Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Marinated Tofu Stir Fry

I wasn't initially going to post this recipe because it's pretty simple and didn't think it would photograph too well but it tasted amazing (I have less pictures than normal). This was only my second time cooking tofu but it was so much better than the first. Initially I was just going to bread and saute the tofu but recalled the first time I made it, it was pretty dry and I wasn't a huge fan. I knew I needed some sort of sauce to go with my dish so I looked up some stir-fry sauce recipes and cobbled together things that I actually had in the kitchen and decided to marinate the tofu in the same sauce.

Ingredients: (serves 4 portions)
1 package of extra firm tofu (drained weight, 14 oz.)
1 cup (dry) of white rice
1/2 vidalia onion, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
3 shiitake mushrooms
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped
1 small can of water chestnuts, drained & sliced
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup panko crumbs
whole wheat flour
3 egg whites
sesame and vegetable oil

Sauce/Marinade: (most the measurements are guesstimates)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 bunch of scallions
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 hot pepper, minced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 -2 tbsp white wine (I used Kris's Pinot Grigio)
1-2 tbsp sesame oil

To start, I prepped all my veggies, then tried to dry out the tofu as much as possible so it would soak up as much marinade as possible. I put the tofu on top of a couple of pieces of paper towels and another on top, in between two sturdy paper plates and then stacked a few cans of Progresso's Soup on top to help drain it out over the course of an hour or so. I changed out the paper towels once or twice.

Then I sliced the tofu into 16 pieces and marinated 8 at a time for about an hour each (I had a lot of time yesterday). In the future I might add the chicken broth to the marinade so that I could marinate all the pieces at once. I then dredged the tofu in whole wheat flour and egg whites and coated them with the Panko crumbs. Panko crumbs are light and fluffy and therefore it takes a lot more volume to coat things than normal bread crumbs.

I started my rice and I got two pans nice and hot with some sesame and vegatable oils and started my broccoli in the large pan and some of the tofu in the other. The tofu, I turned often and had to add a little more oil pretty often to get them nicely browned on each side. I suppose you could deep fry them also but I don't have a fryer and don't want one as I would probably deep fry way too many things... The key with the tofu was nicely browning each side to seal in the moisture from the marinade.

After the broccoli had been in the pan for a few minutes I added my other veggies and some minced garlic and cracked black pepper along with enough oil to cook everything as the pan was pretty full! Once I was almost done with the tofu after a few rounds in the small pan, and the veggies were softened and cooked, I added my sauce/marinade and 1 cup of chicken broth and brought it to a boil, adding just a couple of pinches of whole wheat flour to give the sauce a little more thickness. I let this boil down for a few minutes while dealt with my rice and finished off the tofu.

I served the tofu over the rice and then topped it all off with the veggies and sauce. In the end the tofu was nice and moist and crunchy took on all the flavor of the marinade and the sauce made a fantastic topping with the rice and veggies as well.

Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Marinated Tofu Stir Fry

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto: Korean-style Stir fried Lettuce

Sometimes the best inspirations come when you least expect them; on the fly. I was waiting for my parents to come and pick me up but couldn't wait until lunch to eat. I went rummaging through my fridge wondering what I could snack on that wouldn't ruin my appetite entirely when I came across a half head of romaine that needed to be used, pronto. When I lived in China, I would often have stir fried lettuce dishes. Here in the West, we don't ever think to cook lettuce and mostly use it in salads. I had also just bought a new bottle of Korean barbecue sauce, so naturally my experimental side that always wants to try something new was activated!

Michelle's Korean-style Stir-fried Lettuce

1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 head of clean romaine lettuce, chopped
1 clove garlic chopped fine
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp Korean barbecue sauce (I used President's Choice Memories of Korean Barbecue Sauce)
1/4 c chicken broth
salt to taste

Heat the oil in your pan or wok. Add the lettuce, bottoms first with a little salt to bring out the liquid. Cook about 30 seconds and add the garlic and stir fry until everything starts to soften. Add the sauce and the broth, cooking until the lettuce is soft but still crisp. Serve immediately. Serves 4 as a side dish (or just me as a very greedy snack!)

This is another great fridge-cleaning recipe and a new take on lettuce for many of us not used to eating lettuce any other way but raw!

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto: Korean-style Stir fried Lettuce

Bryan's Kitchen In Dublin: Singapore Noodles with Mixed Seafood

Today I was out walking on a nice Dublin day and decided to take a visit to my local Asian market. For those of you not acquainted, Dublin possesses a large Chinese and Korean population that give the city an interesting twist, as truly authentic Sizuan or BimBim Bap can be found in between pubs that have been serving up proper pints of Guinness since the 18th century.

Tonight's post is my take on Singapore noodles with mixed seafood. Inspired by the street food that I ate on a recent trip to East Asia, this is a very versatile recipe which can support any kind of seafood. Squid, octopus, or scallops could all be used for a tasty change to this recipe.

Here's what you will need to prepare my Seafood Singapore noodles:

12 oz packaged Singapore noodles
8 oz Chinese-style fish balls
8 oz can Stir-fry vegetables (Bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, baby corn)
4 oz very small frozen shrimp (sometimes marketed as unbreaded popcorn shrimp)
4 oz straw mushrooms, trimmed
2 tsp ginger (preferably fresh)
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 T soy sauce
1 T Teriyaki sauce
1 T vegetable oil
1 tsp coriander (preferably fresh)
1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
Black pepper to taste

First heat a wok or large frying pan to high heat with the oil in the pan. When the oil has come up to heat, add the red onion and saute it for approximately 2 minutes or until the onion becomes somewhat tender. Next, add the garlic, saute for about 30 seconds with the onion, and follow-up by adding the mushrooms and other vegetables.

Continue stir-frying until everything has come up to temperature and add or freshly grate the ginger and continue cooking until you can smell the ginger (maybe 30 seconds). Add the fishballs and stir fry them until they are thoroughly cooked. Add the noodles and in the beginning allow these to be as close to the bottom of the wok/pan as possible. Eventually they will separate and mix in as you continue to stir-fry.



When you are satisfied that the noodles are completed integrated, add the teriyaki, soy sauce, and the shrimp to the mix. Once the shrimp is cooked the meal is ready to serve. Get out the chopsticks, sprinkle on the coriander, and a steaming bowl of goodness is waiting for you, even on the coldest Dublin night.

Bryan's Kitchen In Dublin: Singapore Noodles with Mixed Seafood