Crispy Tofu with Mushrooms and Garlic

Tofu is not just for vegetarians! Yes, I ate it a lot when I was a vegetarian, but I still enjoy it a few times a month. It's a nice break from meat, can be flavored in an endless number of ways, and makes for a healthy meal.

I made this recipe up as I went along. As I was cooking, Jon kept asking me if I knew what I was making. Answer...no! I didn't know what it was going to turn out to be until 3/4 of the way through. I love experimenting in this way, and it's even better when you end up with an amazing dinner that goes onto your list of things to definitely make again.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 block of tofu, pressed to get the water out and then cut into 1.5 inch slices
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• Few dashed black pepper; salt
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 tbsp cooking sherry
• 3/4 c low sodium chicken broth (vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
• 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1.5 tsp hoisin sauce
• Pinch of white sugar (I think brown sugar would work as well)
• If needed for thickening, 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• Chopped green onions

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat
• Add sliced tofu, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Here is how it looked after being browned:

• Add mushrooms to the pan and saute 2 min; add garlic and saute another minute
• Add cooking sherry and stir until absorbed. In the meantime, mix chicken broth, soy sauce, hoisin, and sugar in a bowl.
• Once sherry has absorbed, add broth mixture. Bring to a simmer. Thicken with cornstarch if needed.
• Return tofu to the pan and mix until coated.
• Serve topped with green onions

I loved this creation! I was grabbing things from the pantry and fridge, making it all up as I went along, and it was so much fun! The tofu was nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the sauce had just the right mixture of salty and sweet - just thick enough to stick to the tofu. Delicious!!

I served it with a side of roasted baby bok choy.