tofu stirfry

This is sooooo good! And sooooo easy. And flexible. And sort of healthy...

1 package tofu
your choice of veggies
1/2 - 3/4 cup water
2 T cornstarch
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 T dark brown sugar
1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 - 1 T minced ginger
1 t rice vinegar
1 t sesame oil
hot chili oil (optional)
vegetable oil

Start by whisking 1/2 cup water with the cornstarch, then add the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil, whisk until it's combined. Add the chili oil and adjust the sugar to suit your taste. This sauce gets sweeter as it cooks, so don't go crazy with the sugar!

If it's too thick, add up to another 1/4 cup of water. You can substitute 1/2 t ginger powder if you don't have fresh ginger.

Drain and press the tofu. Cut it into cubes and stir fry in a bit of oil until it's golden brown on all sides. Remove it from the wok, drain it on paper towels.

Stir fry the veggies. I use whatever's around... frozen wok mix, sliced peppers, cabbage, baby corn, water chestnuts, scallions, broccoli, spinach, carrots, mushrooms, etc.

When the veggies are cooked, but still crisp, add the tofu back to the wok, then add the sauce and cook a few minutes, until the sauce thickens. Don't add the sauce too late, or the veggies will be mush by the time it thickens, but once you get the hang of it, stir fry is pretty awesome fast food :)

Serve over brown rice. Yum!

I know a lot of people are opposed to tofu. That's a shame. Badly cooked tofu is disgusting, there's no two ways about that. I wish everyone could have a positive first experience with tofu... shame on people who cook bad tofu!!!

rugbrød

I've baked my first Danish Rugbrød!

Rugbrød is pronounced something along the lines of "roobroll" and it's a Danish rye bread made with a sourdough base, rye flour, whole rye grains, honey, salt, and the baker's choice of seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, and flax.

I had to proof it overnight, then it went through a three stage baking process.

It's very heavy. One loaf weighed 2 lbs., 8.4 oz.!!!

I'm not going to post the recipe because you can't make this without the starter. Mine is made from a starter that's been going for about 30 years!

I shared some with a few Danes for validation and they declared it a success!

I think this should count for at least 5 integration points because I actually like a distinctly Danish food, I can make it from scratch, and I managed to procure the starter, which means I actually had to cavort with a Dane. (thanks, Sanne!)

The Danish government should consider accepting a batch of rugbrød in lieu of the language or community service requirements for permanent residency. Hell, I'd even consider eating a pickled herring with it!

In exchange, I'd promise not to share my starter with any other expats, and instead encourage them to integrate and procure their own ;)

falafel red sauce

Here's the recipe for the spicy sweet red sauce for falafel that I've been promising but neglecting to post.

How perfect are these falafel?
(or is it falafels?)

2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 T lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, presses
2 -3 t brown sugar
1/2 - 1 t hot chili powder

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until it thickens a bit. Allow it to cool, then puree it. If it's too thin for your tastes, you can thin it with a bit of water.

You may also want to add a bit of salt, but I find this depends on which brand of tomatoes I'm using. Play with the sugar/chili amounts to suit your taste, I like a good spicy-sweet combo.

I'm a condiment junkie, so I usually use this along with a creamy garlic kebab sauce. Yum!

Have I mentioned how much I love falafel??? Srsly, what an invention!!!

freezing falafel

After a long break from blogging, of course I'm back with a falafel post! What else could I possibly write about after such a long break?

One of the downsides of making homemade falafel is that I'm stuck eating it everyday for a week (or more). I love falafel, but yikes... it's a falafel feast or famine and there's got to be a better way, so I got to thinking "can I freeze falafel?" Why yes, I can... and you can, too!

One of my friends gave me a falafel press for my birthday, so now all of my falafel are the perfect size and shape. Best gift ever!!!

Anyway, here's how I freeze (and ration) my falafel...

I mix of a batch of my favorite recipe, I chill it overnight, then I form it into patties and freeze it on a cookie sheet. Once it's frozen, I pop it into a ziplock, and viola! Falafel whenever I'm in the mood :)

Really, there's no reason to buy this already prepared. It's so easy and inexpensive to make from scratch, and in the land of very little pre-prepared vegetarian food, I totally dig the convenience factor of homemade frozen falafel.

I can't leave well enough alone, so I've been playing around with my falafel recipe and have found that I prefer to use flour instead of breadcrumbs because it makes a lighter, crunchier falafel.

Here's how I'm making it these days...

1 lb. dried chickpeas
1 large onion
2 t salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t dried hot chili
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 t baking powder
1/4 - 1/2 cup flour

Soak the chickpeas overnight, drain, rinse, and add them to a food processor outfitted with a blade. Roughly chop the onion and add it along with the salt, cumin, black pepper, dried hot chili, and garlic. Pulse a few times to blend it, the mixture should still be coarse.

Add the baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour and pulse it a few times, then check the consistency. It should be dough-like. If it's too wet, gradually add the second 1/4 cup of flour until it dries out a bit, you might even need a bit more to get the right texture. How long the chickpeas soaked are a variable here, so there's some intuition involved.

Chill the dough for at least a couple of hours, then form it into patties and fry it. I've stopped deep frying and now I just pan fry it in a bit of oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side, until it's a nice golden brown. If it's a fresh batch, I usually stick the patties in the freezer while I'm chopping veggies and heating the oil, this seems to help keep them from falling apart. If I'm cooking frozen falafel, then I take it out of the freezer and let it sit out while I'm chopping and heating.

It's also possible to bake them, I'll post about that next, along with my recipe for a spicy, sweet red sauce I like on them. Gotta go heat some falafel...