Vegetarian & Vegan San Choy Bow

Vegetarian san choy bow is a scrumptious version of a classic Chinese recipe that can be made using almost any combination of vegetables you have available. Packed with flavor and nutrients, this recipe can be made as a snack or as a light meal.

This recipe is also a vegan san choy bow and is gluten free – as long as you use Tamari sauce.

Ingredients

In the picture below I have all the ingredients for this vegetarian san choy bow gathered together ready to start cooking.

There is quite a bit of flexibility in these ingredients to enhance the flavors you really like or to swap and change ingredients due to availability.  

Tempeh – About 10 oz (300 grams) depending on how it is packaged where you shop. 

Originally from Indonesia, tempeh is made from soybeans and is growing rapidly in popularity worldwide. It has a great earthy taste that most people enjoy.  

You will probably find tempeh in the health food section at your grocery store, or at a specialised health food shop. I found it available online as well. 

However if you cannot find anywhere to purchase it, you can substitute the tempeh for firm tofu, if necessary. 

Quinoa – 1 cup uncooked, or about 2 cups cooked.  Quinoa really increases in volume when it is cooked (much like rice, in that regard).  Too much quinoa will dial down the intensity of the flavor, so I find 2 cups when cooked to be about right.  You can add a little more if you want to.  

Ginger – About a 1 inch (2 cm) knob of ginger, peeled and diced.  Ginger is a great flavor, but very strong, so don’t go overboard with it or it will overpower everything else.  

Chili – 2 medium sized chilis. I love, love chili and spicy foods.  If you are a keen observer, you might spot only 1 in my ingredient photo, that was all I had available when I took the photo, and it really could have used another one. 

Garlic – 3 cloves of garlic.  Oh how I love my garlic!  With the tempeh and the quinoa we will end up with a fair volume of food here, so don’t be shy with the garlic.  Garlic has all sorts of health benefits, so that’s another reason to add in as much as you like.

Spring onions – 3 spring onions finely chopped will do the trick.  Substitute in about half a regular onion, finely chopped, if you don’t have spring onions.  

Water chestnuts – 1 small can of water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped.  I generally consider these optional because my husband is not a big fan of them. So if you don’t have water chestnuts, or don’t care for them, you can easily leave them out.  If you love them, then go nuts, so to speak. 

Mushrooms – 1 cup of mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are great, or button mushrooms are also good.  Pretty much any kind of mushrooms that you like work here.  Big fan of mushrooms?  Go ahead and double the quantity to 2 cups if you want to. 

Carrots – 2 good sized carrots, washed, peeled and chopped up finely or grated.  Carrots add some nice color to this dish.

Celery – 2 stalks of celery that have been washed and finely diced.  

Tamari sauce – ¼ cup.  Tamari sauce is similar to regular soy sauce, one big difference is most Tamari sauces contain no wheat (check your brand) so are gluten free.  Regular soy sauce does contain gluten.  Tamari sauce and regular soy sauce are similar enough that I sometimes substitute in regular soy sauce here if necessary.  

Sesame oil – 1 tablespoon adds a beautiful earthy and nutty flavor.  It is quite strong, so 1 tablespoon is sufficient.  

Lettuce cups –  Iceberg or Cos lettuce both make nice cups to serve the vegetarian san choy bow in.  Get 2 heads of lettuce, this recipe makes quite a few servings.  

Coriander – A few sprigs finely chopped in with the vegetables, and a few leaves to garnish the finished san choy bow cups.  People seem to either love or hate coriander – there is not much middle ground here.  My daughter will push her food aside if she detects even the slightest hint of coriander. So if you or your eaters are in the anti-coriander camp, then feel free to leave this out.  I often do!

Lime – 2 limes cut up into wedges to add lime juice at the finish.  Lime juice adds a zippy taste that I really love. Try not to skip the lime, if possible, because it adds a delicious contrast to the salty tamari sauce and the spice of the chillis.

Directions

1. Let’s get the quinoa cooking as it will take the longest amount of time.  The day I took these pictures I had a rice cooker, so I simply rinsed the quinoa and popped it into the rice cooker with 1 + ½ cups of water.  Job done.
   • If you are cooking it in a pot on the stove, bring the quinoa to a boil and then let it simmer until all the water is absorbed.
2. Next we will get chopping or grating all the vegetables while the quinoa cooks.  Ginger, garlic, chili, onion, water chestnut, coriander, mushroom – all of it needs to be chopped (or grated) so it can go in the wok or frying pan.  Since the vegetables will make a large part of the filling, they need to be reasonably finely chopped so it will fit nicely inside the lettuce cups.  See picture below where it is all in the wok (pan) ready to cook.

3. Next we will prepare the tempeh before cooking it. Tempeh comes in a block, so first I have sliced it into thin strips, then cross chopped it to end up with reasonably fine pieces as shown in the picture below.
   • Pop the finely cut tempeh into a bowl and set it aside until it is called for.

4. Now it is time to heat up some oil (coconut oil or good quality olive oil) in the wok or frying pan.  
5. Once the oil is hot, put all the chopped vegetables into the wok or pan and stir regularly so it cooks evenly.  About 2 or 3 minutes will do. 
6. Add in the chopped tempeh, tamari sauce and sesame oil to the wok/ pan.  
7. Stir regularly, especially if you are using a wok, for about 3 minutes, until everything is piping hot.  
   • You will notice the mixture shrink quite a bit as some of the moisture is released.  This is perfectly normal.  
8. Last but not least, stir in the cooked quinoa while the wok/ pan is still hot. Mix everything together well. It will look like the picture below and it is now ready to serve.

9. Using a large serving spoon, place the mixture into the lettuce cups. At least 2 or 3 good spoonfuls.  
10. Garnish with coriander (if desired) and a generous squeeze of lime juice over the top.

Enjoy this delicious, healthy, and nutritious vegetarian san choy bow!