Brown Girl Vegan

Category: Singaporean

  • Sambal Mushroom, Broccoli & Tofu Stirfry

    Sambal Mushroom, Broccoli & Tofu Stirfry

    This easy flavourful sambal stir fry can be prepared in under 30 minutes and is perfect for quick weeknight dinners.

    Sambal is a very popular flavour in Asian cuisines – specifically Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. I’ve been having many variations of sambal in Singapore where I grew up. I do have to warn you that it can be super spicy but it’s also very delicious alongside rice. It’s traditionally made aromatics and dried shrimp paste but we’ll be making a simple vegan version today without compromising on flavour!

    This spicy sambal vegetable stirfry is made with an easy homemade sambal paste will leave you feeling hot but satisfied. The perfect side or sharing dish with rice or if you want to fuse or jazz things up, you can also add them to wraps, sandwiches or serve them over noodles. Another creative idea is to use the sambal paste and seasoning to make sambal fried rice instead!

    What You Need for This Recipe

    • extra firm tofu – I use fresh tofu from my market and it’s not the most firm but this recipe is not substituting tofu for ‘chicken’ so we’re good!
    • vegetables – I love using mushrooms and broccoli together as they are a nice combo to cook with for varying texture, crunch and taste
    • onions and garlic – for my alliums free peeps, sorry – this recipe has to have onions and garlic but I’m working on an alliums-free version as we speak
    • chillies – the type of chillies you use is very important – the recommended ones are dried red chillies (bedigai chillies) for best colour and flavour. I also added chopped red chili in here for added heat and colour
    • lemongrass – to add aroma and make the paste more fragrant
    • coconut sugar – to balance out the spices
    • soy sauce – for umaminess and flavour
    • salt to taste
    Print Recipe

    Sambal Mushroom, Broccoli & Tofu Stirfry

    Prep Time10 minutes
    Cook Time10 minutes
    Total Time20 minutes
    Course: Appetizer, Main Course
    Cuisine: Fusion, Malaysian, Singaporean
    Keyword: sambal, stirfry, vegetables
    Servings: 4

    Ingredients

    Sambal Paste

    • 2 dried red chillies
    • 1 lemongrass stalk
    • 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
    • 1 garlic clove
    • 2 shallots

    Vegetables

    • 200 g king oyster mushrooms
    • 6 broccolini
    • 200 g extra firm tofu
    • 1 red chili deseeded
    • 1 tbsp sesame oil
    • 1 tbsp gluten free light soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce sub with gluten free light soy sauce
    • 1 tsp maple syrup
    • salt

    Garnish

    • 1 red chili
    • toasted sesame seeds

    Instructions

    • Slice tofu into squares and pan fry them in olive oil until crispy.
    • Blend together ingredients for sambal paste. Chop up red chillies finely.
    • Add sesame oil to a pan and saute red chillies.
    • Add back in sambal paste and fry off until fragrant.
    • Add a splash of water to prevent burning, mushrooms and cook until mushrooms release all water.
    • Add in soy sauces, salt, maple syrup. Mix well.
    • Add in broccolini and cover the lid for a minute or two. Add in pan-fried tofu.
    • Add a splash of water and cook ingredients in the sauce if the stir fry is too dry.
    • Garnish with red chillies and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
  • Easy Vegan Ban Mian (Mushroom Broth Noodles)

    Easy Vegan Ban Mian (Mushroom Broth Noodles)

    This Vegan Ban Mian is a simple noodle dish, engulfed in a fragrant mushroom broth and topped with shitake mushrooms, greens, plant based mince with a dollop of chili oil.

    Ban Mian is a popular Chinese noodle dish in Singapore and stalls specialising in good Ban Mian are characterised by snaking queues. They consist of handmade noodles served with a comforting and fragrant broth – they are flat and thin making it a fun experience slurping them while eating (if you don’t find that annoying!)

    The name banmian (board/block noodle) came from the Hakka method of cutting the noodle into straight shapes using a wooden block as a ruler! In Hokkien, it was called Mee-Hoon-Kueh which is also a popular soup dish in Singapore and the noodles a short but thick and chewy. I only had tried them recently with a suggestion by my friend and they were so so good! Now I have them every time I visit Fortune Centre (which is vegetarian haven in Singapore!)

    Traditionally, the noodles have egg in them and they are served in a broth flavoured with vegetables and often, meat. They are topped with leafy vegetables, minced pork and dried anchovies. This vegan version however, is a very similar version but most of the umaminess comes from mushrooms!

    There is also a dry version of this: Chili Pan Mee that was invented in Kuala Lumpur. This version is served with similar ingredients except it is dry and is tossed with a chili paste and is served with a dollop of sambal.

    What Do I Need?

    • textured vegetable protein or any plant-based mince (OMNI Foods or Meat Zero are great options!)
    • sesame oil – this is a pantry staple and it adds so much flavour to many asian dishes!
    • shaoxing wine – you can sub this with rice wine vinegar or regular vinegar.
    • white pepper – this is also key to this dish, it varies slightly from black pepper.
    • garlic – sub with hing if you don’t take garlic
    • kombu dashi & mushroom seasoning – to add umaminess, you can add either or both!
    • shitake mushrooms – strongest in terms of elevating the broth flavour
    • ban mian noodles – these might be hard to source but the best place to look for them would be asian supermarkets! If not you can easily substitute them with ramen, udon or rice noodles!

    Gluten free substitution: Swap out soy sauce for tamari or gluten free soy sauce.

    Allium free substitution: Swap out garlic for hing.

    Print Recipe

    Easy Vegan Ban Mian

    This Vegan Ban Mian is a simple noodle dish, engulfed in a fragrant mushroom broth and topped with shitake mushrooms, greens, plant based mince with a dollop of chili oil.
    Prep Time5 minutes
    Cook Time15 minutes
    Total Time20 minutes
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Chinese, Singaporean
    Keyword: noodles
    Servings: 2

    Ingredients

    Mince

    • 1/2 cup TVP or 1 packet of plant based mince
    • 1 tbsp sesame oil
    • 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
    • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp sweetener
    • 2 tsp corn starch (optional)

    Mushroom Broth

    • 4 cups water
    • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
    • 1 tsp kombu dashi
    • 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
    • 4-5 shitake mushrooms fresh or dried
    • 1 tbsp light soy sauce

    To serve

    • bunch bok choy or leafy greens
    • chili oil or sambal

    Instructions

    • Add sesame oil to a wok or pan. Saute your plant based mince or soaked TVP for a minute. Add all the other ingredients, including corn starch and saute until fully cooked and crispy. Set aside.
    • In that same pan, add water, garlic, shitake mushrooms, kombu dashi, mushroom seasoning, soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
    • As it's simmering, boil your noodles of choice according to package instructions. My dried Ban Mian took about 3 minutes to cook!
    • Blanch your greens in the mushroom broth for a minute and take them out.
    • Serve noodles in a bowl, pour over the broth and garnish with sliced shitake mushrooms, greens, fried mince and chili oil.

  • Vegan Fish Soup

    Vegan Fish Soup

    This humble Chinese-style milky fish soup is smooth, silky, fragrant and a comforting dish, paired with rice vermicelli noodles and fried to-fish.

    Growing up in Singapore, every time I fell sick I would turn to having fish soup at my nearby hawker center. It’s made with simple ingredients and is warm & comforting for the belly. Not only that, it is infused with ginger, tomatoes and herbs that encourages you to stop for a moment and enjoy the broth.

    The milkiness comes from evaporated milk, but we’re using unsweetened oat milk for that versatile savouries. We’re also pairing that with vegan to-fish (fried tofu fish), wrapped in a nori sheet and fried to perfection. Crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside.

    What You Need

    • extra firm tofu – coated in corn starch and fried to perfection
    • nori sheets – can be used to coat the tofu and also add to the broth
    • freshly sliced ginger – fresh ginger gives the most aromatic flavour
    • spring onions – both white and green parts
    • shaoxing wine and vegan fish sauce – I always stock up on these sauces in my pantry as they can be used for a wide variety of asian dishes!
    • salt and sweetener
    • vegan kombu dashi – you can substitute this with mushrooms stock powder
    • tomatoes – juice from the tomatoes adds flavour to the broth
    • rice vermicelli noodles – you can use any other time of noodles but rice vermicelli would be the best option for this recipe, as made traditionally!
    Print Recipe

    Vegan Fish Soup

    This humble Chinese-style milky fish soup is smooth, silky, fragrant and a comforting dish, paired with rice vermicelli noodles and fried to-fish.
    Prep Time15 minutes
    Cook Time15 minutes
    Total Time30 minutes
    Course: Main Course, Soup
    Cuisine: Chinese, Singaporean
    Keyword: fish, soup
    Servings: 2

    Ingredients

    Fried To-fish

    • 150 g extra firm tofu
    • 2 tbsp corn starch
    • 1 slice nori sheet
    • olive oil for frying

    Fish Broth

    • 5 slices ginger
    • 8-10 spring onions
    • 1 tomato
    • 1 tbsp kombu dashi
    • 1 tsp sweetener
    • 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
    • 1 tbsp vegan fish sauce
    • 1/4 tsp white pepper
    • 2 cups water
    • 1/2 cup unsweetened oat milk
    • 1 tbsp sesame oil
    • salt

    Garnish

    • 2 servings rice vermicelli noodles
    • spring onions

    Instructions

    • Slice tofu into squares and slice nori sheets according to that size. Place the nori sheet on one side of the tofu and coat evenly in corn starch. Repeat for rest of the tofu pieces.
    • Pan fry in olive oil or any other neutral oil until crispy.
    • To a pan, add any leftover oil from frying. Add ginger slices and saute until fragrant.
    • Add 2 cups of water, kombu dashi, sauces, sugar and give them a good mix. Bring to a boil.
    • Add sliced tomatoes, garlic powder and give it a good mix.
    • Add oat milk and give it a good mix. Add spring onions and season with salt and sesame oil. Let the flavours infuse.
    • Lastly, add nori sheets and boil for 1 to 2 minutes.
    • Pour broth over cooked rice vermicelli noodles and garnish with to-fish and more spring onions.
  • Vegan Hainanese Chicken Rice

    Vegan Hainanese Chicken Rice

    This dish is a plant-based twist on the classic Singaporean dish – king oyster mushrooms wrapped in tofu skin for the ultimate vegan chicken cutlet!

    Hainanese Chicken Rice was a big part of my life, growing up in Singapore. The fragrant rice paired with a steamed or roasted chicken cutlet would sometimes come as a set with blanched greens and delectable sauces namely – chili garlic sauce and sweet soy sauce.

    Hainanese Chicken Rice is a popular dish, originating from the Hainan province in Southern China. It traditionally consists of tender poached or steamed chicken served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth. The dish is complemented by condiments like chili-garlic sauce, ginger sauce, and dark soy sweet sauce.

    The dish is now found is many Southeast Asian countries due to its taste and popularity. You’d be surprised to hear that it’s now considered the national dish of Singapore along with many other tasty dishes.

    This recipe is made in collaboration with my fellow talented creator and food blogger Veggie Anh, and we attempt to show you how to make a realistic, authentic yet plant-based Chicken Rice.

    Print Recipe

    Vegan Hainanese Chicken Rice

    This dish is a plant-based twist on the classic Singaporean dish – king oyster mushrooms wrapped in tofu skin for the ultimate vegan chicken cutlet!
    Prep Time1 hour
    Cook Time30 minutes
    Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Chinese, Singaporean
    Keyword: chicken rice, mushroom recipes
    Servings: 4

    Ingredients

    'Chicken' Rice

    • 2 cups thai rice
    • 1 tbsp ginger paste
    • 2 tbsp sesame oil
    • 2 tsp kombu dashi
    • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
    • 1/4 tsp white pepper
    • tied bunch of pandan leaves
    • salt

    Vegan 'Chicken'

    • 4 king oyster mushrooms 150g
    • 1 tsp salt sub mushroom seasoning
    • 1/8 tsp 5-spice
    • black pepper
    • 1 sheet large beancurd skin

    Garlic Chili Sauce

    • 2 large red chillies
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 1/2 tbsp ginger paste / minced ginger
    • 3 calamansi limes get the juice!
    • 1/2 tsp sugar
    • 1 tsp salt
    • water to blend

    Sweet Soy Sauce

    • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp vegan oyster sauce
    • 1 tsp agave syrup

    Garnish

    • cucumber
    • tomatoes
    • cilantro or chopped scallions

    Instructions

    • Boil king oyster mushrooms in 4 cups of water. Add salt and let the mushrooms boil for 10 minutes.
    • Remove mushrooms and transfer to an ice bath. Remember to save the mushroom broth. Gently squeeze the mushrooms to drain any excess water.
    • Rinse rice 3-4 times to discard the starchy water. Make sure the final round of rinsing, the water is clear or almost clear.
    • To a pot, add sesame oil. Saute ginger until fragrant for 30 seconds.
    • Add rice to the pot and saute for a few minutes.
    • Add 3.5 cups of mushroom broth, followed by kombu dashi, salt and white pepper. Then add in the tied bunch of pandan leaves.
    • PRESSURE COOKER: Let it cook on a high flame until you hear a whistle. Switch off stove and let it remain in the steam for 10-15 minutes.
    • RICE COOKER: Add rice, aromatics, water, and close the lid and press the button to start the cooking process.
    • Soak your tofu skin in hot water until it becomes soft.
    • Slit your mushrooms vertically and slice them open so they form a flat cutlet shape. Prepare the salt rub using mushroom seasoning, pepper and 5-spice powder. Rub the mushrooms and wrap them in the beancurd skin.
    • To a pan, add some oil and fry the cutlets until lightly brown on both sides. Chop them into slices one they cool down.
    • For the chili garlic sauce, combine all the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
    • For the sweet soy sauce, combine the ingredients and give them a good mix.
    • Once the rice is cooked, mix in 1 tbsp sesame oil and soy sauce for more flavour.
    • Plate the chicken rice with vegan chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, scallions and serve with chili garlic and sweet soy sauces.
  • Cereal Tofu

    Cereal Tofu

    This Cereal Tofu is a vegan version of the popular Singapore Cereal Prawns dish and is absolutely mouthwatering! Gluten free option too.

    Cereal dishes are an absolute must in Zi Char Restaurants – these are popular casual restaurants in Singapore where families and friends gather to buy several dishes in large portions to share and enjoy. It’s always paired with other seafood dishes like Chili Crab, Fried Squid, Seafood White Beehoon and so on! This dish is hence, the perfect share plate.

    Obviously the traditional version is not vegan, but you can get the same exact taste with this recipe. It’s a little more complicated than my 20-minute tofu recipes, but absolutely worth it for the addictive snack it is!

    Tips to Make the Best Cereal Tofu

    1. Use the right tofu!

    For Cereal Tofu, you would need to use Pressed Tofu. The texture for this type of tofu is in between soft/silken tofu and extra firm tofu. However, if you are not able to access this exact type of tofu, firm tofu would work well as well.

    2. Frying Methods

    Deep frying would make sure the tofu batter is evenly fried. Use a neutral oil for deep frying. However, if you’d like to minimise the amount of oil used, I suggest pan frying in avocado or olive oil but the results won’t be as the same as when you deep fry it.

    You can also air fry them until crispy.

    3. Gluten Free Version

    I have also written a gluten free version for this dish using corn flakes and the taste will absolutely blow your mind. Substitute the Nestum Cereal with equal part corn flakes.

    You would also substitute the plain flour with either gluten free flour or rice flour – in equal portions.

    Print Recipe

    Cereal Tofu

    This Cereal Tofu is a vegan version of the popular Singapore Cereal Prawns dish and is absolutely mouthwatering! Gluten free option too.
    Prep Time15 minutes
    Cook Time15 minutes
    Total Time30 minutes
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Asian, Singaporean
    Keyword: tofu recipes
    Servings: 4

    Ingredients

    • 300 g pressed tofu firm silken tofu
    • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (sub gluten free flour or rice flour for gluten free)
    • 2 tbsp corn starch
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1/3 cup plant milk
    • 1/2 cup nestum cereal (sub crushed cornflakes for gluten free)

    Vegan Cereal

    • 1 tbsp vegan butter
    • 2 chili padi
    • handful curry leaves
    • 1/3 cup nestum cereal (sub crushed cornflakes for gluten free)
    • salt as needed

    Instructions

    • Mix the ingredients for the batter – flour, corn starch, salt, plant milk. Give that a good mix.
    • Pour nestum cereal on to a separate plate. Drain excess water from the pressed tofu and cut them into cubes.
    • Coat them in the batter, followed by the cereal.
    • To a pan, add oil and fry a few minutes on each side until crispy.
    • To another pan, add vegan butter and wait until it melts. Add curry leaves and chili padi (be careful, it pops!) and saute for 30 seconds.
    • Add nestum cereal, salt and give that a good mix.
    • Pour that on top of the fried tofu and serve!

  • Peanut Satay Sauce

    Peanut Satay Sauce

    This luscious peanut-y sauce is the perfect dip for these delicious tempeh satay skewers – you can also make this as a dip for other dishes like noodles, wraps and spring rolls!

    Satay was one of my favourite foods since young – I grew up having the skewers with a delectable peanut sauce I could never get enough of. It’s savoury, sweet and slightly spicy with coarse but soft peanut bits. You can also make this as a smooth and creamy dip, but this is the way I’ve always had it and for some reason, it tastes so much more delicious!

    This recipe requires just ingredients like onions, garlic, tamarind juice, and peanuts. You can get some of these ingredients online or at your local Asian store.

    What Do I Need?

    • roasted peanuts – I just got ready made roasted peanuts. You can also hand roast them yourself if you’d like!
    • tamarind pulp – to extra tamarind water
    • coconut sugar – for that sweetness. You can also use Gula Melaka (palm sugar) instead
    • kecap manis – sweet soy sauce essential for this dish
    • dried red chilies – deseeded and soaked in warm water
    • garlic & shallots, lemongrass stalk, ginger
    • lime – for that tanginess!
    • pineapple puree – this is completely optional, but I like to add it for that subtle citrusy flavour

    This recipe is also 100% vegan and gluten free! For the satay, I used frozen tempeh satay from Angie’s Tempeh (gifted, but her products are so fresh and tasty!).

    Print Recipe

    Peanut Satay Sauce

    This luscious peanut-y sauce is the perfect dip for these delicious tempeh satay skewers – you can also make this as a dip for other dishes like noodles, wraps and spring rolls!
    Prep Time10 minutes
    Cook Time20 minutes
    Total Time30 minutes
    Course: Condiment, Side Dish
    Cuisine: Fusion, Malaysian, Singaporean
    Keyword: peanut recipes
    Servings: 2

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup baked unsalted peanuts (or roasted)
    • 1.5 tbsp tamarind pulp
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 6 dried red chillies
    • 4 shallots
    • 4 ginger slices
    • 1 lemongrass
    • 1 tsp coriander powder
    • 3 tbsp oil
    • 1 tsp coconut sugar
    • 1 tbsp kecap manis
    • 1 tbsp pineapple puree (optional)
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1 calamansi lime
    • 3/4-1 cup water

    Satay

    • 1 pack frozen satay
    • cucumber
    • rice cakes

    Instructions

    • De-seed your dried chilies and soak them in hot water for 10 minutes.
    • Soak 1.5 tbsp tamarind pulp in 1/2 cup warm water and mix until you get tamarind water. Dispose the seeds.
    • Meanwhile, add your baked or roasted peanuts to a high speed blender and pulse until you get coarse grains (but not too coarse)
    • To another blender (or the same one), add soaked chilies, shallots, lemongrass stalk (the purple part), ginger slices, and coriander powder.
    • Add 1-2 tbsp tamarind water to the blender to blend. Blend until you get a paste.
    • To a pan, add oil and the paste. Saute until fragrant, for 3-5 minutes. Add your crushed peanuts and saute.
    • Add water, kecap manis, coconut sugar, remaining tamarind water and mix until the mixture starting bubbling and you start seeing oil on top.
    • Add salt and squeeze some lime. Give it a good mix.
    • Serve with vegan satay, cucumber slices and rice cakes.