General Tso's Tofu

Do you have a vegetarian girlfriend / boyfriend / housemate / wife / husband / kid / dog (oops. not dog. carried away.) that you have to cook for?

I don't. But I still had a block of tofu in my fridge. Hence: this, adapted from "The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch" blog (I... hm. I was going to comment about that title, but I stopped myself in time.)

This recipe is brilliant. Because what is wrong with tofu? Right! It is a little too healthy. (Tofu, you overachiever.) And what is wrong with General Tso's Chicken? Right again! It is most def not healthy enough. (yeah, yeah, General Tso purists... your arteries will thank me later.)

Oh, also, it is delicious.

Ingredients:

- 1 brick extra firm tofu
- 3-4 tbsp. cornstarch
- canola oil

- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 3 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 3 tbsp. rice vinegar (or reg. white vinegar)
- 3 tbsp. ketchup
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/2 c. water
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2-3 scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh, grated ginger
- hot pepper flakes
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

First, squeeze the extra water out of your tofu by putting it on a plate between some layers of paper towel and putting a heavy pan on top of it. Let it sit for about 30 minutes while you do other stuff.

Combine 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the brown sugar, hoisin, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and water and set it aside.

To fry the tofu (after the excess water is squeezed out), cut the tofu into cube-y, rectangle-y pieces, coat each piece lightly with cornstarch, and then fry the pieces until golden and crispy in a shallow pan with some canola oil. Put the fried tofu aside and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.

Make the sauce - saute the garlic and the white parts of the scallion in the sesame oil for 1 minute, then add the sauce mixture. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer it for a couple minutes until it thickens. Toss the tofu with the sauce and --- presto! Nom! (Top the dish with the green scallion bits, hot pepper flakes to taste, and nom the tofu with white rice.)