pan fried tofu, finally got it RIGHT

Ok, so I've been trying to get at least one meal a week in the menu with tofu instead of meat. And I've been trying to get a good pan fried tofu... something with a little crunch on the outside and a nice soft inside. Today I pulled that off. This post serves to document HOW.

1. Freeze the tofu overnight, in this case, extra firm.


2. thaw the tofu


3. drain the tofu
   
   
   
   1. cut into the shrink wrap just along one side where the front hooks on, I actually took an entire strip of the front face of the package off along one side, this leaves basically a slit across the top where the water can come out.
   
   
   2. hold over sink and squeeze package with hands to press out the water. Don't be afraid to squeeze hard, the freezing turned it into a sponge, you're wringing it out now.
   
   
   
   


4. slice the tofu block into 6-8 strips


5. lay them out on a plate and season with liquid of choice... it will absorb like a sponge. I used Tamari Soy... you want something flavorful that will help it to brown, but not burn.


6. flip over and season the back too! Unless you sliced it real thin, or put a lot on from the front, it won't make it across. You coulda also submerge it in marinade I suppose... but that seemed like overkill to me.


7. put a thin layer of oil (I used EVOO) in a skillet and get it rocket hot, just below smoke point.


8. place tofu strips flat in skillet and cook until crisp on one side


9. flip and cook on the other (won't take as long as first side)


10. remove from pan and enjoy

Here's why it's important to season both sides, if you don't (and I missed this on a couple) that side that isn't seasoned will soak up the oil from your pan and leave it dry, which means it will burn, not brown. And that, as AB would say, is not good eats.

Dinner Plan: Apricot Tofu

"Tonight's" Menu*
Entree: Appricot Tofu
Side: Kashi 7 grain pilaf
Side: Green Beans

Apricot Tofu
Take a block of extra firm tofu, slice 1/2" thick, cross cut to bite size squares. Press it well to drain. (Optionally soak it in Apricot Brandy overnight... I've not tried that yet, but will next time I think! :) ) In a small dutch oven (that fits your stove top) warm a small amount of oil (we used Asoyia, an ultra low lin soybean oil.) with some chopped/crushed ginger. About 2 table spoons for a normal 1 lb block of tofu. If you really like ginger, double that. :) Our ginger comes in a babyfood like jar from gilroy farms now... along with the chopped garlic... saves a TON of prep time. Once the oil has a nice ginger aroma, drop in the chunks of tofu and toss to coat with oil.

You have a choice at this point to try to "brown" the tofu or not. I've never been successful in actually "browning" tofu, but it *does* change the texture if you pretend like you're browning chunks of chicken or pork and let it go for a while, stirring occasionally. The oil is there to keep it from sticking too bad, and also to help the ginger flavor get into the tofu.

Dump in an entire pot of apricot preserves. This is *not* a place to skimp and buy the store brand... you REALLY need to be sure you're getting good preserves for this. I can't recommend Dickinson's brand highly enough... they're pretty much the ONLY preserves/marmalades I use in cooking anymore, the exceptions being Rose's brand orange marmalade, and Knott's berry farm for a couple flavors I can't get from Dickinson's. Add another half pot of water, putting the lid back on and shaking it well to get the remaining good bits out. :) Stir well, cover and let simmer for a while. I want to say I left it for 25 min or so the last time we made this. When done, you should have well seasoned cubes of tofu floating in a nice "gravy" thickness orange syrup like sauce. If yours doesn't thicken, leave the lid off for a few minutes, or use less water next time. :)

Kashi side
This is an easy one... grab a pack of Kashi 7 grain pilaf and follow the directions. If you start from the dry grain you can use it as a timer for how long to cook the Tofu, just start the kashi before you put the oil in the pan. We use the MRE like packets that just need a couple Tbps of water and 90 seconds in the microwave.

Green beans
Fresh, Frozen, Canned... whatever floats your boat. I'll admit my mother corrupted me, I dress them with a dab of Mayo and would love some bacon crumbled in... but without that a hit of Penzey's spice goes well. I like many of the curry blends in this case.

Variations
Some will note this is a tofu-ized adaptation of my famous apricot pork. It's probably one of the best adaptations of any of my standard dishes to tofu. Different main ingredient calls for different cooking techniques though... so no pressure cooker.

* FootNote
I say tonight in quotes because we actually did apricot pork this week, tofu will be curry tomorrow or tuesday. I've done this twice now I think as documented above. And for you local yocals, you can buy everything you need for this at HyVee (South at least, I dunno about the Barlow or North locations.)

UPDATE
I did this dish again the other day for my brother and sister in law as they passed through. I made the following changes and the results were out of this world. I used firm instead of extra firm tofu... only because the store was out of extra firm. I froze the tofu blocks overnight a couple days before we made this, then let them thaw back out in the fridge. This totally changes the texture into a sponge like structure, very awesome for holding flavors. After cubing and pressing, I soaked them in some apricot brandy for about a half hour. Then I skipped the oil and just used that brandy (and water from the tofu) as the initial cooking liquid to dissolve the ginger in before tossing the tofu and preserves in. Due to an insufficient amount of preserves (and much chunkier than usual since Cory bought a different brand this time) I ended up needing that extra liquid anyway... near the end of the cooking time, the 'sauce' had thickened to the point that it was starting to brown on the tofu... so we actually got some "golden brown and delicious" without any oil! It was totally a success... 2 lbs of tofu between 4.25 people, there were NO leftovers.

Dinner Plan: Jerk Chicken

Tonight's Menu
Entree: Jerk Chicken
Side: Coconut Rice
Side: Tropical Fruits



Jerk Chicken
Simple and easy. Cleanup boneless skinless chicken breasts, season with Penzey's Jerk Chicken and Fish spice. I did this yesterday actualy, so they've been in the fridge marinating. I'll mist with oil before grilling, and hit with lime juice just before taking off.

Coconut Rice
This is a first time I've made this this way... meaning from scratch instead of a kit. I'm using long grain brown jasmine rice, basically just following the package directions, except replace 50% of the water with unsweetened coconut milk from a can. Also upped the water a bit. So the bag called for 2.5 cups water, 1 cup rice... I did 1.25 cups unsweetened coconut milk, 1.5 cups water and 1 cup rice.

Tropical Fruits
This could be something fancy like grilled pineapple. But it's just going to be a jar of Dole's tropical fruit chunks.

Results
Well, we didn't have any lime juice. Planning FAIL. The chicken was still good, but I think that woulda improved it. The rice was a split vote, I thought it was ok, but Cory thought it was too sweet and bland. A small dash of salt in the cooking might have been a good addition.

sad news for foodies

Today I called Penzeys to renew our subscription to One. Sadly, they told me I couldn't, as there wasn't going to be a magazine any longer. A quick visit to their website confirms that bad news.