The Dinner Winner

Meatless food for all!

Asian

2 Dinner

Vegetarian Bibimbap

Serves 4
30 – 45 minutes, including prep time

This is Silvia’s first recipe on the blog!

I recently fell in love with Asian food, so I started to make it more often. I am putting bibimbap in this food blog, because I think it is delicious. It’s easy to make, and also a perfect meal for a cold day. If you are not familiar with bibimbap, it is a Korean dish, usually make with Rice, kimchi, beef, greens, and topped with an egg. This version is made with tofu instead of beef. You do not have to just put those particular ingredients in this dish, you can mix and match with any vegetables that you want!

– Silvia

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp + 1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp spicy gochujang (optional)
2 lb tofu
1 tsp cornstarch 
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
3 cups water
2 carrots
1/8 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt
6oz baby spinach
Kimchi (Optional)
Toasted sesame seeds, for serving 
4 eggs

Method

  1. Prepare tofu. Cut each block of tofu into four long slabs, as pictured above. Use paper towels or a kitchen towel to gently press as much water out as you can. Stack the tofu slabs on top of one another, and gut into 3/4″ cubes.
  2. Whisk soy sauce, garlic powder, ground ginger, brown sugar, and 1 Tbsp sesame oil in a medium bowl. 
  3. Transfer 3 Tbsp of the mixture into a small bowl. Whisk in gochujang (if using), Then set aside. Use remaining mixture as a marinade. 
  4. Add tofu and cornstarch to marinade in a medium bowl. Stir well, then set aside.
  5. Add rice and water to a medium, pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a low, cover, and cook 20 minutes. When done cooking, fluff with a fork. Meanwhile, continue to prepare toppings. 
  6. Grate carrots on large holes of a box grater. Add to a small bowl with 1 tsp sesame oil and 1/8 tsp salt. Set aside.
  7. Heat skillet on medium-high. Add spinach, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 1/8 tsp salt. Cover, cook 2 min, then stir until wilted. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.
  8. Add tofu and marinade to the same skilled you used for the spinach on medium-high. Cook until beginning to brown, 7-10 minutes. Resist the urge to stir too often, or nothing will brown.
  9. Assemble the four bowls. Add rice, then top with tofu, carrots, spinach, and kimchi (if using). Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  10. Heat a clean skillet over medium-low. Coat with oil. Crack one egg into a small bowl, then add to skillet. If you prefer your eggs more firmly set, cover the skillet. Repeat with the remaining eggs. 
  11. Cover and cook the eggs until whites are firm and yolks jiggle slightly 2-3 minuets.
  12. Use a spatula to move one egg on top of each bowl. Drizzle with sauce. 

3 Dinner

Six Minute Broccoli

Six Minute Broccoli
Six minute broccoli, ready to eat.

It has been far too long since I have posted to this blog. I started the dinner winner when I ostensibly had some time on my hands, while on paternity leave for a few weeks. My newborn son Charlie was sleeping most of the day, and my girls were in school. It seemed like a great idea. Fast forward 20 months and Charlie is now running around like a madman, and I’m not only back at work, but decided to pursue another master’s degree, this one in strategic design from Parsons. So, needless to say, this blog has been quite neglected. 

This does not mean that I have not been cooking all the time. I have found a new stable of recipes that I can whip up quickly, with children running around my legs, hanging on to my ankles, and asking for cutting board scraps while I cook. These are all recipes that my kids like, and that I like. The first is Six Minute Broccoli, adapted from Madame S.T. Ting Wong’s Long Life Chinese Cookbook, which has been out of print for some time. If you ever see one in a second hand book store, grab it. It is fantastic. You can also usually find it on Amazon. This recipe makes a fantastic simple meal when paired with the simplest grilled (or broiled) tofu, and some rice.  

Six Minute Broccoli

Six Minute Broccoli Recipe

1 1/2 lbs broccoli 
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

  1. Prepare the broccoli. If the broccoli has a long stem, remove it and set it aside. Now cut the broccoli heads into bite size florets. 
  2. For the stem, if you intend to use it, (and why wouldn’t you), cut off and discard the thickest part. Next, peel the stem with a vegetable peeler. Cut the stem into bite size pieces, a bit smaller than the florets, so they cook at the same rate.
  3. Heat the oil in a wok, or large skillet over high heat. 
  4. Dump in the broccoli and stir-fry it for 1 minute.
  5. Add sugar, salt, and water. Cover the pan and cook for 3 minutes.
  6. Remove the cover, stir fry the broccoli for 1-2 minutes more, until it looks done to you. Don’t over think this. 
  7. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. 
Six Minute Broccoli
Six Minute Broccoli

6 Dinner

Grilled Bok Choy Recipe

Grilled Bok Choy

Today was the first real hot day of the summer. Sticky, sweaty, and energy sapping. It scraped the upper 90s for a while which usually saps any motivation I have for firing up the stove. The grill is another matter altogether though. Somehow, I don’t mind the searing heat of the grill as long as I can leave it outside, and maybe throw back a refreshing beverage while doing it. Enter, this simple grilled bok choy recipe.

I came across a grilled bok choy recipe by Andrea Bemis the other day that looked fantastic, so I decided to make it for dinner. This particular recipe called for leaving the bok choy whole when grilling, which sounds nice in theory. In reality, bok choy grows in very sandy soil, like leeks do, and it’s almost impossible to get all of the grit out without separating them into individual leaves and giving them a bath in the sink for a while. (If you know of a way to do it, tell me how in the comments.) Neglect to rinse the bok choy well, and you’ll be chewing on sand all meal. Also, if you’re wondering, yes, you eat the white part on bok choy. There is no need to trim that part.

I still had no desire to turn the stove on, so I decided to make use of my perforated grill pan. It’s kind of like a cookie sheet with holes in it to let the heat pass through, but it keeps stuff from falling through the grates into the grill. It’s useful for all sorts of vegetable cookery and I highly recommend picking one up. I basically just used the grill pan like a giant sauté pan, turning the bok choy every couple of minutes or so until it seemed done. Top it with a delicious sauce, and you are all set.

Simplest Grilled Tofu and Grilled Bok Choy

To round out the meal, make the simplest grilled tofu, and some rice and you are all set. Serve with a little bit of soy sauce if needed, and your favorite Asian hot sauce of the moment, sriracha, gochujang, or whatever you are into, and maybe a Kirin or Sapporo, and you’re all set. 

 

Grilled Bok Choy

Serves 4 - 6

15 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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INGREDIENTS

  • 6 Heads bok choy, about 2.5 lbs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp ginger
  • 3.5 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2.5 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1.5 tsp toasted sesame seeds

METHOD

  1. First, preheat the grill to medium. You’ll want to place your grill pan on the grates for preheating as well.
  2. Fill the sink at least 4” deep with cold water. Trim the ends of the bok choy off and separate into leaves. As you separate them, toss them into the sink. Gently toss all of the bok choy around in the sink for a minute or two to rinse the sand off, then let them sit still for a minute to make sure the sand sinks to the bottom of the sink. Transfer the bok choy to a large kitchen towel and pat dry.
  3. In a small bowl, mix ginger, soy, vinegar, honey, and sesame oil until well mixed. Taste the sauce and adjust as you see fit. If you want to make this gluten free, use tamari instead of soy sauce.
  4. Transfer the bok choy to a rimmed baking sheet or large bowl, and toss with the olive oil. When the grill is hot, put the bok choy on the grill pan and spread evenly and close the cover. My grill pan is pretty large, about the size of a baking sheet. If yours is smaller, you might have to cook the greens in batches.
  5. Cook for 4 minutes or so before tossing with tongs. You should be getting little charred pieces of greens here and there. If you don’t see any, either turn up the heat to medium high, if you have a gas grill, or just let them cook a little longer before turning. Cook for 4 additional minutes after turning, then remove to a serving bowl.
  6. Toss the greens with sesame seeds. Drizzle the grilled bok choy with the sauce and enjoy!
7.8.1.2
8

https://thedinnerwinner.com/grilled-bok-choy-recipe/

Nutrition

Calories

506 cal

Fat

33 g

Carbs

45 g

Protein

14 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

0 Dairy-Free

Simplest Grilled Tofu

Simplest Grilled Tofu

I came to tofu late in life. When I was growing up, I can’t recall a block of tofu ever making it into my house, let alone crossing my lips. I was a carb loving meat eater who like most children that grew up in the 80s and 90s, ate a lot of microwaved broccoli with cheez whiz. Fast forward 20 years, and I have a vegetarian wife and three vegetarian kids. I have found all sorts of ways to cook broccoli that don’t involve a microwave or cheez whiz, and a bunch of ways to cook tofu that take it way past tolerable into delicious territory. This simplest grilled tofu recipe is something you can crank out in a few minutes without a recipe once you make it a couple of times.

If you have been avoiding tofu because you would rather just eat chicken, fear not. I have made this for decidedly carnivore friends, and they all love it. The tofu gets really flavorful and firm when you use this method. I promise it’s not like eating a flavorless sponge or anything.

This is one of those ways, and it is so painfully simple, you’ll feel like you won’t want to tell your friends how you did it because they will think you some kind of kitchen cheat or corner cutter. Don’t even worry about that for a second. Making great dishes with just a couple of ingredients brings out the flavors of your ingredients.

This dish is really a building block to either include in other dishes, or to serve alongside a couple of things to round out a meal. You could try this awesome grilled bok choy. My girls love it with some broccoli and rice on the side.

To make this gluten free:

You don’t have to change much to make this dish gluten free. Fist, use a gluten free brand of tofu. Next, substitute tamari for the soy sauce and you are all set.

Serves 2 slices

Simplest Grilled (or broiled) Tofu
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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lbs extra firm tofu
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tsp sesame oil

METHOD

  1. Cut the tofu into six pieces each block, cutting the short way across the blocks. Don’t make them too thin or they may fall apart when you flip them on the grill. Lay out a paper towel or a dish towel and place as many tofu pieces as will fit onto the towel. Cover with another towel and press down to remove as much moisture as possible. Repeat for all of the tofu
  2. on a large rimmed baking sheet, mix the soy sauce and sesame oil with a fork until well mixed
  3. Place the tofu in the soy mixture. Flip the tofu over to coat all sides.
  4. Preheat your grill to medium high heat. If you are going to broil instead of grill, preheat your broiler to high. If the tofu has absorbed most of the liquid on the baking sheet, there is no need to even transfer the tofu to another sheet to broil.
  5. While the grill heats, flip the tofu a couple more times to absorb as much of the marinade as possible
  6. Spray the grill with some canola, or other neutral oil. If you don’t have an oil sprayer, you can put some oil in a small dish and fold a paper towel. Then soak the towel in the oil. Using tongs, gently rub the paper towel on the grill grates.
  7. Cook the tofu for 4 minutes per side. Flip carefully using tongs or a spatula. Pro tip: I've found that sliding the tofu a tiny bit to the side with tongs before you pick it up helps keep it from sticking to the grill.
  8. Remove to a serving dish and enjoy

Tags

Diet
vegetarian
vegan
lacto vegetarian
ovo vegetarian
pescetarian
Allergy
dairy free
egg free
peanut free
seafood free
treenut free
mustard free

7.8.1.2
7

https://thedinnerwinner.com/simplest-grilled-or-broiled-tofu/

Nutrition

Calories

560 cal

Fat

34 g

Carbs

5 g

Protein

57 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info