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From: antics@druak.UUCP (GeigerL)
Newsgroups: net.cooks
Subject: Re: Recipes for tofu?
Message-ID: <752@druak.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 19-Jul-85 13:26:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: druak.752
Posted: Fri Jul 19 13:26:36 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Jul-85 11:41:05 EDT
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
Lines: 48

The best recipe for tofu I have found is chicken-fried tofu.  This 
dish is one of my favorites.  It transforms tofu tasting tofu (yuch!) 
into fried-chicken tasting tofu (yum!).  There are three parts to this:
tofu, tamari (sometimes called soy sauce) and batter.

BATTER

	Mix 2 parts cornmeal to 1 or less parts flour.  Add spices
until you can see specs in the batter.  I like ground celery seed,
a lot of basil, oregano, some dill weed, some cayenne, and
occasionally thyme, caraway seeds and parseley.

	I make up a batter and save what's left.  When it gets low,
I just add more to it.


TO PREPARE

	Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan; less
will be needed for non-stick cookware, but oil *is* required for
the correct flavor.

	Slice a pound of tofu into 7 to 9 slices.  The number and
thickness will depend on how firm the tofu is.  The thinner the
slices, the faster the cooking time.

	Pour several tablespoons of tamari onto a plate.  If you 
like your food less salty, add some water to the tamari.  Dip the
tofu into the tamari and then into the batter.

	Fry over a medium to medium-high heat for 10 minutes and
then turn for another 10 minutes.  Put tofu onto paper towels to
drain execess oil.

	The biggest trick to this dish is the temperature of the
pan.  If the oil is not hot enough to begin with, the tofu gets
soggy and oily.  If the pan is too hot, the tofu burns on the
outside, but does not get firm and stringy on the inside.  The frying
time may vary a little, but if the tofu is not cooked long enough
on each side, it will taste like tofu (ugh!).

OPTIONS

	This can be modified for stir fried veggies, too.  Instead
of slicing the tofu, cube it and cook the same way, except in a wok
or large frying pan.  After about 10 minutes cooking time, start
adding your favorite vegetables.  This is *much* better than simply
adding non-battered tofu to stir-fried vegetables.