Meatless Monday - crumbed tofu with French onion apricot sauce

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Back in the day, I loved myself a bit of Apricot Chicken. Not with the big chunks of apricot, but a bastardised version of chicken bits, maybe some onions, a packet of French Onion Soup mix and a can of apricot nectar.

Sometimes I branched out and got a packet mix and added the required things to it, but to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference.

Nowadays I miss sauces like this one, and diane sauce and things, but I just invent new ways of eating them instead of on chicken or steak. I would normally have done this dish with a chicken substitute, but in the interests of broadening my tofu horizons to see if I like it and could eat it more regularly, I gave this one a whirl. 

And I LIKED IT.

I did, I did! I normally like tofu bits if they're crumbed/breaded so they're a bit crispy and not just some wobbly white thing in my food. I'm getting there... slowly.

Serves 2-3 (but feel free to double or triple, it's very easy)

Ingredients:
1 block firm tofu
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 egg, beaten
breadcrumbs
1 400ml can apricot nectar
1 packet French Onion Soup mix

Directions:

1. Mix the apricot nectar and French Onion Soup mix.

2. Chop tofu into cubes or strips and marinate an hour or so in the apricot soup mix.

3. Dip the cubes first into egg, then into breadcrumbs and set aside.

4. Fry the onion in a little oil until soft.

5. You can either fry the tofu alongside the onion, or bake in the oven.

6. To the onion (take the tofu out if you've cooked it alongside), add the apricot soup mix and bring to a boil. When the sauce is slightly thickened (you might want to use a little cornflour if you like it thicker), it is ready.

7. On some rice, place a good helping of crispy tofu. Pour over the sauce and serve with some steamed veg.

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General Tso's Tofu

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My poor camera. The screen won't come on, so I can't choose my manual functions, which means I can't turn off the flash, and I can't see the photo after I've taken it. It's like living in 1988!

Therefore you have to see this wonderful dish all flash-y and yuck. But the food... it is anything but.

I still can't believe I ate tofu AND brown rice in one meal and I didn't die. In fact... I loved it. This sauce is the best.

I'm really, really sad there is none in my house right now.

I'm not crying. I have something in my eye.

Ingredients
1 block firm tofu, drained and pressed. You can even freeze it overnight, and it changes the texture.
1 egg, beaten (or egg replacer, if you want vegan)
3/4 cup cornflour
vegetable oil
3 chopped green onions
1 tbs minced ginger
1 tbs minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
2/3 cup vegetable stock
4 tbs soy sauce
4 tbs brown sugar
red pepper flakes
1 tbs dry sherry
1 tbs white vinegar
steamed broccoli

Directions:

1. Drain and squeeze tofu and cut into dice.

2. Marinate it for as long as you desire in a mixture of green onions, ginger, garlic, stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, pepper flakes, sherry and white vinegar.

3. Remove tofu from marinade with slotted spoon and toss tofu with egg/egg replacer to coat.

4. Sprinkle cornflour over and toss to coat.

5. Heat oil in pan and dry tofu pieces until golden. Set aside.

6. Remove garlic, ginger and green onion (or as much of it as possible) from the marinade with a slotted spoon, and fry in oil a minute or two. Add the rest of marinade mixture and return tofu to the pan.

7. Mix 2 tbs water with 1 tbs cornflour and pour into sauce, stirring constantly until slightly thickened and everything is heated through.

8. Add broccoli and serve over rice.

Adapted from here.