Sweet and Sour Tofu

Who doesn't love Asian food? Those wonderful crispy vegetables, the crunch of the fried tofu, all slathered in a delicious sauce. This recipe is compiled from gazillion different versions on the net (and yes, there are gazillion of these out there!), but we really liked this balance of flavors. One other trick: it's best if you get the tofu really crunchy, maybe even more done than you think it should be. That way it keeps that awesome texture when you bite into it.

This beats take out any day.

Sweet and Sour Tofu
Sauce-
3 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch red pepper flakes, optional but good
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch w/2 Tbsp water

Mix everything together in a small saucepan except the cornstarch and 2 Tbsp water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the cornstarch/water mixture, keep stirring until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

1/2 red pepper, large chop
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
1 # tofu, extra firm (drained and pressed), cut in 1/4's then those 1/4s cut into 1/2 inch rectangles (or cut however)
1 Tbsp enerG egg replacer
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp tamari
1/4 cup cornstarch
oil for frying

Heat up a wok or frying pan and add enough oil to cover the bottom. Fry the peppers quickly over the high heat. Remove and set aside. Mix the enerG egg replacer, 2 Tbsp water and 1 Tbsp tamari. Toss the tofu in and make sure it's coated. Remove it and place it in a bowl with the cornstarch. Again, toss until covered. Add some oil (if needed) to the wok and fry tofu until it's really nice and golden brown crispy (probably longer than you think). I did it in batches. Remove from wok and set aside. Turn the wok off.

Wipe any excess oil out of the wok, then dump the tofu, peppers, scallions and sauce back into the wok and heat over low heat, stirring until coated.

Tonight's dinner: probably something with seitan. I'm still having fun playing with cutlets.