At least once a week I cook a vegetarian meal. As a meat-eater this might SOUND odd- but I do it for a few reasons: 1) we all, Maddie included, enjoy tofu, 2) it’s a relatively inexpensive meal that can be thrown together quickly with pantry ingredients and 3) it’s great for the environment.
Fourteen ounces of organic tofu only costs (at our supermarket) $2.50. Way cheaper than the same weight in flank or skirt steak.. or even the cheapest cut of chicken!
Last night I had shitake mushrooms on hand- so I googled “tofu shiitake recipe” and this is what I came up with- and it’s definitely a keeper!
Ingredients:
- 6 ounces wide, dried rice noodles (may substitute wheat or egg noodles)
- 14 ounces firm tofu packed in water, drained and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons mushroom soy sauce or tamari (I didn’t have on hand so I just doubled the regular soy- I’m sure using tamari would give entire dish more depth of flavor, though)
- 3 tablespoons naturally brewed soy sauce, such as San-J
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 3 tablespoons chopped tarragon (didn’t have fresh tarragon, I used fresh basil- was great)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 teaspoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 3/4 to 1 pound assorted fresh mushrooms, including shiitake, if possible (I used one pack shiitake and one pack crimini)
- 1/2 cup finely diced shallots (didn’t have shallots, so used white onion chopped very fine)
- 4 finely slivered scallions, both white and green parts, for garnish (didn’t have)
Directions:
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the rice noodles until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
In a large skillet half-filled with salted water on medium-low heat, gently simmer the tofu for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tofu cubes to a colander to drain.
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauces and brown sugar, and set aside.
In a separate small bowl, combine the garlic, tarragon, salt and pepper and set aside.
In a wide nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat the peanut or vegetable oil. Add the garlic mixture and cook, about 20 seconds. Add the mushrooms and shallots, stirring often, until the mushrooms are brown and their juices have been released and reabsorbed, about 7 minutes. Add the tofu, the soy-sugar mixture and the cooked noodles, stirring gently to combine until just heated through. Adjust seasonings to taste. Transfer to a platter, garnish with scallions and serve.
