Chow Vegan

11 Herbs And Spices Baked Tofu

August 21, 2008 By chow 8 Comments

I’ve been fascinated by spices since I was a small child – all the different smells, colors and shapes. My mom has this one spice rack that’s been around for as long as I can remember, I’m not sure where it came from – she hardly ever used it (it was filled with spices atypical of Chinese home-cooking).

Nowadays, I have a carousel type of rack, I love to spin that thing around looking for various spices. One day while spinning it around and around, it occurred to me that it would be fun to use a bunch of these different spices in one recipe. That was the inspiration for the 11 Herbs and Spices Baked Tofu, along with a certain famous “secret” fried chicken spice recipe.

While it was tasty, I think I prefer my Crispy Baked Tofu the best, simpler is sometimes better. Another thing is you can change up the spices to whatever you like, tofu is more than happy to soak in whatever you throw at it.

11 Herbs and Spices Baked Tofu
Makes 14 pieces

1 pound firm tofu
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk

1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion granules
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tofu into 1/4″ slices and wrap in paper towels. Place a weight on top for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a shallow bowl, combine the nutritional yeast, breadcrumbs and the 11 herbs and spices and mix well. Dip the tofu slices in the soy milk and then in the breadcrumbs mixture, coat well on both sides, place the coated pieces on a oiled baking pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes on each side.

Long Beans With Fermented Bean Curd

August 17, 2008 By chow 13 Comments

Since there’s still beautiful looking long beans at the farmer’s market, I can’t stop buying them. This time I went with a simpler recipe than the Long Beans With Tempeh.

Simpler, but it uses an ingredient you may not be familiar with, fermented bean curd or preserved bean curd. Or in Chinese, fu yu. Some people call it “chinese cheese”, because of its pungent aroma, saltiness, and smooth creamy texture.

Basically, it’s cubes of tofu that have been fermented in rice wine. It’s used as an flavoring agent or condiment. There’s different varieties of fermented bean curd, I like the white, chili one for its subtle spiciness. There’s also a red version that’s usually used with meat, although I’ve never tried it. A little bit goes a long ways, so a jar usually lasts for a good while stored in the refrigerator.

This is the brand I get from the Asian grocery store, it’s the one I grew up with. I’ve tried other brands but I like this one the best. Recently, they’ve updated their packaging (the old one is on the left). They’re also now ISO 9001 certified.

At first whiff, you may be put off by the aroma. But I assure you when cooked or added to other foods, it doesn’t taste like how it smells. It mellows out, leaving a delicious, savory, kinda salty flavor.

Besides long beans, any number of vegetables can be cooked with fermented bean curd, I’ve tried spinach and zucchini with great success. Sometimes I like to smash and mix a cube into just plain ol’ white rice.

Long Beans With Fermented Bean Curd
Serves 2 as part of a meal

1/2 bunch long beans, about 6 ounces
3 tablespoons water
1 – 2 fermented bean curd cubes
1 teaspoon oil

Snap off the ends of the long beans, break into 3″ pieces and wash in several changes of water.

Put the bean curd cube and water in a small mixing bowl, mash the bean curd in the water and set aside.

Heat a wok until hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the long beans, stir-fry and cover for about 30 seconds. Add the bean curd water mixture and cover. Cook until the long beans are tender and the water absorbed and sauce-like about 2 1/2 minutes. Plate and serve.

Dandy’s Onion-Garlic Flavored Chips

August 14, 2008 By chow 4 Comments

I’ve been enjoying various snack foods while watching the Beijing Olympics, one of which is Dandy’s Onion-Garlic Flavored Chips. They’re similar to the shrimp chips that are served with some Chinese dishes but without the shrimp flavor.

When I was a kid, my mom used to get shrimp chips as a box of colorful, dehydrated, semi-transparent hard pieces. When fried, the pieces get bigger and all puffed up. Dandy’s chips come right out of the bag already puffed.

The onion-garlic flavored chips are available at the Asian grocery store, but in the Asian section of some regular supermarkets I’ve only seen the shrimp flavored ones. The company is based right here in the San Francisco Bay Area, which I did not know. Fancy that, a local company.