Zesty Kale & Noodles with Fried Tofu

This is a recipe I'm proud of, not because it's a showstopper, but because it utilized 4 ingredients in my fridge that needed to be consumed. They were:

• Kale, from Spanish Vegetable Soup
• Elbow noodles, from the same above
• Tofu (I can't remember why I had half a block of tofu in the fridge--I'm trying to catch up with my recipes!)
• Black beans, from Southwestern Quinoa Salad 

                                             


Anyway, this recipe is quick, very healthy if you omit the (ehem, fried) tofu. Nice penance for my last post, Swiss Chard Spatzele, which featured my friend and foe, heavy cream.


Zesty Kale & Noodles with Fried Tofu (serves 2)
For the Zesty Kale & Noodles:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• vegetable oil
• 1 dried ancho pepper, rehydrated and diced
• 1/2 can black beans, drained
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp or more red pepper flakes
• 2 C kale, thoroughly cleaned, stemmed & torn into small pieces 
• 2 C cooked macaroni noodles
• juice & zest of 1 lime
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat a bit of oil in a wok or sautee pan. Add the garlic & onion and stir for about 3 mins.
2. Add the ancho pepper and stir for a couple more mins. Add the beans,cumin & red pepper flakes and cook for about 4-5 mins over med-low heat.
3. Add the kale. If it sticks, add a very small amount of water. Increase the heat to medium and stir frequently until the kale is tender. Add the cooked noodles & incorporate into the kale mixture. 
4. Salt & pepper to taste. Just before serving, add the lime juice and zest. 

For the Fried Tofu:

• Peanut Oil (or other oil with a high smoking point)
• 1/2 block extra firm tofu, pressed & drained, cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces, about 1 1/2 inches in length
• 1/2 C fine corn meal
• salt & pepper

1. Heat the oil (3/4 inch) in a heavy fry pan over med-high heat (about 375 degrees on my stove)
2. Mix together the corn meal and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Thoroughly coat each tofu piece in the cornmeal mixture, shaking off excess.
3. Fry the tofu, careful not to overcrowd, about 3 mins on each side, until golden brown. 
4. Drain, and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce. I recommend salsa verde 

Kitchen Notes: When I made this, I didn't tear up the kale adequately for my tastes, making it rather tough. Tearing the kale into bite-sized pieces should eliminate this. The fried tofu tastes best when served immediately. The breading for the tofu is underseasoned--this is intentional, since I have such a powerhoused sauce, if you're serving with something more bland, add some garlic or cayenne or other good stuff to the breading.

Verdict? As a weeknight dinner, this was great, though the tofu is a bit time consuming. The kale has a nice, fresh, zippy flavor, and the consistency of the tofu is perfect--very cripsy outside, and creamy inside. Yum!

Recipe Mash-up: Country Style Tofu & Shiitake Mushrooms with Garlic Bok Choy

In recipe mash-up I take 2 different recipes and turn them into 1 dish. I made this because I had baby bok choy and cooked rice that required attention. The mushroom recipe comes from one of my favorite food blogs, Closet Cooking, with small modifications by me. The Country Style Soft Tofu and Garlic Bok Choy recipes are companion recipes from Moosewood Restaurant's cookbook Cooking for Health. I recommend any of the Moosewood cookbooks, however, this one is especially outstanding as it has revised and improved many dishes from previous cookbooks, enhancing both nutrition and flavor. I've separated the 3 recipes out, mainly to confuse people, but also to illustrate that they can easily be made individually for different effect. The final result, discussed more below, is a nice blend of American Chinese takeout, and more traditional Chinese dishes.

Seasoned Shiitake Mushrooms

• Vegetable oil
• 4 oz shittake mushrooms, stems removed and cut into thin slices
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1/4 C dry sherry
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 generous tsp garlic-chili sauce

1. Heat the oil on high heat
2. Sautee the mushrooms for 4-5 mins, stirring frequently
3. Add garlic & ginger, sautee for a minute
4. Deglaze the pan with the sherry
5. Add soy sauce and chili sauce, reduce heat to desired thickeness
6. Add sesame oil
7. Remove from pan and set aside (Note: you can use the same pan for the bok choy if desired)

Country Style Soft Tofu:

• 1 cake soft tofu
• 1 C water
• 1-2 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar (cider vinegar would also work well)
• 2 Tbs corn starch

1. Gently cut the tofu into cubes. Curse tofu out when it breaks all over your cutting board.
2. Mix together water, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar & cornstarch
3. Bring to a boil, ensure cornstarch is thoroughly mixed into sauce
4. Bring to a simmer, stir until thickened
5. Add tofu, gently stir (use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon--try fruitlessly not to let tofu break)
6. Allow to sit on low heat, stirring occasionally   

Bok Choy with Garlic

• Vegetable oil
• 3 heads baby bok choy (huge variation in size--mine were the equivalent of one full-sized head of bok choy)
• 1/2 C water
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• 8 garlic cloves (ya know, to keep the vampires away), minced
• Green onions, sliced
• Cooked rice

1. Clean the bok choy well (little critters like to crawl among the leaves). Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Discard the tough bottom part.  Keep the leafy portion separate.
2. Mix together the  water, soy sauce, and sesame oil
3. Heat the vegetable oil hot, hot, hot in a wok
4. Add garlic, stir for a minute, do not let that garlic burn
5.  Add bok choy stems, stirring constantly. You may need to turn down the stove to medium at this point, depending on how well your cookware retains heat
6. After 3 or so minutes, add the soy sauce mixture and bok choy leaves. Stir until the bok choy is well-coated and the leaves have wilted. Turn off heat. 

The big picture:
1. Put rice in a bowl
2. Add tofu and bok choy to your liking
3. Sprinkle a few of the mushrooms to your liking (they are salty and heavily seasoned--a little go along way)
4. Sprinkle on some green onions for flavor and texture.


Verdict? Very tasty, but one question...why did I make this in the summer? This is such a fall/winter dish! The whole dish worked together very well, but I'll comment on each item individually. The green onion does help pull together the meal, so think of it as an ingredient, not a garnish.
    Mushrooms:Nice chewy texture and concentrated flavor. I'll definitely make these as an add-on to my next attempt at Bibimbop. These would also be exceptional on a salad or in kimbap or a veggie maki roll.
     Tofu: The sauce is reminiscent of take-out (in a good way). It reminds me a bit of mopo tofu. I'm not  I don't often seek out soft tofu, but in this meal, it works.
     Bok Choy: This is very simple, but very good. A friend of mine from China runs a small Chinese that caters to both Americans and Chinese students. This dish is very similar to many of her traditional menu items. The sauce is far runnier than the sauce of the tofu, but this is typical in traditional dishes. The combination of both the thick sauce with the tofu and thin sauce of the bok choy unites well with the rice.