see.tofu.part.2

Yes... it is another blog posting about Tofu.
We eat a good amount of it around here. Recently, I was talking to a beginner vegetarian friend about all the delicious things you can do with this somewhat mysterious product.
So instead of rambling on and on I'm just going to show you one of our favorite and easy tofu dinners.
Tofu Stir-fry.

When I buy Tofu it looks like this.
For tofu stir fry, I take it out of the package (the day before), toss it into a tupperware, and stick it into the freezer for about 24 hours.
Freezing and then thawing tofu changes the texture... I'm not sure why... it just does.
Take the tofu out of the freezer, let it thaw or run warm water over it.
Press with paper towels to get ALL the water out and chop!

Not so scary huh?

My 2 favorite things about tofu:
1. it is the ultimate mimic... it can be sweet ("soft" tofu is very good in smoothies) or savory or spicy and always yum!
2. unlike meat... I NEVER worry about contaminating anything... I can cut fresh veggies on the same cutting board with the same knife without the fuss of worrying about germs.

I like to coat the tofu cubes in a mixture of flour, corn meal, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, ginger powder... pretty much anything I have in the kitchen.

Once they are all coated, I heat up some oil and pan fry until golden brown and crunchy.
When the tofu is ready (remember brown and crunchy), remove from the hot pan, set aside and stir fry up the veggies.

One of my personal favorites... bok choy.

And never throw away broccoli stems! You can eat them!! Just slice off the hard exterior... you can think of this as skin and chop up! They are good and you get a lot more out of your broccoli bunch.
Once your veggies are nice and hot, add the tofu back into the mix and finally add the stir-fry sauce of your choice.
My favorite stir-fry sauce: 3-4 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar, dash of toasted sesame seed oil, 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon corn starch and fresh minced ginger and/or garlic.

Enjoy!!