Sweet Chili Tofu on Vermicelli and Spinach

Tofu done right for once!

This recipe all started today when I got home early enough to make some proper dinner. I haven't grocery shopped in a while and I had no intention on going to the store. Tonight was reserved to hang out with myself. Usually it's the result of having too many late nights and grounding myself. This time.. I guess I would call it a punishment for being lazy. Eating vegan for over two years now, I have figured out how to get away with little cooking. Lately I have been living off of various rice dishes (See: formula for an easy wholesome meal) and it has gotten a little boring. So I got hunting around in my kitchen to see what I had available to make something a little different. What did I find? Tofu, Spinach, basil, and lime. This sparked an issue with me that I don't think I have talked about here. I have never been able to cook a piece of tofu and make it as good as a restaurant. Mine is always too soft, too spongy, overdone, underdone, over-marinated.. You name it, I have messed it up with tofu. It always taste good, but just doesn't taste the way it does when I get it in any restaurant.

I have done a little research and it seems the overwhelming response to this question is dry-frying. I saw it a couple of ways and decided to try one that did not seem to require marinating the tofu. I was hungry, and frankly I hate waiting that extra hour and I'm never prepared in advance to do it before work. This can be done in advance or right before using. It only takes a few minutes to prepare too.

Step 1: Heat a non-stick skillet to medium heat

Step 2: Chop your tofu into thin pieces. I cut mine into eights and then I cut the rectangles in half diagonally to make wedges

Slice it thin and do any shape you want. Triangles are easy and look good

Step 3: Put the tofu in the pan. Don't over lap

Who knew that getting restaurant consistency is so easy! Throw it in a pan

Step 4: Press the tofu to let some water out, cook 5 minutes or until golden brown

Step 5: Flip and repeat step 4

From start to finish it takes about 10 minutes to cook. From here, you can store, marinate or use as is. I was amazed because this was the closest I have gotten to restaurant-style tofu. It was really good and the right consistency.

So using this tofu I made a quick meal for myself using some vermicelli noodles I found in my cupboard and some basic ingredients to make a sweet chili sauce. Of course, served with whatever greens you have on hand. I used spinach for this one. This recipe makes 2-3 servings. Easy to half if you just want a meal for one.

Sweet Chili Tofu on Vermicelli and Greens
*Takes about 30 minutes if Tofu isn't done in advance

• One block of tofu, sliced and cooked as above

Sauce:

• Juice of one lime and half of the zest
• 2 Tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Mirin or water
• 3 Tbsp sugar or agave (I used brown sugar)
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 clove of garlic (I didn't use, but threw a pinch of garlic powder)
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup of basil, sliced thin

Noodles and Greens:

• One bunch of spinach (or collards, kale, chard broccoli, etc) Chopped
• Green onion, sliced thin
• 1-2 Tbsp water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 package of noodles (or cup of rice, quinoa or other grain)
• 1 Tbsp Lime juice and the zest from the other half of the lime used above
• 1 Tbsp Soy sauce

First get water going for the grains and cook and set aside. If you didn't make in advance, dry fry the tofu and set it aside. While the tofu is cooking, prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Once the tofu is done or the sauce is mixed, use the same pan and saute your greens and onion with the water and salt. Once cooked, add the sesame seeds.

Cooking each piece in advance and set it aside before combining it together

Adding the sauce

Remove the greens from the pan and turn the heat up to high. Add the tofu and the sauce and wait until it bubbles (about a minute). Turn of the heat and let it sit on the burner to thicken. While it is cooking down, get plating. Start with the noodles and then top with the greens and finally add the tofu with some of the sauce and serve.

In under 30 minutes and no shopping - Dinner

Seeing Green, Pasta Edition

I didn't know what to call this recipe. I based it of a dish that I came across on ohsheglows.com and there are variations of it all over the Internet and in lots of cookbooks. I decided to make my own variation. I have been eating really, really crappy lately. No other way to put it. I have been living off of junk food and restaurants for a while (this, not a lot to blog about). Even though it was another late night tonight, I decided that something needed to be cooked.

I love this dish for a few reasons, it is a full meal in one bowl, it takes about 15 minutes to make, it's really easy to alter, it's filling, you get at least a few servings of greens and it has avocado in it for a sauce base. If I have a had a crappy day, I really look for meals like these and they are so, so much better than take out.

I don't think I have gone on too much about avocados, but they are seriously one of my favourite fruits. They can be made into dips and sauces, added to salads, stir fries, spread on toast and can be used in smoothies and desserts. Extremely versatile. Some people think that they are a bit on the high fat and cal side to be eaten, but if combined with the right foods, they are extremely good for you. Avocados aid in the absorption of two carotenoid antioxidants (lycopene and beta carotene) by upwards of 200%. Now avocados are definitely fatty, over 85% of its calories are from fat, but it's the good kind, so it's totally fine! They are also high in fibre, Vitamin K and folate. The are good for your heart and very low in sugar. So hopefully knowing this, you will all go out and add more avocado to your diet.


The original recipe can be found here and below is my take.


Pasta with veggie avocado sauce

*Serves two

• Pasta - Half a box, or enough for two bowls
• 1 avocado
• half a lemon, zest and juiced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• salt
• 1/4 cup spinach
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 Tbsp water
• broccoli (one crown or as much as you want to eat)
• 1/4 cup of frozen peas

Cook the past according to the instructions. While it is cooking, add all ingredients except for the peas, lemon zest and broccoli to a food processor and blend until smooth. If it is too thick, add some water until it is the desired consistency.

Before...

And after. A sauce in under 5 minutes!

When there is about 3-4 minutes left on the pasta, dump in your broccoli and peas and the strain it together. add the sauce to the pot and stir to combine. If you like you can add fresh basil, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper before serving. I added all of these and it was really good. Not necessary, but gives the dish a bit more of a punch.

Complete meal with one pot and one bowl. Can't beat it.

You can sub out the spinach if you want and use parsley, cilantro or basil as well. All very good in this basic sauce. A note to serving, do not make the sauce ahead as avocados will brown once exposed to the air. Make the sauce and serve immediately.

Searching for the Perfect Stir Fry - take 5

I have posted stir-fries on here before. I have complained about how everyone says they are an easy dish to make and to personalize and yet, I consistently fail at them. Well, today I made stirfry and it was good! It was a pretty exciting moment for me. So exciting, I forgot to take pictures. I am not sure if I had said it before, but I think I have figured out the rules finally to making a decent stir-fry meal:

1. Always use fresh vegetables - I have tried many, many times to dump frozen veggies into my stir-fries and they are always very blah. I guess if you have to, a little bit of frozen veg may not hurt, but this time I used all fresh and you could tell.
   
2. Don't over complicate the sauce - Stick to one or two main flavours. I think with many of my previous attempts, I have tried to get that perfect sweet, salty, sour, spicy mix and let's be honest, I am not a trained chef and I have not mastered this technique. This time I let ginger be the main flavour and didn't add tons of other ingredients. When you aren't sure, keep it simple. Good rule to live by.
   
3. Add veggies in the right order - Sometimes I get impatient. I am usually hungry and it's late by the time I start cooking, so I dump everything in at once. You can't do this and get a good stir-fry. It is not possible. Carrots, onions, celery take a lot longer to cook than bok choy and mushrooms. Add the base veggies and let them cook a bit before adding in other items.
   
4.  Add the grain right into the stir-fry as it is cooking. This is simple, I usually will not do this unless I   am adding noodles, but it helps meld all the flavours together.
   
5. Finally, Make enough of the marinade to add right in the stir-fry and no steaming - OK, maybe this is two final things. Luckily because you have chose to cook vegan, you can just dump your leftover marinade right into your meal and not worry about food poisoning. Now, after adding the sauce, don't steam it. It really just helps keep the food bright and crisp which is much better than a soggy mess. When I have rushed, dumped all my ingredients in at the last minute, I usually have to steam them or they won't be cooked. Try to avoid.

So, we now have some rules. Let's get to what I did to finally get a stir-fry that didn't suck.

Barley Tofu Stir-fry

Makes 3-4 servings, 20 minutes if the barley is cooked, 60 if not

Marinade:

• 1 1/2 - 2" piece of ginger, peeled
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp agave or brown rice syrup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp lime juice
• 1-2 spoonfuls of miso
• 2 tbsp of oil (I used sesame)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 block of tofu, pressed and sliced however you like

Stir-fry (Really, you can add what you want, but this is what I did):

• 2/3 cup of cooked barley
• 1/2 onion
• 2 carrots
• 1-2 stalks of celery
• handful of mushrooms
• 1/2 orange pepper (more if you like pepper, I do not, but keep trying to learn)
• 3-4 leaves of bok choy
• Oil for frying

If you are wanting to make this quickly, do some prep. The morning or night before making this cook your barley and make the marinade. I made the marinade in my magic bullet. If you are using a blender, you should mince the garlic and ginger first. If magic bullet is your thing, add the ginger and garlic and pulverize it. Next add the remaining ingredients and blend. Pour the Marinade on your chopped tofu and let it soak overnight. If you are making this the day of. Make the marinade and then get the barley cooking so it can marinade for an hour.

Now make your stir-fry. Chop all the veggies into bite-sized pieces. Put the oil in the wok and get it hot. I usually go on medium heat because my stove is kind of hot. Add in the carrots, celery and onion and cook until they are softened, about 5-7 minutes. Now add in the Tofu (Not the marinade though) and cook another couple minutes or until the tofu starts to brown a little. Now add the mushrooms and peppers. Cook another 5 minutes or so. Next, add the bok choy, barley and the leftover marinade. Toss it well and cook until the bok choy softens.

Who knew a simple stir-fry would cause me so much trouble! 

As a last thought, barley in a stir-fry is amazing. I almost always stick to noodles, but this was such a good addition. When you are trying an easy stir-fry, mix it up and use a different grain. Quinoa, Rice, Barley, Millet, Wheat Berries would all be excellent choices. It kind of shakes things up, just a little bit.