Tinolang Tofu

Private client canceled the session this morning so I slept in. When I woke up, I wanted to practice but then felt too lazy so I came online to check my messages. After my previous post, I guess the "Cook" in me simply didn't want to be "stilled" thus craving to prepare something for lunch. Or maybe I was just craving for Sinigang (hot and sour tamarind soup)

I went to Trinoma to buy ingredients for Sinigang but changed my mind and bought stuffs for Tinola instead. I thought if I buy ingredients for Sinigang, I will need to store more vegetables in the fridge as I only need a few. There were 4 pieces of eggplant, a bunch of string beans, tomatoes, etc, in my shopping basket, and thought I'd only need a few from those. That's the disadvantage of shopping in the supermarket, you can't buy "tingi" (like a piece or two only).

So, I removed everything and started picking ingredients for the Tinola. Tofu 4 small blocks, dahon ng sili (Philippine chili leaves), small green papaya, ginger, onion, spring onion. I have 2 pieces of fake tuna slices left in the fridge (I get it from Likha Diwa, a healthy vegetarian friendly cafe in Krus na Ligas, UP Diliman), so I thought that would make the Tinola a little bit more interesting. Oh, and organic red rice (I'm Pinoy so I have to eat something with rice just like my Thai and Saudi brothers and sisters ;-) ).

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, chopped.
a handful or less of red onion, chopped
same amount of ginger or more, chopped
green papaya, sliced, about 3 cups
2 smal squares of hard tofu, sliced (plus the 2 pieces of fake tuna steak - it's wrapped in nori so I suppose you can add nori or wrap the tofu in nori then fry it before adding it to the soup)
a handful or more of dahon ng sili
spring onions, chopped
dash of red chili powder (you can use fresh green chili if you prefer. Didn't bother buying because I'd only need one and I need to buy the whole pack)
a teaspoon of brown sugar
salt to taste
water
oil for sauteeing

Saute garlic, onion and ginger in the oil until fragrant. Add the papaya and stir well. Add water, about 4-5 cups and bring to boil. When the papaya is soft, add the tofu and fake tuna. Season with the spring onion, red chili powder, brown sugar, salt. I had to add a little bit more ginger. Bring to boil then remove heat. Add the chili leaves, cover for a minute to allow the heat to wilt it. Serve with steamed red rice and soy sauce with calamansi for dipping.

Enjoy.