Book Review: "Quick and Easy Tofu Cookbook"

My mom got me this book (by Yukiko Moriyama) for Christmas, and I've been enjoying it. It's a bit dated (who uses the word Oriental anymore?), and some of the recipes are kind of out there, but it's also got some great ones. They are also very quick, and very easy. They don't require much prep work, and most of the ingredients are pantry staples. Heat up some rice in the rice cooker, and get to work on the meal. The rice will probably take longer. All the recipes are illustrated with photos, and all the ingredients are shown in a photo as well. This can be seen in the image below, although it's kind of blurry.



I've made the above recipe, Chinese Style Tofu with Red Pepper Sauce" a few times now, and it's come out great. I do the curry variation, because I really like curry.

Chinese Style Tofu with Red Pepper Sauce, adapted from Quick and Easy Tofu Cookbook



Ingredients (I've halved the recipe, since the original calls for 24 oz tofu, which is a lot for one person):
1 block tofu, cubed
1/4-1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or 1 fresh red chili pepper)
Oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tsp curry powder
2 tablespoons cooking wine
1/2 cup stock (bullion cubes are fine)
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
Peas (the recipe calls for three tablespoons, but I usually put in more)

While you're assembling the dish, put some rice (brown or white) in the rice cooker to serve alongside the tofu.

Take the cubed tofu and dip it into hot water for 30 seconds (I don't know what this step does), and drain well.

Heat the oil in a wok; add ginger, green onions, garlic, and red pepper and stir-fry.

Add the ground beef and stir-fry; add 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce and reduce heat to medium. Add the curry, the rest of the soy sauce, the wine, and the stock. Bring to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture, and stir. At this point, I also like to squirt some sriracha in, but it's probably not necessary.

Add tofu and peas; simmer until thick.

Serve with rice. This lasted me 2-3 days.