Homestyle Braised Tofu

Years ago, when I first became obsessed with cooking, my fascination was with successful results. When I could reproduce what was represented in a recipe without catastrophe, it was thrilling. All these years and many cookbooks later, I’m still delighted by successes with recipes that are new to me. But, I’m now also fascinated by learning new techniques that are better than what I’d been doing previously. I recently had just that kind of experience with a dish from The Vegan Chinese Kitchen by Hannah Che of which I received a review copy. This book showcases the author’s interest in connecting her culture with her desire to follow a plant-based diet. She began to discover vegetarian and vegan traditions in Chinese cooking and then attended the only vegetarian cooking school in China, in Guangzhou. She also spent a year learning about Buddhist vegetarian cooking in Taiwan. She writes: “Becoming vegan didn’t alienate me from my heritage, as I’d feared, but actually motivated me to understand it even more.” Luckily for all of us, her journey has brought about a book full of vibrant, meatless, Chinese recipes. The chapters represent ingredient categories, and right away, I was pulled in by Leafy Greens which is the first. The Blanched Spinach with Sesame Sauce calls for sesame paste, and the book includes a recipe for a homemade version. It was as delicious as the photo in the book looked. A few pages later in the same chapter, I tried the Napa Cabbage and Vermicelli Salad and incorporated some local vegetables that were available at the time. As mentioned in the recipe head note, it was indeed great as leftovers for lunch. From the Stems, Shoots and Flowers chapter, I was inspired to make homemade bean sprouts. And, there’s a Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts with Chinese Chives recipe I have marked. I’m also eager to try the Fish-Fragrant Eggplant so named because fish were often cooked the same way with chiles, ginger, and garlic. There’s a lot to explore in the Tofu chapter as well as in the Tofu Skin chapter. There are mock meats like the Vegetarian Roast Goose made with shitakes and bamboo shoots and no actual goose. The chapter for Gluten, or seitan, includes recipes for making your own plus poached gluten rolls, fried gluten puffs, and raised gluten. You’ll also find mushroom recipes, noodle recipes, dumplings, and a version of Scallion Pancakes that’s a must-try. The dish that taught me an excellent technique, though, was the Homestyle Braised Tofu. 

This recipe involves frying tofu, and let me start by explaining my previous process for frying tofu. In the past, I would press blocks of tofu between plates, weighted down with whatever was handy, to remove water. Then, I would cut the tofu into pieces and pat them dry before tossing them with cornstarch. Without fail, when I slid the coated tofu pieces into hot oil it would spatter wildly making a huge mess all over the top of the stove, the backsplash, the floor in front of the stove, and me and whatever I was wearing. Here, you are instructed to skip pressing the tofu, and just cut it into pieces to be added to boiling, well-salted water. The tofu was left to soak for a few minutes and then removed with a slotted spoon and drained on a towel-lined sheet pan. After draining, the tofu was then fried in a wok. On the Tofu FAQ page, Che explains that no one in China presses tofu. Instead, by soaking it in salted water, cold water inside the tofu is drawn out and the tofu is seasoned. It firms up a bit and fries with much less mess. And, it worked beautifully! No spattering at all. I’m now a convert to this way of frying tofu. For the rest of the recipe, dried shitakes were rehydrated in boiling water, drained, and halved. The mushrooms were stir-fried with garlic, ginger, and green onion before chile bean paste was added followed by soy sauce and water. The fried tofu was added with sliced carrot and cooked for a few minutes before adding snow peas. I was actually able to get local snow peas at Boggy Creek Farm on the day I had planned to make this which was perfect. It was topped with chopped green onion tops before serving. 

The chile bean paste made the dish spicy and full-flavored, and the texture of the fried tofu was just right with crispy edges and chewy centers. For the first time, frying tofu wasn’t a dreadfully messy cooking adventure. I’m definitely willing and able to learn new tricks in the kitchen, and there’s a lot more to learn and taste from this book.

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Udon Noodles with Snow Peas and West African Peanut Sauce

It’s always so interesting to learn how cuisines have been influenced by different cultures and distant places. Cross-cultural effects on food is the focus of Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day of which I received a review copy. These recipes are from two Harlem restaurants where Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson created menus with an Afro-Asian-American flavor profile. Because of forced migration, peoples of Africa brought seeds and farming and cooking techniques to many parts of the world. This book explains culinary connections between faraway places such as the mix of cumin, coriander, and pink peppercorns from Ghana that was taken to Puerto Rico and then to the US. And, there’s Roti flatbread found in Trinidad, Suriname, South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. The book also offers a very modern collection of recipes with bold, fabulous flavors and lots of dishes I want to taste. For instance, the Roti with Black-Eyed Pea Hummus, Eggplant Puree, and Carrot Curry Puree would be a flavorful and colorful snack platter with cocktails. I have to quote a statement about collard greens that I particularly enjoyed: “’Are Collard Greens the New Kale?’ No. Collards have worked harder than kale ever will. Collards are out there digging ditches and roofing houses while kale goes to spin class and leaves early for brunch.” Love that. And, the recipe for Collard Green Salad with Coconut Dressing made with ginger, lime juice, and chipotles sounds fantastic. Another collard greens recipe I want to try is the Collard Green Salsa Verde served with Salt-Crusted Salmon. A perfect example of a melting pot type of dish is the Afro-Asian-American Gumbo. The roux is made with dried shrimp which is also done in Senegal, okra was of course first grown in Africa and brought to North America by slaves, and the rice is added in a South Carolina style. I got completely distracted by the recipe for Tofu Gnocchi with Black Garlic Crema and Scallions since I’d never before encountered tofu gnocchi. The Beer-Battered Long Beans also got my attention. And, the Cocktails chapter continued the book's excitement with a West African Peanut Punch made with a smooth puree of peanuts, bourbon, and chile honey. My first trip to the kitchen with this book was to try the Udon Noodles and West African Peanut Sauce. The inspiration for this dish came from a mix of African and Japanese populations in Brazil. 

In the book, the dish is made with edamame. I couldn’t help making a local and seasonal adjustment. I had just brought home snow peas from Boggy Creek Farm and opted to use them here instead of edamame. This dish is all about the sauce, and this Mother Africa Peanut Sauce begins with a mirepoix and then some. First, cumin seeds were toasted in olive oil. Then, diced onion, carrots, tomatoes, celery, garlic, bay leaf, cilantro, bird’s eye chile, salt, and lemon juice were added. Next, tomato paste and peanut butter were added followed by vegetable stock. The sauce was stirred well and left to simmer for about 45 minutes. The bay leaf was removed before the sauce was pureed with an immersion blender. For the noodles, carrots were julienned and stir fried before being added to cooked udon along with chopped green onion and snow peas in my case, cilantro, Thai Basil, and the peanut sauce. 

There’s a lot of history that accounts for the combinations of flavors in these dishes, but the recipes are fresh and contemporary. There are big flavors, lots of spices and bright herbs, and a generous use of vegetables throughout the book. It’s going to be fun to continue tasting my way through the pages.

Udon Noodles with Edamame and West African Peanut Sauce 
Excerpted from Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day by JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls. Copyright © 2018 by JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls. Reprinted with permission from Flatiron Books. All rights reserved. Photography by Beatriz da Costa. 

In Brazil, there is an African population and a Japanese population that live really close together, and both grew up on udon West African peanut sauce is the mother sauce: peanut butter, tomato paste, tomatoes, French mirepoix, and our special mirepoix In the end it’s like a pad thai with more frequent flyer mileage in its account. There’s nothing like eating noodles and pasta when the sauce is really right. West African peanut sauce provides the perfect creamy coating for the Japanese udon noodles. 

6 to 8 servings 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 cup julienned carrot 
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion 
2 cups Mother Africa Peanut Sauce, warmed 
kosher salt for pasta water 
1 pound udon noodles 
1 cup shelled edamame, boiled in salted water for 5 minutes 
1/2 cup cilantro leaves 
1/2 cup Thai basil leaves 

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Stir fry the carrot and the onion for 1 minute. Add the peanut sauce and stir to coat. In an 8-quart pot, bring water to a boil, salt it, and cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain and add the noodles directly to the peanut sauce mixture, tossing to coat. Plate the noodles and top with edamame, cilantro, and Thai basil leaves. 

The Mother Africa Sauce 
Makes about 4 cups 

1 tablespoon olive oil 
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 
1/2 white onion, diced 
1/2 cup coarsely chopped carrots (1 medium carrot) 
1 plum tomato, chopped 
1/4 cup finely diced celery (1 rib) 
1 clove garlic, minced (1 teaspoon) 
1 bay leaf 
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
1 bird’s-eye chile, seeded and minced (1 teaspoon) 
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste 
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon) 
2 tablespoons tomato paste 
1 cup unsweetened, creamy peanut butter 
4 cups vegetable stock 

Heat the oil in a 4-quart pot over medium heat, add the cumin, and fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly. The cumin will become very aromatic and a few shades darker. Add the onion, carrots, tomato, celery, garlic, bay leaf, cilantro, chile, salt, and lemon juice, stirring to coat the vegetables in the toasted cumin oil. Sauté until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Once the tomato paste is incorporated, add the peanut butter, working it into the vegetables with a little stock, if needed. Cook until the oil separates from the peanut butter, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and stir, making sure to bring up all of the tomato paste and peanut butter from the bottom of the pot so it is well blended. Increase the heat to medium high to bring the sauce to a simmer. Cook, stirring, for 45 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce in the pot until smooth. Season with salt to taste. 

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