Vegetarian Siopao, Mom's Recipe

I grew up with siopao, steamed buns done the Filipino way, and what I've always considered the Filipino "hamburger." They take a while to make but are well worth it. They freeze well, and it just takes 10 minutes or so in a bamboo steamer to reheat. So here you go folks, my mom's recipe word-for-word: 

1 1/4 C lukewarm water 

2 tsp yeast 

3/4 cup sugar 

1/4 tsp salt 

1 tsp baking powder 

3 T oil 

4 1/2 cups flour (I use whole wheat, sometimes with 1 cup all-purpose and 3 1/2 cups wheat) 

2 sheets of paper cut into roughly 3 inch squares (more if needed) 

Soften yeast and 1 T of sugar in lukewarm water for 15 minutes. In another bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and oil. Add yeast mixture and 1/2 of flour. Mix well. Add remaining flour and continue mixing until well blended. Knead on floured board until smooth. Shape dough into ball and place in greased bowl. Grease surface of dough. Let rise 30-40 min. Make filling (see recipe below). Punch down dough and divide into desired sizes. Form into (roughly 2 in diameter) balls and let rise for another 30 min. Flatten dough pieces in circle, spoon prepared filling, top with a tsp of egg, bring ends over to seal. Place paper squares under ball. Let rise until double the size. Steam in bamboo steamer (or any other steamer) for 10-15 minutes. 

Suggested filling: 

2 boiled eggs (I omit now since I've become more plant-based)

diced sauteed seitan, potatoes, carrots, and peas 

*I suggest a medium-large frying pan of diced seitan, potatoes, carrots, and peas. Start with about a tablespoon or 2 of oil, throw in 1/2 to 1 onion chopped with 1 clove of minced garlic, stir until browned. Throw in whatever vegetarian "meat" you've got (seitan is great--about 2-3 cups should be sufficient), followed by 2-3 potatoes and 1-2 cups carrots, peeled and diced. Add a tablespoon or so of soy sauce, and black pepper and salt to taste. Throw in a handful of frozen peas. Cook until peas are just cooked. Enjoy! 

2/14/2011 Addendum: I kept meaning to add the recipe for the Siopao Sauce and just remembered now. I usually throw the ingredients in to taste but I went and decided to measure it out just for you, my friends, who wanted the recipe. This is a sweet and sour sauce to be served with the siopao. Peel paper off siopao, break halfway open so insides are showing, squirt or spoon sauce inside, close siopao and rub ends together to spread evenly, bite into siopao. Simple. When you have no time, you can use ketchup...but it's more authentic this way. In small saucepan put: 1 cup of water 3 T of soy sauce (the MSG-less for those who want to avoid MSG) 3 T of brown sugar 2 T of rice vinegar 1 clove of garlic crushed or pressed 1 T of cornstarch (or flour) lots and lots of black pepper (grind away or put 2 tsps or so?) Optional: chili pepper flakes or chili substitute Mix well then put over heat. Stir until thickened to your liking. You can add more cornstarch or either of the salty/sour/sweet portion to your liking, this was just an approximation of what tastes just about right to me.

Hiyashi Chuka (Japanese Cold Noodles)

You'll need:
Soba noodles (1-2 rolls for 2 servings)
3 plum/roma tomatoes
2 eggs (or fry tofu strips for the vegan version)
1/2 English cucumber

Our Japanese friend, Aiko, introduced us to this dish. We got the package from an Oriental store, but it's a little tricky to find one that comes with a vegetarian sauce. So it was with great joy that we found the Hiyashi Chuka dressing recipe online.

There are two kinds. The soy sauce flavor or the sesame flavor. We usually use the soy sauce flavor. I usually go ahead and make 2 recipes in case we use more and just store the leftovers in a glass jar.

HIYASHI CHUKA DRESSING RECIPE

SOY SAUCE FLAVOR
1/3 cup water
3 T rice wine vinegar (or rice vinegar)
2 T soy sauce
3 T sugar
1 tsp sesame oil

SESAME FLAVOR
3/4 cup water
4 T sugar
8 T soysauce
4 T rice wine vinegar (or rice vinegar)
2 T grated sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil

We use the packaged buckwheat soba noodles. They're usually wrapped in rolls with a ribbon. Each roll is roughly 2 servings. Usually Jeremy and I use 1 to 1 and a half of the noodle rolls. I'm told you are to bring the water to a rolling boil before adding the noodles. Cook until al dente, don't overcook, especially with the cheap brands because they tend to get soggy and break apart. Follow the package instructions, I guess...I don't really know how to describe the state of cook-ness :D Drain noodles, and throw in ice cubes with noodles to cool.

Break 2 eggs in a bowl, add a dash of salt, beat with fork and fry in large frying pan. Transfer to chopping board and roll up to make cutting into strips easier. Slice "roll" into thin strips. Transfer on plate and put in fridge or freezer for quick cooling. Slice cucumber and tomatoes into thin strips as well.

Drain noodles and remove ice cubes. Divide noodles in two bowls. Arrange tomato, cucumber, and egg slices on top of noodles and pour dressing over whole thing. And there you go...eat with fork or chopsticks. Yum!

Once Upon a Time....

I was a bookworm who always had her nose stuck in a book when her mom called her to help cook in the kitchen. Not surprisingly, when I was college-aged and moved into an apartment with 3 of the greatest roommates who ever lived, I was pretty sad in the cooking department. They soon dubbed me "Sunogum Lutoum,"--my scientific name created from the Tagalog words "sunog" (burnt) and "luto" (cooking) because of frequent episodes of a to-be lunch or supper going up in smoke since I decided to go read a book while it was cooking and promptly forgot about lunch/supper. I improved, I hope.

This is the online version of A Lunatic's Collection of Toxic Waste: Burning in the Kitchen, my collection of recipes gleaned from friends, family, magazines, cookbooks, and the internet written in a small spiral notebook that has since started falling apart over the years.

I am now the Filipino-who-grew-up-in-Africa wife of a blond Canadian prince who is more Asian than me at times, so needless to say, my cooking has been from all over the place with a basic grounding on Asian. We are vegetarians, mostly vegan, but with a bit of egg or cheese thrown in every now and then. I don't really measure when I cook, I tend to throw things in, so forgive my laid-back recipes at times. Most of these recipes are stolen though so they should be easy to follow. Enjoy!