Kaki, first things first: I sat in a coffee shop for a half-hour with my friend Holly trying to figure out how not to call these “Eggplant Balls”. Because, apparently, I am still in fifth grade on some level. Eggplant … Continue reading
Dear Kaki, I’ve made quite a few things in the kitchen lately. I made a pulled pork shoulder in the slow cooker that made for some excellent lunch sandwiches (with my favorite barbecue sauce, naturally). I made a healthy take … Continue reading
Dear Caitlin:
Tofu does get a bad rap. I’m also surprised by how often people think that it’s my sole source of protein as a vegetarian. True fact: I eat tofu like maybe five times a year. I would venture to say that the most-consumed vegetarian food is, in fact, chick peas. I find myself dumping cans of those gems in all sorts of meals where they don’t belong.
Having said that, the night you posted NO FEAR TOFU (as I’ve come to think of it), we ate tofu. We must be on the same wavelength.
A few weeks ago, I found myself stuck inside an airport for a meal. In dire circumstances, vegetarian airport food is a milkshake and fries.* However, this happened to be a pretty decent sized airport, and there was a fast food place that had a tofu stir fry, which I took a chance on.
(* And by dire, I of course mean, “justification to eat a milkshake and fries for dinner?! SCORE!” Top choice is a mint shake with curly fries, no judgment.)
It was crazy good. The tofu was, of course, bland, but it was soaked in this astonishingly tasty sauce. I couldn’t stop thinking about it the next day. A little googling and a few adjustments later, I came up with this.
It’s a great meal to throw together at the end of a workday. Since the sauce can be made ahead, it comes together quickly. It’s also a great clean-out-the-fridge recipe, because you can sub the vegetables for pretty much anything that’s going to mold in the foreseeable future.
Check out the veggie goodness I was able to stuff into this:
I know. There were leftovers for days. Unfortunately, this led to my co-workers believing that, yes, finally, I was admitting that all vegetarians eat is tofu. Totally worth it.
Recipe
Sauce Ingredients
Modified from Sweet Chili Thai Sauce on AllRecipes.
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Rice Vinegar
1/2 Cup Agave Syrup (I’m sure you can sub sugar for this. The original recipe calls for 1 cup, which I think would be way too much, but live and let live)
2 teaspoons Ginger, Grated
1 teaspoon Garlic, Minced
1 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper
2 teaspoons Tomato Paste
1/2 Tablespoon Corn Starch (Add more to thicken to taste)
Tofu Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Pound Extra-Firm Tofu, Drained
1 Pound Frozen Broccoli, Thawed
2 Cups Chopped Cabbage
8 ounces Baby Carrots
1 Cup Snap Peas
(1) Bring water and vinegar to a boil in a large sauce pan.
(2) Once water and vinegar boil, add agave, ginger, garlic, red pepper, and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about five minutes.
(3) Combine corn starch with small amount of cold water. Whisk to dissolve. This will prevent clumping.
(4) Remove saucepan from heat and add corn starch. Whisk thoroughly. The sauce can be set aside and refrigerated until needed. I’ve left it for a full 24 hours with good results. Give it a good whisk when you’re ready to use it again.
(5) In a large frying pan, bring oil to high heat. Add tofu and pan fry for about 3-4 minutes.
(6) Reduce heat to medium and add vegetables. Cook to desired level of crunch. I prefer my veggies on the raw side, which takes about 8 minutes.
(7) When vegetables are about two minutes from being done, add sauce. Mix thoroughly.
(8) Serve over rice. In the event all your bowls are dirty, use coffee mugs. (I know. Worst food blogger. Ever.)
Kaki, this isn’t news to you, but tofu, man, tofu gets a bad rap. It’s the butt of every freakin’ vegetarian joke. “Ha, she’s vegan? Careful, all she’ll serve you is tofu!” Ugh. It’s an attitude that seriously irritates me.
There are so many great ways to use tofu! I’m on a hardcore tofu kick at the moment, trying recipe after recipe. Pan fried and blended and baked, it just has so much potential. And, my favorite, it’s pretty freakin’ cheap.
I think the main problem people face with tofu is getting over the mental hurdle of “this is a fake meat”. Nope. Nope, it isn’t. It’s its own thing entirely. Adding protein to a meal is the only thing they really have in common.
Still, I get it. With its reputation it can be an intimidating ingredient at first. How do you cook it? Do you have to press it? Do you have to marinade it? Do you need silken or soft or firm or extra firm? I’m by no means an expert, but here are some guides, some tried-and-true recipes, and some recipes I’m dying to try.
Some Guides
The Kitchn’s What is Tofu, Exactly?
Short answer? It’s soybeans. Long answer? Read their article!
The Kitchn’s Guide to Tofu Varieties
Solving “silken vs. soft” and “firm vs. extra firm” once and for all.
Alton Brown’s Good Eats episode on Tofu
I heart Alton. So much. This is twenty minutes of your life you didn’t know you needed to experience.
Recipes I Love
Mooless Chocolate Pie
You guys, you can make healthy chocolate pie with this stuff! If that’s not enough to convert someone, I’m out of ideas.
Baked Tofu with Red Onions and Dill
This is my other go-to, “Oh you think you don’t like tofu huh well try this!” recipe. Served over brown rice it is a great quick dinner. The combination of the olive oil, mustard, red onion, and dill… it is perfection.
Scrambled Tofu
This, this right here is the breakfast of champions. I’ve made this three times in the past month. Cannot get enough!
Recipes I Want to Try
Tofu Chickpea Stir-Fry with Tahini Sauce with Marinated and Baked Tofu
I was all set to make this tonight. Until I got home and realized I didn’t have any chickpeas, and actually no beans at all except black beans, which for whatever reason in my brain just would. not. do. Instead, I’ve got the baked tofu and the sauce to go into a salad for lunch tomorrow. Will report back.
Crispy Tofu Bites*
I want these to be amazing. I want them to look just like those pictures. And frankly, I want the breading to freakin’ work. I have terrible luck with things that are breaded. Someday I will conquer that particular kitchen foe.
Tofu in a Lemon, Soy, White Wine, and Butter Sauce
Doesn’t the name pretty much say it all? Also, it’s from the same chef that created the killer dill-baked tofu above. So, should be pretty great.
Tofu Bacon
I get it, people love bacon. Heck, I love bacon! But a restaurant in town makes the most amazing faux-BLT, and I must replicate it. Must. This recipe from my friend Katrina seems like a good place to start:
Extra firm tofu sliced really thin. I didn’t drain it, but it might be a bit better if you have time. Heat some canola oil in a skillet on medium high. Then add the tofu. Brown on each side (about 7 min for me). Toward the end of cooking, add a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp liquid smoke, and some salt and pepper.
Tofu Potstickers
I got it into my head recently that I want to make homemade dumplings. Not that we needed further proof that I’m a crazy person in the kitchen. But now, to use The Kitchn’s recipe, or Smitten Kitchen’s take on Alton’s?**
Happy tofu-enjoying, Kaki!
–Caitlin
*I am suddenly reminded of those amazing spinach “nuggets” you got in college all the time. Those were the *perfect* snack, are they still made? I’ve got to check the frozen aisle next time I’m at the store.
**This is one of the most #firstworldproblems things I’ve said in a while. That, and when I complained to you over email about how I accidentally left a bottle of unopened wine at a BYOB restaurant at the end of a not-so-great day this week. Thanks for listening to that, by the way.
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Dear Caitlin, So I found wasabi peas at the grocery store last week. I was incredibly excited, so I bought the store out.* Annnnd, when I gost home, I realized they were inedibly hot. You know that my tolerance for … Continue reading
Kaki, I really enjoyed making those Oven Caramelized Onions this past week. So little work to turn something so humble into something so tasty!
So now I need to decide what to do with these babies! I already made a quick pizza at Cooper’s place the other night; Boboli pizza crust, a little tomato sauce, some fresh mozzarella, some caramelized onions, and some fresh basil. Delicious.
After a ton of internet searching I came up with the following other options:
Here’s the dip I ended up making for book club:
It’s just one 8 oz. container of whipped cream cheese (I like whipped because then it makes stirring it all together so much easier), a couple tablespoons of really finely chopped caramelized onions, and maybe a tablespoon or so of finely chopped fresh parsley. Really tasty. And I think I’ll use the leftovers to make a creamy pasta sauce like I’ve done before.
Also, the internet keeps saying I can freeze caramelized onions, and since you only need a little at a time (read: I still have so much of this, and do not want it to spoil), I’ll be doing just that to have some at the ready whenever I want!
Have a lovely Memorial Day, Kaki!
–Caitlin
P.S. I feel like I’ve use a ton of exclamation points in this post! And I’m not going to edit that number down! Because I am a rebel, a punctuation rebel, and we all know it.
P.P.S. Okay, I edited one out. Even I thought that was overkill.
Kaki, I had such a lovely weekend last weekend! I went up to Dallas to see my brother graduate from Guildhall. Masters degree time, das’right, go Nate!
When we got back from Dallas we dropped my Grandma off at her house and as we were leaving she handed me a grocery bag. “I can’t use these onions before I leave for New York. Will you use them?” Yes, Grandma. Yes I will.
Caramelized onion time!!!
After a ton of searching, I decided to use this recipe as my guide. It was based on America’s Test Kitchen, so it must be good.
First, you slice up a ton of onions. America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe is adamant that you slice them “pole-to-pole” to get sort of tapered wedges, instead of slicing sideways into exact half circles. They said they hold their shape better that way. Good to know.
Then sliced onions, butter and salt go into a dutch oven (or other oven-proof pot).
Cover the pot and bake in a 400 degree oven for an hour. Then, it should look something like this:
After a good stir, return the pot to the oven with the lid only 2/3’s of the way on, to let some moisture escape. Can’t get caramelized if they’re soggy! Let them bake like that for an hour-and-a-half, taking the pot out to stir a couple of times for good measure.
When time is up, remove the pot from the oven, and transfer the onions to a cutting board.
Let cool slightly, then chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
While they’re cooling, you can combine your final flavoring ingredients: red wine (I actually used the last of a bottle of ruby port), water, sugar, red wine vinegar, and some dried thyme.
Once the onions are chopped up, return them to the pot. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the wine-vinegar-sugar-y goodness and give it all a good stir, scraping any browned bits from the bottom and sides of the pot. Let this simmer for 10 minutes or so, until it has reduced enough that you can drag a spoon through the onions, and in the time it takes to take a picture, the liquid doesn’t cover the trail.
Salt to taste, let cool and refrigerate, and you’re good to go!
Oven Caramelized Onions
adapted from The Discountess of Washington, as adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
(makes about 1.5 cups)
Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 400*F.
Coat a large dutch oven with non-stick spray (I like canola oil spray). Add the sliced onions, butter, and salt. Cover and bake for one hour.
Remove the pot from the oven, stir, and return to the oven with the lid vented. Bake for 1.5 hours, stirring twice during that time.
Transfer onions to cutting board and let cool slightly. When just cool enough to handle, chop the onions into half-inch pieces.
Return the onions to the dutch oven. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the port (or red wine), water, red wine vinegar, sugar, and dried thyme. Stir it all together, using the wine mixture to deglaze the pot. Gently scrap the browned bits from the bottom and side of the pot.
Let this mixture simmer for 10 minutes, or until liquid has reduced to desired consistency. Use immediately or cool and refrigerate for future use. Can also be frozen for longer storage.
I’ve got a whole list of uses for caramelized onions that I’ll post soon. 🙂 Until then!
–Caitlin
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Dear Caitlin, I’m sorry to hear you were sick/happy to hear you’re better. My emotions would be significantly less conflicted if I had known you were sick before I knew you were better. Dude, well done on making soup while … Continue reading
Kaki. Some of my New Years Resolutions were to eat more fish and more greens. Naturally this Mark Bittman recipe*, already a standard in my kitchen, has been a star of this “eat more fish and greens” initiative. I find … Continue reading
Kaki, girl, I got wiped out by a cold this past week. We’re talking fever, body aches, sore throat, stuffy nose, cough, and eventually viral pinkeye (what in the what). And a lot of sleeping. And a lot of dragging … Continue reading
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