It is time for a very easy vegan recipe. Most of us are working from home now, and honestly, I like it. It gives me more freedom and my dogs and cats are over the moon having me with them 24/7. They just love having me all to themselves. When I teach online in my zoom sessions (I am a junior high school teacher) they lay at my feet and listen to me talk. They always look at me, wondering who I am talking to, lol.
When I am working on my websites or I am writing a story (there is more info – in case you like books – here in this article 🙂 ) they also lay at my feet or sometimes rush outside to do what dogs do 😉
And when I am cooking, believe me, they are there too, lol, no longer laying at my feet, but sitting there like good boys and girls, and hoping that mommy maybe drops something. I got a whole set of furry vacuum cleaners lined up 🙂
Today, I prepared a nice lunch and dinner at once. I often get hungry in between classes. I teach from 11 am to 2 and sometimes 3 pm, and I only have 10 minutes for lunchtime. A snack does not always do it for me, so today I decided to prepare something before classes would start.
Every Recipe has a Little History
Did you know that most recipes have some history?
For example, French fries come from Belgium, not France. Belgian soldiers in WW1 shared fries with American soldiers in the trenches. Since most of the Belgian soldiers spoke French the American ones assumed that these soldiers were French, not Belgian, hence the fries were called … French fries …
Quick advice: when you go on a trip to Belgium, do not ask for French fries … 😉
There are meals that were invented during the Napoleonic wars, during WW1, and I can go on. I think I am getting inspired for a new blog post 😉
There isn’t any dramatic history behind the recipe I am sharing today, though. Just a teacher who doesn’t want to go hungry during lunch hour and who wants to keep her energy up 🙂
This one includes soy. I know that some like to avoid it, but I use soy occasionally.
The Deal With Soy
You may skip this paragraph if you are not concerned about soy and are – like me – happy to use it. If you are not sure about what soy does to your body, then let’s look at the following info. Soy has been one of the most controversial foods, but in all honesty, most of the alarming claims are not backed up by science.
Did you know that soy contains all of the essential amino acids your body needs? Here’s a nutrient table for soy and soy products, courtesy from Healthline.
Note: a hyphen in the table means that the data for that nutrient is unavailable.
Soy beans are rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Soy may help decrease cholesterol levels, may protect heart health, lower blood pressure, may reduce menopause symptoms, may reduce the risk of breast cancer or other types of cancers.
There have been countless studies that came to the above findings. None of the studies were able to prove any of the negative claims that one so often reads online about soy.
If you’re still not convinced, two years ago my doctor asked me if I ate a lot of soy. I told him that I didn’t, perhaps once in two weeks or so, or even once a month. He recommended me to eat more soy, and he listed several health benefits, including the easing of menopause symptoms (for the time that I would hit that stage …).
If you would like to know more about this, I recommend reading the article on Healthline: Is Soy Bad for You, or Good?
So, without further ado, let’s talk about the recipe now.
Du Soy Medley
Ingredients
- two handfuls of dry soy
- two cups of water
- grape seed oil
- 1/4 Himalayan salt
- 1/2 black pepper
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 2 – 3 teaspoons of soy sauce
- 1/4 red onion
- a carrot, chopped into small pieces
- half a green Bell pepper, chopped
- half a Saladette tomato (you can also use the full tomato, I just used half, because I wanted only a few pieces, but it is entirely up to you, of course) 😉
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil.
- When the water is boiling, add soy, lower heat for 30 seconds, and then turn off
- Let soy absorb the water for 5 minutes, then drain any remaining water
- Heat 5 – 6 tablespoons of grape seed oil
- Add chopped carrots
- Fry for 2 minutes
- Add Bell pepper and tomato and fry for another 4 minutes ( on low to medium heat)
- Add chopped onion and fry for an additional 2 or 3 minutes
- Add spices and soy
- Add soy sauce
- Heat on low heat for 10 or 15 minutes
I use a gas stove. The cooking time may be slightly different on an electrical stove. Times are based on an approximate, it could be ready before or after the estimated cooking time.
This is the basic recipe. As usual, I felt like trying out different things, so I used two skillets.
In one pan I prepared the soy medley like I explained in the recipe above.
In the second pan, I made a few changes, instead of curry and pepper I used hamburger seasoning, a dash of ground clove, Himalayan salt, black pepper, soy sauce, and in the end I added some vegan cheese, letting it melt for another two minutes.
This last mixture works great for burrito fillings or for tacos, and it can also be used for sandwiches on a spread of delicious veganaise. It’s perfect for those busy work days, whether you are working at home or away from home.
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Try it out. It is very easy to make. Just prepare your soy, chop up some veggies, heat it with the soy, add spices al gusto, et voilá!
You can make a big batch and store it in the fridge, and when you are busy with work, there is no need to heat it up, you can just eat it cold. I prefer to heat my food, but sometimes it tastes really good cold as well.
Let me know if you have any comments or questions. Thank you for visiting my blog today!
I love soy, and all the information about it was very helpful. I usually try to use low sodium soy but I’m wondering if dry soy would be the way to go to cut down on the salt intake. Salt is one of my biggest cravings and anything that can reduce how much salt I eat without taking away to flavor would be great.
Hi Chrsitine,
Thank you for this article. My partner and I have started to eat mostly vegan. We still have animals products like cheese or seafood when we go out or see family and friends. It is hard to go visit and have to explain to everyone why you are making the food choices you do.
So at home, we cook only vegan. That is a massive change for us as we used to have animals products every day. We completely gave up milk, eggs, processed and red meat. Having coconut milk with my coffee is so much better.
I will try this recipe as I have never cooked with soy before. It didn’t really occurred to me. Thank you for showing me this recipe.
This recipe for Du Soy Medley sounds lovely, I’m always looking for inspiration when it comes to vegan foods.
I try to have 5 meat free days a week but struggle for ideas so I find your articles really helpful!
Thankyou for sharing.
The last few years there have indeed been a lot of discussion about the benefits or harmfulness of soy. I do love soy, it can so wonderfully pick up the taste of the rest of ingredients. I think we have been using it for a few decades now and somehow, the whole family is still OK 😉
When I read dry soy, I thought initially you are using soy flakes, but, looking at the photo, it kind of looks like soy cubes, but I’m not quite sure?
I like dishes that have the same base and then can be made into two different meals like these of yours. Do you also use soy as a substitute in meaty recipes, as a burger, for example, or anywhere instead of minced meat?
Hi Kerryanne,
The dry soy I use are dried soy pieces, they sell them in packets in my area and they are produced locally in Mexico (where I live). To make burgers or vegan minced meat I often use either lentils (they provide a rich taste), black beans, or other bean varieties.
I am eager to try one of this mouth watering vegan dishes.
This article is indeed very helpful.
Reading this post makes me wanna go vegan too. I loved the french fries and the Du soy medley parts of your post.
I am sure you will have more such scrumptious recipes to entice our taste buds in your kitchen.
Hi Christine,
I just knew that the fries are from Belgium today, haha…It’s always good to learn new stuff from your articles, so fun and so educational. I love this.
The recipe today seems easy to make and can be done in less than 10 minutes, and that’s good for people who are short of time & need to get a bite for hunger. I think I would put an egg and make it an omelet, or stir-fry them with rice & put all under an egg to make it an omurice(Japanese style).
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Matt,
The beautiful thing about recipes like these is that you can improvise with them. Thanks for your comment! 🙂