Meatless Monday: Tofu to the Rescue

Tofu is  a regular item on my grocery list. High in protein, a good source of calcium, and relatively low in calories, it is an excellent meat alternative in stir-fries, and can be turned into a delicious faux egg salad. 

As great as tofu is, however, I will admit it is not without a few challenges:

• The tastiest stir-fries are the ones in which the tofu has been marinated in advance. Some people may be fond of the taste of bare naked tofu. I prefer my chunks of tofu when they have soaked up all the delicious flavors of a homemade sauce. 
• Fresh tofu has a relatively short life span. Despite my best intentions, I have more than once discovered that the package of tofu in my fridge is past its expiration date.
• I care about GMOs, and it has become hard to find organic tofu, and even harder to find organic tofu made in the USA.

I recently discovered the answer in the Elm City Market. The perfect product comes in a Tetra Brik® box and can be found on the shelf in the ethnic food aisle —Morinaga Silken Tofu. Silken tofu is available in a variety of textures, is non-GMO, is made in the USA, requires no refrigeration until it is opened, and has a shelf life of several months.

AND, the solution to the last-minute problem was printed on the box! A delicious dinner in under an hour:

Morinaga Tofu Stir Fry 

Preheat your oven to 400°F

Stir the following ingredients together:

• 6 tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. honey
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger [2 tsp. dry ginger if you don’t have fresh on-hand]
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Lightly oil a baking dish.

Cube the tofu and place it in the dish in one layer.

Pour half the sauce over the tofu and bake for 30 minutes.

While the tofu is baking, slice a bunch of green onions.

Prepare additional vegetables of your choice for the stir-fry 

(about 6 cups). 

[If you are in a pinch, you can use veggies from your freezer.]

When the tofu is done, sauté the onions in oil for 1 minute.

Add the remaining vegetables with the remaining sauce, cooking until crisp tender.

Gently stir in the tofu.

Serve with some rice, pasta, quinoa, or other grain.

Voilá! One delicious dish in almost no time!

Have a great week.

I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”