Tofu Chili with Soy Sauce

This unconventional chili recipe from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cook Book surprises with asian flavors from ginger, cloves, soy sauce, and peanuts. It was different and I liked it, especially on these chilly fall days.

But...if a recipe title is Tofu Chili, I expect tofu to play a starring role. The recipe description lured me in with the promise of the tofu taking on "a tremendous amount of flavor." But I couldn't taste the tofu or barely even see it because it had been crumbled beyond recognition by all the required stirring. This is really a bean chili. And yes, it was a good bean chili, but damnit, I wanted a tofu chili. Still, consider this easy-to-prep chili if you're in the mood for something different.

Tofu (Bean!) Chili with Soy Sauce

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used 1)
• 1 block extra-firm tofu, drained
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons five-spice powder or 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I used cloves)
• 1 dried hot chili, or to taste
• 1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes including juice
• 2 cups dried black, pinto, or soy beans, rinsed, picked over, and soaked if you like (I used pinto and soaked for about 4 hours)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce plus more for serving
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, for garnish

1. Put the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When it's hot, crumble in the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Add all but a handful of the scallions, the garlic, and the ginger and cook, stirring and scraping frequently, until the veggies soften, about 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the five-spice powder, dried chile, tomatoes, and beans. Add water to cover, bring the pot to a boil, and adjust the heat so that the beans bubble gently. Cover and cook, stirring every now and then. Check the beans for doneness every 15 minutes or so and add more water if necessary a little at a time.
3. When the beans begin to soften (30 to 60 minutes, depending on the type of bean and if you've soaked it), add the soy sauce. Cook, stirring and checking, until the beans are completely tender, another 15 to 30 minutes). Fish out the chile, taste, and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with remaining scallions and peanuts and add more soy sauce to taste. 

A Trio of Yum Yum Sandwiches

I have no idea why the author of Vegan Yum Yum would take down her website, stop posting on Twitter, and otherwise disappear from the vegan community. It's a shame, because her recipes are great! Last week I made three sandwiches from the book.

The first was the Pan-Seared Tomato and Rosemary Artichoke Sandwich.It was extremely messy but amazingly delicious. The messiness comes from a balsamic reduction (heat 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar on medium for about 5 minutes, until it reduces by half and becomes sweet and a little thick) drizzled over the sandwich. Sliced artichokes sauteed in olive oil with rosemary, pan-seared tomato slices, baby spinach, and some basil complete this sandwich. I very rarely eat white bread, so having this on white baguette bread was a huge treat for me. Two huge thumbs up for this sandwich!

The second was the Picnic Sandwich (sorry for the bad photo).The first step is making the spread, which is a puree of nuts (recipe called for pine nuts; I used walnuts) and sundried tomatoes in olive oil. Spread that on both sides of the sandwich, then top with zucchini slices sauteed with Italian herbs. Add baby spinach, and you've got another really awesome sandwich. She calls it a picnic sandwich because it can be wrapped up in plastic and sit for a few hours in a backpack and still taste good. This sandwich also gets two big thumbs up (the white baguette bread was awesome again).

The third was the Smoky Miso Tofu Sandwich.I first made a marinade from miso, lemon juice, sugar, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, and liquid smoke, brushed it on the tofu, and baked the slices for about 20 minutes.Next I made the Cashew Miso Mayo from Appetite for Reduction, which is a simple puree of cashews, miso, water, and apple cider vinegar. I spread the mayo on wheat bread, added the tofu slices, and topped it with baby spinach. This sandwich was just okay. I didn't love the tofu, and I usually always love tofu. And I think there were conflicting miso tastes between the tofu marinade and the mayo.

I'll definitely make the first two again. Until then, Lauren (Vegan Yum Yum author), please come back!

Black Bean Burgers with Cilantro Sour Cream

More delicious meals on the grill this past weekend!

I made the Black Bean Burgers from Veganomicon and loved them! Because they're made with vital wheat gluten (what seitan is made of), they hold together well and have a great, chewy texture. The southwestern blend of spices was good without being overpowering. And they paired wonderfully from the Cilantro Sour Cream also from Veganomicon. I've made this tofu-based sour cream before and loved it. This time, I only had half the cilantro the recipe called for, so it was less cilantro-y but still really good. I also used it as a salad dressing this week. The only thing is that the black bean burgers were supposed to be pan-fried. They easily got a little burnt on the grill.I also grilled some tofu and slathered the cilantro sour cream on the slices. I re-used some tofu marinade I had left over from last week's BBQ. It's from Appetite for Reduction and is pretty basic with veg broth, soy sauce, garlic, and thyme. It tastes anything but basic when grilled. The flavors all really come out, and the grilling makes it really chewy with a great texture. It was amazing served with cilantro sour cream. To go with the burgers I grilled some veggies and made the White Bean Aioli from Veganomicon to spread on them. A vegan version of the garlicky mayo, this aioli was out of this world. It brought my grilled veggies to even greater heights on the "yum" factor, and it's so good I'll make it again as a spread on crackers or pita for an appetizer.
For a real treat, I grilled avocado. If you like avocado and have not yet had it grilled...do yourself a favor and grill some up! The outside gets slightly crisp and the inside is creamy. Delicious.

Unfried Fried Tofu & Hoison-Mustard Sauce

I learned this technique for dry-frying tofu in Appetite for Reduction and have been using it a lot. It gives tofu the same great texture as frying but without any fat.

1. Press a block of tofu for at least a half-hour to get as much moisture out as possible. The more dry your tofu is, the better the results. Cut up the pressed tofu into half-inch cubes.
2. Heat a pan over medium heat and spray with a little bit of cooking spray. Add your cubed tofu and let it cook for 5 minutes, flipping with a thin spatula to keep the pieces intact, with the goal to get the tofu browned on all sides.
3. After 5 minutes, drizzle 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, toss to coat, and cook for another 5 minutes.

The result is chewy tofu with a great fried texture. Doesn't it look delicious?
It doesn't have a strong taste, so it would be best with flavorful sauces or gravies instead of on its own. My favorite sauce is the Hoison-Mustard Sauce from Appetite for Reduction, where this technique came from. I've said before that I don't like to post recipes from current cookbooks, but I think posting one or two is okay--I know I'm more likely to buy a cookbook after I've tried a few recipes first. Since I haven't posted any AFR recipes yet, I'm posting this--my all-time favorite tofu recipe!

Hoison-Mustard Tofu
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into half-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (1/2 teaspoon if you want it spicier)
• 3 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons hoison sauce
• 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard

Instructions

1. Fry the tofu per the instructions above and set aside.
   
2. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in the sesame oil. Cook for about 10 minutes, using a little cooking spray if it becomes dry. Veggies should be soft and brown.
3. Add the mirin and let it cook for 3 minutes. Mirin is a thick, sweet Japanese wine. I think it's important to use it in this recipe to get the sweet and thick consistency of the sauce, so I don't think you should substitute anything for the mirin. It will look like this after you add the mirin.
4. Add the hoison and mustard and cook for another minute.
5. Add the tofu to the sauce and toss to coat.

This tofu and sauce is so amazing, it's hard for me to wait to even put it on a plate. I want to gobble it all up right out of the pan. I had it with the Unfried Fried Rice from Appetite for Reduction, which I first talked about here.I think this sauce would also make a good dipping sauce for spring rolls and other types of Asian appetizers.

Tofu and Mushroom Scramble

I love tofu scrambles because they're so versatile, easy to make, and really good. I love the Happy Herbivore version (which to me tastes the most like eggs) and also Isa Chandra's version on the Post Punk Kitchen. But today I was in a lazy mood so made the quickest, easiest version there is from a British cookbook called Vegan Feasts by Rose Elliot. I ate it with roasted potatoes and kale chips for a really good, quick, and filling lunch (I was stuffed.) Here's the recipe from Vegan Feasts, which I modified slightly.

Tofu and Mushroom Scramble
Serves 4

• 1 package extra-firm tofu (14 ounces)
• 1 package mushrooms (8 ounces), sliced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons tamari (I start with 1 and usually end up with 2)
• pinch turmeric
• pinch cumin
• salt and pepper
  

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for about five minutes, or until they start turning brown and releasing liquid.
2. Crumble the tofu into the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of the tamari, a pinch of turmeric, and a pinch of cumin. Cook for about five more minutes until everything is heated through. If the pan gets dry, add more tamari. I usually use 2 tablespoons of tamari by the time it's done.
3. Season with salt and pepper and eat immediately (though it will taste good reheated.)

WeightWatchers PointsPlus Values: 3

Happy Herbivore Dinner: Tofu Scramble, Herbed Home Fries & Spicy Greens

My nutritious, fat-free, and totally yummy dinner tonight came from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook.First: Tofu Scramble (recipe also on the Happy Herbivore website.) I love tofu scrambles, but most use a combo of oils and soy sauce. This version uses a blend of nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, and lots of spices. I really like it. Tonight I added mushrooms and spinach to it.

Second: Herbed Home Fries, roasted with plenty of herbs and spices. I was worried that they wouldn't roast properly without oil, but they were perfect--crunchy on the outside and full of flavor.

Third: Spicy Greens. Collards are cooked with onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. To my horror, I realized I was completely out of onions while getting ready to make this. So I substituted the one shallot I had. I've never had collards before but really want to eat more of them because they're so nutritious. This wasn't bad--it was really spicy with the additional hot sauce I added to it. I think it would be better with a lot more onion like the recipe calls for. And I think my taste buds need to adjust to collards. I'll definitely make this again with more onion.

I got all of this together very quickly after I got home from work, and it was very filling: both big plusses. Overall this made a great meal.