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Friday, July 29, 2011

Mapo Tofu and Neuro Fuzzy the Rice Cooker



After years of belonging to the anti-tofu society, Zach recently, spontaneously, decided he likes tofu. After years of having to choose between going without tofu or fixing two versions of our supper, having thus now been given full license to fix tofu dishes for both of us I've been cooking tofu galore! And just last week, I discovered sprouted tofu at Trader Joe's! Sprouted tofu!



Such was my enthusiasm that it merited many texted photos to friends of the package right there in the store (I really adore tofu), and a very special recipe... Sophie's Mapo Tofu from her amazing blog Burp and Slurp. I'm usually quite efficient in the kitchen, but such was my reverence for this recipe that I prepared it slowly, tenderly, carefully, with a cup of tea at hand and precision with my chef's knife, making each zucchini dice exactly symmetrical, black rice simmering away in the rice cooker... Speaking of which, meet the latest member of our kitchen appliance family - Neuro Fuzzy the rice cooker!



When we had yet another rice cooker perish in an explosion of steam, showering the counter with layers of foam and uncooked rice, Zach decided to consult Cooks Illustrated and splurge on their most recommended rice cooker... and thus Neuro Fuzzy came to our home from Japan. I dearly love him, and he makes the most perfect rice - truly, we felt we had never fully experienced rice until we tasted the fluffy, light, buttery rice our dear new rice cooker is able to so skillfully create.

And Sophie's Mapo Tofu is so incredible, so flavorful, truly nothing less than perfect rice would do...





Mapo Tofu

(Adapted from Sophie's Recipe)

1 T soy sauce
3 T rice vinegar
1 T sherry
1 T vegetarian oyster sauce
1 T gochujang red pepper paste
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 rounded tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 T canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 medium zucchini, diced
15.5 oz extra firm tofu, pressed dry and cut into 1/2" cubes (I used Trader Joe's Sprouted Tofu)
Cooked whole grain rice (we used black rice, but brown rice is easier to find)

~ Whisk together the first 9 ingredients, and set aside.
~ Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the garlic for 30 seconds - just until fragrant.
~ Add the onion and zucchini, and stir-fry until tender.
~ Add the tofu, pour the sauce over, reduce the heat, and simmer just for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened.
~ Serve warm, over rice!



I'm submitting this post to Bookmarked Recipes, founded by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments and hosted by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes!

3 comments:

  1. Maybe there's hope for Apolinaras yet then! Looks delish!

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  2. I'm always looking for new tofu recipes - this looks great!

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  3. I just wanted to add a comment here to mention thanks for you very nice ideas. Blogs are troublesome to run and time consuming thus I appreciate when I see well written material. Your time isn’t going to waste with your posts. Thanks so much and stick with it No doubt you will definitely reach your goals! have a great day!

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