Vegetarian

Kung Pao Tofu

January 20, 2014

Kung Pao Tofu Bowl

This recipe is a Dan special. Dan is my husband, for those of you new to this corner of the internet. He grew up eating kung pao chicken at Big Bowl in the States and after his friend started working there and making it, he taught Dan the recipe.

I’ve wanted to share it here for a long time and now that we’ve been reunited, after four months of living apart, this seemed like a really fitting time.

Dan cooks a lot of the food in our house – I think he’s quite brilliant in the kitchen: unafraid, experimental, bold, with a real sense of how to keep things simple but make flavours work. I am quite in awe of his cooking skills. Living alone, one of the things I’ve loved most is getting to know our new kitchen and starting to cook again after two months of living out of a suitcase, but I’ve desperately missed evenings at home with Dan trying a new recipe or making one of our classics.

Kung Pao Tofu Recipe

Quick, fiery and deeply satisfying to eat, kung pao tofu (or kung pao tizzy, as it’s known around here) is a huge favourite of ours, especially on a weeknight when we crave something salty-sweet, hot and filling. It’s one of the dishes that I’ve always let Dan just cook solo since it comes together in the wok in a flash and there’s not much room or time for an extra body to get in the way. Being apart for four months changed that.

I got a mad craving for kung pao a month or two ago while we were still an ocean apart and had Dan text me the recipe immediately. My first attempt didn’t taste as good as I remembered his tasting, but since he’s joined me in London we’ve made it together and now I’m pretty sure I’ve got it down. Or maybe it just tastes better when he’s with me? Either way, consider this a celebratory kung pao tizzy/my husband is finally here blog post. Feels good to be back.

Kung Pao Tofu

Kung Pao Tofu

Notes:
Make sure you have black bean paste and hoisin sauce for this dish. You can make a delicious stir fry without those two ingredients, but it won’t be kung pao. Also, don’t be shy when frying the tofu. You are essentially deep frying, not sautéing it, and you need a lot of hot oil for this job. The result is lovely crispy tofu. Finally, this dish comes together quickly so make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and laid out ready to go before you begin cooking.

Ingredients

  • 400g (14oz) package tofu, drained and pressed to remove as much moisture as possible
  • 175 – 200ml (3/4 – 1 cup) organic rapeseed oil (or other neutral oil that takes high heat well)
  • 1 small onion, chopped to a large dice
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 or 2 dried arbol chilli peppers, minced
  • 1.5 tbsp black bean paste
  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
  • 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • small handful peanuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 green onion, thinly sliced, to serve
  • Cooked rice (we use jasmine or basmati), to serve

Directions

  1. Cut the tofu into into half-inch cubes and set aside.
  2. Heat a wok over high heat for a minute. Once very hot, add the oil and let it heat up. It should be sizzling hot. Add half the tofu and fry until golden brown and crispy, turning over to ensure all sides are equally crisp and coloured. Remove from the wok with a spider strainer or slotted spatula and put aside on a plate covered with paper kitchen towels to soak up some of the oil. Repeat with the rest of the tofu.
  3. Carefully remove most of the hot oil from the wok, reserving about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Add the fresh ginger, garlic, and dried chilli pepper to the wok and cook for a further minute, keeping everything moving and coated in oil. Add the fried tofu and peanuts to the wok and toss to coat with the other ingredients.
  4. Add the black bean paste, hoisin sauce, tamari, and rice vinegar to the wok, stirring and tossing the other ingredients in it. Finally, add the sesame oil, give everything a final stir and remove from the heat.
  5. Add rice to a bowl and top with kung pao. Scatter green onions on top and serve, piping hot. Serves two with some leftovers (if you don’t go back for more, which you will).

Grilled Summer Vegetable Tacos

We’ve hit that mid-to-late summer sweet spot when all the things I eagerly await year-round are finally here. Sweetcorn, courgettes, berries, summer squash, and tomatoes. Warm nights, beers on the porch, sunburnt shoulders, coconut soft serve, and sweaty bike rides. As much as I love these days, I also feel a mild anxiety as each one passes, not wanting to let summer go yet.

This blog post is for more of an idea than a recipe, but it’s a delicious one that’s worthy of your time nonetheless, and especially good if you’re a bit tired of simply grilling vegetables for salads or whatnot. Warmed corn tortillas are filled with seasoned pinto beans, zingy grilled corn salsa, slices of creamy avocado, grilled summer vegetables, and a spoonful of hot tomato salsa.

Summer Vegetable and Bean Tacos

If you haven’t made this grilled corn salsa before then you’re in for a treat. It has a gorgeous charred-sweet flavour with a pick-me-up from the fresh cilantro and lime juice, and a little kick of cumin. It’s excellent and so simple.

If you follow the instructions below you’ll have more corn salsa and beans than you need for tacos but that is personally how I prefer to cook and both are so versatile and delicious that you’ll want to use them in many other ways. Add leftover beans to a bowl of rice, topped with a fried egg, avocado, cilantro, and hot sauce for a delicious dinner. Scoop up the corn salsa with tortilla chips or add it to green salads. Or…make more tacos! Your choices at this time of year for grilling vegetables are near endless.

Grilled Summer Vegetable and Bean Tacos

These are a stunning way to show off summer vegetables in a simple and easy way. They’re vegan and gluten-free so an excellent option for feeding a group of hungry friends in your sunny backyard, though if you wanted to add some crumbled queso fresco, I bet that would be delicious too. Just add some ice cold beers, and a bowl of tortilla chips with the rest of that corn salsa and you have yourself a seriously good time in the making.

Summer Vegetable Tacos

Grilled Summer Vegetable and Bean Tacos
Makes enough for two people.

Ingredients

  • 8 corn tortillas (I like to double up and use two tortillas for one taco)
  • About half a cup of grilled corn salsa (recipe below)
  • About half a cup of cooked pinto beans (instructions below)
  • Two baby courgettes (zucchini) (or aubergine/eggplant, or summer squash) sliced in half lengthwise
  • Half an avocado, pit removed
  • Fresh tomato salsa, as desired – or – a handful of cherry tomatoes sliced into halves

Directions

  1. Heat the grill to high and make the corn salsa per the instructions below.
  2. Grill your courgettes (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), or summer squash until lightly charred but not too soft. Remove from grill and slice into half moons about 1/4 inch thick.
  3. Place halved avocado flesh down on the grill and warm through until you have grill marks, a minute or two. Remove and slice into strips, lengthwise.
  4. Meanwhile, heat up corn tortillas on the grill until soft and pliable.
  5. Construct tacos by taking two corn tortillas and filling them with a little grilled corn salsa, some beans, courgette/squash, slices of avocado, some cilantro and a little salsa (or tomatoes).

To make the pinto beans:

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried pinto beans, picked through
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 2 chiles
  • 1-2 tbsp white vinegar
  • Salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Place beans in a large pot and cover with about an inch of water. Bring to the boil and then turn heat down and simmer for thirty minutes. Drain the beans. 
  2. Return beans to the pot and cover with about an inch of water again. Add the onion and chiles and bring water to a boil. Turn heat down and let beans simmer for 1 – 2 hours or until tender, stirring every 10-15 minutes. You don’t want tons of water left at the end but you also don’t want the beans to run out of water so keep an eye on them and make sure they’re just simmering the entire time.
  3. About ten minutes before the beans are done, add the vinegar and salt, to taste.
  4. This will make more beans than you need for the tacos – use the leftovers as you wish! (My favourite is to make a batch of rice and eat them with that, avocado slices, and hot sauce. A runny egg on top is super good.)

To make the grilled corn salsa:

Ingredients

  • 2 ears of sweetcorn
  • 1/4 red onion, diced
  • 1/2 bunch of cilantro, diced
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pinch of cumin

Directions

  1. Remove husks from corn and lightly coat in olive oil. Cook on the bbq right over the flames charring the corn slightly as you turn it.
  2. Place onion and cilantro in a bowl. Combine the lime juice, olive oil, cumin and salt in a small jam jar and shake. Set aside.
  3. Once corn has cooled down use a knife to gently slide down the sides of the corn, removing the kernels. Add the corn to the cilantro and onion, pour over dressing to taste, and toss. Adjust seasoning if needed.
  4. This will make more than you need for the tacos – save the rest to enjoy with corn tortilla chips!

Lentils-with-Greens

River Cottage Veg is my new favourite cookbook. I’ve found myself completely taken with it in the last couple of months and feeling very inspired to cook fresh, lovely vegetable dishes. I really like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s philosophy on food and that his writing isn’t fussy or overly stylised. The dishes are simple, not convoluted or too complex, which is right up my alley and very much my own way of cooking.

One of my biggest pet peeves with vegetarian cookbooks is that many seem to focus on meat replacements or finding substitutes that mimic the texture or flavour of meat. I don’t think that does vegetables justice! There’s definitely a place for veggie “meat” balls and vegetarian versions of classic meat-centric dishes, but what I love about this book is that the vegetables sing. As a meat eater perhaps Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall doesn’t feel the need to replace and instead he celebrates vegetables for themselves.

It’s become a bit of a Sunday evening habit for me in the last few weeks to make some socca to snack on (who am I kidding, to attack some socca like a starved person) and then open up River Cottage Veg to make something for supper.

Lentils with Greens, Parsley, and a Mustardy-Lemon Dressing

There are a couple of lovely green lentil recipes in the book and I’ve taken to combining my favourite elements from each to create the dish below. It’s quick, which I obviously like, and has a zingy mustard dressing that I ADORE. I wolf this stuff down and I suspect you will too.

All you have to do is cook the lentils and then swirl in some fresh arugula, parsley, and that mustardy dressing for zing. It makes for a really lovely and quick weeknight dinner when you want something healthy and bright tasting, which for me seems to be most nights during the summer.

Lentils-with-Greens-Parsley-Mustard-Dressing

Lentils with Greens, Parsley, and Mustard Dressing
adapted from River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups (330 mL) French green lentils
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed
  • A few parsley stems (optional)
  • 3 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) cider vinegar
  • A small squeeze of fresh lemon juice
  • A little lemon zest
  • 2 tsp (10 ml) Dijon mustard
  • Pinch each salt and sugar
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 to 3 green onions, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
  • Large handful of arugula (rocket)
  • Leaves from a bunch of flat-leaf parsley

Directions

  1. Put the lentils in a saucepan and add plenty of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a minute only, then drain.
  2. Return the lentils to the pan and pour in just enough water to cover them. Add the bay leaf, garlic and parsley stems, if using. Bring back to a very gentle simmer, and cook slowly for about half an hour, until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain the lentils and discard the herbs and garlic.
  3. For the dressing, add the following to a jar with a screw-top lid: olive oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice and zest, mustard, salt, sugar and a few twists of black pepper. Cap and shake vigorously to emulsify.
  4. Toss the warm or cooled lentils with the arugula, parsley leaves, green onions, and the vinaigrette.