xi'an tofu and noodles

Chang-an Spicy Tofu: Soft tofu served with house sauce, hot oil sauce, and cilantro.


Liang Pi Cold Skin Noodles: Bouncy and chewy hand-pulled wheat noodles with cilantro, wheat gluten, bean sprouts, cucumber, and an amazingly flavorful chili sauce.
Both from Xi'an Famous Foods in Flushing, New York.

mini-tiffin

A mini-tiffin plate from the canteen at Ganesh Hindu Temple in Flushing, New York City. From top left: mini idli (steamed lentil cakes) in sambar soup, world's smallest dosa, cilantro chutney, curried lentil and veggies, vada (fried lentil donut), orange semolina dessert, and more sambar and coconut chutney. All for $6!

jellied bean curd & hand-pulled noodles

Jellied bean curd (foreground) and cold noodles special (background) from Chinese Traditional Buns in Toronto. Both were some of the most fabulous and unique tastes I've had in a while.
Jellied bean curd: silken tofu in veggie broth with chili oil, scallions, minced garlic, cilantro, and seaweed (I think).
Noodles: chewy hand-pulled rice noodles with tofu skin, marinated cucumber, and smoky sauce (no idea what the flavors were).
Fresh soy milk on the side.

kim chee banh mi

Hybrid Korean-Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, filled with kim chee (red hot pickled cabbage and chili), along with the usual pickled carrot, daikon, and cilantro. A great combo! From Viet Sub in Vancouver.

purple aloo chaat

Purple potatoes mixed with cumin, chili powder, chaat masala powder, and chutneys, and topped with red onion, cilantro, and crispy noodles - adapted from this recipe.

mongo guisado, lumpia & banana sauce

A Filipino mini-feast, with veganized versions of:
- Mongo guisado: thick mung bean soup with homemade faux pork (marinated and crumbled tofu, broiled till chewy and almost crisp)

- Lumpia: Fried spring rolls stuffed with carrot, onion, faux pork, scallions, cabbage, pepper, soy sauce, garlic powder
- Banana Sauce, purchased in Jackson Heights, New York

stewed daikon & beet greens

Stewed daikon with scallions, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and cilantro, from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian bookbook.
Improvised beet greens (free from the farmers market) with sweet hoisin sauce.

Lebanese artichokes, eggplants & green beans

Adrichawki: artichoke hearts tossed with garlic, scallions, cilantro, tomatoes, and olive oil


Makdous: spicy baby eggplant filled with walnuts, garlic, herbs, lemon, and pomegranates


Lubieh Bel Zeit: green beans simmered in tomatoes, garlic cloves, and spices

All from Lebanese Taverna in Baltimore.

purple potatoes with salsa verde

Mashed purple potatoes with homemade salsa verde - tomatillos, cilantro, green chili, topped with scallions.

Mee Grop

Rice noodles with tofu and vegetables, a powerful sweet, hot & sour sauce (tamarind, bean sauce, vinegar, sugar, chili flakes, soy sauce, and lime juice), and topped with red pepper and cilantro - a flavor explosion!
From Nancie McDermott's Real Vegetarian Thai

Burmese curry with yams & mushrooms

Burmese-style curry with yams, mushrooms, and ginger, topped with cilantro - great for a cold winter night
From Nancie McDermott's Real Vegetarian Thai (even though the dish isn't really Thai...)

eggplant with chinese peanut dressing

steamed white eggplants with spicy chinese peanut dressing (peanut butter, vinegar, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt, chili paste, ginger, cilantro) and cilantro stems
from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

sweet and sour cucumber salad

Sugar and vinegar make it sweet and sour, everything else makes it super refreshing!
From Nancie McDermott's Real Vegetarian Thai

mushroom pepper & carrot cilantro spring rolls

The mushroom spring rolls had black rice noodles, shitake mushrooms, cabbage, black pepper, and a bit of soy sauce.
The carrot cilantro ones had white rice noodles and cabbage.
Not pictured: tamarind and peanut dipping sauces.
Also not pictured: surrounding summer picnic perfection on Governor's Island in New York.

pigeon peas & rice with tropical fruit

More wedding food: A twist on beans & rice, with tropical fruit and lime cilantro dressing.
Prepared by Dionysus' Kitchen catering.

Ceviche

Canned hearts of palm sliced and masquerading as "calamari", avocado, red onion, cilantro, and loads of lime juice.

thai pizza

More fusion crossovers - red and green thai pizzas.
Red pizza: coconut curry sauce, red onions, tofu, and mushrooms, topped with red chili sauce
Green pizza: coconut curry sauce, cucumbers, tofu, mushrooms, scallions, and jalapenos, topped with green chili sauce

tom yam soup

Thai hot and sour soup, with mushrooms, tofu, tomatoes, onion, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, chilies, vegetarian fish sauce, lime juice, and cilantro
adapted from The World of Street Food by Troth Wells (an excellent stocking-stuffer!)

black eyed peas with mushrooms

black eyed-peas, mushrooms, cumin seeds, cinnamon, onions, garlic, tomatoes, coriander, cumin, tumeric, cayenne, and cilantro - absolutely heavenly!
basmati rice with onion and cumin seeds on the side
from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking

bottle gourd channige

adapted from an unfortunately named recipe for dudhi channige