Vegan Food

[PictureSarah]

I know that vegans are going to be the minority in these parts, and I am not vegan myself, but I just got a new cookbook called Veganomicon, and it has some great sounding recipes in it. Last night I made spicy tempeh nori rolls, and Bakemaster made a lovely vegan applesauce cake. I think it's harder work to create amazing vegan dishes, but I also tend to love them because of the complex flavors they often have and the involvement of vegetables that I enjoy but don't use too often. Here is the recipe I used last night. I didn't use vegan mayonnaise because I didn't have any, but for my non-vegan self, the amount of mayonnaise was negligible.

Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls

1 cup sushi rice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar, divided
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ounce tempeh, steamed, cooled and cubed
2 tablespoons prepared vegan mayonnaise
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot chili-sesame oil
4 sheets nori seaweed
1 scallion, white part discarded, sliced lengthwise into narrow strips
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced into 1/4-inch strips

In a 2-quart pot with a cover, combine the rice plus 1 1/4 cups cold water. Turn the heat high, bring the water to a boil, and stir the rice just once. Lower the heat to low, cover the pot and steam the rice for 20 minutes.

Empty the hot rice into a large glass or plastic bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon vinegar and sugar, gently folding in the rice. Cover with plastic wrap, and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Wait until the rice is slightly warmer than room temperature.

Combine tempeh, mayonnaise and chili-sesame oil. Mash until chunky.

Fill a shallow cup with 1/3 cup water and a tablespoon of rice vinegar. Place a nori sheet on the bamboo mat. With wet hands, take a snowball-shaped handful of rice. Gently pat onto the bottom two-thirds of the nori sheet until it is less than 1/3-inch thick.

Place a small amount of the fillings across the center of your rice in a straight line. Aim for 1 1/2 tablespoons of tempeh, three strips of avocado and an even amount of scallion strips.

Using the mat, gently roll up that sushi starting from the rice-topped end. Try to keep your grip tight. When you reach the end, seal with a bit of vinegar water. Slice into 1-inch pieces with a sharp knife. Repeat, making three more rolls.

[Bakemaster]

We used a combination of chili garlic sauce, safflower oil and sesame oil instead of buying hot chili-sesame oil itself, and broke the tempeh up and steamed it to make it mashable. Was very tasty.

[jgcrawfo]

I had a cooking adventure/market day with a vegan friend a little over a week ago. This culminated in me throwing up red while he was passing out on the bathroom floor, afraid I was dying, but before that, it was a pretty delicious evening! We made some borscht (kind of) and some curried squash pie.

The borscht was just borscht and is vegan by nature anyways, I think, but the pie was pretty cool invention. We started with a simple crust with black mustard seeds mixed in with the flour for bite. For the filling, we roasted a squash and a sweet potato, then fried them with some crushed and mushed garlic, ginger, garam masala, and other curry-type things (turmeric for sure, but the other guy was spice-master). Then we mushed that up, added the product of boiled flax seeds (good lord that looks like snot!), put it in the crust, and baked it a while.
It was quite a delicious pie, but the spices mellowed overnight, so it's really only good while fresh.

[Clumpy]

My mom went on a raw food diet for several months a few years ago and we ate a lot of new foods (of course, these foods went beyond vegan but never mind). When she eased off to a mere vegan diet I started really enjoying some of the things. Eggplant lasagna is really good and much, much faster and cheaper to make than real lasagna.

Borscht is one of the worst experiences of my life. I think she made it wrong. She only made it once after our violent reactions.

[jgcrawfo]

Eggplant goes in all my lasagnas! Squash is also decent, though you might want to roast it a bit before lasagnaing it.

Vegan deliciousness from a friend (who I think got it from 'Vegan with a Vengance'):
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tblspn black cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup plain rice or soy milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 tins with paper liners. Sift dry ingredients into large bowl. Mix wet ingredients together and whisk for 2 minutes. Add dry to wet in 2 batches. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake 28 minutes or until done.

HER GANACHE TO GO WITH:
1/2 cup soy milk
4oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tblspns maple syrup

Boil the soy milk, remove from heat, add chocolate and maple syrup to pan, mix until all the chocolate is smooth and melted. Set aside till its a little thicker then pour over the cupcakes.

These are really good, and I think they have a nicer texture than some other normal cakes. You can taste the soy a bit, but it's not bad or overpowering.

[Bakemaster]

Vegan cakes tend to be moister than other cakes. The crumbly, firm texture you find in a plain white or golden birthday cake, for example, strongly depends on eggs and butter to work.

[jgcrawfo]

That's what I loved about the cake, the moist, fudgy texture.
Can you comment on if flax seed egg substitute and vegetable shortening are adequate replacements for eggs and butter?

[Bakemaster]

I've never tried flax seed egg substitute, but people do use it. I usually use banana for a cake that's already fruity or water, oil and baking powder for a cake that isn't fruity at all. I've tried corn starch, but wasn't terribly impressed.

As far as butter goes, I usually use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, largely because of the hilarious name, but also because they're vegan, gluten-free, tFA-free, and I get good results. I don't like to replace butter with shortening unless there's a good reason; butter melts at a lower temperature, which happens to be closer to the temperature inside your mouth—which is where you want a cookie to melt, if at all. Shortening, on the other hand, can be more easily mixed into some things since it's softer at room temperature but stays solid longer, and it does help when you're trying to make flaky pastry, pie crust and biscuits. I use half butter, half shortening in pie crusts. Otherwise, shortening is generally unhealthy—bad cholesterol mojo—and flavorless, and I stick to butter. Earth Balance also makes a non-hydrogenated, tFA-free shortening but I haven't tried it.

[jgcrawfo]

Do you have any experience with puff pastry? I've never seen a recipe for that that didn't use butter folded between the dough, but I'd like to be able to make things with it for my vegan friends. I still don't have enough experience with it to deviate from the recipe, but would shortening work as the in-between layering to make delicious vegan puff pastry and croissant?

[Bakemaster]

It'll work, but keep in mind that not all shortening is vegan; make sure it's 100% vegetable. Crisco works. SmartBalance/EarthBalance is healthier. It probably won't come out as well as it would with butter, but a great many commercially-producded pastries are already made without any butter, mainly because of the expense.

[stockpot]

Crisco is now trans fat free, so it's no longer such an unhealthy alternative when Earth balance won't work.

Crumbled tofu with salt works suprisingly well in the place of cheese for lasagna. Of course, you still need other flavorings.

[Peevish]

I've got a buncha vegan cookbooks but this blog has never steered me wrong: http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/

The vegan fudge is the ties with the best fudge I've ever had. The Ricemellow Creme is not remotely optional as far as I'm concerned, so you'll need a nearby Whole Foods. As ever when using soymilk, if your proportions are just a little off they may not firm up properly. But even still gooey and sticky, they're ridiculously delicious.

Now, I make a wicked vegan carrot slaw with mango-papaya chutney, but the recipe is at home and I'm stealing internet time at work, so...

[parkaboy]

oh man, when i was dating a vegan i made the most awesome vegan mocha raspberry layer something or other cake and i no longer have the recipe. CURSES! i think i googled it up to begin with so i'm pretty sure i could find it, or an equivalent if i really wanted to.

[Bakemaster]

That reminds me, two years ago I made a vegan lemon-lime fudge with one of my roommates to give people for a holiday... I need to find that recipe again. It was kind of an unexpected consistency, but so tasty.

[parkaboy]

yes the cake was a strange consistency too... VERY moist, but it held together well enough.

[faunablues]

I've gotten some great recipes from http://www.vegweb.com .

Also, for vegan junk food: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, The Joy of Vegan Baking (both books).
I never liked cupcakes when I wasn't vegan (always got the cheap supermarket kind). But man, 75 different kinds of cupcakes? The cost of the book is worth the pictures inside alone.

I have Veganomicon, but I haven't really used it yet (at school with no kitchen :/). But every other sushi recipe I've seen and made involves rinsing the rice until the water is clear. It makes it sticky and tasty (the vinegar and sugar help too).

Anyone get brown rice sushi to work? I always wind up with a bowl of vinegared rice.

Random note... I (normally) live in L.A., where we have an unusual abundance of Thai vegan/vegetarian restaurants. Vegan thai food is amazing. Coconuts might be hell to open (see "fuck grapefruits" comic), but coconut milk is sooooo tasty.
Less random: happycow.net is a guide to vegan/vegetarian restaurants worldwide

[pollywog]

I eat quite a bit of vegan food, and my favourite meals usually consist of just fruit. I eat a lot of fruit, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

My favourite meal: Fruit salad.

Cut up 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 orange, 3 plums, and any other "specialty" fruits you might want. Put it all in a bowl. Eat it.

Also, milk substitutes. My favourite is rice milk, or a creamy soy milk. I don't like thin, watery milk-type things.

[Sandry]

I found almond milk to be surprisingly awesome. It's possible, though, that I just like that brand - there aren't that many to choose from, unlike soy or rice milk.

I do like to do the vegan thing with some frequency, and if cooking Asian (other than Indian), it seems unavoidable, but do you all find that you get hungry again much faster than just having a straight vegetarian meal with either milk, cheese or eggs in?

I need to dig up some recipes. I made a pretty good tofu with mandarin orange and almond thing to put over fried rice.

[parkaboy]

Anyone get brown rice sushi to work? I always wind up with a bowl of vinegared rice.

I've heard that some people/places add margar..ine... however you spell the vegetable alternative to butter... to sushi rice to make it stick together better. IMO, they're doing it wrong. BUT this might be acceptable to get brown rice to stick together for sushi. If you're just creating rolls with rice on the inside of the nori, it shouldnt be a problem. If you're putting rice on the outside or making maki, stickiness might be an issue even with the "glue". I have never used anything but rice wine/vinegar and a wee bit of sugar in my rice, so i have no idea how much you should use for proper stickiness.

OH MY GOODNESS! i have just had a wonderful idea! I hope! We'll find out soon enough!

[xxn0hopexx]

Just as a question from someone yearning to know about veganism, is it okay to eat Ramen noodles? I guess the question really is whether or not they use actual chickens or cows or the like in the ramen flavoring?

[Delalyra]

Sadly, ramen isn't vegetarian. I miss it.

[xxn0hopexx]

Sadly, ramen isn't vegetarian. I miss it.

Damn, that sucks. Ramen is basically my favorite food ever. Maybe going vegan isn't right for me...

[Delalyra]

According to google, the Top Ramen oriental brand is vegan! Failing that, make mock ramen yourself! Not as convenient, though.

[Kendo_Bunny]

Do you have any experience with puff pastry? I've never seen a recipe for that that didn't use butter folded between the dough, but I'd like to be able to make things with it for my vegan friends. I still don't have enough experience with it to deviate from the recipe, but would shortening work as the in-between layering to make delicious vegan puff pastry and croissant?

It probably won't be as light and flaky, honestly. Shortening tends to make things more crumbly, rather than flaky. You could definitely make awesome apple crumble using vegan shortening, but when I was in baking class, Chef told us that shortening just did not work as well for flaky thin layers as butter.

Here's my recipe for fabulous kabobs, modified for vegans (hoping that soy yogurt has the same tang as regular- I haven't tasted it in a long time)

2 cups plain soy yogurt
1 small onion- finely chopped
Dash lemon juice or rice vinegar
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp cinnamon (powdered, add a little freshly ground cinnamon after the mixture is done)
1 tbsp curry powder
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (or more, if you're very fond of garlic)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
Dash of sugar
Finely chopped fresh cilantro to taste or a few crumbled leaves of rosemary (I use the latter- I love rosemary and don't care for cilantro)


Mix until a rich golden color, then add cut vegetables of your choice- I've gotten the best results with yellow squash, mushrooms, and onions, though other people have suggested eggplant, bell peppers, and zuchini. Stir the veggies in until well-covered, refrigerate overnight. Spear veggie chunks on kabob sticks and grill, preferably over an open flame. It should smell tangy and spicy, but have a surprisingly subtle, layered flavor. Add salt and pepper after tasting- they can overpower easily.
For a full vegan Afghani meal, you can make yogurt salad dressing and serve with vegan pita.

Salad dressing: 1 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/4 cup soy yogurt
1 tsp dry mint
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt

The marinade actually tastes pretty good spooned onto the pita, especially if you add a few bits of kabob to make it more of a sandwich.

[Sprocket]

I have a hot chocolate querry. I am lactose intollerant and I LOVES me some hot chocolate...I guess cocoa, really. I make it with Drostes cocoa powder..is mah fav. Anyway, I can't find a good soy/rice etc. milk to make it with so I can enjoy it without suffering so much for it...any leads?

According to google, the Top Ramen oriental brand is vegan! Failing that, make mock ramen yourself! Not as convenient, though.

WHAT!? Last time I read the label there was chicken broth in there...it was a college guilty pleasure. Ramen usually just makes me sick anyway, digestion of the wonderbread of noodels does not agree with my colon.

I have a great raspberry chocolate vegan cake I gotta post if i can find the recipe.

[PictureSarah]

Silk brand vanilla soymilk is my personal favorite. Pretty tasty. I also like getting the little sixpack of boxes of vanilla Silk to bring with me to school as a "snack."

[Roland Lockheart]

Just as a question from someone yearning to know about veganism, is it okay to eat Ramen noodles? I guess the question really is whether or not they use actual chickens or cows or the like in the ramen flavoring?

I don't know about the noodles being vegan, but it'd certainly vegetarian with out the flavoring. I make it all the time.

I also find when doing vegetarian cooking that peppers of all varieties are your best friends for making something interesting.

[marshlight]

I'm pretty unfamiliar with vegan-y foods but I can recommend applesauce brownies and pumpkin oatmeal cookies as far as baked goods are concerned. Delicious.

[natraj]

For Sprocket, who shall hopefully get good Thanksgiving-y use out of this:

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp corn flour (technically, you aren't supposed to use corn /meal/, but actual corn /flour/, only corn flour is harder to find and sometimes more expensive; I always use corn meal so long as it's not /too/ coarse and it turns out fine.)
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Cayenne pepper (to taste; I use anywhere between 1/8 to 1/4 tsp depending on who I am making them for)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

(And for the topping: powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon. I don't really measure these. It only takes a couple teaspoons of each. More sugar, less cocoa, and cinnamon least.)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a muffin pan thing with those little cupcake-liney cups.
2. Whisk together the coconut milk and ground flaxseeds in a medium bowl; let this mixture sit untouched for 10 minutes while you get your dry ingredients together.
3. Sift together into a separate, larger bowl: all-purpose flour, corn flour, almond meal, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cayenne pepper.
4. Whisk the sugar, oil, vanilla, and almond extract into the coconut/flaxseed mix.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix till they're... uh, mixy.
6. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full of batter, bake for 22-25 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean!)
7. Transfer cupcakes to a sheet or wire rack or the counter or anywhere beside the muffin pan to let them cool.

8. For the topping, which is really for decoration more than anything else, sift powdered sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon onto the cupcakes. I like to do sugar first and use more of it than the others, then put a little less of the cocoa, and finally just a tiny bit of cinnamon in the very center, just cuz it looks prettiest that way, and I am really very obsessive about my cupcakes. Sometimes I even make paper cut-out stencils so the toppings get sifted in nice shapes.

[GyRo567]

Vegan cakes tend to be moister than other cakes. The crumbly, firm texture you find in a plain white or golden birthday cake, for example, strongly depends on eggs and butter to work.

I had that problem when I first bought Veganomicon, especially with the Almond-Quinoa muffins (my favorite because they've got so much protein for a muffin) which would frequently start decomposing into a heap of gagging, stench-filled, disgusting gunk by the second or third day.

The way I make them now helps them last almost a full week (they never last that long before I eat them anyway) and improves the taste.

Original ingredient list:
*vanilla soy milk (1 cup)
ground flaxseeds (1 tablespoon)
*canola oil (1/4 cup)
*agave nectar or pure maple syrup (1/4 cup)
vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon)
all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour (1 1/4 cups)
almond meal or almond flour (1/4 cup)
*baking powder (1 1/2 teaspoons)
salt (1/2 teaspoon)
ground cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
ground cardamom (1/2 teaspoon)
cooked quinoa (1 1/4 cups)
*finely chopped dried apricots or currants (1/2 cup)

*Substitutes:
-I use organic whole milk instead of soy milk (I'm vegetarian, not vegan), so I don't know if using soy milk holds it all together a bit better anyway. I should try it some day just to see.
-I tried substituting the canola oil with olive oil, but that just burned up in the oven. Now I use coconut oil, which is not only much tastier but also binds it together better. I think it's because Coconut oil solidifies at room temperature. Unfortunately, you have to heat up all the liquids while you make it to get around that, but it makes the final muffin so much better!
-Agave nectar is better. Take no substitutes. Maple syrup is great, but it does not compare.
-The recipe itself mentions baking soda as well as baking powder even though only one is on the ingredient list... I've only ever used baking powder, and it tastes fine.
-I don't like apricots at all, and they completely overpower the rest of the muffin to my sense of taste. Raisins are the best dried fruit to use in these muffins, and they come pre-diced just because grapes are small when they dry up.

Pre-heat to 350F, and get a muffin tin. (grease it up a little so things don't stick)

Sift the flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & cardamom together - all the dry stuff first is easier. It's patient while it waits for you, unlike the wet stuff in the other bowl.

Whisk the milk & flaxseeds; wait a minute; and whisk the coconut oil, agave nectar & vanilla extract into the wet stuff bowl. Pour this bowl into the dry bowl. Mix it up a little bit until you don't see dry stuff hanging out on the edges. (no more than that) Add the quinoa and raisins now, without crushing anything. Stir it enough to get it spread out & lose the major chunks. Don't over mix with your spoon here. (I don't know why since I've never ruined it with excessive stirring, but I was told to never over stir muffin mix...)

Then bake it about 25 minutes. Sometimes a little less, but usually it takes about 25 minutes for me. Poke it down to the bottom to check if it's done when it gets near the end. When it comes out, let it cool down before you take them down. I usually get the grid on top & flip the whole thing over, and they pop out upside down all on their own. Of course, I'm a terrible cook, but that's how it works for me. Don't forget to clean everything while you're waiting on the muffins in the oven. That stuff dries on, and it's a ***** to get off.

Nutrition facts for veggies & vegans:
Quinoa is a complete protein and contains roughly twice as much as most whole grain rices.
Quinoa has very high iron & calcium content for you!
Flaxseeds have Omega-3 (unfortunately the ALA variety, I think, but still), which really only leaves a B-12 gap in your standard nutritional gaps.

It's a super healthy snack, and it's very tasty. I sometimes have them for dessert or even as a light lunch on the go if you take enough of them with you.

[Saurus33]

I am necroposting in this thread because my diet at the moment consists almost solely of red meat, eggs and bread. This is not a good diet. Who knows how to cook in a vegetable-reliant manner? Vegans! Or so my thought process goes. Hopefully in the two years and four months since the thread was last posted in people have generated new content.

[Telchar]

There's a really good pasta recipe that's vegetarian but not vegan (I don't think...).

Heat olive oil, garlic, and shalots in a pan. Add mushrooms (button, crimini, and shitake if you can get them. Just a lot of button mushrooms if you can't) and a little bit of white wine. Once it evaporates most of the whine stir in mascarpone cheese to thicken and serve over pasta shells.

A lot of vegie recipes use mushrooms to give a savory or umami flavor.

[PAstrychef]

Do you enjoy vegetables? Which ones will you eat happily? Do you want to add grains to your diet as well as vegetables? Give us a hint and we can give you some ideas.

Edited tomadd this link,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeZlih4D ... ata_player
Which should be helpful!

[choginga]

I have actually worked as a vegan chef and I am great at hosting vegan dinner parties. I know too much stuff to start posting recipes off the top of my head but feel free to ask for specific things.

A few things I can make that may be of interest: Mayo, Ice cream, cakes, pies, bread, sauces, any curry you can imagine from all over south east asia, soups, dips and all kinds of middle eastern snacks. Moroccan is a specialty.

[poxic]

My biggest problem with diet is being vegetarian and also allergic to a lot of common plants. Carrots, celery, anything called a pepper, anything citrus or melon, and so forth.

So I'm mostly looking for new and different things to do with the cruciferous things. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and all the other slightly bitter-tasting stuff that usually gets chucked into soups and stir-fries. Do you know of anything more creative than that?

/seriously burned out on broccoli, even though I actually like it a lot. It's been a mainstay for years now. >.<

edit to add: assume that anything in "Cross reactions" here is off limits, though some of those I can actually have in moderation.

[choginga]

My biggest problem with diet is being vegetarian and also allergic to a lot of common plants. Carrots, celery, anything called a pepper, anything citrus or melon, and so forth.

So I'm mostly looking for new and different things to do with the cruciferous things. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and all the other slightly bitter-tasting stuff that usually gets chucked into soups and stir-fries. Do you know of anything more creative than that?

/seriously burned out on broccoli, even though I actually like it a lot. It's been a mainstay for years now. >.<

edit to add: assume that anything in "Cross reactions" here is off limits, though some of those I can actually have in moderation.

Does that mean you are OK with the whole cruciferous group? Are mustard, radish, bok choy and turnip ok? How about Alliums? And Legumes, beans, nuts?

[Amarantha]

Roasted cauliflower (with a little oil if you can eat that) is the most incredible thing evar. It goes all sweet and caramelised and rich and meaty and o.m.g... You can also make a stock from the leaves and stem-end, and simmer that right down to richness, and blend it with the roasted cauliflower to make a thick umami soup. Seriously, if you do it right you don't even need any other ingredients.

[PictureSarah]

Broccoli salads and slaw are pretty tasty items, and fairly fast to whip up. Tried those?

[poxic]

I'm pretty sure I'm good with the whole cruciferous gang. I'm not a big fan of radishes -- they will get eaten, but not joyfully.

I've had broccoli slaw before. It's unfortunate that any and all prepared or innabag versions around here are 1/3 carrots. Or landmined with raisins. It's kind of hard to work up the enthusiasm required to shred a respectable amount of broc stem by hand, so it's not something I usually consider.

Hmm, roasted cauliflower. That could probably be done in the toaster oven, too: break into smallish pieces, paint with olive oil, roast until browning, then munch and/or puree with other things. Roasting other things at the same time would add some variety. Bits of broccoli, turnip/rutabaga, maybe throw some kale on for the last ten minutes... whir around in a blender with some soy milk and garlic.

Hmm. I just might try this when I've worked my way through the current batch of veg in the fridge (mushrooms, leeks, marinated onions and olives, spinach, and bits of tomato and zuke for the allergy-challenging component. Makes a decent stir-fry, and a reasonably good omelet if I'm up to it).

Edit to add: mustard as a condiment is kind of okay, mostly because vinegar and other acidic things are also problematic. Small amounts are OK if I like something enough to put up with the side effects.

[Bakemaster]

I'm not a big fan of radishes -- they will get eaten, but not joyfully.

Have you tried them with salt, lime juice, and/or hot sauce? Have you tried daikon?