"Mock" Huevos Rancheros

Last weekend, Matthew and I were in Portland, Oregon visiting my lovely cousins. I 'd forgotten that my cuz, Melissa, was a vegetarian--can you believe a Mexican vegetarian? Anyhoo, she invited us over for Sunday brunch and she made the most delicious mock huevos rancheros. If you're not a vegetarian, just substitute fried, over-easy eggs instead of tofu, and you've got yourself one awesome breakfast. But even with the tofu, this dish is delicioso!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 1 Block of firm tofu, drained well and cut into 1/4" or 1/2" cutlets
• Spike Seasoning (a must!)
• 8 Corn tortillas
• Oil for frying
• 1 can of El Pato tomato sauce (15 oz)--also a must!
• Cilantro, for garnish
• Sliced avocados, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Season the tofu on both sides with Spike seasoning. Heat some oil in a skillet over medium heat and pan-fry tofu for a few minutes (you want it nicely browned) then flip tofu and pan-fry on other side. Set aside and keep warm.

In a sauce pan wide enough to fit a tortilla, add the El Pato tomato sauce and heat to a simmer, then keep it on low heat.

Clean out skillet where you fried the tofu and add about 1/2" of oil and heat on medium-high. Once oil is bubbly, add a tortilla and fry for 30 seconds, flip over and fry for 20 more seconds. Them quickly place tortilla into the tomato sauce and dip it in just to coat on both sides, then set aside on another plate. Continue this process with remaining tortillas, working quickly, if possible.

To serve, place two crisp tortillas in each plate, then top with a tofu slice/cutlet. Drizzle a bit of the remaining tomato sauce, and garnish with cilantro and avocados.

Crispy Tofu with Noodles

Every time I fly I like to buy a cooking magazine to get new ideas for my culinary experiments. I saw this recipe in the new issue from Food and Wine magazine. It comes courtesy of Chef Pino Maffeo from restaurant L in Boston. Of course, I halved the recipe and it still came out pretty good. The only thing I changed is that I added more hoisin sauce than oyster sauce, and I added a few dashes of soy sauce at the very end of cooking. I really like the fried tofu, too.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 7 ounces dried udon noodles
• 1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 egg yolk
• 3/4 pound mixed mushrooms, such as oyster, hen-of-the-woods and stemmed shiitake, thickly sliced (I only used oyster mushrooms)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 pound baby bok choy, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (I only used 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• A few dashes of soy sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the udon and cook until tender, 5 minutes; drain. Toss with 1 teaspoon of the canola oil. Meanwhile, put the panko in a large, resealable plastic bag and crush into fine crumbs. In a shallow bowl, gently toss the tofu with the egg yolk. Transfer the tofu to the bag and coat with the panko.

Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of oil in a wok until just smoking (I don't have a wok, so I used my large saute pan). Add the tofu and stir-fry over high heat until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Pour off all but 1/4 cup of the oil and return the wok to high heat. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and bok choy and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the udon and oyster and hoisin sauces and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the tofu, a few dashed of soy sauce and toss. Transfer to a bowl and serve.