My son is home from college and it seems that living amongst all those smart, striving, well-intentioned young people has reawakened the vegetarian in him. He first decided to stop eating meat when he was 11, after he saw a gross movie about the American meat industry. Show someone how the sausage is made and that’s it for sausage. It’s not just a metaphor, apparently. So in order to feed him, and escape the condemnation of the next generation that thinks we ruined everything, I am cooking more and more vegetarian meals.
I have been searching for new ways to make meatless eating fun and delicious. Below you will find some of my favorite vegetarian recipes. There’s no need to be afraid of tofu. It won’t bite you, or even make you gag. If you can eat a well-cooked omelet, you can eat a block of soy.
I do have a couple of tips about cooking tofu:
Get the extra firm kind. Take it out of its package and cut each block in half lengthwise, to make four skinnier blocks. Get a few dinner plates and line one with paper towels. Place two of the blocks on there, put another layer of paper towels on top, and then place a second plate on top of that. More paper towels on second plate, third and fourth tofu block, paper towels, third plate. This will squeeze out all that excess water.
Next: Heat up oil in a skillet. Cut your tofu into smaller sizes if you like. When the pan is hot, get that not-meat in there and start searing. Wait about five minutes and take a peek; you should have a nice light brown sear. When you do, flip them. When they are done, THAT is when you sauce them however you like – some combo of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, chili oil, you got this. Or look up a good peanut sauce. Rice, noodles, cilantro, chopped green onions. Restaurant good. I promise.
And see what I did there? No marinade. Marinade will prevent that yummy crispy sear that is the only reason you eat this stuff. Besides, you know, your health and the planet and all that crap.
RECOMMENDED VEGETARIAN RECIPES
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