cotto e crudo » tofu

Marinated green tofu

Alice — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:20:41 +0000

Ingredients200 g GMO-free, plain tofu

1 large handful fresh parsley

1 tablespoon apple vinegar

1 tablespoon capers

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon rice malt syrup

1 pinch whole sea salt

roughly 120 ml extra virgin olive oil

Makes 2 servings (16-20 cubes).

Scrambled tofu with spinach, pine nuts and raisins

Alice — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:00:48 +0000

If you have to convince someone that tofu is a tasty alternative to meat and animal proteins, try with scrambled tofu. Scrambled tofu allows you to be very creative: it can be paired with almost any kind of vegetable, from zucchini to carrots, from seaweeds to peppers (just to list a few). It’s also great with nuts. I think that firm or extra firm tofu work best for this kind of recipe but this is just my personal suggestion as I know that some people prefer the softer version. Choose extra fresh spinach.

Ingredients

250 g firm, organic tofu (GMO-free)
1 1/2 cups cooked spinach
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
1 tablespoon organic shoyu
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
grated zest of 1 organic lemon
whole sea salt, to taste
chili powder, to taste

Makes 2-4 servings.

Directions

Blanch the tofu by placing it in a pan of boiling water. Simmer for 2 minutes, remove the tofu from the boiling water and rinse it under cold water. Set aside.

It’s always a good idea to blanch tofu before sautéing it or baking it or using it for dips. The blanching procedure, which is very easy and takes only a few minutes, makes tofu more absorbent of flavours and its soy protein a lot more digestible.

In a wok, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until it’s tender, then add the shoyu and the rice malt syrup. Keep cooking over medium heat for 1 more minute. If you are using frozen spinach you can throw it into the wok once you have cooked it separately in a pan of boiling water (and drained them well) and sautè for a couple of minutes. If you choose fresh spinach you’ll have to figure out the amounts (as you’re going to need more than 1 1/2 cups) and stir fry the spinach in the wok until wilted. Crumble the tofu using your hands and add it to the vegetables. Cook for 3-5 minutes, then add the pine nuts, raisins, chili, lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and chili if necessary, stir and serve.

Stir-fried tofu with zucchini

Alice — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:16:31 +0000

Tofu is indeed one of the most versatile foods: it can serve a variety of purposes, from appetizer, to main course, to dessert and definitely more, suiting lots of recipes. The fact that it comes in a range of different textures (from extra firm to silken), makes tofu even more appealing. I normally use firmer textures for stir-frying and grilling or baking and prefer softer tofu for desserts and salad dressings. As I’m a non-meat eater, tofu certainly makes my life easier. I personally never get tired of tofu, because I don’t usually have huge amounts of it at once. For this stir-fried version with zucchini, I used one rectangular block of medium firm tofu. Needless to say, choose organic, GMO-free tofu. If you don’t use the whole package, you can rinse the remaining tofu, put it into a container covered with water, and place it in the fridge. Change the water daily in order to keep the tofu fresh and consume it within 2-3days.

Ingredients

1 package (300 g) medium firm tofu, cut into approx 2cm x 3cm slices

2 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

whole sea salt (to taste)

For the first marinade

3 tablespoons shoyu

2 cups water

For the second marinade

fresh coriander leaves (to taste)

ground, dried coriander (to taste)

2 garlic cloves, cut into chunks

3 tablespoons sesame oil

Makes 2 servings.

Arrange the sliced tofu in a single layer in a square or rectangular container. Mix together the shoyu and the water and pour the marinade over the tofu, coating it completely. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
Drain the tofu but don’t throw away the shoyu marinade, which can be used (within 2-3 days) as the base of a vegetable soup or to marinate more tofu. Combine the sesame oil, the garlic chunks, the fresh and dried coriander in a bowl. Add the tofu, cover and marinate in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours. Heat the olive oil in a wok, add the sliced zucchini and a pinch of salt. Stir over high heat for a few minutes, adding a little bit of water to avoid sticking to the wok. Remove the garlic chunks from the tofu marinade and add the tofu (with its marinade) to the zucchini. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the tofu and the zucchini and stir-fry for another 2 minutes over high heat. Serve immediately.