I like it fried!

Mandy came into town tonight to share some laughs and some dinner. I promised to make her my famous fried tofu. She got the warning that the last person I served it to went b.a.n.a.n.a.s. To the point of begging/bartering for the recipe and then desperate pleas for more. It was awesome. This tofu is the base of many recipes. It's incredible on salads, in stir fries, dipped in anything, wrapped in anything and sandwiched in anything. The best part is it's easy to make. Woot.

Happy Tears Tofu

1 squeezed/pressed block of organic tofu, cut into about 8/10 squares
Braggs liquid aminos/tamari/soy sauce
1/4 cup Nutritional yeast (Nooch)
1/4 cup Chickpea flour
1 tbs broth powder (You should make your own for supa cheap with this recipe. It makes this dish! )
Coconut oil for frying.

Heat oil in the most non stick pan you have-cast iron is the best. Combine Nooch, flour and broth powder is a shallow bowl.Dip slices of tofu into the Braggs, and then coat in the flour mixture. Fry until golden on both sides. You can drain them or just let them sit on a plate like I do and soak up all that sweet fatness. Set aside until ready to use.

For tonight's dinner, I made this tofu into an orange ginger stirfry, because of some rice hanging out with an "eat me" sign on in my fridge.

Orange Ginger Stir Fry

Juice of one orange
2 tbs-1 tbs ginger
1 tbs Braggs (there is usually some left over if you just made tofu, so use it up!)
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
Sriracha hot sauce either for the sauce, or for the side if you're dining with wee ones
1 tbs cornstarch/tapioca flour mixed with 1/4 water

Combine in a bowl until ready to use. Cut and prep 3 cups of assorted veggies. I had mushrooms, onions red and orange peppers and carrots. Broccoli or kale would be amazing additions. Melt one tbs of coconut oil into your pan and cook onions until lightly brown. Add veggies (of course adding the ones that take longest to cook first). Cook until about 2 minutes from tender crisp and add your sauce. Give it a couple minutes to thicken, and then spoon over hot rice. Slice tofu into strips and place on top. You can garnish with toasted almonds and hot sauce. Serve with and to friends that make you smile.

The Tofu Whisperer

Image courtesy of vegansoiree.com

So I signed up to take part in the vegan month of food AKA MoFo blog roll. Essentially you have to post every day. Instead of dwelling on my short comings here, I'm just going to do better :). Today I'm going to blog about Tofu, specifically my friend Sienna who I call "The tofu whisperer" behind her back. I randomly met Sienna at a downtown playgroup, and her epic awesomeness and lifelong vegetarian status makes her one of the coolest people I know. I have always liked tofu, and my children are weirdly obsessed with it. If they see me cooking it, I'm hounded until I give it up. I suppose the bland, whiteness appeals to kids-but adult usually have more discerning palates. Tofu is kind of like flour, not much until you do something with it. Sienna always has some tasty tofu snack at playgroup and has really revitalized my love for the stuff. Her fried tofu was an instant favorite( we looove fried anything!) and is super easy to do.

Sienna's Fried Tofu
1 block firm or extra firm organic tofu
Soy sauce, tamari or Braggs liquid aminos
Nutritional yeast for rolling (probably about half a cup)

Cut tofu first in threes horozontally. This will give you three rectangular shaped slabs-keep them stacked though. Next, cut end to end about 1/4-1/2 inches apart (so your slices look somewhat like french fries.) Have a bowl ready and put a few tablespoons of soy sauce for the tofu to rest in and soak up. Place nutritional yeast in a flat bottomed plate or pan for easy rolling. For each piece, drenge in soy sauce, then roll to coat in nooch (bad ass name for nutritional yeast :). In the meantime, about 1/4 cup cooking oil to med-high heat. Cook tofu in batches, turning to cook each side to golden brown. Be careful, as the water in tofu can make the oil splatter and hurt when turned. Remove from oil when golden on all sides and drain on a plate with cloth or paper towel. This is great cut up and used in fried rice, stir fries, on it's own or in pretty much anything. We like it best with sweet/hot mustard for dipping.