Although I am Jewish and my husband is not, we still take a page from my people when it comes to celebrating Christmas. I’m not yet sure what movie the four of us will be watching, but I know we’ll be eating Chinese food.
Our go-to Chinese restaurant is Great Wall in Florence. We tend to order off the “gourmet” menu, but my little girls just eat plain rice and steamed dumplings. We’ll probably order from them for Christmas to support them, but this week I had a sudden hankering for Chinese that I couldn’t ignore.
I like having a block of tofu in the fridge at all times, and there were broccoli crowns on hand now that my 5-year-old is officially off her “broccoli break.” The result was a flavorful and crisp dish that tasted “just like a real Chinese restaurant,” my husband the tofu-doubter admitted as he helped himself to seconds.
Tossing the cubes of tofu in cornstarch and then frying them up in a skillet is what gives the dish its crispness and Chinese restaurant feel. I use a marinade from Ilene Rosen’s Saladish as a glaze over the golden cubes; the broccoli gets steamed from all the heat. For the past two years I’d been leaving out the sambaloelek, the Indonesian chili paste, in hopes that my girls would eat the dish (ha ha). This time I included it, and the results were spectacular.
Overall this particular dish takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish. The most time will be spent cooking rice; just make sure to time that accordingly.
The one thing about making magic tofu is that it doesn’t reheat well. I actually used a half a block of tofu for two adults because I didn’t want leftovers. The next day I actually remade the marinade and popped that and the leftover tofu into a Ziploc bag. It’s now resting in my fridge and will be delicious when I get around to roasting it in the oven.
But that’s a whole other preparation. Generally, I don’t bother pressing my tofu, although I do wrap it in a few paper towels to dry it off.
Ingredients
GLAZE
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sambaloelek
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
4 teaspoons flavorless vegetable oil
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon honey
THE REST
One 14-ounce block firm tofu, halved and dried
½ cup corn starch
1 crown broccoli, cleaned and cut into florets
Neutral oil to cover pan
Directions
Make the marinade by whisking ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Slice the half block of tofu into thirds. Turn the tofu on its side and cut straight through the middle. Put the tofu back down on the cutting board, and cut the tofu into quarters. Toss the cubes of tofu in a bowl of corn starch, making sure every side is coated.
Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add the corn-starched cubes of tofu to the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about six or seven minutes. Using tongs, flip the tofu onto the other side. Add the marinade to the pan; it will sizzle. After a minute, add the broccoli to the pan and cover with a lid so that the broccoli steam. Remove the lid after two minutes. The broccoli should be a bright green and the sauce will have begun to form a glaze on the tofu. Cook for a minute or two longer — the tofu should be golden and crisp with a shiny glaze, and the broccoli should be cooked through.
Remove from heat and serve over rice.
Molly Parr lives in Florence with her husband and two young daughters. She’s been writing her food blog, Cheap Beets, since 2010. She undertook this column while furloughed from Smith College; next week’s column will be her last for the foreseeable future. Send questions or comments to molly.parr@gmail.com.