First, I have to say without disclaimer, I absolutely love my wife, the Baby Lady! Although she has no professional training and is self taught in the culinary arts (she is an electrical engineer, teacher and project manager by education and training), she is a fabulous and adventurous cook with an incredible feel for food. She is also one of those people who can go somewhere for dinner and identify every ingredient in a dish. It’s uncanny. Unfortunately, telling a story aint her strength (she will forgive me for this comment, I hope :D).

Now, there will be no poll here to determine whose blog posts you like better because, as administrator and head bottle washer, I get the last say or at least she lets me think that.

Here is what Baby Lady has to say when requested to give me a story about her wonderful dinner tonight (yes, it s an exact copy and paste from my e-mail although to protect the innocent, I left off all the amorous signatures that typically accompany her e-mails to me.). The meal was killer, full of flavor, healthy beyond what you would think and with a beautiful texture to boot.

“Stir fry recipes are quick meals that are both healthy and delicious. I love meals that require little planning but surprise with great depth of flavor. Chinese food is like that for me. I have been experimenting with Chinese cooking since I had my first bite. Everyone loves Chinese food and we do too. That is why stir fry’s and Chinese food are one of my favorite things to eat. Since Sweetie man loves onions, it is a great way to incorporate them into a meal or make them the star of the meal.

Tonight’s meal was nothing more than a simple tofu marinade stir fried with a few vegetables. If you can marinade a little tofu for a few days and fry the vegetables separately you will have a treat in store for you. I hope you try and enjoy this meal as much as we did.”

Aint she sweet, calling me Sweetie Man” and such? Aw, it makes me blush. She really is the best and tonight’s meal was wonderful. What Baby Lady didn’t tell you is she started this meal on Monday (tonight is Friday). She did a fabulous marinade and marinated the tofu for 5 days. Now for those of you who cringe at the very thought of tofu (i.e. Picky Niki, a great blogger you should check out that makes me laugh out loud), I didn’t knowingly eat a lot of tofu until I started dating Baby Lady. She made me rethink food, combinations and life in general. Tofu is like mushrooms, a vehicle for flavor that provides different texture. This recipe has it all. It’s healthy for those who are health conscious. It has contrasts in textures. It is full of flavor to satisfy the most discriminating palate. It’s also aromatic and pretty to look at. This dish Baby Lady concocted has it all.

Ingredients

• 1lb firm tofu
• 1 Jalapeno seeded and chopped
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp hot sauce
• 1 small head of broccoli
• 2 onions sliced
• 2 Jalapenos sliced vertically and seeded
• 2 stalks sliced celery
• 4 large cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp Kung Pao sauce
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Srihacha or to taste
• Drizzle Black Sesame Oil

Instructions

Drain firm tofu, wrap in paper towels and place in quart size plastic bag. Remove all air from bag. Place in a dish and place a large can (28 oz) on bag to weigh down and drain excess liquid from tofu overnight. Tofu is like a sponge. When you press the excess water out of it and marinate it, it soaks the marinade deep into the tofu. Remove tofu from bag and dice into cubes. Place tofu, chopped jalapeno, soy sauce and hot sauce into empty bag. Marinate tofu for at least two days. The longer you marinate the deeper the flavor. This is what it looks like when you’re finished.

After two days, remove tofu cubes from bag saving the marinating liquid in a small bowl. Mix Kung Pao sauce, soy sauce and srihacha to remaining marinating liquid and whisk together into a sauce. 

Now, we’re ready to cook. In cooking story frys you stir fry each ingredient separately so they eat maintain their separate flavors.

Place tofu cubes in non-stick pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Allow tofu cubes to brown and then toss until all sides are brown.

Steam broccoli for 2 minutes and set aside to cool.

In a wok and on high heat cook the following items separately. Cook onions until slightly browned.

Remove onions from heat and place in a bowl.

Next, add celery to the empty wok followed by jalapeno slices. Cook together until slightly browned on edges.

Add steamed broccoli, onions and garlic to reheat with vegetables and infuse the garlic flavor into the vegetables.

Add browned tofu and toss.

Mix in sauce and toss to combine.

Serve with white rice and enjoy.