Tofu?

The Asian experiment continues with tofu and a sojourn to China. I was looking for tofu recipes and found a few ways to cook it that I actually am eager to try. I like tofu.... theoretically. It takes on the taste of whatever you put it in.....its the texture that to date I have had a difficult time with.  Normally when i have tried to cook it in the past it has ended up looking like a gray version of scrambled eggs...i dislike scrambled eggs.  But today I have overcome. I found that frying the tofu gives it a crispy texture and cutting into small cubes that are really only one small bite helps as well.

MaPo  Tofu

This is a pretty cool dish with a bit of history, not to mention very tasty. I did not make it as spicy as the recipe called for but it had enough heat for me. The website I found the recipe on also held a story about how the dish came to be. The story goes "that there was an old woman whose face was scared.
Because that she lived the life of an outcast. One stormy night, a wealthy businessman stopped at her home to seek shelter from the rain. Delighted at having a guest, she raided her meager pantry to put together a dish made with tofu and pork. The traveler was so amazed by her delicious creation that he sent more travelers her way." http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/mapo-tofu/

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 4 green onions white part only, minced
• 1 tablespoon fermented black beans, roughly chopped (black bean paste will also work)
• 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, black seeds removed then ground (optional)
• 6 ounces ground pork
• 2 teaspoons doubanjiang (chili bean paste)
• 14 ounce block of silken tofu, drained and cut into 3/4” cubes
• green part of green onions minced for garnish

Directions

1. Add the chicken stock, cornstarch, soy sauce and sugar to a small bowl and stir to combine.
2. Heat a wok or large frying pan until very hot. Add the sesame oil, garlic, ginger and green onions and stir-fry with a spatula until fragrant. Add the black beans and Sichuan pepper and continue stir-frying.
3. Add the ground pork and use the spatula to break it up into small grains (you don’t want clumps of meat). When the pork is cooked, add the doubanjiang and stir to distribute. Add the tofu, and toss to mix (if you stir it, the tofu will lose its shape).
4. Give the stock mixture a good stir to incorporate anything that may have settled, and then pour it over the pork and tofu. Toss to coat, then boil until the sauce thickens.
5. Garnished with the green parts of the green onions, then serve with hot rice.

Yield: 3-4 servings

Miso Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 Cups Water
• 2 tsp. Hondashi (Japanese Bonito Fish Soup base)
• 1 Block of Soft (Silken) Tofu (14 oz. container), cubed
• 6 Tbsp. Miso Paste (choose your favorite brand - I like the ones that have dashi added in it)
• ½ Cup of Wakame (Dried seaweed)

Optional:

1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

• Add water and hondashi to medium size pot and bring to a boil.  Once it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the tofu,  and wakame to the soup base. 
• Next add the  paste to the soup base by dissolving it Tbsp by Tbsp.  I would highly recommend tasting as you go since the flavors and potency of the miso paste vary greatly from brand to brand.  Don’t worry if the soup base seems to turn cloudy and separates as it cools, as this is normal.
• Serve as is or with rice.  Garnish with green onions if you like.

 http://kitchenrunway.com/miso-soup/

Chocolate Chili Tofu Pudding

Ingredients

	1/4 cup(s) sugar
	6 packet(s) Sweet 'N Low Granulated Sugar Substitute
	2 tsp vanilla extract
	5 tsp CHATFIELD'S Cocoa powder
	1 Tbsp water
	1/2 tsp chopped red hot chili peppers
	14 oz low-fat tofu

Instructions

Put it all in the blender and blend on high until smooth. Makes 6- 2.5oz servings.