Braised Tofu

I don’t know what possessed me to cook three different things tonight.  For one, it’s hot in Southern California, it must have been in the low 90’s today, actually it’s been hot for a week, and yet I got inspired to flex my cooking muscles again.  

Secondly, I’ve been running out of creative juices lately, must be the heat (excuses, excuses).  Anyway, something inside me just pushed me to cook.  I think after feasting over the 4^th of July weekend, I was craving for something simple.  Also because I've been eating a lot of fast food lately, my body is telling me, please don't torture me anymore,  and I also think it’s simply for the love of food.  So, I decided to pair my tofu with Sauteed Bok Choy, and Yang Chow Fried Rice.  What a lovely meal, if I may say.   -GG-

Ingredients:

4 slices of firm tofu

½ teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in ½ teaspoon water

4 tablespoons cooking oil

A few cut up stalks of green onion

Sauce:

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon water

1/8 teaspoon ginger powder

½ teaspoon brown sugar

Procedure:

1.  Cut the tofu into about 2 ½ inch squares by ½ inch thick.  Pat dry the tofu with paper towel to avoil oil splatter when you fry them. Pan fry the tofu in hot oil on medium heat until golden brown.

2.  While the tofu is frying, put all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in water

3.  Remove the fried tofu from the pan.  Discard the leftover oil.  Turn off heat.

4.  Using the same pan, place the sauce into the pan, and add the cornstarch mixture and stir until it thickens to desired consistency.  Pour the sauce over the fried tofu and garnish with green onion.  The leftover heat from the pan is enough to thicken the sauce.  If not, set the heat on low.

Before:  Cut up the tofu into squares.

After:  The same tofu after it's been fried.