Chinese Braised Tofu

Here's a recipe for tofu.  I could write a manifesto on tofu, but I'll give a quick and dirty rundown.  Please don't contribute to the overwhelming overload of super firm, super dense bricks of tofu.  Tofu should be soft-ish and not fried all the time.  Seek out a medium firmness block of tofu and make it flavorful through braising.  Make a new year's resolution to not fry tofu and to buy only medium firm tofu.  I'll do it with you.

Braised Tofu - 紅燒豆腐

1 block of soft or medium firmness tofu (resist the urge to get the outlandishly firm tofu) chopped up into ½ inch cubes

1 Tablespoon veg oil

½ an onion diced

72 cloves of garlic, smashed

3 inches of fresh ginger sliced thinly

3 star anise pods (like 15 points, you know what I mean?)

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup rice wine

2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth or (sigh) water

1 Tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoons water to make a slurry

1. Heat veg oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add diced onion and heat until translucent.  Add garlic, ginger, and star anise pods and let everyone in the pan get acquainted for a minute.  

2.  Add the tofu cubes, soy sauce, rice wine, and broth/water.  Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for like 30 minutes.  The sauce should reduce considerably (but not completely) and the tofu will have absorbed a good deal of flavor.  

3.  Make your cornstarch slurry and pour slowly into the pan and stir.  Watch as it thickens and shimmeringly coats the tofu.  You may not need to add all the slurry.  Just use as much as necessary.  Drizzle sesame oil if you want to kick it up even more.  Plate.  Eat.  Share.

Chinese Dry Braised Green Beans

This is a classic Chinese veg dish.  It usually has ground pork in it, which surprisingly, I'm not advocating for here.  I've made it plenty of times, and I just don't miss it.  So that's that.  I was going to make this for "Chinese Dinner" this past Christmas, but didn't. 

Dry Braised Green Beans - 乾煸四季豆

2 Tablespoons of veg oil

1 pound of green beans, washed, trimmed, and dry

5 cloves of garlic minced

2 inches of grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons soy sauce

½ teaspoon of chili paste (Sambal Oelek is ideal) ← this is entirely optional (deliciously optional)

1 Tablespoon rice wine

1.  Heat the oil over high-medium heat and add the green beans.  Toss around until the beans are wilted and slightly blackened, yet not mushy (air on the side of crisp).  Take the beans out and set aside.  They’ll get back in the game soon, don’t worry.

2. Place pan/wok back on the heat and add a bit more veg oil if the pan is dry and add the garlic and ginger.  Stir until just starting to brown.  Add soy sauce, chili paste (if using, and I hope you’re using), and rice wine.  Reduce slightly.  

3.  Add the beans back into the pan and toss in the sauce until it’s nicely glazed and heated through.  This should only take a minute or two.  Drizzle on some sesame oil before plating if you’re feeling bold (and I hope you are).  Season with salt and pepper and eat it up!

Chinese fried rice

So.........at long last, I'm sharing some of my Chinese recipes (this is Rube, by the way.  Ellen has no Chinese recipes.  None that I know of, at least.  Now I'm suddenly feeling like I've just made a presumption.  I'll ask her if she has any Chinese recipes to share - I feel like a jerk.).  I feel badly that so much time has passed and this is the first of my recipe postings.  I hope you can overlook my delay.  For the first recipe, I'm sharing how to make fried rice - a seemingly easy dish, but a few little tricks can elevate it its deliciousness.  Here are two secrets to success: 1.) make sure the rice is cooked and refrigerated for at least 1 day.  2 or 3 days is preferred.  2.) add white pepper powder and sesame oil at the end, just before dishing out.  Both of these ingredients' flavors degrade if cooked too long or hot.  Feel free to experiment with rice varieties; brown rice is scrumptious, jasmine rice is delectable, and of course straight up white rice is delightful.  

The Real-Deal Fried Rice (with bacon for the indulgent, non-vegetarian)

1 Tablespoon vegetable or canola or peanut oil or rice bran oil (apparently)

2 eggs - whisked

½ onion - minced

1 carrot - finely diced

3 garlic cloves - minced

3 cups rice - cooked and refrigerated for 1 or 2 days (or 3 days if you’re feeling cheeky)

½ cup frozen peas

34 strips bacon (or however much you think is appropriate) - cooked crisply and crumbled

1 Tablespoon - soy sauce

white pepper powder - just a pinch

sesame oil - just a drizzle

salt - to taste

1. Heat vegetable oil in wok or non-stick pan over med heat.  Add eggs and scramble until just done (we’re looking for some curds here). Remove eggs from pan and set aside.

2. Add a bit more oil to the wok and return to heat and you might as well crank up the heat a bit, let’s say high-med (or high if you’re gonna be ever-vigilant).  Add onions and carrots and toss around for a minute or two (don’t brown too much).  Add garlic and toss for a minute more.

3. Add the rice to the wok and give it a good toss around for 3 or 4 minutes until it’s nicely heated and looking scrumptious and perhaps developing a bit of crunch.  Add the peas and toss for a minute.  Add the bacon (if you’re using it) and the reserved scrambled eggs.  Toss for a minute to get everyone acquainted and then add  the soy sauce, white pepper powder, and sesame oil.  Toss for another minute and at this point, it should start smelling ridiculous.  Taste it! Add more soy sauce/sesame oil/white pepper/BACON as you see fit.    

4.  Serve.  Remember, you don’t want to overly cook your sesame oil or white pepper or it’ll start losing it’s deliciousnessssssss (extra esses are intentional).  Feel free to garnish with chopped cilantro or green onion. 

Chocolate diamonds and chocolate cake

I think it is time that the chocolate diamond recipe be in a place that is easily accessible for everyone to access from their phones in case of brownie emergency! So here it is: 2 sticks of butter in a pan + 4 squares of chocolate (on top = no chocolate on pan). Once its melted put in 2 cups of sugar. When the temp is a little lower, put in: 4 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup of flour + pinch of salt Bake at 350C in 9x13ish start checking in 20 minutes. Also, this is the best chocolate cake recipe (the Silver Palate one): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/DECADENT-CHOCOLATE-CAKE-50039230

Damian and I made this mac and cheese that was dangerously good.
We cut up some spinach slivers too to make it seem a tiny bit healthy.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Pasta cooked al dente (about 8 minutes). 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups milk
1⁄4 cup butter
2-1/2 tbs. flour
2 tbs. butter
1⁄2 cup bread crumbs
1 pinch paprika
Directions:
1. Cook the pasta al-dente.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux.
3. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly.
4. Stir in the cheeses, and cook over low heat until all cheese is melted and the sauce is a little
thick.
5. Put pasta in a large casserole dish, and pour sauce over it. Stir well.
6. Melt a little more butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and brown. Spread
over the pasta and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.
7. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve

Black Bean Burgers with Chevre and Guacamole

Heather and I haven't had too much trouble in our shift to pescatarianism and this recipe from allrecipes definitely helped. Really quick and easy and satisfied my burger craving. We added a little extra egg and bread crumbs to make sure the patties would hold. We then topped them off with some chevre and guacamole.

Ingredients:

-1 can black beans drained

-1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

Moosewood chili recipe

I've made this recipe twice this winter and I love it. The best part is the bulgur. And it looks so pretty in my orange pot! Naomi, heather and I made it with the amazing cornbread recipe (even better with blue flour!). With wine from Dad!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups kidney beans but I've used all kinds
6 cups water (if the beans are raw- if not use about 24-32 ounces)
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup bulgur
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon chili powder (I added jalapeno too)
1 tablespoon cumin ground
salt and black pepper, dash cayenne pepper to taste
1 cup green bell pepper
2 cups tomatoes, fresh, chopped
juice from 1/2 lemon
3 teaspoons tomato paste
3 teaspoons dry red wine
1/4 cup parsley leaves

Directions
1. Cook beans
2. Heat tomato juice to a boil. Pour hot tomato juice over raw bulgar.
Cover and let stand at least 15 minutes.
3. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.
4. Add carrots, celery and spices. Then peppers
5. Combine beans, bulgar, sautéd vegetables, tomatoes, lemon juice, tomato paste, and wine and heat together