Today, I shared my first tofu experience with my friends on Twitter. Check out the Tweets with photos here and here. I have eaten tofu before, and especially love it in Pad Thai, an Asian noodle dish. But today, I decided to make some myself. I was partly inspired by a meeting with my new fitness trainer at the gym this morning, and partly inspired by a conversation I had with one of the Sisters at the monastery last week.
Sister Lynn described tofu as easy to prepare and reminded me that it soaks up the flavor of just about anything it's served with. I was also encouraged by my #fitceos Collaborative Lifestream Partners, especially Allison who said that tofu absorbs flavor like a sponge. Also, my friend Lela, a practicing vegetarian and Buddhist, who wiped a way a cyber tear when she heard I was planning a tofu adventure. So, without further ado, here's the recipe for My First Tofu Salad. Mind you, this is entirely on the fly so all measurements are approximate.
INGREDIENTS
For The Tofu
1 package Nasoya organic tofu
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (maybe a bit more) ChinaBlue sweet soy glaze
1/4 ounce Gourmet Garden chili pepper seasoning spice paste (omit if you can't stand the heat)
1/4 ounce Gourmet Garden garlic seasoning spice paste
1/4 ounce Gourmet Garden ginger seasoning spice paste
For the Salad
1 small head iceberg lettuce
1 small carrot, sliced into long “curls” off with a vegetable peeler
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small red onion, sliced, with rings kept whole (so they look pretty!)
1 medium red tomato, quartered and sliced
Organic edamame (sorry, can't recall how much but I dumped the whole container in — seemed like 16 ounces or so. I didn't boil them. Maybe I should have?)
PREPARE
1. Slice and then cube the tofu (or you could buy cubed tofu). Place on a paper towel to drain well.
2. Place olive oil in pan over medium flame.
3. Add tofu and cook, stirring gently every so often to make sure it doesn't stick or burn.
4. Add sauce and stir to combine. Add the spices and stir more. I didn't cover the tofu because I thought that might make it too soft to hold up in a tossed salad.
5. At this point, I tasted it because I just had to know whether I should start planning a dinner back-up. It was delicious, so I tasted more. Then one more. OK, so back to cooking.
I think I let it cook for about 15 minutes. I was careful to watch the pan and stir gently a bit now and then. When it looked like it might soon start to stick, I removed the tofu from the heat and placed it on another paper towel to drain it a bit.
Then, I cut up the vegetables as you can see in the picture, dropped in the tofu, stirred and sat down for dinner. I added a little of my favorite salad dressing but I didn't not need much since the seasoned tofu mixed with the damp vegetables to create a flavored dressing naturally.
I was quite pleased, and so was my 7-year old daughter who seems to have inherited my love of spices and culinary adventure. My husband and son were busy sucking on chicken wings. Everyone was happy, just the way I like my dinner table!
Question: What do you think? Are you a tofu fan? Why or why not? Please share how you use tofu to live more healthfully.
