Sweet and Sour Tofu

When The Big Kid was in kindergarten, her school focused a fair amount of the time on China as part of a monthly unit. As in, the kids learned about the people, culture, and all of the details about the country. One month, they even cooked Chinese food in class.

The whole situation left Alexis obsessed with Sweet and Sour Chicken. I don't know why. I just know that she really super wanted me to figure out a way to make it without actually including chicken in the mix.

That was easy.

I make Sweet and Sour Tofu from time-to-time, generally just for Alexis and me, but recently for the whole family because Mila is ALL IN on the tofu and green beans game.

It's probably weird how much we all like tofu.

Oh well. At least weird is fun.

Sweet and Sour Tofu
3 cups white rice, cooked

Fried tofu
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 package extra firm tofu (press the water out, please)
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Sauce
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons water

Vegetables
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 cup carrot matchsticks
1 can baby corn, drained
1 cup frozen green beans

1. Start by prepping the tofu. Once you've pressed the water out of it, cube it.

2. In a small bowl, mix the egg yolks, corn starch, black pepper, and milk. Dump the tofu in the bowl and mix it all up until the tofu is coated.

3. In a large frying pan, heat the oil. Toss the tofu in there and fry until it's lightly browned. Make sure you stir/flip it often so that it gets cooked evenly. When it is evenly browned, take it out of the pan and set it aside.

4. Sauce time! Throw the stock, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, garlic, and sugar into a bowl. Mix them up. Then put the corn starch and water in a small measuring cup together. Use a fork to whisk them together and then pour them into the rest of the sauce.

5. Veggie time! In the skillet that you used for the tofu, cook the carrots, green beans, green onions, and baby corn for 4-5 minutes over medium heat or until the green beans are as soft as you want them to be.

6. Pour the sauce in with the veggies. Allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken.

7. Toss the tofu in with the sauce and veggies.

8. Stir everything up.

9. Serve over white rice.

10. Wonder why everyone says "tastes like chicken" when it's tofu that can really taste like absolutely everything.

Comments

[Corrine]

Looks good! Thanks for sharing.