Chinese seitan salad

The veganized version of the one recipe that I make regularly from "joy of cooking". I got the book as a present and use it as a guestbook for vegans since then, and one day, oh yes, one day all those pictures and texts that tell you how to make something edible out of a whole bird or how to boost your cholesterol level with recipes containing 99 % eggs will have vanished under greetings and flyers and stickers! Serves 2-4.

I guess this would look prettier if it was not all mixed up in the big bowl, but this is my weekday dinner and I am hungry!

Preparation time: 20 minutes (if you have seitan and peeled peanuts)
Suggested music: Something assimilated... Nouvelle Vague - Bela Lugosi's Dead

Ingredients:

• 1 cup asian noodles (your favorite kind)
• 1 onion, chopped (the book says: 2/3 cup sliced scallions, but I can't eat raw onions :/ )
• 2 cups thin strips seitan
• 4 cups shredded Napa cabbage (Chinakohl)
• 1 cup peanuts 
• 1 can mandarin oranges (11 ounce)
• 1/2 cup canola oil (book uses peanut oil) + a bit of a more heat-stable oil for sauteing
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• chili oil or chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce + a bit for deglazing
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• salt & pepper

What to do:

1. Heat water in a pot and prepare the noodles according to instructions on the package. Place in a big bowl when finished.
2. In a pan, heat a little bit of oil (for sauteing) and saute the onion and seitan. Deglaze with a bit of soy sauce. Add to the bowl when finished.
3. Place cabbage, peanuts, mandarin oranges (keep the juice!) in the big bowl.
4. Prepare the sauce: 2/3 cup of mandarin orange juice, oil, lemon juice, chili oil/flakes to taste, soy sauce, ginger, salt & pepper to taste. Mix and enjoy.

What to do with cabbage

Spring is about to start, but the organic stores still have only the winter vegetables. I asked some veg*ans what to do with cabbage, and was told that it is perfect in african peanut stew. I love african food since I went the first time to the Africa in Tübingen, so I had to try this!

This stew is very tasty, but a bit frustrating concerning the freshly made peanut butter because it uses a lot at once. Peanut peeling time again! This is the recipe I used. I changed some things, and as it is in german, I'll translate it here. Serves 4, together with your favorite grains. I froze the leftovers, and will try to make Injera when I thaw it again.

Preparation time: about 45 minutes
Suggested music: I do not have any african music, but I listened to Irfan during cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 small (!) cabbage (mine was small and it was still a lot... consider using half a cabbage)
• (the original recipe uses 1 red bell pepper in addition)
• oil for sauteing
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• chili flakes (amount depending on your flakes and your taste buds)
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 can tomatoes
• 250 mL vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can corn
• juice from two oranges (original recipe uses mango juice, to taste)
• salt & pepper

What to do:

1. Dice the onions. Peel the carrots and cut into smaller pieces. Peel the cabbage or wash the outer parts and cut into stripes.
2. In a large pot, heat the oil. Saute the onions and carrots (and bell pepper, if using) until the onions soften. Add chili, cumin and mustard and stir for a minute. Add the cabbage.
3. After a few minutes, and before the cabbage gets burned, add the tomatoes and vegetable stock, plus the thyme, paprika and peanut butter. Let simmer for 10 minutes (until the cabbage is soft).
4. Wash the kidney beans and remove the liquid from the corn. Add to the stew and heat through.
5. Add orange juice and salt & pepper to taste.