Teriyaki Tofu

Excuse this terrible picture. My train of thought was something like "OMGTAKETHISPICTUREI'MSTARVING!"

For dinner one day this week, I made Teriyaki Tofu from Peas and Thank You. And while eating this meal, I realized tofu and I have come a long way. We've gone from frigid enemies to slightly less Arctic acquaintances to friends. 

Pressing the tofu.

And marinating it! The sauce is so yummy!

This meal, like most everything else from the book, came together so quickly and easily. And it was so yummy, I wanted to lick the bowl.

Would Mama Pea approve?

Lemony-Garlic Tofu with Roasted Asparagus and Brown Rice

I wanted a light (and also inexpensive) dinner, and had a hankerin' for something lemony and garlicky. I thought tofu might best absorb the flavors I was craving, so I Googled "lemon-garlic tofu" to see what results I'd get. I found this recipe on PETA's website. My feelings about PETA aside (read: I'm not a fan), this turned out pretty well.

I made some brown rice and threw some asparagus in the oven with a bit of olive oil, and there you go. Pretty easy and really yummy. And I think tofu and I are becoming friends again.

Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Tofu Stir-Fry

As tofu and I continue to rebuild our relationship, I had bookmarked this recipe in Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan a few weeks ago. The tofu not withstanding, this sounded amazing. Broccoli? Cashews? Teriyaki? Yes, please. Given my love of these three things, I gave it a go.

And it was pretty tasty. The tofu was probably my least favorite ingredient in the stir-fry, but I think if I had cubed it smaller, it would have been better. I cooked up some brown rice to serve with it. The leftovers heated up nicely for lunch the next day, too!

Even better? I was able to find an online recipe for this here. A note about molasses, as it's required for the teriyaki sauce: use organic molasses because conventional molasses is not vegan! The refining process of non-organic molasses includes animal by-products, and although I cannot remember exactly what it is at this moment (this kind of information has been filed away as "I know it's not vegan, but I can't remember why"), I would be more than happy to find out for you. If you can't find organic molasses at your normal grocery store, try Trader Joe's or Whole Foods! And while we're on this topic, white sugar and powdered sugar fall under this same category. Organic powdered sugar and turbinado sugar (available at Giant and even some Wal-Marts!) are easy alternatives.

Enjoy!

Lettuce Wraps with Hoison-Mustard Tofu

Tofu and I haven't always had the best relationship. In fact, I can't imagine a worse beginning to a relationship: I ended up in the ER about a half hour after our first rendezvous. The doctors deemed it a "bad case" of food poisoning, and while I'm not sure that was truly the problem or that the tofu was the culprit, I've since laid the blame with tofu. Since then, tofu has been begging for my forgiveness in the form of otherwise delicious sounding recipes, and I've continually given it the cold shoulder.

Until last week. I figured I'd persecuted tofu long enough, and god damn, it's in a lot of recipes. I searched a variety of sources looking for the ideal reintroduction, and found this recipe for lettuce wraps with hoison-mustard tofu from Appetite for Reduction. Given my recent discovery of hoison sauce, I picked this because I love its spicy-sweet flavor. And that's exactly what this dish is - sweet and spicy! The red pepper flakes add to the heat, but the cool crunch of the lettuce nicely complements the fire.


These were so insanely easy to make, and honestly, the tofu wasn't that bad. I'm still not convinced tofu and I will ever move beyond acquaintances, but this was a good first step. I was able to find an online version of the recipe!

Ingredients:

Tofu

• 1 (14 ounce) package extra firm tofu, 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce

Sauce

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or 1/2 tsp if you want more spice)
• 3 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard

To serve

• 12 lettuce leaves (iceberg makes a nice pocket for the filling)

Directions:

1
Tofu: Heat a cast iron or heavy bottomed nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with a little non stick cooking spray and add the tofu. "Dry fry" for about 10 minutes carefully flipping about halfway through. Add the soy sauce and toss to coat.

2
Sauce: Heat another pan over medium heat. Add the sesame oil and saute the red bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes for about 10 minutes.

3
Once the veggies are soft and browned add the mirin and let cook for 3 minutes.

4
Add the hoison & mustard and cook for another minute.

5
Assemble: Add the tofu to the sauce and toss to coat. Spoon mixture into lettuce leaves and serve immediately. Enjoy!