Dd's Braised Tofu and Pork with Enoki Mushrooms

This is my kind of dish!  Looks so ono!

 

BRAISED TOFU & PORK WITH ENOKI MUSHROOMS

 

½ block firm tofu, cubes, drained
¼ # thinly sliced pork, sukiyaki style

Marinade:

Salt, freshly ground white pepper

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. Shaoxing wine

½ tsp. agave nectar

½ tsp. cornstarch

½ tsp. baking soda

 

2 tsp. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. ginger, grated
3/4 c. chicken broth
1 TB oyster sauce
1 TB shoyu
½ bunch enoki mushrooms, bottoms trimmed off

2 stalks green onion, 2-inch pieces

1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp. water
Garnish: chopped green onion

 

In a mixing bowl combine pork with marinade ingredients. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

In a skillet over medium heat brown pork in oil about 2 minutes.  Add the garlic and ginger; stir fry for 30 seconds.  Stir in tofu, broth, oyster sauce and soy sauce until well blended. Allow mixture to boil. Reduce heat; add mushrooms and green onion. Cook 1 minute. 

In a small bowl, whisk together water and cornstarch.  Stir into skillet until thickened to desired consistency about 2-3 minutes.

Garnish with chopped green onion. Serves 2-3.

Cleta's Soon Tofu Soup

 Look at that pikcha!!  Makes me want some right now!

Cleta said she made it with this soup kit which she got from H Mart for around $1.99.  She enhanced it with Kauai Sugar Shrimp (from Sam's), sliced zucchini, soy sprouts and kimchee with "juice".

Cleta's Braised Tofu

Cleta was inspired to make this by Jenny.  I just love her photo!  You can find the recipe here. 

Fried Tofu with Tomato Sauce

I like fried tofu and this version came out ono!

The way I make fried tofu has evolved a lot, and lately, all I do is slice the tofu, microwave for 2 minutes, drain the liquid, pat dry and fry in some oil.

Tomato sauce:  

Fry for a minute: 3 minced garlic, 3 diced shallots (I used the white part of green onions instead), 1-inch grated ginger and 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce.

Add: 2 large diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons shoyu, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Cook until sauce is reduced.

Add:  3 stalks sliced green onions.  Cook for a minute.

Top the fried tofu with the tomato sauce.  Eat. Yummy!

Fried Ginger Tofu

We had two tubs of just-expired tofu so I used Geri's Fried Ginger Chicken recipe and made this.  I liked it so much that I might've eaten a whole tub's worth by myself.

My Fried Tofu

Ho, this came out good, and it's so simple to make.  

I microwaved the tofu on high for 2 minutes to get rid of the water.  I patted dry with paper towels and coated with cornstarch, then fried.

I ate it with my sister Didi's Crunchy Garlic Chili Oil and skosh shoyu.  OMG, so ono!  To the left of the tofu is some prepared gobo from Palama Market.

Wendell's Korean Tofu Soup

Wendell made this the other day, and it totally hit the spot.  He got the recipe from a site called Jan's Food Steps.

Ingredients

• 2 pkg silken tofu
• 200g sliced beef
• 1 cup kimchi, chopped into smaller pieces
• 1.5 tsp red chili pepper flakes or gochugaru
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2.5 cups unsalted chicken broth 
• 1 scallion, finely sliced for garnish
• kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a pot over medium heat, add beef, kimchi, garlic, red chili pepper flakes and sesame oil. Stir-fry until beef is almost cooked and kimchi has softened, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Add the broth and bring it to boil. Let the soup boil for about 5 minutes while skimming off the scum.

3. Add in the silken tofu in big chunks. I just cut the tube-shaped package in half and squeeze the tofu into the pot. Let it cook for another 3-4 minutes or until tofu is warmed through. Add kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

4. Just before serving, sprinkle the chopped scallion on top of the soup (if using).

Wendell's Crispy Tofu with Cashews and Snap Peas

Wendell made this for dinner last night. The recipe was in yesterday's Crave section of the Star Advertiser.  Wendell added in some chicken although it didn't call for it.

I made myself this small portion because as I told Wendell, I was planning on having only a salad for dinner.  Well, scratch that salad because it was so ono that I had another bigger portion of this instead of the salad. 

CRISPY TOFU WITH CASHEWS AND BLISTERED SNAP PEAS

• 1 (14-ounce) block firm or extra-firm tofu, drained 
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed, vegetable or canola, divided, plus more as needed 
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste 
• 3/4 pound snap peas, trimmed 
• 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, grated (about 2 tablespoons) 
• 2 cloves garlic, grated 
• 1 (13-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
• 2 teaspoons molasses, dark brown sugar or honey 
• 1/2 cup toasted cashews 
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 
• 4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced 
• 1/4 cup mint leaves, torn if large 
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional) 
• Rice or any steamed grain, for serving 

Slice tofu in half horizontally; place on paper towels to absorb excess liquid. Season with salt and pepper.

In a medium skillet or cast-iron pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high until it shimmers. Add tofu and sear without moving until tofu is browned and golden on both sides, turning once halfway through, about 8 minutes total. Move tofu to a plate.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; add snap peas. Cook, stirring occasionally, until blistered and just tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and move to a bowl.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; add ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in coconut milk, soy sauce and molasses. Simmer, stirring frequently. until sauce reduces and color deepens to dark brown, 6 to 8 minutes. It should coat a spoon without running off.

Stir in cashews. Break tofu into 1-inch pieces and toss in pan to coat with sauce. Remove from heat; taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Toss snap peas with rice vinegar, scallions, mint and red-pepper flakes, if using. Divide among plates, along with tofu and cashews. Serve with rice or any steamed grain. Serves 4.

Wendell's Tofu with Ground Pork

Wendell made this the other night and it was super ono. We think that it's the hondashi that did the trick. 



He followed this recipe and used ground pork instead of turkey. Also, he used the smaller tub of tofu, but the big tub maybe woulda been better.



Ingredients

1 pound ground pork
1 tub tofu
1/2 sweet onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 tub mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon hondashi
1/2 teaspoon togarashi
oyster sauce, to taste
olive oil, for heating

Directions

Heat pan on high with olive oil. Brown ground pork and add chopped garlic while browning. Add diced onion and sliced mushrooms until soft and tender.

Mix in oyster sauce, togarashi and hondashi. Add tofu and green onions.

My Kim Chee Tofu Soup

I almost messed this up by putting twice the amount of red pepper flakes than needed. When I realized my mistake I ended up scraping out whatever I could. So typical of me. Luckily it still came out gooooood. 

I can't remember where the original recipe came from so I can't give credit, but I did tweak it a bit so maybe it's okay.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound-ish ground pork

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, grated

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup kimchi, chopped

2 tablespoons Korean red pepper paste (gochujang)

1 tablespoon Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)

1 1/2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon

1 cup kimchi juice

6  cups water 

1 block tofu, cut into cubes

PREPARATION

1. Combine garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and fish sauce in bowl. Add ground pork, mix and let marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Fry pork mixture in a pot. When half cooked add onion, stirring, until softened. Add kimchi, gochujang, gochugaru and Better Than Boullion.
3. Add kimchi juice and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a brisk simmer and cook for 20 minutes. 
4. Add tofu just before serving.

Here's the Better than Bouillon (and Kona)

Wendell's Pan-Fried Tofu with Egg

One of my favorite things to eat is fried tofu with a sauce. For this dish Wendell modified the recipe that he found here at China Sichuan Food.

Ingredients

1 egg, beaten
pinch of salt and pepper
1 block tofu, cut into 1.5 cm thick slices
cornstarch for coating
oil for pan-frying

dipping sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon stock or water
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion 1 fresh Thai pepper, chopped
coriander powder, sprinkle
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Crack an egg into a bowl and mix well. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Coat the tofu slices with cornstarch and then dip it into the egg.
   
3. Pour oil into a pan and lay the slices one by one. Turn on the heat and fry until both sides are golden brown.
   
4. In a small dipping bowl, mix all the seasonings and serve with fried tofu. 
   

Landon's Sake Shoyu Halibut

Wendell bought some halibut the other day and planned to use Honolulu Aunty's daughter's favorite black cod recipe to make it. You can find the recipe here. 

He was busy with a project as dinnertime approached so Landon took over the job.

I liked it a lot, although I ate more tofu than fish (actually not much of a fish-eater here). Wendell said cod woulda worked out better, especially since the recipe was designed for it. Still the taste was oishiiiii to me.  

Thanks Aunty!

Morimoto’s Black Cod with Sake, Soy Sauce and Sugar

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (12 fl. oz./375 ml) dashi (dried fish and kelp stock), kombu dashi (kelp stock) or water
• 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) sake
• 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) mirin
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. Japanese soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 4 coins peeled ginger, each about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick
• 4 skin-on black cod fillets, each about 4 oz. (125 g)
• 1/4 lb. (125 g) drained medium-firm tofu, cut into 4 equal pieces

Directions

1. In a fry pan or Dutch oven over high heat, combine the dashi, sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and ginger and bring to a boil. Add the fish to the pan, skin side up, in a single layer and cover with a piece of foil crimped into a round about 2 inches (5 cm) smaller in diameter than the pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes. The fish will be fully cooked after about 8 minutes; the longer cooking time is meant to infuse the fish with the flavor of the cooking liquid.

2. Remove the foil, transfer the fish to a plate and increase the heat to bring the liquid to a boil. Add the tofu to the pan and cook, turning once, until the liquid reduces slightly and its flavor intensifies, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Return the fish to the pan and continue cooking, basting constantly with a spoon, for 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Serve immediately in shallow bowls with some of the cooking liquid. Or, even better, remove from the heat, cover with the crimped foil and let the fish sit for 10 to 15 minutes, so the fish absorbs even more flavor from the sauce. Serves 4.

V's So Damn Ono Spicy Tofu Sauce

That's not the real name of the sauce, but that's what I want to call it.  My cousin V shared some with me and I loooooved it. She got the recipe from here. 

Below is my version.  I added a little more honey than the recipe calls for ('cause that's what V did) and choke more green onions ('cause I kinda didn't understand the recipe). Supposed to be one stalk. I put around four.

Cut tofu into 8 to 20 pieces-your preference how big pieces you want.  Put paper towels on a dish cloth and lay pieces on paper towel to help absorb moisture from tofu about 10-15 minutes. 

1. Heat a pan and add 1 to 2 tbs of vegetable oil.
2. Add the tofu and lower the heat. Cook over low heat for about 5 to 7 minutes until the bottoms of the tofu pieces turn golden brown.
3. Turn over each piece and cook another 5 minutes.
4. Transfer the cooked tofu to a serving plate.
5. Make yangnyeomjang (seasoning sauce) in a small bowl by mixing these ingredients: 
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1 chopped green onion
• 2 tsp hot pepper flakes
• 2 tbs sugar (or honey) 
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
6. Spoon the sauce evenly over the tofu, and sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds and more chopped green onion over top just before serving.
7. Serve as a side dish with rice

Wendell's Shaking Beef Salad

My family is "dieting" and trying to avoid rice, so Wendell made this for dinner one night. I loved it! The meat was tender and the dressing divine!!!

Wendell found the recipe here. If you do go and check out the website, read "About SeonKyoung".  The author/cook is originally from South Korea and says that cooking saved her. 

Ingredients

1. For Marinate Beef
2. 1 lb filet mignon or Rib-eye, remove silver skin and cut into 1-inch cubes
3. 1 Tbs soy sauce
4. 1 Tbs fish sauce
5. 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce, optional
6. 1 Tbs sugar
7. 1 tsp black pepper
8. 2 tsp vegetable or canola oil
9. For Cooking
10. 1 Tbs cooking oil
11. 2 Tbs unsalted butter
12. 4 cloves garlic, chopped
13. 1 shallot, sliced
14. 3 to 4 green onions, cut halves in lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
15. For Lime Dipping Sauce
16. 1 lime
17. 1/2 tsp salt
18. 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients for marinate beef in a large mixing bowl and mix well with your hand. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it marinate for 2 hours in a refrigerator.
2. Meanwhile make lime dipping sauce by adding all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat; add cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add marinated beef, spread as one layer so they will sear nicely. Cook 1 minute each side, or until nicely seared and cooked until your desire doneness.
4. Add butter, garlic, shallot and green onions, stir everything together and cook until vegetables got soften, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately with lime dipping sauce. Serve on a bed of tomato slices or salad for your taste.

Tofu Salad Sauce

Around 20 years ago, I ate a most wonderful tofu salad at the home of Wendell's friend Steven. It was the sauce that made it so ono. He gave me the recipe at that time, but being the non-cook that I am, I never made it and eventually lost the recipe. 

I emailed Steven a few days ago and he immediately responded with the recipe for the salad. I only had the ingredients for the sauce on hand, but that's all I really wanted to make for now anyway. 

Tofu Salad Sauce

1/4 cup salad oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup shoyu
1/2 cup green onion, finely chopped

Heat oil and add garlic. Heat until garlic browns. (Steven advised me to do this very gently, so I set the burner on low). Turn off heat and discard garlic. Add shoyu and green onion. Cool. 



Here's the rest of Steven's recipe for the salad portion.

Tofu Salad

1 1/2 blocks of tofu
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can salmon or tuna
1 medium tomato, diced

Slice tofu into cubes and lay on platter. Layer chopped onions, tomato and salmon. Refrigerate. Pour sauce over salad and serve.

THANKS STEVEN!!

Pipa Tofu

Wendell found this recipe in the recent 1/6/16 Star-Advertiser. They're light, airy tofu/fishcake puffs, and I could eat a ton of um!




1 block firm tofu, water removed
2/3 cup fresh fishcake
1 1/4 tsp. cornstarch
1 egg white
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups oil for deep frying

In a large bowl combine tofu, fishcake, cornstarch, egg white, salt and pepper; mix well.

In wok, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Scoop tofu mixture with a porcelain spoon and carefully slide into oil. Deep fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Wendell's Cauliflower Masala with Tofu

Here's another dish that Wendell made using a recipe from a Health Magazine that he saw at his doctor's office. It was yummy.

• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 6 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 pound cauliflower florets
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 5 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
• 1 large jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 7- or 8-oz. package prebaked tofu, cut into bite-size cubes
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• Lime wedges, for serving
• Naan, optional

1. In a small bowl, combine coconut milk and garam masala.

2. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tsp. oil over medium-high heat until very hot; swirl to coat skillet. Add half of cauliflower and half of onion; cook, undisturbed, for 1 minute, then stir-fry for 1 minute. Transfer to a plate. Add another 2 tsp. oil; repeat with remaining cauliflower and onion.

3. Add remaining 2 tsp. oil, ginger, garlic and jalapeño to skillet. Stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in spices and salt; add 3/4 cup water. Return cauliflower and onion to skillet. Stir in tofu. Cover and steam until cauliflower is just tender, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in peas and coconut milk mixture. Stir-fry until heated through, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and warm naan, if desired. 

My Eggplant with Pork and Fried Tofu

The sum total of all of my culinary knowledge went into making this one dish. In fact the eggplant portion I only just learned when trying to figure out how to do this.




The tofu part of the dish I learned from Hiromi on NHK World TV.


Put cut-up tofu between paper towels and put some weight on it for around 15 minutes. Me, I just left it on until I was ready to cook.


I learned this method for cooking the eggplant from Serious Eats. It said that soaking the eggplant in salted water allows some of its cell structures to break down, allowing it to soften more efficiently when cooked. It added that cooking the eggplant until charred delivers the best, deepest flavor. I soaked the eggplant in 1/4 cup of Hawaiian salt and dunno-how-much water for around 20 minutes. Then I patted dry with a paper towel.


I heated a pan until it was hot hot hot, lowered the heat a little bit and added some oil. Then I carefully added in the tofu. 


I removed the tofu, added more oil and threw in the eggplant. I wanted the charred effect to get the "best, deepest flavor", but I small-kine overdid it.


I took out the eggplant and set it aside with the tofu while I browned the meat.


I bought this thinly sliced pork from Marukai.  I fried it up with three cloves of minced garlic.


Then I added around 2 tbs. of oyster sauce and 1 tbs. of shoyu.


I mixed 1 tsp. of this bouillon base and 1 tsp. of cornstarch with around 1 cup of water and added it to the pork.


Finally, I threw the eggplant and tofu back into the pan and tossed it around to absorb the succulent juices. LOL . . . "succulent juices" . . .


I meant to add in some green onions at the end, but I forgot. 

Wendell's Ground Pork and Tofu Patties

Wendell got the cookbook, Harumi's Japanese Cooking, as a Christmas present from his coworker, Darren.  I looked through the book and asked Wendell to make this dish, and he did!  Harumi actually made kebabs, but Wendell chose to make patties instead.

12 oz. firm tofu
2 oz. green beans
small bunch fresh mint leaves
small bunch fresh cilantro leaves
6 oz. ground pork
1/4 c. finely chopped onions

For the marinade:
2 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. shoyu
1 tsp. juice from grated ginger
dash salt
2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Wrap tofu in paper towels and place in strainer for 30 minutes to remove excess water.

Boil green beans until they are just cooked. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

Chop the mint and cilantro roughly and mix.

Put the ground pork and the marinade into a bowl and mix by hand.

Break the tofu into small pieces and add to the pork mixture along with the beans, cilantro, mint and onion. 

Shape into patties and fry in oil until brown.

Leslie's Tofu Dressing

Leslie got the recipe for this dressing from Dr. Weil's Optimum Health Plan.  I just loved the garlic flavor, and isn't it great that it's made with tofu!



Here's the salad that I had for lunch yesterday. She even brought the spinach for me.



Combine the following ingredients in a blender and mix well.

6 ounces soft tofu, drained
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tbs. canola oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbs. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tbs. cider vinegar

Leslie said that she felt that the flavor was lacking a bit so she added a little paprika too.

Update:  Leslie said she added cayenne pepper, not paprika.  Cayenne pepper . . . paprika . . . what's the difference . . . same color, right?  Okay, okay . . . what do I know.