08.09.11_Spicy Lemongrass Tofu

Everyday I check my Google Reader to keep up with all the different blogs that I read. I recently added foodgawker to my RSS feed just for recipe ideas and because I like reading food blogs. When we decided to go vegetarian I started to keep an eye out for any meat-free recipes. The way foodgawker is set up is that it just shows the name and the picture of a recipe and when you click on it, it takes you to someone else's blog. I came across this delicious looking picture of tofu so I decided to check it out. I looked at the recipe and it could not have seemed simpler as it consisted of 6 whole ingredients. All the recipe called for was firm tofu, chili pasta, lemongrass, oil (for cooking the tofu), sesame seeds for garnish, and salt to taste. Super simple.

Since the recipe specified firm tofu I knew which kind to buy this time and did not have a repeat experience in Whole Foods while deciding which firmness to buy. I will say that I prefer the extra firm, at least for sauteing. When you have 30 little cubes of tofu that you are trying to lather a chili paste onto and then cook in a saute pain I found that the firm tofu crumbled easier than the extra firm. I did not really taste a difference or feel a difference in texture while eating the tofu but I definitely found the extra firm easier to work with.

The recipe was just as easy as it sounded. I wasn't sure how exactly to spread the paste onto the tofu since it was so thick and I could not just pour it over the tofu like a sauce. I ended up just using my hands to toss it all together to make sure it was evenly coated over the tofu.

Per usual, I made a few modifications to the recipe. We doubled the amount of tofu (since we wanted leftovers) so I used 5 Tbs of the chili paste but did not increase the amount of lemongrass. It still seemed like more than enough lemongrass and I could definitely still taste it. I also decided to add some broccoli to the dish. I'm not sure if this ruins the integrity of this Singaporean dish but I felt like just tofu and rice for dinner was lacking on the vegetable part of being vegetarian. I also thought a green vegetable would be a nice addition visually.

On another note, I did not find this dish to be spicy. Considering we used an entire jar of chili paste you would think that it would have been hot but it was a very mild heat and tasted more sweet to me than anything. I think if I were to make it again I would consider adding either just some red chili flakes or possible some Sriracha sauce into the mix to add a little extra kick. Overall a successful dish so thank you Hot From My Oven for this great tofu recipe!