I don't cook broccoli very often, but there was some in tonight's dinner. Halfway through the meal, I picked up a piece of broccoli, looked at it, and said "trees." Vekna always called broccoli that, and often argued that it was an ornamental rather than an edible flower (there was broccoli in her wedding bouquet). I miss her, but that was a mostly cheerful reminder, without the sharper edge of "we were going to do this thing together" or "I could use her advice here."
We had that for dinner tonight because I bought some tofu and vegetables last week, and then didn't cook them before or while![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rysmiel was visiting. I hadn't felt like being experimental while we had a guest, and the only other time I'd cooked tofu was as adrian_turtle's sous-chef.
So: extra-firm tofu, marinated in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, ginger paste, and soy sauce for about three hours. The vegetables were carrot (thin disks), broccoli, scallions, and red bell pepper. I sauteed the carrots, scallions, and pepper in more olive oil for a few minutes; added the broccoli and tofu; cooked for a minute or so; then added the sauce, covered, and cooked everything for about another three minutes. (It's "sort of" stir-fried because I don't have a wok.)
The sauce was the marinade plus more ginger paste, some black bean sauce, and then a bit of water when there wasn't enough liquid. Served over rice, of course.
It was dinner, and is a starting point, now that I am a bit more confident of what I'm doing. The sauce came out a bit bland: next time, use fresh ginger as well as the ginger paste in the marinade. Garlic would be good. Cook the sauce briefly, or at least heat it to near a simmer before it goes into the pan, and reduce the final cooking time.
We had that for dinner tonight because I bought some tofu and vegetables last week, and then didn't cook them before or while
rysmiel was visiting. I hadn't felt like being experimental while we had a guest, and the only other time I'd cooked tofu was as adrian_turtle's sous-chef. So: extra-firm tofu, marinated in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, ginger paste, and soy sauce for about three hours. The vegetables were carrot (thin disks), broccoli, scallions, and red bell pepper. I sauteed the carrots, scallions, and pepper in more olive oil for a few minutes; added the broccoli and tofu; cooked for a minute or so; then added the sauce, covered, and cooked everything for about another three minutes. (It's "sort of" stir-fried because I don't have a wok.)
The sauce was the marinade plus more ginger paste, some black bean sauce, and then a bit of water when there wasn't enough liquid. Served over rice, of course.
It was dinner, and is a starting point, now that I am a bit more confident of what I'm doing. The sauce came out a bit bland: next time, use fresh ginger as well as the ginger paste in the marinade. Garlic would be good. Cook the sauce briefly, or at least heat it to near a simmer before it goes into the pan, and reduce the final cooking time.