Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for soy-pickled pumpkin maze gohan

From theguardian.com

This Japanese dish combines sticky rice and seasonal pumpkin with mushrooms and chestnuts

My favourite place for breakfast in London is Koya in Soho. I like to sit at the wooden bar facing the chefs, who quietly but conscientiously and very precisely go about their business while the steam of rice and noodles rises behind them. It’s also where, a few months ago, I ate maze gohan, or mixed rice, for the first time: a mingling of sticky, sweet, short-grain rice studded with pickled ingredients seasoned with dashi and soy. It was a delight for the senses and the perfect mix of comfort and joy.

Soy-pickled pumpkin maze gohan

There are many excellent edible pumpkins and squashes around at this time of year but, for flavour, my favourites are acorn, crown prince, delica and kabocha. You’ll need two lidded pans: one with a tight-fitting lid for the rice and another larger one for the vegetables.

Meera Sodha's soy-pickled pumpkin maze gohan. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. 

Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food assistant: Valeria Russo.

Prep 15 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 2

250g short-grain rice
¼ tsp fine sea salt
4 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp cooking sake
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled and halved lengthways
5 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
150g fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
450g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
100g cooked chestnuts, sliced

Put the rice in a medium saucepan and cover with warm water. Agitate with your hand until the water turns cloudy, then drain and repeat until the water runs clear. Cover with fresh warm water, leave to soak for five minutes, then drain well.

Return the rice to the pan, cover with 290ml cold water, add a quarter-teaspoon of salt, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes, then take off the heat and leave to rest, still covered, for 10 minutes more.

To make the pickling liquid, mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar and cooking sake in a little bowl and put to one side.

Put the sesame oil in a large frying pan for which you have a lid and set it over a medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Next add the spring onions (reserve some of the greens to decorate the finished dish), stir to mix and cook for two minutes more. Add the mushrooms, cook for five minutes, until sweated down, then add the pickling liquid, pumpkin and chestnuts. Cover the pan, leave to cook for three minutes, stir, then pop the lid back on and leave to cook for another three minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender.

Using a fork (so as not to mash the rice), scrape the rice into the vegetable pan and gently mix everything together. Distribute between bowls, scatter over the reserved spring onion greens and serve.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/oct/30/meera-sodhas-vegan-recipe-soy-pickled-pumpkin-maze-gohan

How to go vegan: 31 top tips to make the transition easy

From veganfoodandliving.com

Navigate your newly vegan life with this easy-to-follow one-tip-a-day guide to help keep you on track through your first month as a vegan

The only regret vegans have about going vegan is that they didn’t do it sooner. As it’s World Vegan Month, it’s the perfect time to spend a month discovering the joys of being vegan before taking the plunge yourself.

Your first vegan month will see your eyes open, mind widen, taste buds tantalised and preconceptions challenged.

Be prepared. You are about to enter a world where cheese is made from cashew nuts, fruits can be cooked to resemble meat and meringues are made from canned bean juice (No, really).

Cooking as a vegan can take some serious getting used to. Intimidated? Don’t be.

In reality, going vegan is pretty simple. In no time at all, you’ll look at your vegan lifestyle and plant-based diet in a whole different light.

This handy guide will show you how to go vegan the easy way.

Day 1 – Get educated

It’s day one. You’re officially vegan and it’s time to educate yourself! The Vegan Society, Veganuary, and nutritionfacts.org will provide all the key information you need regarding the main dietary dos and don’ts, including all you need to know about key food groups.

This is a great place to start building the foundations of your new vegan lifestyle.

Day 2 – Discover new ingredients

There are thousands of edible plants to choose from, so why just stick to the same few you’ve always eaten?

It’s time to take a stroll down the produce aisle and pick up some new and exciting ingredients you’ve never tried before.

Search out your local farm or produce markets to source fresh and seasonal produce that is bursting with flavour – and often is so much cheaper than when bought from the average supermarket.

From tempeh and tofu to seitan and aquafaba, there’s a world of plant-based foods waiting to be tried.

Day 3 – Be inspired

The first week is full of discoveries. An online search reveals countless vegan blogs, magazines, recipe books and social media full of stories, recipes and news to inspire your journey.

If you’re looking for a friendly, encouraging place to learn more about veganism, tune into the Simply Vegan podcast.

Day 4 – Veganise your favourite meal

Steak and ale pie may have been your go-to meal, or maybe you revelled in a chilli con carne? Whatever your favourite meal was prior to going vegan, re-master it!

Source the substitutes needed to reinvent dishes even better, and this time make it vegan. It’ll aid your transition and stop any cravings during your first week. As a vegan, you can truly have it all.

Day 5 – Discover accidentally vegan items

A brief scour of the supermarket shelves will reveal all manner of staggeringly secretly items that you never knew were vegan!

Original Oreos, Jus’ Roll Pastries and even vegan ice cream such as Swedish Glace are just a few of the secrets in the vegan community, with many more to be revealed!

You might be surprised just how many products in UK supermarkets are accidentally vegan when you check out this guide.

Day 6 – Preparation prevents relapses

Make some larger meals in advance and keep them in your fridge or freezer for busy days and easy meals to prevent you from reaching for a ready meal.

Staples in my freezer include hot-pots and Thai curries.

Day 7 – One week in! Remember why you started

You’ve reached a whole week of plant-based living!

Take a second to think about why you chose this new diet to help focus your energy and mind to motivate you onwards.

Day 8 – Get social

Almost every form of social media these days has links to vegan clubs and meeting groups for you to try out and get together with more like-minded people.

UK Vegan Supermarket Finds (Facebook) and London Vegan Meetup (Facebook and in person) are a great way to find new restaurants, friends and good conversation! Search online to find the nearest group to you.

Day 9 – Become a master of  label reading

The easiest way to identify a product as vegan is to search for the official Vegan Society logo, although most supermarkets now label their products as vegan too.

However, if this is not available there will be a list of common food allergens on the packaging of products with eggs and milk being shown in bold lettering.

Day 10 – Tell your friends and family

Coming out as a vegan can be met with mixed responses! Prepare yourself for a whole array of thoughts and reactions ranging from positive and supportive to confusing and questioning with everything in between.

Just remember to be strong, stick to your principles and be passionate. Remember, not everyone will agree with your choices, but there are many more out there who will.

Day 11 – Experiment with vegan meats

Everything from beef chunks, sausages and kebab-style slices, to faux fish fingers and gourmet roasts. No meat is un-veganised!

Often soya or wheat-based, alternatives to meat can be useful when substituting in early vegan meals, and can even fool children and amaze friends to the tasty ways of veganism.

Day 12 – Go out to eat

There’s never been a better time to eat out as a vegan.

Over the last few years the number of vegan items on menus, along with proper allergen labelling, mean it’s easier than ever to eat out as a vegan (crafting your own dish from various menu items is so last year).

Some restaurant chains even offer their own vegan menus. Enquire ahead to get the best from the experience.

Day 13 – Start a food diary

A creative way to re-think your diet is to start a food diary. Make a note of what you made, ate and sampled – what did you like? What didn’t you like?

How would you change the dish or what would you do next time to make it even better? This will help you discover your new tastes and help begin weekly meal planning.

Day 14 – Swot up on supplements

Think you know your vitamins A, B and C from your Vitamin D? It is recommended that all vegans supplement with both vitamin B12 (1000 mcg) and Vitamin D (1000 iu) every day to maintain optimum health.

These can be found in vegan varieties from health food shops or from the Vegan Society’s website – www.vegansociety.com/shop/supplements.

Day 15 – Buy in bulk

By now you should be getting to grips with the basic ingredients you need to cook with regularly.

Everything from pulses, lentils and wholegrains to nuts and seeds can be ordered online in bulk from reputable sellers offering the best price per kg.

I store nuts, seeds and legumes in glass jars – it saves space and makes for a unique kitchen display!

Day 16 – Embrace your culinary disasters!

The first few weeks of experimenting with vegan food and ingredients is likely to be a combination of delicious hits, and the…not so delightful misses. Don’t hang up that apron!

The first time I made tofu, I swore I’d never again. A few non-stick pans, recipe trial and errors and weeks later, my relationship with this delightfully versatile ingredient blossomed to become one of my everyday staple foods!

If at first you don’t succeed…bake it in the oven instead! Be sure to check out our handy guide to marinating tofu too.

Day 17 – Become a vegan athlete

There’s never been a better time to get into shape and fulfil sporting ambitions.

Being vegan, cholesterol levels will drop (plant-based foods contain no cholesterol), circulation improves and you may even see a few extra lbs naturally falling off.

Take the opportunity of starting a fresh lifestyle to take up a new sporting hobby, whether it’s becoming a gym bunny or casual cyclist.

Day 18 – Slip up? No problem!

The first time I became vegetarian, the very next day I found myself instinctively ordering a chicken dish at a restaurant!

Being vegan takes some getting used to, and if you make a mistake or accidentally consume an animal product, don’t give up.

Learn from where you went wrong, try not to dwell on your experience, and simply move on.

Day 19 – Veganise your alcoholic drinks

Becoming vegan doesn’t mean an end to enjoying a drink or two. There are so many drinks that are certified vegan, so just take your pick and enjoy responsibly.

Brands include; Malibu Rum, Grey Goose Vodka, Coors beer and Red Truck Wines. There is a plethora of independent brewers and distilleries who are also vegan – many can be found and bought online.

Day 20 – Equip your kitchen

One of the best bits of gear for a vegan is a large food processor. From making huge batches of fresh hummus, creating raw cheesecakes and blitzing burgers together, a processor is used again and again.

It’s worth investing in a high powered machine, with a longer warranty, that’s built to last.

Day 21 – Go greener

Altering your lifestyle has already reduced your carbon footprint and helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Why not consider upping the effort? Start recycling household waste more, reduce the food waste you produce by buying and eating smarter, and switch to ecologically friendly cleaning products (available from most supermarkets).

Day 22 – Substitute staples

By now, you may start craving things like mayonnaise or yoghurt. You’ll be pleased to know that soya-based alternatives to both of these common dairy products are available to buy.

What’s more, you’ll most likely find that they taste exactly the same (if not better, in my opinion) than the originals!

Alternatively, create your own veganaise and coconut yoghurts for ultimate kitchen-revelling glory.

Day 23 – There’s an app for that

Thanks to modern technology, every aspect of being vegan is handily condensed into a smartphone app!

From restaurant finders including HappyCow and VanillaBean, to product scanner app Is It Vegan? enabling you to scan any product barcode to check its allergens and suitability.

There’s even the BunnyFree app that checks whether brands of products are tested on animals or not.

Day 24 – Organise a vegan trip

There is no better place to discover more about being vegan than at a local or nationwide vegan festival. Some top picks are The Allergy and Free From Show and VegFest.

These great festivals provide you with inspiration and products you never expected to discover, alongside some delicious free samples and a melting pot of like-minded individuals.

Day 25 – Be a great vegan guest

Crumbling at your first invitation to a dinner party? Has the thought of a birthday gathering reduced you to a nervous wreck?

Fear not! To be the perfect vegan guest, simply inform your host in advance. Give them a list of dishes or recipes that you enjoy eating and suggest simple alternatives they could create.

Clueless host? Just take your own dish! That way you can share your delicious creation around the table.

Day 26 – Eat a variety of foods

Just as with any diet or lifestyle, it’s easy to fall into a rut of eating the same dishes again and again.

Maintain your interest and creativity by thumbing through the pages of our magazine, some vegan cookbooks or websites such as Pinterest.

There’s nothing better than shaking up your daily food staples and finding ways to freshen your diet and spark creative genius.

Day 27 – Watch out for non-vegan items

There are some hidden animal products lurking in seemingly vegan foods that you need to be aware of.

Common ingredients include cochineal (artificial red colouring made from ground insect shells), most jelly sweets contain gelatine (sourced from animal bones), and certain mass-produced baked goods may contain egg or milk.

You can see more ingredients to watch out for here.

Day 28 – Don’t worry about protein

I guarantee after a month you’ll be used to people asking about protein!

You may be surprised to know you only need 10-15% of your energy from protein each day, and it can all come from plant-based foods.

Sources include buckwheat, wholegrains and quinoa, which should be combined with legumes, beans, and pulses such as soya and chickpeas.

Day 29 – Supercharge your pantry

Now you’re getting used to a plant-based diet, why not upgrade your pantry with some superfoods?

Chia seeds and flaxseeds are a rich source of plant-based omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids, cocoa nibs will give your breakfast an antioxidant hit, while a variety of nuts are going to boost your protein and mineral intakes.

Simply add a few of these into your diet and watch your health and palette grow!

Day 30 – Don’t be scared to ask for help

There will be many different aspects of veganism that you’re still yet to discover. Never be afraid to ask your vegan friends or members of a vegan group/community for help.

From my experience of being a loyal member of the UK vegan community, I can honestly say that vegans are extremely enthusiastic and supportive of others who ask for help or need support.

There are so many places to turn if you’re unsure or need advice, there is never a need to feel alone – you’re part of a global support network.

Day 31 of the rest of your vegan life – Have your cake and eat it

Congratulations! The first month of being vegan has officially ended, and you can now call yourself a certified Veganuary Veteran.

Mark this special occasion by baking yourself and your loved ones (or just yourself – you’ve earned it after all!) a delicious vegan cake.

Make this day your official Vegan-niversary, knowing that you have contributed to the promotion of a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle, what more reason could you need to celebrate?

Congratulations! You have successfully completed your first month!

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/how-to-go-vegan/how-to-go-vegan-tips/

The rise and rise of veganism in Britain

From khaleejtimes.com

Going vegan or vegetarian has become mainstream in Britain, as new coverts join the momentum to switch to a plant-based diet

What do global movers and shakers eat when they meet and confabulate about major issues? Next week, world leaders will congregate in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, with mixed hopes among billions across the globe of what the event will eventually achieve in terms of global warming and climate change. But keeping with the event’s aspirations, one aspect has already been decided: plant-based dishes will dominate the menu, with 80 per cent of the food seasonal and sourced in Scotland. Overall, 95 per cent of the food will be from the United Kingdom, focused on the idea that sustainability should be at the heart of catering for the summit, reducing emissions and promoting environment-friendly food production. Campaigners wanted a 100 per cent vegan menu to be served, but the fact that most of the dishes will be plant-based at such a high-profile international event is music to their ears.

Each item will have an estimate of its carbon footprint, helping delegates make climate-friendly choices. Items will include Edinburgh’s Mara Seaweed, which is abundant, sustainable, does not require fertiliser, fresh water or soil to grow, as well as Benzies carrots and potatoes that use wind turbines to power their cool storage, biomass to provide heating and actively recycle the water they use. Cups used to serve drinks will be reusable, washable 1,000 times; it is estimated that this approach will save up to 250,000 single-use cups. Says Alok Sharma, Cabinet minister in the Boris Johnson government and COP26 president: “There will be a tremendous amount of work to be done at COP26, with many hours of negotiations and long days, so the choice of food that we serve our visiting delegations, staff and all our volunteers is very important. It is exciting to see such innovation in the menus that will be on offer and to understand the thought and effort that has gone into making dishes both healthy, sustainable and suitable for different diets and requirements. We very much look forward to giving our international visitors a flavour of the wide-ranging cuisine the UK has to offer.”

This focus on a plant-based menu at the Glasgow summit seems inevitable given the growing momentum in Britain in recent years to switching to a vegan diet, which is a step further than a vegetarian diet, since it excludes dairy products (‘vegan’ was coined from the first three and last two letters of ‘vegetarian’ in 1944, when The Vegan Society was formed with just 25 members). According to the society, “A vegan is someone who tries to live without exploiting animals, for the benefit of animals, people and the planet. Vegans eat a plant-based diet, with nothing coming from animals — no meat, milk, eggs or honey, for example.” The momentum is driven by philosophical, religious and other reasons, but mainly by widely-publicised scientific research that animal agriculture and animal products are disastrous for the planet, and that cutting out animal products from the diet is the single-most effective action an individual can take to help fight climate change.

A vegan supply chain

From the United Nations calling for a wider global uptake of plant-based diet in 2010, to a host of studies and mass awareness drives by campaign groups subsequently, veganism has gone mainstream, with superstores, restaurants as well as manufacturers of cosmetics, medicines, toiletries, fashion and textiles making it known that their food and goods are vegan, catering to a growing niche customer base. Coffee lovers can now enjoy a flat white with soy, oat, coconut or almond milk instead of whole milk, besides a large number of dishes that earlier used dairy products. Cadbury hit the headlines when it announced that from November there would be a vegan alternative to its signature Dairy Milk chocolate bar. The new Cadbury Plant Bar would substitute almond paste for the ‘glass and a half of milk’ that is supposed to be in the Dairy Milk bar. ‘Veganuary’, a charity organisation that encourages people to try vegan diet in January and beyond, enlisted pledges of more than 580,000 people this year.

Says senior journalist Syed Zubair Ahmed: “It’s been over a year since I last had meat. My journey to being vegetarian was slow. First, I gave up eating beef way back in 1984 when I was a university student. I tried to give up eating meat completely several times since then but it was difficult to resist. Gradually, I stopped cooking meat at home. And then in the first month of Covid I decided to cut out meat completely... Going vegan or vegetarian appears to be a fad in the West but those who have turned vegetarian or eating vegan food know what they are getting into. Even when I ate meat I believed vegetarianism is a higher form of living. Eating meat was fine when we lived with nature 12-13,000 years ago. We have a choice now. Giving up animal products is achieving that higher form of living I have always been hankering after. My next goal is to stop eating all animal products, including milk and eggs. I love oat milk anyway. I believe being vegan is being more civilised.”

According to new research by The Vegan Society, a large number of Britons reduced the amount of animal products they consume since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It found that 1 in 5 (20 per cent) people have reduced the amount of meat they are eating while 12 per cent said they have minimised their eggs and dairy intake. Seven per cent of respondents revealed they have cut down on all three, meaning that 1 in 4 (25 per cent) have actively cut back on some form of animal products since the first lockdown. It also found that more than a third (34 per cent) people are spending more time with their companion animals, and 32 per cent are thinking more about their personal impact on the planet. In a second survey aimed at those who had cut back on animal products, 35 per cent said they were mainly motivated by health concerns, with that figure rising to 39 per cent for those aged 55+, while 30 per cent said the environment was their primary motivation, and almost 1 in 4 (21 per cent) said it was down to animal rights issues.

Louisianna Waring, Insight and Commercial Policy Officer at the society, says: “It’s fantastic to see that not only are people consciously cutting back on animal products, but that this trend has continued over the last 12 months. It’s no surprise that the pandemic has inspired so many consumers to make the switch to plant-based alternatives and adopt a more planet-friendly diet. Covid-19 has certainly made people think twice about what they’re eating and where it’s coming from. This is highlighted by the large number of people cutting down on animal products because of their own health concerns.” New research published in the British Medical Journal says that plant-based or pescatarian diets were associated with lower odds of moderate-to-severe Covid-19. The Vegan Society will make its presence felt at Glasgow through its various campaigns (‘Plate Up for the Planet’), adverts and messaging on buses, digital billboards, subway stations, performances and an outreach stand in a shopping mall.

The legislation debate

Campaigners would like the turn to veganism to be backed by legislation, with subsidies for plant-based food, but opinion within the Johnson government is mixed. According to the independent Climate Change Committee, people should be encouraged by the government to cut the amount of meat and dairy they eat, recommending a 20 per cent shift away from those products by 2030, since reducing meat and dairy consumption will cut emissions from agriculture and release land to plant trees to help absorb carbon dioxide. But the Johnson government has said it will maintain people’s freedom of choice in their diet.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has spoken to the media about the importance of veganism to climate change. He may adopt a vegan diet at some point to play his part in the global climate effort, since lifestyle changes would be needed across society if the UK government is to hit its new emissions target: cut by 78 per cent on 1990 levels by 2035. He says: “I’m certainly reducing my meat consumption, not only for environmental reasons but also for health reasons. I’m eating a lot more fish than I ever did before and maybe I can move to a full vegan diet at some point. The number of people who are vegans, who are reducing their meat intake, is going up all the time. I think that there is a lot of societal change that will actually help us and drive the progress to 2035”, admitting that the government should “accelerate the change” and praised the boom in plant-based diets, which is taking place “without government legislation”.

Kwarteng’s views about veganism stand in sharp contrast to Johnson’s. According to the prime minister, veganism is a “crime against cheese lovers”. Asked recently on BBC about his 2020 resolution to lose weight and if he would be ditching meat and dairy products from his diet, he said it would require “too much concentration”, adding that while he “tipped his hat off to vegans who can handle it”, a vegan diet is “a crime against cheese lovers”. Campaigners were quick to point out that vegan-friendly cheeses are now available in every grocery store, besides other alternatives to dairy products.

The latest alt-milk to hit the market — besides almond, soy, coconut, oat — is potato milk; the market for plant milk alone is estimated to be £400 million a year, while the global plant-based alternatives market is pegged at over £115 billion. The Vegan Trademark is already established, helping users identify that a product is free from animal ingredients since 1990. Over 56,000 products worldwide, including cosmetics, clothing, food, drink, household items, and many more display the Vegan Trademark. In 2019 alone, The Vegan Society registered 14,262 products with the Vegan Trademark, which was an increase from 2018, when 9,590 products were registered. The Vegan Trademark is present in 108 countries, with over 50 per cent of products registered coming from companies based outside of the UK. Vegan and plant-based foods are the fastest-growing category of foods people are ordering, according to leading food-delivery companies in the United States, Canada and the UK. Campaigners say globally the number of vegans is nearly 80 million; of those in the UK, 66 per cent are women.

A new report by think-tank Chatham House says post-Covid economic recovery efforts by governments across the globe provide a unique opportunity to put in place measures for a ‘green recovery’. Its report, Food System Impacts On Biodiversity Loss, says: “Over the past 50 years, the conversion of natural ecosystems for crop production or pasture has been the principal cause of habitat loss, in turn reducing biodiversity…Without reform of our food system, biodiversity loss will continue to accelerate…Reform will rely on the use of three principal levers: Firstly, global dietary patterns need to converge around diets based more on plants, owing to the disproportionate impact of animal farming on biodiversity, land use and the environment…Secondly, more land needs to be protected and set aside for nature…Thirdly, we need to farm in a more nature-friendly, biodiversity-supporting way, limiting the use of inputs and replacing monoculture with polyculture farming practices…Dietary change and a reduction in food waste are critical to breaking the system lock-ins that have driven the intensification of agriculture and the continued conversion of native ecosystems to crop production and pasture.”

The flip side

For all the enthusiasm to adopt veganism and stick to it rigorously, it has many critics, besides attracting the old joke: “How do you known someone’s a vegan? Answer: They’ll tell you”. There is also the fact that almost everything edible involves some kind of animal suffering; all one can do is try and minimise it through food choices. One website is dedicated to its point that almonds are not vegan. It may be impossible to be 100 per cent vegan, since plants get nutrients from the soil, which often contains decayed remains of animals, besides pollination by bees and others species. The jury is out and both sides hold on to their positions passionately.

Ward Clark, author of Misplaced Compassion: The Animal Rights Movement Exposed, writes in an online essay titled “The Myth of the ‘Ethical Vegan’”: “Unfortunately for the ethical vegan, the production of their food alone reduces their claim to impossibility. Animals are killed in untold millions, in the course of plant agriculture. Some are killed accidentally in the course of mechanised farming; some are killed deliberately in the course of pest control... Every potato, every stick of celery, every cup of rice, and every carrot has a blood trail leading from field to plate…Ethical vegans, as a class, fail utterly to put any of their professed ethics into action. They claim to not cause harm to animals, but they do; when confronted, they claim to cause less harm to animals than the non-vegan, but they are utterly unable to show that to be true... They are intimately involved, every day, in an activity that causes the deaths of millions of animals...”

(Prasun is a journalist based in London. He tweets @PrasunSonwalkar)

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/long-reads/the-rise-and-rise-of-veganism-in-britain