Friday, May 15, 2015

Friday Fascinations: Spicy Asian Tofu Steaks #FoodieFriday #Recipe

Hi Everyone!  Today's post has nothing to do with running but it has to do with food!  So I have been super sick ever since the #PCT50 and I even called in sick to work on Monday and Tuesday.  Ugh!  I feel like a truck ran me over.  YUCK!  By Tuesday, I was sick of being sick and I wanted something with flavor and easy to make for lunch.  I went on the internet and I found The Woks of Life.  Every recipe is amazing!  So before I get to the recipe I DID choose, let me tell you I am linking up with The Fit Foodie MamaFairy BurgerPowered By BlingChocolate Runner Girl and Whatever Floats Your Oats for Foodie Friday!


I had some tofu in the fridge with a very scary very close expiration date.  (As a side note: have you ever seen tofu past it's expiration date?  The bag expands like a balloon.  Maybe you should try it as an experiment?)  So naturally, I chose this recipe to make!



First, prep your tofu.  For me this involves wrapping a block of super firm tofu in paper towels and placing on a plate.  Then I put something heavy on top of the block (this time, it was a jar of marinara sauce) for about 2 hours.  This presses out all the moisture from the tofu.  Once it is pressed, cut into steaks as pictured.


Then get your spices together.


And mix.


Next get your liquids together and mix.  At this point I panicked because the original recipe called for hoisin sauce and I subbed it out with Trader Joe's Sriracha BBQ sauce.  EEK!


Heat up oil in a pan.


Get the mixed liquids ready for brushing on the steaks.


Lay the steaks down and spice one side.  Then flip over on the spiced side and brush with liquids and then sprinkle more spices on.  Flip over again after 3-4 minutes.


Brush with liquids again.


Remove from pan to drain.


Garnish with green onions and serve on brown rice!


Loved the consistency of pan fried tofu.  It was crispy on the outside and still softish on the inside and the flavors were so strong.  I could even taste them thru my stuffy nose!

So here is the recipe heavily adapted from The Woks of Life, with my at hand ingredient changes.

-  1 block firm tofu
-  1 teaspoon cumin
-  1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
-  1 teaspoon cayenne chili powder
-  ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
-  ¼ teaspoon salt
-  2 tablespoons sesame oil, plus 1 teaspoon
-  1 tablespoon Sriracha BBQ sauce
-  1 teaspoon soy sauce
-  1 tablespoon chopped green onion

1.  Cut the tofu in steaks after pressing it and draining the liquid out.
2.  Mix together the cumin, the pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, salt.
3.  Combine the 1 tsp of sesame oil, BBQ sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl.
4.  Heat 2 TBS of sesame oil in a large pan over high heat.  Drop the steaks in when hot.
5.  Sprinkle about half the dry spice on the tofu steaks and let cook for about 3-5 minutes until the bottom is golden.  (Use a spatula to lift the tofu to peek)  When it is ready, flip it.  Brush the tofu with half the liquid spices and sprinkle the rest of the spices on this side.  Let it go for 3 more minutes and flip again.
6.  Brush the leftover liquid spices on this side.  
7.  Plate over brown rice and sprinkle with green onions.

I hope you make it and LOVE it as much as my poor clogged up taste buds did.  Cayenne does wonders for a stuffy nose!

I am also linking up with Jill Conyers for Fitness Friday!

Do you like tofu?  What is your favorite way to cook it?

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,
SD Mom

9 comments:

  1. I have never had tofu but this makes me want to try it! I love anything with Asian flavors!!! Thanks so much for linking up :)

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    1. What?! I love tofu and is the only thing that can legit make me think I can go vegan....but I won't.

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  2. mmm. looks yummy! I'll have to try this, especially like that you included Cayenne Pepper in your recipe. and yeah, Tofu does look strange once it's expired. :)

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  3. I love asian flavors. The spice combination in your recipe makes me rethink my dislike for tofu. It sounds delicious.

    Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for linking up with Fitness Friday!

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  4. I love The Woks of Life! <3 I keep meaning to make something with tofu, but still haven't gotten around to it yet (sigh). This looks super good though!

    Thanks for linking up with us, and I hope you're feeling better now! <3

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  5. I love tofu, especially when it's prepared this way or bbq'ed, but I can't eat too much of it because I am on thyroid medicine and apparently soy and these meds do not mix. It's tough to pass through the prepared foods section in Whole Foods! They have tofu just like yours... so yummy!

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