Tofu steak (japan)

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
4 Tofu blocks (8 to 10 oz each)
2 larges Garlic cloves, grated
½ cup Soy sauce (shoyu)
½ cup Finely chopped zha-cai (Szechuan preserved vegetable)
4 tablespoons Black sesame seeds
⅓ cup Vegetable oil

Directions

TOPPING

By: Junko Lampert, The Tofu Cookbook (Japan) Method: Wrap each piece of tofu in a dry cloth, drain for 4-5 hours on a slanted cutting board. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan; then mince. Mix the garlic and soy sauce. Heat the oil. Slip in the tofu and cook over high heat for several minutes; then reduce the heat. With chopsticks, stab many holes in the cakes of tofu, slowly pour ⅔ of the garlic-soy sauce mixture over tofu, letting it sink into the holes. When the bottom of the tofu is nicely brown, turn, pour on the remainder of the garlic-soy sauce, and cook for a few more minutes. Place on a plate with the side that was browned first (darkest) on top. Spread the topping over the tofu cakes; centered.

Arrange plate. Serve with watercress, steamed carrot slices (blossom-cut) and about 8 to 10 pea pods, also steamed, and arranged in fan, or stacked in two fans. CooksPantry ... Zha-Cai is a pickled Chinese vegetable resembling kohlrabi. You may also find it spelled "cha Tsoi" or "Choan choy." It is variously translatted into English as pickled or preserved cabbage, mustard greens, kohlrabi, or winter vetetable. Refrigerate what you don't use in the recipe in this book; it will stay fresh for a long time. You can use it to add interesting flavor to western soups and stews.

It is coarsely chopped.

You might substitute chopped shiitake (mushrooms) and nappa cabbage in a ginger-pepper vinaigrette. Junko Lampert, The Tofu Cookbook: Recipes for Traditional and Modern Cooking. Originally published 1983 by Shufunotomo Co. US edition by Chronicle 1986.

By "patH" phannema@...

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