A Cool Appetizer for the Hot Summer

Summer is in full force. It's that time of year when turning on the oven is much akin to shoving splinters under your nails. When the temps heat up, I crave cool and easy dishes.

The other night, I needed a quick and easy appetizer to take to a potluck after work. It was my first time bringing food to this group, so I wanted it to be impressive, but also follow my mood for keeping cool. We have started getting some really nice big cucumbers. I knew those had to be a part of the plan. I plunked around Pintrest and found some very cute cucumber appetizers. One of my favorites was a cucumber-hummus cupcake. But I felt with the heat, even hummus might not hold up.

Then I went to the pantry and fridge to see what I could see. I had a few left over fresh shiitake mushrooms that were about at the end of their viable life. The pantry had some soba noodles and that did it for me. I was inspired to make a cool, asian inspired, easy to eat with your hands appetizer.

Soba and Shiitake Cucumber Cups

4 large cucumbers (about 2-2 1/2 inches wide)

Dressing ingredients

1 tablespoon red miso
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated or finely minced

Filling ingredients

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup diced fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 red jalapeño or fresno pepper minced
1 tablespoon finely diced sweet onion
1 large clove garlic minced
4 oz. soba noodles, broken in half and cooked according to package directions*

Black and/or white sesame seeds for garnish
Thinly sliced green onion tops for garnish (optional)

*IMPORTANT NOTE: make sure to rinse noodles under very cold water until completely cooled or they will get very gummy.

Peel cucumbers. Score the cucumber lengthwise with a fork all the way around. Slice into inch slices keeping thickness as even as possible. Using a small melon baller or small paring knife, carefully scoop out most of the seeds and flesh of cucumber to create a little bowl. Make sure to leave a little cucumber on the bottom for the bowl. Place in a single layer on serving platter and set aside.

In a small bowl whisk dressing ingredients together and set aside.

In a 10 inch iron skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Heat sesame oil until just warm and not smoking. Add shiitake mushrooms, jalapeños and onion. Saute until shiitake mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl gently combine the chilled soba noodles, dressing and mushroom mixture.

Using a fork, twirl soba noodles to make a small and fairly tight "nest" of noodles**. Carefully place the "nest"inside the cucumber bowls. Repeat with remaining cucumber bowls and noodles.

Sprinkle each cute little bowl with sesame seeds and green onion for garnish. Serve immediately or they can be refrigerated for an hour or two before serving.

**NOTE: The mushroom mixture may fall out while twirling the noodles. Use a small spoon or your fingers to sprinkle some of the mixture on top of filled cucumbers.

Mofo 2013 - Day 7 - F is for Freaking Awesome

F is for fun, which is what I am having coming up with ideas for this MoFo! This time I thought of perhaps doing some fritters, falafel, fricassee, frosted cupcakes, french onion soup, fresh fennel. All of which made me want to eat them. But what ended up happening is that I had some leftover rice in the fridge. I am famous for forgetting this kind of stuff in the fridge until it is stinky and garbage bound. I was super excited to save this batch of rice from the same fate.

The thing I love about cooking meals myself is that you can make things just how you like them. I love fried rice, but I often find that there is a lot of rice and not very many veggies. My version ups the veggie ratio and uses brown rice for added health benefits.

Fried Rice with Shiitakes and Broccoli

Makes 2 large portions

4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, separated
2 large fresh shiitake mushrooms (about 1 cup when sliced)
pinch salt
1 1/2 cup small broccoli florets (about 1/2 inch size)
2 cups leftover long grain brown rice (I used basmati)
1 tablespoon low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 teaspoon red or brown miso
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions, green part only

In a wok or deep sauté pan, 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil over medium low heat. Add shiitake mushrooms and sauté until they release their liquid and slightly softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add broccoli florets and sauté until they are bright green, about 3 minutes. Add a splash of water if the pan is too dry. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to hot pan and add rice. Saute until starts to get golden brown and slightly crunchy (just slightly). Stir in mushroom mixture, soy sauce and miso until well combined. Remove from heat and toss in green onions.

Serve immediately.

This is actually pretty darn good reheated as well!

*Can be GF if GF tamari is used.

Iron Chef - Potatoes and Sesame

The fine organizers of Vegan MoFo chose two awesome ingredients for this edition of Iron Chef: potatoes and sesame. Potatoes are one of my all time favorite foods. I can't think of any way I don't like to eat them. I have to say fried potato products are like crack to me. I am trying hard not to eat a lot of fried foods these days, so when this challenge came up I had to muster all of my will-power not to fire up the fryer.

Sesame has several forms that are awesome in many types of cuisines. I just happened to have whole sesame seeds, tahini and toasted sesame oil in my pantry. So many options went through my head: sushi, sesame potato cakes, curry, gyoza, soup, Asian potato skins, lettuce wraps. They all sounded sooooo yummy, however, none of these came to be for this challenge. Instead I opted to make a salad; not just your run of the mill salad. This salad has it all; protein, starch, vegetables, savory mushrooms and lots of flavor!

It has several components and lots of ingredients, but it is actually pretty simple to make. I recommend making the dressing and marinating the tempeh and mushrooms a day ahead of time. Make sure to read the recipe all the way through before starting so you can decide on your plan of action. The day of assembly, I recommend starting your potatoes first. They will need some time to roast and cool. You don't want them to be super hot, just warm.

Sesame Crusted Tempeh Asian Salad with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Makes 4 entree portions

Prepare Tempeh and Mushrooms for marinating:

1 - 8 oz package tempeh, cut into 12 thin rectangles
4 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

Marinade:

1cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon red miso
3 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce
1 teaspoon dried thai basil or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

Steam sliced tempeh for 15 minutes. While tempeh is steaming, whisk marinade ingredients together in a 11" x 7" rectangular non-reactive pan, or any pan that will hold the tempeh in one layer. While tempeh is still hot, place in single layer in the marinade. Add shiitake mushrooms to the pan. Marinade 8 hours or overnight, turning tempeh once about half way through.

Salad:

1 small head savoy cabbage, thinly sliced, washed and drained (approx 7 cups)
1 large red bell pepper, very thinly sliced
2 green onions, both green and white parts, thinly sliced
1 recipe dressing (see recipe below)

marinated tempeh and mushrooms from above
Spray oil for pan
1/4 cup each black and regular sesame seeds, combined in a shallow bowl
Roasted potatoes from above


In a large bowl, toss savoy cabbage, red peppers, green onions and dressing until vegetables are evenly coated. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Spray a 10 inch iron skillet or non-stick skillet with spray oil. Heat over medium high heat. Add shiitake mushrooms and sauté until just browned, about 4 minutes. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside to cool to room temp (a little warmer is actually even better).

Re-spray pan with oil. Dredge marinated tempeh in sesame seed mixture until evenly coated. Place coated tempeh in preheated pan. Sear for 3 minutes. Gently turn tempeh and sear other side for about 3 minutes. Turn heat off and leave tempeh in pan to keep warm.

Assemble the salad:

Divide salad mixture evenly among 4 plates or large shallow bowls. Arrange 3 slices of sesame coated tempeh on each plate. In the center of the salad place 1/4 of the sauteed shiitake mushrooms. Add 1/4 of the roasted potatoes evenly around the edge of the plate.



Dressing:

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1 tablespoon red miso
1/2 - 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (or more if you like it really hot)
1 large clove garlic, minced
salt to taste

Blend all ingredients in a blender or with a stick blender until smooth. Will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

Yesterday was such a full day for me, I barely got my post up. I did not include the winner of American Vegan Kitchen. I won't leave it out today. The winner is...

#5 - Jeni!!!

I agree Jeni! No diner experience would be complete without pie. There are a couple of great pie recipes for you to try in your brand new copy of AVK! Please make sure to contact me with your shipping information at vegintraining at g mail dot com. Congrats!!

Make sure to come back tomorrow. It's going to be an exciting day! I will be reviewing the upcoming Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero and yes I will also be giving away a copy to one lucky winner.

Where Did the Time Go?

Sheesh! I haven't posted in a very long time. I am so sorry I have been MIA. It seems I lost my kitchen MoJo at Christmas. It was actually starting to make me a little nervous. I had absolutely no desire to test, create or even cook for weeks. Anyone who knows me should have been calling me every day to make sure I hadn't been committed or something, because this is extremely out of character for me. I am slowly recovering from whatever it was that was ailing my kitchen spirit, but it is still very slow going. I think I need a session with a kitchen exorcist or something.

As I slowly break out of my funk I am focusing on more foods that are healthy, less fatty, less processed. No it's not a New Year's resolution. It is a solid goal to take of a lot of pounds before I hike rim to rim in the Grand Canyon in May. The last thing I want to do is carry 20-30 extra pounds in and out of there. So, I am very motivated to eat good stuff.

It just so happened that I needed to test a delicious light Ponzu Sauce for Robin Robertson's upcoming Quick-Fix Vegan. I decided that I would team it up with some yummy, colorful spring rolls. For the spring roll filling I used julienned carrots, pea sprouts, sauteed fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped raw cashews and fresh cilantro leaves. They were really fresh and yummy. It was a nice change from all of the heavy fat laden goodies I had indulged in during the holidays. If you are looking for a fun way to eat healthy, try your hand at rolling up some of these pretty little things. They are GF too! The ponzu sauce was a great complement and was super easy to make as an added bonus.

Shiitake Spring Rolls
Makes 8-10 rolls

2 large fresh shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
2 teaspoons low sodium tamari
2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned
handful of pea sprouts
3 tablespoons raw cashews, coarsely chopped
16-20 cilantro leaves
8-10 - 6 inch round rice paper wrappers

In small saute pan over medium heat, saute mushrooms in sesame oil until just starting to soften. Add tamari and saute for 2-3 more minutes until tamari is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Prepare ingredients by laying them out for assembly. Now I've been told the secret to a good spring roll is to make certain you roll them tightly. The secret is to make sure the rice paper does not get too wet and rip. Heat water in a 8" skillet until warm but not boiling. Working with one sheet of rice paper at a time dip into water for 3-4 seconds. Don't worry if it is not completely soft, it will become so in about 30 seconds. After removing from water, place on a flat surface. Once it is pliable, place 1/8 of each ingredient about 1 inch from the edge closest to you. I recommend putting the carrots on the bottom. This gives you a little more stability when you start rolling.

Fold the short end of the rice paper over the filling tightly, rolling to cover the filling. After the filling is encased. fold the sides over and continue to roll it up. I like to fold the ends in, but you can also leave them open if you are so inclined. Slice in half when ready to serve. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. I like a Ponzu or soy based dipping sauce myself.

Click here for a pictorial on how to roll spring rolls.

Food Network Friday - Guy Fieri's Spicy Cherry Ribs

I don't know why, but I really love to watch Guy Fieri's shows. Especially Diners, Drive In's, and Dives. He makes me want to take road trips to little divey gems all over the country. This weeks FNF challenge was to veganize his Spicy Cherry Ribs recipe. I had a lot of fun with this challenge. I decided to go way outside of the box and do an Asian/Southwestern infusion plate. I strayed a bit from Guy's original recipe by replacing Sriracha hot sauce with chipotles in adobo to give it a Southwestern flair. After all we do live in the heart of the Southwest.

I figured my cohorts and I would probably do similar sauces, so I wanted to attempt to make this remake shine with some interesting accompanying components. There are a lot of different components and flavors going on in this dinner. I started off with the Chipotle-Cherry Glazed Smoked Tofu and Tempeh. Then things really got interesting.

To run with my Asian/Southwestern vision I decided to try a really cool variation of tamales. First I wanted to make a tamale type filling without spending a load of time or adding all the shortening and fat to the filling. I made an interesting polenta filling complete with shiitake mushrooms and hatch green chilis. The polenta can be enjoyed on its own, but man is it good as eggroll filling! To round out the flavor and heat profile, it seemed a good idea to do a creamy sauce for the eggrolls to tame the chipotles down a bit.

Now we can't have dinner without some veggies. I'm totally in love with baby bok choy (Asian) these days. Today at the farmers market there was some kick booty sweet corn (Southwestern). I made a simple glaze by using an all natural jarred hoisin sauce. I used 1/2 cup of the hoisin, 1/2 cup veggie broth, 1 teaspoon tamari, and about 1/2 teaspoon Sriricha. The corn was sliced into 1/2 inch wheels and par boiled. Then both the corn and the bok choy were grilled and brushed heavily with the hoisin mixture just long enough to get the bok choy to el dente stage. Make sure not to over cook. It should still have a bit of crunch.

Chipotle-Cherry Glazed Smoked Tofu and Tempeh

8 servings

1 - 12 oz. package tofu

1 - 8 oz package tempeh

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

dry rub:

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 recipe Cherry Chipotle Glaze (recipe below)

Chopped scallions for garnish

Sesame seeds for garnish

Slice tofu into equal rectangles. Cut tempeh block in half. Take each half and slice it down the middle to make thin rectangles. Cut each rectangle on a diagonal to make 8 total triangles. Steam tempeh for 10 minutes. Let cool enough to handle. Place tofu and tempeh in smoker with pecan chips. Follow smoker directions. It should take around 15 minutes to smoke. You can buy pre-smoked if you'd like.

Make rub by mixing all dry spices. Reserve 1 teaspoon rub for East Meets Southwest Tamale Eggrolls (recipe below).

Once tofu and tempeh are cooled, brush both sides with mustard. Coat each side of tofu and tempeh with dry rub. Place on a deep rimmed baking sheet. Let sit out at room temperature for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350.

Brush each side of tofu and tempeh with Cherry Chipotle Glaze. Pour remaining evenly over tofu and tempeh. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes and remove foil. Bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven. Plate 1 piece of tofu and top with 1 piece of tempeh on each plate. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions and sesame seeds. Serve with East Meets Southwest Tamale Eggrolls (recipe below)

Cherry Chipotle Glaze

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 cup diced red onion

3 tablespoons fresh minced ginger

2 cans red cherries in water, drained

1 tablespoon blue agave

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons tequila

2 chipotles in adobo chopped (do not remove seeds)

1 1/2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from chipotles)

1 1/2 teaspoons dry sherry

1 1/2 teaspoons brown rice vinegar

4 tablespoons low sodium tamari

In medium saute pan over medium heat saute onion ginger, cherries, agave, and garlic in sesame oil until mixture thickens. Deglaze with tequila. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. Put in blender or food processor until pureed. Return to pan and let cool to room temperatre. Can be stored in fridge for up to 3 days.

East Meets Southwest Tamale Eggrolls

8 eggrolls

1 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

3/4 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon low sodium tamari

2 roasted hatch chilis, seeded and chopped small

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon reserved rub mix from recipe above

1/2 cup coarse corn meal (polenta)
8 Vegan egg roll wrappers

1 recipe Creamy Coconut Eggroll Sauce (recipe below)

In a medium saucepan heat toasted sesame oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds until it becomes fragrant. Add mushrooms and tamari. Saute until mushrooms are soft. Add hatch chilis. Saute for 2 more minutes. Pour in vegetable broth. Turn heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Slowly pour in polenta whisking constantly. As mixture thickens switch to a wooden spoon and stir until polenta  thickens and get fairly stiff but not hard. Immediately assemble eggrolls. Using vegan eggroll wrappers, take one wrapper putting corner closest to you. (it will look like a diamond). Spread about 3 tablespoons of polenta mixture across the wrapper as pictured. Fold both sides over the end of the mixture. Take bottom of the diamond and wrap over the filling an roll egg roll style. Put in glass baking dish covered with a damp cloth. Repeat with remaining 7 egg roll wrappers. If you have never made egg rolls before, click here for a really nice pictorial on how to do it.

Heat canola oil to 350 in 10" iron skillet. Test with eggroll wrapper. It should bubble and cook very quickly. Carefully place 4 eggrolls at a time in the oil. Drain on paper bag topped with paper towel. Keep warm in warm. Fry the remaining  eggrolls. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons sauce on plate. Cut each eggroll in half diagonally and place over sauce. Serve immediately.

***The polenta/tamale filling is also excellent on its own***

Creamy Cocunut Eggroll Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

1 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon arrowroot

1/4 teaspoon 5 spice powder

3 tablespoons hot salsa

1 teaspoon mellow white miso

In a small saucepan over medium heat whisk together all ingredients until miso is dissolved. Heat until sauce reduces by about 1/4 and thickens a bit, whisking frequently. Turn heat off and start assembling eggrolls. Sauce is best served at a little above room temperature.

For dessert I decided on something simple and summery, but still taking on kind of an Asian theme. I made Terry's Favorite Almond Cookies from Veganomicon. They are similar to those yummy almond cookies you get in Chinese restaurants. I made them into ice cream sandwiches using Coconut Bliss Maraschino Cherry flavor. Perfect for the summer heat. 

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK VEGAN APPETITE TO SEE MORE AWESOME VERSIONS OF GUY'S RECIPE!

FNF - Bobby Flay Throw Down

In his show Throw Down with Bobby Flay, Mr. Flay often travels into some great cook's/chef's home territory to challenge them to a culinary duel. The native is the master at a particular dish in his or her region. Well, we Food Network Friday foodies don't do a head to head competition with the fabulous Mr. Flay, but it doesn't mean our throw downs aren't pretty darn exciting. Who knows, maybe someday he'll want to take one of us on!

This week's challenge was a vegan makeover of Bobby's recipe for BBQ Duck and Sauteed Shiitake Mushroom filled Blue Corn Pancakes with Habenero Sauce. Our little group has become fairly masterful at converting recipes. Check out Vegan Appetite for the other submissions. This one only needed a bit of tweaking to make it totally animal free. I did take the liberty of straying a bit from the original by making Blue Corn Crepes rather than pancakes. I felt that the mushroom/protein filling should stand out more and not be weighed down by a thicker fluffier wrap. The results were all the proof I needed. The crepes were beautiful and let the filling really shine.

There were a couple of tweaks made to the Mesa BBQ Sauce recipe. Vegan Worcestershire sauce was used. I only used 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar as I don't like an overly sweet sauce. The honey was replaced by agave nectar. Pasilla chili powder was unattainable this week. Instead I finely chopped 2 large fresh pasillas and sauteed them with the onions at the beginning of the recipe. This makes a huge amount of sauce. You could easily halve this recipe and have plenty for the 4 servings the recipe below makes.

Veganizing the habenero sauce was a breeze. The only necessary adjustment was vegetable stock for the chicken stock. I only used 2 tablespoons sugar in the sauce. I did use the full recipe of this sauce.

No changes were necessary for the shiitake mushrooms. I do have to say that I used a full recipe of the mushrooms for the 4 servings below. Bobby used this amount for 8 servings.

The biggest challenge was to make a delicious substitution for the very fatty and unhealthy duck thighs. Butler Soy Curls to the rescue!!!

BBQ "Duck"

4 servings

1 cup Butler Soy Curls
1/2 cup Habenero Sauce
3/4 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons Mesa BBQ Sauce
1 recipe shiitake mushrooms
1 cup Mesa BBQ Sauce

Bring habenero sauce and stock to a boil. Stir in BBQ Sauce. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes to rehydrate soy curls. Add soy curls to pan that the mushrooms are in. Saute and stir for about a minute. Add BBQ sauce and simmer until sauce becomes slightly sticky (5 minutes or so). Turn heat to very low to make crepes.

Blue Corn Crepes
(Makes 11 crepes if you are a crepe master and don't lose any)

3/4 cup blue corn meal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup soy milk
1 cup water
1 tablespoons tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt

Blend all ingredients in blender until well combined. Mixture will be very thin. Let chill in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes. Heat crepe pan or 8" non stick pan until it sizzles when a drop of water hits it.. Lightly spray pan with canola oil before pouring batter in (for each crepe). Using a 1/4 cup measure, quickly pour batter in pan and swirl around to cover the bottom of the pan evenly. When the crepe is dry on top and there are a few bubbles, flip crepe with a thin spatula and cook for 1-2 more minutes on the other side. Transfer to plate and keep warm making sure to put either wax paper or parchment between each crepe to prevent sticking. Freeze any leftover crepes for later use.***

To assemble:

Once all of the crepes are cooked, place 1/4 cup BBQ mixture in the center and roll up. Place 2 filled crepes on each plate. Drizzle equal amounts of reserved habanero sauce on each plate. If desired, serve with extra BBQ Sauce. Garnish with cilanto leaves and avocado slices.

***Everything can be made up a day ahead of time, stored in the fridge. Reheat sauces and filling on the stove top. For the crepes, spray a little oil in your non-stick or crepe pan and reheat for about 1 minute on each side.

Vegan MOFO Day 18 - Iron Chef - Sushi

I love sushi. I love the way it looks. I love the whole ritual involved with eating it. My creation for this week is a departure from the traditional sushi I adore. I didn't have time to go to the grocery store to prepare, so this was pantry digging creativity.


Azuki Sushi Cakes
Makes four 4 inch cakes

1 cup sushi rice
1 1/4 cups cold water
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 sheet nori crumbled

Filling

2/3 cup dried shitake mushrooms
1 c water
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 teaspoon 5 spice powder
3/4 cup azuki beans
2 green onions, green part only chopped
1/2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 Tablespoons veganaise
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
1 cup panko crumbs

In 2 quart saucepan mix rice and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low and cook for about 20 minutes until water is absorbed. When cooked add in rice vinegar and sugar. Let rice cool in large bowl.

While rice is cooling make filling. Bring water, tamari, and 5 spice powder to a boil. Pour over dried shitakes to rehydrate. In a medium sized bowl mix azuki beans, green onions, ginger, sesame oil, veganaise, and wasabi powder together. Salt to taste.

When rice is cool enough, mix in crumbled nori into rice. To make cakes have bowl of cold water handy for hands to prevent rice from sticking while forming. Take about 3 T rice and flaten into a circle. Put about 1 T filling in the center of the cake. Top with approx 2 T more rice. Form into round cake. Put panko in shallow wide bowl. Dredge cake gently into panko. Place in refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour. Preheat large iron skillet. Coat bottom of pan with canola oil adding 1 T toasted sesame oil. When oil is hot, gently place cakes into pan leaving plenty of space between cakes for flipping. When cake is golden flip to the other side* and saute until the other side is golden (approx 5 minutes per side). Drain on paper towels.

Make sauce.

Sauce

1/3 cup veganaise
1 Tablespoon Chinese hot mustard
1 teaspoon mellow miso

Stir together sauce ingredients until smooth.

To serve cakes, place 2 cakes on each plate. Top with dollop of sauce. Garnish with chopped green onion (optional) and sesame seeds.
*Warning - the cakes are very delicate. Flip very gently or they may fall apart.

I had some leftover filling, so I thought I would make some rolls. We had these with hot mustard seasoned tamari.