Home Made Inari topped with Spicy Sushi Sauce

Home made Inari Sushi with Spicy Sushi Sauce from 500 Vegan Recipes

An oldy but a goodie! I originally posted the recipe for the Spicy Sushi Sauce way back in January of 2009 as a teaser for 500 Vegan Recipes, and I'll be darned if I don't love that stuff even more today. My newest favorite way to use it is on Asian Fusion Tacos. There are a few food trucks and restaurants in Los Angeles serving up this wonderful Asian twist on Mexican food.  I say wonderful, because I think it is a wonderful idea to fuse those two cuisines, but the truth is, those places aren't vegan, so I haven't been able to try them out.  Enter my local Whole Foods Market, who started serving up vegan street style tacos in their traditional Mexican form as well as Fusion style.  YAY!

But I digress.  This post is about Inari, home made Inari to be exact.  So it's really 3 recipes in one post. One for the tofu pockets, one for the rice filling, and of course, one for the ridiculously good sauce.   You can take a huge shortcut when making these at home by buying canned, prepared Inarizushi No Moto tofu pockets, but I like to make my own pockets with regular extra firm tofu that you can get at any grocery store.

For the Tofu Pockets

12 ounces (or one block) extra firm tofu, drained and pressed*

1 cup (or more) vegetable oil

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup agave

*It really doesn't matter how much your block weighs.

In a pot, or a deep fryer, place enough oil to give you at least one inch. Heat on high heat.

Cut your tofu into 12-16 pieces, depending on the size of your block. You want to have rectangles that measure about 2 inches long, 1 1/2" wide and 1/4" thick.

Deep fry the blocks, 3 or 4 at a time, in oil until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Take care that they don't touch in the oil, or they will get stuck to eachother. Remove from oil and set on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off any excess oil.

In a wide shallow dish, or a gallon size zip top bag, mix together soy sauce, vinegar, and agave. Place the fried tofu in the marinade and let soak for at least ten minutes, but no longer than twenty. Remove from marinade and, once again place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess moisture.

Carefully cut a slit in the long end of the tofu to create a pocket.

Stuff with the prepared sushi rice.

Tofu Pockets

For the Rice
1 cup dry sushi rice
2 cups water
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon agave
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in your rice cooker. If you don't have a rice cooker, follow the instructions on your package of rice, adding the vinegar and agave to the water.

Sushi Rice

Spicy Sushi Sauce
1/2 cup vegan mayo

2 tbsp Sri Racha

1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

Whisk together until smooth, put it in a squeeze bottle and then squirt it all over everything you can think of!

Sushi Sauce

BBQ Seitan Ribs (and Giveaway RESULTS!)

BBQ Seitan Ribs (complete with Cedar Bones!) found on page 140 of
The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions.  Photo by Celine Steen.

I am a complete sucker for the small town, idyllic idea of a country hoe-down or county fair. Unfortunately, I live in Orange County, California, and if you've seen the ad for our county fair, you'd see that the romantic visions of a barn dance, red and white gingham tablecloths, hay rides, banjo plucking bands, under the big blue sky, in a big green meadow are just that...romantic visions.

So, I have my own hoe-downs.  Me and my husband in my backyard.  (And yes, I do own an old wooden wagon wheel!)  One of my favorite things to throw on the grill is a big ol' slab of Seitan Ribs, complete with cedar bones.

If you like to cook outdoors, leave a comment below telling me your favorite foods to eat or cook outside!  I will choose 3 comments at random to receive your choice of any of my 5 cookbooks!  Yes, I will ship internationally.  I will choose the winners on Saturday night. (After I get home from the fair.  Ha!)  I only ask one favor...if you enter this giveaway, please check back to see if you have won, otherwise, I have no idea how to get your book to you.


CONTEST NOW OVER.  WINNERS ARE #28, 21, and 2.  CONGRATULATIONS VIC, ERIN, and BETH!

#2  Vic Robinson July 18, 2012 11:08 AM

These look fantastic! I really like the unique addition of steak sauce! Yum!

#21 Erin C. July 18, 2012 4:27 PM

I usually go for a simple tofu/veggie kabob. Once I did pizza on the grill and that was yummy!!!

#28  Beth July 19, 2012 8:17 AM

Corn all the way! Dang it, I wish we had a grill.... those ribs looks INSANE.

Please send me an email with your mailing address and choice of cookbook to joni AT justthefood DOT com so I can send you your book ASAP!

Barbecue Seitan Ribs

3 cups (432 g) vital wheat gluten flour

1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour

1/4 cup (30 g) nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons (16 g) onion powder

1 tablespoon (8 g) garlic powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups (470 ml) water

1/2 cup (125 ml) barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade

1/4 cup (60 ml) steak sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) liquid smoke

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

2 cups (470 ml) additional barbecue sauce for baking and grilling

6 bones (See note below)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).

Line a 9×13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking pan with foil or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients.

Add wet ingredients to the dry and knead for 5 minutes.

Let mixture rest for 20 minutes.

Shape mixture into a large rectangle, to fit in the pan, with at least an inch of space around the edges.

Push the bones through the mixture, at equal distances from each other.

Pour additional 3/4 cup (180 ml) barbecue sauce into the bottom of the baking pan.

Place “rack of ribs” in the pan.

Spread another 3/4 cup (180 ml) barbecue sauce over the top.

Cover pan tightly with foil and bake for 90 minutes.

You can enjoy these as is, or refrigerate for later use.

To reheat, fire up the grill to give ribs extra smoky flavor and grill marks. Brush with 1/2 cup (125 ml) even more barbecue sauce while grilling!

Finger Lickin' Good: Disposable bamboo chopsticks or even Popsicle sticks work wonders here, but if

you want to kick it up a notch, try food-grade cedar cut into 1/2-inch x 6-inch (1.27 x 15-cm) “bones,” makingsure to sand down any rough edges. Whichever you choose, start by soaking them in a mixture of 2 cups (470 ml) warm water mixed with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) liquid smoke to add some smoky flavor to the ribs. For an edible set of bones, try taro root. Although this method will yield edible “bones,” they will be more flimsy after cooking, thus requiring a fork and knife for eating.

Yield: 6 large ribs

Nutrition Facts

I get tons of emails asking for the Nutrition Facts for my recipes.  So, I am slowly going to start adding the Nutrition Facts to all of the recipes on the blog.  This is a huge undertaking and will take me quite some time, so please be patient as I am working on this one recipe at a time.

I am using my favorite recipe calculator...the one over at SparkPeople.

The Nutrition Facts I am providing are for informational purposes only.  And, to be honest, I am putting them there for selfish reasons.  I need to know what I am eating too!

Summer Salads and Sammies

Summery Salad with Apricot, Dill and Mustard Vinaigrette

I was just about as lazy as one could be on a Sunday.  It was pushing 100 degrees outside, and although beeeyoootiful out there, I was totally content on the couch, blinds closed, air conditioner blasting, watching ridiculous reality television.  The really ridiculous stuff, like Pregnant in Heels and Miss Advised.  10 am passed.  11 am passed.  12 noon it was, then 1 pm.  Oops, 2 pm had passed and it was already 3!

Enough already.  I barely get 2 days off in a week, and I am gonna waste it away watching Bravo?  Nope.  So, up I got and dragged myself into a sundress and off to the market I went.  The heat had my heart set on something light.  As I drove to the store I was menu planning in my mind.  Fantasizing about a big salad with frisse and a home made vinaigrette.

I called my sister and told her my menu plans:

Mixed green salad with candied walnuts and grapes and an Apricot Dill and Mustard Vinaigrette
Baby Potato Salad (using the same dressing)
and Grilled Vegetable Paninis with Fennel and Shallot Marmalade

As luck would have it, she was also looking for dinner plans so I invited her over.

Baby Potato Salad (left) and Grilled Vegetable Panini with Fennel and Shallot Marmalade (right)

And as I began to chop and slice, it donned on me I should be writing it all down.  My sister bemoaned,  "Can't you just prepare a meal for the pure enjoyment of cooking?"  Nope!  Because then I wouldn't be able to do it again!  And that would have been ashamed, because the dressing and marmalade came out fantastic.  Bursting with fresh summer flavors.

Apricot, Dill and Mustard Vinaigrette
1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons apricot preserves
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh dill
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Whisk all of the ingredients together and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Yield:  Just over 1 cup

To make the green salad, I tossed together frisse, radicchio, hearts of romaine, candied pecans, candied walnuts, and a big helping of mixed grapes.  Yep, I was so lazy I bought grapes that were already plucked!  I drizzled on the above vinaigrette and served.  I wish I would have added slices of fresh apricot.  Dang.  Why didn't I think of that yesterday?

To make the potato salad, I boiled about 3 pounds of a cubed baby potato mix (blue, red, fingerling, and buttery yukon golds) until they were fork tender.  I rinsed and cooled them, then tossed in a generous portion of fresh basil chiffonade.  I tossed it all with the above vinaigrette and put the whole shebang into the refrigerator to get nice and chilled before serving.

Fennel and Shallot Marmalade
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bulb of fennel, thinly julienned
4 shallots, thinly julienned
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons apricot preserves
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a pot or pan with a lid.
Add fennel, shallot, and garlic.  Saute until fragrant and translucent.
Add in remaining ingredients and toss to combine.
Reduce heat to low.  Cover and let cook for about 10 minutes, uncover and continue to cook, stirring constantly until reduced and almost all of the liquid has been absorbed.

Yield: 1 cup

To make the Paninis, I used crusty ciabatta rolls, sliced open.  On each half of the bread, I schmeared about 1 tablespoon of Galaxy Foods Chive and Garlic Cream Cheese Alternative.  I topped that with a big ol' dollop of the above marmalade, then layered on grilled eggplant, zucchini, asparagus, and anaheim chiles, and then used my grill pan to give them a nice crust.  Since I don't have my own panini grill, I use an antique iron to weigh down my sandwiches on the grill pan.  I've also used a brick wrapped in foil.

And because my sister is such a peach, she brought us a lovely bottle of red and a coupla pints of So Delicious Coconut Almond Chip Ice Cream.  I'm not lying when I tell you that that stuff tastes almost identical to a Mahalo Bar.

Farmer's Market Flatbread (Happy Vegan Pizza Day!)

Pizza and the X Games does a good friday night make.

Went to the farmer's market in Huntington Beach this afternoon, and since I have to work tomorrow, we decided to celebrate Vegan Pizza Day a little early.

Those of you who know me, you know I am a big fan of Daiya cheeses, and all kinds of fakey kind of stuff when it comes to my pizza toppings.  But, it's been so warm outside, and since I was at the beach earlier, I felt like making a healthier pizza, not heavy.  More like a flatbread, than a pizza.

This one has no sauce, and no fake cheese.  Just lots of fresh veggies.  I did come across a vendor selling almond based hummus, so I bought some of the tomato basil flavor and threw a few dollops of that up on top for good measure.  Drizzled with a bit of olive oil, and then I sprinkled the whole shebang with a blend of spices and nooch.

From Scratch Whole Wheat Dough
(I used this recipe and used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose, and molasses instead of sugar.)
Fresh Basil
Baby Yellow Potatoes, thinly sliced
Grape Tomatoes, cut in half
White Onion, roughly chopped
Asparagus, chopped
Artichoke Hearts, chopped
Minced Garlic
Olive Oil
Tomato Basil Almond Hummus
Nooch and Spices

Vida Vegan Con 2013

Make your vacation requests and travel plans now!

The summer of 2011 marked the first ever Vida Vegan Con.   Hundreds upon hundreds of vegan bloggers took to the streets of Portland, Oregon.  We drank and we ate, we took pictures of what we drank and ate, we wrote about what we drank and ate, we taught each other how to write about what we drank and ate, we tweeted about what we drank and ate, we updated our facebook statuses with what we drank and ate... And between all that drinking and eating, we met some of the most wonderful people, that to this day, I consider friends.

I was lucky to have been chosen as a featured speaker then, and feel honored and excited to announce that I will be a featured speaker once again.

Imagine a whole weekend filled with classes and workshops, panels and discussions, covering topics from food photography to business, blogging tech to building your brand.  Basically, about what it is I love to do;  blog about being vegan.  If you missed out on the inaugural event, the amazing ladies behind the Con (Janessa, Jess and Michelle), are doing their darn'dest to make sure you don't miss out on the next one.

100 early bird tickets a go on sale over on the Vida Vegan Con website Sunday, July 1, 2012 at 12 noon PST for only $200.  After they sell out, the remaining tickets will become available at regular price.

I can't wait to see everyone again (and hopefully meet a whole slew of new folks!) in May, so turn in your vacation requests and start making your travel plans now.

Farmer's Market Soup and Sandwich

Farmer's Market Soup and Sandwich

Last Friday I headed out to the farmer's market on a whim, and with no plan.  I ended up buying a bunch of stuff that really didn't necessarily go together, but was cheap, and looked good. Anyhow, I plan on heading back tomorrow and needed to finish up what I had left from last week's haul so I made soup and a sandwich.

The Sandwich:

Farmer's Market Squaw Bread, Farmer's Market Red Leaf Lettuce, Farmer's Market Onion, Vegenaise, Tofurkey slices, and a sprinkling of my homemade Chipotle Ranch Dressing Mix (from Vegan Food Gifts coming out later this year.)

The Soup:

Farmer's Market Kale, Farmer's Market Red Onion, Farmer's Market Maui Onion, Farmer's Market Spring Onion, Farmer's Market Green Beans, Farmer's Market Yellow Beans, Farmer's Market Kale, Farmer's Market Celery, Better than Beef Base, minced garlic, soy sauce, water, sea salt, black pepper.

The end result?  Pretty dang tasty!

Easy Breezy Summer Afternoons (are perfect for mac salad!)

It can be found on page 100 of The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions. 

Man, do I love a warm sunny day.  It begs for you to come outside and enjoy yourself instead of cooping yourself up inside and staring at a computer screen.  And when I spend the day outside, the last thing I want to do is go back inside to cook!

And the winners are...

#30 and #40!

#30

#40

Congratulations Charj and Melinda!  Please send me an email (to joni AT justthefood DOT com) with your mailing address so that I can send you your book!

My nephew, Dominic, is spending the weekend with us, and he randomly chose the numbers.

This is Dominic.

Dust off those BBQ grills! (and a giveaway!)

We are dangerously close to summer, and nothing says summer like cooking outdoors on the grill.  And what better to cook on the grill then....you guessed it....veggie burgers!   While companies like Gardein and Wildwood have taken amazing strides forward in making a great premade veggie patties that taste good unlike their former hockey-puck-like predecessors, there's still nothing quite like a home made veggie burger.

I thought I'd kick off this grillin' season with a veggie burger that celebrates veggies in all of their glory!  You know, contrary to the belief of some of the reviewers over on Amazon, my book, The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet includes many burgers that are soy free, wheat free, and some that are even wheat and soy free.  The recipe below is soy free.  And in addition to the recipe below, I am giving away 2 signed copies of The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet.  Just leave a comment in the blog comments telling me your favorite meal to prepare on the grill and I will choose 2 random winners on Friday, May 18 at 6 pm PST.  (Yes, I will ship internationally!)   THIS CONTEST IS NOW OVER THE WINNERS ARE #30 CHARJ AND #40 MALINDA.  STAY TUNED FOR ANOTHER GIVEAWAY SOON.

Mushroom, Asparagus and Spinach Burger on a whole wheat bun with spinach, avocado and Vegenaise.

Mushroom, Asparagus, and Spinach Burger

This recipe is a good one to make ahead of time and follow the directions all the way through the baking step.  Then freeze them in between layers of parchment.  Whenever you want a burger, pop one out of the freezer and pan fry or grill until heated all the way through.

Serving Suggestion: Chock-full of veggies, this one doesn’t need much. Place on a nice wheat bun with some crispy greens, some slices of ripe avocado, maybe a schmear of vegan mayo, and you’re good to go.

3 cups (705 ml) vegetable broth
8 ounces (227 g) mushrooms, sliced or chopped
1 onion, diced
1 cup (108 g) shredded carrots
2 teaspoons (10 g) minced garlic
1 cup (190 g) uncooked brown rice
1 cup (134 g) 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) pieces asparagus spears
2 cups (60 g) chiffonaded spinach leaves
2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped fresh dill
1 cup (80 g) uncooked oats
1/2 cup (65 g) ground cashews
1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (72 g) vital wheat gluten flour
Salt and pepper
Oil, for frying (optional)

To a large pot, add the vegetable broth, mushrooms, onion, carrots, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and stir in the rice. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked.

            Uncover and stir in the asparagus, spinach, and dill. Continue to cook, uncovered, until most of the moisture has been absorbed.

            Remove from the heat, stir in the oats, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes.

            Mix in the cashews, whole wheat flour, gluten flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix very well until all ingredients are well incorporated. Use your hands if necessary. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to thicken up a bit.

            Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

            Form into 10 patties, place on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes, until firm and warmed all the way through. If desired, you can fry or grill these after baking, to give them a nice crispy crust.

Yield: 10 patties
(Nutritional info does not include the optional oil for frying.)