Chili Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu

Recipe from Veganomicon. Served with brown rice and black beans. I think some sort of sweet dipping sauce would have gone well with this.

Veggie Tofu Breakfast Scramble

I guess the picture doesn't do this dish justice. This was a very filling mix of Tofurkey sausage, tofu, carrots, peas, corn, peppers and green onions! No eggs needed.

Southwestern Tofu Salad

This cold salad was a delicious mixture of sweet and spicy. Cumin, cilantro, limes, and chili powder helped flavor this healthy dish. The original recipe didn't include tofu, but I added some fried tofu cubes for additional protein. I just ate this plain but I'm sure this could be used as a filling for tacos or as a topping for tortilla chips.

Sesame Tofu

I'm starting to see a pattern with how I prepare tofu. Tofu + sauce = dinner. However, there is a little more work involved with this once since I wanted to create a crispy coating around the tofu. I ate this dish at a restaurant recently and I wanted to see if I could mimic it. In my humble opinion, it turned out really well. And yeah, I'm a bad Asian since I used ketchup in the sauce again. Heh. I served it with some steamed veggies (green beans and baby corn) and brown rice.

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup wheat germ

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 15 ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed and cut into 1-inch cubes

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup plum sauce

1/4 cup soy paste

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons water

In a food processor, pulse the cornstarch, wheat germ, 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and salt together until smooth. Put this into a large Ziploc bag. Add the tofu cubes, close bag and shake until cubes are well coated. On medium-high heat, add enough oil in a large non-stick pan to cover the bottom. Fry the tofu until the sides are brown and crispy. Drain on a paper towel. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ketchup, plum sauce, soy paste, sesame oil, sesame seeds and water. Heat 1 tablespoon of fresh oil in the same pan (removing the old oil since it probably has chunks of burnt batter) on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and green onions and sauté until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Pour in the sauce and heat through until bubbling. Pour this prepared sauce over the fried tofu. Yield: 3-4 servings

Szechuan Tofu With Mushrooms

Does this dish look familiar? It should! It's very similar to my Sweet and Spicy Tofu With Mushrooms recipe. The only thing that's really different is the sauce. I guess you'll have to try both recipes to see which flavor you prefer. I wouldn't consider this authentic Chinese food (i.e. ketchup?!), but it sure is tasty! Next time I will add some broccoli to give this dish some color and crunchy texture.

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 15-ounce package firm tofu, drained and pressed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons agave nectar (or honey)
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
4 green onions, ends trimmed and finely diced (leave some for garnish)
10 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in water and diced (stems removed)
8 cloves garlic, minced

Heat oil in large non-stick pan on medium-high heat and add tofu cubes. Lightly fry the tofu (turning gently every couple minutes) for a few minutes until lightly brown. While the tofu fries, in a medium bowl mix together the sauce ingredients (water through ginger) and set aside. Drain tofu on paper towels and remove oil from the pan, leaving only about 1 tablespoon. To the pan add the garlic, green onions and mushrooms and saute for 4 minutes on medium heat. Add the tofu back in the pan along with the sauce. Sauce will bubble and thicken quickly. Stir until ingredients are heated through and sauce is at desired thickness. Yield: 4 servings

Lightly Breaded Tofu with Mushroom Gravy

So I'm usually a fan of powerful flavors, but this delicious recipe is very subtle. I don't even know how to categorize what type of cuisine it is because it's an amalgam of a few different flavors. You can adjust the spiciness by adding more cayenne pepper to the flour mixture, but I appreciated the mildness. I think the gravy itself could go well with a few different dishes, but that's a topic for another post.

1-15 ounce package firm tofu, drained and pressed
2 cups vegetable broth (or use a veggie bouillon cube + water)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Slice the tofu into medium sized cubes. Soak the cubes in the vegetable broth and set aside (do this step before slicing any of the veggies to allow for more time for marinating). In a shallow pan mix together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and spices. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Drain the tofu and save 1 cup of the broth. Toss the tofu cubes in the flour mixture until fully coated and tap off excess flour (save 1 1/2 tablespoons of this mixture). Fry the cubes in the oil until lightly brown on all sides. Drain the tofu on some paper towels and set aside. In a clean pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the leftover oil on medium heat and add the garlic and green onions. Cook for a couple minutes and add the mushrooms, 1 cup of the vegetable broth and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the flour mixture. Let this sauce come to a boil and then simmer on medium heat until thickened ( about 3-5 minutes). Pour this sauce over the tofu and serve with brown rice. Yield: 4 servings

Matter "Paneer"

So I'm on an Indian cuisine kick and this totally turned out better than I thought it would. According to my sister, it's the "most delicious" dish I've made for my blog so far. Again, this is completely vegan since I used tofu instead of paneer cheese. I ran out of regular onions, so I used what I had on hand (green onions).

1 15-ounce packaged of extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil spread
3 green onions, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
2 whole dried red chilis
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water

Lightly fry the tofu cubes in the vegetable oil until edges are slightly brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Melt the vegetable oil spread in the pan and add the green onions, garlic, cumin seeds, and red chilis. Let ingredients fry for a minute and add the turmeric, chili powder and coriander. Continue to cook the spices for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add the water, salt, peas and tofu back into the pan and bring everything to a boil. Boil until water is reduced by half, then lower heat and cover pan. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve with basmati rice and/or naan bread. Yield: 4 servings

Saag "Paneer"

This is my vegan version of an Indian favorite. Instead of using the traditional paneer cheese, I substituted tofu. Both have a mild and creamy flavor, so the difference isn't that noticeable. This doesn't taste exactly like what you'd get at a restaurant because I'm omitting heavy cream and butter, but it still tastes pretty darn good. The spices can be a little bit hard to come by if you don't have an Indian grocer nearby, but you can substitute curry powder for the garam masala and omit the amchur powder, if necessary.

1 15-ounce package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 whole dried red chilies
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil spread
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (do not drain)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon amchur (mango) powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the vegetable oil on medium heat in a large non-stick pan. Add the tofu cubes and fry each side until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side) then drain excess oil by placing on paper towels. Remove oil from pan leaving only 1-2 tablespoons and add vegetable oil spread, dried chilies and cumin seeds. Toast seeds on medium heat until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes) then add garlic, garam masala, coriander powder, amchur powder, and onions. Saute the onions for 5 minutes or until translucent then add spinach and tofu back into the pan. Stir in water and salt, then cover pan with lid and let cook for 10 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add in soy milk and cover again to let cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove red chilis after done cooking. Yield: 4 servings

Sweet and Spicy Tofu with Mushrooms

Finally a dish that reflects the name of this blog. This is my favorite way to prepare tofu and the taste is honestly restaurant quality. I usually buy dried shiitake mushrooms and rehydrate them in a bowl of water, which only takes a few minutes. All the sauces listed below can be found at an Asian grocery store. Feel free to adjust the proportions to suit your taste. I say this serves 4, but whenever I make it my sister and I gobble it down no problem. I like to serve it with some steamed broccoli and brown rice.

1 package (15 ounces) extra-firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1x1 inch cubes
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 cup plum sauce
1/4 cup soy paste
1/4 cup vegetarian "oyster" sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese red chili paste
1 tablespoon sesame oil

On medium-hot, heat enough oil in a medium-sized pan to cover the bottom. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the tofu cubes. Let each side of tofu turn slightly brown (about 2-4 minutes) before flipping to another side. Repeat until all sides are are brown. Drain tofu on paper towels and set aside.

As tofu is frying, in a medium bowl, whisk together the plum sauce, soy paste, oyster sauce, red chili paste and sesame oil to make sauce.

Leave 1 tablespoon of oil in pan and reduce heat to medium. Add garlic, onions and mushrooms to pan and saute until onions are translucent (about 5-8 minutes). Add tofu and prepared sauce and stir. Let it come to a boil before reducing heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and enjoy! Yield: 4 servings