Sweet and Sour and Never Bitter Tofu

Yup, that's what we think of every time we plan a meal with broccoli.  And we have been known to sing it.  CHOPPIN' BROCCOLI!  With FEELING!

Today's broccoli comes to us courtesy of Bob and Lorraine, my (Denise's) parents.  Whenever they come to visit they stop at a lovely market and arrives with gobs of vegetables.  Take note: if you plan on visiting a vegan any time soon, arrive with vegetables!  You will be loved.  And you may get offered a meal.

Today at work we were deciding what to do for supper, and we did something we do sometimes.  I give my initial thought and tell Melina to run with it.  Today it went something like, "I'm thinking broccoli.  I'm thinking tofu.  I'm thinking garlic.  GO!"  And this is what happened.  Take it away Melina!

Sooooo, as you can see, Denise has had me hard at work in the kitchen for the second night in a row. Hahaha. Well, I do love to cook. Every day at work, Denise nags me about what we are going to have for supper. And, as I'm at work and usually working, I try to either think of something quick, or ignore her... Which just pisses her off.

Anyway, so today she comes up with what I thought would be another annoying idea ( I occasionally resent that she has an opinion, even worse, a right to one) but it was actually a good one. Normally they sound pretty gross to me, but that is because I am a creature of cravings. If I crave something, I will do almost anything to have it.

She suggested tofu and broccoli with a sauce. I pictured fried tofu with a really nice sauce and some sweet steamed broccoli. Yeah, oh man, that would be good. Yeah, ok Denise, great idea. Then I remembered that she made an amazing sweet and sour sauce once. Yeah, that is what I was gonna do. I'd never made sweet and sour, but I knew there would be fresh ginger in it.

So, I sort of made my own version, as I like the sweet, and wanted lots of fresh ginger and garlic in it, as people are getting sick at work.

And fried or pan seared tofu, oh, yum.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 tsp olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp ginger, minced
1 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp arrowroot starch
1- 1 1/2 cups cool water
2-3 tbsp sweetener

Heat oil with the minced garlic and ginger. Sauté for about 5 minutes. While that is heating, combine the arrowroot starch with the water and stir till starch is dissolved. When the garlic and ginger are heated and fragrant add tomato paste, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and sweetener. Mix till well combined. Then add water with arrowroot, and simmer on medium to low heat, stirring a lot till the sauce get thicker and a bit more translucent. Take off heat when done.

Take some tofu (we used a 454 gram package) and cut up and fry or pan sear. I fried mine in canola oil. So good.

I took two bunches of broccoli and cut up the heads, and rinsed well, and tossed in a wok with a bit of water in it, popped the lid on, and let it steam for about 5-8 minutes, till tender.

Denise wanted udon noodles ( I don't like them) so I put them in boiled water to soften.

Next, we assembled our meal.

It was so good, and I have to give props to Denise because she thought of a great idea. It will now be in our dinner rotation.

- Melina