Plant Based Boricua

Para mí, esta es una de las recetas más sencillas, y que más me encanta. Son los chicharrones de seitán y tostones. Esa simplicidad lo hace delicioso. Es el tipo de comida que comía en la casa de mi abuela luego de salir de la escuela, o después de la iglesia los domingos. La comida puertorriqueña tiene muchas recetas basadas en carnes, pero creo que podemos preparar esas comidas, el mismo concepto, pero sin carne y sin crueldad a los animalitos.

Para preparar el seitán (chicharrones)

Primero, mezcla los cantitos de seitán con ajo, pimienta, adobo, orégano, sazón, y aceite de oliva, en un plato hondo.

Deja el seitán marinando por 45 minutos, y luego mézclalo con harina. En una sartén de 12 pulgadas, calienta aceite vegetal a fuego mediano/alto. Cuando el aceite esté caliente, añade el seitán a la sartén. Luego de un minuto, baja el fuego a mediano. Fríe el seitán por unos cuatro minutos adicionales, virándole de vez en cuando. Es importante que no los dejes freír por tanto tiempo, porque pueden quedar gomosos. Utiliza un cucharón de metal con hoyos para sacar los chicharrones y transfiérelos a un plato con papel toalla

Tostones

Pela los plátanos y pícalos en pedazos de ½- 1 pulgada. Si no sabes cómo pelar plátanos, puedes ver mi corto vídeo de cómo hacerlo aquí. Calienta el aceite en una olla a fuego alto. Cuando el aceite esté bien caliente, con mucho cuidado, echa los pedazos de plátano a la olla. Luego de un minuto, baja el fuego a mediano, y fríe por cinco minutos.

Saca los plátanos de la olla, y ponlos en un colador con papel toalla.

Usando la tostonera o algo con la parte de abajo plana, aplasta los plátanos para que queden delgados. Luego, en un plato hondo, mezcla agua con sal con ajo o adobo. Moja todos los tostones en el agua con sal, uno a uno, y luego échalos con mucho cuidado en el aceite caliente. Si no estás acostumbrado (a) a freír, puede resultarte sumamente peligroso. Los tostones estarán mojados y, por ende, el aceite va a salpicar. Algo que hago parra minimizarlo es deslizar los tostones, uno a uno, por las paredes de adentro de la olla. Resiste la tentación de tapar la olla con una tapa, ya que esto puede ocasionar que salpique aún más (debido a la condensación). También puedes usar la cuchara para echar los tostones y usar una tapa para taparte del aceite que pueda salpicar. Recuerda, freír puede ser peligroso si no se hace con cuidado. Solo sigue estos consejos y usa el sentido común. Fríe los tostones por cinco minutos o hasta que se doren. Sácalos y ponlos sobre un papel toalla para que absorba la grasa restante.

Sirve los chicharrones y los tostones con mayoketchup (ve la receta aquí), y aguacate.

¡Buen provecho!

Print Recipe

Chicharrones con Tostones

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

Chicharrones

• 8 oz seitán en cantitos
• ½ cda ajo molido
• ¼ cdta pimienta negra
• 1 cdta adobo
• ½ cdta orégano
• 1 cdta sazón
• ½ cda aceite de oliva
• ¼ taza harina
• 1 ½ taza aceite vegetal

Tostones

• 2 plátanos verdes medianos
• 3 tazas aceite vegetal
• 1 cdta sal con ajo
• ½ taza agua

Instructions

Chicharrones

• En un plato hondo, mezcla los cantitos de seitán con el ajo, pimienta, adobo, orégano, sazón, y aceite de oliva. Déjalo marinar por 45 minutos.
• Cubre todos los cantitos de seitán con harina.
• Calienta el aceite vegetal en una sartén de freír de 12 pulgadas.
• Cuando el aceite esté caliente, echa el seitán con cuidado. Luego de un minuto, voltéalos y baja el fuego a mediano.
• Fríe el seitán por unos cuatro minutos adicionales, volteando ocasionalmente. Es importante que no los dejes friendo por demasiado tiempo ya que se puede poner gomoso.
• Usando un cucharón perforado, saca el seitán y ponlo en un plato con papel toalla.
• Sirve con los tostones.

Tostones

• Pela los tostones y pica en pedazos de media a una pulgada aproximadamente.
• Calienta el aceita en una olla a fuego alto. Luego añade los pedazos de plátano a la olla.
• Luego de un minuto y medio, baja el fuego a mediano, y fríe por cinco minutos.
• Saca los pedazos de plátano, y ponlos en un escurridor con papel toalla. Baja el aceite a fuego bajo/mediano para que no se queme mientras aplastas los plátanos
• Usando la tostonera o algún sustituto (ve el segundo párrafo arriba), aplasta los pedazos de plátano
• En un platito hondo mezcla el agua con la sal con ajo. Moja los tostones en la mezcla de agua y sal con ajo, y ponlos en el papel toalla nuevamente.
• Calienta el aceite nuevamente a fuego alto. Cuando haya calentado, echa los tostones en el aceite, y baja el fuego a mediano/alto. Los tostones van a estar mojados, así que el aceite va a salpicar. Recomiendo deslizarlos cuidadosamente por la orilla de la olla, o usar un cucharón perforado para meterlos en el aceite. Siempre recuerda tomar precauciones para freír.
• Fríe los tostones por cinco minutos o hasta que estén doraditos, sácalos y ponlos en el colador con papel toalla. Debes estar al pendiente de los tostones para que no se quemen. Dependiendo de la temperatura del aceite, pueden tardar más o menos tiempo en dorarse.
• Sirve caliente.

Notes

¿Qué es seitán? El seitán es una “carne vegetariana/vegana” que se prepara con gluten de trigo (proteína de trigo). Es alto en contenido de proteína, y su textura es como una pasta que se asemeja a la carne animal. Se puede preparar en casa o comprarlo listo en el supermercado. Personalmente, me gusta comprarlo ya preparado. Aquí puedes leer más acerca del seitán y sus propiedades: https://www.vitonica.com/alimentos/todo-sobre-el-seitan-propiedades-beneficios-y-uso-en-la-cocina

Hi y’all! I want to thank you so much for supporting and reading my blog. I have been blogging for about six months now, and I felt that I really wanted to share my experiences with delicious vegan restaurants and vegan options here in Austin. So, I am starting with a non-vegan restaurant that has vegan options: Lucky Robot. There is no particular reason for this, just that it’s my most recent restaurant. Also, they have vegan sushi that blew my mind!

Okay, so Lucky Robot is a Japanese restaurant on S Congress Ave that sells sushi, dumplings, Asian tacos, etc. First off, the restaurant is really cute. They have a beautiful cherry blossom installation hanging from the ceiling as well as art-filled walls and hanging seats. The vibe is really cool.

We went at 3:30 ish on a Saturday and ordered from their dinner menu. Our server was super helpful, pointing out all the vegan dishes available. We decided to order several shareable plates.

What we Ate

• Kinoko cebiche – This was a mushroom-based ceviche. I was skeptical about this one, but it really surprised me. Before going vegan, we had ceviche in Puerto Rico and Perú, and this mushroom ceviche was delicious. It had the right amount of acidity and taste. We loved this plate.
• Crispy Brussel Sprouts – If you are from Austin, you know that brussel sprouts are a staple in a lot of restaurants. These did not disappoint. They were super crispy and charred, and flat out delicious. Plus, the portion is a really good size. We could have even shared it between 3-4 people.
• Spinach and tofu dumplings – These dumplings were also stuffed with cashew cheeze, yum! I have a heart face emoji in my notes on this one, haha. So, so good; crispy edges and the right amount of stuffing. Would recommend.

• Veggipillar maki roll – Okay, so this was the plate I was most anticipating. I hadn’t had sushi since going vegan, and I was really nervous about it. It used to be one of my favorite dishes, and I kind of missed it. This maki roll did not disappoint! The star of the show in this roll was the miso grilled eggplant. It also had sesame, pickled cucumber and carrot, avocado, yuzu miso sauce, and a serrano topping. If you leave the serrano on top it will be spicy. If you, like me, don’t love spicy, just take it off. It was absolutely amazing. Just writing about it is making me hungry! Would for sure recommend.
• Avocado nigiri piece – This was the most understated piece in our dinner. However, in its simplicity it is very tasty. It only had the rice, the avocado on top with yuzu miso sauce and sesame. That was it. But it was really, really good.

We also had miso soup, and that was, you know, miso soup, haha.

Lucky Robot has delicious vegan options and really cool ambiance, and the service is great. Even though we like to support fully vegan restaurants, this one is a good option to go with non-vegan friends and family. Plus, it’s in S Congress, which is a part of town I really like.

Have you been to Lucky Robot? What do you think about it?

I was feeling like eating something hearty and a bit nostalgic. So I made a classic: root veggies with “cod” (vianda con “bacalao”). This is a dish that tastes like “el campo”, the mountains. “Viandas” as we call them, are anything from “ñame” (yam or taro root), “yautía” (malanga), “batata” (sweet potato), “yuca” (cassava), “guineitos” (green bananas), and others. This is actually what a lot of people ate back in the day before most of the food was imported into the island, and there were big supermarkets.

A classic dish is any of these “viandas” paired with cod fish, either stewed (“guisado”) or sauteed with onions. I decided to use jackfruit as a replacement for the cod, and added some lentils so I could make them stewed. For the root veggies, I used what I found in my local hispanic/international grocery store: “yautía” (malanga) and green bananas. The result was a really simple, yet delicious and hearty meal. However, you can use any mix of root veggies you like/find close to you.

To Make the Root Veggies

Peel the veggies and cut up the “yautía” into 1 ½” chunks. Do the same with other types of veggies if you are using them. Bring six cups of water with ½ tsp of salt to a boil, and add root veggies. Boil for 20-30 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Drain in a colander, and serve with a splash of olive oil. That’s it!

Making the Jackfruit

Preheat oven to 450°F, or alternatively just use a toaster oven, also at 450°F. Drain and rinse one can of jackfruit (about two cups) and pat dry. Shred the jackfruit and spread on a lined baking sheet. Add about ¼ tsp of “adobo” or salt and pepper, and ¼ tsp oregano. The jackfruit I find is usually canned with some sea salt and lime juice. This is why I use a small amount of salt. I would recommend using only little salt or adobo at first, and adjusting later, to taste. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

To Make the Stewed Lentils

This is basically the same recipe for stewed beans, but I modify it just a bit. Heat about ½ tbsp of oil on medium heat. Add ¼ tsp of low-sodium organic vegetable bullion and three tbsp of sofrito. Sautee for about three minutes. Then, add 1 tsp of “sazón”, ½ tbsp of olives, three tbsp of tomato sauce, and ½ tsp of oregano. Sautee for another three minutes. Add ½ cup of canned lentils (drained and rinsed), and one cup of water. Bring to a low simmer, and cover. Leave the lentils cooking at a medium/low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, and check for consistency. If you like the lentils to be more runny, take them off the heat. If you want them to be thicker, leave them on the heat, uncovered, for a few more minutes.

Serve the root vegetables with a splash of olive oil, and the jackfruit with the stewed lentils on top. Also, add avocado and a greens salad of choice. Buen provecho!

Print Recipe

Vianda con "Bacalao" Guisado/Root Vegetables and Stewed "Cod"

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

Viandas/Root Vegetables

• 2 yautias (malanga) you can find this root vegetable in an international, asian, or hispanic supermarket
• 2-3 green bananas they have to be very green and hard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 cups water

Jackfruit

• 14 oz young jackfruit
• 1/4 tsp adobo
• 1/4 tsp oil you can also use Pam

Stewed Lentils

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil or any other vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp low-sodium vegetable bullion (optional)
• 3 tbsp sofrito
• 1/2 tbsp salad olives
• 1 tsp sazón/seasoning
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup lentils canned or previously cooked
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste

Instructions

Viandas/Root Vegetables

• Peel the "yautia" (malanga) and green bananas, and cut up the "yautia" into 2" chunks
• Fill a medium pot with six cups of water and 1/4 salt, and bring to a boil
• Add the vegetables and boil for 30 min.
• Drain and serve with a splash of olive oil

Jackfruit

• Drain and rinse the canned jackfruit, then pull it apart and pat dry
• Mix with the adobo
• Lay on a lined baking sheet with a bit of oil or spray of Pam
• Bake at 350F, uncovered, for 40 min. You can either use a conventional oven or a toaster oven (this is what I use).

Stewed Lentils

• Heat the oil on medium/high heat
• Add the vegetable bullion and sofrito and sautee on medium heat for three minutes
• Add olives, sazón, and tomato sauce, and sautee for another three minutes
• Add lentils, water, and salt, then bring to a low boil, covered, for 10 minutes

Notes

The reason why I don’t stew the jackfruit together with the lentils, is because I like to keep that dry, sort of crunchy consistency of baked jackfruit. When I have added the jackfruit directly to the stew, it becomes soggier. This depends on your preference. If you like, you can add the jackfruit with the lentils for a few minutes. However, be aware that the jackfruit will become a bit soggy.