Read This Can't Be Tofu! Online
Authors: Deborah Madison
This Can't Be Tofu! (15 page)
-Vegetable Sauté or Scramble
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Heat a nonstick skillet, add 2 teaspoons of the oil, and crumble in the tofu. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is dry and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, turn it into a bowl, and set aside. Return the pan to the heat.
Add the remaining oil to the pan and add the next six ingredients. Sauté over high heat until the vegetables are hot and starting to color a bit. Add the tomatoes and herbs. Season the vegetables, then return the tofu to the pan.
If using the eggs, pour them over the tofu and vegetables, then cook, while stirring, until they’re set. Add the cheese, if using.
Whatever happened to fried rice, anyway? It’s such a good idea and so easy to make. All kinds of goodies can go into it—a few toasted cashews, small bits of chicken or shrimp, all kinds of vegetables and, of course, tofu. I combine slivers of deep-fried tofu with large pieces of regular tofu that have been sautéed until golden. White rice makes a very pretty background for all the different ingredients, but brown rice is nuttier tasting and better for you. Whichever you choose, start with cold, leftover rice. A mound of steamed napa cabbage or stir-fried
tat soi
on the side makes a good accompaniment
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Pour 1 cup boiling water over the fried tofu, if using, then slice thinly. Set aside.
Blot the fresh tofu with towels to wick up the surface moisture, then cut into cubes of any size you like and blot again. Brush 2 teaspoons peanut oil over a large nonstick skillet, add the tofu, and fry the tofu until golden. Turn it as it cooks so that all the surfaces are nicely colored. Season with salt and remove to a plate. Return the skillet to the heat, add the remaining oil, and turn the heat to high.
Add the scallions, bell peppers, and optional deep-fried tofu. Sauté over high heat until the peppers are seared, after a few minutes. Add the snow peas, then crumble in the rice. Continue to sauté until the rice is hot. Add the reserved tofu, half the cilantro and pineapple, and cook several minutes more. Sprinkle over 2 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste. Add the chopped nuts, toss once more, then serve with the remaining cilantro scattered over the top.
Beat 2 eggs (or egg whites) with 1 tablespoon soy sauce. When the rice and vegetables are piping hot, pour the eggs over all and stir rapidly so that they coat the rice and are quickly cooked.
and Tofu Paneer
spinach and paneer using tofu, it tasted amazingly at home in the cumin, ginger, and chile-laced sauce. There’s a little going back and forth between the skillet and a food processor, but this is an easy dish to make. I serve it over rice with a sprinkling of toasted black sesame seeds
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Dice the tofu into pieces about the size of a sugar cube or a little smaller. Bring 6 cups water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and lower the heat to a simmer. Add the tofu, turn off the heat, and leave for 4 or 5 minutes. Pour into a colander to drain. (If you’ve used soft tofu, remove it with a slotted spoon.) Set aside.
Steam the spinach until wilted, then remove it to a cutting board and chop. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water.
Put the chiles, ginger, garlic, and onion in a food processor, and process until finely chopped. Heat the ghee or butter in a nonstick skillet, add the onion mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon salt, the cumin, nutmeg, cayenne, and 1 cup water. Simmer for 5 minutes, then return the mixture to the food processor, add the spinach, and puree.
Return the mixture to the skillet, add the half-and-half and the tofu, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt. Serve over basmati rice.
CURRIES AND BRAISED DISHES
provide a gentle cooking atmosphere and time enough in the pan for the tofu to absorb at least a portion of its neighboring herbs and spices. Because the method is not as fast and furious as sautéing or stir-frying, it’s not necessary to brown or fry the tofu first. If you enjoy the delicate, nutty flavor of fresh, soft tofu, then
braises are a good cooking method. On the other hand, there’s nothing that says you can’t fry your tofu before adding it to the mix. In some dishes, this can add a definite advantage, particularly a visual one.
Braising also allows flavors of all kinds to join and build a larger harmony. For this very reason, curries provide one of the best ways to utilize tofu, which is right at home with chili pastes, coconut milk, cashews and lime, or Indian tikka spices. You can travel in other directions, too. The Cajun-inspired Cheese,
Chile, and Hot Pepper Tofu
dish works extremely well, as does the mingling of tofu with mushrooms in a paprika-flavored sauce. While none of these big-flavored recipes are very complicated, even simpler examples of gentle cooking are included here, such as simmering tofu in prepared hoisin or oyster sauce. Certainly nothing could be easier!
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Heat the oil in a 10-inch casserole or sauté pan. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is limp and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, chile, turmeric, and curry powder, cook for 2 minutes, then add the coconut milk, spices, cilantro, and salt. Lower the heat and simmer gently while you return to the tofu.