Sunday, October 04, 2009

Mofo #3: Cookbooks You Don't Use Nearly Enough



if you're anything like me, you have 950,000 cookbooks stashed around your kitchen, bedroom, living room, bathroom, laundry room... i have so many of them that i love, but inevitably some disappear from my direct sight and then my brain. which is kind of good because when i rediscover them, it's like getting a new cookbook.

asian vegan kitchen is such a fantastic cookbook, but i hardly ever cook from it. which is ridiculous. granted, there are a few recipes that require specific asian ingredients that aren't the easiest thing in the world for me to find, but most of them are based around fresh veggies and easily found spices.

so tonight, i decided to take on the vegetables manchurian recipe. loads of fresh grated veggies mashed into pop-into-your-mouth-sized pieces with a spicy glaze.

i started off making the stock for the glaze. super easy veggie scraps leftover from the veggie balls themselves. cauliflower, carrot, cilantro stems and roots, cabbage, and scallion simmered quickly to create a light, fresh-tasting broth that is lovely for light soups and sauces.


the balls (heh) have cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, ginger, garlic, scallions, and spices.

all held together with some flour (which i totally didn't think was going to work) and then pan-fried.



i served with some rice and extra sauce.
holy yumminess. since i normally don't fry things, i'd try baking these next time. but other than that, i wouldn't change anything. they're light, crispy, and veggifull - what's not to love?

2 comments:

Mihl said...

You are right. That book is so great and I haven't made this recipe yet. It looks really delicious.

Jenny said...

i really need to get better with cooking Asian. these look very fun. my kids would like them. i think i'm going to have to follow your blog just because of the title.