Suggestions for preparing a vegetarian meal at home for the Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the 7th lunar month).

(Baonghean.vn) -Although it's already autumn, the weather is still quite hot, so choosing foods with cooling properties and vegetarian dishes for the offering tray is a good and meaningful idea for women to prepare and respectfully offer to their ancestors during the full moon of the seventh lunar month.

Here are some suggestions for a vegetarian meal to offer during the Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the 7th lunar month):

Vegetarian meal for the full moon of the seventh lunar month

- Sticky rice with lotus seeds and pandan leaves

- Vegetarian patties

- Vegetarian spring rolls

- Tofu stuffed with mushrooms and lotus seeds

- Lotus root salad

- Mushroom and lotus seed soup and pork skin cake.

Making:

1. Lotus seed sticky ricepandan leaves:

IngredientIngredients: 300g glutinous rice, 150g fresh lotus seeds, 20g coconut, 1 bunch pandan leaves, salt, sugar, 1 tablespoon coconut milk.

MakingWash the pandan leaves thoroughly, reserving about 2 leaves to cook with the sticky rice. Chop the remaining leaves into pieces and blend them with a little water. Then squeeze out the juice to soak the rice and give it color. Add the pandan leaf juice to the sticky rice, just enough to cover it, and soak for about 6-7 hours. Afterwards, rinse the rice thoroughly, drain, and mix with a little salt for added flavor.

Boil the rice in a steamer, adding the rice along with the two reserved pandan leaves. Steam until cooked through. While steaming, occasionally stir with chopsticks to ensure even cooking and prevent the bottom from becoming mushy. While waiting for the rice to cook, prepare the lotus seeds and grated coconut. Wash the lotus seeds and boil them with a pinch of salt until cooked. Scrape off the dark outer skin of the coconut, wash it, and grate it into strands.

When the sticky rice is almost cooked, remove the pandan leaves that were steamed with the rice, then add the boiled lotus seeds along with 1 tablespoon of coconut milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar, and mix well.

Place the sticky rice on a plate, then sprinkle the shredded coconut on top.

Sticky rice with lotus seeds and pandan leaves

2. Vegetarian spring rolls:

IngredientIngredients: 20g mung bean vermicelli, 1 dried wood ear mushroom, 1 pack of spring roll wrappers; 20g peeled mung beans; 50g taro; 1/2 carrot, 1 small jicama (about 50g), green onions; vegetarian seasoning powder, pepper, lemon, chili, vinegar, sugar, salt, 1 teaspoon of crispy frying powder or wheat flour (either is fine).

Making:

Soak mung beans in cold water for about 3 hours, then steam until cooked. Soak wood ear mushrooms in water until soft, then rinse, slice into strips, and chop finely. Briefly soak vermicelli in cold water until soft, drain, and cut into 1.5-2cm pieces with scissors.

Peel and wash the carrots. Slice 2/3 of them thinly, then julienne them. Slice the remaining carrots thinly for the dipping sauce. Peel and wash the taro, then shred it. Peel and wash the jicama, then shred it and squeeze out excess water to prevent the spring rolls from becoming soggy. Cut off the roots of the scallions, wash them, and chop them finely.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, mix well with a little vegetarian seasoning powder and pepper to taste, and let it sit for about 5 minutes to allow the filling to absorb the flavors. Then, mix about 1 tablespoon of crispy frying batter with the other ingredients to create a binding agent.

Take ½ cup of water and add about 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, stir well. This mixture is used to soften the rice paper before wrapping and helps the spring rolls become crispier and more attractive when fried. Lay a rice paper wrapper on a cutting board and use the water-vinegar mixture to soften it before wrapping. Place a spoonful of filling about ¼ of the way up the wrapper, spreading the filling evenly to both sides according to the desired size of the spring roll. Then, fold the two edges and roll tightly. Do not roll too tightly; if you roll it too tightly, the spring rolls will easily break when fried. Repeat this process until all the filling is used up.

Fried vegetarian spring rolls (nem)

Heat a pan on the stove, add cooking oil, enough to completely cover the spring rolls or about 2/3 of them. Once the oil is hot, add the spring rolls and fry until they are golden brown. To make the spring rolls round and beautifully colored, you need to heat the oil very hot, then reduce the heat and fry the spring rolls. When you add the spring rolls to the hot oil, be sure to roll them around so that the wrapper is slightly crispy before frying each side until cooked through.

While waiting for the spring rolls to cook, prepare the dipping sauce. Wash and finely chop the chili peppers. Peel the lemon, cut it in half, and squeeze out the juice. Slice the remaining carrots thinly and soak them in a little vinegar and sugar. Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing salt, lemon juice, sugar, chili peppers, and a little food coloring. Once the salt and sugar have completely dissolved, add the carrots and season to taste. Make a generous amount of dipping sauce as it will also be used for the purple rice noodle dish.

3. Tofu in a pot with lotus seeds and mushrooms:

IngredientIngredients: 6 small blocks of tofu, 1 dried wood ear mushroom, 50g lotus seeds, 50g shiitake mushrooms, cooking oil, vegetarian oyster sauce, vegetarian seasoning powder, pepper, salt.

MakingWash the tofu, drain it, and fry it until golden brown on all sides. Wash the lotus seeds, boil them until soft with a little salt. Reserve 1/3 for garnish, and mash the rest with a spoon.

Soak dried wood ear mushrooms until soft, rinse thoroughly, remove stems, and chop finely. Wash the mushrooms, lightly squeeze with a little salt, rinse again, and drain. Slice about 2 mushrooms thinly, and dice the rest. Use a sharp knife to hollow out one side of the tofu, remove the filling, and place it in a bowl with the chopped mushrooms and mashed lotus seeds. Add a little vegetarian seasoning powder and pepper, and mix well.

Stuff the filling back into the tofu pieces. Heat a pan on the stove, add cooking oil and heat until hot. When the oil is hot, add the tofu and fry until golden brown on both sides, then remove to a plate.

Drain off excess oil from the pan, add the remaining thinly sliced ​​mushrooms and lotus seeds along with 1 tablespoon of vegetarian oyster sauce, and stir well. Then add the lotus seed broth and a little vegetarian seasoning powder to taste. Add the fried tofu and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Tofu in a pot with lotus seeds and mushrooms

4. Lotus root salad:

IngredientIngredients: 200g lotus root, 1 small carrot, 1 cucumber, 20g peanuts, chili peppers, Vietnamese coriander, cilantro, salt, lemon, sugar.

MakingCut lotus root into pieces about 4-5cm long, then split each piece into 2 or 3 depending on its size. Immediately soak them in water with a little salt and lemon juice to keep them white. Then rinse thoroughly and drain in a colander. Peel and wash the carrots, cut them into 4-5cm pieces, then julienne them. Wash the cucumber, halve it, and then slice it thinly.

Wash and finely chop the Vietnamese coriander and cilantro, removing any roots or tough stems. Roast the peanuts until cooked, peel them, and crush them. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice. Wash and finely chop the chili peppers.

Prepare the salad dressing by mixing salt, sugar, lemon juice, and chopped chili peppers to taste. In a large bowl, combine the lotus root and carrots, and pour in 2/3 of the prepared dressing. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes to absorb the flavors. Then add the cucumber and the remaining dressing and mix well. Finally, add the chopped herbs and adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve on a plate and sprinkle with crushed peanuts.

Vegetarian lotus root salad

5. Mushroom and lotus seed soup:

IngredientIngredients: 50g lotus seeds, 100g mixed mushrooms (shiitake, reishi, and straw mushrooms), 1/2 sweet corn cob, 1 carrot, 1 block of soft tofu, green onions, salt, vegetarian seasoning powder.

Making:Peel and wash the carrots, then cut them into chunks. Wash the sweet corn and cut it into chunks as well. Cut off the stems of the mushrooms, soak them in diluted salt water for about 5-10 minutes, rinse them clean, and drain them in a colander. Cut the soft tofu into small square pieces. Remove the roots from the scallions, wash them, and chop them finely.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add lotus seeds, carrots, and sweet corn, and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season to taste, add soft tofu and green onions, bring to a boil again, turn off the heat, and serve in a bowl.

Lotus seed and mushroom soup

6. Pork skin cake:

IngredientIngredients for the green layer: 200g tapioca starch, 30g rice flour, 150-200g sugar, 1 bunch of pandan leaves. Ingredients for the yellow layer: 50g tapioca starch, 50g rice flour, 50g peeled mung beans, 100g sugar, 1 can coconut milk.Salt, cooking oil.

MakingWash the pandan leaves, chop them finely, blend them until smooth, and strain to extract the juice. Add water to make about 400ml. Combine the ingredients for the green cake in a large bowl and mix well with the 400ml pandan leaf juice.

Soak the mung beans for about 2 hours until they swell, then put them in a pot with just enough water to cover them, add a pinch of salt, cook until tender, and then mash them. Combine the ingredients for the yellow cake with the mashed mung beans in a large bowl and mix well.

Place a greased cake mold inside the steamer. When the mold is hot, pour a layer of green batter first, cover and steam for about 5 minutes. Then add a layer of yellow batter and steam for about 6-7 minutes. Next, add another layer of green batter and steam for another 10 minutes until the cake is cooked. You can make more layers if you like.

Pork skin vegetarian cake

Wishing you success and enjoyment with your vegetarian meal on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month!

Thu Tra

(synthetic)