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Mapo tofummus: an addictive dip in the style of mapo tofu

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mapo tofummus

Mapo tofummus!

Mapo tofummus = soft “hummus” made of tofu + numbingly hot “mapo” sauce. The combination is as delicious in dip form as it is in the traditional Sichuan dish mapo tofu! Mapo tofu happens to be one of my all time favorite Chinese dishes, so when I saw Mandy Lee from Lady and Pups cook mapo tofummus, I knew I’d be making it asap.

Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed! Mapo tofummus is my new favorite dip and I can’t get enough of it! If you’re into Sichuan cuisine, I have a feeling that neither will you…

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mapo tofummus

mapo tofummus by Mandy Lee

Mandy’s mapo tofummus is an addictive concoction of numbingly hot meat sauce on a soft and subtle bed of pureed tofu. The combination is perfect slathered on a piece of fluffy bread! Either part of the dish wouldn’t be good on their own however. The tofu dip is relatively bland, and the “mapo” sauce extremely salty and spicy. Brought together however, the two are in perfect harmony!

I have cooked the original recipe exactly like Mandy, and it’s incredibly delicious. After a while I have however started to adjust the recipe more and more towards my personal preference and style of cooking. I’ve made it more “me”, so to say. This is of no disrespect towards Mandy. I love her recipes and her style of cooking is right up my alley! But, making adjustments to recipes is something I think everyone needs to do. Make the food “yours”, since you’re cooking it for yourself after all! I hope that’s what you’ll do with my recipes too. I make them for me, then you make them for you!

Mapo tofummus: my way

I’ve done my best to stay withing the original flavor profile, and to do Mandy’s recipe justice! There are however some big, some not so big changes I’ve started to make:

  • I add more sauce on top of tofummus than Mandy does. The sauce is just TOO GOOD to not add a bit more… The bread I like to dip into this can take the extra sauce. If I’d be dipping with something less substantial, I might not add quite as much as I currently do though?
  • I use half firm tofu, half silken tofu. I have a feeling that the firm tofu available in Finnish supermarkets is maybe a bit different to the kind Mandy uses. If I use firm tofu only, the tofummus comes out extremely thick, not at all what hers looks like. Mixed with silken tofu the result is more silky soft, and visually more similar to what Mandy has on her plate.
  • I’ve started to make this recipe with vegan minced protein instead of meat. I’m not vegan, but I do love to cook mostly vegan and vegetarian food! Meat is only for very special occasions in this household … And since we eat this quite often, I prefer to make it vegan. The texture of plant based protein “minces” is different from meat (as is obviously the taste), but I think the vegan version is absolutely delicious. Eating more plants is good for the planet, so making this vegan is a no brainer for me!
  • I’ve re-organized some of the cooking steps to better suit my style and logic of cooking. Having cooked the recipe exactly like Mandy instructs side by side with “my style”, I haven’t noticed a huge difference in taste or texture 🙂

tofu dippi

More more more!

“My” mapo tofummus is obviosly different from Mandy’s original recipe, but it’s still very very delicious and similar enough in taste. The mapo sauce is in fact SO GOOD that I quickly realized it’s best to double of triple the amount! Once you take on the project of making it, you might as well make a lot. And it would feel weird to me to use up only a part of a package of, say, vegan mince. So, I always cook up sauce from the whole amount of the protein I use.

Besides, once you have this sauce in the fridge, you can whip up a quick meal in minutes! Just heat up the sauce while boiling some noodles and mix together. Throw in some steamed/sauteed veggies, maybe a dollop of peanut butter and ta da, tasty bowl of noodles is ready! I sometimes add in some heated plant based milk (almond/soy/cashew) and the result starts to taste like a cousin of tantanmen ramen ♥ I think the mapo sauce also works wonderfully as the protein in dan dan noodles!

mapo tofu dippi

Doubanjiang, gochugaru, douchi, Chinkiang, Shaoxing…

Mandy’s recipe includes a lot of ingredients that are more or less difficult to find in Finland (especially outside of Helsinki). That’s why I’ve included here my suggestions for substitutions, based on what is easier to get a hold of here. If you live in a country where ingredients for Mandy’s original recipe are easy to find, I highly recommend keeping things just as they are! If you love this dip, these ingredients will not start gathering dust on your shelves, I promise.

Shopping list:

Là dòubàn jiàng
  • Doubanjiang (tobanjiang) is a chunky Chinese chili paste made from fermented soy beans and broad beans + chili, of course. The taste is funky, hot and sour! I would NOT replace this ingredient with anything. But if you simply can’t find doubanjiang, you can try using Korean gochujang instead. (Gochujang is readily available in Finnish supermarkets these days so that’s why I’m suggesting it as a substitute.) The flavor, texture or color of the sauce won’t obviously be the same with gochujang, but the result is still very delicious! I would not name the recipe “mapo tofummus” at this point though, since gochujang has nothing to to with mapo tofu. “Tofu dip with spicy sauce”, perhaps?
Sichuan peppercorns
  • Sichuan peppercorns have a unique tingly cooling heat and you’re guaranteed to remember the sensation once you’ve experienced it! There is NO way of substituting Sichuan peppercorns, so just go find them! The aroma is best when you dry toast and grind the peppercorns every time you need them, but I admit to doing it in batches every couple of weeks… Stored in an air tight container the pre toasted and ground peppercorns make the process of cooking just a tiiiiiiiny bit faster.
Gochugaru
  • Korean gochugaru chiliflakes are bright red, with a mild to hot heat. They have a sligthly fruity and smoky flavor (due to being sun dried) and I use them as my basic chili flake in all kinds of dishes. Gochugaru obviously brings heat to the dish, but also color. If you can’t find gochugaru, I think you can use any chili flake you have. Just make sure to adjust the amount to the heat level of your chili! In my opinion the middle eastern Pul Biber / Aleppo pepper is quite similar to gochugaru. It has a similar color, heat and that lovely hint of smoke! I always have Pul Biber in the cupboard!
Douchi
  • Douchi are Chinese salted and fermented black soy beans. They have a unique, funky, complex and very salty flavor that is hard to substitute. Mandy suggests that you can use dark miso paste as a substitute, and I think it works really well! I am yet to try subbing douchi with chungjang sauce (fermented black bean sauce), I think it might also be a good alternative.
Shaoxing-viini
  • Chinese Shaoxing wine is a slightly sweet, nutty rice wine with notes of dried fruits. The flavor profile is very similar to semi dry sherry in my opinion, so I often swap Shaoxing for Amontillado sherry. And vice versa!
Chinkiang etikka
  • Chinese black Chinkiang vinegar has a wonderfully complex, malty and fruity aroma. Chinese black rice vinegar is less sour than many other vinegars, so if you want to replace it with regular rice vinegar, use a little less. You could also mix 1 part rice vinegar to 1 part balsamic vinegar.
Mushroom powder
  • Mushroom powder will add a boost of umami to the sauce! I usually have some kind of mushroom powder in my cupboard. I’ve used oyster mushroom powder in this recipe, as well as blitzed up dried funnel chantarelles (many Finns have these mushrooms dried in their cupboards) or even ceps! If you can’t find any type of mushroom powder, or are allergic to mushrooms, I think you can leave it out without it making a hugely obvious change in the taste.

mapo tofummus

Mapo tofummus aka mapo tofu dip

Mapo tofummus is an addictive dip version of the iconic sichuan dish, mapo tofu. This recipe is adapted from the original recipe by Mandy Lee of Lady and Pups blog! You can easily make this vegan.
Course Appetizer, dip
Cuisine Fusion
Servings 4 people
Author Juulia
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 50 mins
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Equipment

  • Immersion blender
  • grater

Ingredients
 

Tofummus:

  • 200 g silken tofu
  • 200 g firm tofu
  • 4-6 cloves of garlic (or garlic confit)
  • ¾ dl canola oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp salt (if you're not making the dish vegan, you can use also fish sauce to add salinity!)

Mapo sauce:

  • 200 g plantbased minced protein (or organic minced pork, if not making this vegan)
  • 6 tbsp canola oil
  • 2 tsp toasted and ground sichuan peppercorns
  • 4-6 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp doubangiang (OR 1 tbsp gochujang)
  • 1 tsp gochugaru (OR 1 tsp Pul Biber / Aleppo pepper)
  • 4-5 cm piece of fresh ginger
  • 1-1½ tsp douchi (OR 1-1½ tbsp dark miso paste)
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp dried mushroom powder
  • ¼ tsp ground white pepper
  • 4 tbsp Shaoxing wine (OR medium dry sherry)
  • 1 dl veggie stock (OR chicken stock, if not making this vegan)
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 1¼ tbsp Chinkiang vinegar (OR ½ tbsp rice wine vinegar + ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar)
  • 3 tsp apricot jam / agave syrup (OR runny honey if not making this vegan)
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

To serve:

  • 1 loaf of bread (for example ciabatta)
  • 1 finely slices spring onion
  • 1-2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Notes:
If you happen to have confit garclic around, this is a perfect recipe for using both the garlic (in the tofummus) and the garlicky oil!

Instructions

Preparations:

  • Toast the sichuan peppercorns on a dry pan for a few minutes, until fragrant. Grind to a fine powder with mortar and pestle. If you're serving the dip with toasted sesame seeds, toast them on the same dry pan, then take aside and allow to cool.
  • Peel and grate the ginger. Peel and grate the garlic meant for the mapo sauce, peel and slice the garlic meant for tofummus. Finely mince the douchi with a knife. Mix the corn starch with the veggie (or chicken) stock.

Tofummus:

  • Drain the tofu, break into smaller pieces and put into a bowl.
  • Heat up the oil and fry the sliced garlic until soft and slightly golden. Pour the garlic and the oil on top of the tofu. Season with toasted sesame oil and salt, blend to a soft mixture with an immersion blender. Cover and allow the flavor to develop while you make the mapo sauce. Note: the tofummus is relatively bland by itself, but the sauce packs a punch!

Mapo sauce:

  • Heat up oil in a frying pan and brown the protein you're using. Try to break it a part to small crumbs while you fry it! Lower the temperature and add in grated garlic and ginger, doubangian (or gochujang), chili flakes, sichuan peppercorns, ground cumin and white pepper.
  • Keep frying until the garlic is cooked and the mixture is very fragrant. Add in the chopped up douchi (or miso paste) and the mushroom powder. Mix well.
  • Add in the Shaoxing wine (or sherry). Cook while stirring, until the liquid has almost fully evaporated/soaked into the the protein. Stir the stock and starch mixture and pour in to the pan. Cook for a few minutes while stirring, or until the sauce is slightly thickened and glossy.
  • Add in the toasted sesame oil, the apricot jam / agave syrup (or honey) and the Chinkiang vinegar. Mix well, taste and adjust the taste if necessary.

Serving:

  • Spoon the tofummus on to a large plate. Make a small indentation in the middle and spoon the mapo sauce on top. Garnish with finely sliced scallion greens and/or toasted sesame seeds. Serve with bread whilst still warm!

Ps. Mandy Lee cooks Mapo Tofummus also in YouTube! I absolutely love her cooking videos, which are luckily plenty over on the Food52-channel.

mapo tofummus

 

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, my way

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pan galactic gargle blaster recipe

42!

I turned 42 this year! This is an age filled with meaning for me, and I’ve been waiting for my 42nd birthday for a loooooong time. Why, you ask? Well, it just so happens that 42 is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. It also just so happens that the first part of Douglas Adams’s five part trilogy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is 42 years old too! A double 42nd birthday party is in order! In celebration of both mine and the book’s 42nd birthday, I finally developed a recipe for Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster!

This drink has an effect described as “having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick”. Sounds intriguing, am I right? It’s been almost three decades since I first read the book, and I’ve been imagining the cocktail for an equally long time. I think it’s about time to mix one! Getting hold of the ingredients is a difficult now as it was back in the 90’s, but I think I got close enough. 😉 Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster my way is at least also best enjoyed very, very carefully…

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meaning of life 42

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

I first read the Hithchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as a 12-year old, and by the time I’d reach the age of entering bars I’d read it many many times. Needles to say, I was the giggling dork trying to unsuccessfully order a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster in every bar I went to, until the novelty finally wore off. I quite obviously thought it was hilarious, whilst the bartender likely didn’t… The bars in the small Finnish town I grew up in hadn’t unfortunately developed their own recipe for Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Though that’s maybe not very surprising, since they weren’t really catering for scifi fans, let alone scifi parody fans…

The web is full of recipes for Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. And as you can imagine, a fictive drink with fictive ingredients may be interpreted in lots of different ways! What I’ve ran accross range from recipes concentrated in mixing all possible alcohols together to those that just sound way too simple. Then there are those that are waaaay too complicated to me, and those that just sound all wrong! (Which is just my personal opinion, based on how I imagine the drink – I’m not saying any of the above-linked recipes are bad, they are just not for me!) Seems to me it’s best to try and create my own version if I want to drink this elusive concoction…

pan galactic gargle blaster recipe

Instructions for pan galactic gargle blaster, according to the hithchhiker’s guide to the galaxy:

  • Take the juice from one bottle of Ol’ Janx Spirit.
  • Pour into it one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V — Oh, that Santraginean seawater! Oh, those Santraginean fish!
  • Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into the mixture (it must be properly iced or the benzene is lost).
  • Allow four litres of Fallian marsh gas to bubble through it, in memory of all those happy hikers who have died of pleasure in the Marshes of Fallia.
  • Over the back of a silver spoon float a measure of Qualactin Hypermint extract, redolent of all the heady odours of the dark Qualactin Zones, subtle, sweet and mystic.
  • Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger. Watch it dissolve, spreading the fires of the Algolian Suns deep into the heart of the drink.
  • Sprinkle Zamphuor.

Drink… but very carefully… And never have more than two, unless you happen to be a “thirty ton mega elephant with bronchial pneumonia” as Zaphod Beeblebrox put it. He’s the creator of this drink, he should know!

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, my way:

Ol’ Janx Spirit
  • Cheap vodka! Moonshine would be kind of a logic equivalent, but I happen to have no contacts to anyone making it… So I ended up going with the cheapest kind of vodka. I can very well imagine people playing drinking games with vodka, telepsychic or not!
water from the seas of Santraginus V
  • Absinthe! Santraginus V is a planet full of beautiful marble-sanded beaches and precious seashells, where you can lie on the beach whilst “inhaling the heady sea vapours”. Many interpret the sea-water as a saline solution, but I ended up focusing on the word “heady” and went with something considered as extra intoxicating: absinthe! It’s an added bonus that it’s got that lovely green hue, and that it’s been illegal in many countries around the world. Seems appropriate for the sea-water coming from this addictive planet?
Arcturan Mega-gin
  • Gin! Oh year, I’ve been extremely clever here, and went with gin. Navy-strength would be best! If you want to go the extra mile, pop it in the freezer a few hours before mixing your PGGB. It won’t be frozen, but at least it will “properly iced”!
Fallian marsh gas
  • Mineral water! The strongest, most pungeant kind that is called “Vichy” water here in Finland. I would’ve tried to carbonate my concoction with a soda machine, but alas, I’ve gotten rid of mine years ago. So, mineral water it is! Fallia is a planet famous for it’s marshes, emitting a deadly hallucinogenic euphoria. So… feel free to swap Absinthe as Fallian marsh-gas and mineral water as seawater from Santraginus V in your mind. That’s what I do, when I start to doubt myself and don’t want to change the recipe anymore 😀
Qualactin Hypermint extract
  • Mint liqueur, preferably the tooth-pasty blue kind. I would actually have gone with the Swiss cinnamon schnapps that has those gold flakes floating in it… But, it seems to exist only in my memories these days (= it’s not sold here currently). The description for Qualactin hypermint extract is “subtle, sweet and mystic” which for me sounds like sweet cinnamon and gold flakes! But oh well, gotta make do with what I got, so mint liqueur it is. The tooth-pasty kind. Because it’s a mystery to me why anyone would buy it
the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger
  • A sugar cube with cocktail bitters. The tooth is supposed to spread the fires of Algolian suns in to the depths of the cocktail, so I wanted to season the cubes with something warming (coco & coffee bitters), then SET IT ON FIRE. Sugar with a few dashes of cocktail bitters won’t be easy to set aflame by itself, so the tooth is first soaked in some Santraginus V sea-water.
Zamphuor
  • A sprinkle of edible gold dust. Because how else would the drink have an effect of “having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick”?
Olive
  • Oh an olive? That sound just like lemon juice to me… Because how else would the drink have an effect of “having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick”? Of course you can also snack on some olives while sipping on your Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, if you are so inclined 🙂 I love olives! Don’t you?

ingredients for a pan galactic gargle blaster

how to make a pan galactic gargle blaster

a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick

The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster I hereby created turned out to be a very nice drink indeed. It’s golden, it’s strong, and if you drink too many, you’ll definitely feel like you’ve had your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick. As you can see from my pictures, I made it also with a few drops of blue food coloring – the color of the PGBG seems to be a big dispute for some so hey, you can make it any color you want. But whatever the color, drink this properly chilled! I personally prefer mine sipped “neat” on the rocks with very little Fallian sea gas, but you can of course add as much mineral water as you see fit. Just don’t drink more than two – you have been warned!

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster my way is a beautiful and deceivingly strong cocktail. Be warned, drinking too many of these may feel like you’ve had your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick...
Course Drinks
Author Juulia
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 1 hr
Total Time 1 hr 10 mins
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Equipment

  • small fire proof steel dish + matches
  • Cocktailspoon / muddler + cocktail shaker
  • silver spoon

Ingredients
 

  • 3 sugar cubes + 10-15 dashes of coco or coffee bitters
  • 15 ml absinth
  • 7½ ml mint liqueur
  • 60 ml lemon juice
  • 60 ml vodka
  • 60 ml Navy Strength gin
  • 5 ml edible gold dust
  • mineral water to taste

To serve:

  • ice
  • olives
Notes:
You can change the color of the gargle blaster with a few drops of food coloring.

Instructions

  • Put the sugar cubes in a small steel dish. Take out a fire proof lid that fits over the dish. Make sure to put the dish on heat proof surface and that there's nothing over it.
  • Drop some coffee or cocktail bitters on the sugar cubes, then drizzle over 15 ml of absinth. Set aflame.
  • Allow the sugar cubes to flame until the sugar is bubbly. Then suffocate the flames with the lid. Muddle the sugar cubes with the remaining liquid in you cocktail shaker.
  • Add the vodka to the shaker, along with the lemon juice and the gin, which you add by pouring it over a silver spoon. Finally, add a dash of gold dust.
  • Mix well and pour in a bottle. Put the pan galactic gargle blaster in the freezer for at least an hour to properly chill it!
  • Before serving, shake the bottle a bit to evenly distribute the gold dust. Pour 4-8 cl of the gargle blaster per glass filled with ice and top with as little or as much of mineral water as you wish. Serve with some olives on the side!

recipe for pan galactic gargle blaster

Ps. Jess Zimmerman has written an interesting article on the PGGB and the bars that serve it, and you can find a collection of PGGB recipes at the Wikibooks site dedicated to it! And in case you’ve read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy, what would you image the recipe for Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster be like here on Earth?

Raw lingonberry porridge, Finnish style

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raw lingonberry porridge

Food memories

It’s amazing how many memories can arise from just one spoonful. I recently made a traditional Finnish recipe called puolukkapöperö. This could loosely be translated as “lingonberry mush”, it’s a kind of raw lingonberry porridge! As I made it, I was instantly transported back to my childhood home. My grandmother showed me how to do this simple snack when I was about 8-9 years old. Puolukkapöperö became something I’d whip up for myself after coming back home from school. I’d eat this watching TV, waiting for my parents to return from work. This 3 ingredient raw porridge is something even a ten year old can do. There’s no cooking involved, just mashing and mixing!

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lingonberry porridge

storing lingonberries

Lingonberry memories

Lingonberry is a very tart little red berry that grows in abundance here in Finland. It’s an evergreen native plant to snow forests and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Lingonberries are very tart so they are often made into a jam or juice, or simply mashed together with sugar to create a raw sweetened lingonberry mush. This mush stores extremely well and can be kept for months in a cool place.

When I was growing up, we used to always have large containers full of either the sweetened mash or whole lingonberries covered with water. Storing whole lingonberries submerged in water was something my grandmother would specifically do. Mom tells me that they always had “water lingonberries” when she was growing up. They’d be stored in the cool cellar over winter, and used in all kinds of dishes. Grandmother’s lingonberry pie was a classic, but she’d also make whipped sweet lingonberry porridge or serve them as a side with different casseroles. Lingonberry is a classic side dish to liver casserole (maksalaatikko) and spinach pancakes here! And of course, she’d make puolukkapöperö too! (Links to My Berry Forest’s recipes)

RAW Lingonberry porridge

As a write this, I can see my grandmother in full spirit and health! Mashing lingonberries with the old wooden potato masher now stored in my kitchen cupboards… I can recall exactly how the kitchen was laid out and the chipped blue china bowl I’d eat the mush from. Mamma (my grandmother) would show me how I could simply press the lingonberries against the bowl with a spoon to crush them. Then all you need to do is add some rye flour and sugar. And there you go! The raw lingonberry porridge aka puolukkapöperö is ready!

Me and Mamma, as I always remember her: in her curlers, wearing an old striped Marimekko apron dress.

Mamma ♥

My beloved Mamma died a year and a half ago. She was a strong Finnish woman who was always doing something. Cooking, cleaning, raking the yard, sorting out this or that, picking berries or mushrooms… She’d play cards with us and read us stories and we loved her so so much. Whenever there was something to do in the kitchen, I was always ready to help! Mamma taught me how to make many traditional Finnish recipes, and her old cookbook is my highly cherished treasure. The most important recipes aren’t written anywhere though, they are stored in my mind! With the exception of lanttusupikkaat, a rye pasty filled with thin slices of swedes. When Mamma turned 88 I made this special treat for the party. I wrote out the recipe in Finnish back then… But I’ll try to finally get that one translated in English too!

My grandmother spent her last decade in a nursing home, not being able to move around by herself or even speak much in the very last years. This is heartbreaking to think of still today. Someone who was so full of life and energy, just laying there with no agency or control over her own life anymore. Re-discovering puolukkapöperö gave me vividly back the memories of those happier times spent with her, cooking, taking walks, talking… There’s a lot of comfort in food and the memories it helps to keep alive. And this is why I want to share this simple childhood treat with all of you! Eating my childhood favorite might not spark memories of your loved ones, but maybe it will remind you of the dishes you used to make with yours? And making those recipes again will definitely bring back some memories of your own … well, at least I hope so!

traditional finnish recipe

Raw lingonberry porridge aka puolukkapöperö

Considering, how incredibly simple this 3 ingredient raw lingonberry porridge is, I was actually shocked with how good it tastes! I honestly thought my memory might have been made golden with time. I mean, how good can a mixture of lingonberries, sugar and rye flour be? Turns out it can be very, very good.

My grandmother would always make this with refined white sugar, but since I rarely have that stuff at home I used raw coconut sugar. It has a lovely caramel aroma that goes super well with lingonberries! The rye flour to use here can be anything from “light” rye flour to coarse whole meal “dark” rye flour. I prefer using finely milled medium rye flour, mainly because that’s what I have at home. Mamma served the puolukkapöperö often just like that, or maybe drizzled with a bit of milk. But, you can definitely make it more dessert like with a dollop of whipped cream or some vanilla custard! I also love to add a bit of ground vanilla in to the lingonberry mush.

“Could you make this again soon?”

The ultimate testimony regarding how delicious this is, was my husband’s reaction. I mean, he has no reason to like something from my childhood, after all! I quietly placed a bowl in front of him and went back to kitchen. It didn’t take long before I heard him call out “what IS this? It’s crazy good!” But don’t take my (or his) word for it, please try this yourself! If you can’t get a hold of lingonberries, you can also try other berries – some people make this with bilberries here in Finland. Simply adjust the amount of sugar depending on how tart the berries you use are.

Puolukkapöperö - lingonberry mush

Puolukkapöpero (lingonberry mush) is a traditional Finnish recipe for a kind of raw lingonberry porridge! You can eat this as a quick snack, or turn it into a dessert by serving it with some whipped cream or vanilla custard.
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Finnish
Diet Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings 2 people
Author Juulia
Prep Time 5 mins
Total Time 5 mins
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Ingredients
 

  • 3 dl lingonberries
  • 1 dl rye flour
  • ¾-1½ dl sugar
  • ¼ tl vanilla powder

To serve:

  • 1 dl whipped cream or vanilla custard (plantbased)

Instructions

  • Mash the lingonberries together with the rye flour and sugar, so that the berries burst and release their juices. I use an old blunt potato masher, but you can also break the berries with the back of a spoon.
  • Season with a sprinkle of vanilla poweder.
  • Serve as is, or with a dollop of (plantbased) whipped cream or vanilla custard.

raw lingonberry porridge

lingonberry recipe

Quick and easy kimchi noodles

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kimchi bibimguksu

Kimchi noodles

Bibimguksu (bibim guksu 비빔국수) aka korean cold sweet and hot noodles are an easy and quick dish, that we eat around the year. Yes, yes! It’s very much a summer dish. But since these noodles are drenched in an addictive gochujang based sauce, they warm up the belly very nicely also during the cold months.

And when you throw in some hot, funky and sour kimchi, even more so! In fact, I think this is a perfect little pick me up, snack or lunch for the first week of gloomy November. Maybe one of you is in need of something warming and refreshing too? Then hop on over to the recipe, check out my kimchi noodles story … or keep on reading!

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kimchi noodles

kimchi Bibim-guksu…

Bibim-guksu apparently means approximately “mixed noodles”, just like bibimbap means “mixed rice”. So: various ingredients, mixed with noodles! The equivalent in Finland would be pyttipannu. Pyttipannu is usually leftover potatoes, panfried with things such as sausage, onions and egg – or whatever you might have around. Just like pyttipannu, bibimguksu seems to be something you can serve with what you happen to have around too!

To me the key of this dish seems to be the sauce more than the add-ons. The main ingredient in the sauce is korean chili paste gochujang. This used to be difficult to get a hold on here, but hich nowadays it’s readily available in Finnish grocery stores! In addition to gochujang, the sauce has something sweet, as well as toasted sesame seeds and oil. Plus, a dash of vinegar and other seasonings. Very delicious!

… aka Kimchi noodles

In our house bibimguksu is usually made very minimally, since it’s something we usually eat when in a hurry. We really might just top off the noodles with shredded cucumber and a soft boiled egg. (I’ve understood that traditionally bibimguksu is served with a hard boiled egg, but I always need my yolk porn…) However, sometimes I add a load of other veggies in too! Carrots, cabbage, sugar snaps, bean sprouts… Whatever I happen to have a round. At this point, bibimguksu really starts to look like a noodle salad! 🙂 I sometimes add also tofu of tempeh, or a handful of peanuts. Or lots and lots of kimchi – which makes the dish into a kimchi bibimguksu!

gochujang sauce

Kimchi?

In case kimchi, the korean fermented delicacy with a strong aroma (and scent!) isn’t familiar for you yet, here’s some tidbits about it:

  • Kimchi is the national food of South Korea and an important part of the country’s life – past and present!
  • The traditional kimchi making period kimjang was joined on the Unesco intangible cultural heritage list in 2013. In 2015 the list also included the tradition of kimchi making in North Korea.
  • Kimjang takes place around October-November (aka at the time of writing this blog post!). This is when families and communities come together to make kimchi for the whole winter. All kinds of kimchis are however made year around, depending on the seasons and the seasonal ingredients available.
  • Kimchi is often prepared from Napa cabbage and seasoned with gochugaru chili flakes, spring onions, ginger and garlic among other things. Baechu kimchi is likely the one people talk about, when mentioning just “kimchi” in general. There are however almost 200 different types of kimchi, made from for example cucumber, radish, mustard greens or perilla leaves.
  • Kimchi often includes salted fermented (jeotgal) or fish sauce, so it’s not always suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
  • Since kimchi is fermented, it has a lot of gut friendly probiotics! It also contains dietary fibers and vitamins A, B and C among other things.
  • In Korea kimchi is eaten with rice, but also in soups, stews, pancakes, dumplings… and as a side dish (banchan) with pretty much every meal. Since kimchi has spread around the planet, you can also find it in burgers, on top of fries, on a pizza, and I personally have used it also as vinegraitte with green asparagus and blood orange salad (recipe link to a a post in Finnish) as well as blended to a vegan “mayonnaise” with tofu (link to a post in Finnish).
  • If you are friends with sauerkraut and aren’t afraid of chili, I bet you’d love kimchi!
  • In Korea people don’t say cheese when taking pictures, but kimchi of course!
Sources

Good old Wikipedia tells a lot about kimchi, but I highly recommed looking into for example the website of Maangchi, if you are curious about Korean ingredients and cuisine. That’s where I have gotten most of my knowledge, and I love watching her  YouTube channel too! Being a Finnish home cook, I’m obviously not an expert on Korean cuisine, just a big fan!

kimchi bibimguksu

quick kimchi noodles

The sources for this recipe are various – pretty much all Korean food blogs that I’m familiar with have a recipe for bibimguksu. Below you’ll find my preference and mainly used ratio of the different ingredients, but feel free to adjust all of them to your personal preference. I have a feeling that’s how it’s done in Korea too?

Korean cold kimchi noodles aka kimchi bibimguksu

Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine Korean
Diet Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword vegan, vegetarian
Servings 2 people
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 20 mins
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Ingredients
 

  • 180-200 g noodles (for example somen/somyeon or soba noodles)
  • ¾-1 dl kimchi (vegan kimchi)

Sauce:

  • 2 tbsp gochujang
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp raw sugar / honey / syrup (honey is not vegan)
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1-2 tsp soy sauce (optional)
  • 1 garlic glove and/or a few cm of ginger (optional)
  • 1-2 tsp gochugaru -chiliflakes (optional)

Toppings:

  • 10 cm piece of cucumber
  • 1-2 eggs (leave the egg out if making this vegan!)
  • 1-2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1-2 handfuls carrot, (red) cabbage, bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, tomato, radish... (a selection based on your taste & amount of hunger, optional)
  • 100-150 g (cold smoked) firm tofu (+ a few tbsp oil for frying, optional)
Notes:
  • I use all kinds of sweeteners in the sauce - usually agave syrup or raw coconut sugar, sometimes honey.  Sometimes I add some freshly grated garlic or ginger to the sauce, and a bit of soy sauce.
  • Instead of rice wine vinegar I sometimes use shiso infused vinegar (recipe here!) or  apple cider vinegar - depending what I got!
  • Although gochujang is hot already, you can add an extra kick of heat to the sauce with additional gochugaru flakes.
  • If hot sauce isn't your thing, you can use this recipe with a soy sauce dressing and make ganjang bibimguksu! You'll need about 3 tbsp soy sauce (preferably korean ganjang), 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, 2 tbsp sugar/syrup/honey, 1-2 tbsp rice wine vinegar and toasted sesame oil to taste. Adjust the quantities to your preference and throw in some grated garlic/ginger if you like!
  • Both sauces can be pre-made and stored in the fridge!

Instructions

Preparations:

  • Boil the eggs (6-10 minutes depending on your preference). Cool the eggs. Shred the cucumber and chop/shred all the other veggies you're using. If you're using tofu, cube up and fry (I don't always bother frying tofu but it's totally up to you!).
  • Toast the sesame seeds for a few minutes on a dry frying pan unless using pre toasted seeds. Chop up the kimchi and make sure to save all the juices that accumulate.
  • Mix the ingredients of the sauce together. Season to taste with freshly grated garlic and/or ginger, soy sauce and a bit of gochugaru for an extra kick of heat, if you are so inclined. Peel and half the eggs.
  • Boil the noodles according to the package instructions. Make sure to not overcook them! Quickly rinse and cool off under running cold water, drain well.

Assembly:

  • Mix the noodles with the sauce. I use my hands; you may wish to use plastic gloves or thongs. Divide the noodles in two bowls and top off with the chopped kimchi, drizzling the kimchi juices in to the bowls as well.
  • Add the other garnishes: halved boiled eggs, shredded cucumber and other veg. Garnish the bowls with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately!

 

 

kimchi bibim-guksu

easy korean kimchi noodles

kimchi noodles

Gnocchi moussaka casserole

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Gnocchi moussaka

Gnocchi “moussaka”

My shortcut hack to a quick moussaka style casserole, is to swap the potatoes with store bought potato gnocchi! Layered together with eggplant, tomato sauce and a hefty amount of cheese sauce, this gnocchi “moussaka” casserole is comfort food at its best. It’s a warming and hearty vegetarian dish as is, but also super easy to make vegan!

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Gnocchi casserole

Gnocchi bake

moussaka style Gnocchi casserole

I came up with this moussaka style gnocchi casserole prepared in the style of moussaka during spring of 2020. This was a time when I was learning the ropes of distance teaching on the go, while trying to come up with some food at the table both for lunch and dinner. Yeah we ordered in a lot… I had zero time or energy for cooking, but a massive craving for comfort food!

Store bought potato gnocchi were in heavy rotation in my kitchen around that busy, busy time… They cook up in mere minutes and are delicious with the simplest of sauces. I love traditional Greek moussaka, but it clearly is a labor of love and time when prepared well. In my need of a quick fix I ended up substituting potatoes with gnocchi! Although the dish is still not the fastest to prepare, making a huge batch on a Sunday meant lots of comfort to the next week. And it still does! What I created is definitely not a traditional moussaka, though there are lots of variations of this classic Mediterranean dish. But it definitely fits the box of comfort food!

potato gnocchi casserole

Gnocchi moussaka

The tomato sauce gets lots of warming depth from garlic, herbs and cinnamon. I also love to add a lot of freshly grated nutmeg to the Mornay sauce! This gnocchi moussaka casserole is definitely food for the cold weather. The pillowy soft gnocchis will fill and warm you up like a dream! Since the night time temperatures have now dropped below zero here in Finland, I think it’s perfect time to finally share this dish with you all.

Gnocchi moussaka casserole

Gnocchi casserole in the style of moussaka - comfort food for the cold time of year! This is easy to make vegan too.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Fusion
Diet Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings 4 people
Author Juulia
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 1 hr 10 mins
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Ingredients
 

  • 500 g fresh gnocchi (store bought)
  • 250 g plant based mince
  • 1 medium sized eggplant
  • olive oil (as needed)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp tomato pure
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1-2 tsp sugar
  • salt (to taste)
  • 500 g crushed tomatos (from a can)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil (or melted butter)
  • ½ dl wheat flour
  • 3 dl (oat) milk
  • 2 dl (oat) cream
  • ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 150-200 g grated cheese (emmental, mozzarella...) (or vegan cheese)
  • salt + freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
Notes:
Feel free to add more veggies to the tomato sauce - I chop in carrots, celeriac and such sometimes!
You can also layer in thin slices of pumpkin, zucchini, what have you to bulk up the veggie content.

Instructions

Prep:

  • Slice the eggplant to about ½ cm thickness. Brown the slices in olive oil in batches and stack up for later. Add some more oil in the pan and brown the plant based mince, take it out of the pan for later too! Start heating up the oven to 175°C.

Making the sauces:

  • Tomato sauce: Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Heat a table spoon of oil in a pan and cook the onions until translucent. Add in the tomato puré and dried oregano, thyme, ground cinnamon and sugar. Cook on medium heat for a while so that the tomato puré cooks a bit.
  • Add in the crushed tomatoes and bring the sauce to a boil. Let the sauce simmer on low heat for fiveish minutes and season to taste with salt.
  • Mornay sauce: Add 3 tbsp of oil or butter to a pot and whisk in the flour. Cook on medium heat while stirring until the mixture is bubbling. Add in the (oat) milk, one deciliter at a time, whisking to prevent lumps. Add in the (oat) cream and keep cooking until the sauce is thick and the flour is fully cooked. Fold in (vegan) cheese and season with salt, freshly cracked black pepper and grated nutmeg.

Assembly:

  • Coat the bottom of a large and deep oven proof casserole. Throw in the store bought gnocchi and top it off with the browned plant based mince.
  • Ladle in half of the tomato sauce, then layer on top the cooked eggplant. Continue by adding the rest of the tomato sauce and then the cheese sauce.
  • Grate some more cheese on top if you wish, or just add some cinnamon and/or fresly grated nutmeg!
  • Cook the casserole on medium rack in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top. I usually finish the browning by turning on the grill settings for a few mintues at the end of the cooking time!

Gnocchi moussaka

gnocchi moussaka