Last night we shared a meal with the Nerd’s mom. We all had General Tao’s Tofu. I found the recipe on Vegweb. I like to look at Vegweb.com for recipes because I like to limit the meat intake in our diets. Many people feel a need to consume meat at every meal, or at least at dinner every night.
Well, we prefer not to. I know that eating in this way will help our planet and our bodies.
I’ve explained before how eating less meat is good for our planet, but I haven’t fully discussed why it’s good for our bodies.
I’ve had family members with high cholesterol, and there are a fair number of prescription drugs for lowering cholesterol. A change in diet would certainly help this problem.
Plant foods contain no cholesterol, but animal products do. Cow’s milk has cholesterol, cheese, meats, eggs, etc. Animal products also have high levels of saturated fats, and not the good kinds(mono- and poly- unsaturated fats).
By eating fewer animal products, we are lowering our consumption of cholesterol and saturated fats.
But, it’s not just for the health benefits or planetary benefits that I dine vegetarian a few times a week. I also eat vegetarian meals because they taste good.
Last night’s meal earned a 4 out of 5 on the Nerd’s rating scale. It’s tasty, comforting, and better than Panda.
When you’re gluten-free, eating chinese food out is quite difficult but making it at home is simple.
This recipe for General Tao’s Tofu is simple and scrumptious. Try it.
General Tao’s Tofu
adapted from a recipe by rubybean77
from vegweb.com
1 cup of cooked brown rice
1 box of firm tofu (not silken)
1 egg
2 Tablespoons water
3/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 Tablespoon minced ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons Bragg’s
4 Tablespoons sugar
Crushed red pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon sherry (optional)
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
Pat the tofu dry and slice into one inch cubes.
Whisk together the egg and water in a large bowl.
Toss the tofu with the egg wash. Drain off the egg wash, and sprinkle the cornstarch over the tofu. Lightly toss he tofu in the cornstarch, don’t mush it up as best as you can. If it gets slightly mushy, you can break it up while it’s frying. (Leaving it square makes the tofu look less like “chicken”.)
Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Carefully add in the tofu, and let it brown. When it begins to brown and crisp, turn it all over. Here’s your chance to break it up into small pieces of more meat like pieces. Careful to not let it burn.
In a medium saucepan heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium heat.
Into the saucepan add the onion, ginger, and garlic. Let the onions get translucent and shiny, but don’t burn the garlic.
Pour in the vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper, and rice vinegar. Mix it all very well.
Just before you’re ready to serve, mix together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Add it to the sauce mixture.
Finally, place the fried tofu into the saucepan with the sauce mixture and coat the tofu well.
Serve the coated tofu over rice.
