Fried Tofu with Ginger-Sesame Sauce

September is back to school time and many of us hope to send happy little faces to school to become better versions of themselves. So, we try to send them to school with everything they need and a little piece of home. Something that makes them smile when they open their backpack or lunchbag. But how do you fit that type of comfort in such a small bag with all of the restrictions the school has. The no gluten, no nut etc etc has been the bane of my school lunch existence. What to do? What to do?

Of course, in our house we don't change what we eat because you're a mini me, so this is another  obstacle with school lunch. But this fried tofu lunch doubles just fine for an adult and a child. The original recipe comes from Food and Wine magazine and has a bit more spice. I had to cut down on the red pepper flakes in the ginger-sesame sauce for my little but that spice can be added back in later. This sauce is actually so good, I think about pouring it over other proteins. Like maybe fried chicken wings?? I might have to give the Korean fried chicken place a run for its money. Of course, you should enjoy the sauce whatever way you choose.


Fried Tofu with Ginger-Sesame Sauce
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
Ginger-Sesame Sauce
1/2 sesame oil
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 cloves grated garlic
1 scallion
1 1/2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Fried Tofu
14 ounces firm tofu
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Directions:

Slice tofu into 8 thin slabs. Allow tofu to dry on a paper towel.

Lightly sprinkle tofu with salt and press out excess moisture.

While tofu is drying out, in a small bowl whisk together sesame oil, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, water and red pepper flakes.

Set ginger sesame mixture aside.

In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of oil (tofu should be added to an already hot pan).

Cook the tofu in two batches using 1 tablespoon of oil for each batch.

Add tofu slabs and cook over medium heat. Cook for approximately 3 to 5


minutes on each side or until tofu is lightly browned on each side.

Spoon ginger-sesame sauce over fried tofu and sprinkle scallions over.

Serve over rice or steamed vegetables.

When packing this as a lunch, I put the sauce in a separate container to be poured over the tofu and vegetables later.

Quick, easy and versatile. If you do not like tofu, you can swap it out for any other protein and it will work.