Tuesday, February 22, 2011

February 15, 2011: Basic braised tofu

K's been talkin' 'bout Matthew's Delicious Tofu as a weeknight winner for a while now, so we figured we'd better give it a go.  We altered the ingredients a little to suit what we had but stayed true to the proportions in the original recipe.  

It was a roaring success, both for dinner that night and packed into our lunchboxes the following day.  I wish I'd discovered braising as a tofu cooking technique earlier in my time as a vegetarian; it's a lovely way to achieve a chewy-tender texture and get flavours adhering to that bland bean curd's surface.  (This is probably contingent on matching cooking times and temperatures with your tofu's consistency, as I've previously encountered a batch or two of tough tofu as well.)

We ate our tofu on a bed of Ottolenghi's green couscous, counting every last piece to ensure they were shared evenly.  I think this recipe's going on regular rotation here, too.


Basic braised tofu
(adapted from Matthew's Delicious Tofu in The Garden of Vegan, as posted on In The Mood For Noodles)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
500g medium-firm tofu
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon lime juice

Heat the oil in a large frypan and add the tofu in a single layer.  Fry it on each side until golden.  Reduce the heat and add the green onions, ginger and Sriracha sauce; cook for a few more minutes, tossing the mixture around to evenly distribute the flavours.  Pour over the maple syrup, tamari and lime juice; continue to cook the mixture until most of the liquid has evaporated and the tofu is coated in a thick sauce.  Serve it up and guard your share carefully!

6 comments:

  1. we have tried it with lime juice too, but it doesn't quite have the same zing to it.

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  2. love this and great way to serve it too - have seen it on in the mood and meant to try it - thanks for the reminder!

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  3. I love tofu and this recipe looks delicious. I wish I could get my other half to gladly eat it. Maybe this recipe will do the trick.

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  4. This sounds lovely, I'm always on the look out for new tofu recipes. I'd never heard of Sriracha sauce before now - do you think you could substitute chilli dipping sauce if you couldn't get hold of Sriracha?

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  5. Thanks, K - I'll definitely be trying lemon juice in future.

    Hop to it, Johanna! I have already had this languishing in my bookmarks too long.

    Beware of what you wish for, Quince Poacher - you might find that you don't wish to share this at all. :-D

    Hi Sophie! You could certainly replace the sriracha with another source of heat - the recipe on ITMFN also includes chilli powder as an option (though I'd be tempted to try chilli flakes). If you're thinking of sweet chilli sauce then you might wish to reduce or omit the maple syrup.

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  6. Lord of the Fries12:32 pm, April 18, 2011

    Sounds great -- will be trying this very soon!
    Thanks.
    PS. Don't know how I missed this on In The Mood For Noodles.

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