At the Dutch VeggieWorld fair I gave a workshop about ‘umami’. Everyone knows the basic tastes sweet, sour, salty and bitter, but have you ever heard of umami? Umami is Japanese for ‘savory’ or ‘delicious’ and it is the fifth flavor that people can taste. Japanese cuisine traditionally uses many ingredients that are rich in […]

I almost never use recipes for my stir fries anymore. So thought I’d share my super simple general method, that you can make endless variations on. For example, replace the tofu with vegan chicken pieces or chickpeas, choose other vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, leeks, carrots etc.) and change up the sauces. Your stir fry can be […]

For a long time I’ve wanted to make a vegan cheese that was similar in texture to Violife (Europe) or Chao (US). I’ve tried many times with different ingredients and methods and this steamed rice flour based cheese is the closest I’ve come. It has a lovely firm texture that allows it to be grated […]

Depending on where you live, vegan mayonnaise is getting easier to find in stores, but if you ever run out it’s also super easy to make your own from soy milk and oil with a few flavorings! It’s the perfect base for salad dressings, to spread on sandwiched stuff and for my European friend – […]

David and I have been watching some documentaries about Japan (check Japanology on Youtube), and we like trying some Japanese food while we’re at it. This time it was miso soup, a big bowlful of Japanese comfort food that is super quick to make. The miso (fermented soy paste) makes for a lovely creamy broth […]

Good old tofu feta! It’s a really tasty and easy cheese substitute, especially if you use a nice fresh tofu, don’t skimp on the flavorings and give it time to marinade. It’s high protein and a good source of calcium. If you really want to go all-in, make your own tofu first! Of course it […]

I really like the taste of fresh tofu. It’s just so much better than the stuff you can get in the supermarkets that’s been sitting in the same old sour water for days or even weeks. I can get good fresh tofu from my local Asian grocery store, but I don’t always have time to […]

I finally managed to find gochujang Korean fermented chili paste in Amsterdam. I love the flavor, like a marriage of sriracha and miso. I want to try lots of Korean recipes now, and started with bibimbap. This is a nice quick filling recipe with lots of different flavors that takes about half an hour to […]

For this palak paneer recipe (Indian spinach curry) I took some cues from Vegan Richa, the queen of vegan Indian food. Tofu takes the place of the chewy paneer cheese and this works remarkably well! This dish looks impressive, but it is super quick and easy to make, especially with the few small shortcuts I […]

When I was little I really liked cottage cheese (also called hüttenkäse). I hadn’t really found a good vegan alternative, but this recipe with crumbled tofu and soy yogurt satisfies all my cottage cheese cravings! It has a nice smooth mouthfeel and a subtle savory flavor. Just like cottage cheese made from cow’s milk, this […]