Spaghetti and Fried Tofu is not an extremely gourmet menu, and for that matter is not something that I came up with for reasons specifically having to do with taste. I developed it as yet another solution for the vegetarian that doesn't have the money for Trader Joe's admittedly wide and tasty selection of entrees, or the time to cook up a complete meal out of raw ingedients. It is for the ghetto vegetarian, trying to find a good meal out of boxes.
Tofu, and specifically stir fry is a good thing to eat, but requires the presence of fresh veggies, which is not always possible. Spaghetti makes a good source of starch and calories, but spaghetti alone lacks texture and protein. Thus, combining the two fixes these disadvantages.
Here is how to prepare spaghetti with fried tofu:
- Drain the tofu well by placing it in between two plates with a weight on the top plate. I usually use about 8 ounces, or half a block of tofu.
- Fill up a small sauce pan with a good amount of cooking oil. Start heating it up.
- While the oil is heating, chop the tofu into little pieces, as small as you can make them.
- About this time, you should start your water boiling.
This is the easy part.
- When the oil is hot, put the little pieces in slowly. They should cause a sizzle when they are added in. When they are in the oil, they should be covered completely.
- Continue deep frying the tofu until it is yellow-brown. Around this time, the water should be boiling, and the spaghetti should be added.
- When the tofu is finished deep frying, drain the oil very slowly, so only the tofu is left. Then open up a can of sauce, and add it to the sauce pan with the tofu. Heat them up together. The fried tofu should soak up the tomato sauce very well.
- If everything went well, the the tomato sauce with tofu should be ready at the same time as the spaghetti. Mix them together and serve.
The fried pieces of tofu that have soaked up the spaghetti sauce are a tiny bit reminiscent of pieces of hamburger, and add some texture, as well as some protein, to the meal. Enjoy!