Friday, May 10, 2013

Virtual Vegan Potluck - Black Pepper Tofu

Today I am participating in a very exciting project - The Virtual Vegan Potluck! This is my first time and I am so thrilled to be a part of it.



Thank you, Annie, at An Unrefined Vegan, for holding my hand as I prepared for the big event! There will be everything from appetizers to desserts. I'm bringing a main dish to this shindig. So bring your plate and help yourself!

Black Pepper Tofu

 
One package extra firm tofu, frozen in package, boiled, pressed and sliced into thin squares 
Olive oil
Cornstarch
Vegan butter
One shallot, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 T. fresh ginger, diced
Crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. dark soy sauce (recipe follows)
Crushed black peppercorns
Green onions, chopped
 
Place the tofu squares in a ziploc baggie and sprinkle in some cornstarch. Zip the baggie closed and shake it to coat the tofu in the cornstarch. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the tofu. Cook the tofu until it is crispy and golden, and put on paper towels to drain. Set aside.

Drain any leftover oil and put the skillet back on the burner. Add some vegan butter and let it melt. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger and a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes and saute until softened. Add the tofu back to the skillet with the three different soy sauces and a few twists of the peppercorns. Stir to evenly coat the tofu.

Serve the tofu on top of steamed white rice and sprinkle on some of the green onions. Enjoy!

Dark Soy Sauce

1/4 c. water
1 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. soy sauce

Mix the water and brown sugar together in a pot over high heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low. When the brown sugar has all dissolved, pour in the soy sauce, stirring again to mix well. When heated through, remove from heat and let cool. Store in the refrigerator.

I cannot say how delicious this was! Even my non-vegan non-tofu loving husband had two servings and told me this was a keeper! High praise from him for tofu, I have to say!

Make sure you sample the other offerings on the potluck!



You can travel backward and forward through the blogs to see what everyone is bringing!

15 comments:

  1. This looks delicious! Happy VVP!

    - alexis
    http://www.sugarcoatedvegan.com

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  2. Hi, this is Andy from Karate Rice. I am a huge rice fan! Your tofu sitting on top sounds nice and flavourful :) I'm a little bit confused about the freezing and boiling. Could you elaborate?

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  3. Looks really good! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Oh, I'm so glad you participated! It's been an amazing day! Your recipes sounds yummy - love those flavors!

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  5. I'm always looking for a new black pepper tofu recipe - can't wait to try this one!

    ~Lisa

    theessentialvegan.blogspot.com

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  6. This looks so good! I love spicy black pepper sauce.

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  7. I adore tofu, this looks delicious!

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  8. Thanks, everyone! Please try it and give me your feedback. My family really enjoyed it, I hope yours does, too!

    Andy, I have found that freezing it, then boiling it makes the tofu even more receptive to absorbing marinades. I wrote about it here: http://thezenvegan.blogspot.com/2012/07/to-tofu-or-not-tofu-that-is-question.html
    Hope that helps explain it!

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  9. This looks delicious! I never thought about making tofu this way. Thank you for sharing.

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  10. This sounds so flavorful! Now I just need to track down some kecap manis.

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    1. Maggie, I found it at my local grocery store. Not all of them have it, mind you, but I did find it at a regular grocery store and not a specialty store. It is also known as sweet soy sauce.

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  11. hmmm, looks good. We have a lovely local applewood smoked organic tofu, that I think will be perfect for this dish. Thank you for the recipe.

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  12. hmmm, looks good. We have a lovely local applewood smoked organic tofu, that I think will be perfect for this dish. Thank you for the recipe.

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  13. This looks so delicious. Will def be making it soon!
    x Vix
    vixbakes.com :: vegan baking + raw desserts

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  14. Sounds great, I think I'll have to give it a try. Bookmarked!

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