I needed to find another protein source quick and my first instinct was Tofu, but I was afraid. Very afraid....
You hear the horror stories. How bad it tastes, how awful the texture is and so on...but I was up for the challenge.
I found this awesome Sprouted Tofu from Trader Joe's and with a recommendation from a friend, I grabbed it.
I opened up the package (spilled the liquid all over myself and the floor) and took out one of the blocks of tofu. I was told to make sure all the moisture was out, so I wrapped the block in tons of paper towels and set a heavy bowl on top. I let it sit this way for about 15 minutes.
While the water was getting all pulled out, I needed to decide what kid of sauce I wanted to cook it in. I went to my fridge and saw the left over vegetable lo mein from Friday night's Chinese take out and decided to go in an Asian route. I grabbed the Siracha Chile sauce, Soy Sauce and honey. Made a mixture of those three ingredients, added in a little agave and Stevia until it had a little spice, but was tame enough to enjoy!! (I love spicy, so if you don't..I would go with a different chile sauce that isn't as spicy as Siracha).
The sauce tasted great, so I set it aside and went back for the block of tofu and cut the block into about .5"-1" cubes. I then took some cornstarch in a big freezer bag and added the tofu blocks, shaking it up to coat the tofu cubes.
I heated some sesame oil in a large frying pan and cooked up the tofu on medium heat until it was crispy on the outside. I then removed it from the pan and transferred to a plate covered in paper towels to remove any excess oil.
I then added some garlic to the pan and cooked for about a minute. I added the sauce to a pan and cooked until it was lightly boiling.
Once the sauce was boiling, I mixed up a tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and added it to the boiling sauce to thicken it (it only took about 1 minute!!). I took it off the heat and added the cooked tofu into the pan with the sauce and coated.
This is where the left over lo mein came in....
And bam....Honey Siracha Tofu Lo Mein!!
It was amazing and so glad my first attempt at cooking tofu was a success. Now I am ready to tackle the world of Tofu!!
Honey Siracha Tofu
Makes 2 Servings
Ingredients:
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu (about 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Sauce:
1/4 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce or Liquid Amino
1 cup water
1-2 tbls Siracha (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tablespoon Agave
1 tablespoon Honey
3 packets of Stevia
2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
Directions:
Wrap Tofu block in paper towels and set under a weight to pull all of the water out.
Once Tofu is dry, cut into .5"-1" cubes.
Add 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch in a large gallon size bag and add Tofu cubes to coat.
Add 1 Tablespoon of Sesame Oil to a large frying pan and heat on medium heat. Add coated Tofu cubes to the pan and cook for about 10-12 minutes, stirring to brown all sides.
Remove Tofu and drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.
In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1-2 tablespoons Siracha, the Agave, Honey and Stevia and mix well.
In the meantime, mince the garlic and add to the pan on medium heat, cooking for about 1 minute. Add the sauce mixture to the garlic and bring to a light boil. Mix together 2 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a mug or small bowl until blended and add to the boiling sauce. Cook for an additional minute, stirring the entire time until sauce thickens.
Add the cooked tofu back into the pan with the sauce and toss to coat.
Serve over lo mein noodles or cooked white rice.
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