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Chinese Casserole
Trish Rucker asked about quick, simple foods. While I'm not single, I can
sympathize with Trish, being the only one in the family eating VLF.
Before I went on the Ornish diet (8 months and 40 pounds ago), I was
experimenting with Chinese casserole cooking. I have been making the
following dish with a lot of variations lately. I cook it in a small, 1
pint, sandy pot (an earthenware casserole glazed on the inside but not the
outside.) However, you can use any small pot. All measurements are
approximate.
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2 oriental eggplant cut into bite size chunks
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1/3 cup frozen peas
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1 chopped scallion
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1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
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2 tablespoons soy sauce
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2 tablespoons shao sing rice wine
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1/2 teaspoon black bean chile paste
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1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with water to form a thin paste
Put everything except the cornstarch mixture into the pot. Bring to a boil
and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch
and serve with brown rice or Japanese soba noodles. The variations are
endless. You can replace the eggplant with firm tofu cut into 1 inch
cubes. This past weekend, I used a mixture of tofu and vegetarian abalone
that I got in an oriental market. The peas can be replaced with any
mixture of green vegetables or mushrooms. I've even used fresh spinach.
Any oriental paste type condiment can substitute for the black bean chile
paste. Chile paste with sweet basil is particularly good. You can also
use a little curry powder, or leave it out altogether.
[Susan's Note: My best combination of ingredients so far has been eggplant, mushrooms
and cubed seitan. Also, I double the ingredients to make more. I made
it once with chunks of pineapple and left out the black bean paste in
favor of a sweet and sour sauce.]
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