Sweet & Sour Tofu

Tofu can be a bit of a mystery for some people, myself included.  But I started eating tofu in stir fry and other noodle dishes even before I went all veggie.  Tofu really sucks up the flavor of whatever you are serving, and if you fry it up, the crispy outsides may even be a welcome change of pace from a traditional meat dish.  I don't cook with tofu all that often, only because I haven't taken the time to really figure out great ways to serve it.  But this recipe gets gold stars on many accounts: it's easy to make, the ingreidents are probably already in your kitchen, and it is delicious.  I make mine extra saucy and serve it up over a bed of rice, or in this case, quinoa.  If you try it, I really think it could change your mind about the benefits of tofu!  Yum.

 Sweet & Sour Tofu

serves 2 portions

adapted from Big Girls Small Kitchen

Ingredients

1 block of firm tofu

2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1/2 cup of honey or brown sugar

1/2 cup white wine vinegar or lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon grated garlic

extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Remove the tofu from the packaging and cut it into 1-inch slices.  Place paper towels underneath and on top of the sliced tofu and press down to extract the liquid.  Repeat if necessary until the tofu is quite dry.  Then slice the tofu into 1-inch cubes.  Toss the cubes in a plastic bag filled with the flour until evenly coated.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, white wine vinegar, ginger and garlic.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, coat the bottom of the pan with a drizzle of olive oil.  Once warm, place the tofu in the pan in an even layer.  (Do this in batches if you have a small skillet.)  When that side is golden brown, flip the tofu around to brown all of the sides.  When the tofu is browned, add the sauce to the pan, shaking the pan to completely coat the tofu.  Keep the pan on the heat until the tofu is coated and the sauce has reduced and thickened.  Serve over rice and enjoy!