07 February 2008

Vest Progress and Recipes

Here's a detail photo of the center front with steek.

020708Vest

As you can see, it's not very far along, but progress is being made a little at a time. Hopefully it'll be steady enough that I don't end up in a mad rush come June.

Recipes

As promised, here are recipes for the sweet & sour tofu and the green beans. Actually, there's not really a recipe for the green beans, per se. I stir-fried them in sesame oil with tamari until they were hot but still had a little bit of firmness to them, then added a couple of crushed really-freakin'-hot little Thai chilies near the end, tossed them just a little bit more ('cause the chilies let off fumes and make me cough), then turned off the heat and sprinkled them with sesame seeds - a fairly basic Szechuan-style dish.

So here, then, is the recipe for the tofu (all measurements are approximate):

Slice a one pound block of extra-firm tofu into pieces (I did twenty approximately 1cm-thick slabs). In a bowl, mix to a fairly smooth batter:

- one cup all purpose flour
- salt, pepper, and coriander to taste
- one cup water
- one large egg

Dip each piece of tofu into the batter, then dredge through a second bowl of flour until the tofu is covered in a nice heavy coating of doughy batter. While you are battering the tofu pieces, heat a pan of canola oil at least a couple of inches deep to medium-high heat. Place the battered tofu pieces a few at a time into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon when done and place in a colander or wire strainer to allow the oil to drain. When all the tofu has been fried, heat in a wok:

- 1/4 cup tamari
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2/3 cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
- 2 Tbsp. corn starch mixed into about one cup of cold water
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or sliced (I sliced, 'cause I couldn't find the garlic press)

Heat and stir until it begins to boil and the sauce clarifies and thickens. If it's not thickening sufficiently, you can always use a bit more corn starch. Turn off heat and add in tofu. Serve over rice.

And VUBOQ asked how the rhubarb wine tastes. In some respects it's not unlike a nice Riesling - a little fruity, a little tart (with a very light rhubarb-y flavor), and a little sweet - and it has a very slight blush to it. And since I have never met a Riesling I didn't like, this didn't disappoint, either (though it contains no Riesling grapes).

8 comments:

KSee said...

I've never seen a garment knit with the steek in place like this. I've not gotten into garment yet so my knowledge at this point is slight. really like the subtle placement of the diamond (for lack of another word) stitches/design.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tofu recipe! Sounds great to me, even at 6:00 a.m.!

Knitting it Out in an Urban Zoo said...

The vest looks great! I'm looking forward to following your progress.

Sheepish Annie said...

I'm a "smash 'n chop" processor of the garlic, myself. So much fun! And I can never find the garlic press either.

Great job on the vest! I think you'll finish with time to spare. I've no doubts. None.

Anonymous said...

The vest is looking great!

Anonymous said...

hiya! do you ever freeze your tofu? i've been a veggie for 14 years and discovered this trick from a chinese restaurant. cut the block into 6 slabs (the short way), wrap up in plastic wrap, freeze overnight. i either nuke it until thawed or drop in boiling water for 1-2 mins. take out, squeeze to get some moisture out. then do whatever you like with it! i came up with a great sauce: tamari, tomato paste, grated ginger with the juice, garlic. mix up. slather on, and bake or cook the tofu in a small bit of oil (not much needed) til golden brown on each side, cover with sauce. cook 3 mins. you can also add some peanut butter to the sauce and thin a bit with water...

Tallguy said...

Yes, you get a very fun texture with frozen tofu. I'll have to try these deep fried ones... but I don't use eggs. I'll find a way!

I remember the year Mom made some rhubarb wine. We only had the green kind, and it makes a nice white wine. It wasn't very strong in flavour, a nice mild fruit drink, perfect for a summer day. I remember Mom saying that you could easily sip away at one -two glasses, it was so mild, and then when you stood up, the whole world would spin, and that's as far as you could get! Great way to get smashed! LOL

Mom also made some beet wine. I remember it had the most vibrant glorious exciting ruby red colour!! I don't remember what it tasted like, but I remember the colour.

Anonymous said...

OooooHHH - these are Nanna's fav colours. I will enjoy your progress shots & of course, the Steek King approves of the construction. Lubbs