A Tummy For Tofu

Before  anything, I'd like to thank my friend for contributing this entry in my blog. I may have added a few information here and there but the most of it is all hers. Thanks, M, for writing in and sharing your healthy experience. :) 

As I kept saying before, I have a very sensitive diet that only involves veggies, fish and fruit. However, my diet has turned out to be even more sensitive than I thought. Now that I have spinal arthritis, I had to drop a few more vegetables from my diet, ones that have beans and seeds in them like string beans, snow peas and soy beans, so even tofu, which I always turned to for meat fake outs, is something I can't really indulge in anymore. But be that as it is, that still won't stop me from blogging about these wonderful alternatives. They are, after all, every vegetarians best bet. 
 

Check my friend's entry as she shares the  bliss of satisfying her craving the healthy way. Go Miss M! Thanks for sharing:

                                                                                   ~ oOo ~     

                                                          

Hi! I'm not at all a vegetarian. I eat meat and I don't have ridiculous restrictions to anything, except for this one indulgence that I loved having as a kid: chicken. Yes, I developed a mad allergy to the one thing that gave me gastronomic pleasure. It's a good thing I love vegetables and have it more often on my dinner table than pork or beef. I do get the shakes, though, once in a while, when I think of sinking my teeth into a succulent drumstick every now and then but I somehow manage to steer clear of it's juicy path. Or sometimes, so I think. 

Once, I passed one of the leading chicken stands in the metro and had this nasty urge to nab a whole roasted chicken from the chopping board as it was about to be pieced up for a patiently waiting and already hungry customer. Peeling myself away from the crime scene was a feat, so with all the strength I could muster, I trudged off to the nearest market in search for a parallel alternative that would taste just as luscious and mouthwatering chicken tenders that I used to regularly feast on as a child. I wasn't in the mood for anything meaty then so I really had nothing in mind. As I walked aimlessly amongst the stalls of fresh vegetables and fruit, I came upon a vendor that ended my torturous search. The answer to my food frenzy: tofu.

Made of ground soybeans, tofu is one of the easiest and most available substitutes one can ever find. Not only limited to supermarkets, tofu is available even in the smallest neighborhood market at a price so affordable, it should be considered gold for those taking the veggie route. Tofu, though a really good vegetarian choice, is as tasteless as air. Unless included in a dish of meat or fish, as a stand alone, it absolutely makes no sense to eat. For it to make a palatable mark, though, you need to up it's game by giving it a bit of that creative culinary touch. At first I thought of just frying it and making and dipping it in vinegar and garlic but I found it too common. So how was I to cook this? Here's what I did as per the neat suggestion of  my friend.

I realize that there are many ways on how to cook different things. You can stir fry, saute, boil or steam but my friend is right in saying that nothing beats breading when it comes to horribly tasteless grub like tofu. I gathered the following ingredients which were already in my pantry (less the cost, really) together to begin my tofu food trip: flour, garlic salt, cumin, cinnamon (what? I thought my friend was crazy), pepper, liquid seasoning and Crispy Fry breading, garlic flavor.

 I put some flour in a bowl and added water to make a paste. When it got to the consistency I was comfortable in, I went to town in peppering it with my choice of spices and seasoning, except for the breading. My flour paste looks somewhat like thickened gravy. My friend says it should really look this way.

 Once done, I poured the Crispy Fry breading into a another saucer and set them all aside.

The tofu I purchased came in 3"x 3" squares. I cut them in fours and cut the fours in half, so that's 8 strips per tofu square. Thirty-two pieces. Not bad for sharing by three people. 

I swirled the tofu into the flour batter, rolled it up in the breading and fried the tofu in heated oil until golden brown. Leaving each piece to drain in paper towels, I came up with a plateful of the crispiest, most flavorful tofu strips I've ever had. And the cinnamon was a unique touch to it. I'm glad I listened to her when she forced me to add it in. A deliriously delicious treat for the meat-deprived. You don't feel the deprivation at all.

Take your pick on the many choices of dips you could use: catsup-mayo combo, sweet chili sauce or even vinegar and soy sauce with a little smashed garlic for some kick and a little sugar to sweeten it up. What I had was sweet blend catsup so that did it for me.

For something more lavish, you can do a sour cream and minced garlic dip with a sprinkling of shredded cheese. Served hot with steaming garlic fried rice, it was one trip that took me straight to tofu heaven. I was so happy, I let my friend eat all the fish I had prepared . We didn't even share. :)

For new vegetarians and pro-vegetarians alike, the choices are, in reality, truly endless. One need not go beyond the four walls of their kitchen to discover food that could turn up to be remarkable revelations. One should only sprinkle a little bit of that wild imagination into a bowl of simple ingredients for an outcome of stupendous flavorful proportions. Who says being vegetarian equals tasteless? Discover!