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Show Vegetarian Views By DIANE SAVAGE Copley News Service Because Buddhist monks in China traditionally were prohibited from eating meat, they developed an extensive and fascinating vegetarian cuisine. Their diet included a clever meat substitute made of wheat gluten mixed with tofu. Tofu is processed soybean soy-bean curd, made from the liquid used to soften cracked soybeans. The liquid liq-uid is then boiled and condensed con-densed into curd. Rather custard like in texture, and subtly flavored, tofu is very nourishing It's high in protein and low in fat, but does not keep well, so use quickly after purchasing. Also, tofu is quite fragile, so be careful in handling Tofu can be purchased dried or fermented in a can, but most recipes call for fresh tofu which is available by the piece, usually usu-ally in a plastic tub or bag. It can be found in any 0 ental food store and increasingly in-creasingly in the foreign or gourmet sections of gor-eery gor-eery stores. TOFU AND MUSHROOM SOUP 4 cup sliced mushrooms, mush-rooms, sauteed in small amount of butter n cup tofu, cut in small cubes 44 cups boiling water 2 vegetable bouillon cubes 1 tbsp miso Dash soy sauce ' cup chopped chives 2 tbsps. sesame seeds Dissolve bouillon cubes and miso in boiling water. Add soy sauce, chives, and tofu, being careful not to break cubes up. Boil for 2 minutes, then turn down heat to lowest setting and simmer for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms last 5 minutes. min-utes. Garnish individual bowls with sesame seeis. Serves 4. TOFU AND CHINESE CABBAGE cups diced onion 24 cups tofu, cut in 1-inch cubes 34 cups Chinese cabbage, chopped Vt cup vegetable oil Tamari soy sauce to taste 2 cups cooked brown nee Heat oil in wok or large frying pan. Saute onions until just clear and add tofu cubes. Saute for 3 minutes min-utes more and add Chinese cabbage. Cover pan and cook until cabbage is limp. Serve over brown rice with soy sauce. Serves 4. SPICY TOFU 1 lb. tofu, cut in cubes 3 to 4 tbsps. butter Dash each ground cinnamon, ginger and allspice 1 tsp. Tamari soy sauce 3 to 4 water chestnuts, chest-nuts, sliced thin Melt butter in large frying pan or wok and brown tofu and water chestnuts. Sprinkle with spices and soy sauce. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Serve with ramen noodles or rice. Makes four servings. CAULIFLOWER WITH TOFU SAUCE 2 cups mashed tofu 4 tbsps. Tamari soy sauce 6 tbsps. sugar 6 tbsps. tahini 4 cup chopped spinach spin-ach Place all ingredients in blender and mix for several sever-al minutes until well blended. blend-ed. Serve over cooked cauliflower. cau-liflower. Makes about 3 cups sauce. |