Tag Archives: vegetarian Chinese recipe

Salt and Pepper Tater Tots — A Guilty Pleasure If There Ever Was One

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Salt and pepper tater tots are sure to be your new guilty pleasure.
Salt and pepper tater tots are sure to be your new guilty pleasure.

If you had told me that one day I’d be stir-frying tater tots, I would have called you “crazy.”

But crazy can be mighty good.

And these sure are.

Put your disbelief aside, do yourself a favor, and make these “Salt and Pepper Tater Tots.”

If you’ve ever enjoyed the warm aromatics of Chinese salt and pepper shrimp or salt and pepper spare ribs, then you know the taste sensation you are in for.

This delightful recipe is from “Tenderheart” (Alfred A. Knopf), of which I received a review copy.

It’s the newest cookbook by Hetty Lui McKinnon, the gifted Chinese Australian cook and food writer who now lives in Brooklyn. She’s also the publisher of the multicultural food journal, Peddler, as well as host of its podcast, The House Specials.

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Andrea Nguyen’s Char Siu Roasted Cauliflower

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All the sweet, smoky, familiar taste of Chinese char siu -- but done with cauliflower instead.
The sweet, smoky, familiar taste of Chinese char siu — but done with cauliflower instead.

Admittedly, I’d grown a little weary of cauliflower.

Not that I don’t love this brassica’s crunch and subtle nutty sweetness. But after so many recipes for ricing, pizza crust-making, and roasting whole and every which way, I kinda had my fill.

Then, along comes the spectacular and unbelievably easy “Char Siu Roasted Cauliflower” to make me appreciate it all over again.

This clever vegetarian riff on the classic Chinese barbecue pork comes from my friend and colleague, Santa Cruz’s Andrea Nguyen, of course. It’s one of 125 recipes in her wonderful new “Ever-Green Vietnamese” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

As she writes in the book’s forward, she — or rather her body — “hit a wall” as she was turning 50 in 2019. No surprise, the older we get, the more we begin to experience real changes in our bodies. In our 20s, we are lucky to get away with devouring most anything without a second thought. But in our 40s, 50s, and beyond, the digestive system starts to rebel more and the calories make themselves way too much at home.

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Chinese Homestyle Black Pepper Portobello Mushrooms

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A plant-based play on the classic black pepper beef.
A plant-based play on the classic black pepper beef.

Versatile, sizeable, and hefty, portobello mushrooms make a fine and satisfying substitute for meat in so many dishes, including this classic Chinese one.

If you’re a fan of black pepper beef, then you will much enjoy “Black Pepper Portobello Mushrooms,” a plant-based play on the classic that’s absolutely delicious.

The recipe is from “Chinese Homestyle” (Rock Point, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook is by Maggie Zhu, a New York food writer and creator of the Omnivore’s Cookbook blog.

It’s a collection of 90 plant-based Chinese recipes that are a breeze to make. They’re perfect for anyone who’s vegetarian or vegan or for any home cook who wants to add a veggie-centric dish to a family-style spread.

Get your chopsticks at the ready for everything from “Baked Crispy Tofu Nuggets,” “Char Siu Baos” (made with button mushrooms instead of pork), and “Egg-Less Egg Drop Soup” (with yuba sheets standing in for the strands of eggs) to “Three-Cup Scrambled Tempeh” and “Creamy Red Bean Ice Pops.”

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