I made A Simple Marinade for Tofu yesterday morning and I let the tofu sit in it all day while I was out. A long process is not mandatory and you can let the tofu marinate for 10 minutes, if you are short on time. Last night, I prepared the dish (for two, about 20 minutes, plus chopping time and not including the marinating time):
- one block of tofu (pre-marinated), firm or extra firm, cubed;
- small ginger root;
- one chili (optional of course);
- one teaspoon of asafoetida;
- one leek;
- one yellow pepper;
- one courgette/zucchini;
- two small bunches of bok choy;
- one small head of radicchio;
- one or two teaspoons of vegetable/seed oil of your choice (higher smoke point than olive, so better for stir frying);
- salt/pepper to taste
Chop all vegetables.
First, follow these instructions to pre-prepare your tofu (simple boiling and cooling will enhance the texture of your tofu tremendously). Pan fry the tofu in a non-stick skillet with the smallest bit of oil. Let it cook enough on both sides to create a satisfying crunchy crust and then set aside when done (less than 10 minutes). The non-stick helps you get the crunch without too much burn. It may be obvious to some, but it wasn’t to me and I was not pleased when I made it in the cast iron skillet and it was a bit of a disaster. It should look something like this, more or less as you prefer
While cooking the tofu, in a separate skillet, stir fry the vegetables. Heat up a teaspoon of oil, with salt and asafoetida for a minute or two. Start with the vegetables that need longer to cook: ginger, chili, leek, for about 10 minutes. Add a bit of water now and again and cover. This creates steam, speeds up the process and uses far less oil.
When the leek is soft, add the yellow pepper and courgette/zucchini, tasting the pepper from time to time to see how crunchy or soft you like it. Finally, add the bok choy and radicchio until the leaves to wilt. The tang of radicchio contrasts nicely with the somewhat sweet crust of the tofu. Season to taste and combine with the tofu.
deliciousssssss