Hot and Sour Soup aka the world's quickest bestest soup

This is the most satisfying, quickest soup ever.  The kids prefer it without the egg and spice in it.  I love the tang of vinegar and the punch of ginger.


Hot and Sour Soup
serves 4

1/2 cup to a 1 cup of mushrooms, thinly sliced
a neutral cooking oil for sauteing mushrooms
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup chopped scallions, plus more for garnish, if desired (optional, but so good with them)
4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/2 pound soft tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar (start with less)
3 tablespoons soy sauce (start with less)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Sriracha, for serving
Kosher salt
2 large eggs, beaten

Saute mushrooms in oil for as long as you can, 5-15 mins.  Add garlic, ginger, and scallions.  Cook for a few minutes.  Stir in the stock/broth and add in tofu, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and sesame oil,.  Bring the soup to a simmer and season with salt (you probably wont need it, since the soy sauce is so salty).  Stir constantly while drizzling the eggs in the soup.  Cook for a minute to let the egg cook.  Serve with extra scallions, rice vinegar, and Sriracha.

Grilled tofu

Done right, this is amazing!  Dont skip anything.  Compliments of Serious Eats here.

Grilled Tofu
serves 2-3

One package of firm tofu
Marinade, enough for both before and after grilling (a puree of cilantro and olive oil is great)

Press tofu for a few hours.

Slice to make 2 thin rectangles.

Apply marinade, allowing to sit for 15 minutes to overnight.

Preheat the grill for 10 minutes and then clean the grill.

Oil the grill well.

Slow, indirect heat is best.  It should take about 20 minutes.  Flip and turn as needed.

Apply more of the marinade

Cauliflower "fried rice"

This is pretty awesome.  It's lighter than rice and definitely not rice but you might able to come close to fooling someone.  It's just really delicious.  Make it with veggies for a side dish or add in tofu or chicken for a complete meal.

Check out the original recipe here.

And my slightly modified one:

Cauliflower "fried rice"

1 medium head cauliflower
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 eggs (or use egg whites)
oil
1 small onion, diced fine
1/2-2 cups veggies (peas, carrots, peppers, beans, etc)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp soy sauce, or more to taste
Cooked tofu or chicken (optional)

Chop cauliflower into florets, then place half of the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower is small and has the texture of rice or couscous – don't over process or it will get mushy. Set aside and repeat with the remaining cauliflower.

Beat eggs with a fork.
Heat a large saute pan over medium heat with oil. Add the eggs and cook like scrambled eggs.  Set aside.

Add the sesame oil and saute onions, garlic, and veggies about 3 to 4 minutes (or more depending on the vegetable) or until crisp tender.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the cauliflower "rice" to the saute pan along with soy sauce. Mix, cover and cook approximately 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cauliflower is slightly crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. Add the egg and veggies and optional protein.  Add soy sauce to taste.  Heat just until everything is hot.  Serve.  Love.

Charlie's Peanut Pasta (aka Cold Sesame Chicken/Tofu with Pasta)

A little friend of ours just LOVES peanut pasta, so I make it for Charlie whenever he's here (and it doesnt seem to matter if it's lunch, dinner, or snack).  He's a pretty awesome kid and I love kids that eat what I like to cook.

The kids like it best with chunked up cukes and chicken plus a ton of sesame seeds.  I love it with tofu.  It works fine without anything for a quick and easy side dish.  It's great for a picnic too, since it can be served room temp and it wont spoil like many mayo based pasta salads.

Charlie's Peanut Pasta (aka Cold Sesame Chicken/Tofu with Pasta)

(serves 6-8, great for leftovers)

source unknown

1 lb spaghetti, cooked (whole wheat works great here)

In food processor, mix together:

6 cloves of garlic (or less if you're serving picky little guys)

2T red wine vinegar (cider vinegar works here too)

2T brown sugar (or a splash of maple syrup)

3/4 cup peanut butter (I use natural, unsweetened)

1/2 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup sesame oil

5-6T hot chili oil (I skip this most times)

Mix sauce with pasta.  Serve room temp or cold with options below.

Add in any optional ingredients, JUST before serving:

4 chicken  breasts, cooked, shredded/diced

1 package tofu, fried/baked

Broccoli, diced and cooked

Cucumber, diced

Scallions

Sesame seeds

Mongolian-ish Stir Fry

This is so simple and so good.  We mostly make it with tofu but I really want to make it with chicken and shrimp, since the kids still arent thrilled about tofu.

update: We made it with chicken and shrimp tonight and everyone was happy!

Eliza's Mongolian-ish Stir-fry
Serves 4 adults

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed*
2 teaspoons oil for frying
carrots, cut into matchsticks
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (I've made it without it, but it's so good with it)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
splash of maple syrup
green beans, defrosted and cut into bite size pieces
1 scallion chopped (I didnt have, it's a garnish)
fresh lime juice (I always forget it)

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the tofu and carrots to the hot skillet and cook until browned on all sides.
While the tofu is cooking, combine the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame vinegar, and maple. Mix well.
When tofu has browned, add the sauce and green beans, stir until sauce thickens.
Serve with brown rice, rice (our favorite!) or soba noodles, and garnish with green onion and a squeeze of lime.

*After trying many different techniques, I finally found one that works best for pressing tofu.  I wrap it whole in 3 paper towels (I'm going to try a dish towel next!) and place it on a cookie cooling rack under a cast iron pan for hours.  I like to start pressing it over lunch for dinner.  After it's pressed, I cube it.

Tofu "chicken" salad

This is just so simple, so adaptable, and so good.  You have to try it today, ok, maybe tomorrow.  I dont have a recipe, but here's some guidance:

Tofu "chicken" salad

Press tofu.
I like to cut it, then wrap it with 3 paper towels, and press it on top of a cookie drying rack with a cast iron weight on top.  I like to start pressing it at lunch for dinner.

Cook it.
I pan fry it.  A little oil.  Wait to flip/stir until one side is toasted. Then toast the other sides.  Let cool a little.

Toss it.
I mix in a splash of balsamic vinegar, then a little mayo/yogurt, and then... maybe some mustard with diced red peppers, or curry and raisins with coconut... However, you make your chicken salad, do that.

Serve it.
I think a bed of spinach is great here, but it would probably work well in a wrap or a pita.