sweet and spicy

the older i have gotten, the more my eating habits have changed. gone are the days where i ate meat almost everyday of the week like everyone else i knew. i guess i could say i have become a part time meat eater, indulging maybe 2 or 3 times a month, at most. do i miss it? i think the answer to that is .... only when i'm eating it ;) admittedly, trying to come up with decent non-meat dishes to take the place of what i used to eat is sometimes a pain in the assparagus :o — many of the things i make requiring a a fair amount of preparation and cooking time, since most of the foods i exist on do not fall into the "throw pasta in water and boil" plan.

while i enjoy cooking and making things, i HATE all the prep work, especially when it comes to vegetables. as i am standing there busy cutting, trimming, peeling, coring vegetables, i start to understand why people are paying double the price for pre-prepared vegetables at the grocery stores!

the following tofu dish is a very simple dish to make for lunch or dinner which requires little work on your part. it is low in fat and high in protein and very flavourful due to the ingredients used. the best part is there is no vegetable chopping involved except for some ginger and garlic!

if you keep kosher, mitoku sells a variety of kosher asian products. check the links ... and even if you don't, they have a wide variety of interesting products which are both organic and macrobiotic.


sweet and spicy ginger baked tofu

ingredients:

1 lb (454 g) extra firm or firm tofu

2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
4 tbsp japanese soy sauce (shoyu)
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
4 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp honey or brown rice syrup
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil + 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes

chopped green onion ('shallots') for garnish


method:

preheat oven to 350 F.

cut tofu into 1/2 inch slices. place them flat in a pyrex.

make marinade — chop garlic and ginger finely and place them in a bowl with the oil.

add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

pour the marinade over the tofu slices.

bake everything for 1 hour.

serve either hot or room temperature with rice.

enjoy!

using up that sauce .....

spicy bean curd salad

this easy-to-make "salad" is one of the things you can throw together with the peanut butter sauce shown in the previous posting. it is best when served right away but can be refrigerated. if you do keep it in the fridge, serve it at room temperature and add a bit more of the sauce to revitalize it. it makes for a good workday high protein salad or side dish.

serves 2 - 4, depending on portion size

ingredients:

1/2 lb extra firm tofu, cubed 1/2" x 1/2"
2 tbsp oil
2 cooked ears of corn (or 2/3 c canned)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped
1 to 3 tsp roasted sesame seeds
leaves of a few stalks of cilantro, chopped finely
1/3 to 1/2 c peanut butter sauce

optional:

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped or sliced thinly
chopped green scallions

salt, to taste
extra hot sauce (sriracha)
toasted sesame oil

method:

cube tofu and fry briefly over medium heat in about 2 tbsp oil, stirring often until browned on all sides. it will take about 10 minutes. drain on paper towel. it does not suck up tons of oil, so don't worry about frying it.

discard the oil and brown the corn until slightly caramelized/coloured.

in the same pan, brown the peanuts and sesame seeds (golden brown colour) and place on a plate to cool.

chop onion and set aside. chop the scallion and bell pepper if using. then chop the cilantro last.

mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

add the sauce and mix again.

taste and add salt if necessary. i also add extra hot sauce sometimes (sriracha). let sit about 10 to 15 minutes for everything to blend.

enjoy!