Vegan/Vegetarian Roasted Chicken Rice (Using Air Fryer)

 

Traditional Hainanese and roasted chicken rice uses the stock from cooking chicken to make the flavourful and fragrant rice, and also in accompanying soup. And since this is the vegetarian version, it is much easier and of course cruelty free. It is authentically served with a hot chilli sauce dip that is made up of freshly minced red chilli and garlic, and topped with dark soy sauce and a heap of freshly pounded ginger.

 

For vegan roasted 'chicken' rice, the most common substitute is fried beancurd skin. I am not a fan of mock meat but I can accept this vegetarian 'chicken' because it is basically made from beancurd skin and spices. To make it more healthy, I do not deep fry them, instead I use Airfryer (I used this brand). No additional oil needed, and yet taste equally great like deep-fried, Airfryer is indeed one of the best ever innovation in the kitchen, perfect!

 

I love rice and I am crazy over the fragrant rice for 'chicken' rice. I also cook this flavourful rice and treat it like plain rice and accompanied by dishes of stir fry veggies and steamed tofu. Next I plan to use this rice for my next project: Hakka Thunder Tea Rice, pronounced as Lei cha, 擂茶. Stay tuned!

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan.
Serve 2

Ingredients

For fragrant rice:

 2 cups* or 270g long-grain rice, washed & drained (I used brown rice)
 2 cups* or 380ml water

Herb
 2 pcs ginger, roughly sliced
 4 cloves garlic^, keep skin & smashed (optional)
 1 stalk lemon grass, peel off outer layers, cut into 4 cm
 4 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
 1 pcs bay leaf (optional)

Seasoning

 3 tsp sesame oil
 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
 1/2 tsp soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
 1/2 tsp brown sugar or molasses (or any sweeteners)

For vegan 'chicken'
 3-4 pcs vegan 'chicken' drumstick (made from beancurd)

Garnish/Side
 Beansprouts, stir fried
 Chinese cabbage (bok choy), stir fried
 Cucumber, sliced
 Tomato, sliced
 Lettuce 
 Vegan 'chicken' rice chilli dip topped with dark soy sauce and pounded ginger
 Cilantro sprigs


Method
☼ Cooking Fragrant Rice

1. Mix all ingredients and seasonings together, and give it a good stir.

 

2. Transfer mixture into rice cooker pot, turn on the rice cooker. When the rice is cooked, then use the rice scoop to stir the rice and loosen it up, leave it in the cooker for another few minutes. If you do not have a rice cooker, place mixture in a steamer bowl and steam for 25-30 minutes until it reached your desired consistency.

 

 

☼ Cooking 'chicken'

Deep Frying:

Heat oil to about few inch in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat to about 375°F.  Add 'chicken', turning occasionally until they are golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

 

Using Airfryer:
Preheat the Airfryer to 160℃ for 3 minutes. Evenly place the 'chicken' in the fryer basket and slide the basket into the Airfryer. Set the timer to 18-20 minutes, turning few times until golden brown.

Using Oven:
Preheat the oven to 180℃.  Evenly spread the 'chicken' on a baking tray with parchment paper. Using a oven thermometer, ensure it is at the right temperature 180℃.  Pop the tray into the oven for about 25 minutes, turning few times until golden brown.

 

☼ Setting

Remove the stick inside the 'chicken' drumstick, cut into slices. Remove the herbs from rice then scoop rice onto individual serving dish, garnish and serve immediately.

 

Notes

^ Buddhist vegetarians who do not take garlic can omit this.

* The ratio for perfectly-cooked rice in most rice cookers (works for my Toshiba) is 1:1 rice and water, but it might vary with different rice cookers and the type of rice you are using.

* The measuring cup I used in this recipe comes along with the rice cooker and it looks like this below. 1 full cup of this rice measuring cup yield 135g of uncooked rice and 190ml water.  

Measuring Cup from Rice Cooker

 

Cooking Fragrant Rice

Vegan/Vegetarian Pumpkin Rice (One-Pot)

 

 

When the pumpkin season hits, recipes of pumpkin main-course and dessert are flooded online. I also got hold of a big pumpkin from the market and used it for a few rounds of this Pumpkin Rice and puree the balance and freeze it for dessert recipes.

 

After cooking my One-Pot Yam Rice many times, I really enjoy cooking one-pot-rice especially on weekday evenings because there are lesser plates and cutleries to wash after a great nutritious fulfilling meal. This recipe is surely a keeper and useful for a quick meal.

 

I have tried this dish umpteen times to perfect it to reach the al-dente texture for the rice. Due to the fact that pumpkin releases a lot of moisture when cooked, the amount of water for cooking the rice has to be adjusted accordingly to get the right consistency for the rice i.e. not too wet and not soggy. Please refer below for the note on rice and water before trying this recipe. 

For aesthetic reason, I omitted few of my favourite condiments like dark soy sauce and vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce because it makes the rice colour very dark and not golden yellow colour like pumpkin.

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan.

Serve 2-3

Ingredients

 Non-GMO canola oil, for frying

 4 cloves garlic, chopped ^
 1/2 medium onion, chopped ^
 2 fresh shiitake/button mushrooms, chopped

 120g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded & 1cm cubed
 1 cup* or 135g brown long-grain rice, washed & drained
 175ml water* or vegetable broth, for cooking rice

 

Optional Veggies (small amount each)

 Carrot, chopped

 Firm tofu, cubed

 Cloud ear fungus, chopped

 Bamboo shoot, chopped

 Yellow bell pepper, chopped

 Vegan ham, chopped 

 

Seasoning

 2 tsp soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos

 1/2 tsp sesame oil

 Pinch of sea salt
 Pinch of white pepper 
  

Garnish

 Spring onions, chopped

 Coriander, chopped
 Fried shallots
 Vegetarian sambal shrimp bites

 Vegetarian sambal chilli

Method

1. Heat up oil in a wok or large skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic until aromatic.

2. Add mushroom and optional veggies, and  add some soy sauce and sauté until light brown and almost cooked for about 2 minutes.

 

3. Pour in pumpkin and uncooked rice, mix gently and be careful not to mash the pumpkin. Add seasonings, sauté lightly for about 1 minute. 

4. Add water and stir mixture until well combined for 30 seconds. 

5. Transfer mixture into rice cooker pot, turn on the rice cooker. When the rice is cooked, use the rice scoop to stir the rice and loosen it up. If you do not have a rice cooker, place mixture in a steamer bowl and steam for 25-30 minutes until it reached your desired consistency.
 

6. If you find the rice too wet for your liking after stirring, press the mode for 'cook rice' again. The new cycle will continue to cook and dry up the mixture to the right consistency and automatically turn to 'keep warm' mode when ready. It works this way for most rice cookers, this is mine for reference. Loosen the rice and keep warm in the cooker for a few minutes.

7. Garnish and serve immediately.

 



Step 4: After Sautéing in the Pan  

Step 5: Ready to Start in Rice Cooker 



Notes

^ Buddhist vegetarians who do not take garlic and onion can omit these and replace with some ginger.

 

* The ratio for perfectly-cooked rice in most rice cookers (works for my Toshiba) is 1:1 rice and water, but it might vary with different rice cookers and the type of rice you are using.

 

* The measuring cup I used in this recipe comes along with the rice cooker and it looks like this below. 1 full cup of this rice measuring cup yield 135g of uncooked rice and 190ml water. I scooped off 4 teaspoon of water (20ml) to make it 170ml of water. If you do not have a measuring cup from the rice cooker, you might want to follow this recipe exactly to use 135g of uncooked rice with 170ml water (serve 2-3 pax). Do take note that result might vary with different rice cookers.

 

Measuring Cup from Rice Cooker

 

Vegan Leek & Potato Soup

 

 

 

 

Leek soup is an important dish in the cuisines of United Kingdom and Romania. It is a soup based on potatoes, leeks, broth (usually chicken) and heavy cream. I veganise this delicious soup and my family loves it! A little oatmeal is used to thicken this dish and also provide the extra protein and fibre to this tasty and nourishing soup, you will not taste the oat so no worries for the oat-heaters. Viola, another recipe to get oats into the stomachs of my family!

Leeks have a gentle sweetness that works anywhere you use onions and garlics. Leeks are also a good source of vitamin C and dietary fibre, the green parts contain beta-carotene too. Though leeks have received less attention than their fellow allium vegetables (e.g. garlic, onions, shallots, and scallions), research has linked it to not only lower risk of cancer but also numerous chronic diseases.

My other soup recipes:
☼ Vegan French Onion Potato Soup
☼ Vegan Curried Cauliflower Soup 
 

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan
Serves 2-3

Cooking Time: About 35 minutes

Ingredients
 1 Tbsp vegan butter or oil

 1/2 Tbsp non-gmo canola/coconut oil

 1 white onion, sliced

 3 garlic cloves, sliced

 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 small bunch English parsley

 1/2 bay leaf

 250g leeks, thickly sliced

 380g or 3 potatoes, peeled & roughly chopped

 750ml or 3 cups vegetable stock (I made my own)

 2-3 Tbsp rolled oats (optional, for thickening)
 1 tbsp nutritional yeasts (optional)

 

Seasoning

 Sea salt, to taste

 Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 

Garnish

 Nutritional yeasts

 Leeks, thinly sliced
 Parsley or coriander sprigs

 

Method

1. Heat up butter and oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot for 5-10 minutes in medium heat, stirring occasionally until golden brown.

 

2. Stir in garlic and thyme/parsley and bay leaf, sauté for 1 minute. Then add leeks and potatoes, stir to mix for another 3 minutes until aromatic.

 

3. Pour in stock, rolled oats and nutritional yeasts (if using), bring to a boil. Partially covered, simmer for about 20 minutes to allow flavours to combine.

 

4. Remove bay leaf. If you like some chunk in your soup, leave some potato, onion and leek in the pot, transfer the rest of the mixture to a food processor or simply use a handheld/immersion blender. Process until smooth, pausing the machine to scrape down the sides and under the blade, if necessary.

 

5. Return mixture to pot, bring to simmer. Add more broth if necessary for desired consistency. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Garnish and serve immediately.

 

Step 2: Add leek & potato. 



Step 2: Stir fry

 

Step 3: Add vegetable stock





 

Vegan Baked Tofu Cheese Finger (Oven & Air Fryer)

 

Looking for nutritious movie treat or appetizer or side? This is a perfect one that is full of protein, Baked tofu Cheese sticks. With only so little oil used, this is super low in fat. This can be eaten by itself by dipping in sauce, or as filing for sandwiches or alongside with salad. The list is endless! I have tried Airfrying potato wedges, so I thought why not try tofu, and here it is!

 

Nutritional yeast which is high in Vitamin B12 is used to replace the diary cheese to give that cheesy taste, this is a ingredient not to be omitted. Once you have tried nutritional yeast, you will fall in love with it! Click here on where to buy.

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan.
Allergen Information: Free from dairy, egg, corn, palm oil and nut.

Serve 2-4

 

Ingredients

 400g firm tofu

(A)
 1/2 cup Japanese panko bread crumbs

 2 tsp garlic powder
 2 tsp onion powder

 1 Tbsp dried basil

 1 Tbsp dried oregano

 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

 1/2 tsp salt

 2 tsp dried parsley flakes (optional)

 1 tsp cayenne/chilli powder (optional)
 2 tsp canola oil, for frying
 

 60ml non-dairy milk (I use soy milk)

 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Method

1. Drain firm tofu well and cut into 1.5cm thickness strips.

2. Heat up oil in a sauté pan in low heat. Add all ingredients in (A) until well combined and for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, keep in the pan and set aside.  

 

3. Place the milk and nutritional yeast into two separate wide shallow bowls.

4. Dip tofu strips into milk bowl then coat lightly in nutritional yeast bowl, and roll into mixture (A).

 

5. Bake it:

☼ Using Oven:

Preheat the oven to 180℃.  Evenly spread tofu strips on a baking tray with parchment paper. Using a oven thermometer, ensure it is at the right temperature 180℃.  Pop the strips into the oven for about 25 minutes, turning once until golden brown.

 

☼ Using Airfryer:
Preheat the Airfryer to 170℃ for 3 minutes. Evenly spread tofu strips in the fryer basket and slide the basket into the Airfryer. Set the timer to 20 minutes, turning once until golden brown.

 

6. Dip in tomato sauce, Asian chilli sauce or vegan cheese dip alongside your favourite salad greens. Or use this as filling for your sandwiches or soft buns. Enjoy!

 

 

☼ Note

After baking, the tofu fingers can be refrigerated or frozen. Simply reheat in an oven or Airfyer for about 5 minutes at 170℃.  Place parchment papers between layers to prevent sticking.

Step 3: Rolling Good Time

Step 4: Before baking in Airfryer

 

Vegetarian Asian Noodle Soup

 

 

 

This is my all-time favourite Asian noodles soup that can be ready on dining table within ten minutes, literally! I often cook this for a quick lunch and weekday dinner. Thus, I hardly have instant noodles in my pantry, partly because it is pre-fried and unhealthy, and also why would I still need instant noodles when this flavourful soup noodles can be whipped up equally fast and healthier? You can substitute with rice vermicelli or any other noodles you prefer. To make this delicious soup, you only need some simple ingredients that are commonly available in Asian pantry. Who still require meat for a good broth? *smile*

 

Related Posts:

Crispy Noodles (生面)

Fried Bee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli)

Dry Chinese Noodles (干捞面) 

Hong Kong Stir-fry Noodles 

Dry Wonton Noodles (Tofu Mushroom Filling)  

Singapore Laksa

Mee Goreng

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan
Serve 2

Ingredients

 700ml water
 180g Hokkien yellow noodles or 100g soaked rice vermicelli

 

Choose a few types you like:
Veggies (A) 
 Black fungus, chopped
 Potato, chopped
 Small floret cauliflower
 Carrot, chopped
 Chinese cabbages chopped
 Long green beans, chopped
 Any mocked fish/mutton, chopped
Veggies (B) 
 Fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped
 Needle mushrooms
 Firm tofu, chopped
 Beansprouts

 

Seasoning
 2 tsp light soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos, or to taste
 1 Tbsp vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce
 2 tsp sesame oil 
 Pinch of white pepper 
  
Garnish
 Spring onions, chopped
 Coriander, chopped
 Fried shallots
 Cut red chillies
 Vegetarian sambal shrimp bites 

 

Method
1. Bring water to a boil in a pot or wok. Take this time to get ready your choice of veggies.

2. Add veggies (A) and continue to boil for about 3 minutes. Stir in seasoning and mix well.

3. Add veggies (B) and noodles/vermicelli and cook them for another 3 minutes or until al dente.

 

4. Garnish and serve hot!

 

Vegetarian Crispy Noodles (Sheng Mian)

 

 

Crispy noodles also known as 生面 is a Hong Kong style dish that is very popular in Singapore and Malaysia, you can literally find it anywhere from Zi-Char stalls to restaurants. The noodles are usually deep fried, so it is not every exactly very healthy, but it doesn't harm to eat once in a while because it tastes so good with the crunchy noodles at the edges and soft in the centre and along with savoury gravy and veggies ladled on top.

 

For simplicity, I used the ready-made crispy noodles which is readily available at our local supermarkets. If you can't find it at your local Asian grocery stores, you can also fry your own noodles with the step by step guide below!

 

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan
Serves 2

Ingredients
 500ml water
 4 Tbsp tropical/corn starch
 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (optional)

 4 slices ginger
 1/2 cup carrot, sliced
 1/4 cup fresh wood-ear mushroom, chopped
 4 stalks fresh shiitake, chopped
 1/4 cup firm tofu, cubed

 Handful of Chinese greens
 1/2 cup bean sprouts

 1/4 cup mocked chicken, optional
 Canola oil

 

☼ Frying your own crispy noodles

 160g Hakka noodles or any eggless Chinese noodles or angel hair spaghetti
 

☼ Cooking with ready-made patty

 2 ready-made crispy noodles patties

 

Seasoning
 1 Tbsp vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce
 2 tsp light soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
 2 tsp sesame oil
 Pinch of salt
 Pinch of white pepper

Garnish (optional) 
 Spring onions
 Parsley/Coriander
 Fried shallots
 Cut red chilli
 Green pickled chilli
 Vegetarian sambal chilli

 

Method
☼ Frying your own patty
1. Bring a pot of water with one teaspoon salt to a boil, blanch the noodles until al dente. Drain in a colander until really dry for at least 2 hours, set aside.

 

2. Heat oil to about 1 inch height in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat to 190°C or when the oil begins to smoke. Make sure the oil is at the correct temperature or else the noodles will be chewy rather than crispy. Fry small quantities of noodles at a time. Let it cook until light brown and crisp on underside, turn noodles over and cook until light brown. Repeat with the remaining noodles.

 

3. Drain on kitchen paper towels and arrange crispy noodles on a serving plate. Continue with step 4.

 

☼ Cooking with ready-made patty
4. In a bowl, combine water and tropical/corn starch well. Set aside.

5. Heat up oil in a large skillet or wok. Sauté the garlic and ginger until aromatic.

6. Add carrot, mushrooms and tofu and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the starch mixture. Bring to a boil and add greens, bean sprouts and mocked chicken, simmer until vegetables are cooked. Add all seasoning.

 

7. Divide the crispy noodles between deep serving plates. Ladle the hot gravy over the crispy noodles. Garnish and serve hot! 

Ready-made 'Ee Mee' patty



Vegetarian Fresh Spring Roll Popiah (薄餅) - With Vegan 'Egg'

 

 

 

Popiah aka 薄餅 is non-fried fresh spring roll that is common in Asia countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The Popiah skin is soft, thin paper-like crepe made from wheat flour, and wrapped with a wet savoury dough, and accompanied with condiments like sweet bean sauce, soy sauce or hoisin sauce and hot chilli sauce before fillings are being laid.

 

The filling comprises of mainly finely grated steamed or stir-fried turnip, jicama or bangkuang with a combination of other ingredients such as bean sprouts, lettuce leaves, carrots, chopped fried tofu, Chinese sausage peanuts powder, fried shallots and scrambled eggs. The list is simply endless! Here, this is the vegan/vegetarian variation. To mimic the scrambled eggs, I used fried tofu, it tastes so real especially with the natural yellow colour from turmeric and the black salt which gives a sulphuric taste and smell of eggs. We vegetarians can have an awesome Popiah party too! Click here for vegan scrambled egg.

All these shredding of veggies sound tedious, isn't it? I can totally understand and it puts me off on making this dish. Thus, I got myself a food processor (I'm using this) to ease my jobs in the kitchen. Where to buy fresh Popiah skins? Refer below.

 

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan.

Make about 12 rolls

 

Ingredients

 12-16 pcs fresh popiah skins
 

Filling

 4 cloves garlic, chopped  

 800g turnip/jicama/bangkuang or daikon radish, shredded

 120g carrot (about 1 medium carrot), shredded

 100g green cabbage, shredded  
 3 stalks fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced 
 150ml water

 1 Tbsp soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos

 1 Tbsp vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce
 1 tsp sugar
 1 tsp sesame oil
 White pepper, to taste

 Canola oil, for stir-frying

Paste
 4 Tbsp sweet soy sauce

 2 garlic, finely minced

 Vegetarian sambal chilli (optional)

Garnish

 16 small lettuce leaves

 80g beansprouts, blanched

 100g cucumber, shredded  

 

Optional Garnish

 100g grounded peanut
 Fresh coriander sprig

 Fried shallot
 Vegan tofu scrambled ‘egg’ (click for recipe)

 

Method

To prepare filling

1. Heat up oil in a large skillet or wok. Sauté the garlic until aromatic.

2. Add turnip, carrot, cabbage and mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes. Then season with soy sauce, mushroom sauce and sugar. Add water.

 

3. Stir occasionally and simmer for 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender and sauce is slightly dry. Season with sesame oil and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

To wrap popiah

1. With the back of a teaspoon, brush Pophiah skin with soy sauce, minced garlic and chilli paste. Place a lettuce leaf over it.

 

2. Place a little filling mixture lengthways over the lettuce, then beansprouts and cucumber. Sprinkle the optional garnish.

 

3. Roll the bottom up, then fold the left and right sides in, creating an envelope. Now keep rolling up, into a firm tight roll. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. With a sharp knife, slice each roll into 3-4 pieces and serve.

Before wrapping



Popiah filling

How to make vegan tofu scrambled 'egg'?

 

☆ Where to buy fresh Popiah skins?

☼ Singapore

To the best of my knowledge, there are no fresh Popiah skins available at the supermarkets in Singapore. All of which are meant for frying, not for wrapping fresh Popiah. Do not attempt to use those for wrapping this filling, it will tear when wrapped and it will not taste good because it is doughy and meant to be fried.

 

I got my Popiah skins from a Popiah stall near my place, about 10 cents per piece, so cheap! Many stalls do not sell the skins especially small quantity, thus it takes some time and techniques to make them sell you the skins. For me, I patronise them often, smile to them every time I walk past, and when the rapport is built, I ask them if you can buy the skin from them, viola, LOL! 

 

 

☼ In Malaysia

RM4.99 for 20 pcs popiah skin
(Equivalent to SGD2.00)

Available at Tesco.











☼ Do it yourself
If it is not possible to get at your local stores, why not do it yourself? Check out this video.

Make about 25 pcs (8 inch)
Ingredients
 400 g all-purpose flour, sifted
 1/2 tsp sea salt
 400 ml Water

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer bowl. Stir the batter with a wooden spatula, wrap with a cling film and let it rest for at least 3 hours. Beat the batter for about 15 minutes, or until the batter is smooth and elastic. Place the griddle or a flat cast-iron pan on a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, lower the heat slightly. Using one hand, coat the batter and rub onto the pan. Then use the other hand to peel off the wrapper when it is cooked.