Seared hoisin tofu with radish & bok choy

If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever. – Thomas Aquinas

Does plastic-wrapped tofu ever go bad? I found a package in the refrigerator that I had forgotten a long, long time ago.

Never one to shy away from an “experiment,” I decided to use it. It looked fine, and smelled fine. Tofu, by its very nature, is a fermented product, so I felt fairly safe.

Now I don’t advocate ignoring “best by” dates on food, but did you know that many expiration dates have nothing to do with food safety.

It can be confusing. Here’s a quick break down by the language used on packaging. But don’t take my word as gospel. If you have any worries, listen to your inner alarm.

Use-By / Best By / Best Before Date

These terms are usually found on shelf-stable products like mustard and peanut butter. This date is the manufacturer’s date when the product begins to loose “peak” freshness when unopened. 

It has nothing to do with it being spoiled. Products dated this way may begin to loose colour, texture, etc., after this time. By examining the product you can easily tell if it’s bad.

And fermented products, even after being opened, are an entirely different ball of wax. Fish sauce, kimchi and the like can last a very, very long time. Very, very long.

Sell-By Date

This is used on perishable items like meats, fish and dairy. It’s for stores to know how long to display an item. After that time it starts to look a little ratty. 

Expires On Date

This is a date that has been legislated for safety by the government. Use it before the date or toss it. Buh-bye.

Of course, use common sense when eating food that you’ve had for a while. But there are many resources to find out how long foods will last. Google is your friend.

The tofu looked fine, smelled fine and tasted fine. And I lived to tell the tale. Actually this recipe was one of the better tofu dishes I’ve ever had.

Seared hoisin tofu with radish & bok choy

Time: 15 min  |  Serves 2 or 4

1 tbsp vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1-2 Thai bird eye chillies, diced

1 lb extra firm tofu

1/4 cup water or vegetable stock

2 tbsp hoisin

1 tbsp soy sauce

4 baby bok choy

1/2 cup sliced radish (or daikon)

1 bunch green onion

1 tsp five spice powder

salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a wide skillet with the garlic and chilli. Sauté for a minute or two. Don’t burn the garlic. Remove the garlic and chilli and set aside.*

While the garlic and chilli is infusing the oil, slice the tofu in half and then into 8 pieces. Add the tofu and brown well on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper while it is cooking.

While the tofu browns, pull the bok choy apart into individual leaves, thinly slice the radishes and chop the green onions. Set aside. Mix together the water, hoisin and soy. For a deeper flavour you can also add a couple teaspoons of fish sauce.

After the tofu is browned, add the hoisin mixture. Let the mixture evaporate until it thickens and coats the tofu on both sides. Do not let the sauce disappear completely, just thicken. Remove the tofu to a plate.

Add the bok choy, radish and green onion. Sprinkle with the five spice powder and some salt and pepper. Cook until the bok choy leaves have wilted slightly.

Serve with a dollop of additional hoisin on each plate.

* I left my garlic and chilli in the pan, but it’s very easy to burn when cooking the tofu. So it’s easier to remove them and add back with the bok choy.

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Vegetarian: Tofu in Sweet Garlic Sauce

The thought of two thousand people crunching celery at the same time horrified me. – George Bernard Shaw

Now come on... meat or not, doesn't this look good?

Last week we had company, a good friend who also happens to be a vegetarian. It gives me the opportunity to think up interesting vegetarian recipes. We're always glad to have her over.

Until recently I have been trying to make at least one non-meat meal per week. But for some reason I had slacked off. It was time to set things right.

Shallow frying gives a nice crust to the tofu.

I have a few requirements for any meal. First, it has to be interesting; second, it has to taste good (of course); and third, if possible it should make as few dirty dishes as possible.

A good candidate for a vegetarian recipe to fit my criteria is a wok – and tofu.

Tofu probably doesn’t spring to may people’s minds as either interesting or flavourful. But it can be. Tofu takes on the flavours of whatever it is cooked with. This recipe uses garlic. Lots and lots of it.

The sauce is very nice with a combination of sweet, chillies and garlic. It’s quite easy to do as well. The only “trouble” is in browning the tofu pieces.

I always brown my tofu before including it in stir frys. Coating with cornstarch before shallow frying adds a crunch to each piece that adds even more interest to the overall result.

Don’t worry about the tablespoon of dried chillies. Korean dried chillies are not as hot as North American ones. If you don’t use the full amount you will wish you did. 

You can get them cheaply at Asian grocery stores. I bought mine at the Coa Hoa on Queen Street.

Since we were all in the kitchen talking as I cooked, I took far longer overall to make this than it really takes. Gab, cook, gab, cook... But it can be done in the time below.

The dinner was a hit with our friend as well as us, and the three of us ate more than we should have, as usual.

If you’re looking for a recipe to stretch your tofu “wings” give this one a try. A one pound block of tofu costs about $3.00. For protein in a meal that’s extremely inexpensive.

Of course, if you must, you could substitute pork, beef or chicken. Shrimp would be overwhelmed.

But give the tofu a try.

Fast, easy, cheap, spicy, sweet, garlicky...
What more can a person ask.

Tofu in Sweet Garlic Sauce

Prep: 15 min  |  Cook: 20 min  |  Serves 4

3 tbsp oil

1 lb extra firm tofu, cubed

1/4 cup cornstarch

salt and pepper

1 tbsp dried Korean chilli peppers, diced

1 onion, diced

1 lg carrot, cut in matchsticks

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped

4 cups bok choy, chopped

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable stock

Cut the tofu into bite sized pieces. Mix the cornstarch, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Shake the tofu pieces in the cornstarch to coat. Shake off any excess cornstarch and reserve. Measure and top up to 2 tbsp total.

Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the tofu in three batches until golden. Set aside. Prepare the vegetables while the tofu browns.

Add the chilli flakes, onion, carrot, ginger and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes to soften. Add the bok choy and cook for 3 minutes more.

Mix the soy, sugar and stock together in a bowl. Pour into the wok and bring to a boil. Add the reserved cornstarch and cook until the sauce thickens. 

Serve with jasmine rice.

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Food Court Recipe: Thai Pad Sew with Tofu

What one man can invent, another can discover. – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I think one of the reasons I love cooking in a wok is because
it's almost one-pot cooking... almost.

My spouse only has Thursdays and Fridays off and works at 6am on Saturday morning. So every Thursday is the evening that we spend together to enjoy each other's company. We usually go out shopping, or window shopping to be closer to the truth.

This last Thursday we went to the Halifax Shopping Centre. I am proud to say I escaped without spending a cent – except for dinner. Our big “night out.” I really do enjoy them.

We bought donairs at Venus Pizza but as we were eating them in the food court we noticed a new (to me, anyway) vendor. It was a Thai place. It looked pretty good. We should have tried it, but too late…

They had all the usual fare complete with pictures, including Pad Thai. There was one photo and name I had never heard before. It was “Pad Sew.” It made me wonder what the difference was. It was obvious from the picture it has broad rice noodles like Pad Thai.

This is firm tofu. It keeps its shape when cut and cooked.
Photo: AsianLifestyleDesign, Flickr ccl

Since I couldn’t try Pad Sew that night I decided to give it a test drive at home. I found a few recipes on the inter-web and cobbled together a recipe. The result is the subject of this post.

Pad Sew goes by many different names. You might know it as Phat Si Io, or Pad See Ew or Pad Si Ew. It’s a popular dish in Lao and Thai restaurants world wide. (The dish has Chinese influences as well.)

The name comes from the word for soy sauce (si-io). Translated it means the dish is “fried in soy sauce.” Chinese broccoli, egg and meat (it can be beef, pork, chicken or shrimp) are cooked together with noodles in a heavily soy-based sauce. 

Tofu is also an option. Since tofu is a cheap protein (1 lb for $2.99) I try to use it once a week or so. I fried my tofu cubes ahead of cooking to to give them a bit of a crust. Doing so gives them a little more substance in vegetarian stir-fry dishes.

When the soy/sugar sauce is added the noodles absorb most of the liquid, giving them a nice beige colour. The whole effect of the sauce is sort of a salty sweet. Very Thai, and very tasty.

This was a nice new recipe to add to my Thai food repertoire. Not too bad from my inspiration being a photo in a mall food court.

Very tasty, with a salty sweet taste – one of the
signature flavours of Thai cuisine.

Pad Sew with Tofu

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 15-20 min  |  Serves 4

8 oz broad rice noodles, cooked

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 lb extra firm tofu, or firm

1/4 cup cornstarch, mixed with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

2 eggs

2 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped

6 garlic cloves, about 2 tbsp

1/2 tsp dried red chilli flakes

3-4 cups broccoli florets, cut fairly small

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar + 1 tbsp

2 tbsp fish sauce

1-2 cups bean sprouts

1 bunch of green onions

Prepare the rice noodles by soaking in hot water, or boiling according to the package directions. Keep slightly warm while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Cube the tofu. Place it in a bag with the cornstarch/salt/pepper mixture. Shake well to coat.

Add the 1/4 cup vegetable oil to a wok. When it is hot enough that drops of water dance on the surface add 1/3 of the tofu. Stir fry until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining tofu. 

Mix together the soy, water, brown sugar and fish sauce i a small bowl.

There should still be a little oil left in the wok. If not, add a little more. Whisk the two eggs in a small bowl and pour into the hot wok. Swirl them around to make a sort of pancake. Let the eggs cook until set; then curl up like an omelet and remove. Slice into pieces.

Add the chopped ginger, garlic and chilli flakes to the wok and fry until fragrant. Then add the broccoli and fry until it starts to soften a little. To speed this along you can throw 1/4 cup water into the wok. As it boils away it will help steam the broccoli.

Add the noodles to the pan, along with the fried tofu and egg. Toss well to combine and then add the sauce. 

Let the mixture cook until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed. 

Finally add the bean sprouts and green onions. Toss together until heated through and serve.

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Recipe: Pan Seared Pineapple Tofu Stir-fry

I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants. – A. Whitney Brown

Caramelized pineapple makes this a standout.

Related recipes:

Spinach Tofu Manicotti

Seared Tofu with That Mango Salsa

That Shrimp & Tofu with Peanut Sauce

General Tso’s Tofu

Tofu Parmigiana

Maple Glazed Tofu with Brussels Sprouts (yes)

Shrimp and Tofu Miso Soup

Thai Tofu with Quinoa

Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup

Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup

and of course Phad Thai

We had a friend over for dinner the other evening that we hadn’t seen for too long a time.

Making tofu. Kattebelleetje, Flickr ccl

She had never had tofu before. The “jelly-like stuff” she saw in Chinese restaurants always turned her off. Little did she know tofu was on the menu… We surprised her, in a good way. We actually made a tofu convert.

Tofu is one of my favourite ingredients to cook with. It takes flavour so easily. That’s the trick – to use it in dishes with high flavour. 

I have made marinated tofu “steaks” (wide flat slices of tofu) with a miso sauce. The tofu was marinated in olive oil, garlic and soy and then grilled. Amazing.

I have used tofu as a substitute for chicken in parmigiana. That is a revelation. It’s almost better than the chicken version.

And of course there’s tofu as the main protein in stir fries. The world is your oyster with stir fries. Throw anything in that you want…within reason.

There are ingredients that make things Italian; there are ingredients that make things French; and there are ingredients that make things Chinese. So I picked up green onions, finger peppers, and ginger for something Chinese style.

Oh, and a can of pineapple rings. The rest of the ingredients I had hanging around at home.

I made this recipe up in my head on my walk to the grocery store. I thought I had seen pineapple on sale (they were – at Sobeys) but I was at the wrong grocery chain. My spouse is teaching me to squeeze a penny so there was no way I was paying $5 for a pineapple when they were $2.50 somewhere else.

If possible, use fresh pineapple. Photo: kshillcut, Flickr ccl

I opted—since I was already there—for a can of pineapple rings. Fresh would have been much better, but I was able to get the juice and slices together for $2. I would have had to purchase juice separately if I bought a whole pineapple.

I always toss my tofu with cornstarch and fry it to golden brown when making a stir fry. It adds a nice texture that wouldn’t be present if I didn’t.

It occurred to me there was no reason at all why the pineapple rings couldn’t be fried as well. The surface would caramelize and add an intriguing layer of flavour to the dish. I did, and they do.

All in all, I believe I fed the three of us for about $7.00 in total. There is very little in the way of protein that costs less than tofu, if anything, and since it's plant protein the fat content is better than animal fat. But don’t let anyone tell you tofu has no fat. It does.

So not only did we introduce a new culinary ingredient to our friend, but we had a delicious filling meal that didn’t break the bank. Not everything that’s good has to be expensive.

Pan Seared Pineapple Tofu Stir-fry

Prep: 20 min  |  Cook: 10 min  |  Serves 4

oil for shallow frying (I used soy oil)

1/4 cup cornstarch

salt and pepper

1 lb extra firm tofu, cubed

19 oz can pineapple rings, with juice*

1 medium onion, chopped large

1-1/2 tbsp chopped ginger

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3 hot finger peppers, diced with seeds (or to taste)

1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 bunch green onions, in 1" pieces

1 cup pineapple juice

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 tsp white sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 package rice stick vermicelli

Mix the cornstarch with some salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Cube the tofu into about 3/4” pieces. Toss the tofu in the cornstarch mixture to coat.

Heat about 1/2” of oil in a wok until drops of water will dance on the surface. Add 1/3 of the tofu pieces and fry until golden. Repeat with the remaining tofu.

Drain the juice from the canned pineapple and reserve. It should be about 1 cup. If not add water. To the juice add the soy, hoisin and white sugar. Mix well.

Add more oil to the wok if necessary and fry the pineapple rings until browned and caramelized on both sides. Repeat until all the rings are fried. Stack and cut into quarters.

Remove all the oil in the wok except for about 1 tablespoon. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and finger peppers and sauté until fragrant. Then add the red pepper and sauté for 1 minute. 

Remove about 1 tablespoon of the pineapple juice mixture and mix with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.

Add the pineapple juice to the wok and then the juice/cornstarch. Let simmer until thickened. Then  add the tofu and chopped green onion. Toss well, let heat through, and set to low.

Cook the rice stick vermicelli (usually boil for 3-4 minutes) and then serve with the seared pineapple tofu.

* You can substitute 8 slices of fresh pineapple and 1 cup of pineapple juice, but the can is so much easier…but fresh would be best.

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Recipe: Tofu Basil Nectarine Wraps

Nothing more strongly arouses our disgust than cannibalism, yet we make the same impression on Buddhists and vegetarians, for we feed on babies, though not our own. – Robert Louis Stevenson

No children were harmed in the making of this wrap.

Here’s a recipe if you’re looking for something to have for lunch that’s a bit different. It’s also vegetarian, which may classify it as different to a lot of people on that fact alone!

Crispy-coated pan fried tofu.

It’s also an excellent recipe to have for dinner if the weather is hot and you don’t want to spend hours in a steaming kitchen. In summer there’s not much worse than sweating in a kitchen preparing healthy food for your family. Healthy food, good; suffering for it, not so good…

So picture this: pan fried strips of sesame-scented tofu topped with a spicy peanut/ginger sauce. This is wrapped together with lots of fresh basil, sweet onion, carrot and nectarine slices. Yes indeed – nectarines.

The basil and peanut sauce pairs magnificently with the nectarines a well as the tofu. Sheer bliss. Fresh tasting, sweet and pretty much guilt-free. 

Plus, no faces at all involved in any of the ingredients (or egg or milk products) so you can serve this with certainty to not only your vegan friends.

Min you the wraps have gluten so they would have to be substituted for celiacs. And if people have issues with how the peanuts or peppers were farmed… We all know someone like that.

So without further ado, here’s some of the best vegan wraps you will find. Mind you I’m biased. This is my recipe…


Save money!!! Tomorrow I'll be posting a recipe that uses a few of the same ingredients that would be leftover from this recipe. For example, you can't buy a small sweet onion, or six 10"-tortillas...

Tofu Basil Nectarine Wraps

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 10 min  |  Serves 3-4 (two wraps per person)

This is everything except for the tofu.
As you can see, it was a very formal affair...

Pan fried tofu:

454 g extra firm tofu

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 tbsp sesame seeds (ground or whole)

salt and pepper

sesame oil

Sauce:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 to 2 hot finger peppers, finely chopped

2” fresh ginger, finely chopped

The rest:

eight 10” flour tortillas

lettuce

basil

1 small sweet onion, sliced

carrot, in matchstick

2 nectarines, sliced

Just before rolling up.

First fry the tofu. 

Slice a 1 lb (454g) block of extra firm into four thin “steaks”. Mix the cornstarch, sesame seeds salt and pepper together in a bag.

You can either use the sesame seeds whole, or pulse them in a spice grinder and then add them to the cornstarch. Add the tofu slabs and toss well to coat. Shake off any excess.

Add sesame oil to a hit skillet and fry the “steaks” until browned and crisp on both sides. Be careful, as sesame oil has a fairy low smoking point, but we want its sesame flavour.

Remove to a board and cut into long strips.

Next make the sauce.

Chop the ginger and hot pepper. Use as much as you wish. I find the hotter the better. Add these two ingredients with the remaining sauce ingredients into a small blender. I have a “Magic Bullet” that works great for tasks like this.

Purée until smooth and combined. Adjust any of the ingredients to get the consistency you desire. Set aside.

To assemble 

Place some lettuce on a tortilla wrap and add 2-3 tofu pieces. Layer on the remaining ingredients, top with the sauce, roll up and serve.

They're as easy as that!

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Recipe: Shrimp and Tofu Miso Soup

There's no such thing as soy milk. It's soy juice. – Lewis Black

Usually miso soup is an appetizer, but with a few additions it can
become a very filling main course.

This recipe could also be called “soy three ways” I suppose. It’s interesting that one ingredient (soy beans) can be turned into so many different products with so different tastes.

What are the three in this recipe? Edamame (fresh soy beans), tofu (ground soy beans) and miso (a paste made from fermented soy beans). The list doesn’t even include the most famous soy bean product – soy sauce.

Left: miso paste; right: fresh frozen edamame. Tasty.

Soy 1: Edamame, if you’ve never had them, are another name for soybean pods. They’re kind of like a cross between peas and lima beans. Edamame is also the common name for just the “beans” inside the pods. You can purchase them frozen in both bean and pod form in our local groceries.

They’re very good and make an excellent side vegetable for any dinner. It’s not like they taste “Japanese”… But they are a little on the expensive side as far as veggies go, but worth a try.

Soy 2: Tofu is also called bean curd. It’s made from coagulated soy “milk” and then pressed. The amount of pressure yields varying firmness, from soft through to extra firm. May people say tofu has no taste. This has benefits, as it can be used in both savoury as well as sweet dishes. It also takes flavour quite well.

I have a recipe for marinated tofu “steaks” for a vegetarian barbecue. Essentially studded with garlic and marinated in soy and sherry, if memory serves me correctly. It is accompanied with a lovely sauce that has miso as an ingredient.

Miso comes in various colours as well as tastes.
Miso soup usually uses "white" miso.
Photo: wilbanks, Wikipedia, CC

Soy 3: And finally miso, probably the least used in the home kitchen of the three soys in this soup. Miso is called a “seasoning” but is actually a flavouring paste, if you ask me. (Seasoning is herbs, salt, pepper, etc…). 

Miso is made by fermenting rice, soybeans, barley and other foodstuffs. The resultng paste is used for sauces, spreads and as the flavour base for miso soup, whih nearly everyone has had at some point.

The flavour of miso can vary widely, depending on what is used in its production. Miso can be salty, sweet, earthy, fruity or savoury tasting.

The bad thing about miso is that you have to buy such large portions at Asian groceries. I had better stock up on lots of miso-using recipes. There’s lots left over...

This recipe will serve 4 as a main soup, or 8 as an opening course to a Japanese themed dinner.

Miso soup is a fast recipe to throw together.

Shrimp and Tofu Miso Soup

Prep: 3 min  |  Cook: 8 min  |  Serves 4-8

6 cups water 

1/2 cup white miso 

2 cups frozen shelled edamame 

454 g firm tofu, cut into 1/2- inch cubes

3/4 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 bunch green onions, sliced

salt to taste

Bring the water to a simmer in a soup pot. Add the miso and stir until dissolved.

Then add the edamame and tofu and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and green onions and let cook until the shrimp are pink, about 3-4 minutes.

Taste for salt and adjust if required.

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Recipe: Spinach & Tofu Manicotti

The figure of the enthusiast who has just discovered jogging or a new way to fix tofu can be said to stand… as the representative American. – Lewis H. Lapham

Sorry for the messy plate, but I wanted to show the filling,
so this is halfway through our dining.

Spinach manicotti are usually made with a filling of ricotta and spinach, plus some spices. They’re delicious.

Ricotta. Click to enlarge.

Why on earth would you substitute tofu? Well, there’s two reasons actually. The first is that tofu, at $2.50 per pound, is half the cost of ricotta. The second, which has more bearing on healthy eating, is that tofu is a great way to introduce protein into your diet without  the dietary drawbacks of meat.

One cup of tofu gives us half of our daily requirement of protein. Ricotta serves up the same amount. But the difference is in the fat and cholesterol. There’s no cholesterol at all in tofu because it’s plant-based.

Think of a tofu substitution as a way of getting meat in your diet without killing the pig or cow.

There is one major problem with using tofu in non-Asian recipes. It can be tasteless. That’s the chief beef (pardon the pun) that people have with including it in their diets.

Tofu. Click to enlarge.

So you have to work a little harder to get some flavour in it. But worry not. Tofu does take flavours very well. I’ve flavoured tofu very successfully in my Tofu Parmigiana recipe. It’s extremely good. Look here.

There’s two unusual ingredients in this that help boost the tofu’s flavour: nutritional yeast and soy. Tofu benefits from the salt in the soy. Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast that is a complete protein and full of B vitamins. It’s also great powdered and sprinkled on popcorn!

The trick to flavouring tofu is to marinate for an hour (or in the refrigerator for the day). This recipe is easy to get going in the morning and then have all ready to go when you get home. And who doesn’t love manicotti? 

This is a great way to introduce healthy tofu into your diet.

Spinach & Tofu Manicotti

Marinate: 1 hour  |  Prep: 20 min  |  Cook 50-60 min  |  Makes 12 manicotti

1 lb firm tofu

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp chilli flakes

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

10 oz baby spinach, cooked and drained

1/2 cup fresh parsley

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 eggs

2-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

700 ml jar of pasta sauce

1 cup water

6 6”x9” sheets fresh pasta, each cut in half to 6”x4.5”

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium sized bowl crumble the tofu into fine pieces. Add the olive oil, soy sauce, chilli flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix well and marinate on the counter for 1 hour, or for the day in the refrigerator.

After marinating, add the nutritional yeast and nutmeg. Chop the spinach well and add to the tofu. Do the same with the parsley and garlic cloves.. Toss to mix.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the tofu mixture. Then stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella. This is your filling.

Spread 1 cup of the pasta sauce on the bottom of a 10” x 14” baking dish.

Scoop out a scant 1/3 cup of the filling and place on top of a piece of pasta. Spread to make a “log” of filling on the 6” dimension. Roll the manicotti up and place, seam side down, into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining filling.

Top the manicotti with the remaining pasta sauce. Pour the water over the top of the pasta.

Sprinkle the grated cheeses on top and place in the oven. Let the manicotti bake for between 50 min to 1 hour, or until the pasta is cooked through and the cheese is bubbly.

To have a meal for six, serve two manicotti per person with a salad.

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Recipe: Thai Shrimp & Tofu with Peanut Sauce

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and familiarity breeds contempt. According to this my soul mate should be in Thailand. – Jason Zebehazy 

Shrimp and tofu, together again...

Here’s a little number that’s pretty quick to prepare, let’s say 20-25 minutes tops. It has most of the flavours of Phad Thai without all the fuss.

Photo: IRRI Images, Flickr ccl

The substitution of tofu for the usual chicken or pork gives this dish an unusual twist. Once fried it does have much of the same consistency. 

You could use only tofu for a vegetarian meal, or only shrimp if desired, but to serve four you will have to double the amount listed in the recipe.

I wouldn’t call this “lazy-man’s” Phad Thai, but it’s pretty close. I had to do errands the night I made this up so was looking for shortcuts in time that wouldn’t sacrifice too much flavour…

It may seem like a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps, but like most Asian dishes all the time is in the preparation. Putting it together takes mere minutes.

By the way, of you’re interested in full-on excellent Phad Thai you can find my recipe HERE. It always meets with rave reviews.

Although this one wasn’t too bad either...

Recipe: Thai Shrimp & Tofu with Peanut Sauce

Browning the tofu makes it stand up to tossing better.

Cook: about 20 min  |  Serves 4

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined*

1 lb firm tofu

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 tbsp vegetable oil

juice of 2 limes

1 tbsp sriracha (hot chilli) sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup peanut butter

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1-1/2” piece fresh ginger, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped into 1” pieces

2 cups bean sprouts

1 cup cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 package medium width rice noodles

Peel the shrimp and set aside. Cube the tofu and toss with the cornstarch. While to tofu fries, combine the lime juice, chilli sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the tofu in batches until golden. You will know when it’s done because it will feel crusted when you’re turning the cubes to fry. Remove from the oil and set aside. Repeat until all the tofu is fried.

Prepare the rice noodles according to the package directions while you fry the tofu.

Add the garlic and ginger to the wok and fry for 1 minute. Then add the shrimp and cook until nearly done, about 4 minutes. Add the tofu back to the wok.

Push everything in the wok up onto the sides and add the mixed sauce and peanut butter to the wok. Mix the sauce together until smooth and then toss with the shrimp and tofu.

Add the green onions and bean sprouts and toss well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Remember, the soy in the sauce is quite salty.) 

Add the cooked rice noodles and cilantro and toss well to combine.

Serve immediately.

* I never devein my shrimp. They usually are already deveined when purchased, and if they don’t what actually do people think shrimp eat anyway? The same with clams... Guess I’m a philistine.

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