Cajun Tofu

Living in a big city in Texas, we get quite a variety of ethnic foods. Mexican, of course, Greek, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, you name it,  you can find it here. Living next door to Louisiana, we also get Cajun dishes, and man, oh, man, it is fantastic!

Cajun Tofu

One pound extra firm tofu, frozen in the container, boiled to thaw, drained and pressed and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
1 T. plus 1 t. Cajun seasoning
2 T. olive oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk of celery, sliced
1 green onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. parsley

Sprinkle both sides of the tofu slices with salt and 1 T. of the Cajun seasoning. Set aside.
In a small pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the green pepper, celery, green onion and garlic until softened. Stir in the tomatoes, soy sauce and parsley, 1 t. Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors blend.
While the sauce is simmering, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the tofu and cook until browned on both sides. Add the sauce to the skillet and the tofu and heat through, about five minutes. Serve.

If you aren't a fan of tofu, this dish could very well make you a convert! It is just that good!

Last year I had the pleasure of visiting New Orleans with a tour group. We spent a great deal of time in the French Quarter.

I loved the architecture there. We would walk along and come upon street performers, from mimes to musicians. Plenty of interesting shops and interestingly placed art work.

We had the pleasure of being treated to a meal prepared by an entertaining chef named Kevin Belton.

Now, I don't ever see him making a tofu dish, but the school was very accommodating. The menu was set for the guests, but when I asked for something for a vegan, they were happy to make me up something special. It was absolutely delicious! We got to wash it down with an ice cold local beer.

I don't even drink beer, but I had one, just to get in the spirit of the whole evening. And it was even vegan friendly!

I very much want to make a return trip to New Orleans. There was so much there to see and so much I didn't get to see, confined to a tour group schedule as we were. For now, though, I can remember my trip fondly, and indulge myself in Cajun foods I make at home.

Tofu