Tuesday, February 16, 2010

TOFU Recipe 2 - Tofu & Chicken Nugget

Hello,

Here, I made TOFU and Chicken nuggets the other day. This is a dish that I often make, because it's so easy. I just put all ingredients in the food processor and mix about less than a minute, and then pan fry. I like this lean taste, but for my husband, it tastes little blunt and boring, so I add some B.B.Q. sauce for him and make a sandwich with lunch meat sometimes :)

For this one above, I made smaller size like chicken nugget. I usually make this one with very little salt and use some sauce (B.B.Q., mustard, etc...)
This is good for snack and my lunch for work too.


For this one above, I added some parsley and Mrs.Dash, and less salt ( 0.5% amount of the tofu and chicken's weight ) for taste. Thanks for all the herb's great effects, you don't need any sauce. It's a little technique for less salt in your dish. Here's some tricks I usually use for dish like this:

1) Using some herbs ( dry, or fresh)

2) Using soy sauce for 1/3 or 1/4 of salt usage

3) Adding chopped roasted bell pepper (this is GOOOOOD!)
If you like to serve with something on the side, fresh crisp salad goes well, like spinich, arugula, watercress, carrots mix, with roasted sunflower seed sprincled. That's my favorite combination :)
OK, that's it for today,
See Ya!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

TOFU Recipe - "SHIRA-AE"

Hello,


It's been a while I posted the last one, and it's already February!
Unfortunately, I still haven't had much time to try some new recipes as much as I would like too. :(

I just got my favorite magazine ( Clean Eating Magazine ), so I want to try some recipe from that.



Well, this morning, I made a SHIRA-AE, meaning "tossed in white ( TOFU ) sauce" in Japanese. This is a pretty popular dish in Japan, compared to here in the U.S. where a "Sesame Sauce" ( GOMA-AE ) is a more common flavor.
I would like to develop this recipe for cooking class.





For a more rich flavor and creaminess, I add a white sesame paste ( Tahini ) to mashed tofu, and mixed it together so it would blend nicely with a savory sesame flavor. For the vegetables to mix with, I used sliced carrots, shiitake-mushroom, daikon leaf, and I added some walnuts for accent.

Traditionally, the tofu sauce is made in a Japanese Mortar ( SURIBACHI ) to achieve a creamier sauce, but, I don't have a Mortar, I really want to get one though. So, I improvised and made a similar version using the utensils that I have in my kitchen. It turned out, OK, and I was pleased with it and it's flavor. :)

This is a very healthy side dish you can try.