General Tsao - Tofu Takeover

My first meal of 2012 and my first real blog post. This is also my first time cooking tofu so bare with me. And a big hallelujah for finding all my ingredients at Trader Joe's.

Sidenote: DO NOT go to Trader Joe's on a holiday. Full families take field trips to TJ's, I swear...

Previously I had been scared of cooking tofu but after a good amount of pre-meal recipe research and consulting with my (newly) vegan friend Lindsay, I was confident enough to give this a shot. I should also preface this with saying that I mean I was "scared" in the sense of I HATE messing up a recipe. It is the worst feeling in the world when you taste something and immediately know it is a flop. More experience in the kitchen means being able to salvage the meal and turn it into something else, but you still feel disappointed. Ok 'nouf about that, let's do this.

I really strive to give every dish that I make good proportions of different foods so that your taste buds are left happier and can sleep warmly at night.  I usually want to incorporate a starch, veggies and a protein in each meal. With that being said, here was my dinner menu:

General Tsao Tofu & Broccoli
Soba Sesame Noodles - Served cold

I knew that I wanted some type of asian stir-fry feel for the tofu, and with the help of the internet I had a yummy but pretty complex ingredient list in hand as I battled the TJ's crowds today. Well that list flew right to the trash when I saw the General Tsao sauce in the TJ's aisle. TJ's can really make your dinner plans SO much easier.

The sesame noodles I had in mind from a summer dinner we had out at Dan's Aunt & Uncle's. It's best served cold but you can leave it hot if you prefer.

If you are making both, make the noodles first so you can store in the fridge.

Soba Sesame Noodles 
Ingredients:
2 1/2 Tablespoons Low Sodium Sauce
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Teaspoon of Sesame Oil
1 clove garlic finely chopped (about 3/4 tablespoons minced)
1 Package (8 oz) dried soba noodles
1/4 cup Sesame seeds
Chives to sprinkle for some color

Follow the package directions for the Soba noodles and then drain and rinse in cold water then drain again. Heat the oven to 375 degrees and place the sesame seeds directly onto a baking tray to toast. Watch them closely because they toast pretty fast. I took them out when they were a medium brown color.

Then place the noodles into a bowl and mix with all of the ingredients mentioned above, including seeds. I forgot to buy chives, so I used some freeze dried version (kinda weird in hindsight but thankfully there really wasn't much of a difference). I also used honey verses white sugar, like some other recipes call for, and I think it gave it a much lighter sweetness. After thoroughly tossing with the ingredients, place in the fridge to chill. Needs at least a half hour to be chilled throughout.

General Tsao Tofu & Broccoli 
Ingredients:

1 Bottle of Trader Joe's General Tsao stir fry sauce
1 Package of firm Tofu
1 cup cornstarch
Vegetable oil

Directions:
Pour the vegetable oil into stir fry pan until about half an inch high
Heat on medium heat for a couple minutes before you drop tofu in (Do not put on high)
Cut the tofu into square shapes

 Perspective of tofu to iPhone 4

 I sliced the tofu then cut each loaf type slice in half. You can do whatever size you want.

Pour the cornstarch on a plate and press each side of the tofu into. This is so the tofu gets a crispier crust, that's the General Tsao way people. Then place each square into the oil to start cooking. Cooking time really varies on how firm you want the tofu to be. My rule of thumb was to flip the pieces over every 2 minutes and take them out when the pieces feel hard(ish) on each side.

It was a tight fit in my pan, I didn't have any more oil so I had to make this work. Always ready for a challenge! Meanwhile, in broccoli land, chop a full head of broc into florets and placed them in a 1/2 inch of boiling water for 5 minutes (no more!) and then drain. Crunchier broc with this dish is absolutely necessary, no exceptions.

Okay are you still with me? Stop getting distracted. After the tofu feels hard on the outside of each piece, move them onto a plate with a double layer of paper towels to get out as much oil as possible. Pour the General sauce into a micro safe dish and heated for about 45 seconds. Drizzle the the sauce over the tofu (I prefer not too saucy), add the broc and noodles onto your plate and get read for the best part, EATING. My boyfriend told me he had no idea tofu could taste this good, so I'll give this dish a WIN.

Don't forget the vino :)