Savoury Baked Tofu

Ever wonder why the tofu you toss into your stir-fry at home never has the flavour and crispiness of restaurant tofu? I did, too, until I came across this recipe for baked tofu in the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant cookbook.* This recipe is very easy and reheats well. It also takes precisely as long to cook as does brown rice. Coincidence? I think not.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp dark sesame oil
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp mirin, sake or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp rice or cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 tbsp finely minced onion
• 1 tsp grated ginger root
• 3 tbsp water
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp chili paste
• 1 package of extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/4″ cubes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease the inside of a 9 x 9″ oven-safe dish.
2. Combine all the ingredients except for the tofu in a medium sized bowl and briefly whisk.
3. Add the tofu and stir to coat.
4. Dump the whole kit and kaboodle into the oven-safe dish and spread evenly.
5. Bake for 45 minutes. (You can turn the tofu partway through cooking if you like, though I confess I’m too lazy to bother.)
6. Eat.

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*Note: The cookbook actually provides a few variations on baked tofu, all of which are tasty. Also, as I suspect you’ve guessed, the above recipe is my paraphrasing of the original.

 

Heather’s Hasty Chili

Ingredients:

• some oil
• 1 sweet (or vidalia or red or whatever) onion chopped
• 2 28oz cans of diced tomatos
• 1 or 2 jars of spicy tomato sauce
• 1 can of tomato paste
• some TVP or a package of Yves’ Ground Round
• some molasses (maybe 2 or 3 tbsp)
• some veggie Worcestershire sauce
• some ground coriander
• chopped carrots
• chopped celery
• chopped mushrooms (or dried mushrooms)
• ½ can of pinto beans, rinsed well for pity’s sake
• ½ can of kidney beans, rinsed well
• some chili powder
• some chili paste

Directions:

1. Sauté onion in a thick-bottomed 6L soup pot.
2. Toss in tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, TVP, molasses, worcestershire sauce, coriander, carrots, celery, mushrooms, beans, chili powder, and chili paste.
3. Stir, add more of any of the ingredients you wish to achieve the consistency, taste and aroma you like best.
4. Cook over low-medium heat until the vegetables are as cooked as you like.
5. Eat.

You can keep this chili on a low simmer for as long as you wish if it’s more convenient to make the chili in advance. It also freezes well.

Serves an army.

 

Fried Tofu with Green Beans (Dau Khuon Xao Dau)

Rather than deep fry the tofu, I decided to bake it. First I marinated the cubed tofu overnight in a shitake mushroom stock. After draining the stock, I tossed the tofu in a greased 9 x 9 baking dish,  then poured a mixture of 10 tbsp mushroom stock, 4 tbsp soy sauce and 4 tbsp dry white wine over it before baking at 350ºF for 45 minutes. Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 350 g (12 oz) package of firm tofu
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (plus enough to deep fry your tofu if you choose to go that route)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (plus a couple of tbsp for the tofu if you opt to bake your tofu)
• 1¼ cup dry white wine (plus a couple more tbsp if you’re baking the tofu)
• 1½ cups, thinly sliced bamboo shoots
• ½ pound green beans, trimmed
• 1 small red chile, thinly sliced
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat enough oil to cover tofu over medium-high head until hot. Add the tofu cubes and cook until crisp on all sides, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. (Or bake the tofu as described above.)
2. In the same skillet, head 1 tbsp oil over high heat until hot. Cook the onion for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook 1 minute. Stir in the sugar, soy sauce, wine, and ¼ cup of water.
3. Bring to a boil and add the bamboo shoots, green beans, chile, black pepper, and prepared tofu. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until the green beans are tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Serve with rice.

Makes 4 main-course servings.

From Simple Art of Vietnamese Cooking