vegetarian

One Wok Japchae

| Zoe Wong

There were two motivations in making this recipe- the first, as always, was due to the fact that I was craving japchae but didn’t have immediate access to any Korean restaurant. The second motivation stemmed from my own guilt that the bag of glass noodles or sweet potato noodles that I had bought more than two months ago went neglected for as long as it did.

Perhaps you are unable to relate to my motivations stated above, but hopefully, you have landed yourself on this blog post because you at least love or are interested in learning how to make japchae with limited time and effort. If so, you’ve come to the right place.

As the title suggests, this recipe requires one wok, or a really big skillet. I would not consider this recipe traditional by any means since it skips a lot of steps (mainly parboiling the different vegetables separately), but the end result, in my opinion, is just as satisfying. Also, because this recipe is all done in one wok, it requires less oil than it’s traditional counterpart in which sesame oil would be added not only to the noodles, but to each different vegetable category as well.

I did not include any meat in this recipe because I don’t like cooking meat, but feel free to add your own spin with meat if you’d like.

I love meal prepping japchae because it can be eaten both hot or cold- which means that I can eat without worrying about finding a microwave between classes.

One Wok Japchae

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 tbsp sesame oil
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • black pepper
  • salt
  • 1 tbsp Korean red chili powder
  • 2 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 5, 2-inch stalks of green onion
  • 1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 small carrots, thinly sliced
  • 5 re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • handful of spinach
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 Cups of water
  • glass noodles
  • sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

  1. Marinate the shiitake mushrooms: in a bowl, add mushrooms, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp garlic and 1/2 tbsp red chili powder. Mix and set aside for about 15-20 minutes.
  2. In a medium-sized wok, heat up 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Sauté carrots on medium-high until cooked. Season with salt. Set aside on a designated “prep” plate.
  3. Return the wok to medium-high heat. Cook the marinated mushrooms until marinade is absorbed and mushrooms are cooked, about 3 minutes. Set mushrooms aside on “prep” plate.
  4. The wok should still be hot, so there’s no need to turn the heat back on. Quickly add spinach and a dash of soy sauce and sauté until just barely cooked, about 1 minute. Set aside on “prep” plate.
  5. Add another tbsp of vegetable oil in the wok. Add in the green onions. Sauté on high until fragrant.
  6. Add onions and 1 tbsp of garlic to the wok and cook on medium with the green onions until onions start to become translucent. Set aside on “prep” plate.
  7. Boil water in the wok. When it boils, add the glass noodles and cook for 2 minutes or according to the time on the packaging.
  8. Strain the noodles under cold, running water. Add sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking to each other. Set aside.
  9. Add 1 tbsp of oil to the wok and set it on low. To separate the egg white from the yolk, barely crack the egg on the kitchen counter and, using your fingers, gently pry the shell apart over the wok. Let the egg whites drip onto the wok, being careful not to puncture the egg yolk. Set the egg yolk aside in a small bowl.
  10. Cook the egg white with the lowest heat possible. When cooked, set aside.
  11. Remove the white parts from the egg yolk, then beat the egg yolk until smooth.
  12. Cook the egg yolk on the lowest heat possible. When cooked, set aside.
  13. Slice the cooked egg white and yolk into thin strips, set aside on the “prep” plate.
  14. Add 1 tbsp to the wok and 1 tbsp of garlic to the wok. Set on medium heat. When the garlic is fragrant, add the glass noodles back to the wok. Add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp brown sugar, some cracked black pepper, and 1/2 tbsp red chili powder. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.
  15. Add everything except for the egg yolk on the “prep” plate back into the wok. Stir until homogeneous.
  16. Serve on a large plate, or 2 plates for 2 servings. Top with the egg yolk strips and sesame seeds.

Thank you to a dear friend of mine, SP, whose enthusiasm gave me the strength to finish writing out this recipe. ❤

Feeling rice more than noodles?

Colorful Vegetarian Kimbap

Kimbap is an easy and healthy make-ahead meal. You can make lots in one go, then stick them in the fridge for consumption throughout the week. It’s also great for potlucks or parties!

Simple Olive Tapenade

| Zoe Wong

One day after class (I was studying abroad in Paris), a staff member from the school was running a table full of food samples. Each food sample was supposed to be from a different part of France. The whole idea behind the event was to widen the students’ knowledge of French culture beyond that of Paris – which has vast differences. I remember sampling sparkling cider from Normandy, canelés from Bordeaux, nougat from Montélimar, and many other delicious goodies. The first time that I ever had tapenade was on this day. While tapenade isn’t from any particular region in France, I think they just included it because it was so…French? Afterall, I decided to go out of my way to make tapenade because of my Paris withdrawals. I was really craving a good baguette and tapenade to go with it, and thus, this recipe was birthed.

Anyways, each food sample on the table was labeled not only with its name and origin, but also with its key ingredients (in case of allergens). The key ingredients for the tapenade that day was anchovies and olives. As someone who has liked olives since their diaper days, the realization that there aren’t many people who like olives didn’t dawn on me until fairly recently. I may have been in denial of this sad statistic, but it was confirmed when I witnessed the tapenade looking alienated by the students. Perhaps it was also the mushed anchovies in the tapenade that further decreased its appeal. Anywho, if you’re reading this, I’m assuming that you, reader, don’t mind olives at the very least. This recipe does, afterall, contain olives. In fact, it is 80% olive and entirely forgoes both anchovies and capers, essential ingredients in a traditional recipe. If you didn’t catch it, that was my disclaimer that this recipe is not traditional or authentic.

While I usually strive to make food as authentic as possible, I did not feel it was necessary this time around because I wanted something fast, simple, and easily attainable. While I did say that I like olives, it isn’t something that I usually have in my pantry. I don’t usually have capers or anchovies either. When I set out to the grocery store, I had a budget and felt too lazy to carry three heavy jars back home (especially since I walk to and from the store). If you, reader, are afraid of anchovies, then fret not, because while I would like to include anchovies in this recipe, I couldn’t afford it (or capers), but found that the recipe was still tres bien~!

Simple Olive Tapenade

  • Servings: 1/2 cup
  • Difficulty: easy
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This is a very rough recipe so adjust to taste! Add more or less olives or garlic if you’d like. I also don’t add salt since I think it’s perfect without, but feel free to add some if you’d prefer it saltier.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 Cup pitted green olives, roughly minced
  • 4 Tbsp garlic, minced
  • 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions

  1. Infuse garlic with olive oil in a small pan over low heat until fragrant. Cool to room temperature.
  2. Mix olives, garlic, and oil in a container.
  3. Add lemon juice. Mix until all ingredients are well combined.

Serve with some bread or plain crackers. I even made a salad using tapenade as a dressing!

Colorful Beet Sandwich

| Zoe Wong

I LOVE THIS SANDWICH.

I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of beets, but I promise this sandwich is so appetizing! Because the beets are pickled, the sandwich is tangy and sweet. It’s also pretty to look at.

Might I also mention that this sandwich is a great vegetarian alternative to a BLT sandwich? It’s also (relatively) healthy because there’s no oil or fat, save for the 1 tsp of olive oil in the dijon-mustard dressing.

Cruising through the aisles in Wal-Mart, I found a can of pickled sliced beets for 80 cents! Initially, I thought I’d use the pickled beet juice to make pickled eggs for Easter (future post!), but I ended up making use of the sliced beets.

Canned beets aren’t as bad as some people think. Yes, fresh beets are great (as all fresh vegetables are in comparison to their canned counterparts), but for this recipe at least, the canned version is better. Why?

Well, for one, the sandwich uses pickled beets. So if I were using fresh beets, I’d have to go through the trouble of cooking the beet, slicing it, preparing the pickle solution, and pickling the beet slices myself. No doubt, the whole ordeal would surpass 80 cents. Time is also money, folks. Save your dollars and your time, just get the can.

Putting together this sandwich is pretty quick; the hardest and most time-consuming part is toasting your bread. Personally, I don’t like when my sandwich gets soggy. I don’t enjoy the experience granted when I take a hungry bite and find the bread slice stuck on the roof of my mouth. Therefore, I toasted my cheap slices of white bread. I highly recommend you do too, unless you’re using a drier bread like sourdough or baguette loaf.

Start by toasting two slices of bread on a dry skillet. Honestly, this first step is like making a grilled cheese, except that I don’t toast my bread with oil. If you want to make this like actual grilled cheese, melt the butter first, then place the bread in.

If you asked me straight up why I didn’t just make grilled cheese with butter, I’d say I’m being health conscious. But that’s a lie HAHA. Butter has just become such a luxury to my frugal self these days (but I’d still justify using 2 sticks for a tray of brownies because, BROWNIES). Besides, I don’t really feel too much of a difference with or without butter.

While making the “grilled cheese”, I make the dressing to toss the arugula in.

Propping up my toast and “grilled cheese” to avoid it getting soggy when cooled.

I’ve been obsessed with honey-dijon mustard since I first made it for my Pear and Blue Cheese Salad. It comes together quick and the proportions are easily altered depending on how much you want. I literally put honey-mustard on anything that I can. Eggs, ham sandwiches, crepes, leafy greens, delicious! So I’m not sure if I’m being biased because I like this dressing that much, but I feel that it goes especially well with the pickled beets since it’s also sweet and tangy.

Anywho, I toss the arugula in the dressing. I find that it binds the greens together, which makes it easier to eat the sandwich because the arugula won’t be dropping as much.

Then, I arrange my beets slices from the can onto the “grilled cheese”, top with the arugula, the last piece of toast, and chow down!!

Pickled Beet Sandwich

  • Servings: 3 sandwiches
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 9 slices white bread (pls use better bread, if possible)
  • 1 can pickled sliced beets
  • 3 slices American cheese
  • 3 handfuls of arugula
  • 3 tsp olive oil
  • 3 tsp dijon mustard
  • 3 tsp honey
  • some cracked pepper

Directions

  1. Toast 2 slices of bread on a dry skillet (no oil unless preferred). Once the bottom begins to brown, flip the slices.
  2. Put 1 slice of cheese on one toasted side. Top with the other slice, brown-side down (facing the cheese).
  3. Continue to toast both sides until both sides are brown and crisp, almost like making grilled cheese. Set aside when done. I suggest propping it up so that it doesn’t get soggy.
  4. Toast another slice of bread on both sides. Set aside when done.
  5. In a bowl, combine olive oil, mustard, honey, and some pepper. Toss with the arugula.
  6. Assemble the sliced beets on the “grilled cheese”. Top with arugula and then the last slice of toast.
  7. Cut the sandwich in half and enjoy!

Quick Tomato Pasta

| Zoe Wong

Don’t got pasta sauce? Too busy to make marinara? Ran out of canned tomatoes?

I got you.

Really, all you need are some grape tomatoes. I’m sure cherry or just plain old roma tomatoes (chopped) would work too.

This recipe, as the title suggests, comes together REALLY QUICK. Like, it’s done by the time the pasta is done boiling. I used rotini in the recipe because that’s what I had. The rotini I used cooks in 8 minutes, and I’m always done making the “sauce” before the pasta is even done. If you make this, you don’t have to use rotini. Pastas like macaroni cook even faster (about 5 minute cook time). Or, you can stick to classic spaghetti, which cooks in about 10 minutes. Whatever floats your goat.

I also snuck some zucchini in for health. Any quick-cooking vegetable should work, or you can omit vegetables if it ain’t your thing 🤣

I am told that this kind of “fresh” pasta is most similar to what is actually served in Italy, not the saucy-sauce “spaghetti” type pasta.

Honestly, I like this stuff way better than the saucy-sauce. It just tastes so fresh; it’s gobble-up-in-2-minutes goodness. If grape tomatoes are on sale, do give this recipe a go! I was lucky to end up at Sprouts when 2 packs were on sale for $3! This recipe only uses half of one pack. Then, the zucchini was like 20 cents haha. Half was used for the pasta. So yes, this is a very affordable, budget-friendly recipe.

The full video tutorial can be found on my Insta-Story @hungry.craving as “🍅 pasta”

Grape Tomato Pasta

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 servings of rotini pasta
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 small zucchini, sliced
  • salt and pepper
  • cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions

  1. Boil the pasta in a pot of water following the package instructions.
  2. In a medium skillet, heat garlic and oil on low heat until garlic is fragrant.
  3. Add the sliced tomatoes, and saute on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the zucchini slices and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
  5. Season with salt and pepper, cayenne and lemon.
  6. Add the pasta into the skillet, toss, and serve!

Avocado Smoothie

| Zoe Wong

I’m lucky to live in an area that had large avocados on sale, and being an lover of topping everything with avocado, I bought some, obviously. Maybe it was more than “some”, but I found myself trying to get rid of the excess avocados on hand before they went bad. When I posted on my Instagram story that I was testing an avocado smoothie recipe, I wasn’t aware how popular it was. My friends immediately hit me up, telling me how much they love avocado smoothies, especially with condensed milk. Now that I know how popular avocado smoothies are, I feel like I jumped on some bandwagon because GOSH, MY FRIENDS WERE RIGHT. AVOCADO SMOOTHIES ARE GOOD.

The first time I made an avocado smoothie, I used honey as a sweetener. I don’t know why, but for some reason, honey never tastes quite right in smoothies so this was a dumb move on my part. Suffice to say, I regretted putting in honey. The next time I made the smoothie, I used condensed milk as per my friends’ suggestion.

I debated putting in a straw for aesthetics, but no-straw won out because I (try) to be Earth friendly. Hello, Earth.

Avocado Smoothie

  • Servings: 1 bowl or 2 cups
  • Difficulty: easy
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Although I used almond milk, feel free to use whatever milk you prefer! Also, if you know you prefer honey over condensed milk in smoothies, be my guest.

Ingredients

  • 1 small, frozen banana
  • 1/2 large hass avocado, or 1 small avocado
  • 1 Cup Almond Milk
  • 1 tbsp condensed milk

Directions

  1. Throw all the ingredients in the blender.
  2. Blend away until smooth and creamy.


The more avocado, the thicker and creamier your smoothie will be! Try serving this smoothie as a smoothie bowl topped with fruits and granola. Yummy.

Thai Red Curry

| Zoe Wong

I’ve always been able to eat copious amounts of curry with rice. Growing up, I didn’t even like rice but if it involved curry, rice was suddenly the best food in existence. I’m also very guilty of drowning my rice in curry.

While I was initially introduced to Japanese yellow curry, I quickly found that other regional curries existed worldwide. The word of curry varieties are vast! Here are some simplified curry profiles:

Japanese “Curry Rice” – onions, carrots, potatoes, meat of choice
Chinese Chicken Curry – chicken, cornflour slurry, five spice, soy sauce
Indian “Murgh Kari” – coconut milk or tomato base, maybe yogurt, onion, aromatics
British Curry – slightly sweeter version of Indian “Tikka Masala”
African “Mozambique” Curry – chicken, coconut milk, tomatoes, vegetables
Trinidadian Chicken Curry – chicken, green seasoning, tomato, hot pepper
Thai Curry – curry paste (red, yellow, or green), coconut milk, herbs, aromatics

Anyways, if I went to a Thai restaurant that has curry, there’s an 85% chance I’m ordering green curry. Why? Because it has bamboo shoots. 😅 I have an odd infatuation with bamboo shoots- they’re so yummy! I know not many people like them, but I’ve found that I enjoy foods that most people don’t such as olives, pineapple, artichokes, cottage cheese, ginseng, and okra. Are these ingredients strange to you? What are your favorite curry ingredients?

Ingredients for this version of “Thai Red Curry”

Even though I prefer my green curry dining in, I bought red curry paste to make red curry at home. I made a huge pot of red curry, twice, both of which lasted me 5 days for two meals a day! And this is the most important point: I DIDN’T GET TIRED OF IT. Is it curry bias in general, or is it that good? You’ll have to make it and tell me how it goes 🤣

Might I also add, the secret ingredient to this recipe is tomato paste!

How to Store Extra Tomato Paste

For whatever reason, tomato paste comes in a large can even when the majority of recipes only ask for a couple tablespoons … or maybe only one. What do you do with the remaining paste? How should you store it so it’ll last longer? Fortunately, there is a way to store tomato paste so that…

I didn’t add any meat because I prefer it without, but if you want to add meat, I recommend browning the meat with some coconut oil first before proceeding with the below recipe. Make sure you cook it using the same pot that you’re cooking the curry in so that the leftover meat flavor can absorb into the curry. The meat doesn’t have to be cooked completely through. Cook the meat enough to get the outer parts to caramelize.

Finally, use whatever vegetables you have on hand! I’ve seen red curries with just bell peppers or just chickpeas. On the other hand, there are red curries with a huge vegetable variety!

I also filmed the whole process of making this recipe! You can find it on my Instagram highlight reel titled “thai curry” @hungry.craving

Thai Red Curry

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp Ginger, minced
  • 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 2 Tbsp Red Curry Paste
  • 1 Can Coconut Milk
  • 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1/3 Cup Vegetable Broth
  • 2 Tbsp Flour
  • 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
  • 1-2 Tbsp Brown Sugar (to taste)
  • Sliced Vegetables: onions, carrots, eggplants, zucchinis, etc.

Directions

  1. In a medium pot or large saucepan, melt the coconut oil over medium heat.
  2. Once melted, add the garlic and ginger to flavor the oil, about 1 minute.
  3. When the oil begins to sizzle, add the onions and carrots. Sauté until the onions become opaque.
  4. Make a well in the center of the vegetables and add the tomato paste in. Sauté the tomato paste until fragrant and thick.
  5. Add the red curry paste, stirring it into the vegetables until everything is evenly coated with both curry and tomato paste.
  6. Turn the heat to low. Add the zucchini and eggplants. Stir to coat the vegetables.
  7. Add the can of coconut milk. Return to medium-high heat until simmering.
  8. In the empty can of coconut milk, stir together vegetable broth and flour to make a slurry (thickening agent).
  9. Once the curry is simmering, add the slurry into the pot. Stir to combine.
  10. Add fish sauce and brown sugar to taste.
  11. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until all the vegetables are cooked.

  • If adding meat, caramelize the outsides first with coconut oil over medium-high heat. Use the same curry pot before starting this recipe.
  • Try bell peppers and chickpeas with this curry.