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July 28, 2004
I need a sous chef
I just finished my second night of night-before-the-meal prep work this week.
On Monday night I prepared the tofu and marinade for our Thai yellow curry with sugar snap peas and peppers that we ate on Tuesday night. Tonight, I just turned down the brine in which I will soak a chicken for about 6 hours tomorrow before putting on the grill over slow coals.
For the tofu, you need to have the extra-firm tofu that's packed in water. The night before you're going to use it, put it on a plate then put a weight of some kind on top of it to press the water out. I usually just use another plate with a can of spaghetti sauce on it. If the weight is too heavy, the tofu will become lopsided and break apart.
While the tofu is drying, I make the marinade. On Monday night I used a can of coconut milk, about a cup of pineapple juice, the juice of one lime, some chili paste, two cloves of garlic, about two teaspoons of curry powder (I didn't have time to make a proper curry paste and all the Asian groceries in town close early), and about a half-cup of soy sauce.
When the tofu has shed about half its mass, cut it into thirds and put it in the marinade to soak overnight in the refrigerator. About two hours before dinner, put the tofu on a greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven at around 250 for about an hour, until the outside is tough and leathery, turning once. Save the marinade. That'll be the sauce you add to the pan after the stir-frying is done right before serving.
Slice the tofu into narrow strips and then you can either bake it again for about 15 minutes on each side or commence with the stir-frying. It's time and labor-intensive but it's really the only way I can stand to eat tofu.
I'd cover the process I just went through for the chicken but I'm tired. Alton Brown has the last word on brining a bird, anyway.
Posted by Half-Cocked at July 28, 2004 11:37 PM