Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Soyful

Sweet and Sour Tofu Burger

_DSC3064Tofu burger sounds vegetarian, right? but not so with this recipe. The 4 pack Organic Tofu was on sale at Costco. The word ‘organic’ is over used lately I think. It’s true that organic resonates ‘healthier’ but really? _DSC3025

My tofu repertory is rather limited and perhaps boring. After I used tofu in hot pot (鍋料理) and mapo-tofu (麻婆豆腐), its expiration date is fast approaching. I dig into treasure chest… I mean storage box (I sometimes like low-tech search) and there I found this recipe that calls for ingredients I already have. Lucky! The bed of vegetables could be optional yet it completes the dish. I highly recommend that you include it in the circle.

Ingredients and Instructions for 6, 3 inch diameter burgers (Print Recipe Here)

For Tofu burger

  • 1 package of medium firm tofu
  • Ground pork 1/2 pound
  • 2 stalks of green onion finely minced
  • Ginger finely minced 1 Tablespoon
  • Sesame oil 2 teaspoons
  • Salt and pepper 

For Seasoning sauce – adjust as needed

  • Water 1 cup
  • Chinese chicken soup granules or Japanese dashi base 1 teaspoon
  • Tomato ketchup 1/4 cup
  • Rice vinegar 3 Tablespoons
  • Sugar 2 teaspoons
  • Potato starch or cornstarch 2 teaspoons

For vegetable

  • Bean sprouts 1 bag or 2 cups
  • Green onion or garlic chives 2-3 stalks cut green part only in 2 inches length.
  • Bok Choy (optional) 1-2 Separate and cut in half length wise.
  • Salt and pepper (I recommend white pepper)

Vegetable oil 2 Tablespoons

  1. Remove water from tofu – Lay 2 sheets of paper towels onto shallow microwave safe dish. Tear off tofu by hand and put on the top. Microwave for 2 minutes at 60% power. Bring the four corners of the paper towel together and squeeze (careful, it may still be hot) above a dish to catch the drippings, ensure that most of the liquid from tofu is removed, discard liquid. Leave tofu on a new sheet of paper towels till needed._DSC3027 
  2. Mix ground pork with the salt and pepper until the pork is pasty. Add minced green onion, ginger, prepared tofu, sesame oil in a large bowl and mix well. Divide in 6ths or 12ths and make patties or balls. Set aside._DSC3045
  3. Make season sauce– Pour water in a bowl or large measuring cup. Dissolve Chinese chicken soup granules or Japanese dashi base. Add rest of the season mix ingredients except cornstarch then mix well. Pour about 1/4 cup of the just prepared seasoning sauce into a small bowl and dissolve potato starch or cornstarch. Put the starch mix back into the seasoning mix bowl. Set aside._DSC3049
  4. Bedding vegetable - Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan at high temperature. Sauté the bean sprouts, green onion (or garlic chives) and bok choy until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large platter.
  5. Wipe the same frying pan with paper towel. Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil at medium heat. Lay the patties in and brown about 3 minutes. Turn over to brown other side about 3 minutes or until golden brown.
  6. Stir the seasoning sauce once again and pour over the patties. Cook until the liquids get thicker and patties are coated._DSC3052
  7. Put the patties over the vegetables on the platter. Spoon remaining seasoning liquid over the patties. Serve hot._DSC3074

Fancy Chocolate Kefir Sourdough Waffles showed up one morning. My husband’s two day project. He loves homemade fermented kefir. _DSC3192

After my husband mowed the lawn last Saturday, he took a number of “Signs of Spring” pictures. This is my fav pic, Star Magnolia. _DSC3167Our back yard vegetable garden – forgotten kale plants and noxious weeds._DSC3143IMG_1020

I hope you’re having a great Spring Break. I wish I’m somewhere I can hear my grandkids whining.

24 comments:

  1. Wow! The photos are screaming the word... "Spring!!!" to me!

    We are seeing grey and brown now... Sad :( Yeah... I need to eat some of your soyful patties to be joyful :D

    Zoe

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    1. Thank you Zoe. I always wonder,,,What is fall and winter like in Australia?

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  2. Se ve muy sabroso y saludable me encanta,feliz primavera ,abrazos:)

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  3. Your spring season is beautiful! We also got lots of those same purple flowering noxious weeds in the garden...they attract hundreds of whining bees...I mean, buzzing bees! Would you think its a good idea to get the grandkids over and let their mum have a great spring break too:)

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    1. Ha ha ha. I like your idea! Why I didn't think of that. Thank you so much for your comment. I hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday!

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  4. Lovely burgers, Nipponnin! I like tofu burgers a lot but make them with ground chicken meat, so that the final result is not dry. I have never tried it with pork. It sounds like an excellent idea.
    Lucky you to have a garden! Even the weeds look beautiful!
    As someone who buys the majority of her food with organic label, I can tell you it is definitely worth it (if there is an official label of course): "organic" means the plants haven't been sprayed "preventively" with chemical pesticides all year round, neither during growth nor for the transportation nor for the shop stockage, so it is always healthier and kinder to the earth.

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    1. Thank you very much for your comment Sissi! I love your asparagus recipe(s).

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  5. Ohhh so beautiful food and spring pictures! Makes me *sigh*.

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    1. Thank you Jalna. Good luck with your kanji study.

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  6. Replies
    1. Thank you my lady. Your review on books are very helpful.Thank you very much.

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  7. My son, after watching Kung Fu Panda has become a huge fan of tofu! I am keeping these to make them for him!

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    1. Thank you Katarina. Ha ha ha. I love the movie too.

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  8. This looks fantastic and something I could easily try.

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    1. Thank you so much. I truly enjoyed your Tokyo post! And thank you for the information.

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  9. こんにちは。美しい花が咲きましたね。とても綺麗です。お問い合わせの件メールで返信しましたが、着きましたか、もし着きませんでしたら、何所に書きましたらよろしいでしょうか。

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    1. コメントありがとうございます。九州の旅のポストとても楽しめました。今度はどこだろうと期待して、わくわく感が増大します。

      連絡してくださって、本当に感謝しています。

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  10. 息子が私の子供の頃と似ていて、かみ砕いて飲み込むのがとっても時間がかかるので、実は豆腐ハンバーグをよくお弁当に入れています(ついこの間似たようなレシピのビデオを作ったとこです)。明美さんのたれ、おいしそうですね。これは是非作ってみたいです。マグノリアの木、羨ましい!きれいですよね・・・・。いいなぁ!

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    1. なみちゃん、コメントありがとっす。 あれ、そのビデオ見てみたいわ。本当に頑張り屋さんだから、見習うことがたくさん、かなり尊敬してます。

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  11. The only tofu I can enjoy is either silken or this Japanese stuff which is kind of... I dunno, "grilled" or "fried" on the outside, and the inside is all creamy. Not sure what it's called, but I could eat it every day if it was possible. Regular tofu I just don't bother with at all because I always find it so boring and bland, but mixed with something else would be fine (since it would hide the tofu-ness!)

    Lovely blossom photos! Enjoy your spring!

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    1. Thank you Charles. Your comment always give me smile and laugh. I enjoy your sense of humor.

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  12. A wonderful idea and recipe! These tofu patties are great.

    Happy spring!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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