I'll write another article soon-was really busy in the last week sooo
here is broccoli and tofu
Broccoli and Tofu <3 where would I be without you?
Anyone whose ran into me at a shop probably saw me buy bundles and bundles of broccoli. I love it. <3
Broccoli a super food, so good I can barely cook it with anything but salt for fear of taking away it’s beautiful flavour.
In Canada it was a bit expensive so it still feels like a luxury food. Even though in many places in Europe it can be quite cheap. When it is, it’s broccoli for breakfast, lunch and diner. I can’t get enough.
I like to cook my broccoli chopped up in oil, with a couple (or many) cloves of pressed garlic, and a couple (or many birds eye chilies). With Tofu of course!
Tofu! One of my acquired loves to be talked about in another blog post.
I start my dish of broccoli and tofu with the tofu. I start making tofu by chopping it up into small cubes. I fry it in salt and oil until golden (or golden brown and crunchy-after all tofu is the vegan bacon).
I then add the broccoli, sometimes I add a little bit of water to help it steam.
Then take a couple of cloves and crush them over the frying pan. I then slice some birds eye chilies and add them in. Stir, and stir, and when it’s cooked: serve-or start eating it out of the pan. Really I LOVE broccoli and tofu.
Perfect on its own, but we usually eat it with pasta or bulgur.
Sometimes I add ginger or soy sauce in the mix. I find soy sauce can be a bit too strong, I prefer it out. Nothing gets in the way of my broccoli.
Once my partner cooked broccoli in tomato. I was crushed. Why would you ruin the fine flavour of broccoli by adding tomato? He said he ate broccoli all the time and would all type of stuff in it. I was crushed. I making up for a lost broccoli childhood, maybe after a decade I’ll add tomato to it. But I’m too fascinated with it for now.
Birds eye chilies are fantastic. These tiny dry red chilies are insanely spicy (well they are not thaaat spicy when you’re used to it). I find they are just fine added in whole, chopped doesn’t make much of a difference. Even if I forget to add them in early and added them later in the process the dish still turns out very well spiced.
In terms of spice they are on the lower half of habaneras. I find them as spicy as the sriracha SUPERHOT chili sauce (not the normal kind-that’s for children). The difference with sriracha superhot and birds eye chilies is that the spice is more genuine, the pain lasts a bit longer.
Handling chilies-You will want to wash your hands thoroughly after touching these. Sometimes for the people just beginning to handle them they can sting your hands. Keep away from open wounds. Do not touch your eyes. Sometimes even kissing someone who has recently eaten birds eye chilies you can feel the burn. They are strong. If you do feel burned by them, make sure to run cold water over the affected area.
When birds eye burns (say if it’s frying and not in a soup) it the air can sting, and you may sneeze, make sure you get some fresh air.
When eating a dish with birds eye, I recommend avoiding eating the actual chili because it can be too hot, and just be unpleasant. Usually I pick them from my food, especially if they are whole, a small piece usually is just fine.
When I am cooking for myself I may add 4-9 chilies. When I am cooking for my partner I usually keep it down to 3-6. For guests who have a low chili threshold I may add one or two, if that. (it’s one reason why I have the superhot sauce. In case I have to compromise).
I use these because I find they give food a spicier flavour better than most fresh chilies. They are cheap, and available from most ethnic shops, and in a variety of cuisines
Penne arabiata for example a vegan dish from Italy has birds eye in it (at least last I was in Como and we ordered arabiata, there were clearly visible birds eye chilies chopped in the sauce).
