Sunday, October 31, 2010

Tofu With Chinese Long Beans and Garlic

This is such a simple, fast meal that you can put it together easily for a hurried weeknight meal. And, it's not so many ingredients that picky children (who, my blessings?) will turn their noses up at it.


Tofu With Chinese Long Beans and Garlic

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. of canola oil
2 pkgs of extra-firm tofu, drained of water
1 bunch of Chinese long beans, ends trimmed
5 cloves of garlic, sliced in rounds
Soy Sauce to taste (Tamari for wheat-free folks)

Directions:

Turn the tofu on its side, and slice it into four big slices. Lay it down in its normal position and cut it into triangles: one big "x" down the center of the whole block, then a "+" over it as well. (I will remember to post a picture of this one day.) Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Carefully put in the tofu, and begin to brown it. Stir occasionally so it doesn't burn. Meanwhile, in a medium pot bring several cups of water to a boil. Cut the Chinese long beans into three inch strips. When the water is boiling, carefully put in the long beans and blanch for three minutes. Drain in sink. When the tofu has begun to brown, in about ten minutes, add the long beans. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the garlic. Let cook over medium heat for about three to five minutes. Splash some soy sauce over it all, as much or as little to your taste, and serve immediately. Good and tasty. Feeds five hungry vegans.

14 comments:

  1. Ouch! This post gave me a hunger pain! And I have no Chinese long beans in the house.

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  2. My favorite kind of dinner is a simple meal like this. And you know I like long beans. Bring back summer, please!

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  3. Oh, S.V., run out, girl, run out right now and get some!

    Andrea, I know, I remember commenting on your post. Fortunately, I was able to find some long beans recently just for this dish. I love simplicity too.

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  4. I have a pound of firm tofu in my fridge right now and I was hoping to cook it up tomorrow, but I am not understanding how to cut it. Need that picture!

    This sounds really yummy, but lots of garlic, at first I thought the garlic was water chestnuts!

    Do you serve this with rice?

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  5. I agree, sticking to a few good ingredients allows you to enjoy the flavors of each and makes for a really delicious meal. It's great that it's so quick too. I've never tried Chinese long beans...I definitely have to. Thanks for the cool tofu-chunking technique too!

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  6. Nice meal, and it looks so delicious!!!!

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  7. Hi, Everyone!

    Michelle, simple is best sometimes. :-)

    Brenda, Don't get caught up in how to cut it. As long as you don't eat the whole block in one big bite you'll be just fine. :-) I got real lucky with the garlic and had five huge cloves of it! You can serve this with any grain you like. We like to vary between brown rice, quinoa, millet and even pasta.

    Rose, the only time I used to have long beans was in restaurants. Sometimes, I think, people think, "Oh, that's food for a restaurant, and then I have food for home." I'm trying to break free from that. Not that that's what yo're doing, just me.

    Mille, Thank you. :-)

    Thank you, Pet! :-)

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  8. This post made me really hungry. :) I love the simple ingredient list - nothing fancy or hard-to-find, yet the end result looks delicious!

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  9. Thanks, Seglare. It was tasty too! :-)

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  10. This looks so good! I could just use French beans, couldn't I?

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  11. Well, if you must mix French and Chinese, I guess you could, Penny! :-)

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  12. Oh, we're very eclectic in our tastes! :) We've been known to have pitta bread with curry if we've no chapattis or naans!

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