Friday, September 22, 2006

Take Out Thai Dinner

Last night, when my most wonderful friends came over for a little hang time, they arrived bearing food from one of my favorite restaraunts in town (Granted there are only a few that I will actually dine at as a vegan, but these two places totally rock, every time!), Thai Ruby. On the menu for me? Was this, Ginger Tofu w/Vegetables:

Big hunks of perfect texture tofu with some water chesnuts, carrots, baby corn, red peppers, snow peas, celery, 'shrooms, a few bean sprouts, and some onion all over jasmine rice and with a light, gingery sauce. The sauce was really yummy. It was a bit oily, but there wasn't much of it so it went a long way.

This was a break from my usual fare from them, Panang Tofu With Vegetables. Panang is, easily, my favorite Thai dish, but I've recently (as in, yesterday) had to rule out all spicy things while my doctor and I figure out what is causing me weeks of stomach woes. I had to pull out the onion and red pepper here, as well, but it was still very good.

Also, beware of many curries in Thai restaruants because they authentically contain shrimp paste, unfortunately even if you find the selections in the 'Vegetarian' section of their menu. Believe me, I've had some interesting conversations with the Thai staff trying to discern whether or not a curry dish did, in fact, contain shrimp paste. I inevitably am answered, "No, no shrimp in curry". When I ask, "But what about shrimp paste?" I get, "No, no shrimp in curry". I also learned the hard way that, when I told them I did not eat meat, including seafood, they just scooped it out of the soup that came with the special assuming that would be good enough. Needless to say, I skipped that part entirely!

It's sad, really, because Thai food has always been one of my most favorite cuisines and not one I have ever really successfully duplicated at home thus far.
This just means we'll be frequenting my other favorite, Tony's Sushi on more occasions! A selection of various vegetable rolls (they have one called Nerudo Veggie that is veggies wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber drizzled with two sauces, one vinegary, one sweet and sprinkled with sesame seeds...oh my is it amazing!), edamame, inari, aged nasu, and green salads with ginger dressings make for a happy vegan every single time! I forgot my camera the other day when we ate there but really must remember for future visits!

Oh, one last thing....as I mentioned above, I'm having lots of trouble with my stomach and am on the lookout for healing foods and teas and herbs to rely on while I cut out all matters of things that may be aggravating my condition so, any tips, tricks, recipes, or ideas any of you have are greatly appreciated...thanks!

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