thought, Yellow Eggs, Dave Plus Food and Vic's Blog, while Gourmet Chick doesn't buy into it at all.

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N2 Extreme Gelato
329 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
current menu
http://n2extremegelato.com.au/

Accessibility: I believe the entry was flat; the interior certainly was (at most there's one step on entry). Furniture inside consists of large wooden crates against walls and smaller, movable milk crates. There's plenty of space to move around unless the queue is out of hand. We ordered, paid and received our icecream at a relatively high counter. Toilets are individual, unisex and located on the same level - we didn't see inside them, but the doors were wide and we'd guess they were moderately spacious.

Mamanee Thai

Update 15/06/2023: Mamanee Thai is now closed.

February 21, 2014

We were at a loose end in Collingwood on a Friday night and, after scoping out the queues at Jimmy Grants and Shop Ramen, decided to finally visit MaMaNee Thai. It had been recommended to us years ago as a decent and cheap Thai option and we were happy to be able to just wander in and grab a table. It's a pretty basic fit-out - cheap looking signage, brown plastic accoutrements and slightly harsh lighting. The kitchen is on display behind the front counter, so you can entertain yourself by watching the chefs in action.

The menu has a dedicated vegetarian section, always reassuring at a Thai place. There's curries, stir-fries and a range of noodle dishes, alongside a few more interesting options. The noodles all have egg in them, but the stir-fries and curries look vegan to me. The rest of the menu goes well beyond the standard Thai options (including a special Southern Thai selection), but I'm not sure how many of them are fish sauce/shrimp paste free. They also have special Thai drinks, including this milky iced coffee ($4) that gave me the kick I needed after a tiring week.

We ordered a couple of mains - starting with the vegetarian Singapore noodles with vegetables, tofu and rice vermicelli noodles ($15.50).

I was a bit disappointed when these appeared - visually they're not particularly appealing. Luckily, they tasted incredible - heavily seasoned with some sort of curry powder and cumin and probably MSG, served with lime slices to provide a bit of tang. They're not particularly spicy, but the restaurant has a tremendous range of sauces so you can tweak the chilli levels yourself.

Our second dish was the incomparably named tofu delicious ('with seasoning sauce topped with sesame seeds and onion', $15.50).

This was excellent as well, big chunks of thickly battered tofu with a sweet and spicy sauce and a nice range of vegetables. 

The food at Mamanee was fantastic, with both dishes providing something a bit different from the standard Thai options. The servings were massive as well - we took home enough leftovers for a whole second dinner, after springing 60c for plastic containers. Mamanee seems like the perfect neighbourhood Thai - good food, reasonable prices, friendly service - if only it was in our neighbourhood!

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We were tipped off about MaMaNee more than four years ago by commenter Ruth. It's also had positive reviews by MEL: HOT OR NOT, Food-in-Melbourne, Fitzroyalty, hookturns, Lots of Cravings and That Jess Ho and a less positive write-up by Pooh in the kitchen.

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MaMaNee Thai

324 Smith Street, Collingwood

9419 0538

menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Accessibility: There's a flat entryway to a reasonably spacious interior. We ordered at the table and paid at a high counter. The toilets are on the same level, gendered and not especially accessible.

The Cruelty Free Shop

Update 15/06/2023: This shop will permanently close on 24/06/2023.

February 20, 2014

Brunswick St has already established itself as a vegan hotspot with the Vegie Bar, Yong Green Food, Madame K's, Lord of the Fries and Berrissimo all clustered just south of Alexandra Parade. What better spot to set up the first bricks-and-mortar outlet of the Cruelty Free Shop?

The Cruelty Free Shop opens officially for business tomorrow, Saturday February 21, but we were lucky to get a sneak peek at their launch. Inside we found neat white shelves stacked with hundreds, if not thousands, of vegan groceries.

Fridges nearly groaned with the weight of vegan cheeses, icecreams, mock meats and frozen snacks like bao and spring rolls. Shelves were lined with convenience meals stocks and soups, including a few unfamiliar brands and products (ready-made coconut bacon! sample packs of Tartex!). Amongst the puddings, cake mixes and sweet flavoured milks I was delighted to discover a ready source of soy condensed milk.

There's stuff for vegan minds and bodies as well as their digestive systems - books, cosmetics and skin care, shoes, wallets and bags. I'm feeling a twinge of regret over the vegan leather wallet I bought a couple of months ago, 'cause these ones are real cute.

The Cruelty Free Shop aims to stock products that are intentionally vegan, and often made by vegan companies. It's not a place to source bulk biodegradable detergent or dried legumes - instead it's all about the luxury goods that confirm vegans aren't missing out on anything.

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The Cruelty Free Shop
385 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
9495 6673
http://www.crueltyfreeshop.com.au/

Accessilibility: I think the entry was flat, if a little narrow. Floors inside are flat and corridors should be clear and moderately wide when not crammed with people at launch time. Some stock is located on rather high shelves.

Vegetable moussaka with pine nut cream

February 17, 2014

I've had this recipe bookmarked since 2008: a time before I had my own copy of Veganomicon, the era of regular updates on Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit. Dairy substitutes were still a novelty to me, and I imagine that I was particularly taken by the pine-nut cream topping on this moussaka (it sure couldn't have been Lindy Loo's "worst picture ever" that lured me in, right?). 

I just never got around to making it until we found ourselves with five eggplants in the fridge this week. And then I decided to make it on a Monday night. Yep, I thought it'd be a good idea to thinly slice and pre-bake two and a half kilos of vegetables, make a sauce and a pine nut cream and layer it all up for a final bake, all after coming home from a full day at work. It. Took. Four. Hours.

Let's leave aside my questionable judgement for a moment, while I assure you that at least it was not a stressful four hours. There was no point at which I was wrangling three saucepans and a tray under the grill, burning one component while trying to blend another. Michael patiently sliced all the vegetables before I arrived home, then tagged me in for the bulk of the cooking: methodically baking those vegetables, tray by tray, cooking the tomato sauce and then blending the pine nut cream as the veges baked. Relying on a timer for my cues, I even caught moments to read other blogs at the kitchen table. Helping myself to a few of the baked potato slices kept my spirits up too.

With the quantities of water held in these vegetables plus the oil and salt bandied about in the recipe, there was a risk that this would end up a sludgy, salty mess. It was precisely the opposite - draining the salted eggplant kept the fluids in check, and a light touch with a can of spray oil rendered it velvety and not at all greasy in the finished moussaka. It did slice a bit sloppily, but that was to be expected - refrigerated pieces (such as the one photographed) flaunted much prettier layers.

We were very happy with the result, but it's not often that we'd set aside another four hours to earn it. I suspect we'll be turning back to our tempeh lasagne and Lancashire hotpot recipes before we go The Full Moussaka again.

Vegetable moussaka with pine nut cream
(adapted slightly from Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit,
where it's already adapted from Veganomicon)

vegetable layers
900g eggplant
450g zucchini
1.3 kg potatoes
lots of spray oil
salt

tomato sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup vegetable stock
2 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 bay leaf
salt

pine nut cream
1/2 cup pine nuts, plus extra to garnish
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon arrowroot
1 clove garlic
generous pinch nutmeg
generous pinch white pepper
salt
450g silken tofu

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat an oven to 200°C. Line baking trays (as many as will fit into your oven) with baking paper and spray them with oil.

Wash the eggplants, trim off the stems and slice them lengthways into large flat pieces, about 4mm thick. Rub the slices with salt and layer them in a colander over the sink to drain. Wash and trim the edges off the zucchini, slice them lengthways into 4mm-thick rectangles and set them aside. Scrub and peel the potatoes, then slice them into large rounds about 4mm thick.

Spread the potato slices across the baking trays, sprinkle over a little salt and spray them lightly with oil. Bake the potatoes for around 20 minutes, turning them over half-way through, until they're cooked through and just browning a little at the edges. Set the potatoes aside. 

Retrieve the eggplant slices from the colander, tapping off any excess water, and spread them over the baking sheets, spraying them with oil. Bake them for around 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Finally spread out the zucchini, spray them with oil, and bake them on both sides for a total of 15 minutes. Keep the oven on.

While all of this baking is going on, you can make the sauce and the pine nut cream. Place the oil in a large saucepan and set it over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook it for just 30 second, then add in the onion. Cook the onion, stirring regularly, until soft - I gave it 5-10 minutes. Add the stock and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, oregano, cinnamon, bay leaf and a little salt. Allow the sauce to simmer for at least 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Use a blender to make the pine nut cream. Start with the pine nuts and lemon juice, blending them to make a paste. Next add the arrowroot, nutmeg, white pepper and salt and blend thoroughly. If you have room, blend in the tofu - otherwise whisk the tofu to a smooth creamy consistency in a bowl, using a fork, and then whisk the pine nut mixture into it.

Now you might be ready to assemble the whole shebang! Remove the bay leaf from the tomato sauce and discard it. Spoon a third of the sauce across the base of a large, high-walled baking dish. Layer half of the eggplant across the sauce, then half of the potato. Spoon over half of the remaining sauce and sprinkle over half of the breadcrumbs. Use all of the zucchini in a single layer, then finish up the eggplant, then the potatoes. Spread over the remaining sauce and sprinkle it with the rest of the breadcrumbs. Spoon the pine nut cream evenly across the dish and sprinkle over any extra pine nuts.

Bake the moussaka for 35-40 minutes, until the pine nut cream is set, golden and staring to crack. Allow it to cool on the bench for at least 10 further minutes before slicing and serving.