Spicy and Sticky Tofu

Recently, my day abruptly started at 5:09 a.m., when I heard my daughter shrieking that she had wet the bed.  She continued to scream as I changed her sheets, which woke up my son. (They share a bedroom.)   Which meant that, at 5:13 a.m., I had screaming in stereo.

Realizing that my son would not magically lie down and go back to sleep, I hauled him out of his crib and into the living room…where I saw that the cat had coughed up a hairball the size of my head, along with about a gallon of cat puke.   My husband, that coward, pretended to be asleep.

 It was 5:17 a.m.  And worst of all?  That night I had resolved to cook tofu for dinner.

I am both fascinated and repelled by tofu.  I once marinated tofu in a delicious and lip-burning chili-lime marinade for three days before broiling it.  It tasted like absolutely nothing.  I have never seen a food so impervious to flavor.  On the other hand, tofu is cheap, healthy, and its lack of flavor (at least theoretically) makes it versatile.  Plus, my fruit and vegetable place has home made blocks of tofu for a dollar, so I was sold.

People just do not get excited about a tofu dinner.  Since I tend to root for the underdog, I decided to give it another try.

It seemed necessary to give it a glaze, something sticky.  It seemed equally important to give the tofu some crunch, some texture, some spice.    I’m not proud: what I basically did was toss a whole bunch of spicy and salty Asian condiments into a bowl, along with some brown sugar, to make it sticky and to counter-balance the heat.  Then, I sautéed some garlic, ginger, sesame seeds and Szechuan peppercorns, to give it some layers of flavor and some crunch.   The tofu got coated in flour and browned, also for crunch-related reasons. 

Ironically enough, in my quest for a healthful dinner, I forgot…the vegetables.  The tofu dish came out great, but next time I’ll make it with some broccoli, for a different texture, and to soak up all that spicy stickiness.

 SPICY AND STICKY TOFU

 1 block tofu, cut into squares

3 Tbsp flour

salt and pepper

vegetable oil

 For the sauce:

 2 tsp garlic, chopped

2 tsp ginger, finely grated

½ tsp Szechuan peppercorns (optional, but tasty)

½ tsp hot red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

sriratcha or hot sauce to taste

2-3 Tbsp water

1 cup of broccoli, blanched (I didn’t add this, but will next time.)

3-4 scallions, sliced

Handful of cilantro, chopped

If you are making rice, start it first.  You’ll be able to put the whole tofu dish together in the time the rice cooks.

 Heat vegetable oil on medium high heat in a pan large enough to hold the tofu.

 Dump the flour onto a plate and season it with salt and pepper.  Dredge the tofu squares in the flour, then sauté in the oil until the tofu gets slightly golden and crunchy.  Remove the tofu and set aside.

 If there seems to be a lot of oil left in the pan, drain some of it off and turn the heat way down to low.  Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds and Szechuan peppercorns (if using).  Saute until everything is fragrant, about one minute.  Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, hot sauce, brown sugar and water, and let everything simmer together for a couple of minutes.  Add the tofu back into the pan (and the broccoli, if you’re using it) and swirl everything around until the sauce coats it.  Taste and add more hot sauce, if you like things spicy.  Add the scallions and cilantro, and serve over rice.

Serves two with leftovers.