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Noms for You
Apr. 13th, 2012 08:41 pmI have been very remiss in posting recipes lately! I haven't given up on my cooking project, but because of my work schedule, I've doing less exciting cooking lately - my dad and I trade off days in the kitchen, and I'm not trying as many new recipes because I don't have as much time to spend looking them up. It's been too easy to just default to pork with kimchi, or miso chicken, or meatballs in tomato sauce, things I've made plenty of times before and know we'll both like. Today I tried something new though! And I didn't quite have the ingredients called for in the recipe I was using, so I ended up improving it into something that turned out quite tasty. Not super complex, just light, slightly spicy and nicely tangy, good for a friday dinner after a long week.
Tamarind-Lime Tofu
1 block of firm/extra-firm tofu
2 tablespoons tamarind water*
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce, if you want this to be vegan)
1 teaspoon sugar (I use raw brown sugar)
2 small red chiles
2 kaffir lime leaves (we keep ours in the freezer)
zest from 1 lime
2 cloves garlic
loads of spinach, rinsed
*make the tamarind water by soaking 2-3 tablespoons of tamarind pulp (I don't measure, just grab a reasonable looking chunk off the block) in 1/4 cup of warm water for about 15 minutes, then pushing it through a strainer so you end up with just the brown glop. For this recipe you want it to be pretty thick and pulpy. Or you could just buy it in a jar, I guess.
Drain the tofu for about 15-20 minutes. Chop the lime leaves and chiles up, removing the seeds from the chiles if you want a more mild dish. Combine the leaves, chiles, lime zest, tamarind water, sugar and fish sauce in a bowl. Cut the tofu into cubes and add to tamarind mixture. Stir to mix thoroughly and set aside to marinate for about 15 minutes. Heat up a large frying pan or wok over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, then the garlic, frying until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Fry the tofu in batches until it is crisp and browned on all sides (about 3-4 minutes). Throw all the tofu back into the pan, along with any leftover marinade and the spinach. Toss until the spinach is wilted (about 30 sec. to 1 minute). Serve with rice.
Tamarind-Lime Tofu
1 block of firm/extra-firm tofu
2 tablespoons tamarind water*
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce, if you want this to be vegan)
1 teaspoon sugar (I use raw brown sugar)
2 small red chiles
2 kaffir lime leaves (we keep ours in the freezer)
zest from 1 lime
2 cloves garlic
loads of spinach, rinsed
*make the tamarind water by soaking 2-3 tablespoons of tamarind pulp (I don't measure, just grab a reasonable looking chunk off the block) in 1/4 cup of warm water for about 15 minutes, then pushing it through a strainer so you end up with just the brown glop. For this recipe you want it to be pretty thick and pulpy. Or you could just buy it in a jar, I guess.
Drain the tofu for about 15-20 minutes. Chop the lime leaves and chiles up, removing the seeds from the chiles if you want a more mild dish. Combine the leaves, chiles, lime zest, tamarind water, sugar and fish sauce in a bowl. Cut the tofu into cubes and add to tamarind mixture. Stir to mix thoroughly and set aside to marinate for about 15 minutes. Heat up a large frying pan or wok over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, then the garlic, frying until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Fry the tofu in batches until it is crisp and browned on all sides (about 3-4 minutes). Throw all the tofu back into the pan, along with any leftover marinade and the spinach. Toss until the spinach is wilted (about 30 sec. to 1 minute). Serve with rice.