Friday, October 9, 2009

Vegan Food Experiment!

I've decided to experiment with vegan food in October, not only to support VeganMofo's awesome event but also for my own self. I learned from Vegetarian Starter Kit that vegans eat no meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy products and vegan diets are the most healthful of all. That sounds so wonderful, doesn't it? I want to live a healthy life...so I am so excited to find out if I would feel healthier after one whole month of vegan diets!



Last Friday, I made veggie sushi rolls for dinner again. I had pan fried tofu, avocado, cucumber, carrots and black sesame seeds. The rolls were a little bit loose but they were so delicious as always.

I used up all my seaweed. I thought I would try to make veggie roll with out it. So Rose will know that it's possible to make veggie sushi without seaweed because she doesn't like its smell.

So I spread the sushi rice on the bamboo mat, put tofu, cucumber, carrots and avocado on top of the rice and then....I rolled.....and...rolled..... and when I tried to cut it.....

It was falling apart = I failed:(



Pan Fried Tofu with Teriyaki Glaze
This was our dinner for Monday night. It has been our all time favorite menu since I discovered the idea from The Vegan Mouse and Vegan Dad , I just keep changing the sauce and vegetable depending on what I have in the fridge. Highly recommended!


Kanom Jean and Namya Curry
Namya is an authentic Thai curry for Thai noodle which is called "Kanom Jean". The ingredients consist of Galingale, Garlic, Dried Chili, Salt, Onion, Lemon Grass, Sugar, and Spice. Growing up in the southern part of Thailand, I had a fond memory of eating "Kanom Jean" and Namya curry with a big plate of fresh green vegetables any time of the day, YUM!




The recipe called for 100 g.(3.5 oz)of Namya curry paste, 3 cups of coconut milk and 200 g. (7 oz)of fish or canned tuna... Oops! What should I do? I'm on a vegan diet! Do you see the above pic? YES, a cup of yummy chickpeas saved my hunger:) I smashed them while pretending they were fish and mixed them up with the curry paste and coconut milk. Super easy and Mmmm...Mmmm... really good!!!


I packed my Kanom Jean and Namya Curry with green beans and corns to eat for lunch at work, so delicious and satisfying:). The pic below showed how it looked when I mixed them up. YUM!

I'd like to share with you a couple of pics from Thailand when I was visiting my hometown in the south. I really enjoyed eating Kanom Jean and Curry. I ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. YES, I did:)

They always serve Kanom Jean with varieties of curry. From the left, without coconut milk; quite spicy, the second one was with coconut milk (the one I made), the next one was super spicy with pumpkin chunks (no coconut milk) and last one called "Nam Prik" which was sweet and not spicy at all (for children).


They served a gigantic platter of fresh and pickled veggies to eat along with the Kanom Jean and curry. (Please ignore the date on the pics, I messed up my camera, I had the right date but wrong year). Anyone can tell. Right??? Haha...:)


Most of the time, we ordered mixed curries depending on how we like it. I like mine with Namya and Nam Prik together. Really really goooood!!!


I've really really enjoyed experimenting with vegan food , so far so good!!! And looking forward to trying something new next week. Any suggestions for vegan easy cooking would be so much appreciated. :)


Have a fantastic weekend everyone!!!!

16 comments:

  1. haha i had to laugh what you wrote about me not liking the smell of seaweed :) thanks for trying it outfor me anyway! I wonder if i could use that ricepaper stuff you can buy the same way as the seaweed, i may have to try for myself.

    I could never eat like you did in Thailand for breakfast! im happy with my piece of toast :) a friend of mine is in china at the moment and she is having trouble as there is no fresh milk and only bread with sugar in it, because she said they eat rice and veggies for breakfast-i think i would be sick!haha i guess it depends what you have been brought up eating doesnt it.

    It will be interesting to see if you do feel healthier going vegan for a month! i must say i dont think it is always healthier (in some ways yes), i have to take 3 supplements and have b12 injections to get the nutrients i miss out on from my diet. Keep us posted anyhow :)

    Oh and that curry you made sounds SO yummy, ive recently discovered curry from an indian restaurant close by and i cant beleive i hadnt discovered it sooner!

    Rose

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  2. Everything looks beautiful and delicious! :) I am coming over for dinner!

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  3. Looks great. Sushi is something you have to get used to but it well worth the effort. Get back on the horse!

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  4. Hi cousin! Congrats on going vegan for a month! I think you'll love it. You HAVE to make Namya with chickpeas for me one day! I always get jealous when my mom makes it with fish or chicken. It looks so good but I know I can't have any. Now that I know that chickpeas will save the day, I can't wait to try it!

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  5. Wow, I'm so impressed with the vegan diet - everything looks delicious!

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  6. Your sushi looks pefect! Too bad it didn't work without the seaweed. It was a good try though.

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  7. Yum! The sushi was great! I loved the Pan Fried Tofu with Teriyaki Glaze! It was sooooo good!

    (")(-_-)(")

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  8. Great sushi, I loved the sushi

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  9. You've made me feel hungry by looking at all of
    your post, especially " Kanom Jeen Namya" made me
    wanted to go to Thailand badly now!!
    By the way, you did an awesome job on posting every dish, keep up your good work, sis!

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  10. I really am excited to hear that you're giving veganism a shot! Congrats, and maybe you'll even enjoy it enough to stick with it beyond a month... :)

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  11. Your food always looks so wonderful, Oraphan! I love Thai food but don't know how to cook any. Your curry dish looks like something that I could easily make myself and it sounds delicious and so healthy. Keep up your good work on your blog! You are an inspiration =)

    PS I wanted to help you find vegan recipes and found this site I thought you might like: VegWeb.com - they have user opinions and ratings and claim to be "easy" just like you like them!

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  12. Howdy, just came by to say thankyou so much for your lovely comments :) you are so sweet.
    Im glad you liked my spring post, everything is looking lovely around here with all the flowers, and its only a short drive to lovely picnic spots (like in my post).
    You are right i was very lucky to get the 3 job offers, some doing nursing applied for 10 positions and recieved 0 offers, i felt so bad for them, as i only applied for 4. I think you would make a fabulous nurse, you seem like a really caring person, although i think sometimes I care too much :)
    My cardigan I bought from Target last year, but I think they should have similar ones now though, they always have lots to choose from :)

    have a great week!

    Rose

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  13. I love this post! Rice noodles with coconut milk and chili are my favorite!

    I admire your sushi efforts--I've never even tried making my own.

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  14. Great food! It makes me hungry!

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  15. Hey..
    Thanx a lot for visiting kothiyavunu and leading me to ur lovely space...
    Appreciation from people like u really makes me happy :-)
    All recipes looks amazing and delicious,very tempting 2 dear!!!never tried thai dishes..sure will give a try..see you often... :)

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  16. Kanom Jean and Namya Curry looks AMAZING! I love to try new things (especially Thai food-my fave!)so I will give it a go and let you know how it goes!

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