Baked Tofu: I have wanted to achieve this for sooooooooo long! FINALLY DID IT! Purchase a firm or very firm tofu. Cut into three thin layers like it is a layer cake (max thickness less than an inch - number of layers probably depends on shape of your tofu block). The point is you want thin but still-intact layers. Spread all these out on a cookie sheet, atop a plain flat cotton towel or equiv, and then put another towel on top, followed by a small cutting board or another cookie sheet, and then some heavy cans or jars. This sounds crazy but the tofu can handle it. You are trying to squeeeeeeeeze the water out of it. Takes about 20 min. To achieve a good result, I am getting about 2 dishtowels quite damp, not dripping, but they would drip if I squeezed them, so pretty damp! I use big jars of pickles or fruit, or heavy cans. While this happens, get a shaking bowl or ziploc and mix together a TB of cornstarch with a TB of garlic powder. When the tofu is drained, slice it into smaller pieces, whatever shapes you want. Mine were like 1 inch squares and about 1/2-2/3 inch thick from pressing down. Before moving the tofu, I sprinkle it all over evenly with paprika, salt, and pepper, The paprika is really important. A smooth, light layer of it all over, both sides of the tofu. (A lot of recipes say to toss the tofu in oil first but this does not work for me. No oil except on the pan!) Coat the baking sheet with oil or spray, whatever, so it's ready to go before you shake the tofu. I was trying to use up a cooking spray I dislike anyway, so I imagine if that worked, most pan-coaters would be fine. Then you shake the pieces about 6 at a time in the mix of cornstarch and garlic. If you have a big container of tofu you might run out of powder and need more, I don't know. The key is to make sure each piece is lightly brushed all over with a powdery coating. This is going to make it flavorful and slightly crisp. Bake at 400 for about 10-15 minutes (check to make sure it doesn't burn - slight browning is desirable), and then flip all pieces over and continue baking another 10-15 minutes. I wanted mine pretty firm and dry so I went the whole 30 minutes, but checking along the way showed they were done after 10 if you wanted a little more moistness while still having a nicely browned coating. The result here is flavorful, firm pieces of tofu that can now be eaten either as a snack (plain or dipped in sauce as my kids did), or you can toss them in your favorite sauce (teriyaki is great, then onto a salad base), or add to a simple broth soup, or do whatever the heck you please with them. The key is texture. A thousand tofu recipes but the texture has been all wrong until now.
Brussels sprouts slaw - here's another recipe where texture is king (and this particular flavor-combo). Clean a few cups sprouts and slice super thin, discarding the hard base portion. Chop again crosswise if they are still in larger rings. Stir together an oil/vinegar dressing using a light vinegar - I use 2 TB avocado oil to 2 TB rice vinegar, and keep going until I have enough to fully touch all those sprouts. I like super tart things, so most people would probably up the oil ratio or add sugar, but my goal here is to avoid sugar. Make sure to salt/pepper the dressing. Stir it into your sprouts thoroughly, cover, and let it rest in fridge at least 20 min - can advance prep the whole thing too, as it improves over time, but the brussels sprouts need a minimum time to break down a little. Then do the same chopping with a handful each of of radishes, baby carrots, and cherry tomatoes (should get 4 small chunks of tomato from each 1). The small chopping and proportions are key because of texture - you could use a food processor but for me it wastes more time in long run. At this point I like to add 1 TB each of sunflower seeds and bacon bits - optional. At this juncture you may need more dressing; usually am in a hurry and grab regular italian dressing, add a TB, or if I have minute I whisk up more of that same oil/vinegar combo. Shake it all up like wild so everything is mixed and coated. This set of flavors and textures makes a really good chopped combo for some reason.Statistics: Posted by Phoebe — Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:08 pm
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