This Can't Be Tofu! (18 page)

3.
Heat a wide pan and add the oil. Swirl it around and when hot, add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the vegetables, broth, and the mung bean threads, minus their soaking water. Nestle the tofu into the bean threads, and gently bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

4.
Remove and taste the broth, adding more soy sauce or salt, if desired. Stir in the chilli paste, if using, dabbing it into different parts of the pan so that it will season the broth evenly. Taste and add more if you wish. Serve in 2 large bowls.

Here triangles of tofu are pan-fried, simmered briefly in half the nut butter sauce, and garnished with slivered scallion and sesame seeds. The rest of the sauce can be spooned over brown rice, noodles, or whatever you choose as an accompaniment. If possible, present the tofu in the pan that it’s cooked in
.

1.
Slice the tofu crosswise into scant ½-inch slabs, then cut each slab into 2 triangles. Blot with paper towels.

2.
Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet and add the oil. When hot, add the tofu and fry over medium-high heat until golden. Turn and cook on the second side.

3.
Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the sauce. When the tofu is done, pour in half the sauce and cook until bubbling and partially reduced. Turn off the heat, scatter the scallions and sesame seeds over the top, and bring to the table.

Combine all the ingredients in a small food processor and puree until smooth. Taste for salt and add a little extra, if needed.

To give the tofu some color and visual distinction, I brown it in a nonstick or cast-iron pan just barely coated with oil, or, for more chewiness, deep-fry it until golden. The inclusion of snow peas, broccoli florets, yellow squash, braised spinach, or another brightly colored and simply cooked vegetable added at the end make the dish much more vibrant
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1.
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

2.
Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes. Heat a nonstick skillet and brush with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add the tofu and cook over medium-high heat until golden-brown on the bottom. Turn and cook until the other surfaces are golden as well. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3.
Add the remaining oil to a wide pot, such as a Dutch oven. Turn the heat to high, add the onion, bell peppers, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown in places and a film appears on the bottom of the pot, after several minutes. Be sure to let the ingredients cook
without
stirring for ½-minute intervals so that they’ll brown. You can use this time to quarter the mushrooms and prepare the snow peas or broccoli.

4.
Add the mushrooms and continue cooking, again stirring occasionally, until they are seared in places. Add 1 teaspoon salt and grind in plenty of black pepper. Once a number of the mushrooms have gained some color, stir in the sauce, scraping up the goodies from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to low, lay the tofu over the vegetables, and cover the pot. Cook for 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes add the tomatoes.

5.
Blanch the snow peas or broccoli florets in boiling salted water.

6.
Stir in the parsley and spoon the vegetables and their sauce over rice or noodles, adding the snow peas last.

I’ve borrowed widely here in an attempt to introduce some Louisiana flavors to tofu. This is not a lean dish, but it’s far more so than the recipe I started working from! Serve this over plain white rice. The recipe may look formidable, but it’s not at all difficult to put together
.

1
. Press the tofu while you assemble the seasonings and prepare the vegetables. Then slice the tofu in half, parallel to the cutting board, but don’t separate the pieces. Cutting from the top, slice the tofu into 5 or 6 triangles. You’ll have a total of 10 or 12 pieces. Separate them and blot with a paper towel if they look damp in the center. Set aside 1 teaspoon of the seasoning mix and put the rest in a pie pan. Dip the tofu into the seasoning, coating it generously.

2.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a cast-iron or other heavy skillet. When hot, add the tofu in a single layer. (You may have to do this in two batches, using extra oil.) Fry over medium heat without disturbing for several minutes until crusty and well browned, then turn and brown on the other side. (You can even brown them on the edges standing the pieces upright against the sides of the pan.) Remove to a plate when finished.

3.
Return the skillet to the heat without washing it—you want those crusty bits remaining on the bottom of the pan—and add another tablespoon of oil. When hot, add the onions, bell peppers, roasted chiles, bay leaf, garlic, and reserved seasoning mix. Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the onions start to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. If the pan should become dry and sticky before the onions are done, add ½ cup of the stock and scrape vigorously to pick up the bits on the bottom. They will immediately thicken the liquid and lend their color. Taste for salt.

4.
Lay the tofu on top of the vegetables. Add enough stock just to come up to the tofu without covering it. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan. Simmer for 15 minutes.

5.
Set several of the nicer-looking pieces of tofu aside and turn off the heat. Spoon several tablespoons of the liquid into the sour cream and stir until smooth, then stir the mixture into the pan. Next, stir in the cheese and let it melt. Return the pieces of tofu to the stew, add some fresh chopped parsley, and serve, in its pan, with rice.