Bakeroise – Page 3 – A Portland vegan mom's kitchen journal

Vegan Longevity Noodles – Yī Miàn

February 1, 2022

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30-Minute Vegan Longevity Noodles - Yī Miàn

Happy Lunar New Year! Today I am sharing my Vegan Longevity Noodles recipe for those who celebrate. It takes less than 30 minutes, requires only 10 ingredients and uses only one pot or large sauté pan for cooking. For more Chinese-inspired recipes, please go here.

I am mostly Filipina but my great grandparents were Chinese. While our lineage doesn’t go too far back, there wasn’t much Chinese culture present in our Catholic-Filipino household beyond the Chinese influence that already exists in Filipino culture.

Our daughter attended a Chinese immersion preschool called Yu Miao and with that community, we started to truly celebrate the Lunar New Year. Now she attends a Japanese immersion school and they too celebrate Lunar New Year!

Longevity noodles, or yī miàn, are traditionally eaten on for the Chinese celebration of the Lunar New Year. They are supposedly for good luck and the long strands symbolize a long life. That’s why the noodles aren’t supposed to be cut in half or broken apart even when they’re already in your mouth!

To keep the vegan longevity noodles relatively simple, I kept the protein out for another dish and instead added a combination of baby bok choy and shiitake mushrooms for more color, nutrients and texture.

Throughout the process I add add soy sauce, little by little, to taste. This needs to be done right as it is not a bland dish. Seasoning is important and I’m amazed when something is called bland but then it turns out they didn’t season the dish enough.

To make my vegan longevity noodles. I start by prepping my favorite aromatics: garlic (not pictured) green onions and ginger.

I cut the green onions into 2-3 inch long pieces and slice the white parts into smaller ones. I never waste a piece of the green onion. It’s why I can never regrow them on my windowsill. The bulbs just taste too good!

The ginger, green onions and garlic are then cooked in sesame oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat until aromatic. Then I add the frozen shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, light brown sugar (in place of oyster sauce) and let cook for a few minutes more just until the mushroom is barely cooked.

The frozen mushrooms should give the dish some water. If you use fresh mushrooms make sure to put in a few tablespoons of water to allow steaming for the next part.

Once there is a good amount of water from the frozen mushrooms or some water has been added to allow for steaming, I add the baby bok choy and cover the pan with a lid to let steam for 2-3 minutes. When it’s done steaming, I do a final mix.

I now have my baby bok choy and mushroom sauce ready and have moved it to another dish or bowl to sit and let the flavors marry. At this point, it can actually be a vegetable side dish but for this Vegan Longevity Noodles recipe, it is the perfect mix-in companion.

Using the same pan, without rinsing, we fill it up with enough water and cook our noodles according to the directions on the box.

Once the noodles are done cooking, they are drained quickly run under cold water to stop the cooking. Then they are immediately returned to the pan where the baby bok choy and mushroom sauce join and the mix and marry.

Our Vegan Longevity Noodles dish is beautiful. Make sure to taste and add more soy sauce if needed again since we’ve just added a bunch of noodles. If you can’t use soy sauce because you are gluten-free or have some other intolerance to it, you can substitute coconut aminos or tamari at your discretion. So long as you are seasoning your dish enough, it should be perfect.

Happy Lunar New Year!

30-Minute Vegan Longevity Noodles

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

This is an easy 30-minute, 10-ingredient, 1 large pan or pot Vegan Longevity Noodles recipe for Chinese Lunar New Year that has baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms and green onions with a sweet hint of sesame and garlic.

Author: Jan Carlisle @ Bakeroise
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 15
Total Time: 25
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Main
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Chinese
Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale

Sesame oil
5 cloves of garlic, roughly minced
1 inch (about a tablespoon) piece of rinsed ginger unpeeled and roughly minced
8 green onions, green parts cut into 2–3 inch length and white parts sliced small
1.5 tablespoon of organic light brown sugar
172 g or about 6 oz of frozen sliced shiitake mushrooms (For me this is a little over half a bag)
4–6 fresh baby bok choy (7.45 oz or 211g), leaves separated and rinsed
1 tablespoon of soy sauce, plus more to taste
300g of dried thin Asian wheat noodles
Optional: Chinese chili oil (store-bought is fine or you can make your own)

Instructions

Bring a large sauté pan or large pot to medium heat. When hot, cover the bottom with a quarter inch of sesame oil.
When oil is hot, add the garlic, ginger, light brown sugar and green onions. Stir to make sure the oil is distributed evenly and let cook for 2-3 minutes or until aromatic.
Add the frozen mushrooms and soy sauce and cook until everything is just covered with soy sauce. If mushrooms don’t extract water, add ¼ cup of water to the pan.
Add the baby bok choy and let steam in the fully covered pan for 2-3 minutes.
When done, taste and add soy sauce if needed. Move the mushroom and baby bok choy sauce to a large plate or bowl.
Without rinsing the pan, add enough water to cook the noodles according to their instructions.
When the noodles are done, drain and run under cool water for ten seconds.
Return noodles to the pan and pour the mushroom and baby bok choy sauce over the noodles.
Gently mix and add soy sauce to taste.
Serve without breaking any of the noodles.

Notes

Please use the soy sauce to taste. This should not be a bland dish. The soy sauce will help enhance the other flavors in the dish. If you don’t season it properly, then that’s not my fault. Ha!
If you cannot use soy sauce because are gluten-free or have some other intolerance, use tamari or coconut aminos at your discretion.
This recipe was first published on 2/11/21.

Keywords: longevity noodles, vegan noodles, vegan Asian, lunar new year, chinese new year, vegan chinese, vegan lunar new year, vegan chinese new year

Call-To-Action:

There has been an increase in anti-Asian sentiment since the pandemic. I’m not talking about ignorant people who hate on soy and MSG and spread xenophobic misinformation even after the’ve been presented with facts but worse: People who are actually being violent towards Asians, specifically senior citizens. And as a result, there has also been an increase in unfair profiling of innocent Black people because of these incidents.

Anti-Asian sentiment has always been around but it’s finally being documented and talked about more now, thank goodness. Please talk about this. Educate people about this. Do it in a way though where we’re not demonizing any groups but instead exercising empathy and talking about the root of the problem.

Look out for our loved ones, especially our Asian elders, and stand with the Asian community while still standing in solidarity with the Black community. Learn how to diffuse a racially-motivated attack.

Here are a couple of police alternative lists for Portland: Don’t Call The Police and Care PDX’s Before You Call The Police page.

The model minority myth was created to pit people of color against each other. Look up the history of it and why Asians were the ones labeled as model minorities. It’s pretty awful. Now Asians are being targeted by individuals who’ve been had.

This is not okay. If you see anything, please speak up, support the vicitm in how they see fit and report the incident to STOP AAPI HATE.

If you have any other ways to help or know of any good organizations that help combat violence against Asians, please leave a comment or email me if you’d prefer to keep it private. Thank you for reading this post.

Farewell, 2021. Hello, 2022!

January 1, 2022

Happy 2022! We made it to another year! I found 2021 to be monumentally better than 2020 so it’s a win. Given how crappy 2020 was, I was so grateful this past year when things started looking like they could be “normal” again – within reason of course. There were times I hated 2021 like when we had that awful winter storm that left us without power and wondering which neighbors were down with us. Or when violence against Asian people was finally being talked about but you learn which people are real allies and which people are just being performative and are ultimately virtue signalers.

But 2021 also brought the birth of my blog in January when I published my first post which was for my vegan version of Adobong Itim (Vegan Filipino Adobo made with soy sauce). I finally learned how to make amazing vegan chocolate chip cookies that multiple people kept telling me were the bomb and apparently not obviously vegan. LOL! I kept telling them it’s because it’s vegan that it’s good. (wink) Is my age showing? But 2021 was also when I finally got to see some long-distance loved ones again after almost two years.

For 2022, I have a few different plans for the blog but I’m hesitant to list them because what if I lose interest and/or steam and can’t complete something? When I committed to that 12 Months of Dim Sum Project, I was so excited at first. But as things started opening up again and we were able to be social outdoors with both new and old loved ones in addition to fulfilling personal obligations – you know, like chores around the house, volunteering at my daughter’s school, engaging in mutual aid and actually taking care of my family, I found less time for the blog.

I started to kick myself for committing to such a goal. Despite meeting the goal in a half-assed way, I was still secretly disappointed that I hadn’t gotten around to making all twelve recipes.

So for 2022, I’m trying to be more chill and blogging about what I want, when I want – so long as it’s related to vegan food and/or veganism in general. I don’t know how that will look right now so I’m going to go with the flow.

However, one thing I do feel sure about is adding a new category to Bakeroise called Free Fridge Food; This category will encompass posts that focus on my experience in contributing to the nearest free fridge by my house. If you live in Portland and notice fridges and pantries right next to sidewalks, chances are they are a part of a network of fridges called PDX Free Fridge. For those who don’t know, they are intentionally set-up, outdoor fridges and/or pantries for people to take what they need and give what they can so that they can be fed.

Community members around Portland put them up and we work to keep them stocked and maintained. I’m not a part of anything official but do I try to try my best to adhere to the Community Guidelines – which are freaking important but don’t seem to be on most people’s radar, including my own sometime. I’m not perfect so I now make myself look at the list regularly. Last night I was at the pantry dropping off some ramen soups and noticed there were some canned soups on the ground. I chalked it up to overcrowding on the shelves so I didn’t disturb the cans since we’re not supposed to touch stuff we’re not taking with us but apparently, nothing is supposed to be placed on the ground!

So you do decide to contribute food, best to go over said guidelines for everyone’s safety of course.

As far as what the fridge and pantries need, people just kind of update their personal Instagram posts and/or stories on the status of each location, then they tag @PDXFreeFridge in said posts/stories and @pdxfreefridge reshares their content as a story, to share far and wide… so others else will know the needs of the pantry and fridge.

For example:

This pantry/fridge set-up exists because we do have a pretty high population of houseless humans in Portland proper. Every time there’s a heat wave or temps drop below freezing, concern rises for those who don’t have adequate shelter and protection. These fridges have been monumentally helpful for people. And it also helps when people bring individual ingredients and bags of veggies because there are also many housed humans with kitchens but also food insecurity.

A few days ago, I made six of these meals and when I checked the fridge the next morning, they were already gone.

So…the food goes quickly. It’s good to see it’s being used but it’s obviously depressing because of real systemic issues that cause this symptom of hungry people living in poverty.

But we do what we can.

I personally believe housing and safety should be a human right but of course politics. Anyway, I’m starting to learn my limits and I just want to do my best in terms of directly contributing the best way I know how. And right now, one of my top priorities is making simple meals for those who are unhoused.

I spent a part of my last day of 2021 making a bunch of simple vegan peanut butter organic jelly sandwiches for the fridge with ingredients I already had. It wasn’t fancy stuff but I’m grateful I got to do that with my limited time. Oh and if you’re wondering if peanut butter and jelly sandwiches aren’t already vegan, the answer is…they are not vegan if the jelly is not-organic because it means the sugar has been filtered through animal bone char.

If you’re interested in the super simple recipe for the lunch I posted, here is what I used:

Ingredients that I already had from top left: Grillo’s Pickle Chips, Follow Your Heart Vegenaise, Tofurkey Plant-Based Chick’N Barbecue and store-brang original English muffins

I cut each English muffin so I could spread a teaspoon of mayo on one of the surfaces. I know that not everyone is as obsessed with mayo like me.

Then I divided the chick’n barbecue pieces into six portions (even though the package is for only 3 servings) since one serving wouldn’t fit between a sliced English muffin.

So I was able to come out with six English muffin sandwiches instead of just 3. I put those in a completely sealed sandwich bag. Then I also added some sliced pickles in a separate sealed bag for anyone who wanted more flavor somehow. I felt bad about not having something more suitable for the pickles (and yes I do think about waste) and I also didn’t have any disposable silverware to assist.

I also added a small bag of chips in another bag (and yes I know this seems wasteful but you know what? I’m trying my best).

It wasn’t perfect and I wish I had the time to make coleslaw with some good greens I had in my fridge but I was pretty limited.

I also typed out labels that had the name of the items inside, what common allergens they contained and when I date them.

I crossed my fingers and just hoped these sandwiches would help anyone. And they apparently did.

I would like to try to do more of this in 2022.

12 Months of Dim Sum Project 2021

December 5, 2021

This collage is hella funny. I know. I know.

Update on December 15, 2021: This is my last post of 2021. Hope it’s enough for the rest of the month. I will be focused on trying to live a somewhat peaceful holiday season. Ha! See you in 2022!

In mid-January, I published my first post and I also decided it would be fun to start a 12 Months of Dim Sum project where I tried/created/adapted/veganized/tweaked/tested dim sum recipes I could use for Christmas. If it isn’t already obvious, my family has been pretty cautious during the pandemic. My kid just got her second shot of the vaccine but we’re still not into the idea of dining out unmasked so we’re opting for a homemade dim sum brunch instead of going out.

I didn’t complete a project every month but that’s okay! I did, however, get to complete twelve recipes that are vegan and dim sum friendly and for that I am content. I did what I could despite my hectic schedule (which I really need to scale back on) so now I have ten recipes to share.

Without further ado, here are Twelve Vegan Dim Sum Recipes for Christmas Morning! Plenty of these are able to be made ahead so get started now! Just remember to be reasonable and really try your best not to procrastinate like me. I’m a mess. Don’t be like me. Be better!

This is the order in which I would make the dishes:

1/12

10-Ingredient Vegan Siomai

This recipe is perfect for fellow who are too overwhelmed and/or busy to use homemade dough. It uses store-bought wrappers and vegan ground beef (that isn’t nasty and filled with weird hormones) which makes it the perfect easy recipe.

Make 3-4 weeks in advance: Do everything and assemble. Instead of frying right away, freeze them the way you would freeze sliced bananas like this. Then carefully cook on Christmas Day without thawing first.

2/12

Thick Vegan Potstickers with Ginger Scallion Tofu

So these are jumbo sized dumplings with pretty thick dough. I should’ve said they were empanada inspired or something but I didn’t think of it at the time. These are a hit with my family and picky extended family! Really easy to make even though the dough takes time.

Make ahead 3-4 weeks in advance: Do everything and assemble. Instead of frying right away, freeze them the way you would freeze sliced bananas like this. Then carefully cook on Christmas Day without thawing first.

3/12

Toasted Cumin Scallion Pancakes

Okay, I had to make these a few times to get it perfect! But these are so addictive. Get it! Perfectly crunchy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. Mmm!

Make 3-4 weeks ahead: Roll these babies out and shape them. Then save them with parchment paper in between in an airtight freezer bag. Carefully cook the day of. Might take a minute or two longer than the original recipe so pay attention.

4/12

Sweet and Spicy Chinese Chili Oil Recipe

So this recipe was actually adapted from the talented Woon Heng’s own recipe. Her recipe had less sediment but I wanted mine to have loads since I’m weird and like to chew on the pepper flakes. This chili oil is also a hit with family and friends. Perfectly spicy and no too much – at least to me!

Make 2 weeks ahead: Totally make this ahead and the flavors will marry. Make a 1-2 weeks ahead and store at room temperature. Double the recipe if you don’t have self-control (me too!) and know that you’ll want to use some beforehand for other meals.

5/12

Gluten-Free Asian Dipping Sauce

I wanted a gluten-free sauce that would be good for dim sum. While I’m not gluten-free I do have loved ones who are and I wanted to get something for them too. This is so good though! To make it not gluten-free, simply use soy sauce instead. It’s obviously not authentic in dim sum cooking but we do what we can.

Make ahead: Can make these 1-2 weeks ahead and sore in room temperature. Like with the chili oil, double the recipe if you know it’ll be too tempting and you want to be able to use it before Christmas day for other dishes.

6/12

Instant Pot Red Bean Paste with Adzuki Beans

This is a sweet filling that can be used in different Chinese desserts. I love that these aren’t too sugary.

Make a week ahead: Freeze until the day before and thaw in the fridge- just reheat on stovetop and add a little bit of liquid on the day of. Add sugar if needed due to added liquid which will dilute the flavor a little.

7/12

Instant Pot Congee

This is another fairly easy recipe and is made in the Instant Pot. Perfect dish to just cook while you step away for a little bit. It’s porridge so, of course, it’s fitting for a cold Christmas morning.

Make two days ahead: You can make this a day or two before and just stick it in the fridge. Reheat on the stove or microwave but make sure to add liquid and salt again to taste since the added water will dilute the taste a little.

8/12

Perfectly Golden Sesame Balls

Of course I had to have these on here! These too are addictive but they’re ridiculous good and actually reasonable in terms of sweetness. Oh my…

Make ahead: These can be made in advance but I would suggest not to. If you do need to though, you can make the dough a day in advance and roll it out and fry it the day of. If you want to fry it and then refrigerate it, you will have to cook them at 350° in the oven or convection for 4-7 minutes until they are warmed through. I wouldn’t microwave.

9/12

Sweet Leeks and Ginger Bok Choy

Yes, definitely need some leafy greens! Gotta have that fiber and in a tasty, relatively healthy form. 😉

Make ahead 1-2 days: These could be made a day or two before and just microwaved or refried with a little bit of vegetable oil the day of.

10/12

Crispy Golden Fried Tofu

These are so good! All you have to do is dry the tofu and cube them up. Put them in a plastic bag and shake with cornstarch and their seasonings and then pan-fry on the stove. Mmm. If you have loved ones to share these with, you might want to double the recipe. Ha!

Sort of make ahead: I wouldn’t make this ahead but if you want one less thing to do the day of, you can premix the cornstarch and the seasoning in the sealable plastic bag you are going to use the day of cooking.

11/12

Vegan Ma Lai Go Inspired Spongecake

Okay, this recipe is way easier than it looks. Just do the right thing and make sure the ingredients that need to be at room temperature actually are!

Make ahead: This can be made the day before! Just make sure to keep it in an airtight container.

12/12

Vegan Longevity Noodles

So this one wasn’t originally a dim sum recipe and but was instead for Lunar New Year. But some people (ahem, moi) really do love noodles and always require them so if you’d like an easy noodle recipe for Christmas dim sum brunch, this is perfect for you.

Make ahead: These should be made the day of since they’re noodles. 😉

Fennel Cake with Lingonberry Sauce

November 26, 2021

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting Bakeroise.

This Fennel Cake with Lingonberry Sauce recipe is especially for the lovers of fennel. It yields a seasonal cake that is perfect for the holidays. If you’d like another holiday cake recipe that isn’t centered around fennel, please check out my Vegan Ma Lai Go Inspired Spongecake recipe. It’s a part of my 12 Months of Dim Sum project which is a collection of dim sum recipes I put together throughout the year just in time for Christmas.

This Fennel Cake with Lingonberry Sauce recipe is veganized and adapted from the Fennel Upside-Down Cake by the famous Giada di Laurentiis.

The star ingredient of this Fennel Cake with Lingonberry Sauce is, of course, fennel. The fennel I used for this recipe was in my Milkrun box and sourced from Groundwork Organics in Junction City, Oregon.

In Giada’s upside-down fennel cake recipe, the flour listed isnt specified but is only listed as “flour” but I generally take that to mean good ol’ all-purpose flour. However, I consistently have better luck with cakes when I use cake flour instead.

Giada also uses eggs in her recipe and I, of course, replace it in my Fennel Cake with Lingonberry Sauce with the usual aquafaba. Instead of a raspberry sauce, I opted for lingonberry because, in my mind, it just seems more fitting for the winter holidays.

So how do we make our Fennel Cake with Lingonberry Sauce?

We preheat the oven to 350° F and grease a 9-inch springform pan with a teaspoon of olive oil.

To make the topping:

In a medium saucepan, we dissolve the sugar in water and then add the fennel bulb slices, salt and lemon juice. We simmer for about 15 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to only ¼ the amount.

When done, we spread the fennel topping evenly on the bottom of the springform pan. We want it as evenly as possible because that bottom is going to be on top when we flip the cake in the end. Once its evenly at the bottom, we set it aside.

To make the cake:

In a medium bowl, we whisk together the cake flour, organic cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt.

In a large bowl, we whisk together the unsweetened vegan milk, aquafaba, olive oil, lemon zest and ground fennel seeds.

We will add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the large bowl and whisk until just combined. Then we carefully pour the cake batter into the springform pan evenly over the sweet fennel topping that’s already in there. Be careful to not disturb the fennel topping.

Place in the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert the cake onto a plate to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, we make the lingonberry sauce. In a small bowl, we whisk together lingonberry jam, lemon juice and two tablespoons of water.

Now we have our Fennel Cake with Lingonberry Sauce almost ready to eat!

When the cake is cool, cut and serve. On each slice of cake, add lingonberry sauce and sprinkle with fennel fronds before serving.