'Cooking with Tofu' archive

Ma Po tofu

There are two recipes for Ma Po tofu in the archive but I don’t mind posting a third. Any recipe can be improved or tweaked further to suit the cook’s or the diner’s palate. In the case of Ma Po tofu, I was looking for a particular combination of spices and seasonings that would give it that certain oomph! That happened yesterday, finally. How? I added an essential ingredient that I did not have during my previous attempts at cooking the dish — Sichuan peppercorns.

Tofu and baby corn stir fry

It isn’t just vegetarian; it’s a vegan dish — no meat and no animal by-products whatsoever. No, we’re not turning vegan. We’re not even going vegetarian. But no-meat vegetable dishes are great accompaniments to meat and fish dishes. We had this tofu and baby corn stir fry with fried alumahan several days ago. What is alumahan? Oh, it’s the name for any of several varieties of mackerel.

Budget cooking part 3 (twice-cooked chicken and tofu)

Probably the most valuable lesson I learned in Chinese cooking is that by cutting meat in smaller pieces and adding vegetables and sauce to them, one comes up with a whole lot more. Meat is expensive, vegetables much less so. Tofu is healthy and has this fantastic ability to absorb flavors. By putting them together in one dish, not only is it economical, it is healthier too.

Tofu with three sauces… and cilantro

You like tofu? Fried tofu? So do I. But most Filipinos know only one way to enjoy their fried tofu (or tokwa as it is locally known) — as the other half of boiled pork in a dish called tokwa’t baboy, the traditional accompaniment for lugaw (congee). No doubt that fried tofu is great served that way but I like variety in the way I eat my tofu so I’m forever experimenting with what goes well with it.

But am I not supposed to be on a low fat diet? Why the heck am I eating fried tofu? I’ve invested in good quality non-stick cookware. Instead of deep-frying tofu, I fry the tofu cubes in a few tablespoonfuls of oil.

Chicken, tofu and kangkong (water / swamp spinach) with chili garlic sauce

Yes, chili garlic sauce. Again. I can’t seem to get enough of the stuff. And I’m not even fond of spicy dishes. No, correction — I am not fond of overly spicy dishes. And that’s what makes the chili garlic sauce perfect for me so long as I use it for cooking rather than for dipping.

Yesterday’s lunch was a stir fry made with chicken strips, firm tofu and kangkong. So unbelievable simple, so amazingly easy to cook and so utterly tasty that I had to stop myself from having a third helping…

When tofu met pesto

It was a whim. A last-minute whim and a decision that took all of a split-second to make. What I really intended was to saute the spinach leaves with a little Kacep Manis then use them as a bed for the fried tofu and fish fillets. I was already taking out the bottle of Kecap Manis from the fridge when my eyes went past the small jar of pesto that I made a couple of days ago. I said, “Why not?” And because pesto is much milder than Kacap Manis, I decided that a little more kick was in order — two pieces of chili picante. That was how I discovered that pesto is not an enemy of tofu.

Beef, mushrooms and tofu stir fry

Oh, the things you can do with sukiyaki-cut beef! And bacon-cut pork, for that matter. Marinating takes a few minutes and cooking time is even shorter. They’re great with stir fries, with noodles and even with soup. They’re a big favorite these days. The mornings are cold and getting up to fix the kids’ packed school lunch can be such an effort when staying in bed under the blanket feels so much better. A good strategy is to place the frozen beef or pork in the fridge where the meat will thaw overnight. The next morning, it’s ready to go into the wok.

Tokwa’t isda sa gata (fish and tofu in coconut milk)

There was this doctor on the news a few days ago saying that there has been no sufficient study to prove the health benefits of virgin coconut oil. Well, that’s not the same as saying the benefits are illusory. They might be illusory. A lot of people are suckers for miracle cures. But it is quite possible that doctors are resisting because the fad is bad for the medical and pharmaceutical business.

My position is this: Filipinos along with the natives of dozens of other tropical countries have been coconut consumers for centuries, and high blood pressure and other related ailments have not been a real problem until the fast food culture…

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House On A Hill

Fish & seafood

• Bangus (milkfish) fritters, v. 2
• Fish fillets with pepper and thyme
• Fish fillets in white wine
• Braised tilapia
• Fish fillet with corn sauce
• Baked river cobbler fillets
• Pritong tilapia (fried St. Peter’s fish) and cheese-topped chili-cauliflower bake
• Baked scallops
• Budget cooking part 2 (fish and vegetables frittata)
• Salmon and tomato soup

Healthy veggies

• Salted eggs and vegetables salad
• Fish fillet and vegetables in sour cream
• Floyd’s Greek stew
• Chicken, mushrooms and potato salad
• Pork, okra, squash and eggplants in sour cream
• Baked eggplants with bacon and cheese
• Fried chicken and vegetable salad
• Broccoli and potatoes frittata
• Vegetable and Apple Salad
• Spanish tortilla