Tag Archives: tofu

Salt and Pepper Tofu

5 Oct

When I was in 6th grade my teacher, Mrs. Dagle, gave the class a get-to-know-you survey. She asked for everyone’s favorite color, book, food, etc. I remember answering my favorite food as “anything except tofu.” I hated the texture of tofu for years-I would often buy it and leave it in the fridge for weeks until I finally cooked it, only to throw half away. Salt and pepper tofu was the first recipe I tried where I really enjoyed the texture and the taste. Something about frying tofu to give it a crunchy texture made it more palatable to me.

I bookmarked this recipe years ago and it’s become a favorite for busy weeknights. I’ve also experimented with cooking the tofu in sauce afterwards, but I prefer to leave it crunchy just the way it is. Feel free to use it in other dishes or as a beginning step to making barbeque tofu.

Salt and Pepper Tofu

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Eggplant and Spicy Tofu Spring Rolls

28 Sep

I love spring rolls. I love eggplant. And I love tofu. The combination of all three is pretty much the perfect meal for me.

This recipe is definitely a fusion of many different cuisines so don’t take it as anything authentic. It was basically born out of my attempt to use up a bunch of different bottles in my fridge. I used the same marinade I use in my baked tofu on the eggplant, and I still LOVE the flavor. Black vinegar is just something else!

You can definitely change any of the fillings in this recipe. I would highly recommend adding rice noodles as well, because we can all use more carbs. Carrots would be really tasty too, but only the good carrots, not those ones that taste weird. Does anyone else ever get weird tasting carrots?
Now I’m rambling. Here’s the recipe!

Eggplant and Spicy Tofu Spring Rolls

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Ham and Cheese Quiche

2 Sep

To tell the truth, I’ve only ever eaten quiche once in my life. I remember it’s silken fluffy texture well, but I haven’t thought about it in years. I saw this recipe from Minimalist Baker and I thought, “well, I have an hour before work, might as well.”

Ham and Cheese Quiche

I changed my filling a bit and decided to make the entire thing in a cast iron skillet, because I often think I should cook in cast iron more. Thinking back on it, I should have doubled the filling because of the increase in size. I bet this would work really well in a pie pan as well; it would come out quite a bit thicker. I’d also like to petition that all quiches be made with a hash brown crust, because that stuff is delicious. Pastry crust would work to, but the only downfall is it’s not potatoes.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

This makes a perfect meal for demolishing before work or when you baby wakes you up at 4 a.m. or breakfast, lunch, and dinner for an entire day.

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Breakfast Pizza

24 Aug

In my post about peanut butter and jelly macarons I talked about “breakfast pizza” that was often served in my high school cafeteria. It still holds a special place in my stomach and I always enjoy the challenge of veganizing an old favorite.

You can definitely use your own favorite scrambled tofu recipe or homemade sausage in this. My favorite cheese on this is the mozzarella from the Non Dairy Evolution.

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Vegan Turkey Leg

12 Aug

While on a walk last night, my husband and I were discussing our plans to visit a Renaissance Faire over the weekend. I jokingly lamented the lack of a vegan turkey leg for us to eat there. “I could probably make one,” I said, and my husband replied “Yea, but it would have to be crunchy, like it had a skin.”

Later that night I was laying in bed thinking of how to make this happen. It has been years since either of us has had meat, but the idea of a crunchy, chewy protein on a stick still has its appeal. I’d made the turkey loaf recipe a few times and it had the same texture i wanted for my “turkey” leg. Using the basic technique for the loaf recipe, I played with different measurements and seasonings to better replicate the turkey flavor and create a denser structure. I then made fresh yuba to wrap around the turkey cutlets and give that satisfying crunch. Miyoko Schinner was the inspiration for the yuba as skin in her Unturkey recipe, available here.

Vegan Turkey Leg

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Mapo Tofu-Revisited

11 Aug

Mapo tofu is still one of our favorite meals here – it’s one of my go to dishes when I’m low on time, because it doesn’t require a huge prep time. I’ve improved on my original recipe a lot, specifically by adding the broad bean paste and szechuan pepper. The szechuan pepper adds an almost – citrus flavor that’s perfect for this spicy dish.

Mapo Tofu-Revisited

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Baked Tofu

29 Jun Baked Tofu

I’ve already told you guys about how much I hated tofu as a child. As much as I don’t enjoy saying it (my husband can attest to this), I was wrong! Tofu is one of the most scrumptious things in the universe, as long as you drain it well and cover it in delicious flavors. I’ll be honest though, I’ve come to even enjoy eating it plain.

Baked Tofu

You can definitely use extra firm tofu for this, but firm will work just as fine. Don’t get the stuff in the aseptic package, you want the water filled stuff you have to drain. Don’t forget to save that water to whip into meringues! Black vinegar is the only hard to find ingredient in this recipe, but you can substitute a good balsamic vinegar if you don’t have a well stocked asian store nearby. It won’t have the same flavor profile, so definitely search for black vinegar!

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Miso Soup

26 Nov

After a full weekend of indulging at Thanksgiving, all I wanted was something light and brothy last night. I have two cans of no-chicken noodle soup around, but miso soup sounded so much more delicious.

Sometimes when I get a stomach ache I like to make a quick version with just vegetable broth and miso, but since I had time, I simmered the kombu to make a vegan dashi stock, which adds more flavor and depth to the soup. I also used some thinly slice nori, since I didn’t have wakame to add to the soup. I prefer wakame, because it unfurls and is softer, so if you can find it, definitely use it. I also added shiitake mushrooms back into the soup after making the stock, but they are completely optional. Button mushrooms would be nice too.

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Sweet Chili Baked Tofu

12 Nov

I had quite a bit of chili sauce leftover from making Thai summer rolls yesterday, so I wanted a recipe that would use most of it. I found the recipe for the sauce here.

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsp sambal oelek
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 4 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat to a boil then lower to simmer until thickened.

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Pad Thai

23 Oct

Story time guys!

When I was young and innocent (read: 18 years old) I ran off to Washington in pursuit of love and an education. I lived outside of Seattle for over a year and had a lot of new and exciting experiences. Riding a city bus for the first time (which became a daily routine), getting my first real job (Thanks Nintendo!), and catching a shark (it was a small shark.)

Some of my best memories from Washington came from tasting new dishes-I ate oysters straight off the beach, had a first date at a pho place when I didn’t even know what the pho-ck it was, tried my first yellow curry, ate soto ayam that I helped prepare with an old Indonesian man and hated it. One of my favorite memories is sitting on a hillside near the Pacific Science Center and eating pad thai during my first music festival. I’d heard of pad thai, of course, and there was a tent serving it there-It was amazing. I ate my own plate and someone’s leftovers. The combination of sweet and sour and cilantro and bean sprouts is something I crave.

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