A chef’s new adventure

I am so excited to introduce you all to Vik! He is one of my former students with whom I bonded almost immediately, as we shared a love of food, a passion for culinary creativity and an insatiable curiosity, often captured by the question “I wonder how we could take this to the next level?” When we first met, his food was all about flavor and texture, but as he learned more and more in my classes and through our conversations, he realized that it was relatively easy to add fat, sugar and/or salt to a dish to tickle someone’s taste buds, but it was much more rewarding to create amazing food that also nourished the customer, improving their health and quality of life, with every bite. He has done some great cooking demonstrations for our Thrive On Plants Club on campus and I look forward to more to come.  Enjoy reading about Vik’s story, as it took a few twists and turns, and the new recipe he created for you! UPDATE: Vik now has his own business, Crazy Rabbit Kitchen, doing AMAZING Plant-Based Food Preps for lucky customers in the greater Sacramento Area! www.CrazyRabbitEats.com

My name is Vikash Lal, though some of you would know me as Vik. Cooking has been a lifelong interest of mine. I grew up a foodie, and although it runs in the family, I am the first to have taken it to the level of chef. My first memory of cooking involved my cousin standing me on a chair when I was 4, and teaching me how to scramble eggs. I remember the smells, and how it seemed like magic when the proteins began to cook and solidify. Magic, especially to a 4 year old, and I was hooked. I began cooking breakfast for the family every weekend. Fast forward a few more years to high-school, where I took A.P. Biology, and it blew my mind.  We covered microbiology, and learned about the types of cells that are found in organic materials (including the food we eat). Between that biology class and another in chemistry, I learned what each cell was made of including, lipids (which were the fats and oils with which I cooked), the proteins made up of amino acids and how they responded to heat and acid, and more. The kitchen became my laboratory and I was experimenting with recipe after recipe. Sometime after I graduated high-school I got my first kitchen job as a dishwasher. I slaved back there in that dish pit for the better part of three years. During that time, I learned how to use a knife, along with hundreds of ways not to use a knife; as well as how to work an actual line. It was a long road, it took blood, sweat and even a few tears here and there.  I had to learn to check what was happening in my life at the door and let cooking be my escape. Now, I’m a chef with a reputation for making magic happen.

My culinary journey took a huge turn 2 years ago… I was cocky to say the least. I felt I had mastered my craft, my feet were kicked up and I had stopped growing. What else was there to learn? I could make anything and make it well.  Quite frankly, I was bored, and actually ready to put up my knives and give up cooking and the lifestyle it came with. I decide to return to school.

I was a chef who ate meat of all kinds. As a matter of fact, I was a chef who had just come out of my self-proclaimed “bacon-phase,” a lot like Picasso’s blue phase, just more artery clogging. That is when I took professor Hagenburger’s nutrition class at Cosumnes River College. The professor and I connected quickly, as we always discussed food and cooking. Throughout the class, she recognized my food-related knowledge, and encouraged me to incorporate what we were learning about nutrition. She would often ask me the question, “How could you make that plant-based, with whole foods?” It sounded challenging, but not impossible. So I gave it a try and actually jumped into a 21-Day Kickstart she mentioned in class.

After 3 weeks, I loved the way I felt, and was amazed that I didn’t miss out on any of the flavors that made me love food.  By the time we were halfway through the class, I was convinced that if I wanted to live strong, the best thing I could do for my health was go vegan (to thrive on plant-based whole foods, as she would remind me). There was no downside. That fact, lined up perfectly with being culinarily bored out of my wits, which enabled me to jump into the 21-day challenge with both feet.

Then, my journey took yet another turn… Sometime after my kickstart, I returned to eating meat and dairy because my girlfriend at the time decided it was too hard for her if I continued to eat this way.  She loved to go out and split plates, and animal products weren’t something she was ready to give up. We broke up eventually, I went vegan a few days after and I haven’t eaten an animal product since.

Though I can’t say as a chef that I am not tempted. I loved chicken strips my entire life, and while I don’t eat them anymore, I do have to fry them at work (5 cases at a time). I’m literally surrounded by my biggest temptations, including cheesecakes and other sweets, pizza and wings. Since I am in my early twenties, my health alone isn’t always enough to turn away from those temptations, and I have to be able to say “no” on a regular basis. My faith, however, has been closely intertwined with my food journey. Through my trials and tribulations of life, I have always found my way back to my faith. I am a devout Hindu and we are taught to have love and respect for all living beings. Knowing this truth, understanding the role our food choices play and not wanting to contradict myself, have provided me with the strength and discipline to stay on my path without wavering.

If you are a Hindu or someone who has studied Hinduism, you might be asking, “ What about dairy?” The cow was the mother of Krishna when he had no parents. Milk is what kept him alive and its consumption is highly regarded in Hinduism.  I agree, the cow did act as the mother to Krishna, and is forever a maternal figure in Hinduism. I ask you to look at what they’ve done to her here in America. Much of the dairy cattle are far from being honored, as they are subjected to putrid conditions, being separated from their baby calves and sent to the slaughterhouse after only a fraction of their natural lifespan. To make dairy cheese, rennet is often used to curdle the milk. This comes from the inner lining of a baby calves’ stomach. As a Hindu, how can I take part in the consumption of something when I know these truths and have been able to recreated the recipes I love with plant-based alternatives?

So, while I became vegan for health reasons, I continue to make these intentional choices for my spirituality and my morality. One of our holy books, The Bhagvat Gita, tells us that the path to enlightenment is individual to everyone, and on my path, I found being vegan to be my truth. Now, since I’m a chef, it is my job to make food taste great. So, let me introduce you to my latest dish, a flavor-rich, plant-based, fusion inspired salad that could easily be turned into a hearty meal.

Vik’s Chipotle Lime Fusion Salad

Salad Ingredients
1 bag of Asian Sesame Salad Mix w/Kale (discard the dressing) (OR 2 cups of shredded purple and green cabbage, 1 cup of shredded carrot, 2 cups of kale chopped up like confetti, 3 cups of chopped Romaine lettuce and 2 scallions, thinly sliced)
12-16 oz package of vacuum-packed extra firm tofu
1 ripe mango
1 avocado

Garnish: 1 scallion and toasted sesame seeds

Chipotle Lime Marinade and Dressing Ingredients
2 scallions/green onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (labeled “natural” – no sugar/salt added)
3 Medjool dates, pits removed
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1-2 Tbsp chopped chipotles in adobo (remove seeds for less heat)
Juice of 3 limes
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp cold water
1 young coconut (you can drink the water, since we only use the flesh) OR ½ cup cooked white beans

Procedure

1. Open the package of tofu and pat dry with a paper towel. Dice into ¾ inch cubes and set aside.

2. Combine the marinade ingredients, EXCEPT for the cornstarch, water and coconut (or white beans) in the blender until smooth.

3. Mix half of that marinade with the tofu and reserve the other half in the blender.

4. Add marinated tofu to a hot saucepan and bring to a boil. It’s important that the center of the pan is at a rolling boil in order for the next step to be effective.

5. While the tofu is heating up in the pan, mix the cornstarch and water to make a slurry to thicken our tofu marinade into a sauce.

6. Once the center of the pan is hot, pour in your slurry mixture and stir it around quickly to glaze your tofu, and turn off the heat once tofu is well coated (be ready, it will happen quickly). Reserve the glazed tofu.

7. If using a young Thai coconut, tilt it on its side and grasp the flat base. Chop off the pointed cap with a cleaver and return to its upright position. Pour the water over ice and enjoy!

8. Take the back end of your cleaver and use it to crack the coconut in half. Strike the coconut with the dull side of a clever rotate and repeat until it cracks in half.

9. Scrape the gelatinous flesh from the opened coconut (or white beans, if using instead of the coconut) and add to the blender with the reserved marinade, plus a quarter of the avocado and blend into a salad dressing.

10. Peel and dice the mango, remainder of avocado, and any other veggies you would like to add, also cut the green onion to garnish your salad.

11. Pour some of the Chipotle Lime Dressing into the bottom of a large salad bowl. Add the Asian Salad Mix (discard the packaged dressing) (OR combine the lettuce, cabbage, kale, carrots and scallions) toss gently.

12. Place some of your dressed salad to the center of the each plate and top with ingredients in this order: other veggies, tofu, mango, avocado, green onions and sesame seeds.

Chef Vik’s Notes

• Vik highly recommends increasing the variety of vegetables, including cucumbers and baby red bell peppers.

• Add chipotle to taste, (and include the seeds) if you like a kick!

• If you don’t want to use the corn starch method for the tofu, you can opt to cook the glaze down and caramelize the sugars in the glaze, adding small amounts of water to release the glaze from the pan and coat the tofu. Doing this 3 or 4 times achieves Vik’s favorite results, but be patient, as it can take time.

• Turn this salad into a satisfying meal by adding a cooked whole grain of your choice just before tossing with dressing. Quinoa is Vik’s choice.

• Since you may have leftover dressing from this recipe, transfer it to a clean jar, label and date it (it should be good for ~1 week). Then, make another salad, drizzle it on steamed veggies, or even use it as a flavorful dip for fresh rice paper spring rolls!

• Young Thai coconut is typically available in the refrigerated area of most Asian markets. It has a white husk still attached, is shaped with a flat base and a pointed top, and wrapped in cellophane, to preserve freshness. The young coconut is prized for the water, which is slightly sweet and rich in potassium. The gelatinous layer that develops on the inside, will thicken and increase in fat the longer the coconut is left on the tree.  The young coconuts are very popular snacks in tropical areas around the world.

• Working with the young Thai coconut can be a bit tricky if you’re new at it. Be sure to take the plastic off before you start to split it.  Every coconut has a sweet spot, so it’s just a matter of finding it, and it is best to start at the top, near where we cut the hole. The husk is removed from them there and you’ll get a nice clear shot at the shell. Rotate the coconut upwards and strike again with every rotation.

Timaree Hagenburger, a plant-based registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), certified exercise physiologist with a master’s degree in public health, has over 20 years of experience as a nutrition professor. She is a sought after speaker, media personality and author, who works with private clients, and in corporate wellness, has contributed to several cookbooks and published her own cookbook, The Foodie Bar Way: One Meal, Lots of Options, Everyone’s Happy (www.foodiebars.com)! Timaree is also the founder of an incredible online membership community, The Foodie Bar Way of Life, that makes loving the food (and living a life) that loves us back… simple, satisfying, sustainable AND FUN! You can contact her about working with her through 1:1 dietitian nutrition coaching, for hands-on cooking instruction and to inquire about arranging a speaking engagement.