sweet and spicy glazed tofu

Lately we’ve been committing to meatless monday’s around here (well, all of us but jamie… the man likes his monday’s full of meat). Thankfully, tofu, and rather beans of any variety, is the one food everyone in my foursome loves. We made a gluten free breaded version last week that was to die for, but still working on it’s application.

Yesterday I wanted a crispy tofu, but without all the work. We had a bunch of vegetables on hand that lended themselves perfectly to asian flavors, and I needed to make rice ahead of time for the crispy rice dish I had planned for later in the week— voila, sweet and spicy glazed tofu.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 blocks of tofu, halved, then sliced into 18 equal sized squares and patted dry

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup mirin

2 Tbsp sambal

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 bunch green onions, greens sliced, whites minced

1 inch knob of ginger, minced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

avocado oil for sautéing

roasted sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:

Coat the bottom of a large cast iron skillet with avocado oil, and bring to a medium high temperature. When oil begins to shimmer, add the tofu squares in batches, being careful not to over crowd the pan (a rule I don’t always follow - but I should). Leave tofu to sear for about 5 minutes, until the squares are easily flipped and a nice golden brown. Repeat on the other side, and with other tofu squares, removing from pan and covering to keep warm.

When tofu has been removed, add sesame oil to the pan, and sauté garlic, ginger, and the whites of the green onions, making sure to stir so that the garlic does not burn. When have aromatics have slightly softened (shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds or so), add in soy sauce, mirin, honey, sambal and vinegar. Stir to combine. Add tofu back to pan and coat with sauce, making sure to stir sauce as you do so. Once sauce thickens, remove from heat and serve. I recommend over rice and with a side of veggies - here I used a mixture of broccoli, brussel sprouts, and mushrooms slow braised in a homemade mushroom stock, with garlic, rice wine vinegar, soy, and sesame oil similar to this recipe.