Growing up in Texas, I never gave much thought to being a vegetarian or Meatless Mondays for that matter. . Like I’ve written before, in Texas, you pretty much come out of your mother’s womb and are immediately given a slab of steak (forget the breast milk). OK, I’m obviously kidding. . but for me, I seriously grew up eating beef, pork, fish, chicken, everything. You name it. And that included eating meat very often. My father loved giving us kids new foods to try and I remember him always introducing new foods to us and telling us to at least try one bite. One bite. And then, if we didn’t like it, we could spit it out and eat something else.
While I was living in San Francisco, I met a guy. A Korean guy who was a vegetarian. You would have thought I had told my mother I was having dinner with an alien or freak of nature or something. She flipped. “Why does he not eat meat? And he’s Korean? What’s wrong with him? Do you like him? You should not date someone who’s a vegetarian. You have nothing in common with him.” This was seriously the phone conversation we had one night. I am not making this up. At all. . . But I’m going to defend my mom. . . because I love her. She’s Korean 1st generation and old fashioned. And she might even feel differently now that she and my dad are getting older and health is a bigger concern. They have changed their diets (not as much white rice, no salt, less meat etc).
We Koreans like meat. One word = Kalbi. Nuff said.
Maybe it was my mother and father praying every night. Maybe it was just my destiny. . but I married Paul. The epitome of the perfect Korean son-in-law. He has an appetite like no other and can devour Kalbi like no one’s business. I watched as we were having dinner with my parents for the first time – at a Korean restaurant in Los Angeles- and I just watched my parents smile so big as they watched Paul eat. They were in love, at that moment. And so proud.
Of course there’s more to Paul than just how much he can eat. He’s a great man, husband and father. But I’ll save this for another post.
Flash forward like 6 or 7 years. . we have two daughters, I’m trying to cook healthier and now I am instilling Meatless Mondays. Paul doesn’t know this yet. I’m just not going to tell him. And I will eventually introduce Meatless Wednesdays and Fridays. I basically want our family to eat less beef. Mainly for health reasons. People who eat less meat, generally eat fewer calories and less fat, weigh less, and have a lower risk of heart disease. I know it’s not just about the lack of meat. There’s a ton more that you have to do to stay healthy (ie: regular check-ups to the doctor, exercise, diet etc) and I think eating less meat definitely helps.
I’m not saying we’re going full-on vegetarian. That would be crazy-talk and Paul (and I) wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves. But dammit, we are going to try more meatless meals more often.
Here’s one from Aida Mollenkamp’s new cookbook, Keys to the Kitchen: Indian Burritos with Curried Cauliflower. I absolutely loved this. I’ll be honest, the girls didn’t like this one so much but they did eat the red and purple potatoes and peas. That’s something, right?
I hope you enjoy!
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 to 1½ tablespoon curry powder
- 1 head cauliflower, florets cut into bite-sized pieces
- Kosher salt
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 serrano chile, halved and seeded (optional)
- 8 oz mixture of red-skinned and purple potatoes, cut into small dice
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, chicken broth, or water
- 1 cup shelled fresh or frozen baby peas
- 1 cup black beans
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 to 6 soft whole-wheat flatbreads (such as rota, lavash, or tortilla), warmed or toasted
- Plain whole milk yogurt or sour cream, for garnish
- Chutney or apricot jam, for garnish
- More fresh cilantro if desired
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the ginger, half of the curry powder, and all of the cauliflower. Season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and the cauliflower is golden brown, for about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Wipe out the pan, return to the stove over medium heat, and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. When it shimmers, add the onion, garlic, and chile (if using), season with salt, and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining curry powder, and cook until fragrant. Add the cauliflower, potatoes, and broth, and bring to a boil.
- Decrease the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and stir through to coat all the cauliflower. Cover again and simmer until the potatoes are knife-tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the cover, add the black beans and the peas and cook until the peas are bright, about 3 minutes. Adjust the seasoning as desired, stir in the cilantro, and use to fill the burritos.
- To make the burrito, place the curry in the middle of the flatbreads. Top with yogurt or sour cream and chutney or jam, fold in sides, then roll up into a burrito shape, and serve.
I think your Indian “burritos” sound wonderful! (And I love that you labeled the cuisine as “Indian-ish”.)
Good luck with introducing more meatless meals to your family! I grew up eating vegetarian food way more often than my girlfriend did (for her it was never), but now she’s definitely started to be fine with (and even look forward to) more vegetarian meals, especially those that still have a lot of protein.
Thank you, Allison! Since I am cooking a lot more often now, I am seriously started to appreciate vegetables more and more. especially mushrooms and all the veggies I’ve ignored for too long. And I totally know what you mean- that’s why I added the black beans for protein. Thank you again and here’s hoping the family “gives in”! 😛
LOL – I was gonna ask the same question like your mom asked. Korean? Vegetarian? Where’s the BBQ? But I agree, as Asians, we’re ‘taught’ to consume meat and rice daily, and not salad. I tried Meatless Monday few times and it’s hard! I was afraid that I didn’t prepare enough food and so on. So, these days I tried to prep more veggies and less meat. Luckily, my hubs loves green and complains if I don’t serve greens on tha table.
This recipe is so perfect! I’m sure I can deal with it once a week. 🙂
Hi Linda! Wow! Your hubby complains if you don’t serve greens? What?! Wow! You must make an awesome salad?! My hubby still says “no thank you” but I make him eat it anyway! 😛 you definitely need to try this one. . and if you buy Aida’s cookbook, there’s an entire section for meatless Mondays!
Hey Hipfoodiemom, I love reading your foodie tales. Not only do the pictures grab my attention and say ‘eat me!’ But also your words, daily life and wisdom make me want to respond. I agree that it’s easy to get caught up in the day to day routine of meals, (plus its only me and my sweetie in our household so we’re not responsible for anyone but ourselves.) Being with a classic ‘guy’ who loves his dude food and meat makes it tricky when I look back to my single gal days, no worries about excess beer, snacks or meals that make my calorie intake cringe.
What I love about this dish is A, it looks fantastic, B it’s you taking charge of the household and thinking, this is how we can eat more often/be more healthy/ etc and C did I mention it just looks fantastic!!! 🙂
Alice, thank you so much for the lovely compliment! Coming from you, that’s a big one! I absolutely love your blog. . talk about posting photos that grab my attention and say “eat me!” love it! Since I am cooking a lot more often now, I am seriously starting to appreciate vegetables more and more. especially mushrooms and all the veggies I’ve ignored for too long. I’m hoping this is a way for me to try/experiment with new veggies more and more!
Fusion – love it! Have never thought of adding except Mexican-type fillings to burritos. I’m a vegie & love having new ideas to play around with 🙂
Thank you! I hope you give this recipe a try. . if you like cauliflower, it’s really delicious!!! 🙂
Great post Alice! I was laughing out loud while reading it. I’m Chinese, not Korean, but many of the same cultural expectations around meat are the same. ; )
Love the recipe too. Sounds absolutely delicious!
Haha, thank you Lauren! Yeah my mom is a hoot! 🙂 but I love her anyway!
Yum!! 🙂 Looks wonderful – I love the flavors of this dish!
Thank you so much! 🙂
So funny! I love the twist of fate that led you to a meat-eater who you’re now going to turn into a vegetarian. 🙂 I do think many vegetarian meals are filling and delicious, though–I wonder how long it will take for him to notice? 🙂
Haha! It’s funny that you mention that. . he noticed last week. . and he read my blog. . (which he rarely reads). . and came home and told me he was on to me! 😛 I’ll still make a couple meat dishes for him but maybe, MAYBE (here’s the hope). . he will fall in love with mushrooms and veggies as much as I have and he’ll forget about meat completely! NOT. If this does ever happen, it ain’t happening anytime soon. . 🙂 but I will keep trying!
Delicious, we loved it. I didn’t have potatoes so I substituted in zucchini and it was great. We also didn’t have any chutney which was a huge let down as it would have made this so much better. Well played, it was great!
While I could never give up meat, and I don´t see the point in doing so either, I eat vegetarian many days simply because I like so many vegetables. It´s a great habit to balance the food we eat. This mix with cauliflower sounds wonderful Alice, and the apricot jam is absolutely intriguing!
GREAT! I love the flavors of Indian spices! This looks really amazing! I like how you used cauliflower. That has become one of my favorite veggies! Thanks.
Thanks Erin!