Beef and Tofu

Recipe from Basic Cooking （きほんの料理）page 56

Translation:

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Momen tofu 1 block

Beef 100g (small, thin slices)

Leek 1

Shungiku （春菊）1/2 bundle

Soup:

Water (or dashi) 100mL

Sugar 2 tbsp

Soy sauce 3 tbsp

Cooking sake 2 tbsp

How to make:

1. Cut everything up into bite-size pieces.

2. Add the soup ingredients to a saucepan. When it comes to a boil, add the beef and leek. When it starts bubbling again, add the tofu and turn down the heat to low. Simmer for 6-7 minutes.

3. Add the shungiku last and let it cook for another minute or so. Done!

This recipe was really simple to make! I really like tofu, so I'm happy to find more recipes that use it. The only bad thing is that tofu doesn't reheat that well; it makes everything all watery if I take it for lunch the next day. Still tasty though!

Mabotofu

Recipe is from the Muji Recipe Book (pg47)

You'll need a medium size silicone steamer for this

Translation:

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

Tofu (momen) 350g (I used a 360g pack)

Leek 1

Garlic 1 clove (I used the squeeze tube, just whatever amount looked right)

Ginger 1 clove? (Again, squeeze tube.)

Ground pork 150g

Starch 2 tsp

Water 1 tbsp

Sesame oil 2 tsp

Sauce:

Miso 1 tbsp

Oyster sauce 1 tbsp

Cooking sake 1 tbsp

Soy sauce 2 tsp

Toubanjan (豆板醤) .5 tsp (You can add more if you like spicy. Just be careful, this stuff is hot!)

How to make:

1. Cut up the tofu and leek into small pieces.

2. Mix the sauce ingredients in the steamer. Add the ground pork and leek. Put on the lid and microwave for 2 minutes, 30 seconds.

3. Stir and add the tofu. Put the lid back on and microwave for 3 minutes.

4. Mix the starch and water. Pour it on while the stuff in the steamer is still hot. Add the sesame oil and mix. Done!

I love my steamer! I really recommend getting one. Muji (No Name Brand store. I would compare it to Target in America, at least by how the stuff looks) has the medium size one for about 1000 yen (a little less than $10 American). They also sell a recipe book for it for another 1000 yen. Everything is super easy and fast. I'd recommend getting it in black though. You can't really tell in the picture, but mine's stained pretty bad in some places. Still works though!