Fancy Tofu

Our friends came over for dinner tonight and we prepared one of our favorite tofu dishes. We like this recipe because it is delicious and beautiful...

Let me say I have two specific fetishes with food -- pretty food and miniature food, hence my interest in cupcakes. The only exception to this rule is soup. I love soup but it's not really soup season so you won't hear much about that for a few months unless I make a gazpacho which is unlikely since Matt considers gazpacho a watered down version of salsa and "who would want that?!" he says. Food that is both miniature and pretty is especially awesome. I'll blog about mini-foods in the near future, other than miniature cakes, but for now, the tofu...

This recipe was published in an issue of Veg Times but their directions were totally horrible so I am posting with my own instructions -- this serves two so double if you're entertaining guests.

You need:
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 Tbs. mirin
1 1/2 tsp. minced scallions (white part only)
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
3 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
6 scallions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
1/2 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp. tamari
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garish.
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
10 oz. baked marinated tofu, cut lengthwise into 4 equal pieces

Directions:
Prepare the sauce by combining the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, minced scallions and sesame oil in a bowl. Stir the sauce and set aside.

In small pan or skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add scallions, bell peppers and tamari and cook until the vegetables are softened. Combine the cooked veggies with the cilantro in a bowl, mix with a large spoon and set aside (covered to keep warm).

In large pan or skillet, heat the rest of the oil over medium heat. Add curry powder and stir well. Add tofu slices in single layer and cook until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and set on a tea towel or paper towel to drain.

To serve:
Holding knife parallel to work surface, slice each piece of tofu horizontally about 3/4 of the way through. Place the tofu on plates. Gently lift top of 1 piece of tofu and spoon some vegetable mixture over bottom portion. Replace top of tofu and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the tofu. Garnish with cilantro and serve. Goes well with miso soup.