Bento: tofu, and noodles, and kiwi, oh my!

bento

Originally uploaded by mosli

Two delicious bentos for two different people, all tied up in one photo! Its like a two for one, only better. And, my lunch was the best because of the tofu. After experimenting, i made grilled honey terriyaki tofu to great success at dinner, and it was even better with my soba. I used the same marinade/sauce chicken for D, but even he agreed the tofu was superior (score!).

In the yellow bento (my lunch) are soba noodles with sauce container, honey terriyaki grilled tofu, edamame, grapes, pomagranate arils, and kiwi slices. In the blue bento (D’s snack pack) are soba noodles with sauce container, veggie gyoza, grapes, pomagranate arils, and kiwi stars.

 

Honey Terriyaki Marinade/Sauce

• 1/2 cup terriyaki sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp grated ginger

mix together. marinate for at least ten minutes. cook. yummy

Mango Tofu

mangotofu

Originally uploaded by mosli

ok, I completely made this up. I had a mango. I had a block of tofu. I combined them. Voila – something I had very little faith in actually ended up tasting pretty damn good. Go figure. I’ll definately make this again, and you can bet it’ll be lunch tomorrow!

 

Mango Tofu

• 1 block drained firm tofu
• 1 mango, peeled and cut into strips
• 1 broccoli crown, cut into florettes
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp chili sauce
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 tbsp finely minced garlic
• 2 tbsp finely minced ginger

Cook tofu by steaming the the steamerbasket for your rice cooker while steaming rice, or by pan frying until golden. In a small bowl or mug, combine cornstarch, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, chili sauce and hot water, then set aside. In a warm pan heat 1 tbsp oil and add garlic and ginger, cooking until fragrant. Add tofu, broccoli, and mango and stir fry for about 3 minutes. Add sauce mixture and stir until everything is well coated. Cover and let simmer on low for five minutes or so, until sauce has thickened a little. Serve over rice.

Bento: simmered tofu and tomato salad

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Originally uploaded by mosli

 

Isn’t my new furoshiki cute? The bananas go so great with my bento, and who doesn’t like bunnies dressed up like monkeys! I love using these to keep my whole lunch together in one bundle, prevent spillage, and they’re environmentally friendly alternative to paper lunch bags!

Lately I’ve been enjoying cooking tofu in a variety of ways. Here in the lower teir of my bento is simmered terriyaki tofu, steamed broccoli, edamame, and tomato salad.  This tofu is full of flavour, salty and savory, and has a nice firm texture. Its almost like a little protein cutlet and I usually have it over hot, fresh rice with steamed or stir-fry vegetables. The trick, like always, is draining the tofu really well. Excess moisture is not a friend.

 

Simmered Terriyaki Tofu

• 1 block drained tofu, cut into 1/4 or thicker slices.
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 inch ginger, grated or finely minced
• 1/4 cup terriyaki sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp rice vinnegar

In a greased pan cook tofu slices on medium-high heat until light golden brown on both sides. In a bowl mix remaining ingredients. Poor mixture over tofu slices and simmer until liquid has been nearly absorbed by tofu, turning occasionally to prevent burning.  Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

Bento: Thai tofu and playing with my food

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Originally uploaded by mosli

I don’t know why so many people seem to be afraid of tofu. Just mentioning the name I get skeptical looks and the parroted line about it being tasteless (usually from people who’ve never tried it). Its like they believe that every package of soy bean curd should come with the old poison control center “Mr. Yuck” sticker on the outside. Really people, its not that bad. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and give it a try – tofu is yummy!

Tofu can become almost anything you want it to. Because it doesn’t have a strong flavour of its own, it can take on that of what its cooked in. My favourite way is to pan fry it until a light golden brown and toss it in a nice spicy curry sauce.  Here in the top tier of my bento is a Thai green curry with tofu and vegetables, hard boiled egg, and grape tomatoes. In the bottom tier are orange segments, dates, and dried cranberries. I’ve taken lately to putting a lot of little foods I can eat with my fingers in my bento. Ok, I admit it, its a reason to playu with my food!

Bento: Vegan Tofu Yummy

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Originally uploaded by mosli

I made some oven baked barbeque tofu this week, and had pleanty left over for lunch. I usually dont’ oven bake tofu because I find the texture to be a little soft. But if its drained very well, and baked for long enough (at least 1/2 hour) it works just fine. I’m very picky about barbeque sauce, because i’m not a big fan of it. I find that they can be very over powering. This one with Guinness flavour wasn’t too bad (or maybe that’s because I didn’t put a whole lot on).

In the bottom tier is pineapple and grapes. In the top tier are chili carrots, grape tomatoes, and left over barbeque tofu, cut into bite size pieces.