Spicy Eggplant and Tofu

For Meatless Monday this week I wanted to try something with peanut sauce.  I found this recipe and since we don't have eggplant very often I thought this would be something tasty and delicious.  Plus we had mushrooms and broccoli that needed to be used.  

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 ounces firm tofu

1 small eggplant

1 small onion

1 package mushrooms

1 cup broccoli

4 garlic cloves

1 dash red peppers or 1 dash cayenne

1/4 cup peanut sauce

white pepper, optional

1.  Slice tofu into bite sized pieces.  Place in bowl and toss with cornstarch.
2.  In a large skillet add olive oil and pan fry tofu over medium high heat.  Allow to cook at least 5 minutes on each side or until brown.  Remove tofu from the pan.
3.  Add eggplant, onion, mushrooms and broccoli and sautee to hot pan. Allow to cook for 6-8 minutes or until broccoli turns a bright green and onion is browning.
4.  Place tofu back in pan with a 1/4 of peanut sauce.  Add red pepper and a dash or white pepper.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Turn heat to low and simmer for at least five minutes, the longer it simmers the better for flavor.
5.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Tofu and Broccoli

Our streak of Meatless Monday has stayed alive.  Last week I decided to make Tofu and Broccoli, similar to beef and broccoli you get from the Chinese restaurant... but much healthier.  I found a recipe I liked on Pintrest which I modified so I could stick with my normal method of pan frying the tofu and removing it from the skillet, cooking the veggies and then adding the tofu and sauce to let it all simmer together. 

I also learned a new trick with this recipe.  If you toss the tofu in cornstarch it will become crispier.  We also discovered you can buy tofu at Costco, we have enough to last 6 meals for about $7.

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

Ginger, to taste

8 oz. extra-firm tofu, cubed

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 bunch broccoli florets

1/2 tbs. sesame seeds

3 scallions, chopped or chopped green onions

Instructions

1. Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger and set aside.
2. Toss cubed tofu in shallow bowl with cornstarch. Shake off excess pieces and set aside.
3. Heat large skillet to medium-high heat and add olive oil.  Cook tofu about 4-5 minutes per side until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

4.  Add onion, pepper, garlic and broccoli and cook until tender, about 7-8 minutes. 

5.  Add sauce, sesame seeds and tofu to vegetables. I sprinkled in some white pepper to add heat.  If you've never used white pepper it's potent so a dash is more then enough.

6.  Cook for an additional three-four minutes.  The longer you can let simmer the better and toss together with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with noodles or rice.