Pork and Tofu Stir Fry

I've never cooked anything with tofu before, but this was a great entry. I saw the recipe in last weekend's Wall Street Journal. It's really tasty! I actually really liked the tofu. It absorbs all the flavor and is sort of creamy and smooth. It's not vegetarian or anything because of the pork, and the miso paste gives it a great depth of flavor. I altered the recipe slightly because I couldn't find the special Korean chili paste.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb ground pork

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp ginger, minced

2 medium onions, finely diced

1/4 cup white miso paste

2 tbsp chili paste (I used chili garlic)

1 cup chicken broth

2 lb silken tofu, cut into big pieces

2 big scallions, thinly sliced

cooked white rice

Green Bean Thoren (Indian Stir Fry)

 

When we were in Cochin, we went to a wonderful cooking demonstration at Nimmy and Paul's house (http://www.nimmypaul.com/). We had such a great time. They have a beautiful house and were so warm, and it was great to see a house after having been in hotels for two weeks. Nimmy brought us back to her lovely clean and organized kitchen (I wish I could have a kitchen like it!) and taught us a few Indian dishes including this Thoren. She then served us an incredible dinner with those dishes as well as a few more she'd been working on all day - yum! Jamie and I agreed it was our best dinner of the trip, and such a fun and interesting night.

I made the green bean thoren last night (though I had to omit the fresh coconut because I couldn't find any, and I had to use dried curry leaves instead of fresh which I know are not nearly as good, but it was all I had) and it was fabulous! Such a tasty, new way to have green beans. I'll definitely be making it again, and Nimmy says you can make it with other vegetables like carrots, cabbage, pumpkin, etc.