Letting Someone Else Cook

I had been wanting Thai food for a while, and Bobby had asked around work for good suggestions. We were pointed in the direction of Bann Thai restaurant downtown. I am so glad we went, because we will definitely be going back.



Bobby and I shared a bowl of tom kha soup, with tofu instead of veggies- this was one of the options on the menu, not a special request. With the tofu it was vegan, how easy is that? If you've never had tom kha, it's a lemongrass flavored coconut milk soup with carrots, mushrooms, and usually chicken. My favorite place in Dallas makes it vegan, and then just adds in chicken at the end, so that's pretty friendly too :)



The main event, pineapple stir fried rice- I ate about 1/3 before I remembered to take a picture, it was that good. This was the best version of this dish I've ever had. I really love the smoky taste of fried rice, that's one flavor that can be lacking even in a vegetarian diet since it's usually accompanying grilled meat. This dish also had the option of 3 different kinds of meat or tofu, I would usually forgo the tofu but I tried it this time. It was filled with carrots, tomatoes, small bits of broccoli, toasted cashews, and juicy pineapple chunks, and would normally come with eggs but those were easily left out. All of this was flecked with basil and topped with cilantro and green onions. Bobby had a pineapple curry, and we were happy to discover that they didn't use fish paste in *any* of their curries or other dishes. We'll be back for more menu exploration I'm sure.

Thai food is a great eat-out option for vegans that doesn't make you feel like you've created a bunch of gaps in your meal with the absence of animal products. The main thing to look out for is the fish paste in the curries, and asking them to leave out the eggs on the stir fries. Even in Dallas, which is far from veg/vegan friendly, there was always an option for tofu in all of the stir fries and curries to sub for the meat. Plus, Thai food is just delicious, so it's always good to try and have some in your life.

Lazy Thai- But Not as Lazy as a Clip-On Tie

To see how I made the tofu, check out the previous post :)



I was craving Thai food, but was out of coconut milk, and also didn't feel like making green curry paste. So, I sought out the help of Thai Kitchen. They make these noodle packages that are less than $1, and are similar Ramen. Except that they are so, so very much better. It's just rice noodles, an oil packet, and a spice packet. This is another good example of letting the pantry food aisle give you a helping hand for a good starter base. So, I cooked up two packages of the noodles. Into that I added about a cup of steamed broccoli, and let it all simmer together with some additional ginger and a squeeze of lime juice. I sauteed about two cups of squash and green bell pepper and two portabella mushrooms in olive oil and garlic, with a bit of ginger. All the sauteed veggies were stirred into the noodles and broccoli, and then the tofu I baked earlier was chopped up and stirred in as well.

When served, each bowl was topped with chopped peanuts, a sprinkle of basil, and a slice of lime. I was having one of those cooking nights were I just KNEW dinner was going to be awful, and then, on top of not being awful, it was really, really good. The portabella mushrooms and the tofu gave it a nice density. The flavor of the rice noodles was surprisingly complex for something that is little more than Ramen noodles' snooty uptown cousin. Then again, Thai Kitchen has yet to let me down. I would definitely make this again.