- Hi everybody, my name is Sorah
and I'm super excited (laid back instrumental music)
to be showing you how I cook veganized Korean food
for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Hi, I'm Kanchan.
Today I'm going to show you a vegan day
inspired by my childhood in India.
- Hi, my name is Rachel
and today I'm going to show you how to veganize
an American breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- [Sorah] For breakfast, (soft jazz music)
I made (speaking in foreign language)
which is Korean vegetable porridge.
First, I started off by putting the pan on medium heat
while spreading some sesame oil around
then added some minced garlic
and mixed that in with the oil.
Then I added diced carrots and some onions.
Next I added a cup of rice and mixed everything together
with my wooden spoon.
And then I poured in a generous amount of water into the pan
and stirred it around evenly for a few minutes
and added more later.
Once the water was boiling, I added in more veggies
like chopped zucchini and some chopped mushroom
then added the rest of the water.
I kept stirring everything around
until a lot of the water eventually evaporated.
Of course, it's important to season with some salt
and some sesame seeds for that extra flavor.
And finally, you're going to want to scoop up
this beautiful porridge into a bowl.
I'm salivating as I'm watching myself make this.
So I really love garnishing this dish with seasoned seaweed
for that extra saltiness.
Also, I'm a big believer in sesame seeds
so I like to add more after.
Personally, I prefer eating warm, easy food in the mornings
so I really enjoy eating (speaking in foreign language)
to start my day.
- [Kanchan] For breakfast, I made a spiced
or masala chickpea frittata (cheerful music)
which is basically a vegan version of the spiced-up omelet
I grew up eating in India as a kid.
We simply combine a cup of chickpea flour
with a cup of water, salt, and turmeric,
a little bit of oil, and whisk that up until smooth.
We start by heating oil in a pan
to which we add our sliced shallots or onions.
This is going to give
a really nice complex caramelized base.
Then we go in with our spices.
Turmeric, cumin, coriander;
great for gut health, great anti-inflammatory spices.
Then we add our chopped tomatoes, cook them down,
and to that we add our chickpea batter.
We add our greens.
I'm using a mixture of baby spinach and power greens.
You can use any greens you like.
You can chop up greens.
You can use other vegetables.
The sky is the limit.
Once the frittata has set a little bit in the stove
we finish it under the broiler in the oven
until it's nice and crisp on top.
Finish it with a spiced yogurt and add more spices on top
for digestion-boosting goodness and all the flavor.
Yes, I like red chili and some heat for breakfast.
Yes, I do.
You can take a girl out of India,
but you can't take India out of the girl.
I'm going to finish that with chopped avocado
and breakfast is served.
In India, it is very common to have a savory breakfast
and eggs are often cooked with spices and aromatics.
This takes me back straight to my childhood.
Entirely vegan, all the deliciousness,
all the love, all the food memories.
- [Rachel] For breakfast, I made some cheesy vegan grits.
First I added some water, (cheerful music)
non-dairy milk, and a pinch of salt
to a small sauce pan and brought that to a boil.
I like to use some milk when I'm making my grits
because it will make them extra creamy.
Then I added in some regular corn grits
and kept stirring them continuously
so no lumps would form.
To give the grits some cheesy flavor
and for some extra vitamins and protein,
I stirred in some nutritional yeast.
Then I added on a big slice of vegan butter.
And if you want to get a little extra crazy
you can sprinkle on some vegan cheese as well.
I'm not from the South,
so I didn't grow up eating grits on a regular basis.
My mom used to make me Cream of Wheat a lot
but I like how grits are gluten-free alternative
and they're one of my favorite things to make now.
- [Sorah] For lunch I made (cheerful jazz music)
(speaking in foreign language)
which is a popular Korean spicy cold noodle dish.
So I started off by preparing the sauce for the noodles
by adding in gochujang which is a Korean red chili paste,
some vinegar, Korean red chili flakes, sesame seeds,
sugar, and some sesame oil
and then I mixed it all together.
Next, you're going to want to add in noodles
to boiling hot water and let them cook for a few minutes
until the noodles are tender.
And then you're going to want to give the hot noodles
a really cold shower and drain and rinse them a few times.
Also, this is a really crucial step
that will keep your noodles super chewy
which is my favorite part.
After that, you're going to add the noodles
to a mixing bowl to mix everything together
with your gloves.
I added in chopped cucumbers, cabbage,
and the sauce that I made earlier
and then mix it all together.
(speaking in foreign language) literally translates
to "mixed noodles" and as the name implies,
a lot of mixing is involved in this recipe.
And this dish wouldn't be complete
without a few more toppings
so I topped it with some chopped kimchi
which is a staple in Korean cuisine
and some crispy seaweed
as well as more sesame seeds.
(speaking in foreign language) is my go-to meal
for the summer because it's cold
and satisfies all my cravings for spicy food.
You really can't go wrong with this dish.
- [Kanchan] For lunch I made Dal Palak with quinoa
(cheerful music) and a simple side salad.
To make the dal, we heat some oil in a pot
and add cumin seeds, red chilies, and hing
which is an incredible digestion-boosting spice.
Then we add turmeric, our soaked red lentils, water,
and we allow it to cook until softened,
adding more water if the mixture starts to dry out.
While the lentils cook, we make our palak,
or spinach, by heating oil in a pan,
adding cumin seeds, allowing them to sizzle,
and then adding our sliced onions.
I like to add salt to the onions
to help soften them more quickly
and also to add flavor as I cook the dish.
Garlic and ginger, sauté for a minute until just fragrant
and then we're going in with turmeric, cumin,
coriander, and red chili.
You'll see that these four spices
are pretty common in many Indian dishes.
Then I add crushed tomatoes and cook this
for about five to eight minutes
until really concentrated and flavorful,
bringing out those umami notes in the tomato.
Then we're adding our spinach.
If you've ever cooked with spinach,
you know that it cooks down to almost nothing.
So more is more in this dish,
especially when we're talking about fiber,
nutrient-dense greens.
Once the spinach and lentils are cooked separately
we simply combine them into this pot
of dreamy, creamy deliciousness.
To make the simple side salad
I'm just going to combine sliced cucumbers
and cherry tomatoes with lime juice, salt, chaat masala,
which you can find at any Indian grocery store,
and freshly chopped cilantro.
To plate the dish,
I'm going to add some cooked quinoa,
top it with the Dal Palak,
finish that with cumin, coriander, red chili powder,
you know the drill, fresh cilantro,
and that vibrant simple side salad for a little crunch
and plant-based goodness.
Almost every meal I grew up eating in India
had some sort of lentil
and some sort of spiced leafy greens
and this dish combines both of those.
It's packed with nutrients.
It's packed with flavor.
It's packed with fiber on and on.
It is really in my opinion, the perfect lunch.
- [Rachel] For lunch, I made some New England-style
vegan clam chowder.
For an alternative to clams, (soft jazz music)
I use some oyster mushrooms
which I sautéed up in some oil
until they were lightly browned.
The oyster mushrooms worked so well
as an alternative to clams
because they replicated that chewy texture really well.
Then I added in some vegan butter,
chopped onions and carrots.
This recipe also calls for celery,
but you know I left it out because I hate celery,
minced garlic, some capers for a briny, seafood flavor,
some old bay seasoning, dried time, salt, and pepper
and sautéed that up
until everything was softened and fragrant.
Then I deglazed the pan with some white wine
and let that reduce by about half
before I added in some all-purpose flour
and stirred it up for a couple of minutes.
To replicate the creaminess of the chowder
I added in some canned coconut milk.
And once you add in all of the other ingredients
you can't even taste the coconut flavor.
Then I added in two bay leaves
and set it to the side to let it simmer.
For more creaminess I added some soaked cashews,
vegetable broth, miso, some brine from the capers,
soy sauce, and lemon juice and blended that all up
until it was really smooth
and let it cook for about seven to eight minutes
until it was thickened.
Then I added in some cooked potatoes
and sprinkled in some kelp granules
to give it a seafood flavor.
Then I covered the pot, turned the heat off,
and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
While the soup was sitting,
I started on my shiitake bacon for a topping.
I added some soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup,
and smoked paprika to a bowl and stirred it up.
Then I added some sliced shiitake mushrooms
to a pan with oil and cooked them until they were crispy,
flipping them halfway through.
Then I added in my marinade and let it thicken up.
I usually bake my shiitake mushroom bacon
but this is a quicker way to do it.
Growing up in New England, I used to love clam chowder
and I haven't had it in years.
But this recipe was so similar to the real thing
and if you're missing clam chowder you have to try it.
- [Sorah] For dinner,
I made (speaking in foreign language)
also known as Korean mushroom hot pot.
What I love about this dish is that it's meant to be shared
at the table (cheerful music)
so everyone can enjoy it together.
So I began by adding together gochugaru,
which is Korean red chili flakes, a bit of a soy sauce,
cooking wine,
minced garlic, we love garlic,
pepper, and some salt
and then I mix everything together to make a paste
and I set this aside.
Next, I made the vegetable broth
by adding water to a pan on high heat
then added dried seaweed, radish,
dried mushrooms, and slices of onion.
I stirred the veggies around while the stock was simmering
and eventually created this earthy veggie broth
for about 10 minutes.
I know a lot of people tend to think of Korean barbecue
when it comes to Korean food
but traditional Korean food is actually very plant-based
or easy to veganize.
While my broth is simmering,
I usually prepare the rest of my ingredients
for the hot pot to save time
by cutting up the veggies and tofu
so that they're ready for the next step.
Then I prepare a shallow pot
and arrange a variety of mushrooms,
scallion, cabbage, watercress, slices of tofu,
and added the spicy paste that I made previously.
And then I pour the vegetable stock into the pan
and mix some of the paste with the stock.
I waited until it came to a boil and let it simmer
for a few more minutes.
And now it's time to eat!
Before Koreans eat their meal, we say
(speaking in foreign language)
which is a polite way of saying "I will eat well."
So I added a few more Korean side dishes to my meal here
like (speaking in foreign language)
which is a soy bean sprout dish
and of course we have some lovely kimchi
as well as some rice to enjoy with the hot pot.
- [Kanchan] For dinner, (cheerful music)
I made a vegan version
of the all-time Indian classic Matar Paneer.
This is light, it's delicious, and packed with flavor.
I like to drain the excess moisture from my firm tofu
by placing a kitchen towel on top and a heavy skillet.
Then I slice it into cubes.
I'm taking an easy, potentially lazy
weeknight approach to this dish
by combining chopped red onions, garlic and ginger
in an ovenproof dish with crushed tomatoes
and my spices: turmeric, cumin, coriander,
red chili powder, and garam masala, salt,
and lots of freshly cracked black pepper.
Avocado oil, which is my favorite oil
for high heat cooking, that chopped tofu,
mushrooms, and frozen peas.
Toss this together and stick it in the oven
for 20 to 30 minutes.
How easy is that?
Don't tell my mom, she'll be appalled,
but it's absolutely delicious, I promise.
While this cooks in the oven, we're making our cashew cream.
Now most Matar Paneer has tons of heavy cream,
which is super heavy.
We're taking this in a plant-based lighter direction
with cashew cream, which was so easy to make.
We simply soak cashews with hot water
and blend it until smooth.
Then we're going to stir that into the cooked dish
and finish cooking it in the oven for about 10 more minutes.
We finish this with fresh cilantro, all the spices,
cumin, coriander, garam masala, red chili powder.
I love finishing a dish with more of the spices
that I've used while cooking it to reinforce the flavors
and also to add extra health benefits.
I like to serve this alongside a whole wheat naan
with garlic pickle.
This takes me straight back
to my favorite Indian restaurants as a kid.
It's lighter, it's brighter, it's fresher.
It's better for you.
It's packed with flavor.
I love it.
- [Rachel] For dinner, I made a meatloaf
(upbeat piano music) with impossible meat.
First I added some oil to a pan and sautéed up some onions
until they were almost translucent.
Then I added in some garlic, tomato paste,
vegan Worcestershire sauce, definitely saying that wrong,
and some salt and cooked it for a few more minutes
until it was fragrant.
Then I transferred that to a bowl
and added in two packets of impossible meat.
Then I added in a flax egg, some fresh chopped parsley,
bread crumbs, vegetable broth, salt and pepper
and I just got in there with my hands
and mixed it up until everything was really well combined.
Then for my glaze, I added some ketchup, Dijon mustard,
and brown sugar to a bowl
and mixed it up until it was well combined.
Then I transferred my meatloaf into a loaf pan.
It's crazy how much this looks like meat.
And I spread on my glaze, which looks so good.
Then I baked it for 50 minutes at 350.
I'm Polish and Italian
so I didn't used to eat a ton of meatloaf growing up
but my mom definitely made it sometimes
and this veganized version
really brought me back to my childhood.
(upbeat music)