Lemon and Toasted Garlic Tofu

Good for 3-4 people

 2 blocks extra firm tofu (around 240g each), sliced into 1 inch cubes
 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
 1/2 tsp salt, for tofu
 4 tbsp canola oil or other oil, for pan-frying
 2 tbsp minced garlic (1.5 tbsp for the sauce, the remaining for topping)
 1 red bell pepper, sliced
 1 onion, sliced
 More lemon, for squeezing
 Chopped spring onion, for topping
 Cooked rice, for serving (I used steamed Japanese rice)
Sauce
 2 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 small lemon)
 3 tbsp brown sugar or other sugar, adjust depending on desired sweetness
 1 tbsp soy sauce
 1.5 tbsp toasted garlic (see cooking steps below)
 3/4 cup room temp water
 1/4-1/2 tsp salt, to taste
 1 tbsp cornstarch

Toasted Garlic and Sauce

 In a pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Add in the minced garlic and cook over medium heat until the garlic is golden brown
and crisp. Remove garlic and set aside. Leave to cool for a few minutes. No need to wash this pan, as you'll be
using this for the tofu too.
 Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl until sugar is diluted. Set aside.

Preparing the Tofu

 Drain water from the tofu by wrapping them in paper towels and then placing a heavy flat surface (a board or
plate) on top of each. Leave for 15 minutes until water has been absorbed by the towels. You can also opt to use
a tofu press.
 Once dry, slice tofu into 1-inch cubes.
 Sprinkle the salt on the tofu cubes then add the cornstarch. Coat the tofu well.
 In the same pan used for the garlic, add more oil. Pan-fry the tofu cubes until crisp and golden. You will need to
turn around the tofu cubes to get them crisp on all sides.
 Take out the tofu from the pan.
 Cooking the tofu
 Add some oil then sauté the onion and bell peppers until tender.
 Add in the cooked tofu. Mix the sauce well again (to make sure the cornstarch isn’t sitting at the bottom of the
bowl). Pour the sauce in the tofu.
 Turn up heat and continue to mix until the sauce starts to thicken. Leave to cook for a few more minutes. Season
with more salt, to taste (if desired). Turn off heat and serve with some rice.
 Top with more garlic and chopped spring onions + squeeze more lemon juice, if desired. Enjoy while hot!

Vegetable Potstickers Recipe

Makes 35 dumplings
INGREDIENTS
For the wrappers
 2 ¼ cups (310g) all-purpose flour
 ¾ cup + 1 tbsp warm water
 ¾ tsp salt

For the filling

 1 240g block extra firm tofu, drained of excess water and then mashed*
 15 pieces (60g) dried shiitake mushroom, makes 1 ¼ cup rehydrated minced
 1 head (450g) raw cabbage, makes 2 ½ cup minced
 2 small raw carrots (200g), makes 1 cup minced
 1 red onion, roughly chopped
 3 cloves garlic, minced
 2 tsp salt, or more to taste
 1 ½ tbsp canola oil
 2 ½ tbsp cornstarch

Note
*I wrap my tofu in some paper towels and place a heavy flat surface on top to drain the water but you can also opt to
use a tofu press.

For cooking
 1 cup water, divided into ¼ cup water for each batch*
 4 tbsp canola oil or other neutral oil, divided into 1 tbsp for each batch*
 *Note: for every batch of 8-9 dumplings, you will need 1 tbsp of oil and ¼ cup of water. Feel free to adjust the
amount depending on the size of your pan and how many batches it will take to cook all dumplings.

Dipping sauce
 3 tbsp soy sauce
 ½ tbsp distilled white vinegar
 ½ tbsp coconut sugar, adjust according to desired sweetness
 1 tsp chili oil/sauce, adjust according to desired spice
 1 tsp sesame seeds

Preparing the dough

 Add in 2 ¼ cups of all purpose flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix well. Create a well in the center of the bowl
and pour in the warm water.
 Use a spatula or chopsticks to mix the flour and water. Once the dough starts to come together, you can use
your hands to mix the bits of dough. Knead together for several minutes. If the dough is a bit dry, add a splash of
warm water.
 Shape the dough into a ball, then place it in a bowl. Cover it with a damp towel and let it rest for 15 minutes.
 Knead the dough a few more times. Return it to the bowl then cover with a towel. Let it rest for an additional 15
minutes.

Preparing and cooking the filling

 Rehydrate the dried mushrooms by soaking them in hot water for at least 15 minutes. Using a food processor,
quickly process the carrots. Repeat this for the cabbage, mushrooms, and onions, and garlic.
 Heat a pan. Add in 1 ½ tbsp canola or other neutral oil. When the oil is hot, add in the garlic and onions. Saute
for a few minutes until aromatic. Saute the mashed tofu for 6-7 minutes until lightly brown and resembles
 minced ‘meat’, Add in the cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes until
the carrots are tender. Season with 2 tsp salt, or to taste. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes over
medium heat. Transfer to a strainer to drain excess liquid from the vegetables. Return the cooked vegetables to
a bowl. Mix in the 2 ½ tbsp cornstarch until well incorporated. Set aside to cool while you prepare the wrappers.

Pulling and slicing the dough

 Flour your surface. Remove the dough from the bowl. Knead it 2-3 times then reshape it into a ball. Punch your
thumb into the center to create a hole. Slowly pinch and form the sides to create a larger hole before slowly
pulling apart the sides to create a large ring (see photos).
 Sprinkle the dough with some flour. Using a knife, slice the ring of dough into 14 to 15-gram pieces, making
around 35 pieces.
 Place the pieces in a bowl and cover with a towel to prevent them from drying out.

Rolling out the dough into wrappers

 Flour your surface. Get a piece of dough and then roll it into a ball. Lightly flatten it with your palm.
 Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and lightly coat your rolling pin with some flour as well. While holding
both ends of the rolling pin, roll out the dough by moving the pin forward and backward. Rotate the dough 90
degrees and repeat the movement. Continue to roll out the dough until you have a wrapper that’s around 4 ½
inches. If you can’t make them into a perfectly round shape, that’s okay!
 You can also roll out the dough using a rotating movement if you have a small, thinner rolling pin. Using one
hand, hold the small rolling pin and then hold the dough on the other hand. While you’re moving the pin with
your right hand, you are also rolling the dough 90 degrees counterclockwise. Keep moving the pin and rotating
until you have wrappers that are around 4 ½-inches in diameter. It took me a while to get used to this
movement since a lot of the pros do it very quicky but once you get your coordination, it’s much easier to roll
out the dough.
 Repeat either step 6 or 7 for the rest of the dough until you have rolled them all out into wrappers. Keep the
wrappers covered with a towel while you fill add each piece with filling.

Folding the dumplings

 Get 1 piece of wrapper. Place it on your palm. Add in 1 to 1 ½ tbsp of the filling and then carefully fold the
wrapper from the bottom to the top, while using your finger to push the filling in. Carefully seal the wrapper
with your fingers by pressing both ends together. From there, you can pleat the edges of the dumplings. You can
refer to the images above for how I pleat mine.
 Repeat this for the rest of the dumplings.

Cooking the dumplings

 Heat non-stick pan with a lid--find a similar one here. Add in 1 tbsp* of oil. When hot, place 8-9 pieces of
dumplings, or more depending on the size of your pan. Make sure that there is space between each dumpling.
 Leave to cook over medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until a nice golden brown crust has formed underneath. Flip
the dumplings.
 Prepare the lid of your pan. Using the lid as protection, carefully pour ¼ cup of water* into the pan and then
immediately cover to prevent it from splashing due to the heat.
 Leave to cook in the steam or until the water has evaporated, around 5-6 minutes. Take out the dumplings and
repeat this step for the remaining ones.
 Garnish with some chopped onion leeks and sesame seeds. Enjoy while hot with some dipping sauce!
 *Note: for every batch of 8-9 dumplings, you will need 1 tbsp of oil and ¼ cup of water. Feel free to adjust the
amount depending on the size of your pan and how many batches it will take to cook all dumplings.

STORAGE AND MAKE-AHEAD TIPS

  Freezing dumplings: Place uncooked dumplings on a lined tray and then freeze for 1-2 hours until hard. Transfer
to a resealable bag and keep in the freezer until ready to use.
 Cooking frozen dumplings: Do NOT thaw. Cook directly from frozen to avoid dumplings from getting soggy. Place
the frozen dumplings on a hot pan with some oil and leave to cook over medium until a lightly brown crust has
formed. Add the water and cover to cook in the steam.

Chinese-Filipino Style Lomi Recipe

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients
 1 tbsp canola or other neutral oil
 3 cloves garlic, minced
 1 onion, chopped
 8 cups vegetable stock or water*
 500g fresh egg-free 'miki’ noodles**
 1 medium carrot, sliced into strips
 1/2 medium cabbage, chopped
 250g five spice tofu, sliced into strips***
 3-4 tbsp soy sauce
 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
 Salt, to taste
 Chopped cilantro, for topping
 3 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup room temperature water

Notes:
*If using water, feel free to adjust the seasoning.
**Miki noodles are thick and round noodles similar to egg noodles but are usually sold fresh and not dried. I purchased
egg-free miki noodles from a local Asian store. You can opt to use a different type of noodles such as wheat noodles or
even Japanese udon noodles.
***I used store-bought five-spice tofu. You can opt to use 1 block extra firm tofu. If using a block of tofu you can slice
them into 2-3 slabs before and pan fry them on each side until golden brown. Once cool, slice them into strips.

Steps
 Heat a medium-sized pot. Add in the oil and then sauté the garlic and onion until aromatic. Add in the carrots
and tofu then sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
 Add 8 cups stock or water. Once it boils, add in the soy sauce. Add in the cabbage and noodles. Leave to simmer
over medium heat for another 4-5 minutes or until noodles are cooked but still chewy. Season with salt, to taste.
 Mix in the cornstarch slurry. Leave to boil over medium heat until the soup is stick. Turn off heat and enjoy while
hot! Feel free to top yours with some chopped cilantro.

Curry & Pepper Noodles

Good for 2-3 servings

 2 (70g each) uncooked ramen “bricks” or other noodles of choice

 Spring onions, for topping
 1/2 tbsp oil, for cooking (I used sesame oil)
 Veggies (totally up to you!)
 Sliced green onion
  Sliced carrots
 Sliced red bell pepper

Sauce
 3/4 cup room temp. water
 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
 2 tbsp maple syrup or other liquid sweetener (or sub sugar)
 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground pepper, adjust according to desired spice
 2 tbsp curry powder
 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp room temp. water, mixed into a slurry

Steps
 Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
 Heat a pot with water. Cook noodles until chewy.
 While the noodles are cooking, heat a pan. Add in some oil. Sauté the veggies until tender. Add in the sauce.
Leave to simmer over medium heat.
 Once the sauce boils, add in the cornstarch slurry. Mix until the sauce thickens. Add in the cooked noodles and
mix until well incorporated.
 Enjoy while hot and feel free to garnish with some spring onions.
CURRY FRIED RICE
Good for 1-2 servings
 2 cups cooked rice
 1 tbsp sesame oil
 1 tbsp curry powder
 1 tbsp diced onions or onion leeks
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1/2 to 1 tsp salt (adjust depending on desired taste)
 1 tbsp soy sauce or liquid aminos
 Sesame seeds, for topping
 More spring onions, for topping

Vegetables (this part is really up to you!)

 ¼ cup carrots
 ¼ cup corn
 ¼ cup peas
 Cabbage, chopped
 Bell peppers, diced

Steps

 In a pan, heat the sesame oil.

 Add in the onions and sauté until tender. Add in the garlic and sauté as well.
 Add in the vegetables and cook until tender.
 Add in the rice and curry powder. Mix well. Season to taste.
 Enjoy while hot!