Read This Can't Be Tofu! Online
Authors: Deborah Madison
This Can't Be Tofu! (7 page)
Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet until hot enough to sizzle a piece of tofu. Add the tofu, 6 or 7 pieces at a time, and fry until golden but not brown. Turn them so that they color on all sides, then remove to paper toweling to drain. Sprinkle with salt and remove them to a serving dish.
Serve with the peanut sauce in a communal bowl or individual bowls and provide toothpicks for skewering and dipping.
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. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor, except the water, and puree until smooth. Gradually pour in the water. Taste for salt and cayenne, adding more if necessary.
BECAUSE TOFU IS SUCH A VERSATILE INGREDIENT
,
it isn’t limited to any single preparation. In salads and sandwiches, for example, tofu often appears as the main ingredient and is usually identifiable as such, but not always. Sauces, on the other hand, tend to use tofu in a more discreet manner, concealing its identity by mingling it with herbs, garlic, mayonnaise and such.
While tofu might appear as mock chicken, you can also reverse the order, using tofu in a dressing to spoon over poached chicken or fish. Other simple preparations feature tofu in a salad with chilled buckwheat noodles or finely shredded napa cabbage in its purest form: uncooked and seasoned with the simplest of sauces. On the other hand, little cubes of glazed, peppered tofu show up in a warm cabbage salad.
Tofu’s guises are many. Whether simply browned in a skillet with a dash of Worcestershire sauce or more elaborately seasoned with an oregano-pesto coating, tofu makes a robust sandwich filling that goes great with mayonnaise, mustard, tomatoes, or sautéed onions. It can also disappear into such familiar sandwich fillings for falafel or croquettes, while a curried crumbled tofu dish makes a new and unexpected filling for pita bread.
As for sauces, I find that tofu (preferably silken) works best in mayonnaise-type sauces that are white and creamy. It also slips undetected into a Green Goddess dressing, blue cheese dressing, or horseradish cream. You can use tofu by itself to make a dairy- and egg-free salad dressing, but if you’re a little nervous about going solo with tofu, you can successfully cut it with sour cream or yogurt, or simply add some pureed tofu to a recipe you’ve already made, perhaps increasing the seasonings a bit.
and Sesame Tofu Salad with Pickled Ginger
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Fill a wide skillet with water and bring to a boil. Wash the spinach well, discarding the stems and any yellow or bruised leaves. Retrieve 8 of the crowns (the stems that are joined at the roots) and wash them, too. Cut the tofu into small cubes.
When the water boils, add ½ teaspoon salt and the spinach. Cook just until wilted, turning it a few times with a pair of tongs, then lift the spinach into a strainer and rinse under cool water. Set aside. Add the crowns to the pan, cook for about 15 seconds, then remove and rinse. Turn off the heat and slide the tofu into the water. Let sit for 1 minute, then carefully remove onto paper toweling to dry.
Roast the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet until fragrant, then remove to a plate. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
Squeeze the water out of the spinach and chop, neither too fine nor too coarse. Set in a bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the dressing and about two thirds of the sesame seeds. Taste and add more dressing, if desired. Distribute the spinach among 4 small plates, then place the tofu around and on top. Spoon more dressing over the tofu (you probably won’t use it all), then garnish with the slivered, pickled ginger and remaining sesame seeds. Place 2 spinach crowns on each plate and serve.
Heat all but 4 teaspoons of the dressing until sizzling, then pour it, while tossing, over very tender spinach leaves to wilt them. Add most of the sesame seeds and toss again. Divide among 4 plates; place the tofu among the leaves and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Add the ginger, and sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds over the top.
Finely chop the cooked spinach and add it along with the sesame seeds to 2 cups freshly cooked warm white rice, a finely diced cucumber, and 2 finely slivered scallions. Toss well, then add the tofu and toss
once
before serving so as not to break it up.
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Puree all the dressing ingredients, except the herbs, until smooth in a small food processor or blender, then stir in the herbs.
Dice the tofu into pieces about the size of a sugar cube. Bring 4 cups water to a simmer in a
10-
to 12-inch skillet, add ½ teaspoon salt, then ease the tofu into the pan. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove. Let cool on a towel. (If you’re using water-packed soft tofu, you may prefer not to cook it. Just let the block drain on toweling while you prepare everything else.)
Toss the cabbage with half the dressing, then divide among 4 plates. Arrange the tofu on top and spoon the remaining dressing over it. Garnish with the cucumber, sprouts, and sesame seeds.
Include thinly sliced radishes, kohlrabi, purple cabbage and spinach leaves, paper-thin carrot shavings, white mushrooms, fresh peas or boiled fresh soybeans (edamame).
