Pressing out excess moisture the secret to great tofu
My mom started traveling abroad when I was in high school. And after each of her trips, we cooked a meal from the country she'd just visited.
It was after her trip to Italy that I became a huge fan of veal. Veal, of course, is notoriously bland, so what's the appeal? I love it because it functions mostly as a firm landing strip for the delicious sauce of your choice, and I'm a nut for sauces. Recently, I figured out that tofu plays the same role for vegetarians as veal does for carnivores.
Made from soybeans, water and a coagulant, tofu is notably healthy — low in calories, devoid of saturated fat, and a great source of protein, calcium and iron. But there's the little matter of tofu's flabby texture and its flavor (or lack thereof), which is why I've always shied away from the stuff.
It turns out, though, that properly prepared tofu is a great sponge for flavor, a natural fact exploited to good effect in this light entree for the new year.
The first step is to lose the excess water in tofu, which will — Duh! — water down your dish.
So you force out the excess water by putting a weighted plate on top of the tofu and let it press and drain for about 30 minutes. The tofu becomes firmer and less watery the longer you press it. This also ensures that when you cook it, the tofu will have a springy texture and a crispy exterior.
The crispy slices of tofu are a wonderful foil for this recipe's intense chili-orange sauce. The sauce is complemented with broccoli and red pepper. Serve it on brown rice and you're looking at a one-dish meal, light but filling. My husband, a die-hard carnivore, had no idea that this was a healthy vegetarian dish. He just scarfed it down and said thank you.
• Sara Moulton was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years, and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows. She currently stars in public television's “Sara's Weeknight Meals” and has written three cookbooks, including “Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners.”