Thursday, August 6, 2009

Almond-Orange Tofu

so right off the bat i am going to acknowledge that this picture isnt so great! BUT this recipe is!! so try not to judge the picture too harshly, just try the recipe yourself and then send me a better looking pic :)

ok, now back to the topic at hand! this recipe comes from SPAIN (oh and before you are confused..you should know this is not an asian recipe...which is why instead of calling it just orange tofu, i call it almond orange...whenever i tell ppl about it they assume im making a chinese orange chicken type dish..nooope)! anyway, i learned how to make it from my spanish mama (the woman i lived with when i was there last year), except she made it with chicken (and so did i until i stopped eating meat)...so you can substitute the tofu with 2-3 chicken breasts, if you want, but my recipe is with tofu, obvi! anyway, this was a definite favorite of ours in spain...we ate it all the time! its cheap, easy, fast, and freezes well too!! alright here we gooooo:

Almond-Orange Tofu
serves 3-4

-Ingredients-
1 block firm tofu
2 small onions (or one large)
~7-10 unsalted almonds
~5-6 cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like it)
juice from 3 oranges
salt
olive oil

-Materials-
med-large pot with lid
knife
cutting board
paper towels (to get moisture out of tofu)

-Directions-
1. cut tofu in 1/2 inch slices the long way and then cut each of those in half so you have squares (shape doesnt really matter--you can also keep them big). then spread out evenly over paper towel and put paper towels on top and press out some of the moisture. i let my tofu sit with a heavy pot on top for about 15 mins to get as much moisture out as i could (changing the paper towels once or twice).
2. while you are waiting for your tofu to be ready, you can prepare the other ingredients. onions-slice the onion in half, then into thin slices (so they arent rings, they are half rings). garlic-finely chop the garlic (or you can use a garlic press). almonds-smash or cut the almonds into small pieces. oranges-slice in half.
3. salt both sides of the tofu and fry it (high heat) with a little olive oil (you can do this right in the pot or in a separate frying pan). if you are using chicken, you just want to brown it, not cook it. with the tofu, its just a fast high heat fry to get the outside a little brown and crispy.
4. remove tofu from pan and set aside.
5. coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil (maybe a couple teaspoons?) and add the onions, garlic, and almonds AND a pinch or two of salt (i am not a huge salt fan, but mine was lacking because i didnt do this!!). slowly cook over medium heat until the onions are soft (not brown).
6. once the onions are nice and soft, squeeze the juice of the three oranges into the pot. turn up the heat and let bubble for about 5 minutes.
7. add the tofu, give it a stir, then turn down the heat and put the lid on the pot. let simmer for about 15-30 mins so that the tofu can really take in the flavors.
8. i just serve it by itself with a veggie on the side, but you can also serve it over rice!

ENJOY!!

1 comment:

  1. mmm thanks for the good recipe! i want to say i will try this but i am pretty lazy soooooo im not sure that it will actually happen. but if i have all these ingredients i will definitely for sure make it. or do you want to come to LA and make it for me?!?! lets do that one...

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