Monday, April 14, 2008

Don't be a tofu-phobe








I recently bought two pounds of tofu, so now I have to cook it. Many people fear tofu, including people in my own household. But tofu is good, good for you, and cheap, and so I keep persisting. Here is a new creation, with which I am very much pleased:
Glazed Tofu
1. First, make sure you have firm or extra-firm tofu, packed in water, not the vacuum packed silken tofu.
2. Take the tofu out of the package and rinse it, to remove any sourness from the water. If you are not using all the tofu, put the remainder in a container and cover with fresh water and refrigerate --change the water every day until you use the tofu (I know this seems weird)
3. Now, press your tofu. Fold up some paper towels and put them on a plate, then put the tofu pieces on (you can slice them in two width-wise to make this go faster). Now put more paper towels on top, then a cutting board and a pan, bowl, couple of cans, or what-ev. Let it sit for half an hour, flip the pieces, then press for another half hour. (You don't have to press the tofu, but it makes the texture denser, and thus, more appealing, at least to me)
4. Now, in a shallow dish or pie plate, mix 3-4 Tbs each: dark brown sugar, soy sauce, sherry(*Note: This is for 1/2 pound of tofu, which is enough for two people probably. If you use more tofu, adjust the marinade accordingly!).
5. Marinate the tofu in this mixture about 3-5 minutes per side. Meanwhile heat a large flat skillet.
6. Now, put the tofu in the pan --save the marinade for pete's sake, don't throw it out.
7. Cook the tofu about 2 minutes, then flip and add the marinade to the pan, cook 2-3 minutes more.
8. Take the tofu out, and squeeze half a lime into the pan. Let this cook for another minute or so, until somewhat syrupy. Now pour it over the tofu.
9. Eat it over rice, duh.

3 comments:

Mary said...

oh goody, I figured out how to post a comment. My comment is: my, what a clever girl this Laura is. She must have had excellent parenting.

cookcat said...

yes, indeed she has!!!

Christi said...

I too do not understand the tofu-obia....(perhaps, my opionion is bias)what i DO understand is tofu byproduct phobia ( aka tofurkey..eek). 25 million slant eyes can't be wrong..right?!