I made these for the vegan potluck on Sunday! ^^ I guess this is the vegan version of Thai fish cakes..? 

Bought a whole lot of tempeh HAHA. The cashier & packer were shocked!! The packer didn't know what it was (she thought it was curry powder or something) until mum told her lol. I didn't actually need this many (they don't show the weight and I suck at weighing things with my hands -_- ) but it's okay because it freezes well. Each packet is S$0.50 and the tempeh weighs about 100g (2 pieces of 50g each) - I think it's a good size for one portion. 

I got these at Vivo's Giant, near the weighing section where there's the parsley and spring onion. Nearly cleared out the basket oops :x

I tested the recipe out for dinner the night before the potluck. This is made with 2.5 packets (250g) of tempeh. My parents generally liked it but felt that it needed more oil. Hahaha typical

It looks like there's quite a lot of ingredients but don't fret! You can swap out or omit ingredients and customise it to your liking.

Did you know that genetics determine whether you like Chinese parsley (coriander) or not? To some it tastes wonderful but to others it's soapy and repulsive. (Wow I remember this from doing a school report!) Interesting. I used to hate it when I was a child though. Then my dad kept on buying it (to use for dinner on the weekend) and leaving the rest of the bunch in the fridge to rot. And because I don't like wasting food, I finish it for him. And tada!! After a few weeks it was bearable and after a few months I liked it (and still do). I must be genetically inclined to like it but I was a picky kid that didn't like greens haha.

Oh and my grandparents have said that you like it when you become 爱美 ('wishing to appear beautiful'). Makes completely no sense LOL.

It's a really simple recipe because all you need to do is to throw everything in your food processor before pan-frying it!

There's peanut flour in this but you can replace it with oat flour (rolled oats pulsed in food processor), gluten-free all purpose flour or even plain flour. Ugh should've checked if anyone has peanut allergies before using peanut flour!

Based on the texture you want, you can pulse the mix a few times or blend it until it's completely smooth. I left it slightly chunky for more variations in texture. 

This recipe is inspired by a recipe in a Singapore Chinese cuisine cookbook (I can't remember the exact name). The original recipe used egg, so I thought of adding a flax 'egg' to this (1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp hot water) as the binder. But I found that there wasn't a need! Somehow the mixture holds very well together and yet doesn't stick annoyingly to your hands! 

Also, the original recipe adds lemongrass into the food processor. o_o I didn't trust my food processor to make it fine enough so I just used lemongrass-infused water... which was probably hardly even detectable.

 Just shape the mixture using your hands and start pan-frying!

I omitted spring onion in part of the tempeh cakes to cater to the Buddhist vegans. I shaped the cakes into circles and squares and made those signs (the sticks are lemongrass haha) to differentiate between those with spring onion and those without. (Then I realised that it made no sense that the round one is labelled 'with garlic' because there isn't any LOL. So I cancelled 'garlic' away.)

I made 11 square ones (out of 250g tempeh) and about 24 round ones (out of 400-500g tempeh). 

So here's the recipe:

Thai-style Tempeh Cakes with Chili-lime Dressing

Tempeh Cakes

• 1 bunch spring onion (if omitting, add more parsley/ lime juice)
• 1 bunch parsley
• 2 red chilies, de-seeded
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 2-3 tbsp fresh calamansi lime juice (about 4-7 limes)
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (regular sugar is fine too)
• 1 tbsp peanut flour (or replace with ground peanuts, oat flour or regular flour)
• 1-2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• 2 tsp Bragg's liquid aminos/soy sauce

• about 250g fresh tempeh, rinsed
• about 1/4 cup water
• black pepper and salt to taste (I added a whole lot of cracked black pepper and 4 cracks of black sea salt)
• oil-spray/oil

Chili-lime Dressing

• juice of 2-3 calamansi limes
• 3 tbsp lemon-grass infused water (chopped lemongrass + boiling water)
• 1 tbsp coconut vinegar (or rice vinegar)
• 1-2 tsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp Bragg's liquid aminos
• chili & lemongrass slices

1. Add the first 9 ingredients to a food processor (a blender might work too) and process until ingredients are finely chopped. Add in 50g tempeh if your processor is too big for such a small amount of ingredients.
2. Roughly break up remaining tempeh pieces and add to the food processor. Process until almost your desired consistency. Add water, 1 tbsp at a time, if required. 
3. Taste the batter (you won't die). Add pepper and salt if required and pulse a few times to mix.
4. Spray a non-stick pan generously with oil spray, or use your regular cooking oil. Turn on the fire. Shape the batter into rounds or squares and place it onto the pan. Leave about a 1 inch space between the pieces for easier flipping.
5. Filp it over when one side is done. (I have no idea how many minutes per side because I just kept on flipping them haha!) It should be firmer and brown but not too charred.
6. Remove from heat and cool. The tempeh cakes will become more yellow and dark coloured, and slightly drier.
7. For the chili-lime dressing, mix all ingredients together. Dip tempeh cakes into dressing and enjoy!

(Vegan) Potluck Tips

Some random potluck tips I've learnt! ^^ Haha these are my personal opinion only, and I've not held a potluck before so these are just from a potlucker's (?) point of view:

1. If you're using a new recipe, it's best to try it out at least once before the potluck - sometimes winging it just doesn't work!!
2. You'll still probably take longer than you'd expected to cook and get ready. So start early!
3. Label your food so that people know what they're piling onto their plate! If it comes with a dip, make sure it's noticeable.
4. If you can't cook, fruit skewers, cut fruits or fruit/veggie juices are great options. I always end up feeling super thirsty after a potluck, and juicy fruits and drinks provide a much welcomed respite. (wow using more chiem phrases) 
5. If you're horrible with directions and map reading, and going alone, make sure your phone is charged so you can Google Maps yourself there. Such a lifesaver.
6. Bring a camera! Instagram your food and make non-vegans wish they were there. LOL
7. Make lotsa friends! Vegan friends are hard to find T.T
8. Check with other potluck-goers about what food they're bringing so you don't clash.
9. Also, check if any potluck-goers have allergies or don't eat onion/garlic.
10. Eat a lot, talk a lot (not doing the latter very well hahaha) and have lotsa fun!!

♡♡♡

For another picnic post, view here.

A small picnic spread for two! Had a good catch-up with a friend over this simple meal last Saturday. ^^

Do you watch Roommate, a Korean variety show? It's where a bunch of celebrities stay together and do lotsa fun things! It's in it's second season now, and I really enjoy watching it! The second season is much more hilarious that the first btw. The only thing that would make the programme better is having a vegan cast member LOL.

Anyway, last week's episode 8 was about them making kimchi! When they were out shopping for ingredients, one of the cast (Jackson) mentioned 'kimcheese' because apparently he studied in America and he loves cheese.........

So I had vegan cheese that I got from Mustafa a while back and haven't used because I didn't know what to do with it! Plus I had kimchi and roasted seaweed sheets.

And TADA! Kimcheese kimbap. Kinda messy though because for some reason I couldn't roll them tightly that day meh. But my friend liked it so yay!

I don't know whether to call it kimbap or sushi, but since there's kimchi (which makes it more Korean) I shall call it kimbap. From Googling I think that the differences are: kimbap is served warm while sushi is served cold, kimbap doesn't contain raw fish, kimbap can be kept for the next day while sushi should be served fresh, & the rice in kimbap is mixed with sesame oil while the rice in sushi is mixed with rice vinegar.

For sushi (that's better-rolled), you can view this post. ^^

In it, there's brown rice, chopped kimchi, Sheeze strips, adzuki beans, purple sweet potato paste (leftover from my Purple Sweet Potato Bread) and carrot shreds. Yeah, I forgot the sesame oil. :x

The Sheeze was not as wonderful as I'd expected it to be. I felt that it was kinda powdery. (it rhymes) 

Mum says that it's cheesy when you first eat it, but afterwards the taste is odd.  But if she said that it tasted exactly like cheese I wouldn't have been surprised since in my mind cheese is disgusting. Hmm maybe it'll be better when it's melted!

Roasted potato wedges with Annie's Organic Ketchup! 

I roasted the potatoes with a tiny bit of oil spray, and cracked on some black pepper after. Super simple!

Fruit salad! Quite self-explanatory.

This Systema lunchbox is quite a space-saver! ^^

We went to Botanic Gardens for the picnic.

Oh yeah and the edamame comes from those frozen packets at NTUC. It's lightly salted but not too salty. Cold Storage has unsalted ones (Japanese brand) if I'm not wrong.

Afterwards we went to Brownice for dessert hehe! Since it's at Marymount, 2 stops away from Botanic Gardens ^^

 It rains almost every day now so it might not be such a suitable time for picnics, but they're so fun! Ah I'd love to have a rattan picnic basket.

These Sweet Potato Pizza Bites make for a good meal or snack! They are quite easy to whip up, since there's no need to make a dough for the base, and the sauce is just made with 3 ingredients. :)

And they look so pretty omg. Okay this is like self-praise, but I was super happy while I was editing these because they are so colourful and the lighting was so good! Hahaha

The sauce is made with red bell peppers, tomato and dried cherry tomatoes. This is what it looks like after excess juice has been drained out. Rolled it around in the sieve and it turned into this ball lols.

In the midst of spreading the sauce on the 'base'!

Top with your favourite veggies (or fruits, no one's stopping you) and eat!

These are softer in the middle and crispier at the edges. There are tiny burnt spots on the edges of the sauce, but they can be easily picked out if you mind them.

For an even crispier alternative, you can bake sweet potato chips (no oil needed, 180 deg C, 30-40 mins) and use the pizza sauce as a dip. Yum yum.

3-ingredient Pizza Sauce

Makes twice the amount shown above

You can add in herbs/spices too if you'd like!

• 1 1/2 medium red bell pepper
• 1 medium tomato
• 15-20 dried cherry tomatoes, chopped

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients together in a food processor.
2. Pour mixture onto a sieve (placed over a bowl).
3. Shake the sieve until the juice drains out and the sauce thickens. It's ready to use.
4. Keep the juice to add to soup or smoothies!

Sweet Potato Pizza Bites
(Rough recipe)

• 1 extra large or 2 medium sweet potatoes (I used the Japanese variety)
• 1 batch 3-ingredient Pizza Sauce
• Desired toppings: sliced button mushrooms, onion, corn, carrot, alfalfa, sprouts, nutritional yeast, cracked black pepper

Method:

1. Wash sweet potatoes and slice them thinly (there's no need to remove the skin). 
2. Lay slices on parchment paper.
3. Spread sauce on the sweet potato slices.
4. Bake at 180 deg C for 30 mins - at the 15 minute mark, I added mushrooms and onions.
5. Remove from oven and add other toppings. Enjoy!

For a more recent post on Real Food (West Coast Plaza), view this post.

Real Food is a fully vegetarian restaurant with many vegan, gluten-free and soy-free options! I've been to it's various outlets a total of 5 times and it (almost always) didn't disappoint! Also, they have a health-food/grocery section which is nice to browse through after your meal :)

I went to the West Coast Plaza outlet for lunch with my friend today! I had their signature dish, Dumplings, with an added bowl of brown rice. The dumplings (which have no less than 10 ingredients) are raved about by many people and I've seen good reviews on many blogs! It's also my third time having it, which says a lot since I rarely order Chinese-y food when there's a choice of Western, and I almost always try something new whenever I visit a restaurant (since I don't usually eat out). This is $7.00 for 6 dumplings with some veggies in a flavourful broth. I find the soup to be a tiny bit too salty for my liking, but I didn't feel thirsty at all afterwards! :) The brown rice (a mix of 5 different organic grains, including red rice and various beans) comes at an additional charge of $0.50, and you can also choose brown rice vermicelli or udon for the same price. I think this is one of the most 'worth-it' dishes on the menu!

My friend had the Portobello Mushroom Burger (can't remember the exact name) and she loved it too! Previously, (you'll see it later below) I had it at this same outlet and it was visibly smaller then! o_o Haha. It was one of the best portobello burgers I've ever tasted! The battered patty is so juicy and crispy and amazing!!

The storefront of the outlet at West Coast Plaza. It's quite a small one compared to the others!

By the way, if you're planning of taking photos (of food or yourself), I recommend that you go up the small flight of stairs and sit at the back of the shop. Sat there for the previous few photos and the lighting was great, while I sat at the main (?) area for the photos below and it wasn't so pretty.

This was when I visited the outlet for the first time with Mum. See! The significant difference in patty size.

This Beet (Millet) Burger ($12.80) was not bad too. It loses out on the presentation though!

Oh yes, the burgers were served with raw, dehydrated fruit/veggie chips. Yum!

<When I was eating, a mum with two kids (boys, lower primary age) sat down at a neighbouring table. Then the older boy realised that this whole cafe served no meat, whined to his mum, and they all left. -_-

I wonder why I never went though a stage in my childhood where I question why we torture and kill animals (unnecessarily, solely for greed). I guess it's because I'm the don't-question-just-accept kinda people. Such ignorance.>

This is the Organic Fruit Rojak ($6.80) which had a really appetizing sweet and sour plum sauce! Plus it's so rare for a rojak to be vegan, since the sauce usually has shrimp paste. But I feel that it's not quite worth it for the price.

I also went to the outlet at Killiney with a couple of new friends. This outlet was quite big!

I had the Organic Lentils and Potatoes Soup ($8.80) which was somewhat disappointing. The portion size was quite small and wasn't that filling! 

Though I love that the Real Food menu states very clearly which foods are vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, have onions/garlic etc, and have good food descriptions, there are no photos. So it's really difficult to know how large the portion size is!

This is the outlet at The Central, which was it's first one! It's quite big too.

Had this with mum nearly a year ago. It was my first time at Real Food! We shared the Assorted Vegetable Balls Pasta (made with beet, lentils and chickpea) ($13.80), Stuffed Veggie Salad and a Dumpling Soup. The pasta was quite good, the salad was mediocre and the dumplings were... classic. 

Went back another time to The Central outlet with both mum and dad! Dad loved the dumplings! Which says a lot since he doesn't (didn't?) really appreciate vegan food.

It looks kinda different from the one I had earlier today.

Mushroom pasta. I can't remember how it was but it wasn't bad.

Orange and Pumpkin Vinaigrette Salad ($10.80). This was average, kinda pricey.

Lentil (Quinoa) Burger ($12.80). Not bad but I'd very much prefer the Portobello Burger!

I feel that Real Food is a great vegetarian establishment, with a good concept, and it's a lovely place to bring your non-veggie friends!! :) (Except for those stubborn, I-hate-animals-they-must-die-for-me kinda people.) I love the atmosphere of the cafes and how relaxing it feels (especially the WCP one on a weekday afternoon) ^^ 

Real Food Menu

Real Food Outlets

THE CENTRAL

6 Eu Tong Sen St
The Central #B1-52/53
Singapore 059817
T: +65 62244492

WEST COAST
154 West Coast Road
(West Coast Plaza)
#B1-06/07
Singapore 127371
T: +65 68721440

KILLINEY
110 Killiney Road
Tai Wah Building
Singapore 239549
T: +65 67379516

SQUARE 2
10 Sinaran Drive
Square 2
#B1-105/106/129
Singapore 307506
T: +65 63972289

SONNENTOR PENANG
Lot/Unit No 3A-G-13D Block A,
Ground floor, Straits Quay,
Jalan Seri Tanjung Pinang,
Tanjong Tokong
Penang 10470
T: +60 48908295

Made lunch for my family (Mum, Dad and I) yesterday! I've not had tacos before actually, so these are very un-authentic. (Oh wait, or maybe I have. I think I had a taco bowl once when I was in Canada 2 years ago. It was so greasy and the veggies were limp x_x ) 

This is somewhat like a clear-out-the-fridge kinda meal, because I'm eating raw next week, and my parents don't cook during the weekdays!

 Pumpkin, Lentil & Carrot Stew and Curry-Seaweed Puff Pastry Twists. I brought these for yesterday's Vegan Potluck!

Initially I wanted to make filo puff pastry cups and fill them with something pumpkin-y. But instead of filo pastry, I bought puff pastry by mistake. It's like when you (okay, I) find that something's vegan, you overlook everything else. Yup.

Roasted Bell Bepper Hummus and Savoury Chia Crackers! This time I made a tahini-free hummus, recipe loosely adapted from here, and it was still surprisingly yummy!

For the basic hummus, I used 240g cooked chickpeas (or about 1 can drained), a handful of parsley, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp lemon juice, a few cracks of black pepper and black sea salt (not pictured) and water.

 

I made only a small batch this time, and divided the basic hummus into 4, so that I'll get some of each green, yellow, red and basic.

I added about 1/4 roasted medium bell pepper (with skin) to each part of the hummus. The basic one turned out a bit green because of the parsley :x

Other ingredients added into each one:

Red - chili flakes, cayenne pepper

Yellow - turmeric, curry powder

Green - salt free seasoning

And I made crackers for the first time! There was a box of Carr's Table Water Crackers at home a while back and it was SO ADDICTIVE. Like it's just made of flour and water?! :O Anyway this didn't turn out exactly the same, but still very satisfying!
Surprized to find that they puff up, even without any rising agent! Probably should have poked holes, but they look so cute and puffy ☺

I used about half the dough for this amount, the rest is in my freezer! Perhaps some sundried tomato crackers next time?

Yum yum. Great as a snack or appetiser! The sesame seeds really add a fragrant, nutty aroma ☺

Oil-Free Roasted Bell-Pepper Hummus

Ingredients

• 240g cooked chickpeas (or about 1 can drained)
• a handful of parsley
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• a few cracks of black pepper and black sea salt
• water (enough to blend until smooth)
• 1 medium red, yellow or green bell pepper, or just 1/4 of each if you're dividing up the hummus like I did
• Suggested additional ingredients:
• Red - chili flakes, cayenne pepper
  Yellow - turmeric, curry powder
  Green - salt free seasoning

Method

1. Roast the bell peppers on a lightly greased baking sheet at 180 deg C for about 20-30 mins, or until slightly charred at the edges.
2. Blend all other ingredients well, adding water when necessary.
3. Blend in the roasted bell peppers (with skin) and any other ingredients. Enjoy with crackers, falafel or raw veggies!

Basic Savoury Chia Crackers

Ingredients

• 150g wholewheat flour + more for dusting
• 100ml water
• 1 level tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• salt to taste (I used 2 cracks black sea salt)
• dried parsley flakes

Method

1. Mix all ingredients together. Knead with hands until a dough is formed.
2. Flour a clean surface (and your hands and the rolling pin; it sticks to everything!) and roll out the dough, until as thin as possible (about 3-4 mm).
3. Use cookie cutters or a knife to cut out shapes. If you don't want the crackers to puff up, poke holes with a fork. To add seeds/dried herbs on top, dab a bit of water on them first so they'll stick.
4. Bake at 180 deg C on a lightly greased baking sheet for about 8 mins.