Seitan & Veggie Green Curry With Garlic Brown Rice Ramen

Let's do takeout with ingredients that you know and trust. This is super easy and should take you 20-30 minutes, tops. Make it creative and fun and grab some Asian takeout boxes and chopsticks off Amazon. My recipes are here for inspiration and guides, please feel free to add additional veggies of your choice such as bok choy, zucchini, squashe, potatoes, snow peas, cabbage or peppers.

Green Curry

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 1/2 onion, diced

• 1- 8oz pack of seitan (use two boxes for double recipe)

• 1 inch ginger root, peeled and minced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1-2 tablespoons green curry paste (I like mine very flavorful so I tend to add more)

• 1 can coconut milk

• 1 cup vegetable broth

• 2 tablespoons vegan fish sauce I like this one

• 2 kaffir lime leaves (or 1 lime using the zest and the juice)

• 2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced at an angle

• 1 bunch broccoli (florets only)

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced

• 1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (save some for garnishing)

In a hot sauce pan add coconut oil, then add onions and seitan. Cook onions until translucent and allow the seitan to get crispy on the edges (this gives it better texture and flavor). Add ginger and garlic to the pan and sauté for 30 seconds (just until they become fragrant). Add curry paste and sauté for a few seconds to wake up all those spices. Now add coconut milk, vegetable broth, and lime leaves or zest—save the lime juice for the end. Stir or whisk and bring the sauce to a simmer. Add veggies, and cook until they have softened (but are not lifeless). Add lime juice; adding lime juice at the end keeps it zesty and doesn't mellow out the citrus flavor. Serve in bowls or takeout containers, garnish with cilantro and a lime wedge. Serve with rice or stir fried noodles.

Garlic Brown Rice Ramen

• 2 tablespoons butter-flavored coconut oil

• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

• 4 garlic cloves, minced fine or use a zester and zest directly into pan

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

• 2 teaspoons sriracha

• 2 tablespoons vegan fish sauce or tamari

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (this gives the noodles a rich buttery taste along with the butter-flavored coconut oil)

• 1 10-oz package of brown rice ramen (*cooked- see chef's notes)

Prepare a pot of boiling water. Drop ramen noodles into boiling water, using tongs to completely immerse. Cook for two minutes (see chef's notes) then strain and rinse very well with cold water in the strainer. Set aside.

Start with a very hot wok, add sesame and coconut oil. Then quickly add garlic and sauté for 20 seconds. Add hoisin, sriracha, and fish sauce (or tamari), and nutritional yeast and stir, making sure all ingredients are combined. This should yield about 1 cup of sauce. Wok still on high, quickly toss your ramen noodles into the sauce and coat evenly. Note: do not stop moving the pan or noodles as they can stick. Turn off heat and place into desired bowls or containers. Garnish by spooning any extra sauce over the noodles, then add a few sprigs of cilantro.

CHEF'S NOTES- DO NOT OVERCOOK RAMEN! If you overcook the ramen, the noodles will fall apart when you stirfry them. When I strain the noodles they are still hard in certain parts—that's okay! You are just dropping them in water for a few minutes so that they are pliable for the second cooking phase. Rinsing them in cold water stops them from cooking, allows them to retain their shape, and also rinses away the starchy residue, which is common in rice noodles.