Friendly Veg Fridays: Vol 2
When a work superior buys you food | Xinjiang Tofu "Lamb" | 1 Pot Rice Cooker Meal
Hi! Happy Feburary 2024. Welcome to Volume 2. Every week I’ll share:
an 🙏 affirmation to improve your confidence,
a 💡tip to help you navigate social situations,
a 🍲 recipe to inspire you,
some 💸 discount codes to help you save money,
and 👀 bonus content for paying subscribers to thank you for your support.
I’ll send this every Friday. Hence Friendly Veg Fridays.
If you enjoy this, please share with someone who would enjoy this as well. It means a lot.
Affirmation 🙏
Try saying this affirmation to yourself before you go to a social event with non-vegans. As someone who struggles with social anxiety — that is exacerbated around non-vegans — affirmations actually help.
Tip💡
Situation: A work superior buys you non-vegan food
Your boss is in a (surprisingly) good mood. They offer to buy you lunch! Maybe this gives you anxiety.
Your non-vegan work superior offers to treat you to lunch today, to thank you for all your hard work. They don’t know you’re vegan. Here’s what you can do.
Option 1: Avoidance — Say “Thank you so much for the offer, but I already ate.”
I do not recommend Option 1!
This works only in the case where you actually ate already.
Otherwise, what will you do? Leave work to eat and hope no one sees you eating? Eat lunch in the bathroom? Skip lunch altogether?
Let’s try something else…
Option 2: Avoidance, with the option to be more direct — Say “That would be lovely, thank you! Do you have a place in mind?” Then:
If they say “Yes, I know a place”…
You just say, “Great!” Risky. But maybe the restaurant will be vegan friendly. Maybe you’ll be able to order the vegan option without your work superior noticing.
Or, you say “Great, do you know if there are vegan options?”
Or, you say “Great, I’ll check if there are vegan options. If not, are you ok with going somewhere that is vegan friendly?”
If they say “No, suggest somewhere!”…
You say “Great! I know a place.” This is your chance to choose a vegan friendly restaurant!
Option 3: Be direct. Even better — Say “That would be lovely, thank you! It would be great to go somewhere with vegan options.”
It’s best to accept the offer. They’re treating you for a reason. Let them feel good by making you feel good. There’s no shame in being vegan and speaking up for what you need.
It may seem incredibly obvious to you what to do in these situations.
But maybe you need permission to choose Option 1, 2, or 3.
(I used to choose Option 1. I didn’t realize that it’s ok to ask for what I need!)
Choose whichever makes you feel comfortable (except for Option 1, lol). I’m giving you permission! <3
Recipe 🍲
I’ve never had Xinjiang food before, but the sense I got from my time in Hong Kong (and overall increased exposure to Chinese cusine, other Cantonese/Hakka food) is that lamb is very popular in the Xinjiang region, with cumin being the main spice.
This Vegan Xinjiang Cumin Lamb is the closest I’ll get to eating the real thing. But truly, it’s not the lamb that adds the flavour. It’s the spice.
This recipe is adapted from Hannah Che’s The Vegan Chinese Kitchen, specifically the “Sticky Sesame Spongy Tofu”.
Vegan Xinjiang Cumin Lamb
Ingredients
Sauce
2 tbsp sesame paste (recipe below - if you want, use tahini. It’ll change the flavour. But honestly? It’s good enough)
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce (Hannah’s original recipe calls for 1 but I like more sauce)
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or white vinegar)
1 tbsp sugar
Spice Mixture
2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds (ok to omit if you want, especially if you’re using tahini instead of sesame paste)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp five spice powder (ok to omit if you can’t find it)
1/4 tsp chili or cayenne pepper
Stir Fry
350 g firm tofu (1 pack)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
4 tbsp neutral oil for frying, separated into two
Method
Make the sauce: mix together all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Make the spice mix: mix together all the spice mixture ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Make the stir fry:
Cut the tofu into strips, about 1/2 inch thickness.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok or frying pan. Fry half the tofu until it becomes brown. Set aside on a plate lined with paper towel. Add another 2 tbsp of oil, heat it, then the rest of the tofu. Remove all the oil.
Combine everything:
Add a dash of oil to your frying pan and let it heat up.
Add the garlic and give it a few stirs.
Add the spice mixture and let it get aromatic.
Add the sauce mixture and let it bubble slightly.
Add in the tofu and coat it in the sauce and spices.
Top with cilantro.
This will keep in the fridge for about a week. Great for meal prep if you triple the recipe!
Chinese Sesame Paste
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white sesame seeds
2-3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Method
Pour sesame seeds into a wok or frying pan and cook over medium heat until they start to get brown. Cook for about 5 minutes in total.
Let them cool a bit, or live life dangerously, and pour them right into a blender (or food processor) along with 2 tbsp of sesame oil. Blend until it becomes a crumbly paste. Add more oil if your blender is struggling.
Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 months.
💸 Discounts & Products
Save 30% off your order of vegan protein powder at goodprotein.ca with the code SERENA30.
This brand is Montreal-based and is one of the only vegan protein powders I actually enjoy.
Goes great blended with some nut milk and a banana.
Their Gingerbread Cookie shake actually tastes like cookies!
Disclaimer: I get a small commission when you use my discount code. Thank you for your support <3
👀 For Paying Subscribers Only
I treated myself to a Zojirushi rice cooker last month. I had been wanting one for YEARS! Finally!
Since buying it, I’ve been experimenting with Tasty Rice, which is the name I’ve given to any one pot rice cooker meal. Here’s what I made last week.
Tasty Tofu Rice
Ingredients
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