We’ve been coming out of Holiday Season mourning and have been focusing on the upcoming Valentine’s festivities.
Our kids love to eat some different things (quinoa, olives, squid and tofu are at the top of the list) and we are often seen playing with our food in this house.
So, we made tofu heart puzzles tonight to eat. It just so happens that my younger sister published my mother’s spicy tofu recipe on her own DC-based OH MY GOFF blog recently.
Here’s how you can do it for and with your kids, too- with a little Valentine’s Day twist.
1) Start with a block of firm or extra firm tofu.
2) Cut into 1/4 inch slices and pat both sides dry.
3) Use a small heart shaped cookie cutter to remove a heart from each rectangle.
4) Heat a TBSP of oil (I used grapeseed) and cook the tofu on both sides over low to medium heat for 7 minutes or until the bottom browns. Gently flip the hearts and heart cut-outs over and cook for another 7 minutes until browned.
5) To make a sauce, add 2 tsp of soy sauce, 1/4 tsp of sesame oil, 1/4 tsp of rice wine vinegar, and a sprinkle of sugar. Mix.
***Serving Suggestion: Serve with some rice (here white short-grain sticky rice topped with black sesame seeds) and raw vegetables to dip.***
The kids love to help make this dish and they love eating and playing with the puzzle, too!
AND FOR THE ADULTS IN THE HOUSE…..
You can spice it up with a great spicy sauce that my sister published using my mother’s recipe. We were out of green onions). But, it still came out tasty.
At least to me and the kids.
My husband doesn’t do tofu.
But he knows we love him.
The chili-pepper-soy-sauce tofu heart cut-out tells him so.
Yum!!!! What a great idea Tricia… gonna post mom’s debut on NBC4 soon… so cute! miss you!
I’m glad you liked it, Ang! I was totally inspired by your post and love mom’s spicy sauce recipe! It would be good on fish or chicken, too!
This looks pretty yummy and cute too! I’ve never tried tofu, it’s always been on my list of things to try. I think I’ve been inspired to give it a go!!
Aleacia- We love tofu- but we grew up with it. My husband just hates the stuff. He can’t get past the texture. But, it really reminds me alot of sliced polenta. So, if you can handle polenta, I think you could handle tofu. The flavor is so mild, it really takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in or with….Good luck!
I don’t do tofu either, so sadly my kids will never try this unless you give it to them some day. There are a few foods like that (hubby and I both don’t like so I never make). Do you have foods you don’t like so your kids have never tried? If so, what are they?
Lisa- There isn’t much I dislike. Catfish, mayonnaise and ketchup are the biggies. But I’ll use mayonaisse and ketchup in some sauces, still. If your kids come over, I can sneak some to them. haha!
This is adorable and looks delicious.
My kids, too, love some foods that make other people do a double-take. (Picture my son at three years old saying things like “Yum spinach!” in the grocery store.)
But I haven’t tried tofu with them. Right now, they’re both kind of in a “meh” stage with chicken, beef, pork, fish – basically most proteins.
So I should try this. I’m a little lazy when it comes to cute shapes and food.
But I just might have to put on my Mom hat and go for it.
That, or order pizza. Hmmmm….
Julie- You could order a pizza topped with tofu.
Maybe in California they’d do that, bot not here in Texas. It’s hard for me to get protein into my own kids, too!
Now that’s a good way to eat extra firm tofu – I’ll have to find an easy “boyish” shape for them, though…maybe a flashlight. Will have to try your mom’s spicy sauce. It looks Deee-licious!
Nami-
I knew you’d be receptive to it. The sauce is even better if you have the scallions chopped on top.
MTM loves him some tofu. Why am I always finding ideas for him on this blog? This would be such a creative surprise for him, and the recipes are wonderful.
Andra- Sounds like we need a play date! haha!
I’m with your husband on this one. Those look cute, but tofu is super-gross.
Oh- we LOVE tofu in this house. But we grew up with it- I bet I could convert you, Bridget.
Looks tasty, Tricia, but I just can’t do tofu. Tried it many times, but just a strange texture.
If you can do polenta, Mike- you can do tofu!
We are total tofu noobs at my house, and my kids (who also love olives, feta, cous cous and chickpeas) are very averse to trying new things. But this looks like so much fun! And simple enough that my bigger kids could be in charge of most of the preparation and cooking. We’ll give it a try
Desi- I think you guys would like it- Like I tell everyone- if you can eat polenta, you can eat tofu!
I only ever ate tofu in Japan but this looks interesting. I bet the spicy sauce might just sell this for me! Okay, send some over Trish!
Ava- I thought they did tofu in the Phillippines…. hmmm? I’m not up on Phillippino food! Definitely try it with the sauce- I think the sauce is the best part.
That’s really cute! We like tofu, but I don’t make a lot of it usually. I’ll have to give this a try. The last two sentences cracked me up, by the way. Lol
Joyce- I’m impressed you eat tofu- so many Americans fear it. haha! There are so many variations and textures- the extra firm is the easiest to work with- but I use the very soft, silky stuff for soups- it kind of gives a creamy texture that is nice. Thanks for the comment on the last two sentences- I didn’t think I could pretend my whole family was on board- that would have been dishonest. The only thing more honest would have been posting a pic of my husband’s face when I put it in front of him.
Ooh, looks yummy! My fave thing about this post is all the comments. Reminds of a women’s magazine article I read where they said, “Guess what? Not only is bamboo a great sustainable material for clothes and furniture, but you can eat it, too!” It never occurred to me that people don’t eat bamboo or that they had no idea you could eat it. It’s interesting when you realize the contrast between your world and norm and what’s going on around you. I had no idea tofu was strange!
I’ve never tried bamboo, Chrissy- That’s a new one! It always shocks me that people don’t like tofu- We LOVE it! Cool that you guys eat it, too!
Eating bamboo as in bamboo shoots? I didn’t know those were strange/unknown to people either! I have been eating them since I was a kid (in Iowa). Tofu, too, and my 18-month-old loves it.
Bamboo shoots are delicious!!!! Good for you, Margaret- You are in the rare world of tofu lovers!
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I too am a big fan of tofu and so is my son who is a vegetarian like me. I have just started writing again after teaching for 12 years and my blog is called “Tofu-Hearted Mother”!! So I put your little recipe on my blog. Thanks!!
What a fabulous blog name! I love it! Thanks so much for the comment and for featuring the recipe on your blog!