Tofu.
I know.
I once thought it was a weird and disgusting thing too.
I still think it’s kind of weird, but not so much disgusting.
It has an odd texture and if you have texture issues with food, it might be your deal-breaker. I’ve never had soft—or silken—tofu. My experience is strictly with firm, but the only way I can describe its texture, is if you could froth Jell-O.
Like I said: Weird.
By itself, it has kind of a mild paint-like flavor, but otherwise pretty nondescript. The beauty of tofu is that it takes on the flavor of whatever you’re cooking it with, making it rather versatile.
This is not to say I’m making tofu in place of meat for every meal. There is actually only one dish I use it in.
Hot & Sour soup.
Bob’s a big fan of getting this soup from Chinese restaurants. Every place has a different version, so no two experiences are alike. If you look up recipes for it, there are wide variations from version to version. Many of which use more traditional ingredients (certain types of mushrooms, et al) and many are much more Americanized. Tofu is always an ingredient and many also use thinly sliced pork. Vegetables always seem to vary, but that’s the case with any Chinese food.
I’m always on the lookout for [easy] make-at-home Chinese-inspired food. I love the restaurant offerings, but it’s so expensive and SO bad for you. Knowing Bob likes Hot & Sour soup so much, I did some hunting for recipes and found one that wasn’t convoluted and overly complicated. It takes some prep time. There’s a lot of chopping, grating, and mincing involved, but the end result is worth it. The flavor is great (though quite different from the other versions Bob’s tried) and it’s not completely unhealthy or loaded with salt and MSG.
Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients:
14 oz block tofu (firm or extra firm) sliced in 1/2-inch strips
4 oz can baby corn, cut half or thirds
8 oz can bamboo shoots, drained, cut in half
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, cut in half
8 oz mushrooms, sliced (I usually use white button mushrooms)1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp dried)
2 Tbsp minced garlic (1 Tbsp dried)
red pepper flakes to taste4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
4 cups water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1 Tbsp sesame oil4 egg whites, beaten
1/4 cup water mixed with 1/4 cup cornstarch
Directions:
1.) Heat oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until soft.
2.) Add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
3.) Add broth, water, vinegar, soy sauce, and cornstarch mixture. Add tofu, baby corn, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. Cover and bring to a boil, cooking 20-30 minutes.
4.) Stream in egg whites. (Stir the soup while streaming the eggs to get ribbons and prevent clumping.) Add green onions.
Notes:
— Place tofu block between paper towels and press out as much water as possible. The less liquid in the tofu, the more flavor it will absorb from the soup.— I find cutting the corn, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots into [roughly] uniform size pieces makes it easier to eat, but it’s not necessary if you want to save time.
— I know most things that use cornstarch as a thickening agent call for it to be added at the end of cooking, but I find it works better to put it in right away.
Source: adapted from here
I don’t make it often because I am lazy (and I don’t keep tofu on hand) but after a great deal of tweaking, I’ve finally found a good recipe. It feeds us for three or four days and the leftovers hold up well.
It doesn’t quite taste like the restaurant versions Bob has had, but it’s still good.
I haven’t had a lot of success when it comes to soup recipes, but this one is definitely a winner.
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Originally posted on [the now defunct] Computer Generated Housewife.
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