Sweet and Sour tofu and rice

I have several recipes to share. I got behind on blogging with lambing/kidding started now, time to myself is hard to find. It's hard to find normally but lately, I'm too tired for much else than critters and the basics.

So I'll just start posting as I can, maybe I'll get a few posted today... Starting with one of the quickest, easiest, yummiest dishes. Even if you are not a lover or tofu, or are cooking for someone who is not, I think this might be the way to get a little tofu into your diet. Tofu really does not have a taste, it takes on well the taste of whatever you cook it in or with. I think most people don't have a problem with the taste of tofu in dishes, but some people have a problem with the texture. I ate a lot of tofu in my lifetime, I was vegetarian for nearly 10 years and more than half of that I was vegan.

I still like tofu and I like cooking vegetarian dishes. And if I can get Kevin to enjoy tofu in this dish, I think a lot of people that might not think they will like it, will :)

So you need:

1 pkg FIRM tofu
Cornstarch
Olive oil
1 can pineapple chunks (reserve juice)
1/4 cup juice from the canned pineapple
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks

Optional, white or brown rice. I use Jasmine.

I always double the sauce recipe and personally I use yellow and orange bell peppers because they are my favorites, but you could easily use red or green, or whatever mixture you like. Use them all!

For the tofu:



Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towel. Then cut the tofu into small cubes. Toss them all in a large ziplock bag with some cornstarch, say about a cup, or however much you need to coat all the tofu cubes well with cornstarch.

Heat your olive oil in a frying pan, add enough to just barely cover the tofu. I never use the same amount and you are not completely covering the tofu like if you were frying them. Just add enough to coat the pan well.

Take your tofu cubes out of the bag and get all the excess cornstarch off them. Put an even layer in the frying pan, so they are all on the oil, you might have to do two batches. Brown on both sides of the tofu, this only takes a few minutes on each side. Until they are brown and crunchy, but just light bright, not dark or overcooked.

Put them on a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Now toss your peppers in a pan with some oil and let them get a little tender, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile mix your pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl. Toss your pineapple into the pan with the peppers and if you like, let it brown a little. Pour in the sauce and cook until it's thickened up a little bit and hot, only a few minutes.

If you mix the tofu in it will become soggy fairly quickly so I wait until I am ready to serve it and just put the tofu on top.



I pour the sauce over rice and top with tofu. It's really quite yummy! I use this as an alternative to chicken or pork, but with the same sauce recipe, this works for both of those as well.