Ma Po Tofu

This is Cooking Light's version of a fiery hot Chinese dish made with tofu and a little ground beef.

This was the perfect meal to make on the night that I workout in the evening, because I was able to prep everything before I left, including starting the rice cooker and getting the tofu under a heavy skillet to start pressing out the water. Then when I returned, dinner came together in minutes. Well, more than a few minutes, but you get my point. In no time at all I was in my pjs, curled up on the couch with my plate and a glass of wine, watching Arrested Development. That's right folks, that right there was a glimpse into my wild and crazy life.

Ma Po Tofu
adapted from Cooking Light - April 2010
serves 4 (1/2 cup rice, 3/4 cup tofu mixture per serving)

Notes: I pressed my tofu for 1 hour rather than 30 minutes because it worked out better for me time-wise, and it seemed to make no difference. Also, I had some shredded carrots that I wanted to use up, so I added a handful of those along with the garlic and ginger. Ground pork or turkey could also be used instead of ground beef.

1 (14 ounce) package firm water-packed tofu, drained
1-2 tablespoons Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong), depending on how hot you want it
1 1/2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tablespoon black bean garlic sauce (Sun Luck is the brand we used this time, but we've also used Lee Kum Kee)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce (regular or less-sodium)
1 tablespoon chili oil
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 ounces ground sirloin
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
Handful shredded carrots (optional)
2 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Place the tofu onto a plate lined with paper towels. Cover the tofu with a couple more paper towels, then put a heavy skillet right on top of the tofu and let stand for 30 minutes. Discard towels and chop tofu into 1-inch cubes.

In a small bowl, combine the Sriracha, mirin, black bean sauce, and sugar.

In another bowl (or a measuring cup) combine the broth, corn starch, soy sauce, and chili oil. Stir until smooth.

In a large nonstick skillet, add the canola oil and heat over medium-high heat. When hot, add the ground beef and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and ginger (and shredded carrots, if using), stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add the Sriracha mixture and cook for another minute, stirring occasionally. Add the broth mixture and bring to a boil. After about 1 minute, add the tofu and stir to combine. Allow the tofu to heat through for a minute or two.

Serve with rice and sprinkle the cilantro leaves over the top. We added some steamed broccoli alongside.

Tofu Scramble

I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy tofu, so I was very excited when I was served a tofu scramble at the Corvallis "Buy Local First" breakfast I went to back in June.  It was so delicious!  There was a table with stacks of recipe cards you could pick up for all the food they made for the breakfast, so of course I took this recipe home with me.  I was surprised that there were no eggs in it; I guess I just assumed there would be since the word "scramble" was in the title.  Crumbled tofu just looks a lot like scrambled eggs I guess.

This was the perfect easy, relaxing meal to make after a long, busy day.  Just breaking up the tofu with my hands was soothing for some reason.  I just found out today I am anemic, which explains why I've been so tired lately (on a scale of 10-100, I was 4.2 - not sure of the units, but that's pretty low).  The tofu and spinach I ate tonight are a good start, and iron supplements will follow as soon as I get around to going to the store.  

Buy Local First Tofu Scramble
adapted from the First Alternative Natural Co-Op
serves 4-6

Note: The original recipe calls for a specific brand of salt: Earth & Sea Salt.  It's a Corvallis-based company and they produce different sea salt blends for cooking.  The Southwestern blend was used on the scramble I tried at the breakfast, and it was really good!  It's a blend of sea salt, garlic, cumin, cilantro, oregano, and lime juice.  I haven't bought it myself yet, so I added a clove of garlic and a little more oregano and cumin to make up for it.

Also, as I was typing this up I noticed that the recipe calls for cumin seed.  I used ground cumin.  Oops, but still good!

2 blocks firm tofu (approximately 14-16 ounces each)
1 heaping tablespoon dried oregano
1 heaping teaspoon cumin seed
1 small/medium onion (spring, walla walla, whatever you have)
1 bunch spinach (about 3-4 cups once it's chopped, more or less)
1 bunch basil (about 1 cup chopped, more or less)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I had to use quite a bit, since tofu is a pretty blank canvas as far as flavor goes, so just keep salting and tasting until you like it)

Drain the tofu, then crumble it into a large bowl.  Toss with the oregano and cumin.  Chop the onion into medium/small pieces (I like my onions small in scrambles).  

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add the onion and seasoned tofu.  Saute for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, chop the spinach and basil.  

Add the spinach, basil, and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet.  Continue cooking until the onion looks transparent stirring occasionally, (for me, that was about 10 more minutes).

Taste and season with salt and pepper until it has the flavor you want.  

Apricot Poppy Seed Tofu with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus

Remember how I said before that most of my magazine recipe cut-outs were neatly filed away into file folders?  Well, that may have been a little optimistic.  Replace "most" with "hardly any" and replace "file folders" with "a massive pile on my desk", and then you'll have a more accurate description of my recipe collection.  These last couple of weeks I've been working on remedying that situation.  The result is that I've found a ton of recipes I forgot about that I can't wait to make!  This is one such recipe.

The actual recipe calls for chicken, but I used tofu, and it was delicious!  The apricot preserves make the sauce nice and sweet.  I had to let it simmer longer than it said to get it to thicken up.

To go with it, I roasted some asparagus and sweet potato wedges in the oven.  I sprinkled the potatoes with a little brown sugar in the last couple minutes of cooking.  It was yum!

Apricot Poppy Seed Tofu
adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine, September 2007
Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds firm tofu
Freshly ground black pepper
2 shallots, thinly sliced (red onion works too)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup apricot preserves (chop any big fruit pieces)
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon butter

Slice the block of tofu in half lengthwise.  Press the tofu between layers of paper towels for a few minutes, or up to an hour if you have the time.  To add extra weight, set a heavy can (about two pounds) on top of a plate, and place the plate on top of the tofu.  This helps remove excess moisture and will help the tofu hold together better during cooking.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season the tofu with salt and pepper and cook in the skillet, turning once or twice, until browned, about 5 minutes or so.  Add the shallots and cook for another 3 minutes.  Add the vinegar and cook until it is slightly reduced, about a minute.  Next add the broth, preserves, honey, and poppy seeds.  Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.  Stir in the butter, and serve.

Tofu Chow Mein with Mushrooms and Bok Choy

I'm loving our stir fry theme right now.  We had extra cilantro, scallions, and limes from our beef stir fry earlier this week, so we decided to try another of Jamie Oliver's stir fry recipes.  This time we chose his recipe for chicken chow mein, except we substituted tofu for the chicken.

We decided to use Mark Bittman's recipe for poaching tofu.  If you are using firm or extra firm tofu, you don't necessarily have to do this, but we thought it would help keep the tofu from falling apart in the stir fry.  Just bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Carefully add the whole piece of tofu to the boiling water.  Lower the heat so the water bubbles gently.  Cook until the tofu floats, about 5-10 minutes, then remove the block with a slotted spoon and allow it to drain on paper towels.   

Tofu (or Chicken) Chow Mein

adapted from Jamie's Food Revolution

serves 2-3

1 tablespoon ginger, minced or finely sliced (if you use the jarred stuff like me, it is already minced)

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1/2 a fresh red chili, finely sliced

1 large skinless chicken breast fillet, preferably free-range or organic, OR a one pound block of firm tofu, poached as described above if desired.

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 scallions, finely sliced

Small bunch fresh cilantro

2 baby bok choy, or one larger bok choy

Handful shiitake mushrooms (optional), roughly chopped or left whole

4 ounces (2 bundles) chow mein noodles

Peanut or vegetable oil

1 heaped teaspoon cornstarch

One 8-ounce can water chestnuts, not drained (I could only find a 5-ounce can of sliced water chestnuts)

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 small lime

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  While waiting for the water, pick the leaves off the cilantro and set aside, and finely chop the cilantro stalks.  Cut the bok choy in half lengthwise and set aside.  If using chicken, slice it into 1/2 inch strips and lightly season with salt and pepper.  If using tofu, slice into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes.  

Preheat a large wok or large frying pan over high heat.  When good and hot, add a couple tablespoons oil.  Add the chicken or tofu pieces and cook for a few minutes, until lightly browned.  

Add the noodles and the bok choy to the pot of boiling water.  Cook for 2-3 minutes only, then drain in a colander set over a bowl, to reserve some of the cooking water.  

To the tofu (or chicken), add the ginger, garlic, chili, cilantro stalks, mushrooms if using, and half the scallions.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.  Add the cornstarch, water chestnuts (including their water).  Stir, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom.  Remove from heat.  Stir in two tablespoons of soy sauce.  Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the mixture and stir to combine.

The stir fry, before adding noodles and bok choy (yum!):

Add the noodles and bok choy to the stir fry, adding a little of the cooking water to loosen the noodles if necessary.  Taste and season with more soy sauce as needed.  

To serve, pile your portion into a bowl or onto a plate, making sure to grab a piece of bok choy or two.  Spoon some of the juices over the top, and garnish with some of the reserved scallions, the cilantro leaves, and lime wedges.  

Sweet 'n' Sour Stir Fry

This year I received a gift subscription to Woman's Day Magazine and it has already proved useful!  This month's issue had a page with a basic stir fry method and three variations which (I decided) could be mix and matched.

I chose to make ours with tofu as the protein, sugar snap peas, red pepper, and scallions, for the vegetables, and sweet 'n' sour for the sauce.  I really liked the tangy sauce and I got to use some of Joe's mom's apricot preserves to make it!

If you wanted to try this using exactly the combinations they suggested, rather than mixing and matching, I listed them in order, so the first protein goes with the first vegetable, which goes with the first sauce, etc.

"Stir-Fry It" 
adapted from Women's Day Magazine, Feb 17, 2010 issue
Serves 4

Protein choices:

• 1 pound boneless sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
• 1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
• 14 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into 1 inch pieces

Vegetable choices:

• 1 red pepper cut into 1/2 inch strips, 8 ounces sugar snap peas
• 2 peppers cut into bite size chunks, 4 scallions cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 cups small broccoli florets, 1 cup presliced mushrooms, 1 cup shredded carrots

Sauce choices:

• Sesame: 1/3 cup stir fry sauce, 1/3 cup orange juice, 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• Sweet 'n' sour: 1/2 cup apricot preserves, 1/4 cup bottled barbecue sauce, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple tidbits or chunks, drained
• Thai: 1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon red curry paste

Stir-Fry Method:

Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Using a large bowl or a large plastic ziplock bag, combine your protein with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and mix thoroughly to coat.

Add protein to skillet, stir fry for 3-5 minutes or until browned and cooked-through.  Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add another 2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet.  When heated add the vegetables and stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until they are crisp-tender.

Add the sauce to the vegetables in the skillet and stir to coat evenly while the sauce comes to a simmer.  Add the protein back to the skillet, stir to combine.

Serve over rice.  Yummy toppings could include things like toasted peanuts, sesame and/or flax seed, and cilantro.