Hey folks! Apologies for it being more than a week between Daisy Posts.. between work and beloved friends visiting from afar, I haven't had the time to blob out with the ol' laptop and conjure up a post! Until now, that is... it's a sick day for this little blogger, and what better time to post another healthy-food article than when you really need some?
A few posts ago, I mentioned that if someone wants to try eating less meat, a variety of protein substitutes are available. Well, one of them just so happens to be... *drum roll*... TOFU! Surprised? Didn't think so. Grossed out? Maybe. A lot of people take one look at a fresh, white, squishy block of tofu, and think "Uh, how can that be a meat substitute? It doesn't even look like food!" I tried to get into tofu years ago, and back then, couldn't quite make it. Mind you, I wasn't really trying very hard. I'd read that tofu takes on the taste of whatever you marinate it in, or cook it with - just like chicken does. So, I'd take a million slices of tofu, dunk them in soy sauce (and soy sauce alone), throw them in the oven, and then hope for the best.. but they'd come out tasting like one big soy accident. So I'd feel bad for it, crumble it into something where it'd be unidentifiable (sauce) and lament for my inability to make tofu edible. Le sigh.
Howevah...
Just recently, I'd been noticing friendly ol' tofu sitting on the shelves of every grocery store I went. Sitting there... beckoning to me... it had an irresistible pull for some reason. Something deep down in the part of my brain that makes me want to eat certain things was craving it... as sad and failure-ridden my past experience had been with it. So I tried it again.. but this time, with more effort. I thought about how tofu and raw chicken have so much in common.. they're both pale, squishy, unappetizing and near-tasteless unless you cook it right. I was encouraged, and tried a new recipe every week, until I found a group of ingredients that I thought really suited it. I like tofu baked also, but there's something about fried tofu that just tastes like a million bucks. I never thought I'd be successful enough with tof' to get to this point, but I can safely say that I now consider tofu... a treat! I crammed all my favorite additives into one, and would now like to present to you...
JENNIE'S FAVORITE TOFU RECIPE!
I have pictures of this particular recipe as well... I'll see if Blogger lets me publish them or sends me into an oblivion of download errors instead. [Note: Blogger let me publish the photos but they showed up at the top of the post for some reason. Oh wells!] It's tasty, somewhat spicy, and has a meaty texture. I added it to a stir-fry recipe that I'll note at the end!
What you need:
- One big classic block of extra-firm tofu
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or mashed
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- A tablespoon or two of sesame oil
- A drizzle of maple syrup
- Chinese chili garlic sauce (I love the Lee Kum Kee kind), a teaspoon or tablespoon (or more) depending on how much heat you like
- Olive oil
- A few green onions, diced
What you do:
1. Cut up the tofu into smallish cubes. Stir-fry sized cubes.
2. Turn the stove element up to medium heat. Add enough olive oil to cover most of the bottom of a largeish frying pan. Add the minced garlic and the onions, and cook til it smells really nice.. a few minutes or so.
3. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil and chili garlic paste in a bowl while the garlic cooks.
4. Add the chopped tofu, and the bowl contents all in one big good-smelling go. Mix it all together, and then drizzle the maple syrup over top.
5. Now, we cook it. And cook it. And cook it some more. Keep stirring, and don't let anything get stuck to the bottom, or you'll lose the crispy coating that'll form! To get it crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, I had to keep frying it for a lot longer than I thought I would. Wait until all the sides of the tofu cubes are browned. Do some taste tests too! When it's nearing completion, snack a few, and if you want to add more of a particular ingredient, go for it. I tend to add a lot of that garlic chili sauce, or throw in a bit of curry paste!! The sesame oil adds something really tasty to it too.
Voila! There are two ways that I like to eat this kind of tofu.
1. The Simple Way. I tumble some into a dainty Chinese bowl and dip it in plum sauce. It's out of control.
2. In A Stir Fry! I kept the same pan going, but threw in broccoli, red pepper strips, lots of mushrooms, (zucchini and eggplant work well too) and some of those really big soft squishy Japanese noodles (precooked), a bit more oil, a dash of water, and some more seasoning, and cooked the whole thing into an incredible stir fry that almost made me die of food-joy.
Finally. Tofu tasted like FOOD! Like, really GOOD food! Food that I wanted to have all the time. A lot of protein-rich food is gross in its unprepared form. We don't let that deter us from enjoying meats, beans and lentils.. tofu's no different. It just needs some attention to make it delicious.
Got some amazing tofu recipes?? Send them to me, or post them under comments! There are so many out there! Stay tuned for the next 'Daisy post... if you enjoy any sort of cleanliness in the home at all, you may be interested. Hearts!
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