Crispy Tofu and Ginger Dressing with Bagged Asian Salad

You might think this is healthy, but you do not see the pool of dressing from this angle.

The wifey, the kiddo, and I have moved. Woo. Home ownership. American dream. Ra, ra, and other stuff. 

Pro: I have a kitchen that is much larger and my own. Con: this thing.

Small AND uneven heat, what is not to love?

So cooking anything beyond frozen food or three/four item recipes has been limited. But we are all moved in now (read about fifty percent of boxes are unpacked). 

Walking through the grocery the other day I decided I needed to get my mojo back with an IMPULSE PURCHASE!!! ..of tofu. Um? Behold me being risqué? 


Resources:
Tofu:
14 oz block of extra firm tofu
6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) cornstarch, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
peanut oil

Ginger dressing (source):
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons prepared ginger root (not pickled)
3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey

Salad:
Store bought bag of Asian salad mix (get one with crunchies, because yum)

Method:
Tofu:
Remove tofu from packaging. Place between two thick layers of paper towels. Place something heavy on top. (See picture in commentary). Allow to sit for a few.

Mix salt and cornstarch.

Cube tofu to desired size. Toss in the cornstarch/salt mix (do this in two batches).

Heat peanut oil to medium-high. Add coated tofu. Rotate as sides get golden brown. Remove when browned on all sides.

Ginger dressing:
Mix all ingredients.

Microwave until warm, ie the honey is less viscous, and mix again.

Serve warm.

Salad:
PUT SALAD IN BOWL.

POUR DRESSING ON SALAD. Toss that salad.

TOP WITH TOFU.

I IS EXPLAINING SALAD BECAUSE IT ARE HARD.

Commentary:

I did the tofu in two batches of coatings and two batches of frying. The coating started to lump hence the second batch. The frying because of the size of the pan I was using.

I did some reading about cooking tofu online before hand (largely because I bought it and sat on it for a few weeks out of laziness). That is the source of the pressing of the tofu.  Apparently tofu is pretty wet. I really have no idea. I just ran with it. Although if I had literally sat on it for a few weeks, I suppose it would not have been an issue.

Because... the internet TOLD ME TO!!!

I have to admit one of the things that excited me about working with tofu was the idea I could make perfect cubes in great uniformity (I make no apology, I am an engineer damn it). Well I was let down. 

Look at this lumpy non-uniform piece of edible protein!

Make sure the dressing is stored in a container with a solid seal. I had to shake the ever lovin' bejesus out of it. Stirring/whisking just was not cutting it. 

Conclusion:
The tofu was incredibly easy to make and is suitable for all sorts of applications. The salad dressing was a little fussy with the honey melt / general separation. Still it was very good. Plus the whole thing was pretty damn easy. I would give another go. I would consider adding some more crunchy things next time to give it a little more texture. 

Edit:
I'm not the only one who wanted cubed food.

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Oops! Wrote this a week ago and never posted. Better late than never, right?

It sure it a photogenic meal.

I do not like honey and you can bet if the word "berry" is anywhere in the vicinity of a recipe it is not for me. However for some reason this one spoke to me. Call it fate. Call it kismet. Call it what you will, but as soon as I read this recipe I knew I had to try it.

Resources:
2-3 large bone-in (with skin) chicken breasts (2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup blackberry jam
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Sliced scallions, for garnish
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Method:
Arrange the chicken breasts in the slow cooker so that they are not overlapping.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, blackberry jam, hoisin, olive oil, garlic, onion, and crushed red pepper flakes, and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker and cook the chicken on low for 4 to 5 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker (reserving the liquids) and place it on a cutting board. Remove the skin and bones then use two forks to shred the chicken into smaller pieces. Place the shredded chicken in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water.

Strain the liquids from the slow cooker into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and whisk in the cornstarch. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it reduces and has thickened, about 5 minutes (it might have been more honestly). Pour a little bit of the sauce over the chicken, tossing to combine. Serve the chicken topped with sliced scallions and sesame seeds and the remaining sauce on the side.

Commentary:
The blog I got this recipe from had some excellent pointers that I will address first.

"Using bone-in chicken breasts, rather than boneless chicken breasts, is key to guaranteeing moist, tender shredded chicken." I, for once, did not use skinless, boneless chicken breasts. It lived up to the advice too. The chicken was pretty moist. I left the skin on while cooking. The sauce is a bit overpowering here (more on that later). I feel like the skin acts as a shield that allows you to control the sauce level after the fact.

Plus I am lazy. Taking that skin off is effort, right?

"Depending on your preferences, you may want to pour only a portion of the sauce over the shredded chicken. Any leftover sauce can be served with other proteins or veggies." I cannot stress this one enough. There was so much sauce left over after the fact. This would have been overwhelming (and I guess kind of disgusting) if I had dumped it all on.

I used 1/8 of a teaspoon crushed red pepper. The wifey noticed the tiniest bit of heat, which means I did not notice at all. This just did not strike me as something I wanted spicy, but maybe that is just me. 

This took a lot of cookware: slow cooker, rice cooker, pot, bowls, cutting board, etc. Luckily the wifey does the clean up!

My rice cooker has twice the capacity of my slow cooker because... poor planning?

Aside: I think this is the first time I have worked with hoison. I am not sure sure how that is possible at this point in my life, but I believe it to be true.

I cooked this sauce down until it was thick and sticky. I did not log the time, hence the unsure cooking time above.

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble."

Conclusion:
I liked it. The wifey tolerated. Some days that is enough. That said, this will not be making the regular rotation of dinners.

Spicy Peanut Noodles and Soy Almonds

Who is ready for a quickie? My nuts are worth it trust me!

Seriously though, I am feeling lazy today. You are getting a half hearted post. Deal with it.

The pasta is a go to quick meal. The nuts are just an excuse to get rid of the extra almonds I bought for yesterday's post.



This is one of my favorite.



Mmm. Salty nuts.

Spicy Peanut Noodles

Resources:

1 pound spaghetti or any pasta

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar, DIVIDED

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar

6 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped (I used 1 tablespoon fresh ginger)

1 large garlic clove

3 celery ribs, thinly sliced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

Method:

In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain well.

In a blender, puree the peanut butter with 6 tablespoons of the vinegar, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, crushed red pepper, ginger and garlic. Transfer 1/2 cup of the peanut dressing to a bowl and toss with the noodles.

In another bowl, toss the celery with the cilantro and the remaining 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Transfer the noodles to bowls and drizzle with the remaining peanut dressing. Top with the celery.

Make Ahead:

The peanut dressing can be refrigerated for 2 days.

Soy Almonds

Resources:

6 ounce can of unflavored almonds

1 1/2 tablespoons of peanut oil

1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce

cayenne pepper

salt

Method:

In a small slow cooker mix all the ingredients except salt.

Cook on high for 15 minutes, remove cover, cook for another 2 1/2 hours on low. Stir occasionally.

Salt the nuts to taste. Spread the nuts out and allow to cool.

Commentary:

Make sure to divide the vinegar. I always forget. As mentioned yesterday, do not be me.

This will make the sauce thin (as shown). I always dump all the vinegar in like an idiot. Hence the bold underlined "divided" above.

If you peanut sauce is a little thin: more peanut butter.

  

Not a power shake.

I usually skip the celery. This is a recipe I make frequently as a quick lunch. It is fairly scalable to a quarter for a single serving. That and I skip the celery / cilantro to cut down on effort

Pictured: effort.

A little diced chicken is a nice addition to the pasta. Also it is against the rules for me to have a completely vegetarian post.

Both recipes are easily adjusted heat wise. Depending on my mood there is more or less (or no) red pepper for the pasta. I have only made the nuts once but I just used the tiniest sprinkle twice and there was no heat to speak of.

As far as the nuts go, the original recipe calls for Tamari soy sauce. Did not have it. Used La Choy reduced sodium.

Also I like my nuts salty, so the reduced sodium soy did not cut it. I added salt to taste. If you are not using reduced sodium or do not like salt, be careful!

Conclusions:

I make the pasta all the time.

Also the wifey love my nuts. Enough said about that.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Soda Pop & Smashed Taters

I am not a big sweets guy, but there is something down right magical about Sprite. I freakin' love that shit. Hot sweaty? Drink a Sprite. Need a drink before bed? Drink a Sprite. Hung over? Drink a Sprite. There is no social / nutritional / spiritual value but I can not help myself. So when I bought 36 Delicious Chicken Breast Recipes the other day and I saw a Sprite based recipe, I got on it! Sadly, it is only mediocre. That said it was super easy. So I have included one of my few potato recipes (more on why so few another day), so hopefully this post will be worth while.



Served with a smile!

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Soda Pop (aka Sprite)

Resources:

 

4 chicken breasts

1/2 cup soy sauce

12 ounce can of Sprite

1/2 teaspoon horseradish

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola, which I like to call rapeseed oil since it sounds HARD)

 

 

Method:

 

Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients for at least thirty minutes (I went about two hours).

 

Grill until cooked through, flipping once. Brush with sauce frequently (every 10-15 minutes).

 

Allow to rest a few minutes before eating (3-5 typically works for me).

 

Smashed Taters

Resources:

 

5-6 very small red potatoes per person (or more if hungry)

salt, coarse (sea salt, kosher, etc)

olive oil

 

Method:

 

Boil the potatoes 30-40 minutes (until tender when poked with a fork). Drain and cool them.

 

Move the over rack to a relatively high position in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

 

On a foil covered baking sheet spread out the potatoes and smash with a potato smasher until the potatoes are about half as thick as they originally were. Generously coat with olive oil and salt (make sure to completely coat the skin with oil). Bake until golden and the skins are starting to look crispy about 30 minutes.

 

Put the oven on broil for about 5 minutes, until the slightest bit of brown / black starts tto form on the edge of the skins.

 

Commentary:

 

As always make sure our chicken is cooked through. Breasts vary in size (giggle) enough cooking times are hard to generalize, but I used about 15 minutes a size for each ~10 ounce breast.

 

The smallest red potatoes are the best. I actually pay a small premium for Ruby Sensation potatoes because they are so small!

 

Here is my corporate plug of the day and I expect sponsorship damnit!

I just want one mouth full baby. No more. No less.

 

One use tools: the bane of a small kitchen. That said a potato smasher is absolutely a must in my opinion.

 

Ever smashed potatoes with a fork? It is time consuming. This baby smashes efficiently!

Conclusion:

 

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Soda Pop is a quick easy fix, but nothing special. It tasted like it was marinated in sugar and soy sauce. There was a little citrus, but not much.

 

As an aside, is there such a thing as marinated chicken breasts that is exceptional though? I have tried countless marinates and unless there something extra (a cream sauce, onions & peppers, a premeditated side dish, etc), I am never thrilled.

 

Smashed Taters is a keeper. I make it frequently.