Faux "chicken" and a pudding

Here are two more comfort food dishes from How It All Vegan!, the VegCookbook Club's current book.

Linda's Ginger "Chicken"
This wheat gluten recipe appears in the special 10th Anniversary Edition of the cookbook. However, it is also featured on the Go Vegan! app, which I reviewed (here and here). The seitan was easy to prepare and became very chewy and "meaty" in texture. It was on par with many mock meats that I've had at Chinese restaurants.

I was worried about using so much ginger (3/4 cup!) in the sauce, but the finely sliced coins did soften and took on a milder flavor. However I did think that the dish was way too salty. Both the broth and the sauce called for excessive amounts of tamari. I served this "chicken" atop quinoa with a side of roasted broccoli and mushrooms.

Faux "chicken" close-up

Sinful Chocolate Pudding
Another simple, pleasing recipe that requires only six ingredients: soft tofu, oil, sweetener, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. I decided to cut the oil and sweetener in half. (I used canola oil and brown sugar.) You could probably adjust these amounts even more to taste.

The photo below is of the just blended pudding before it had a chance to chill. Cold, creamy, and chocolaty, this recipe fulfilled all of my pudding requirements. My boyfriend said he could eat about six bowls.

Mock meats at North Sea Restaurant

Something about the approaching holidays makes me crave Chinese food, especially the excellent mock meats I've enjoyed in Philly and New York's Chinatowns. For a local fix, I consulted VegDC's mockmeat listings and found North Sea Restaurant, located at 2479 18th St NW. Its elaborate "Asian Fusion" menu includes Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes, as well as sushi and organic options.

North Sea has a cramped yet cozy dine-in area. The restaurant focuses more on take out and delivery than table service. They also do brisk cigarettes, gum, and alcohol sales at the front counter. The beer and wine is actually to-go only. (The patient waitress had to explain this to several tables the night I was there.) The to-go dinner rush was great people-watching. Chardonnay seemed to be the most popular carry-out pairing.  

Above are the main dishes that we ordered, featuring the two types of soy-bean mock meats available. (Sadly, they didn't have veggie shrimp on the menu anymore, as the VegDC listing describes.) On the left is the Hunan Stir-fry "Chicken" and on the right is the Kung Pao Peanut "Beef." The veggie chicken dish had a variety of vegetables and a tasty brown sauce. The veggie beef dish was much spicier with some serious hot peppers. We were also able to score brown rice (for an extra fee).   

We had two standard appetizers: steamed dumplings and spring rolls. These apps shared the same veggie filling but came with different sauces. They were served on unappetizing beds of iceberg lettuce. Still, I'm glad we ordered them, as our entrées took awhile, perhaps due to the brown rice request or the highly popular carry-out menu.