Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: Recreating dishes from Roy’s Korean Kitchen, Heartland Cafe and Canela

We’ve been dedicating our summer segments on the Calgary Eyeopener to recreating iconic dishes from well-loved restaurants around the city, and this week brought us to Roy’s Korean Kitchen, Heartland Cafe and Canela Bakery.

We’re finishing the summer series with a quick braised tofu and some cookies that may be well suited for lunch boxes, a quick breakfast or an after-school snack.

Braised Tofu from Roy’s Korean Kitchen

Big thanks to chef Roy Oh for sharing this recipe, which he scaled down for the home cook!

Ingredients

Tofu:

• 1 package firm or medium-firm tofu
• 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ medium onion, finely diced
• 2 green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
• ½ cup water

Mix all of the sauce ingredients together.

Dry the tofu with paper towel and cut lengthwise down the middle, then ¼ slices perpendicular to the first cut.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Gently add the tofu, laying them out without any overlap. Cook for seven minutes or until crispy, then flip and repeat.

Once the tofu is crispy, transfer to a plate.

Transfer the remaining oil from the pan to a pot or Korean ceramic bowl (tukbaegi) and place over medium high heat.

Add the tofu and the sauce and mix well so all of the tofu is well coated.

Cover with a lid and cook until the sauce is bubbling.

Remove lid and let the sauce reduce slightly, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if the sauce over reduces.

Garnish with reserved green onion and sesame seeds and serve.

Nutri-Cookies from Heartland Cafe

This recipe halves and doubles easily if you need more (or fewer) cookies!

Adapted from The Heartland Cafe Cookbook.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or half all-purpose, half whole wheat)
• 2 cup oats
• ⅓ cup bran or oat bran (optional)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 – 1 ½ cups chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
• ¼ cup sliced ​​or slivered almonds
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• ¼ cup sunflower, sesame and/or pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar for a few minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

Add the flour, oats, oat bran, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir or mix on low speed until almost blended.

Add the chocolate, nuts and seeds, and stir just until combined.

Drop ⅓ cup scoops onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet; flatten each to ½-inch thick with your hand.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale golden around the edges and set, but still soft in the middle.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 1 ½ dozen large cookies.

Maple Amaretti Cookies

These almond cookies were inspired by the ones at Canela Bakery in Inglewood, where they make them using just ground almonds and maple syrup. So easy, and so good!

Ingredients

• 1 cup ground almonds
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• pinch-salt
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the almonds, baking powder and salt. Stir in the maple syrup and vanilla—you should have a soft dough.

Roll into balls a bit bigger than a walnut, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten each one slightly with your hand.

Bake for 15 minutes or until pale golden and set.

Make ½ – 1 dozen cookies.