Crispy Garlic and Ginger Tofu
April 19th, 2011 § 59 Comments
Daniel told me again that I was chewing in my sleep again the other night.
Me: “But how do you know I was chewing and not mouthing secrets?”
Daniel: “Well, I guess because it looked a whole lot like how you eat a hamburger. Mouth open, bite down, upanddown, upanddown, upanddown, and then, smile.”
Me: “How do you know I was smiling? And what are you trying to say about me and hamburgers?”
Daniel: “Because it was the opposite of a frown? And you always smile like that when you’re eating.”
Me: “Oh.”
Daniel: “I tried to take a picture with my phone but it was too dark.”
Me: “Yes and good thing because I’d rather not have a photo of me in my jammies, in my bed, mock-chewing.”
Daniel: “No, trust me it was the cutest thing I’ve seen all year.”
Me: “It’s only April. What about the puppy that belongs to our neighbor downstairs?”
Daniel: “He doesn’t chew that sweetly. And he certainly doesn’t look as happy while he’s eating.”
Me: “Good point. I wish I knew what I was eating.”
Daniel: “Why?”
Me: “Because now I’m hungry.”
Daniel: “You’re always hungry.”
Me: “Good point. I wish I had something to eat.”
Daniel: “You always have something to eat.”
Me: “Good point. Can you make me something to eat?”
Daniel: “No.”
Me: “If you could just make me a flatbread…”
Daniel: “No.”
Me: “Something saucy.”
Daniel: “No.”
Me: “Something with cheese.”
Daniel: “No.”
Me: “But I’m starving.”
And then Daniel walked out the door and left me for good.
And then, in his absence, I marinated tofu for hours in a sweet and salty soy-ginger-garlic sauce.
And fried thin slices of it to a deep brown crisp in a frying pan.
And rolled those wildly flavorful strips in a flatbread with soft, sauteed sweet peppers and red onions.
And then Jesus called.
And the clouds parted.
And unicorns jumped over rainbows.
And then Daniel came back to me.
[He was hungry.]
And we lived semi-happily ever after.
The end.
Garlic and Ginger Tofu
serves 3
For marinade and sauce:
½ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
Remaining ingredients:
16 oz block extra firm tofu, pressed, dried with a towel, and sliced into 1/4” thick strips
1 tablespoon canola oil
Whisk all marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Lay the slices of tofu in a shallow pan and pour the marinade over the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Set a large nonstick frying pan or wok over medium high heat. Add the canola oil and swirl to coat. Place the tofu in the pan in a single layer and let them cook for about 8 minutes per side. Check the underside of one of the pieces after 4 minutes to ensure they don’t burn. The tofu should develop a dark, crisp crust. Remove the tofu from the pan, place it on a serving plate, and pour the remaining marinade in the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring frequently, until it has thickened into a glossy syrup.
Pour the thickened soy sauce over the tofu and serve with sauteed or grilled vegetables in a flatbread.
Nutrition info for 1/3 of entire recipe: Calories: 174, Fat: 14.1g, Carb: 16.4g, Fiber: 2.8g, Sugars: 9.3g, Protein: 19.7g
oh, I love Love LOVE this post. I wish he had gotten a photo too
and your photos are mouthwatering as always… now I AM HUNGRY!
My husband was peering over my shoulder as I was reading this and said, “What is that? I’d eat that. Are you gonna make that?”
I said,”tofu, okay, and yes.”
Yum yummy!! Cant wait to try this one
I need to know where you get your flatbreads. They look delicious and you seem to be enjoying them a lot lately.
I was missing the flatbreads there for a minute (sorry Daniel). Ever since the beginning of your flatbread period I’ve been searching for good flatbread, all over the Central Coast of California. So far to no avail.
I lived in Melbourne (Australia) for many years, where great souvlaki is the local fast food – and these flatbreads look just like the ones I enjoyed there.
I’m not giving up though….. There’s great flatbread in my future – I just know it, and when I find it, I’ll be wrapping it around this marinated tofu – and smiling while I eat it.
love love the mini conversation! and the part where you mention unicorns. unicorns rock.
I want to see a play about you and Daniel. Guess it would be very entertaining
or could you just write me a book? Would be a fun read. Thanks!
That wrap looks so mouthwatering!
I definitely chose the right food blog to follow! Even in your sleep you are cooking up something yummy.
Can I move in with you? I love anything wrapped in flatbread! And I’m very tolerant about mock-chewing
You can move in anytime. We have an air mattress with your name on it
You are sooo cute!
That first photo would have me chewing in my sleep as well! Love tofu, gona do that recipe for sure!
That is the most appetizing tofu I’ve ever seen! Also, I can now understand your obsession with that bread because I’d really like to grab it from my computer screen.
I’m pretty sure this is the best tofu has ever looked.
I speak 3 languages in my sleep…. and I am 80% sure I was cooking last night as well. But chewing… hahahahahaha…. hilarious!!!! GRANDE!!!
Um, I know what I”m making for dinner tomorrow night. End of story.
Yummmm! I just made a very similar tofu marinade and sort of forgot about my tofu…. it was in the sauce for about 2 days and I finally cooked it yesterday – probably the most flavoured tofu I’ve ever had!!! However, I did not have one of your gorgeous flatbreads on hand so it had to go on a bowl of greens instead. Next time… I’ll be a little more prepared
These flatbread posts are making me VERY hungry. I’m always hungry, too. And always eating something.
Honestly.. I have never eaten Tofu. Something about it scares me…
Haaa, so fun
I once woke up to hear my sister sleep-chewing. I could hear the little clicks when she bit down, it was hilarious. She didn’t remember what she’d been eating either.
This looks fantastic!!! I’ve been on a big tofu kick lately, so this recipe will definitely be put to use!
I love this story! You guys are so cute. Any guy that thinks a girl mock eating in her sleep is the cutest thing he’s seen all year is definitely a keeper.
It’s too bad we don’t live closer – I think we’d all get along so well. My husband and I the same conversations, usually about the funny things I do or say in my sleep
This looks so good.
Mmmmmm I love you more now. I’m a tofu addict on a high protein diet and I just started drooling. My Everything Bagel Thin with cream cheese didn’t taste as good. Admittedly it’s because there was no lox…BUT STILL.
oh this looks soooooo delicious! i’ve been craving asian flavors lately. also, i love that you dream of food!
I lovelovelove tofu. Great recipe, I will definitely try this marinade!
This looks beautiful. And delicious!
This is stunning and looks mouthwateringly delicious!
As an aside, I’m pretty sure that people who claim to have a strong dislike for all things tofu, just don’t have the right marinade or cooking technique. I still have some learning to do when it comes to cooking tofu, but I’ve also tasted what it’s capable of being, which is enough reason for me to keep it in my kitchen.
I can’t *wait* to try your recipe!
This post put a huge smile on my face. Your relationship is cute.
I’ve always wanted to cook crispy tofu at home, thanks for sharing!
Fantastic. I need flatbreads in my life.
Ok I can’t say that I eat tofu, but you are making me want to start! Ah this looks so delicious! That marinade alone is calling my name
Pretty sure I could live off of your flatbread recipes:)
Mmm, lovely flavors.
Daniel sounds like a pretty sweet guy
So funny! I grind my teeth at night, its probably not as cute!
Wow Andrea this tofu looks unbelievable! Tofu is so delicious when its prepared correctly, and this looks perfect!
Looks flippin amazing.
Those are probably the most appetizing tofu pictures I’ve ever seen.
I am going to be adventurous and try this – have only had tofu in a lovely Hot and Sour soup from my favorite chinese restaurant. After we were 1st married (almost 23 years ago) my husband told me I sat up in bed and said “Do you know what Oprah said today?” – he told me he did not care what she said – can you imagine?!! I have no memory of it though – was just talking in my sleep. Supposedly I laugh a great deal too..and drool – I sound like a catch huh?
Ellen Renee, this makes me happy
I’d love to talk about Oprah with you sometime!
How funny! And if I was dreaming about eating that combo of flavors I would be smiling too!!
Haha! Great post! That tofu looks pretty delish, too! Nomnom!
This looks amazing, definitely worth all that waiting.
Those looks crazy fantastic! The bread / tortilla looks so soft and yummy.
I had a dream last night that I made these and I’m not even joking. lol I also had to yell at my boyfriend in the dream because he was complaining it wasn’t meat and I said “You know what? You can just deal with it OK?!” It was awesome. Just thought I would share.
Linds, you’re a girl after my own heart
Love this kind of tofu! A steady go-to weeknight meal for me. So good!
Thanks Jen!
It’s photos like these that led me to nominate you for Saveur Food Blog Award for best photography, and I urge other readers to do the same. Deadline Friday, April 22: photos like these deserve some attention! http://www.saveur.com/2011-best-food-blog-nominations.jsp
there is nothing better then crispy tofu this dish looks amazing!
Hi my next target is this tofu…. It looks really yummy… But can I ask you a question? One if the ingredient is brown sugar… So I was wondering if that tofu has sweet taste? Cuz I dont really like sweet n I was wondering if it sweet can you tell me any substitute to make it spicy… Thank you….sorry I really love your recipes but i don’t like sweet that’s why…
Looks delicious! I frequently make something very similar to this with the additional step of dredging the tofu in a mixture of all-purpose flour and sesame seeds (about 1/2 cup flour to 3 tablespoons sesame seeds) it adds a little extra crispiness and crunch, although I imagine that you would need to shorten the cooking time slightly to avoid burning the sesame seeds (I heat the oil to just below smoking and allow the tofu to brown for 1-2 minutes per side and it comes out deliciously crispy).
Hi Andrea, I made this dish and I loved it. The husband loved it too. He had 3 servings of it. We will be adding this to our recipe rotation. thank you so much
I recently found your blog and love everything about it- your photos, your mouth-watering recipes, and your voice.
I made this recipe last night and it was amazing! My only question is if there would be some way to make it less-salty. I didn’t use low-sodium soy sauce, as I usually do, so maybe that would be all it would take. Any thoughts?
[...] Mom gave me this recipe a while ago and I finally got around to trying it this weekend. Boy, am I glad. I cooked it for me, [...]
Made it and LOVED it! Even the hubby was impressed. He added some sriracha chili sauce for an extra kick, but I liked it as is.
Made it tonight…was so good! We used Lavash bread because we couldn’t find flat bread. I think flat bread is delish! Next time! Thanks for the recipe!
Can you let it marinate for longer? lets say.. 6 hrs.. id like to get that half done before work.
This sounds delicious! I love tofu!
I made this and it came out GREAT… it was my first time making tofu…
I just wondered if you would get the same result if you baked it?
I’m trying to eat healthy and thought frying was bad for you =(
I made this and it was sooooooo YUMMY! My husband loved it as well. Thanks for posting it! I love your blog!