I branched out of my culinary shell this week. I cooked up what I think to be a pretty successful dish: Orange Glazed Tofu.
I found this recipe from Eat Up! (via foodgawker) and sent it to my boyfriend for dinner approval. Thumbs up. I got my hands on some tofu and away I went. We eat tofu on a somewhat frequent basis with all the asian restaurants that populate Chinatown. My tofu was not deep fried but I think it came out quite well for a first attempt.
I will do some tweaking if I use the sauce again. It was too vinegary and I think it could have used either less vinegar or more sugar. The recipe calls for baking the tofu which I think is a fine idea, but my oven is less than consistent so I should have just gone for a quick pan fry on the stove. It took way too long to get any color on the breading and then it didn’t really make a difference because I covered it in sauce anyway!
I will note that the most time consuming part of this recipe was draining the tofu of all the water. I spent almost 20 minutes dabbing each cube to make sure all the moisture came out. After discussing my tofu adventures with my co-workers, they suggested taking it out and putting it on a plate with paper towels on top and underneath. Put a paper plate on top and place a can on it for slight pressure. After 15 minutes it should be good. I will test this theory if I ever use tofu again.
Overall I give the meal a solid B. Extra points for creativity and stepping outside my comfort zone.
Recipe:
adapted from Eat Up!
Ingredients
- Firm tofu block (cut into 1″ cubes; drained)
- 1 tbs oil
- Breading procedure set up ( 1/2 c white flour, 1/2 - 1 cup panko crumbs, 2 eggs)
- 1 Tbs sesame seeds
Glaze sauce
- 1/2 c white vinegar (this was the original amount, I think it could be halved)
- 2 Tbs granulated sugar
- 1 Tbs soy sauce
- 1/2 c orange juice – I used fresh oranges because I had them, can use more, sauce will reduce a decent amount
- 1 tsp 5 China spice blend
- 1/2 Tbs corn starch
Directions:
- Dice the tofu into cubes – drain all the water
- Set up your breading station: bowl of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.
- Dip the tofu cubes first in the flour (dust of excess), then egg, then cover in breadcrumbs.
- Place on a baking sheet if baking or on a plate if you will pan fry them. (Oil the baking sheet a bit prior to cooking)
- Continue until all cubes are breaded.
- Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown, checking periodically to flip the cubes.
While the tofu is baking, start your sauce.
- Add vinegar and sugar to a saute pan over medium heat. Whisk until sugar dissolves and it starts to simmer.
- Combine corn starch, orange juice, and chinese spices together. Add to the saute pan. I also added a few red chili flakes at this point too.
- Add soy sauce to pan and whisk.
- Let it simmer over medium heat. The sauce will reduce and thicken slightly. When the tofu is finished cooking, add it to the pan and toss together.
- Sprinkle in sesame seeds.
- Serve with rice!
I hope you might be inspired to try something new! Tofu isn’t that scary. I’ll keep my eyes out for other tofu recipes in the future.
Happy Hump Day!
Anonymous Reply:
February 8th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Thanks so much!