Ok so here it is! my favorite way to have tofu-I could practically eat this every night.
Ingredient:
1 lb extra firm tofu
1/2 cup Mirin
3 Tbs Tamari
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tsp Asian chili sauce
1-inch chunk of ginger peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic smashed
Ok so I guess the first thing you should know about me since this is our first cooking experience together is that I take recipes as merely a suggestion and I think everyone should do the same so feel free to change this anyway you can think of and let me know if you come up with a delicious variation! first I cut the tofu I always prefer cubes- so open the package drain the water and cut into whatever shape you feel like!
Now I'm going to give you the single most important thing you should know about cooking tofu- seriously this is where almost all first timers go wrong! Place the tofu on a plate, cover with a kitchen towel or two and place a heavy book on top of it for AT LEAST and hour. It is important to get all the water out of the tofu or you'll be cooking it for days!
Now that the tofu is getting squished you can start to combine the ingredient for the marinade- so basically just throw everything into a shallow dish that will also be large enough to hold the tofu I like to use something with a lid so every now and then I can give it a good shake to evenly marinade. This would probably be a good time to discuss a few things. I have a hard time ever finding Mirin and at times have been unable to find Tamari. Mirin is similar to Saki and I have substituted Saki. Another good substitute for Mirin is some White Cooking wine with a large pinch of sugar in it. I've done both and the marinade still tasted great. If you can't find Tamari just use soy sauce- everything else should be relativly easy to find. I double the Asian chili sauce as well as the garlic...in my kitchen there can never be too much Garlic!!
once you've mixed your little concoction together you'll just whisk it together!
Now, if you're anything like me this will be the point in the recipe that you realize that not only have you forgotten to add a vital ingredient, you will also realize that you don't even have any in the house! so put your tofu in the fridge and run to your closest supermarket...
now add the ginger. If you don't have fresh ginger you can use dried ground ginger. By now your tofu should be ready so combine all ingredients in a large Tupperware. The book says you can marinade the tofu for one hour and cook but that doesn't seem like very long I marinade for the whole day shaking occasionally.
Now here's the fun part I like to add broccoli but you can add green beans, or whatever veggies you have laying around the house.I heat oil in the pan first until it becomes liquid. I spoon my tofu and vegetables into a wok.
this cooks for about 30 minutes or so. stirring often. and voila you have a delicious tofu dinner. I serve it over rice with a salad but this could really be good in a lot of different ways. So take this suggestion and add your own touches and let me know what you think!
