Hey, hey, hey!
How is everyone’s night going?
I am so excited to share dinner with you guys! But first, a quick lunch recap.
I had a sweet potato and black bean burrito in a Flat Out Wrap.
With spinach and a touch of Mexican cheese blend.
This was leftover from Chris’s dinner last night. He chopped up two sweet potatoes, sprayed on olive oil, and added S & P, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper, then roasted them for 25 minutes at 400.
The smoked paprika flavor was outstanding!
On the side I had my favorite FSTG jalapeno chips.
Which were 50% off this week.
I dipped them in Sabra spicy hummus.
My favorite.
Lunch was extremely filling. I was going to have an orange as an afternoon snack, only to find out it was moldy when I peeled it. Boo.
When I got home from work I immediately got to work on getting dinner ready.
What was on the menu?
Tofu!
As many of you know, tofu is an excellent source of protein and has several health benefits.
With the exception of one little taste in high school, I have never had tofu. I’m assuming this is going to shock some of you?
I remember not really liking the taste (or lackthereof) at all, so I have just stayed away from it.
But in honor of Meatless March, I decided I just had to have some!
The only brand of tofu I’ve seen in the blogosphere is Nasoya, so I didn’t even bother looking for any other kind.
Tonight’s tofu recipe was inspired by my all time favorite sushi roll here in Durham – the Wasabi Roll.
The first thing I did was press the tofu to drain all of the water out.
I used two plates and my La Creuset.
Worked like a charm :) I actually ended up putting a paper towel under the tofu after I took this photo.
While the tofu was being pressed, I did an hour of yoga.
I Dave Farmar’s did Baptiste Power Yoga #2 on Yoga Download.
And I had to block a certain someone out of the living room so they wouldn’t be annoying. No sillies, I’m not talking about Chris! Although not a bad guess.
I meant Nylah :)
After I pressed the tofu for an hour, I cut it into pieces.
And then marinated it in:
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sriracha
I covered the container with wax paper, and then let it sit in the counter for 45 minutes.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock….
45 minutes later it looked like this.
I believe it’s ready!
Here’s what I added before I cooked it.
Wasabi powder.
Which looks like this after you add water.
And panko crumbs.
Which I have used on fish and chicken before.
Here was my assembly line.
Tofu, wasabi, panko crumbs.
The process went like this:
Take a piece of tofu out of the container and use a small spoon to spread wasabi on it.
Like so.
Then dip it in panko crumbs.
Like so.
Once all the pieces are covered in wasabi and panko crumbs, heat a skillet over medium heat and add 2 tbsp canola oil (you can also use olive oil).
Then add the tofu to the pan and sauté until each side is brown & crispy (3 minutes per side?)
Looks good, huh?
While I was doing all of the tofu prep, I was also cooking brown rice and roasting brussel sprouts.
I needed both of these to complete my meal. Whole grains & veggies!
While my plate may not look that appetizing (lots of brown?), it was Deeee-Licious!
The brussel sprouts were roasted with S & P and garlic powder, then were drizzled with lemon juice when they were removed from the oven.
And I added a few dots of sriracha in case I wanted an extra kick.
I also added toasted sesame seeds to the tofu & rice for a little added flavor.
There were a few times my nostrils were cleared out from the wasabi, but it definitely made this dish.
I honestly could not believe how much I enjoyed this meal. I must say that I had very low expectations based on my one itty bitty tofu experience 15 years ago :)
Dear Tofu,
I am so very sorry for giving you a bad rap the past couple years. I had no idea how yummy you could be.
Sincerely,
Meg
******
What are your thoughts on tofu? Yay or Nay?
