Mabo Tofu

How fortuitous that I saved the spicy dishes for the end of the week! My sinus woes have not abated, although I did make it to work today. I had to leave a couple hours early, though, since the "daytime" version of my trusty medicine was not working. Now, having been properly dosed, my final Japanese dish is complete and consumed.

I found the recipe for mabo tofu in my "Extending the Table" cookbook, with an English-language title of "quick spicy tofu." It definitely is quick to make, and the flavors are wonderful! But, I'll admit, I played with the ingredients a little to better suit the items I had on hand and could afford. All told, I stayed pretty faithful to the original, and I'm thrilled we've got leftovers!

The original recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of red miso paste. The smallest container I could find at the Asian Supermarket held about a cup of miso and cost around $5, which I didn't think was too budget friendly for an ingredient that would spoil before I could use it all. I did some quick Internet research on my phone and learned there really is no substitute for miso, so I skipped it and added a little oyster sauce instead. I did find one person who suggested mixing tahini with anchovy paste, but...

The tofu, on the other hand, was incredibly affordable. Each one-pound container cost just $0.99 at the Asian Supermarket, whereas Price Chopper charges $2.99 - or more! That alone made it worth the visit!

There were no veggies in this recipe, but snow peas were cheap and we needed some for the soup, so we bought a "value-sized" bag and used some in this dish too. And, I've been snacking on them all week - feels like summer!

I also used ground turkey instead of pork, which the original recipe used, since we had that on hand and I only needed ¼ pound. Actually, we cooked up some turkey cutlets the other night and just set one aside (uncooked). I pulsed it a few times in our food processor today and...出来上がり! (According to Google Translate, that's Japanese for voila!)

My final modification had to do with the spice. Now, as I mentioned earlier in this post, these spicy foods have been doing wonders for me. My wife, however, isn't too partial. So, instead of mixing red pepper into the entire dish, I just sprinkled some on top of my portion.

But, enough nitpicking. Here's how I made it:

Two 1-lb. blocks firm tofu, drained and cut into ½" cubes (this is enough for 4 people)
Canola oil/butter/margarine
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, diced

¼ lb. ground turkey

⅓ cup hot water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water

In a large saucepan, boil a few cups of water. Add the cubed tofu, and boil for just a minute or two. Remove the tofu, drain it well and set it aside.

In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the ginger, garlic and onion for a couple minutes till golden. Add the ground turkey and sauté till just cooked. Then, add the hot water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and dissolved cornstarch. When the sauce begins to thicken slightly, add the tofu and stir gently so each piece gets coated. Let it bubble away for a couple minutes so the flavors can blend, and serve it over rice. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flake, to taste.