Green in Tempe is fast becoming one of my regular restaurant stops here in my new home of Arizona. Pal @halfacat turned me onto the place as he practically lives at Green.
Finding tasty vegan Asian dishes is quite challenging. I realize too that it doesn't help either that I have a very high bar. Even in the Bay Area, where it's practically vegan mecca, finding good vegan Asian is an adventure. So, when I tried these two dishes at Green I was excited.
First up is the Thai Peanut which comes with spicy peanut sauce, sauteed veggies, and crispy tofu on top of brown rice. You have options to get mock chicken, mock beef, fresh tofu, and pan fried noodles instead of rice. I dig crispy tofu so that tends to be my default. With the mock meats in Asian dishes, I'm on the fence because again I grew up with some awesome Asian cooking and the experience is just not even close compared to real meats. But, I'm willing to be open, and I've had some really awesome mock meats, just not that often.
Here we have the Apricot Miso which comes with pureed apricots, spicy sambal, rice wine vinegar, and sauteed veggies with mock beef on top of brown rice. Like the Thai Peanut you have the option to get mock chicken, crispy tofu, fresh tofu, and pan fried noodles instead of rice. I really enjoyed the creativity of combining the sweet of the apricots with the sambal. I've never tasted that before, and was happily surprised. Dontcha dig when that happens?
Both these dishes are under $8 and that is an awesome deal for these eats. If you stop by Green, you just might see me there!
Note: Pics taken with an iPhone 3GS
