Take 2

I know.  I am an idiot.  I forgot to get a close up of the tofu.  You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that Emily is very smart.

Here are her instructions:

• Take your firm tofu out of the container and rinse it under cool water (this gets the gross tofu juice off)
• Pat it in between some paper towels
• Cut it into small pieces.  It works best if they are on the thin side.
• Place in a bowl and marinate in your favorite stuff for a few hours
• Put some cornstarch in a pie plate and season with what you like (just like you would flour for fried chicken)
• Roll your tofu in the cornstarch
• Place tofu in a lightly oiled nonstick skillet on medium heat
• Cook until golden and crispy on each side

I had two problems from the start, the first being that I didn’t have any cornstarch.  Easily fixed with a little help from the Food Emporium.  The second problem, however, was that I don’t own an nonstick pan.

So, I just used cast iron like I always do.  I marinated the tofu in a mixture of tahini, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and honey. This sauce was a little thick, and I think that might have been my third problem – when I dredged it in the cornstarch, it got kind of gloopy.  If I’d just used soy sauce or something thin that the tofu could have easily soaked up, I think it would have worked better.  Am I right, Emily?  Also, maybe I really needed a nonstick, because it didn’t get very crispy.  But, it was waaaay better than the majority of my past attempts, and I’m going to try it again with a different sauce.

The rest of the meal is just soba noodles, asparagus, orange bell peppers, cilantro, scallions and mushrooms mixed with the tofu and the leftover marinade.  I would post the recipe, but I just kind of threw stuff together and I honestly don’t even remember the amounts. I didn’t measure at all.

I also had an Edy’s cookies and cream bar for dessert, and to complete this exciting night, I’m going to go read.  I’m way into The Road and I can’t stop thinking about it.