Lunch: Curried Cauliflower and Tofu

Cauliflower tends to be bland, so not many people like it... :( That's why you gotta season the heck out of it to make it tasty! I love just sautéing cauliflower with some curry powder, chili flakes and spices to make it tasty and healthy. You don't need to deep fry it, although a veggie tempura would be good too. The important thing is not to cook it to a mushy death. Keep it crisp!

I always think that if a cauliflower head and a broccoli head were to battle each other on the nutritional level, the broccoli would win. Broccoli just seems more powerful and almighty. But cauliflower is very nutritious too!

Low in fat, high in dietary fiber, folate, water and vitamin C, and possessing a very high nutritional density (whatever that means).

Lunching with some rice, cauliflower, and crispy lettuce.

Curried Noodle Stir Fry

I don't think curry flavor/powder should be confined to making curry alone. I like it with fried tofu and noodle stir fries too! I also added turmeric powder, because I like the flavor. It's good for your health and goes well with curry powder too. (Even though some people might not agree that there is such a thing as curry powder.) :-)

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Bisque

With French influence, Vietnamese people also have bisques.

This is a vegetarian version I made with sweet potato, butternut squash (although kabocha squash is better), long beans, tofu, batata, carrots, (raw) peanuts, and peas.

For flavoring, I used curry powder, milk (because bisque needs to be creamy), ginger, and kaffir lime leaves.

I think cooking raw peanuts with pumpkin soups are very good. It is the special local way of cooking these kinds of soups from where I live in Vietnam. I remember, I was really suprise when my uncle said he'd never heard of cooking peanuts with pumpkins. I thought it was a common thing to do.

Anyway, with the peanuts, you have to roughly ground it up in a mortar and pestle or a machine. This infuses the peanut flavor into the soup more, as opposed to leaving them whole. I had the bisque with some seeded bread and a sourdough toast, but a french baguette would be just as good!

p.s. Cooking this bisque with cream, creamed corn, and or coconut milk would definitely be extra delicious... But I'm making it the healthy way!

My Potato-Tofu-Carrot-Peas-Mismatched-Curry!

In the old days...

I'd loved to eat curry with a loaf of french bread/baguette (especially the brittle Vietnamese kind). But now, knowing more and being healthy, I enjoy curry with a few slices of whole wheat toast. Not the same, but it's still good.

One of the most popular Vietnamese curry is a beef brisket curry. It is usually eaten with French bread for dipping, or with rice. If you go to Xinh Xinh or other Vietnamese place, you'll see a dish like Banh Mi Cari Ga, which means Curry Chicken with French bread to dip.