The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of the East- Pan-Seared Shitake Udon Bowl

It wasn't all that long ago that I was a happy carnivore who hated most vegetables. When I woke up September 1st and decided to go vegan I was worried- what would I eat?  Would I ever enjoy food again?  The top of my - I don't like list was comprised of onions and mushrooms.  Seriously, why do people eat mushrooms- they're a nasty fungus!  Growing up near mushroom farms the smell was revolting and I couldn't imagine why people would keep eating those "nasty things".  My how the times have changed.  I would have flat out called you a liar if you told me on September 1st that a few months later I would actually enjoy both items on top of my dislike list (admittedly I still only eat cooked onions).

Change is hard

Now as I stated above - I now actually like mushrooms, enjoy them even.  But, when, for 30+ years you've picked something out of your food- it's hard to change that habit.  I still have a hard time seeing a recipe : Mushrooms _____ and not automatically passing it by.   Habit.  This recipe was yet another recipe raved about by my massage therapist, and honestly I'm not sure how quickly I would have gotten to this recipe without her urging.  

Waiting would have been a mistake.  

If only it was always this easy

I took my massage therapist's advice and marinated the mushrooms starting in the AM of the day I was going to make the soup.  I used vegetable broth instead of water- I didn't have everything on hand to make dashi, but otherwise I stuck with the directions and ingredients listed.  The recipe was super easy to make- I actually checked it over about 3 times trying to figure out if I was missing something because it seemed so uncomplicated.  It's just not complicated.  The recipe took me 47 minutes to make, though I will tell you most of that time was prep work- and normal life interruptions during that prep work.  I have no doubt that the dish could have easily been made in under 30 minutes.  

How soon is too soon?

Normally, when I think of soups I think - let the flavors develop, let is simmer and simmer long.  It is completely unnecessary.  The flavor of this Udon bowl was amazing and my only disappointment was that we all wolfed it down so fast and that there were no leftovers. Realistically, I do not believe this would be a good soup to have leftovers of, as Udon noodles to tend to fall apart the more they sit in liquid.    As far as the 5 of us were concerned (hubby's best friend was back) it was completely delicious as is and no changes were necessary. Super aromatic, light yet filling, the vegetables weren't drowned out in the flavor of the broth, but accented by it.    For me the crave factor will be high on this one- I've already been wanting another bowl the past two days.  I do want to try adding some water chestnuts and maybe some red bell pepper, not because it's necessary to add a thing but more because I have a feeling it would throw it over the top for me. I cannot wait to have more.

I need to double check my recipe calculation as I think the Udon noodles I used were higher in protein but since I threw out the wrapper I'm not sure.   As usual for dishes with Tamari- Yikes on the sodium!

Nutrition Facts Pan-Seared Shitake Udon Bowl
5 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		233.0
Total Fat		8.5 g
	Saturated Fat	1.2 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	3.6 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	3.3 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		2,084.6 mg
Potassium		359.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate		34.4 g
	Dietary Fiber	3.0 g
	Sugars	8.0 g
Protein		4.5 g

Vitamin A	126.9 %
Vitamin B-12	0.0 %
Vitamin B-6	8.4 %
Vitamin C	16.3 %
Vitamin D	0.0 %
Vitamin E	4.4 %
Calcium	2.7 %
Copper	16.2 %
Folate	9.4 %
Iron	6.3 %
Magnesium	5.2 %
Manganese	13.1 %
Niacin	5.8 %
Pantothenic Acid	12.7 %
Phosphorus	3.9 %
Riboflavin	6.6 %
Selenium	10.9 %
Thiamin	4.8 %
Zinc	3.9 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

30 Minute Vegan (Taste of the East) Madras Curry

I was excited to try the Madras Curry recipe from 30 Minute Vegan because it was another recipe that my massage therapist raved about.

Just to be clear....

I am not a professional chef.  I am a stay at home mother who is comfortable following recipes, making certain things from scratch and editing/creating dishes but I am in no way a trained chef of any sort.  I sometimes need to look up information about new ingredients and how to prepare them- and I know when I try something new for the first time I'm not going to cook full speed.   I'm also making some dishes that I've not had before so my judgement of them is based upon simply if I'd want to eat it again- I'm not comparing any one dish to a restaurant version typically and I'll state it if I am.  But mostly it's just- was this good, would I make it again, will I crave it, how much did I have to fight my kids to get them to eat... 

What were we talking about again?

Ah yeah, Madras Curry.  Madras Curry is a dish I've not had anywhere before so I didn't quite know what to expect other then 1) I love curry and 2) the veggies in this dish were all ones I really enjoy 3) it's the favorite dish of my massage therapist.  Making this dish was an experience in itself.  I actually made a good portion of the dish twice- so I had to do all of the prep work twice therefore I stopped timing how long it took me to make it altogether.  

The error of my ways

I made a newbie error- reached for a wooden spoon and none were there so I grabbed a plastic cooking spoon- mixed my stuff together quick and went searching for the wooden spoons again, which my daughter had put in the wrong drawer.  I swear it was maybe 2 minutes but I had left the spoon in the pan (not sure where my head was at) and when I came back it was simmering away in liquid form along with my garlic and ginger etc.  Woops.  Redo.  Who knew those spoons melted so fast, I guess there is a reason I only use them to serve typically.  So chop chop I had to re-prep.

Take 2

This dish right away starts with tossing a bunch of seeds into a pan to toast for two minutes or until the mustard seeds start popping.  I'm going to tell you if you wait until the mustard seeds start popping you've waited too long, you're about to find out what happens when a dish fights back.  There is nothing quite like red hot mustard seeds flying at you with super speed and landing on bare skin and these seeds go very quickly from resting nicely in the pan to flying toward your face with no warning.  My husband thought it was hysterical when I started to shriek and duck and cover, I didn't find it too funny. I lowered the temperature, and threw in the next stage's ingredients and prayed it would stop.  The rest of the cooking experience was thankfully uneventful.

So how about that curry

It was okay.  Just about the only thing I can say about it is that the cooking of the dish was more memorable then the dish itself.  It was more greasy then I expected it to be, and I'm not big on grease. The veggies were good, but I didn't feel like the curry sauce added anything to them other then spice.  My husband liked it and thanked me for dinner but there were no big mmmmmmmm's  and the crave factor at least for me is non existent. With all of the recipes I know I love, and all of the recipes left to try it is unlikely that this dish will be made again.  I plan to ask my massage therapist about it and find out if she did something different- there are a few areas with options.  Did she use sesame oil instead of coconut oil?  Did she alter the cayenne and go with chili powder?  Did she use fresh lime juice or rice vinegar?  Or perhaps, our tastes are just different.  One person's favorite is another person's "meh." 

Nutrition Facts Madras Curry   6 Servings Amount Per Serving   Calories 118.2   Total Fat 6.8 g       Saturated Fat 4.3 g       Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g       Monounsaturated Fat 0.9 g   Cholesterol 0.0 mg   Sodium 442.3 mg   Potassium 409.9 mg   Total Carbohydrate 13.1 g       Dietary Fiber 3.4 g       Sugars 4.0 g   Protein 2.6 g   Vitamin A 117.2 %   Vitamin B-12 0.0 %   Vitamin B-6 9.7 %   Vitamin C 93.8 %   Vitamin D 8.3 %   Vitamin E 18.9 %   Calcium 22.1 %   Copper 4.6 %   Folate 5.9 %   Iron 9.1 %   Magnesium 8.2 %   Manganese 12.9 %   Niacin 4.3 %   Pantothenic Acid     1.8 %   Phosphorus     6.6 %   Riboflavin 4.6 %   Selenium 4.4 %   Thiamin 5.2 %   Zinc 2.7 % *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.