Friday, June 13, 2008

Tofu That Almost Anyone Will Love

Recipe
Golden Tofu Triangles with Rich Peanut Sauce

In the last couple years or so, I've come to really appreciate tofu - it's one of the most versatile things I cook with. It takes on the flavors of other ingredients beautifully, it's inexpensive, easy to work with, and it doesn't spoil as quickly as meat or produce. This recipe for tofu with peanut sauce is one of my favorites - I first discovered it on a fellow food blogger's site, Cooking the Books. The peanut sauce, which includes lime juice, ginger, and curry paste, is incredibly rich and flavorful. When making tofu recipes like this one (cooking the tofu in a skillet versus things like puddings that call for blending the tofu with other ingredients), it's best to buy extra-firm tofu that's packed in water. Before you fry it, press the block of tofu between two plates for about 20 minutes - you can even stack a couple heavy cans on top of the plates to get as much water out of it as you can. After pressing out the excess water, blot the tofu with a paper towel before you toss it in the skillet with a bit of olive oil, and the texture of your tofu should turn out perfect every time. We've been quite fond of eating this over rice, but I'm sure it would be fantastic over noodles, too. If you're a bit skeptical about tofu, this is a great recipe to start with: the flavors are fairly familiar for most people and it's very simple to prepare. This may be the recipe that makes a tofu convert out of you!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Being a veg, I can't believe I still haven't cooked with tofu. This will have to be my first recipe. Looks great!

Elisabeth said...

Anna, this is one I'm sure you would really like, and it's really easy - I hope you try it!