Rosie Is Surprised! She Made General Rosie's Tofu.

Rosie had a good day today.  I asked The-Hawthorne-Who-Shall-Not-Be Named would he like me to make anything special for him.  I've noticed his appetites are changing and I really wanted to prepare something he would like.  

THWSNBN:  "Have you ever heard of General Tso's Tofu?"

RH:  "Why no.  I haven't.  But I'll find out!" 

Does anybody really like tofu?  Seriously? 

Now, I have to say here:  I've never had tofu I've liked unless it's been soaking in a hot and sour soup or pho and soaking up all those flavors.  Because by itself, it is tasteless, and hence, pointless, to me.

Hmmmm.   Soaking up all those flavors. 

The hamster wakes up and starts jogging.

You're gonna see the mind of Rosie at work.

In order to soak up flavors, you first have to get rid of the moisture already in there.  And tofu has a lot of water.

So...  what I did was place a 4-ounce piece of tofu on a slanted plate with a weight, an iron pan, on top.  I left it for a couple of hours and let the water run out.  Poured off the liquid, blotted the tofu with paper towels, then sliced it into 1/2-inch cubes. Set aside.

Now let's figure out a recipe here.

General Rosie's Tofu

Once I squeezed out the moisture in the tofu, I wanted to infuse some flavor. The way I see it, tofu's got nothing but texture going on for it.  And it's got nothing with taste going on for it.  I'm changing that.  I'm putting together taste into the texture in tofu!

Marinade for tofu: 
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup water
3 TB ketchup

3 TB rice vinegar
2 TB Tamari sauce
1 TB hoisin sauce
1 TB mirin
1 TB Thai style chili sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1-inch cube frozen ginger root
scallions, sliced, for topping
toasted sesame seeds for topping

I always keep frozen ginger on hand.  I like to use ginger juice in marinades and sauces and it's hard to impossible to get juice out of fresh ginger.  I take a cube of frozen, nuke it for about 25 seconds, then squeeze it and the juice flows out.  Next, put the ginger in a garlic press and scrape the pulp off for 2-3 squeezings.

Mix all ingredients except for scallions and sesame seeds.

After the moisture has been pressed out of the tofu, slice into 1/2-inch cubes and place in marinade.
Marinate at least an hour.  You want as much of the marinade soaked up as possible.

Next, drain the tofu and toss in cornstarch to coat.  Fry cubes in 325° peanut oil until cubes are lightly browned.  Drain on paper towels.

Pour remaining marinade into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and toss fried tofu cubes in marinade.

Serve with rice and steamed broccoli.
Top with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

 Weight that tofu down and get as much liquid out as you can.

Gather your marinade ingredients.

Nuke and juice ginger.

Blot the tofu.

Dice the tofu.

Into the marinade.

Toss to coat.  Marinate at least an hour.

Drain tofu and toss in cornstarch.

Fry ...

... until golden brown.

Add tofu to heated marinade.

Serve with rice, steamed broccoli, sliced scallions, and toasted sesame seeds.

One might think this was General Tso's chicken.

I never thought I'd say this, but ... I like tofu.