Baked Thai-Style Tofu

Sometimes I make a recipe, really enjoy it but don't make it for years.  This recipe is one such favorite.  I first made it years ago living uptown with three other roommates.  I can distinctly recall being impressed by the tangy, nutty flavor and the sweetness of the roasted peppers but yet years passed before I made the recipe again.  I made it again recently, and was again appreciative of the simplicity of the recipe in contrast with the freshness of the end result.  Trust me, the picture above doesn't do the dish justice!  

I find this recipe to be flexible.  With bigger pieces cooked longer, the recipe makes a delicious sandwich stuffer.  With the tofu cut smaller (as depicted above)  it makes a nice side dish or component of an Asian meal.  We rushed this particular batch - the tofu could have done with a little more pressing and the tofu could have baked longer.  Still, even though quickly prepared, the dish was delicious and one that will be repeated again before more years pass.  

Baked Thai-Style Tofu

Jeanne Lemlin

Serves 3

This method of baking marinated tofu gives it a crispy coating and intensifies all the flavors in the "sauce".  You'll also love the ease with which this dish can be put together.  A side portion of rice,  or plain couscous is the best accompaniment.  Don't hesitate to serve this dynamic tofu dish cold; it would make a great lunch to take to work.

The Marinade:

2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 teaspoons minced gingerroot

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubes and patted very dry

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips, 1/4 inch by 2 inches

The Sauce

1 tablespoon natural-style peanut butter

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 scallion very thinly sliced

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh basil, or 1/4 tsp dried

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint, or 1/2 tsp dried

1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the tofu and red pepper to coat them evenly with the marinade.  Let sit 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to 8 hours chilled.  Toss occasionally. 

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the tofu mixture and any remaining marinade in a large shallow baking dish so that the tofu rests in one layer.  Bake 15 minutes, tossing once with a spatula after about 7 minutes.

3. Meanwhile make the sauce by stirring all its ingredients together with a fork.  Remove the tofu from the oven. Spoon on the sauce, then, using a spatula toss the ingredients together until everything is well coated.  Return the dish to the oven and bake undisturbed for 10 minutes.  Let the tofu sit for at least 10 minutes before serving for it is better when warm, and not piping hot.  

Sesame Brown Rice Salad with Shredded Chicken and Peanuts - Cooking Light June 2007

Yes. I am still vegetarian. Yes, I know that the title of this post contains a salad made with chicken. I approached this recipe with a plan, and it was a success. Stay with me.

One of the best skills a vegetarian can acquire is learning how to adapt a recipe. In the beginning, one sees a recipe calling for chicken, beef or some other meat and tosses it aside thinking that it simply cannot be made. Eventually, one learns to be creative. I looked at this recipe in this month's Cooking Light and thought that it would be delicious made with my favorite tofu recipe. And it was. It was delicious, and even M. the non-vegetarian praised the final dish. As previously discussed, he's quite fond of the vegetarian cooking despite being a decided omnivore. But only rarely does a dish make him stop and say with frank appreciation, "This is GOOD!". This salad achieved that lofty status.

And so it is with pride that I offer my recipe for Sesame Brown Rice Salad with Sweet Ginger Tofu and Peanuts. Take it, share it and enjoy!


Sesame Brown Rice Salad with Shredded Chicken and Peanuts
Cooking Light, June 2007

1 cup long-grain brown rice
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced

RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS
Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Transfer rice to a large bowl; fluff with a fork. Cool. Add chicken, carrot, onions, 2 tablespoons peanuts, 2 teaspoons cilantro, and salt to rice; toss to combine.

Combine juice and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle oil mixture over rice mixture; toss to combine. Place 1 1/2 cups salad on each of 4 plates. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons remaining peanuts and 1/4 teaspoon remaining cilantro.

CALORIES 393 (30% from fat); FAT 13.3g (sat 2g,mono 6.3g,poly 4g); PROTEIN 27.8g; CHOLESTEROL 60mg; CALCIUM 44mg; SODIUM 424mg; FIBER 4g; IRON 1.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.2g

Sweet Ginger Tofu

The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen - Peter Berley

Yield: 4 to 6 servings (I don't think we've ever gotten six servings out of this delicious tofu!)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 Tbs minced gingerroot
2 Tbs light sesame oil -- (note: I only use 1 Tbs)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pound firm tofu -- rinsed, patted dry, and sliced 1/2 inch thick

Preheat the oven to 350F In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, honey, ginger, oil, and garlic. Lay the tofu slices in a baking dish that can hold them in a single snug layer. Pour the marinade over the tofu. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the tofu is nearly dry and well browned. Serve hot or cold.

Tofu Salad - My Way

With those yummy pickles residing in the fridge, I wanted to find a way to begin using them (while I can still get kirby cucumbers to make another batch). I really felt like egg salad (a craving I get about once a year), but we only had one egg since I dropped the other last night. Egg on the floor - awesome! Oh the dilemma.

Since eggs were out of the question, I began to contemplate alternatives. Luckily, I had a pound of lite tofu lurking in the back of the fridge. I decided to come up with my own variation of Tofu Salad. Now, there are two types of texture to tofu salad. There's the kind of tofu salad which resembles egg salad, and the tofu is mashed with the other ingredients. My recipe is not that kind of salad. I prefer dicing the tofu into small cubes, sauteeing them with a quick dash of cooking spray to cook off the water, and then mixing the browned cubes with the other ingredients. That's just my personal preference, but feel free to take the recipe in any direction you like.


Tofu Salad
Serves 3-4 (depending on how much you like to pack into your sandwich)

Ingredients
1 pound lite (or regular) tofu, drained and cubed into 1/4 inch squares)
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4-1/2 cup diced pickles (or relish)
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper to taste

Spray a nonstick frying pan with cooking spray, and turn on burner to medium-high heat. Add tofu, and stir. Cook tofu (stirring frequently) for about ten minutes, or until cubes begin to brown and turn golden. Turn off heat.

While tofu cooks, prepare other ingredients. Dice pickles (or add relish), and place in mixing bowl. Add mustard, salt and pepper, and mayonnaise. Add tofu cubes when finished cooking. Stir thoroughly to make sure ingredients are fully combined.

Add tofu salad to a sandwich, or a salad. Use as you would use egg salad. Enjoy.

It is so hot in NYC ....

... the only good thing about it is that for the first time, I'm not teaching summer camp! Several summers ago, New York City had a similar heat wave to the one we're suffering now, but I was teaching at an outdoors camp from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm. That was misery. I feel for all those who are not as privileged as I, and who are working (especially outdoors) through this stinking heat. I just checked weather.com, and it says the temperature in my area of Brooklyn is 91 degrees. But because of the heat index, it feels like 100. It's almost 9 pm at night folks! That's hot.

Anyways, I soldiered on and actually cooked this evening (thank goodness for air conditioning). I didn't do a CSA post this week (much to M.'s disappointment), but I can't resist sharing this picture of a beautiful bunch of rainbow chard. It came in our CSA share, and I felt like a child at Christmas. For some reason, even though M. and I are big fans of swiss chard, I've never gotten rainbow. And its just so pretty! Hope you all enjoy the peek into our neighborhood behind the chard. We have one ledge in our apartment that provides the best natural light, so we keep using it for pictures. That's apartment living in downtown Brooklyn for you!

So, the rainbow chard was the featured ingredient of this evening's meal. I surfed Cooking Light's website, and found a recipe for Tofu and Swiss Chard Stacks. It seemed pretty straightforward, so I decided to give it a try. I served the Tofu and Swiss Chard Stacks with a little leftover chard, a scoop of brown rice from a pouch of Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, a variation on my Mirin-Soy Glazed Green Beans and some frozen dumplings. I did make a couple of changes to the Tofu and Swiss Chard Stacks, namely increasing the yield from two servings to three by slicing the tofu into 6 slices, not 4. I also subbed cremini mushrooms for the shitaake mushrooms because I really don't care for the taste of shitaakes (no matter how many times I try them). And while entering the recipe, I realized I totally forgot the sesame seeds! Oh well.

Overall, I enjoyed this dish. I wanted a different swiss chard presentation, since I always do the same thing with it. Typically I just sautee the chard until wilted with garlic, salt/pepper and lemon juice. While that's very tasty, I wanted something slightly different. This recipe added an Asian element to the dish with the marinated tofu and the addition of soy sauce to the greens just before serving. Would I make it again - maybe. There were many other swiss chard recipes that appealed to me when I used the Cooking Light website search engine, I'd probably dive into some of those before repeating this one. But it was pretty quick and easy, and come September it would definitely be something I'd make after a long day at school.


Tofu and Swiss Chard Stacks

Cooking Light's notes- Marinated, broiled tofu and a spicy chard mixture are layered for free-form individual lasagnas. Use water-packed tofu; its firm texture holds up well. Serve with fried rice that's been tossed with steamed edamame.

My notes - This recipe was said to serve 2. I cut the tofu into six pieces (instead of four) and we'll get three meals out of it easily. I subbed baby portabello mushrooms for shitaake, because I don't care for the taste of shitaake mushrooms. And I totally forgot the sesame seeds!

Tofu:
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 (12.3-ounce) package water-packed reduced-fat firm tofu, drained
Cooking spray

Greens:
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups thinly sliced Swiss chard
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

To prepare tofu, combine the first 4 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Cut tofu lengthwise into 4 equal slices. Carefully place tofu in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Pour the soy sauce mixture over tofu. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes, carefully turning once.

Preheat broiler.

Remove tofu from dish; discard marinade. Place tofu on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 10 minutes on each side or until tofu is lightly browned.

To prepare greens, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, ginger, pepper, and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add chard and sesame seeds; cook 3 minutes or until chard wilts, stirring frequently. Stir in 2 teaspoons soy sauce.

Place 1/4 cup chard mixture on each of 2 plates; top each serving with 1 tofu slice. Repeat layers with remaining chard and tofu.

Yield: 2 servings

CALORIES 155(29% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 0.4g,mono 1.2g,poly 2.8g); PROTEIN 13.8g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 130mg; SODIUM 754mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 3.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12.4g

Technorati Tags: vegan, vegetarian, Cooking Light, swiss chard, tofu

A use-up yet surprisingly coordinated meal.

I am a notorious hoarder of purchased food items. Some people hate grocery shopping. I love it, and have this strange compulsion to buy things without checking first to see if I already have the item in our already bursting pantry/fridge/freezer. I've learned to plan menus (and shop accordingly) so as to minimize the storage of items like three kinds of lentils, two kinds of bread crumbs, ten cans of beans etc.

But, I view this trait as a good thing, as it is a very rare night that I cannot go to our pantry and concoct a meal. Now, that's not to say that I won't pretend otherwise when I'm wanting to order takeout or go out to eat, but the fact remains that we could eat well for several weeks without stepping foot into a grocery store. That's evolutionary progress right in our own kitchen!

Tonight's meal was using up various odds and ends that needed to be cooked before they went bad. Like, the green beans I bought at the market last Tuesday. And the bok choy I bought to make M. something brothy (as he requested in the comment section of Tales from the Farmer's Market, Part 1). But, most importantly, my hoarding tendencies came into play because I was able to decide to make a favorite tofu preparation, have all the ingredients and be ready to make the recipe within minutes. I had the tofu, and the sauce fixings, and no trip to the grocery store was necessary.

This is one of my all-time favorite tofu preparations. It is even better when allowed to marinate for a few hours before baking. I didn't have time for that today, but it does make an already great recipe even better. It is great alone, or topping noodles with a simple veggie stir-fry. It would be a great recipe to try on alleged tofu-haters...

Sweet Ginger Tofu

The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen - Peter Berley

Yield: 4 to 6 servings (I don't think we've ever gotten six servings out of this delicious tofu!)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 Tbs minced gingerroot
2 Tbs light sesame oil -- (note: I only use 1 Tbs)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pound firm tofu -- rinsed, patted dry, and sliced 1/2 inch thick

Preheat the oven to 350F In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, honey, ginger, oil, and garlic. Lay the tofu slices in a baking dish that can hold them in a single snug layer. Pour the marinade over the tofu. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the tofu is nearly dry and well browned. Serve hot or cold.

I also made the braised bok choy with garlic scapes recipe featured on Pie in the Sky
. Thanks again to Caroline who posted a reminder about this recipe on my Tales from the Farmer's Market post - it was delicious.

Braised Bok Choy with Garlic Scapes

Courtesy of Kate at A Pie in the Sky

INGREDIENTS
2 heads bok choy, sliced in half lengthwise and washed
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic scapes, diced
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Pinch of cracked red pepper
Salt to taste
Toasted sesame seeds (available in Chinese markets and many supermarkets) I omitted these.

DIRECTIONS Melt butter in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add scapes and stir-fry to soften, about 1 minute. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Arrange bok choy in pan and cover, simmering for about five minutes or until tender.

Transfer bok choy to serving dish and cover to keep warm. Bring remaining broth and scapes to a boil and reduce to 1/2 cup or less. Stir in sesame oil and pepper; salt to taste. Pour over bok choy and sprinkle with sesame seeds; serve hot.
Serves 2.

And lastly, I created my own green bean recipe this evening that turned out to be surprisingly tasty. But unfortunately, I didn't really take many measurements. But to the best of my memory, here goes ...

Mirin-Soy Glazed Green Beans

2 cups of green beans
2-3 cloves of chopped garlic
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons of mirin
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Sprinkle of hot pepper flakes
1 tsp sesame oil
salt/pepper to taste

Wash and trim the green beans, discarding stems. Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, turn on heat to High and add green beans. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add vegetable stock and turn down to medium. Cook green beans for approximately 2 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add mirin, soy, hot pepper, sesame oil, salt and black pepper and stir. Adjust heat to medium high, and reduce sauce with frequent stirring of the beans. When most of the sauce has reduced, and green beans are tender (even wilted) and coated with glaze (to taste) then remove from heat and serve.

This was the whole meal, but you can see the beans in the upper left hand corner. I didn't think they warranted their own picture, until I tasted them.










All this cooking wore poor Helios out! Hang in there little man, the kitchen is closed for today.

Technorati Tags: tofu, bok choy, garlic scapes, Asian, vegan