I had my whole weekend’s meals planned out and then I wanted to add another recipe in the mix. I felt like a spicy soup recipe, with a few things from my garden.
No spice, the recipe is still sensational
Don’t leave now thinking ‘oh I don’t like spice I am not going to make this’. Like all my recipes, everything is possible, and this recipe works just as well without spice. Just leave the chilli out and use sauerkraut instead of kimchi.
I was inspired by a recipe I saw in Meera Sodha’s new cookbook, “Dinner”. It is my latest cookbook purchase.
Scaling down recipes
Because I only really wanted 3 portions out of it, 2 for us to eat for lunch and then one to freeze, (Yep I love adding meals to the freezer for those impossible days, or so Mak can take one out and defrost it when I am not home) I knew I had to scale it down and this is quite an art in itself.
Keeping check on myself when scaling
The number of times I went back to the fridge to put the extra mushroom back, as I have a tendency to overcook, was beyond laughable.
Usually, I teach to cook more portions, but sometimes scaling is needed
If you know me, you know I am one for teaching you to cook extra portions to put in the freezer and to serve up the next day. But sometimes this is not called for and I want to teach you my rules for scaling down.
Less than what you think
When scaling down, you need to understand that you will need less than you think. For example, if making soup for just one person, you really only need 1 cup of chopped veg, 1½ at the very max. Yep that’s it, not a whole lot is it? When cooking for one I get my smallest saucepan out, as I know I don’t need more than that.
You can’t always scale down the protein component
However, some recipes that you might be following don’t have the right amount of protein in them. For example, the one I was following only had 400g firm tofu for 4 people. For 3 servings, which is what I needed, I used 500g firm tofu so I could get the maximum amount of protein. I go with 150g firm tofu per person and I added the extra 50g as I couldn’t handle the thought of 50g protein floating around in a water filled Pyrex bowl all on its own in my huge fridge.
Fusion Recipe that can be a soup or stew for 3 to 4 people
This recipe I share with you today is a fusion recipe. It is a mix between a Korean stew and a Thai curry, and even has a Cheats Gochujang paste recipe in it. You can make it serve 3 people as a soup or serve it as a stew with brown rice, (1&1/3 cups brown rice soaked then cooked) to get the similar amount of protein per person.
Nutrition on my mind
If I thought I was obsessed about nutrition before I am really truly obsessed right now, as I put together the Vegan Nutrition Course, which will be run twice a year. Next intake is in May, and the one following in October. It is so liberating when you know all about nutrition, because confusion goes out the window and clarity becomes your new friend. I am so excited to be sharing this course with you. If you would like more information, click here, or email me at info@veets.com.au
Because I am obsessed I have got you all the nutritional info on this fabulous dish and broken it down so you see the nutrients for one person.
Note: if you make this meal a 4-person meal and serve with 1&1/3 cup brown rice you will get very similar results.
Nutrient Profile of the recipe for 1 person (1/3 of the recipe)
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Nutrient | Per serving | Adult RDI / AI | % of RDI | Main sources |
Energy | 430–530 kcal | 2000–2500 kcal/day | 20–25% | tofu, oil, coconut milk |
Protein | 12–23 g | 46 g (women) / 64 g (men) | 26–50% | tofu (main), miso |
Fat | 18–23 g | 70 g (approx. 30% of energy) | 25–33% | olive oil, coconut milk, tofu |
Carbs | 30–40 g | 130 g (minimum) | 23–31% | sweet potato, veg |
Fibre | 8–12 g | 25–30 g | 30–45% | broccoli, kimchi, sweet potato |
Vitamin A | 800–1200 µg | 700 µg (women) / 900 µg (men) | 90–170% | sweet potato |
Vitamin C | 80–130 mg | 45 mg (women) / 75–90 mg (men) | 90–290% | broccoli, kimchi |
Vitamin D | 5–10 µg | 15 µg (AI, or 20 µg older) | 33–66% | Tanned mushrooms |
Vitamin E | 2–3 mg | 7–11 mg | 20–40% | olive oil |
Vitamin K | 100–170 µg | 60–120 µg (AI) | 80–280% | broccoli |
Vitamin B9 (Folate) | 80–130 µg | 400 µg | 20–33% | broccoli, miso |
Vitamin B6 | 0.5–0.8 mg | 1.3 mg | 40–60% | sweet potato |
Vitamin B12 | 0.2–0.7 µg | 2.4 µg | 10–30% | fermented soy (low) |
Calcium | 200–400 mg | 1000 mg | 20–40% | tofu |
Iron | 3–4 mg | 8 mg (men) / 18 mg (women) | 40–50% (men) / 15–22% (women) | tofu, miso |
Magnesium | 60–100 mg | 310–420 mg | 15–30% | tofu, veg |
Potassium | 800–1200 mg | 2600–3400 mg (AI) | 25–45% | sweet potato |
Zinc | 2–3 mg | 8–11 mg | 20–30% | tofu |
Phosphorus | 250–400 mg | 700 mg | 35–55% | tofu |
Fusion Korean Thai Soup/Stew
Can eat it as a soup or serve it with rice (1/4 cup dried white rice per person or 1/3 cup brown rice, then cook it as you normally do)
INGREDIENTS
500g firm tofu
2tbsp tamari
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion sliced
1 big garlic clove or 2 regular minced
2 tsp ginger
1 lemon grass stalk
4 makrut leaves ***
1 tbsp tamari (in addition to the amount above)
1/3 cup coconut milk
750ml to 1 litre water or stock
1 tsp sweet paprika
Cheats Gochujang Paste
1 tbsp of Korean chilli flakes or powder or ½ to 1 tsp regular chilli flakes or powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp miso
1 tbsp rice vinegar
Veggies
1 cup sauerkraut or Kimchi
½ head of broccoli cut in long florets or a bunch broccolini ends trimmed
1/3 zucchini julienned
½ small sweet potato julienned
100g king oyster mushrooms also julienned (place them in the sun for 10 minutes before cooking if you want them to contain vitamin D)
Garnish
2 spring onions chopped lengthways (if you want to know how to do this well come join the Living well with Veet Cooking and Nutrition Collective)
METHOD
1. Cut the tofu into cubes and place on a baking tray. Pour on the 2 tbsp tamari and olive oil and mix through. Place in 200°C oven for 20 – 30 minutes, or until it is browned and a little crisp.
2. Make the gochujang paste by mixing the ingredients together.
3. Add a splash of oil into a saucepan and add the onion, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, makrut leaves, bash the end of the lemongrass stalk and add that too. Sprinkle on a smidgen of salt, turn the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
4. Add the gochujang and cook for a few minutes. Then add the sweet potato and kim chi or sauerkraut and water or stock. Start with 750ml of wate, you can add more later. Also add the remaining 1 tbsp tamari. Cook for 5 minutes on a medium heat.
5. Then add the zucchini and broccoli and cook for a further 5 minutes. Pour the coconut milk in and heat until hot enough to serve, but not boiling.
6. Remove the lemongrass and makrut leaves and serve into bowls with tofu cubes and the spring onion garnish.
*** formally known as kaffir lime leaves but now not due to cultural inappropriateness.
