Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Mustard-Battered Tofu, Baked Risotto, and Green Beans

The recipe for the tofu can be found here, but in case you don't feel like clicking on the link:

Mustard-Battered Tofu

1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups unbleached white flour or whole wheat pastry
4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
3 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. baking powder
2 to 3 lb. tofu
3 1/2 cups vegetable oil

• Mix together the salt, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, flour, and nutritional yeast in a deep bowl.
• In a separate bowl, dilute the mustard with 1/2 cup water.
• Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to the mustard mixture and stir. Add the baking powder to the dry flour mixture and mix.
• Dip chunks of the mock chicken into the mustard batter, then drop each chunk into the flour mixture and coat with the desired amount of “crust.”
• Fry the chunks in hot oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet or deep fryer until crispy and golden brown, turning as needed.

I didn't use any nutritional yeast in mine, simply because I was all out of it. I only used one package of tofu (which I'd frozen and then defrosted), and I definitely should have halved the rest of the ingredients. This was really tasty, though, and it doesn't have a really strong mustard-y flavor. Shortly after this picture was taken, I dipped my tofu in ketchup. Mmmmm mustard and ketchup. My boyfriend willingly took all of the leftovers for lunch today, so I give this two thumbs up.

The baked risotto is from Nava Atlas's The Vegetarian Family Cookbook (you can see a little bit of the cookbook peaking out of the top of the picture--woopsie). This recipe was so much easier than making risotto the traditional way. Honestly, the one time I made it "traditionally" before, I didn't really like it. That was just me being picky, though, as I don't really like creamy non-dessert stuff all that much. I still had arborio rice to use up, though, and noticed this recipe and thought I'd give it a try. It bakes for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. At first I thought it wasn't going to work at all, as the first couple of times I stirred it looked remarkably like it had when I first put it in the oven. The last time I stirred, though, it had magically turned into something resembling risotto. I thought it was going to be a little too liquidy, so when I was supposed to add a cup of water at the last stirring, I only added half a cup. It's really thick now, so I probably should have followed the directions, but honestly I kind of liked the texture better than the previous time I'd made risotto.

The green beans are nothing special. They are organic ones from a can. I added black pepper and a bit of liquid smoke. They're actually pretty good for beans from a can.

8 comments:

Celine said...

oh you KNOW i am dying to try this. i wish i could eat all day long so that i'd get to bake/cook all day, and stuff my face with new/yummy things all the time. sigh.

Lena said...

Ohhh, it looks delicious. I'm going to have to give a try.

Speaking nutritional yeast...where do you find it around here? Sorry, I don't mean to bug you, but you're the only vegan I know that's in the area! :) I looked at the Fresh Market and couldn't find it, and my veggie-friendly Kroger doesn't carry it either. I figure EarthFare does, but I'd hate to drive all the way down there and then they don't have it.

Laura said...

I don't mind at all, Lena! I actually don't know any other vegans in town, so it's nice to have someone to talk to. Earth Fare does have nutritional yeast, as does the Co-Op. Are you familiar with the Co-Op? It's on Broadway, not too far past the Salvation Army and such (4th and Gill area). It's not in the best area, but what can ya do (besides not going by yourself at night)? Anyhoo, I find the nutritional yeast in the bulk section at both stores.

Lena said...

Yeah, I've been to the Co-Op before! They're right below Saint Tattoo, yeah? I didn't even think about them having it. I'm so excited to go by there tomorrow now!

Laura said...

Hmm...I have no idea where any tattoo shops are. I just know it's across from Broadway Carpets.

Anonymous said...

That tofu looks delicious. Do you think it could be baked?

Laura said...

Hmm...I don't see a reason why not. I have no advice as to what temperature or how long to bake it for, though. Sorry!

KleoPatra said...

i'm SO gonna make tofu like this sometime. YUMMY!