There are so many good Asian recipes out there, it can almost be overwhelming at times. If you are an omnivore, there is no end to how many tasty recipes you can make and meals you can enjoy. However, if you are vegan, the options can seem dismal at times, with only salads and side dishes with Asian style and flavor. Side dishes and salads are great, but they won’t fill you up very well, they are always missing something and never quite satisfying.
At least that is how it used to be. Now, more and more people are discovering the health benefits of becoming vegan, and as this happens, more and more great recipes are finding their way onto the internet and cookbooks everywhere. Finally, vegans can enjoy many tasty and colorful Asian-themed meals just like omnivores can. Here are five amazing vegan Asian recipes you can try for your next meal.
Table of Contents
Sweet & Sour Vegan Crispy Tofu
The sauce is so simple to make it only requires a small number of ingredients and it takes just a few minutes to complete. It can be used for many other recipes as well so you can make some extra if you have enough of the ingredients handy.
It is a truly sweet and sour sauce that has the complexity to it. The sourness comes from the soy sauce, spices, and rice vinegar while the sweetness is derived from the pineapple juice and sugar. This is the perfect sauce for any stir fry, too.
Sauce Ingredients
- Ketchup
- Water
- Pineapple juice
- Corn flour
- Rice vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Soy sauce
Make sure you get pineapple juice from a tin instead of from a carton, the consistency is different when it comes from a tin.
How to Make the Sauce
In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the cornflour and stir until blended together. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
In a cup combine the water and cornflour and mix until it has no lumps and appears to be completely mixed. Once the cornflour and water mix is ready, add it to the simmering sauce whisking constantly for a few minutes until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and begin the tofu.
Tofu Ingredients
- Extra-firm tofu
- Garlic powder
- Corn flour
- Ginger (ground)
One of the most important things to get right is the tofu. Tofu is notorious for being cooked improperly and ending up being too squishy and bland. The trick to making tofu that has the right texture and consistency is to start off by getting the firmest tofu you can find. There is tofu called the extra firm, which is the best kind to get for this recipe.
Once you have the extra firm tofu, you need to squeeze out all the water, so it is no longer too squishy or wet. The next important bit about getting the tofu right is to tear it into chunks instead of cutting it. Tearing it creates more jagged edges that help it to have many more crispy areas. Cutting it does not allow this to happen.
Next, coat the tofu with cornflour and fry it to get an extra crispy texture. Coating it and frying it also gives the sauce something to cling to.
How to Make the Tofu
- Squish the tofu and squeeze out all the water.
- Cut the tofu in half and then into six different strips.
- Now tear each strip into about five separate pieces, it should create about 35 pieces or chunks.
- Place the pieces all in a bowl and add the ginger, salt and pepper, garlic, and cornflour.
- Toss completely so that the tofu is coated everywhere. Make sure you don’t miss any spots.
- Heat a small layer of oil in a medium or large frying pan on medium-high.
- Place the pieces of tofu into the pan. If your pan is not big enough for all the tofu at once, you can do it in rounds. If you try to do it all at once but the pan is too small, it won’t make the tofu right.
- Fry the tofu for about 11 minutes stirring and tossing until the chunks are golden brown and crispy on all sides.
- Pour the sauce on the tofu and allow it to bubble and heat up to a hot temperature. Save some of the sauce to pour on the finished dish for extra zip.
- Serve on top of rice.
Wonton Soup Vegan Style
This is an easy recipe to make, even if you are intimidated by making wontons. It is quite a savory dish that will fill you up and keep you warm on a cold day (or any day). It is made with all vegan ingredients and has no meat or animal products of any kind. It is composed of shiitake mushrooms and wonton wrappers.
The wrappers can be tricky to get if you want vegan. Most dumpling wrappers are made with eggs, but there are vegan dumpling wrappers, you just need to seek them out. Twin Dragon and Nasoya both make good vegan dumpling wrappers. You can find them at any local Asian market that carries dumpling wrappers.
There are square and round dumpling wrappers. Squares are preferable but round will also work. We are just going to be folding them, so the shape is not super important.
The Filling
The wontons use a filling of shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and green onions. We are using dried shiitake mushrooms which have a much better flavor than fresh mushrooms. Before we use the mushrooms, they need to be rehydrated by setting them in a small bowl of the mushroom soaking liquid.
Ingredients (wontons)
- 1 green onion fully chopped
- 1 7 vegan wonton wrappers
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 100 grams extra firm tofu
Ingredients (soup)
- 2 green onions
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 cups mushroom soaking liquid
How to Make the Wontons
- Boil two cups of water. Remove from burner and add in the shiitake mushrooms. Leave the mushrooms in the pan for about 30 minutes. Once the mushrooms are rehydrated, cut into very small chunks. Save the mushroom liquid for later.
- In a food processor, combine garlic, ginger, and tofu and grind until coarse. Place in a bowl and add the chopped mushrooms, green onion, sesame oil, and soy sauce.
- Get your wonton wrappers ready. You can use round or square wrappers, just make sure you keep them under a wet towel to keep them from drying out.
- Take one wrapper in your hand and place 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Put the tip of your finger in some water and run it around the edges of the wonton wrapper. Fold the bottom of the wrapper up to touch the top of the wrapper, closing the filling inside. Softly press down on the middle of the filling to push out any excess air. Press the edges of the wrapper together to seal it. Wet the very edge and press down again making sure you get a tight seal.
- When you have your wontons filled, keep them under a wet towel, as you do not want them drying out.
How to Make the Soup
- In a large pot, mix the mushroom soaking liquid and vegetable stock and stir together, bringing to a boil. Add in the ginger and garlic and stir. Now drop in the wontons and reduce to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for about five minutes until the wonton wrappers are fully cooked.
- Remove from the burner and mix in the cabbage, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Garnish with green onions and serve.
Vegetable Lo Mein with Tofu – Vegan Style
Normally, lo mein is made with egg noodles, meat (chicken, beef, or pork), and vegetables. It is a traditional Cantonese dish that has been around for thousands of years. In this recipe, the egg noodles and meat are no longer used, but the veggies are definitely in the mix. It includes an umami sauce and doubles up on the vegetables from the traditional recipe. The noodles turn out to be chewy and tasty with tons of flavor.
The whole meal will take only around 40 minutes to make from start to finish.
Nutrition Information
- Sugar- 12g
- Fiber- 9g
- Sodium- 1425g
- Calories- 411
- Carbohydrates- 48g
- Protein- 22g
- Fat- 17g
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t go crazy with the sauce. A little bit of sauce goes a long way. Too much sauce in this recipe will ruin it, and it will be much too salty. Only use enough sauce to the veggies and noodles can soak in it. Make sure there is enough leftover to drizzle some on the rice.
- Thin veggies are key. The veggies are only being cooked for a super short time, so if you make them too thick, they will not have the right texture and feel. Keep them nice and thin and they will end up just right.
- Don’t cook the vegetables too much. It can be easy to overcook the veggies and they end up soggy and wilted. The noodles will supply a soft chewy texture, so having crispy vegetables makes a big difference in the finished dish.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup snow peas
- 10 ounces wheat noodles (you can use any noodles you want)
- 1 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage
- 14 ounces extra-firm tofu
- 1 cup sliced red pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup shredded sliced carrot
- 2 tablespoons stir fry oil
- 1 ½ cup thinly sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Sauce Ingredients
- 1-2 teaspoon sriracha
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- Green onions and sesame seeds as toppings (optional)
Instructions
- Start by slicing the tofu in half and press it between 2 paper towels to squeeze out the water and moisture. Next bring a pot of water to boil and cook the noodles, following the instructions on the package.
- Slice the vegetables (thin remember!) and make the sauce. The sauce is easy; just the soy sauce, brown sugar, white pepper, sriracha, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl.
- When the veggies are all cut and the sauce is made, cut the pressed tofu into cubes, and add the cubes to a bowl. Include the cornstarch in the bowl and toss the cubes until they are all completely coated with cornstarch.
- Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a wok and fire it up medium-high. When the oil is hot put in the tofu and stir fry for about 15 minutes until it is very firm and crispy on the outside. In the last moments of stir-frying add the tablespoon of soy sauce to help flavor the tofu. Remove from the wok and set aside in a bowl.
- Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil along with the mushrooms and snow peas and stir fry for around 3 minutes. Next, include the rest of the veggies and stir fry for another 3 minutes or so. If it gets too dry you can add a small amount of oil.
- Now include the noodles, tofu, and sauce. Mix the ingredients together for 5 minutes until it is coated in sauce and fully heated. The veggies and noodles should soak up all the sauce.
- Remove from heat and top with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
Kung Pao Brussel Sprouts with Rice
This is quite a spicy dish. If you enjoy spicy food, this is going to be a pleasant surprise. However, if you are not a big fan of hot flavors, this may be too much for you. It is based on spicy Brussel sprouts and peanuts with some other goodies sprinkled in there for variety and depth of flavor. This recipe is great as a side dish without the rice, or you can make it with rice, and it will be enough to make a full meal.
Nutrition Information
- Zinc- 6%
- Total fat- 6g
- Vitamin D- 0%
- Trans fat- 0g
- Calcium- 40mg
- Dietary fiber- 4g
- Vitamin A- 3%
- Protein- 5g
- Sugars- 6g
- Vitamin C- 63mg
- Carbohydrates- 14g
- Iron- 2mg
- Cholesterol- 0mg
- Potassium- 580mg
- Saturated Fat- 1g
Ingredients
- Cooked rice
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts cut in half
- ¼ cup peanuts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bunch green onions sliced
- 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 ½ tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp ginger
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tbsp & 2 tbsp sesame oil (divided)
How to Make it
- Heat the oven to 400. Prepare the Brussel sprouts. Cut the ends off and halve them long ways with a sharp knife. If you have some unusually large sprouts, cut them into fourths. Move the sprouts to a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle with olive oil and toss the sprouts until they are evenly coated with oil. Roast the sprouts for about 25 minutes rotating halfway through the roasting process to make sure all the sides are browning. When roasting is complete the sprouts should be tender, and the edges should be caramelized.
- Get the sauce started. Mix the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, maple syrup, ginger, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and water. Stir together completely with a whisk until completely combined. Set the sauce off to the side.
- In a wok or big skillet, add ½ tablespoon sesame oil and heat on medium-high heat. When the wok or pan is hot, add in the green onions and stir, sauté until the onions are bright green and wilted. This process should take about two minutes. Take the Brussel sprouts out of the oven and place them in the wok or skillet, tossing with the green onions and stir fry for about a minute.
- Now add in the sauce, cooking with the sprouts and onions for an additional 3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the sprouts are completely covered with sauce. Remove from heat and toss in the peanuts until evenly mixed.
- Add to precooked heated rice and serve.
Vegan Okonomiyaki
This dish is normally made with egg, but the vegan version is made with yamaimo, rice flour, tonkatsu, and cabbage, and garnished with okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise.
Ingredients
- Yamaimo (yam)
- Rice flour
- Baking Powder
- Okonomiyaki sauce
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Tenkasu
- Kombu Dashi
- Cabbage
- Japanese Mayonnaise
- Beni Shoga
- Anori
How to Make it
Prepare the Yamaimo- Grate and peel the yamaimo in a bowl. It is slippery so be careful not to drop it or cut yourself.
Make the batter by adding the dashi, salt, and rice flour and mix together. Add the other ingredients and mix until combined and everything is fully coated in batter.
Heat a griddle or large skillet on high. When you see the batter sizzling, lower the temperature to medium and add the butter, making a big thick pancake. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes flip the pancakes carefully and let cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Serve- Put on a plate and sprinkle with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise generously. Garnish with green onions, aonori and beni shoga.
