The Religion of the Belly. Tofu and Garlic. Leek Soup.

A friend mentioned that she would like to go vegetarian once a week.  I thought, what an excellent idea!  And I think I know just the place to begin.
 
Sometimes I refresh my memory by dusting. 

Dusting off an old cherished book, that is! 

On a forgotten shelf in the guest room, I locate an old cookbook.

Did you know that there are 3 religious practices making up the Chinese culture? 


Me neither!  But there it is on the first page.

Confucianism, the mind, for thinking and judging;

Buddhism, the heart, for willing and loving; 

and Taoism, the belly, for intuitive wisdom as well as for digestion. 

Taoism is therefore the "religion of the belly". 


My dusty treasure is "A Taoist Cookbook" by Michael Saso, 1994.  I am happy I kept it.  (It's not from my vegetarian/boat hippie days.  No, not that far back!)  But everything I ever tried from this book is simple and tastes good. 


And that suits my personal "Religion of the Belly" just fine!

This tofu cooked with garlic was always one of my favorites.


 Dofu (Tofu) and Garlic


1 package firm white dofu, 14-16 oz.
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
1/2 c. water used to soak mushrooms (If you haven't been soaking any mushrooms lately just use plain water!)
2 or 3 T. mild soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
2 t. cooking oil


Take the tofu out of the plastic and drain off the water.  It can be laid on a paper towel to remove excess moisture.


Chop up two or three cloves of garlic.


Cut the tofu into small bite sized squares to cook with the garlic.


Take 1/2 cup of water and mix with the soy sauce and cornstarch.  Keep this aside to pour over the cooked dofu in the hot pan once it is cooked.


Heat a wok or frying pan and add the oil.  Put half the garlic into the hot oil to flavor it.  Then place the dofu squares into the hot pan.  The pan will sizzle and hot oil may splash, so cover the pan immediately with a lid.  Turn the heat down to medium and let the dofu brown for about 2 minutes.  The take the lid off and turn the dofu over, so that the other side may brown as well. 


Throw the rest of the chopped garlic over the dofu and cover again for 2 minutes.

This is the basic way of preparing tofu for a vegetarian meal.  Serve with a dash of soy sauce splashed over the surface of the tofu.  Or, for a fancier version pour the mushroom water, soy sauce and cornstarch mixture over the tofu in the wok and stir as it thickens.


If you really want to "go green", garlic tofu tastes awesome on a bed of freshly stir-fried spinich. 

Tonight I use broccoli because our garden is overflowing with it.  You can see I am a day behind, it's already beginning to flower!  (Yes, Broccoli flowers are good to eat too.)

Here's the recipe for spinich.  Do broccoli the exact same way, except you might want to cook it a few minutes longer.  Oh yeah, chop it first.

Stir Fried Spinich

Remove the tofu from the pan, set aside, keep warm.  (The spinich only takes a minute or two.)

Buy a big bunch of fresh spinich, wash it well.


Shake the water from the leaves, leaving a few drops, and place it in the hot frying pan.


Stir so all sides of the leaves reach the hot garlicky oil.  Cover and let spinich simmer for 1 minute.  Stir the spinich again.


How does it look?  Spinich should not be allowed to overcook.  Bright green is what we're looking for.  Cook another 30 seconds if you like.  (It shouldn't take more than that.)


Take it off the stove, and if desired, chop the hot spinich into bite size pieces on a chopping board with a big chopping knife (so as not to burn your fingers). 


Put the spinich on a dish and place the tofu on top of it.  Splash with 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce and serve sprinkled with sesame seeds if you like them.  (I like a little vinegar too.)


I always really loved the look of the bright green with the browned tofu, and the contrast of flavor and texture makes it even better!   

Here's tonight's version.

Tofu is versatile stuff, even for a non-vegetarian day.  Since I was browning some up, I threw it into the leek soup I was making with the leftover beef broth from the Guinness Pie.

The browned tofu cubes probably would have been good to take as a nice salty snack for work tomorrow too, but there's just not going to be enough left.

Oh well, there is always a next week, and the week after that.  After all, the Religion of the Belly is forever!