Cooking

Sizzling Tofu with Ginger, Pepper and Garlic

I love this Sizzling Tofu with Ginger Pepper and Garlic. It’s quick and easy to prepare and packed full of deliciousness!

Why I like Cooking with Tofu

A lot of people don’t want to cook with tofu because they think it’s too bland. Well, for me, I love cooking with it because it’s a fantastic vehicle for absorbing flavours. And there are so many flavours that work with tofu: orange, sesame oil, sweeteners such as maple syrup, honey or brown sugar, or spicy flavours like sriracha, or curry.

Tofu is very versatile, like cooking with chicken, if you want something to compare it to as it doesn’t have a strong flavour of it’s own that will compete with other seasoning. You can either cook tofu in a pan after pressing, and it has a lovely soft texture, absorbing all the lovely flavours in your dish. But you can also coat it in cornstarch and whatever seasoning you desire and bake it flat on a cookie tray in the oven. It crisps up nicely with a nice soft creamy centre. This is a nice way to cook tofu for children, especially if they like things served separately on their plate, or they like to eat with their fingers. So yummy!

This dish is made with only 8 ingredients. Most of which you probably have in your pantry. Pick up a block of tofu in the refrigerated deli or produce section next time you do your groceries and you will have everything you need to make a quick, delicious dinner for your family.

How to Press Tofu

I always buy firm or extra firm, but I still press it. You just don’t need to press it for as long as you would with medium or soft tofu.

remove tofu from the package, draining away all of the liquid
slice the tofu through the centre of the block, so you have 2 rectangular pieces
cut each rectangle into bite size pieces (maybe 8 squares for each rectangle)
put all of the tofu pieces on a plate, and cover with another plate
place something heavy (non-breakable) on top of the top plate – a couple of tins of tomatoes, a bag of flour (about 3-4 pounds)
press the tofu for about 1 hour
drain away the liquid that has been pressed out
now you’re ready to cook with your tofu

Nutrition Facts

Tofu is very nutritious. And is a great alternative source of protein.

A 100-gram serving of tofu (about 1/4 of a package) contains:

Protein: 8 grams
Carbs: 2 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Fat: 4 grams
Manganese: 31% of the RDI
Calcium: 20% of the RDI
Selenium: 14% of the RDI
Phosphorus: 12% of the RDI
Copper: 11% of the RDI
Magnesium: 9% of the RDI
Iron: 9% of the RDI
Zinc: 6% of the RDI

I hope you enjoy my Sizzling Tofu with Pepper, Ginger and Garlic

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb tofu, pressed and drained and cut into cubes
1 small onion, diced
8 garlic cloves
2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 cup cold water + 2 Tbsp
2 Tbsp soy
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp oil

Instructions

Sauté onion and garlic in oil until translucent.

Splash in the hot sauce.

Mix together the other ingredients and pour into the pan.

Cook until thickened.

Add tofu last and stir gently until coated.

Enjoy!

June 15, 2021

Preserves

Summery Strawberry Freezer Jam

It’s Strawberry Season now, and I just love it. It’s one of my favourite times of the year! I made a few batches of this Summery Strawberry Freezer Jam recently and it is so so so good! The aroma of strawberries and sugar wafted through my kitchen and up the stairs scenting the whole house with sweet strawberries. While I occasionally buy imported strawberries from the grocery store throughout the year and also frozen berries anytime for smoothies, nothing beats fresh local strawberries. They definitely signal the beginning of summer.

I start thinking about local strawberries starting in March when the days start to get longer, the sun feels warmer and the snow finally starts to melt and when I pull out my last jar of strawberry jam from the freezer that I made the summer before. That’s when I start anticipating the beginning of strawberry season. And homemade jam.

Homemade jam is so much better than store bought. I know lots of people think it’s really difficult to make. But it’s not. Especially freezer jam. I used to think that freezer jam was for people that didn’t want to spend the time making real jam. But, that’s not the case. It’s just different. Freezer jam is cooked much less than regular jam and has less sugar (though it still seems like a lot). It is a bit thinner than regular jam, but the flavour is much more fruity and intense. And the colour of the strawberries just pop out at you.

I think I love homemade jam so much because that’s all we had when we were young. My Mum loved making homemade jam, so that’s what was in the refrigerator. Each summer she would make several large jars from the raspberries that my Dad grew in the backyard. She would make 5 large jars and put each of our names on the jar (one jar was for her and my Dad to share). When our own jar was empty – no more jam. I think my sister and I kept our own jars of jam the longest, probably well after Christmas, while our brother, Dave, ate his the fastest, as raspberry jam was his all-time favourite. And Bob would be somewhere in between.

Freezer jam cooks up very quickly. It took about 20 minutes for me to make 3 jars. Done. And the jam tastes so fresh, just like local berries. I put the jam in special plastic jam jars (the glass jar photographed better) and after the jam sits on the counter for 24 hours, in the freezer they go! And oh my goodness! The fresh strawberry taste! So good!

The jam tastes amazing right now, but the real treat is eating Summery Strawberry Freezer Jam on toast in February when it’s snowing outside and the temperature is -25. Just the aroma alone from the strawberries brings back summery memories in an instant and will warm you to your toes.

strawberries for strawberry lime elderflower granita

With all the fresh berries coming into season soon, I hope to make a lot of jam this summer.

Enjoy!

Hey! What’s your favourite jam? Send me a message. I love homemade jam.

Print Recipe

Summery Strawberry Freezer Jam

Serves: 3 jars

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 box certo
2 litres strawberries (to make 3 cups of crushed strawberries)
4 cups sugar

Instructions

You will need two pots to make this jam.

Wash and hull the strawberries. Slice them and place in a bowl or if you have an 8 cup measuring cup, that works great!

When you have one layer of strawberries, crush them with a pastry blender, or a fork.

Continue adding and crushing the strawberries until you have 3 cups of crushed berries.

Pour the berries into a large pot. Add the sugar. Heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Meanwhile, place 3/4 cup of water and one pouch of powdered certo in a small pot.

Bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes.

Pour certo mixture into warm strawberries and sugar..

Stir until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Bring to a boil for about one minute.

Let the jam cool down a bit.

Pour into plastic jam jars, make sure all the fruit is well distributed.

Let the jars sit on your counter for 24 hours. Then place in refrigerator or freezer.

Don't forget to label the jars with the name and the date.

Notes

These instructions are different than on the certo box, but they work the best for me.

June 10, 2021

Cooking

Sizzling Mapo Tofu with Pork, Tofu and Eggplant

This recipe for Sizzling Mapo Tofu is an easy and delicious dish to make any night of the week. As preparation only takes about 10 minutes and cooking is just as fast. So, your family dinner will be on the table in no time.

Another thing that I love about this dish are the textures. I love the combination of soft eggplant, tender tofu, small pieces of pork, crisp green onions. And that fiery trio of ginger, garlic and hot sauce really hits the spot. So, this dish couldn’t be more perfect.

I’m sure you have your own go-to dinner recipe when food needs to be on the table as fast as possible. Well, Mapo Tofu is that dish for me. I have been making this dish for many many years. I just love it. It is warming, satisfying and delicious anytime of the year. And, boy, is it fast to make.

I make this dish with pork. but you could easily turn this dish into a vegan dinner by omitting the pork. Because there are so many seasonings, you won’t miss the pork.

I love reading about the history of recipes. And this one is pretty amazing. Mapo Tofu actually dates back atleast 200 years. It was originally made by an elderly woman at The Chen Xingsheng, a small restaurant near the Wanfu Bridge in north Chengdu, the Capital City of Sichuan province in China, that she ran with her husband.

Ma means pork, and po means elderly, so mapo was actually used to describe the woman who made and served this delicious dish.

If you need a quick and delicious dinner – Mapo Tofu with Eggplant is for you!

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Ma Po Tofu

Serves: 4

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Part A
1 eggplant, cubed
2 garlic clove, chopped
2 tsp chopped ginger
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp sambal oelek or other hot chili sauce
300 grams ground pork
Part B
360 ml vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp sake
dash of pepper
1 package of firm tofu, cut into cubes
Part C
4 green onions
3 Tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp sesame oil

Instructions

Saute eggplant, then remove from pan.

Saute garlic and ginger and when aromatic add the sambal oelek.

Add pork and saute until cooked.

Add Part ‘B’.

Add eggplant back into pan.

Mix cornstarch with water.

Add mixture to pan.

Add sesame oil and green onions.

Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

March 11, 2019