Stir Fry

I've been working on a stir fry technique for some time now, and I'm sad to say it still needs some work. Oh, it's tasty enough, but there's always something... missing. I made it last night for dinner and, though it was good, it still seemed to be lacking something. Maybe someone out there reading this can suggest an idea or three?

My basic ingredients:

- 1 block extra firm tofu
- two bags frozen stirfry veggie mix
- sauce (this time I used a teriyaki sauce, though I've made a peanut sauce from scratch before)
- a pot of rice

Simple, right? Well, that was the idea: simple and delicious. And cheap. And healthy. Seriously, you can get away with this meal for under $10 easy. And, if you skip the rice or use brown instead of white, it's actually pretty good for you on top of everything else.

So first the tofu. Yes, tofu. Come on, it's not that bad. And it's pure protein, so just go with me, OK? If the tofu comes in a liquid, the first thing you do is prep the tofu by wringing it out. This is accomplished through the cunnning use of cutting boards and weight:

Slice the tofu into two or four pieces of equal size. Wrap the tofu in paper towels and set it between two cutting boards. Place something of moderate weight (you don't want to squish the curd, after all) to provide pressure. After 15-20 minutes, all the excess moisture will be gone.

Once that's done, you can marinate the tofu as shown below. I used a premade teriyaki sauce this time, but soy sauce with some spices works equally well. The best thing to do is to marinate the tofu overnight; that gives it plenty of time to absorb the flavors (I did mine for about an hour, and I've decided that is not enough time by any stretch). Turn it over now and then if it isn't completely submerged so you get full coverage.

When it comes time to cook, I like to use an electric griddle over medium heat, but you can chop it up in a wok or a skillet just as easily. The trick is to treat it like meat. No, really, it works, so don't look at me like that. Cook it until it's Golden, Brown & Delicious on all sides, and you're done.

Once that's ready, the rest is pretty straightforward. I thaw my veggies a bit and throw them in a hot wok with a little oil and heat them though. Sometimes I drain the melted water that tends to accumulate near the bottom. Once it's all hot, I chop the tofu and toss it in. Then I add my sauce, which in this case was teriyaki, as I've said. Then I serve it over rice:

Eaten with chop-sabers from ThinkGeek; 'cause why not?

Looks good, yes? I did have a couple of issues though: for starters, I'm not sure I like this teriyaki sauce I've been using. It's not the cheap stuff, so it tastes pretty good, but it's still fairly... liquidy. As such, nothing can coat the veggies the way I'd really prefer. When I make my peanut sauce, I start with peanut butter, so that's not really an issue. Maybe I should try making a teriyaki sauce from scratch....

Second, the tofu turned out bland. And don't say, "Well, it is tofu after all." Had I marinated the curd overnight like I'm supposed to do, it would have absorbed much more flavor and been far from bland. Trust me; I have witnesses.

On the plus side, I think I've gotten my rice technique down (no more burnt crunchy bits!). For anyone who's interested to know:

Put one cup rice in a pot, add 2 1/4 cups liquid (I did 2 cups water, 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce). Add any spices (ginger, ground red pepper, garlic, etc.) you prefer and a tablespoon of butter. Heat over medium high until boiling, stirring occasionally, then drop the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes or until all the liquid is gone. Now and then, give it a quick stir and then reapply the lid to conserve heat. I find that this works for me, but part of my success may relate to how I watch the rice cook.

From here, I guess I just need to keep practicing. Next time, I'm going to make my own sauce, either teriyaki or peanut, and use that. I'll also marinate the tofu overnight to achieve maximum flavor infusion. So I will pose a question: does anybody have any suggestions? I'd really like it if part of this blog was about sharing ideas and knowledge. I want to document my own experiences as a means to improve my cooking skills, but if I could help others achieve the same, I'd feel pretty good about that.

So! Thoughts, ideas, experiences! Let's have at 'em!