Tonight's Dinner: Panang Tofu

This is one recipe I'm pretty proud to post, if I say so myself. Ever since we first had Panang at Spicy Thai in Buffalo, it's been a mild obsession of mine. I've tweaked the recipe over time, and while it's not quite as good as theirs, it's still pretty darn close. Here it is:

(measurements are approximate)

for the tofu:

• 1 block extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
• peanut oil for frying

Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and fry in the peanut oil until crispy on all sides. Set aside.

for the sauce:

• 2 tbsp chopped onion
• 1 tsp A Taste of Thai red curry paste
• 1 slice from the base of a piece of lemongrass
• 1 tbsp peanut oil

sauté until fragrant; add:

• 1 can coconut milk less ~1/6 can
• the rest of the base of the stalk of lemongrass (about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom), bruised (keep this in a few large pieces, since you'll want to pick it out later)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 – 1 ½ good shakes soy sauce
• 1 tsp minced fresh garlic

stir. taste. add:

• 1 tbsp peanut butter (add 1 tsp at a time)
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger (works best if you squeeze a couple garlic clove-sized pieces in a garlic press; you'll get mostly juice but that's what you want anyway)
• 1 ½ tsp (1 good squeeze) fresh lime juice

Stir. Taste. Add rest of the coconut milk and adjust with soy sauce, curry paste, sugar, peanut butter, lime. Thicken with corn starch slurry. Add:

• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets, steamed or microwaved until crisp-tender

and the tofu to the sauce, stir until combined and heated evenly. Serve over steamed jasmine rice. You can pick the lemongrass out of the sauce before serving or just put it to the side of your plate while you're eating. (It's kind of like bay leaves in that regard -- you want it in for flavour, but it's too tough to eat.)

Obviously this recipe isn't ridiculously healthy and is a little more involved to make than my day-to-day recipes, so we don't have it too often. However, when we're craving Spicy Thai and can't make it down there, this definitely does the trick.

Tonight's Dinner: Tofu Pad Thai

To make this you need:

• 1 block firm or extra-firm tofu
• optional: 1 c thai culinary stock
• peanut oil for frying
• broccoli spears (1 head's woth)
• 2-3 ribs celery, chopped diagonally (I think this is to make the pieces similar in size to the other veggies for even cooking)
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/3 small onion, chopped
• 2-3 tbsp ground dry roasted unsalted peanuts
• fresh bean sprouts
• 1 scallion, chopped
• A Taste of Thai Pad Thai sauce
• rice noodles

Drain and press the liquid from the tofu. It helps, if you have enough time, to cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and soak it in water, changing when it gets cloudy, to get rid of the tofu taste -- but you don't have to.

I fried the tofu pieces in peanut oil until crispy, and then as an experiment I braised them in some Thai Culinary Stock from Wegmans (gotta love Wegmans) to infuse them with some flavour. It turned out very well, but I've made pad thai without doing this and it's still good.

While the tofu's braising (or draining, if you're just frying it) chop the veggies and cook the rice noodles according to the directions on the package. Stir-fry the veggies, except for the sprouts, in just a little peanut oil and add the noodles, sauce, and tofu. Cook together until heated through. Serve, garnishing with bean spouts, peanuts, and scallions.

You'll note that the sprouts here are conspicuously absent -- though they are a big part of the dish, I like them fresh and I didn't have time to run to the store before dinner. Oh well - it was still pretty good, and relatively easy to make.