Sunday, March 16, 2008
nori-wrapped tofu
The fishy nori and chewy tofu come together in a dish that has not yet received a clever name. My friend Daisie suggested that naming meatless food with meat-inspired names is strange (and makes people think vegans are crazy). I am refraining from such naming for a while to see if it makes any impact on me.
1 one pound block of firm tofu
1 sheet nori
soy sauce
sesame seeds
Freeze the block of tofu (I didn't remove it from the package) overnight and then defrost completely. This will make the texture chewier. Drain the water, squeeze most of the water from the tofu, it's spongier now. Cut it in half (crosswise) and drizzle on some soy sauce and let it marinate for a little bit.
Cut a sheet of nori in half (longwise) and wrap each half around each half of the tofu block. Repeat. With a sharp knife, slice the wrapped tofu.
Spread some oil on a hot skillet, just a thin layer. Place some of the slices on the skillet, sprinkle with sesame seeds and let them grill. Leave them alone so they develop a nice crust. Turn and cook the other side. Cook them in batches so you don't crowd the pan and reapply oil when the pan looks dry.
Serve as finger food or as part of a meal with veggies and rice or noodles. Pictured here are soba noodles, kale and raw ribbons of carrot and green onions. I have also heard of them cooked in a curry.
1 one pound block of firm tofu
1 sheet nori
soy sauce
sesame seeds
Freeze the block of tofu (I didn't remove it from the package) overnight and then defrost completely. This will make the texture chewier. Drain the water, squeeze most of the water from the tofu, it's spongier now. Cut it in half (crosswise) and drizzle on some soy sauce and let it marinate for a little bit.
Cut a sheet of nori in half (longwise) and wrap each half around each half of the tofu block. Repeat. With a sharp knife, slice the wrapped tofu.
Spread some oil on a hot skillet, just a thin layer. Place some of the slices on the skillet, sprinkle with sesame seeds and let them grill. Leave them alone so they develop a nice crust. Turn and cook the other side. Cook them in batches so you don't crowd the pan and reapply oil when the pan looks dry.
Serve as finger food or as part of a meal with veggies and rice or noodles. Pictured here are soba noodles, kale and raw ribbons of carrot and green onions. I have also heard of them cooked in a curry.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Black Bean Chili
I made a very good chili today. It's more like a stew but it's spicy and has black beans so I can imagine it being called chili (except by purists). No need to use these ingredients exactly but since it came out so good, I had to post the recipe.
1 onion (diced)
3 red potatos (diced)
1/2 or a whole green bell pepper (chopped)
1 stalk celery (finely chopped)
2 carrots (finely chopped)
1 each dried jalapeño, dried mild chili, roasted dried chili (ground)
black pepper (ground)
cumin seed (ground)
black beans and the water they were cooked in.
1 can tomatoes (well drained of their juice)
salt to taste (see note below)
Saute the onions in the pressure cooker pot in some oil. Add the rest of the vegetables along with the tomatoes, the chilies, black pepper, the black bean water the cumin (I used some from a jar that my housemate had). Pour black bean water to a depth 2/3 that of the other food. Turn up the heat, cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit for a while. When you open the pressure cooker, remove a few cups of it, blend it smooth (with a handful of tortilla chip crumbs) and reintegrate it to thicken the sauce. Add the black beans.
It goes well with quinoa.
As for the tomato, I used the drained juice in a batch of tomato sauce so if you don't have some drained tomatoes around try using a chopped fresh tomato or any tomato product, even a scoop of salsa. Using the tomato juice would make it sweeter than I would want it.
A Note about Salt
I spend way too much time seeking canned tomatoes without salt added so I can control the salt content. That is also one of the reasons I buy dry black beans instead of cans. So you will need to add less or no salt depending on your ingredients.
1 onion (diced)
3 red potatos (diced)
1/2 or a whole green bell pepper (chopped)
1 stalk celery (finely chopped)
2 carrots (finely chopped)
1 each dried jalapeño, dried mild chili, roasted dried chili (ground)
black pepper (ground)
cumin seed (ground)
black beans and the water they were cooked in.
1 can tomatoes (well drained of their juice)
salt to taste (see note below)
Saute the onions in the pressure cooker pot in some oil. Add the rest of the vegetables along with the tomatoes, the chilies, black pepper, the black bean water the cumin (I used some from a jar that my housemate had). Pour black bean water to a depth 2/3 that of the other food. Turn up the heat, cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit for a while. When you open the pressure cooker, remove a few cups of it, blend it smooth (with a handful of tortilla chip crumbs) and reintegrate it to thicken the sauce. Add the black beans.
It goes well with quinoa.
As for the tomato, I used the drained juice in a batch of tomato sauce so if you don't have some drained tomatoes around try using a chopped fresh tomato or any tomato product, even a scoop of salsa. Using the tomato juice would make it sweeter than I would want it.
A Note about Salt
I spend way too much time seeking canned tomatoes without salt added so I can control the salt content. That is also one of the reasons I buy dry black beans instead of cans. So you will need to add less or no salt depending on your ingredients.
