Crispy Oven-Baked Tofu

I have never been one who enjoys tofu. It's squishy and flavorless, but this recipe has totally changed my mind about it! It does take a little advanced preparation, but it's worth it. I have adapted the recipe from Cookie and Kate's blog and just used the flavors I like. If the tofu in the shop looks dubious, just remember that you're going to squeeze out a lot of the water and cook it at really high heat. I personally prefer the packets of tofu labeled "soya paneer."

 

Crispy Oven-Baked Tofu

1 block tofu
1 tsp ginger paste
1 Tbs soy sauce*
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbs corn starch

Begin by slicing the block through the middle parallel to your cutting board. Then slice lengthwise and width-wise (like a grid) to create small blocks of tofu. On a plate lined with folded paper towels or a tea towel, spread out the small cubes in a single layer. Add more paper towels or the other end of the tea towel to the top. Place another plate on top and weigh it down. I like to put a cast iron skillet on top. Let sit for 30 minutes to squeeze out moisture. 

Mix the other liquid ingredients in a bowl. After draining add the tofu to the bowl. The longer this marinates the better the flavor. I usually leave it 10 minutes to a few hours in the fridge. Just before baking, toss in the corn starch until all the powder is absorbed. 

Preheat oven to 200 C. On a foil lined baking sheet spread a little oil to prevent the tofu sticking. Spread the tofu out on the pan and put in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Toss the baked tofu half way through cooking to promote even browning. Enjoy hot and crispy! 

*Use gluten-free tamari to make this gluten free. 

If you want to use this tofu in another dish, then you may just want to stick to the oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch. The original poster suggests it can soak up whatever sauce is in the main dish better that way.

Ginger Garlic Noodle Soup with Greens

Soup season is around the corner, and I always enjoy a good Asian-inspired bowl full of noodles and vegetables. This recipe from The Forked Spoon is one of my favorite broth recipes because it has such a unique flavor. The smell of the broth is like 5-spice powder. Here's the recipe with minor adaptations for people living where certain ingredients are harder to find or need different cooking methods for keeping you healthier.

Ginger Garlic Noodle Soup with Greens
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 bunch green onions, sliced with green and white separate
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
5.5 cups water
2 chicken stock cubes
1 whole star anise
1.5-2 Tablespoons soy sauce
 250 grams button mushrooms, sliced
150-200 grams rice noodles (written "rice sticks" on packet)
1 small bunch bok choy or a few cups other chopped leafy greens
Sesame seeds for topping
Chili flakes for topping

Heat the oil over medium heat in a stock pot. Add onions and saute just until they begin to soft. Add in white parts of green onions, garlic, and ginger, and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Pour in the water, stock cubes, star anise, and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Open the lid, remove the star anise pod, and discard it. Add the mushrooms, uncooked noodles, chopped greens, and green onion tops, and simmer 5-8 minutes until everything is tender. Season with salt, pepper, and more soy sauce if desired. Top each bowl of soup with sesame seeds and chili flakes, if desired.

Egg Roll In a Bowl

This one I have come to love since discovering it a few months ago. It has joined our regular rotation, and because of my thrifty use of pork in the recipe, I can have ½ pound of minced pork sausage ready for another meal. Mostly Homemade Mom comes through again on this one with a few minor adaptations for living here. We like to eat ours with rice rather than just as is. I can confidently say that if you cook your rice in a pressure cooker just as you start the cooking for the egg roll part, you can have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes start to finish. Those are seriously hard to come by when you live in the developing world!

Egg Roll in a Bowl

500g pork mince, turned into sausage (omit herbs)

½ large head or 1 small head cabbage, sliced into ribbons

2 cups carrots, julienned

5 cloves garlic, minced

¼ - 1/3 cup good quality soy sauce (more if lower quality)

1 teaspoon dried ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Green onions, tops only, sliced

Mix the dried ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Heat a wok over high heat. Fry half the sausage mixture with a small splash of soy sauce until browned. Save the rest of the sausage in the fridge for breakfast or another meal. Remove the browned sausage from the pan. If the pan is still shiny from the fat in the sausage, just toss the garlic directly in. Otherwise, add a little oil. Stir continuously just until the garlic begins to look golden. Quickly toss in the remaining vegetables and the soy sauce mixture. Fry, stirring continuously, until the vegetables begin to wilt. Return the sausage to the pan and cook until vegetables are tender but still have a bite. Sprinkle over the green onions and add soy sauce as needed for seasoning. Remove from heat and serve over rice or as is.

Miso Noodle Bowl

I'm back after a long silence! Although our weather has alternated between hot/summery and rainy, something about monsoon rain makes me want that occasional bowl of soup--even when I'm sweating. This soup, inspired by a recipe from Mushrooms Canada, can be made in under 15 minutes so it's a definite winner for easy weeknight meals. If you want it to be extra special, soak some dried black/Shitake/Chinese mushrooms in the morning to give you delicious natural mushroom broth in the evening. Just make sure you don't pour in the dredges from the bottom as they may contain grit.

Miso Noodle Bowl
1 Tablespoon oil
2 small onions, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
3 Tablespoons miso paste
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
4 cups water + 2 vegetable bouillon cubes or mushroom broth
2 cups mixed mushrooms or bok choy, chopped
2 scallions, chopped finely
200g noodles (soba, ramen, or chowmein)
Sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar, to taste

Heat oil over medium low heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute, but do not let them brown. Stir in the miso paste and soy sauce, making sure the onions are coated with the mixture. Pour in the broth (water + bouillon) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the vegetables, cooking over medium heat just until they are al dente or the greens are wilted. Add the noodles and cook another 4-7 minutes until they are also al dente. Remove from heat. Ladle into bowls, top with chopped scallions, and sprinkle over sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar to taste.

To add more protein content to the meal, you could also drop in cubed tofu toward the end of the cooking process.

Garlic Sesame Green Beans

Tonight we had these as an accompaniment to a Thai Chicken Curry, and they were such a huge hit with my kids I wanted to share them right away. If you like super soft green beans, you'll need to increase blanching time as these are deliciously crisp. To save time, you could blanch your green beans in advance and store them in the fridge. If you're not much into clean up, you can blanch the beans, toast sesame seeds, and fry the beans all in the same pan like I did.

Garlic Sesame Green Beans
500g/~1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
1-2 Tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Salt to taste

Drop trimmed green beans into salted boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain the beans (using the pan lid) and drop into cold water to stop cooking. Toast the sesame seeds over medium heat in the dry pan until they are crackling, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent burning. Set the seeds aside. Heat the cooking oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, stirring constantly to prevent burning. As soon as you see a little gold, toss in the beans and sesame oil. Fry for several minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Add the soy sauce near the end of cooking. At this point you should have crispy brown garlic clinging to the beans. Turn off the heat and toss the sesame seeds into the beans.