Szechuan-Style Tofu

Although it seems like we only make savory dishes with meat in them, we're actually very vegetarian dish friendly! To prove that to you, I made a tofu dish. To be honest, the only time I've ever eaten Szechuan-Style Tofu was in the college dining halls, and um... I loved it. Of course, one of my roommates thought I was insane because dining hall food is notoriously bad... with the exception of their Szechuan Tofu? :)


I got my recipe over at MyRecipe.com, one of my all time favorite "go-to" sites for a quick and lower calorie meal. I tweaked the recipe a little because I think adding carrots and mushrooms to it is kind of weird, no? Here's what I used instead:

Ingredients:
1 (14-ounce) package water-packed firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooking spray
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tablespoon Saracha Garlic Chili Paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon ground fresh ginger
1/2 cup chopped green onions *

I am a wimp, so I halved the amount of chili paste, and I omitted the peanuts because I'm not a fan of peanuts.

So did you notice the keyword "drain" in the tofu ingredient? It's pretty important because the tofu is filled with water, and that makes your broiling a little difficult. Oh, did I mention that we're going to be broiling the tofu? Well, now you know. To drain the tofu, I simply left it on a plate after I had cut it, and then let it sit for 15 minutes. I dumped out the tofu-liquid a couple of times intermittently.

Before broiling (15 minutes in the oven & coat your lining with cooking spray so the tofu won't stick):



After broiling:




AH! That was so fun, right? Well, when I was waiting for the tofu to finish broiling, I mixed all wet ingredients and cornstarch together. When I took the tofu out, I threw in the ginger and heated that sucker up.





Then I threw in my hot crispy tofu bits and green onions into the sauce and coated it well.





Now it's time to serve it with whatever you want and nom away! :D




*After I finished chopping the green onions, I turned around to put it on the table when I stepped on my fat needy cat, Lucy, that follows me everywhere in the kitchen. I screamed. She screamed. I dropped my green onions on the floor, but it was the last of my green onions! So I had to pick up all the pieces, covered with cat hair and everything, and wash it. So if your tofu tastes a little funny, it's probably because you are missing the secret ingredients: cat food bits & cat hair. ENJOY!