What's for Dinner? Oven Fried Tofu

Any tofu lovers out there? I first fell in love with this stuff after eating fried tofu in authentic Chinese restaurants. I used to fry it at home until I saw a recipe for an oven roasted version. It pretty much fries in the oven without all the splatter. Splatter me no likey.

I prep my tofu by wrapping it in multiple layers of paper towels, setting on a cutting board, and placing my cast iron skillet on top of it for at least 30 minutes. You want to press out a lot of that extra moisture.




I cube my tofu into bite size pieces when I'm tossing it into a stir-fry. The little cubes get generously sprayed with oil spray and generously sprinkled with salt and pepper on both sides.




Roast your perfect little cubes at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. You can turn yours over half way through for even browning and crispiness. I find that way too much work, so I just let it get really crispy on one side. It tastes just as good.




For this particular dinner I put my tofu into a simple cabbage stir-fry. I didn't have stir-fry sauce on hand and have been trying to cut down on sugar anyway so I used toasted sesame seed oil, red pepper flakes, fresh ginger, garlic, onions, and soy sauce for flavor.




If you've read my post on stir-frying you'll remember that you barely want to cook your veggies. You want them to retain a good amount of crunch. This cabbage is perfectomundo right here.




Toss in your "fried" tofu and you're good to go. You can serve as is for a low carb dinner or over a small bed of rice or noodles. For extra deliciousness, stir fry cooked noodles in a little bit of toasted sesame oil with red pepper flakes and garlic.

Oven Fried Tofu & 

Stir-fried Cabbage

INGREDIENTS
1 lb firm or extra firm tofu (use 2 lbs for a big family)
olive oil spray
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 head of cabbage, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce

DIRECTIONS
1. Wrap tofu in several layers of paper towels, place on a cutting board, and put a heavy skillet on top. Leave for at least 30 minutes to get some of the moisture out.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray generously with oil spray.
4. Cube tofu and lay cubes on your sheet pan. Spray generously with oil spray and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Turn cubes over and repeat.
5. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until desired color and crispiness. Check after 20 minutes. You can turn your cubes over at the half way point for even browning and crispiness, if you desire.
6. Heat sesame oil on high heat in a large skillet or wok until screaming hot.
7. Add red pepper flakes and cook for a few seconds. Then dump in the rest of your ingredients and cook for a few minutes. You want the veggies to remain fairly crisp.
8. Sprinkle in soy sauce and toss in tofu, stirring to combine.
9. Serve with extra soy sauce and sriracha sauce.

The Stir-fry of Your Dreams

I used to hate stir-fries. Sad mushy veggies and over-cooked meat over a big bowl of too much boring rice. Blah. No bueno. Why I ever kept trying is beyond me. But it paid off eventually.

Over the years I've stumbled upon some tips and tricks that have turned me into a stir-fry genius. You can be one too. 

Tip #1
Cook your meat(if using) and veggies separately. When you cook them together one or the other, or both, will end up over-cooked. You want a screaming hot pan for the meat and then the veggies, so reheat to screaming hot with additional oil after the first cooking.



Tip #2
Keep those veggies crunchy. Make sure your veggies are dry before adding them to your hot oil and cook them until they just start to brighten and the texture still has a good amount of crunch, and not a moment longer. You don't want your fork to slide into them easily when poked. If you think they look raw they may very well be perfect. If you think they look cooked they are over-done.

They're just about done here

Tip #3
Toasted sesame seed oil. This is the stuff dreams are made of. Use about 1/2 to 2/3 parts olive oil and the rest toasted sesame oil to add a depth of flavor and richness to your stir-fry that will make your heart sing.

Tip #4
The sauce. Of all the sauces I've tried, both homemade and store-bought, Kikkoman stir fry sauce is the best there is. If you find one you think is amazing let me know. I think my heart will always beat for you Kikkoman. You are the KING of stir fry sauces! No, Kikkoman is not paying me to say that. But I'm open. You listening Kikkoman?

Tip #5
Ratios. This may be a personal preference, but stir-fry always tastes better to me with a 1 to 2 ratio - 1 cup of rice under 2 cups of stir fry. I used to serve it the opposite way and always ended up with plain rice at the bottom of my bowl. What was I thinking?

The Stir-fry of Your Dreams

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1 Tbsp toasted sesame seed oil, divided

1 lb chicken or beef(or tofu that has been thoroughly, thoroughly drained in layers of wrapped paper towels), cut into bite-sized chunks

salt and pepper to taste

a dash red pepper flakes

4 cloves of garlic, minced

6 to 8 cups sliced veggies (I like to use broccoli, cabbage, celery, onions, peppers, carrots, and mushrooms in various combinations)

1 bottle Kikkoman stir fry sauce

1/3 cup peanuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Season your meat with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and ½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until screaming hot. Dump in meat, brown, and cook until just cooked through. Remove from pan immediately.

3. Reheat pan with remaining oil over high heat until screaming hot. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook for a few seconds. Then add veggies and cook until they just start to brighten. You want them to stay pretty crisp.

4. Add the meat back in and about ½ to ¾ bottle of stir fry sauce. Also add the peanuts, if using. Cook for another minute.

5. Remove from heat.

6. Serve over a small bed of rice or noodles.

Sauced and sprinkled with peanuts

Can you tell my pictures are getting better? I'm practicing. 😁