Basic Sauteed Tofu.muse

   1 Just a basic recipe for moderately spicy sauteed tofu, quick and easy
   2 and not too unhealthy. Goes well with steamed broccoli and rice.
   3
   4 I don't press the tofu as I find when it does it absorbs too much of
   5 the marinade and the inside of the cubes just become vaguely vinegary.
   6
   7 * Ingredients
   8
   9  - 14oz (397g) Firm Tofu
  10  - Oil for sauteeing. Recommend a few tbsp of plain sesame oil with a
  11    small amount of toasted sesame oil added near the end.
  12
  13 ** Marinade
  14
  15  - 1/2 cup water
  16  - 2.5 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  17  - 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  18  - 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  19    - Try to find some with no added sugar (hard
  20      nowadays!). [[http://www.alwadi-alakhdar.com/products/molasses/natural-pomegranate-molasses/][Al Wadi pomegranate molasses]] is available on Amazon
  21      (Bezos wins this round...) if your local market doesn't have any
  22      pure pomegranate molasses.
  23  - 4 cloves garlic, minced
  24  - 1/2 tbsp onion powder
  25  - 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
  26  - 1 small serrano or habanero pepper, minced
  27  - 2 tsp corn starch
  28
  29 ** Sauteed Vegetables
  30
  31 Can really be anything, sautee separately for a few minutes. I like:
  32
  33  - 1 Sweet bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange)
  34  - 1 bunch green onions
  35  - Baby Corn
  36  - Snap peas
  37  - 1/2 medium white onion (cut into 1/2 inch thick slices parallel
  38    with rings, then cut each slice in half)
  39  - 1 tbsp chili paste
  40
  41 ** Rice
  42
  43  - 1 cup rice
  44  - 2 whole cloves garlic
  45  - 1/4 tsp tumeric
  46  - 1 tsp paprika
  47  - 1 tsp olive oil
  48
  49 Cook rice on side, using whatever rice you like. Remove garlic before
  50 serving.
  51
  52 * Directions
  53
  54  1. Drain tofu and cut tofu into cubes of desired size (1/2 inch suggested)
  55  1. Combine marinade ingredients except for corn starch and freshly minced garlic
  56  1. Cover tofu with marinade, marinate for ~30 minutes, refrigerated
  57  1. Strain tofu, retain marinade!
  58  1. Prepare cornstarch by dissolving in a few tbsp of water
  59  1. Mix retained marinade, cornstarch, and minced garlic well
  60  1. Preheat pan over medium-high heat
  61  1. Add oil and sautee tofu for ~12 minutes, tossing every three or
  62     four minutes
  63  1. Lower heat to medium, add sauce, and simmer until sauce
  64     thickens (~8 minutes).
  65
  66 * TODO
  67
  68 bird's eye peppers instead of serrano/habanero
  69
  70 pressing tofu seems to have made it worse; outside of tofu isn't as
  71 "chewy" and inside just tasted like marinade and was a bit chewier
  72 than I wanted. Skip.
  73
  74 In the batch where the tofu was pressed (and I first increased the
  75 cornstarch), the sauce thickened in under four minutes and scorched a
  76 bit from the heat. Sauce did not thicken quickly in next batch (did
  77 not press tofu) -- it looks like pressing the tofu caused the tofu to
  78 absorb more of the marinade so there was less sauce.