Kung Pao Coconut
Here’s what happens when you take an old Chinese restaurant classic and turn it raw vegan. These are the kind of experiments that seem almost fruitless at first; it just doesn’t seem possible. Even when they make vegan ‘chicken’ it doesn’t taste much like chicken to me at all. I feel like saying, “Just stop! Call it what it is and stop messing with people’s heads!” Theres no way cauliflower is ever going to taste like chicken. And why would we want it to? So this is Kung Pao Coconut. You might say tomato and I say toe-mah-to but none of us be calling this ”chicken.
That said, my inspiration for this dish naturally came from the Kung Pao chicken of days gone by. Yeah, I know it’s still out there but I’m referring to my own meat-eating days of yore. When I was in my twenties and living in New York City, not a week went by that I didn’t include it in my order from the little ‘hole in the wall’ Chinese restaurant around the corner. I liked spare ribs too. Please just kill me if you find out I’m trying to make a raw vegan version of those; I will have completely lost my mind.
Oh no. I’m already starting to think about it. Somebody stop me!
Cuckoo for Coconuts
This turned out to be an extremely filling meal. Also a relatively quick one. Many times making things that require dehydration also means a lot of waiting. But in this case, it’s not true. Three hours in the Excaliber and that marinated, coconut is dehydrated enough and perfect to eat. The texture is so wonderful, the spices so perfect; you could just pop it all in a bag and eat it like jerky! In fact, that’s what I was doing until I reminded myself I was supposed to make a meal from that stuff! If I’d had another mature coconut I would have thrown caution to the wind and eaten it all just like that.
But they say, “Patience is a virtue”. So I tried to reign myself in for the main course. I’m not going to say I did a perfect job. I did eat a few more. Fortunately there was enough coconut left to Kung Pao. And I ended up being thankful for that because it was really, really good.
RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Kung Pao Coconut
1 mature coconut, flesh removed and cut in 1 1/2 inch squares
Coconut Marinade
8 Tbsps Nama Shoyu
1 1/2 Tbsps ginger, minced
1 Tbsp raw tahini
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp five spice powder
2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsps or 2 pieces sun dried tomato, soaked 1/2 hour in warm water
Combine all marinade ingredients. Marinate coconut for a 4-6 hours or overnight. Reserve marinade to use as sauce.
Spice Rub
Toss marinated coconut with:
3 tsps paprika
1 1/2 tsps chipotle powder
Dehydrate 3 hours at 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Salad
2 cups Napa cabbage, thinly shredded
1/4 – 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 red pepper, sliced thin
1/2 cup scallions, sliced vertically, chopped into 2 inch sections
2 Tbsps raw cashews, chopped
Combine cabbage, cilantro, pepper, scallions and cashews till thouroughly mixed. Plate and place coconut on top. Drizzle with remaining marinade. SERVES 1-2.
