Happy fête de la Chandeleur! Let’s get crazy and eat crêpes!
While some of you are “celebrating” Groundhog Day, here in France it’s one of my favourite little holidays of all – la fête de la Chandeleur, and we get to eat crêpes! I wrote a lovely explination of this holdiay last year, and let me tell you, it is the most popular post on this blog. I can’t begin to tell you how many English language “Chandeleur” searches lead folks to me. There is also my tried & true vegan crêpe recipe on that post, which is also quite popular this time of year. So go read up on Catholic propaganda and crêpes – what fun!
But what about Sunday dinner?
Sweet & Sour Tofu
One of my favourite “treats” as a child was going out for Chinese food. Now grant you, there was only one Chinese restaurant near-by (and near-by being a rather subjective distance), and it was only on very special occasions that my parents piled us all into the mini-van for some Chinese cuisine. Now a mum myself, I can only discern virtual Congressional Medals of Honor for the courage and heroism (and insanity?) my parents displayed bringing us all out to eat in public, in a restaurant. All six of us.
My absolute favourite thing as a kid was the Sweet & Sour Chicken balls. The sticky-sweet red sauce clinging to the deep-fried, breaded balls – which really should have been called Sweet & Sour breading balls with a tiny piece of chicken in them, seriously – and the sticky white rice painted pink after a proper slathering in the sweet & sour sauce…it was like dessert, but for dinner.
I haven’t had the sweet & sour goodness in so long it is crazy, since at least 1990 when I went veg, but probably before. This is a test recipe for 500 Vegan Recipes, and I feel like I need to have a second child and name her Joni in order to properly thank her for this recipe it is so damn good. If you ever enjoyed food-court-style take out in your pre-vegan days and miss that wonderful, terrible sticky red sauce, you are going to love this recipe.
Asian-Style Veg and Sweet & Sour Tofu
I’m a little embarrassed, but I’ll admit it. I made this twice in three days I love it so much. There. I said it. Please don’t totally lose respect for me.
I don’t know what I’m going to do when Joni & Celine are done testing their recipes for their upcoming cookbook 500 Vegan Recipes. What will I make? Seriously, I love this because I just consult what needs to be tested and I have my menu for the week! Don’t forget the Flickr group for more food p*orn love.
Musings From The Fishbowl 
Ah, yes, the yummy food court foods! You described them perfectly. If this recipe is really really sticky but not too too sweet, I can think of a whole lot of people who are going to be very happy. All these new cookbooks are going to be amazing.
When is la fête de la Chandeleur exactly? Must visit France as I love crepes.
Oh wow! That looks awesome! And delish! The way you described it made my mouth water! Yum yum!
mmm the sweet & sour tofu looks so good, definitely worth making twice in three days 😉 And dare I say I’ve never had crepes?! Not even in my non-vegan days. I must give them a try.
Oh my, Shelly, you totally crack me up. How do you manage to make me laugh plus absolutely want to eat the dish you’re blogging all at once?
On a trip to NYC several years back we discovered a restaurant called Zen Palate and they had a menu full of things I had not had since before going veg – deep fried battered balls of goodness smothered in delicious sauces. I am not ashamed to admit that we went to that place three times during a five day visit (I like what I like – what can I say?). This sweet and sour tofu looks like it would be right at home on that menu!
Can we eat the sticky red sauced tofu wrapped in crepes? I can’t stop thinking about how good that would be. Am I the only one? It all looks really good and I think I’m too hungry and need to get started on dinner.
I used to love those bread balls in sauce (with the dot of chicken the middle) too! This looks sooo authentic! And of course crepes are always nice, too. . . 🙂
Mmm…la cuisine chinoise fait chez toi…c’est bien mieux qu’au resto. Je voudrais etre “tester” pour Celine et Joni! 😉
Dearest Shel I love your posts !!! I ‘ll have to try you vegan sweet and sour if you say so !!! lots of love
Hey Shelly, I just wanted to drop a line and tell you how much I’ve been enjoying reading your posts and great recipes. We’ve been looking for a good galette recipe, and the one you posted last year looks like a winner. (We’ve had a couple of not so good ones lately; I’m thinking it was technique that led to the error.)
As for Chinese food recipes… have any thing with Kung Pao and bean curd? Still one of the veg dishes I truly enjoy from time to time. TTFN.
I’ll take crepes over groundhogs any day! And that tofu looks amazing…I could use some “food court” food right now!
that sweet and sour tofu looks freaking amazing. I used to like the chicken balls too. Ergh that sounds really gross when I read it back!! hahahaha
I do love me some crêpes! And you’re the best tester Celine and Joni could get!
A day fully devoted to celebrating Crepes? That sounds wonderful! (And much more exciting than Groundhog Day). Can you believe I have never had a crepe? I imagine it is similar to a pancake??