Monbento Original #27 (Double Tier)

A salad of lettuce, sweet red pepper, carrot matchsticks, and sesame seeds with a quick tahini dressing; Chef Jana's gluten-free, tofu-free vegan beef filets with onion sauce; and rice.

As much as I love my usual salad dressings, I wanted something different this time around. The tahini dressing went so well with this meal! I based it on a recipe I had for a Japanese salad dressing made from sesame seed powder, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds. It is obviously not the same thing but I really liked it and will have it again happily. (And next time I'll measure things so I can give you a recipe.)

These vegan beef filets, a take on a popular Brazilian dish (bife acebolado (pan fried steak with onions)), are made mostly from kidney beans, potatoes, and cornstarch. You won't be fooled into thinking they are something other than beans. But they were still really good! I kept sneaking spoonfuls of the batter before I fried them up. One thing I will say that was confusing about the recipe was whether to add water or how much to add or when. I ended up adding some because it was so thick and hard to blend even in my high speed blender but in spite of that that my batter was much thicker than Jana's. Next time I may add a bit more water.

I followed Jana's advice to serve them with salad and rice. It was a satisfying meal. It was also gluten-free, for those of you who want some more options for that.