That's What Bob's Cooking: July 2021

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Firecracker Tofu

Ok, I know you all might not be a fan of tofu, but have you actually even tried it. Honestly? My guess is a firm no. However it is pretty amazing in this dish (ok you can sub in chicken, but….boring!!)

A little history about the tofu I used. Craig and I were watching Top Chef Portland, and they did an episode on Ota Tofu, a local, (and the oldest) tofu company here in Portland. We both said we need to try that. Fast forward to a few weeks later snd some really good friends were in town and we went to dinner, unknowingly we parked in front of Ota. I was just giddy. However they were not open. The next week I found some in an Asian market and decided on this dish. Which is PERFECT for a 4th of July celebration! Maybe just cause it’s called “firecracker”?!?!

Firecracker Tofu

Ingredients

1 Package Extra Firm Tofu - 14 oz package
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Sesame Oil

For the Sweet-Spicy Sauce:

2 Tbsp Karo Syrup
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Hot Sauce
1 tbsp White Vinegar
4 Tbsp Water
1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/8 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Salt
2-3 Green Onion Stalks - cut into 1 inch pieces

Topping (optional):

1 Tsp Sesame Seeds
2-3 Green Onion Stalks - chopped thinly

Instructions

Making the Crispy Tofu.

Start by cutting the tofu into bite-size pieces or about 1-inch size.
Then pour the cornstarch on a large plate.
Add the sliced tofu pieces in the cornstarch and toss to coat them evenly.
Heat 1/2 the sesame oil in a non-stick pan/wok.
Add 8-10 coated tofu pieces and shallow fry for 3-4 minutes (turn sides and cook tofu evenly until light golden brown).
Remove the cooked tofu and repeat the step until all leftover tofu is cooked.

Making the Sweet-Spicy Sauce:

Take a large bowl and add all the sauce ingredients in it. Whisk to mix everything evenly.
In the same non-stick pan/wok and add the whisked sauce ingredients from the bowl.
Saute the sauce and let this simmer on low heat for a minute.
Add larger green onion pieces.
After a minute, add the crispy tofu and stir to mix everything.
Make sure the sauce evenly coats each side of crispy tofu.
Let this cook for another 2-3 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Transfer the Firecracker Tofu to a serving bowl.
Sprinkle sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
Serve hot with choice of side.

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Sesame-Hoisin Chicken Wings

(Warning…sappy love story before the recipe.) As you hopefully all know, I am in love with my husband. I have been since we met on 9.9.99! I had always said, I will end up with someone that can hold up their end of the conversation, but not be a know it all. He’s all that, and a bag of plain Lays (there’s a story in that too!).

That being said, I have been cooking almost every night of our relationship (21 years strong) and I’m not complaining! However, my one gripe is this…his food rating system! It’s either “it’s ok” or “nah”. Occasionally it might be “would you rather a turkey sandwich”. Otherwise, he’s my best critic. He grounds me and I know what he likes.

The other night I decided to make grilled wings. Now, we make Buffalo wings ONLY on Super Bowl Sunday It’s our tradition! So, it was risky trying a one off, or two off wing dinner. While on vacation, I came across this amazing recipe for Sesame-Hoisin Chicken Wings and I was like, this is it! I found fresh wings at my local grocery and was very excited. This time I followed the recipe, as there were many steps and I didn’t want another biryani incident. Needless to say, they turned out great. Since this was a trial, I didn’t make too many, so there was only one container of leftovers.

A couple days later Craig was off work and I said, “why don’t you air fry those wings”. I got an “ah, sure, We’ll see”. Which means, no. The next day he says, “those wings”….and I braced myself “were amazing air fried”. SCORE!!!

Sesame-Hoisin Chicken Wings

Ingredients

1∕2 cup Soy-Balsamic Sauce
1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1∕4 cup hoisin sauce
1∕4 cup Magic Paste (recipe follows)
3 lb. chicken wings, separated into flats and drumettes
Gochugaru (Korean-style red pepper), optional

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk the Soy-Balsamic Sauce, scallions, hoisin, and Magic Paste. Set 1∕2 cup sauce aside in a small bowl for basting the wings. Add the wings to the large bowl. Toss until coated. Cover the wings and reserved sauce separately; refrigerate for 1 hour.
Prepare the grill for medium heat. If using charcoal, when the coals are gray, pile them on 1 side of the grill. If using a gas grill, light 1 part of the grill and leave the other unlit.
Place the wings on the cooler side of the grill in a single layer, spacing them evenly apart. Close the grill and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the wings over; baste with the reserved sauce. Close the grill and cook for 5 minutes more. Transfer the wings to the hot side of the grill; baste with some of the sauce. Cook, turning once or twice, until cooked through, 10 to 20 minutes more; move the wings to the cooler side of the grill if the skin begins to burn. Top with gochugaru for a little more heat, if desired.

Soy-Balsamic Sauce

Ingredients

1 1∕4 tsp. cornstarch
1∕4 cup plus 1 tbsp. brown sugar
1∕2 cup plus 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1∕2 cup plus 2 tbsp. soy sauce

Directions

In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch and 2 tbsp. plus 11∕2 tsp. water. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Stir in the cornstarch. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.
Let cool. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Makes about 1 1∕4 cups.

Magic Paste

Ingredients

1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp. fennel seeds
1∕2 cup fish sauce
1∕4 cup gochugaru (Korean- style red pepper)
1∕4 cup toasted sesame oil

Directions

In a food processor, pulse the ginger, garlic, and fennel seeds until finely chopped.
Add the fish sauce, gochugaru, and oil.
Process until almost smooth, about 30 seconds.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.
Makes about 1 cup.

My Complete Profile

I was born and raised on the East side of Portland Oregon, by two native and second generation, Oregonians, my Mom and Dad (Jack and Joan). Oregon, and the Northwest are deep in my blood. That being said, I have always had an interest in cooking. I would love to add a warm loving story here about how my Mom nurtured my love of cooking by setting me up on or near the counter top to help with whatever she was cooking. Well, that's not exactly the case.

Being a child of the 70's and 80's, I had a great exposure to classic foods like Spam, Tang, Rice-a-Roni and Hamburger Helper. While many of these premade, sodium roller coaster, treats where regulars on our table, my Mom would have to hold the title as "casserole queen". Casseroles are her favorite and her specialty. Whereas, my Dad was more of a spur of the moment kind of cook. His creations included many of the items from our makeshift pantry. Sometimes, i think he was thinking, "the more ingredients, the better it'll be!". I think my first attempt at cooking would have to have been making cookies, either peanut butter (with the criss-cross fork tine print on top), or chocolate chip cookies. Over the years I have made so many of both of these recipes, I have surely lost count.

During middle school, my Mom encouraged me to take Home Economics, thinking that all kids, boy or girl, should know how to cook out in this world. This sparked a growing interest in cooking. So when I entered my junior year of High School, at David Douglas, I enrolled in the culinary arts program, we called it Food Services I. This was a class that had been offered many years before, where the students ran a restaurant, The Kilt, during the lunch periods. Unfortunately, since the class had not been offered in several years, so we didn’t have enough students to open the restaurant, that year. Within the first few weeks of this class, my instructor asked if I'd like to be involved in an outside "club" (kind of like a version of Eagle Scouts) that was mentored by local business owners. It sounded interesting so I joined (not to mention it got me out of the first 2 periods of the day).

At our first meeting I was approached by Sylvia Poesdel, the owner of the Portland landmark restaurant, Sylvia's Italian Restaurant & Dinner Theatre. She asked me if I would be interested in an afterschool job, coming to work for her to learn the cooking/chef trade on the job. I jumped at the chance and started in October of 1985. During my senior year I rejoined the culinary arts program (Food Services II) and this year we were able to reopened the restaurant, which the rest of the students voted me to manage. I just absolutely loved it! I worked at Sylvia's until after I graduated, in 1989. I learned a lot about the restaurant industry, and I would have to say it would be one of just a few life altering jobs I have had throughout my career.

After high school, while I was working at Sylvia's, I applied to culinary arts school. The Two things kept me from continuing my career in culinary arts, were financial and having worked out in the field, I saw so many negative attributes to being a chef, I decided that since I love to cook, I wanted it to be a hobby, and not a drag to go work each day.

When I left Sylvia's, I worked at a hotel, then Safeway. From there I joined Fred Meyer in the Service Deli, and was quickly promoted to a manager. During the next 8 years, I worked throughout the Portland and Southern Oregon areas. In 1998, I earned a promotion to the regional specialist position (District Manager) in Seattle. During this career move, I learned so much about the Food Service industry. I was charged to develop a new service salad case program, as well as work on a new catering program. I had the opportunity to work with manufacturers to develop these new programs.

In 2000, I met the love of my life, Craig. I also, moved from the food service program to the grocery department as an assistant manager. In the capacity I learned to develop my management skills as well as managing inventory. By being the best in my category, I earned the position of manager, where I moved from store to store cleaning up and reorganizing as I went. I also was entrusted with training future Food managers for the region. At which point I was pursued by another company to run a store for them, and enter back into the restaurant industry. During these 3 years, I learned the Restaurant Supplier side of the business. While I enjoyed the time I spent in this opportunity, I yearned to go back to the Grocery industry, and spend more time with my first love, cooking, and writing about my adventures….in the kitchen!