Mushroom & walnut San Choi Bow

Wow where have the months been going? Time seems to be passing so quickly at the moment (that, and I am currently working full time! :/) – and I do apologise for not blogging more regularly!

I have posted a recipe for San Choi Bow in the past but it was a lentil one and nowhere near as good I might say. I really think this recipe is perfect. It has the perfect balance of softness and crunch. It is rich and delicious with the fresh outer iceberg lettuce. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1 cup finely diced walnuts

1 cup finely diced mushrooms

1 cup finely diced water chestnuts

1 iceberg lettuce

2 cups cooked quinoa (or rice, optional)

Sauce ingredients:

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup tamari sauce

1 Tblspn brown rice syrup

dash chilli flakes

dash onion powder

dash smoked paprika

 

Saute mushrooms and after a few minutes, add in walnuts and water chestnuts. Blend all sauce ingredients together and stir through mushroom mix and allow to cook further for a few minutes.

Serve in fresh iceberg lettuce cups (the outer leaves are best) with quinoa or rice.

Enjoy!

Chinese (lentil) san choy bow

(Lentil) San choy bow

San Choy Bow used to be one of our favourite delights when eating out. But it’s one of those things that slipped off the radar once going plant based.

Alas, I have been mulling over this for some time and here is my creation! I don’t “love” mushrooms sadly. You could make this beautifully with all sorts of interesting mushrooms, I have no doubt. You could also do it with tofu (I don’t “love” tofu either). Wow, I’m sounding particular aren’t I.

Well, not being a huge tofu or mushroom eater, and definitely not a chicken or pork eater…I could give up on san choy bow.

NAhhhh…what is worth eating is worth the challenge. This is what I’ve turned to and I have to say, I’m stoked with the results. You can play around with this alot too of course if you’re preferences are different to mine. But give this a go. It does have mushrooms in it but you can’t tell :).

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

1 small tin water chestnuts, diced finely

1 carrot, diced finely

1 celery stalk, diced finely

1 purple onion, diced finely

1 cup mushrooms, diced finely

1 inch piece ginger, grated/crushed/finely diced

2 cloves garlic crushed/finely diced

1 spring onion stalk, chopped finely

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Homemade hoisin sauce

Saute the onion and garlic before adding the rest of the vegetables (except spring onion). Saute for  a few minutes. Add lentils and 1 cup vege stock. (You may need 1 1/2 cups, just keep an eye on it, stir it every now and then and add it if the lentils need more time to cook). Reduce the water down and add in 2 T of the hoisin sauce*. Add in the chopped spring onion 1-2 minutes before serving.

*Don’t use store bought if you can help it. This homemade sauce is MILES better :).

Serve in fresh iceberg lettuce cups and drizzle extra hoisin sauce on top if you require the added flavour. Yum!