Bbq Tofu Salad with Chinese Sesame-Soy Dressing

Dinner the other night... Bought ready-to-eat mixed greens from the supermarket, bbq tofu, and McCormick Chinese dressing.

UP Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs shares tofu recipe

Tofu with Chinese Celery by VC Grace Gregorio.

INQUIRER.net VDO - Inquirer.net

 

 Watch the UP Pep Squad Concert: Elevate 10 on February 26, 2010. 3pm and 7pm.  Tickets @ 100php only.

Tofu & Black Bean Tacos

Photo and recipe from wholefoodsmarket.com. Thanks for the link, M.

Physical activity for the day:
Total walking steps - 12572
Total aerobic steps - 3609
Total min in aerobic steps - 34 min
Energy expended walking - 337 kcal
Fat lost - 19.2g

Pranayama for 30 min then taught a Mysore-class for 2 hours. 2 hr 30 min of activity not included in that total steps. The rest of the day, I was using the pedometer.

Tofu & Stif Fried Veggies with Fresh Ginger

This is how the previous dish would look like if I didn't mix it with rice and noodles. The tofu is supposed to be adobo but I just marinated it the night before so the flavor hasn't sipped into the bean curd yet. This was lunch last Tuesday.

And what should I make this rainy Thursday? Maybe a simple oatmeal soup will do.

Stir Fried Mixed Veggies with Fresh Ginger

The secret to this recipe is to add the grated fresh ginger just before serving.

Ingredients
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp carrots, julienned
A handful or two of mixed veggies (I used snow peas, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, fresh button and shitake mushrooms, baby corn, bokchoy)
A handful of fried tofu cubes
1 tsp chili garlic paste
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetarian mushroom sauce
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp oil used in frying the tofu

In the oil, quickly fry the tomato, onion, garlic, chili-garlic paste and carrots until fragrant. Add the mixed vegetables and stir fry for a minute or two. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and return to heat. Stir fry for a minute. Add the freshly grated ginger, mix well and turn off heat. Serve with steamed organic red rice.

Because I already cooked the rice in advanced, it was already a bit cold so instead of reheating it, I mixed it with the stir fried veggies for a Mongolian-like treat.

The Xocolat brownie photo has to wait. M will send me her "Blondies" recipe so I'll use the Xocolat brownie photo to go with it. The brownie story will be unfolded soon. For the meantime, allow me to finish the rest of the brownies. ;-p

Try Cafe Xocolat's Taza de Xocolat for a really chocolatey treat. Get the small one if you still want to live... order the big one if you want to experience samadhi.

Garlic Tofu Rice Toppings

Introducing Cafe Mitahara's new dish...

Garlic Tofu Rice Topping...

Buttery and garlicky...

Healthy... nutritious... and best of all... it's vegetarian... (For those who prefer sattvic dishes, we recommend Tofu Rice Topping).

Fits anyone's budget...

For only 75 pesos per serving.

Who said it's expensive to be a vegetarian?

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Now for the real story.

Made garlic rice with my 1-day old steamed organic red rice. Just fried minced garlic, about 1 tbsp, in 1 tbsp soybean oil. When the garlic had browned, I added about 2 cups of the day-old steamed red rice. Seasoned it with light soy sauce and set it aside.

For the topping.

Sauteed 1 tbsp minced garlic, then added the leftover tofu salpicao (Yes, it's been lying in the fridge for 2 straight days... dead prana-wise but then the next ingredient will add some life into it so don't worry :-p)... stir fry for a minute or two... then add about 2 cups of shredded cabbage. I used both green and red cabbage to make the dish more colorful. Stir fried for another minute or two over high heat. Turned off the heat. Tasted it... needed more flavor so I added a tbsp of vegetarian oyster sauce and another tbsp of light soy sauce. Sprinkled chopped fresh cilantro and mixed it in.

The amount was good for 2 servings but mitahara wasn't practiced tonight. I ate it all. :-p First serving as is, second with chili sauce. Bondat!

The Perfect Comfort Food for the Rainy Days

Tofu Salpicao

Monggo with Kalabasa (Squash) & Dahon ng Sili (Chili leaves)

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I just wanted the monggo (mung beans) and then I remembered I still had tofu in the fridge. So I sliced to tofu into small chunks. Minced some garlic... about 2 tablespoons... mixed it to 3 tablespoons of vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce and 2 tbsp light soy sauce. Allowed it to marinate for about 20 minutes... for me, while I was waiting for the monggo to soften.

Fried the marinated tofu in some oil until brown... turned to heat to a minimum and added the marinade. Covered the pan and allowed the tofu to soak in the marinade more. Well that was the idea but I don't think the tofu was able to do that. Anyway, turned off the heat and added some butter... about a 2 tbsp. Added salt and pepper to taste. Serve it over steamed brown rice and top with crispy fried garlic for a more rajastic... err... garlicky meal.

Now for the monggo... I used about 5/6 cups of split mung beans soaked in 3 cups water for about an hour or two. Soaked it before I did my practice early this evening. Did only primary so it was less than 2 hours really but for sure more than 60 minutes.

Discarded the water used for soaking and used another 3 cups of fresh water. Allowed it to boil and soften almost very mushy. I had to add more water because it almost dried out. Not sure how much I added. Another 3 cups is a good estimate ;-). Added the squash chunks and allowed it to soften.

In another pan, I sauteed minced garlic and sliced onions in some oil. Then poured the monggo-squash mixture into it. Added 3-4 tbsp of light soy sauce and some salt & pepper. Mixed in the chili leaves until wilted and I had the perfect Filipino dhal.

Ok, better sleep now as I have an early private class tomorrow.

Om.

Tofu Salpicao

Ingredients

• 1 lb cut into 1/2 inch chunks (or other tender cut)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced (more if you like)
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 3 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
  
• /4 cup liquid seasoning
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine

Directions

1. Combine oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika in a bowl.
2. Marinate tofu chunks in garlic-oil mixture for a couple of hours or more in the fridge.
3. Saute marinated tofu (including marinade) in VERY hot oil.
4. Keep stirring until tofu chunks are browned evenly.
5. DO NOT lower heat.
6. Add vegetarian oyster sauce and liquid seasoning.
7. Cook a few seconds more; add butter last.
8. Remove from heat and serve immediately over hot steamed rice.
9. *Note:Cooking time should be about 10 minutes.

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Flagged this from recipezaar.com and modified some of the ingredients. I still have to try this this weekend though.

The Smoke food place in D'Mall, Boracay, served tofu salpicao, tofu steak, and tofu teriyaki. I only got to try the salpicao and it was awesome.

Butter, I believe, is the key ingredient in making salpicao.

The one from Smoke had sliced button mushrooms in it so feel free to add it if you're going to follow this recipe.

Cheers.

Tofu with 3 Mushroom Sauce

Tada!!! Dinner this evening. Perfect.

1 cup sliced fresh shitake mushrooms (1 pack from SM was 65php. It had 7 pieces and I only used 3)
1 cup sliced fresh oyster mushrooms (1 pack was 30php and I used half of it)
1 small can of button mushrooms (Less than 30php. I wanted to use fresh white mushrooms but it was expensive. There was portabello also but it was 200++ per pack. Maybe next time when I'm rich and famous)
3 cloves garlic, sliced into thin strips
1 small white onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp fresh ginger, sliced into thin strips (about the same amount as the onion/garlic)
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper
Dash of dried chili flakes
1/2 tsp chili in oil
A handful of chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp water
4 small squares of hard tofu (tokwa here in the Philippines), sliced into strips, fried until golden brown and set aside.

Saute garlic, onion and ginger in some oil over high heat. Add the 3 mushrooms. Saute until they "sweat"... add the water and turn off the heat. Add the rest of the ingredients except the tofu. I didn't really just dump everything in... I added it one at a time and tasting to know what's missing.

So the actual method was, I added the vegetarian oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and sweet soy sauce. Tasted it. Still missing something.

Added salt and pepper. Still missing something.

Added the chili flakes. Still missing something.

Added sugar. Almost but not quite right.

Added chopped cilantro... almost... but still needs more... so I added more.

Thought it needed a little bit more chili so I added the chili in oil.

Now it's perfect.

In a plate, make a bed of steamed bokchoy then add the fried tofu strips on top and pour over the mushroom sauce. Serve with steamed red rice and enjoy with a glass of your favorite drink.

Cheers.

Tofu Stir Fry and Organic Red Rice

One thing that I actually love being home is that I can get organic rice and vegetables fairly easily. A bit pricey for an average Filipino but hey it's organic. Whatever that means. I'm not really that strict when it comes to my food. As long they don't breath through the nose and the gills, move and react to touch, I'm ok with it. :-p

The Lung Center Sunday market is only a jeepney away from where I live and if I try not to be lazy, it's actually a nice Sunday morning walk to the market.

I tried it once last January though it ever happened again as I've been sleeping late on Saturday nights and do my full practice Sunday morning.

This wasn't my lunch today. It's one of last month's meals. Now that I have a fridge, I should be cooking more often. The only problem now is that the kitchen is small and only one person can use it at a time. Anyway, we'll see.

I'm thinking of making tofu with 3 mushroom sauce for dinner later. If the tamas win, then it will be spaghetti and tomato sauce again. Very exciting, aye? At least I make fresh tomato sauce.

Now for tofu stir fry and steamed red rice.

2 small tofu squares (I get the one from SM or Landmark, 2 small squares for only 25php, about half a dollar), cut into strips and fry until golden brown. Set aside.

Mixed vegetables. A cup each of thinly-sliced cabbage, carrots, and bean sprouts.

A clove or 2 of garlic, minced.

1 medium white onion, about the size of a ping-pong ball or golf ball, sliced thinly.

Salt and pepper to taste.

3-4 tablespoons Stir fry Sauce (choose from vegetarian oyster sauce, dark/light soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, mushroom sauce - or a combination. Be creative. Key is to add little by little until you get the taste that suits you.)

Some chili garlic sauce or kick.

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Only had one class this morning in Makati. Gela apprentices in my Tuesday morning class and when only YM teachers come for practice, I usually ask her to just do her practice. But today, Maritoni, a co-YM teacher, suggested that I practice instead and let Gela teach the class so we could already give her an assessment.

Honestly, it was music to my ear... hehehe. Who wouldn't want to practice instead?

Thus, today was an easy day. Full practice but went light on the vinyasas because I had a tooth extraction last Saturday.

I might go to UP later to watch the UP Pep Team Philippines practice their routine for the Asian Championships this weekend if I'm not mistaken. They'll be leaving for Japan on Thursday and today will be my last chance to see their routine before the competition.

I teach yoga to the UP Pep Squad regularly and man, some of them can do crazy stuffs with their body. I was originally planning on teaching them "Mysore" but with 60 cheerleaders attending the once-a-week class, I thought it would be best to just do led.

Always, I remind them that yoga is not gymnastics. Sure they can do headstand and handstand easily but is the breath calm? The mind quiet and focused? More than anything else, I wanted them to learn that yoga is about being present. In sports psychology, it's about being able to achieve the state of flow.

Oneness in the breath, body and mind.

Here's a photo of the team doing asanas on their dual-purpose puzzle mats.

2 mats attached together = yoga mat.

Several mats attached together in a line = tumbling mat

4 mats attached to form a square = stunting mats

All the mats attached forming a rectangle = safety mat

Good luck UP Pep! Eat more veggies and make us proud!