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Tofu Po’Boy with Barbecue Cole Slaw

January 14, 2012

This Tofu Po’Boy sandwich is a remake of a sandwich I loved ordering from one of my favorite places to eat in central Kentucky, Windy Corner Market.

 
Tofu Po’Boy with Barbecue Cole Slaw | Fake Food Free
 
My first experience with tofu was not pleasant. I convinced myself to try it when I was in college because it was what healthy people ate. And being a nutrition major, well, I considered myself a healthy person. After ordering it at a restaurant, it arrived in a stir-fry, mushy and tasteless. This led to my conclusion that while I was healthy, I wasn’t that healthy. 
 
It wasn’t until I traveled to Southeast Asia and tasted tofu for what it truly is – an Asian specialty – that I began to appreciate it. There, it was most often referred to as bean curd, deep fried with a crispy texture, set atop a steaming bowl of veggies and noodles, and it most likely came homemade from the restaurant, or a vendor at the local market. It was delicious. 
 
Bean curd is what I like, not the healthy-people-eat-tofu version I received in the States during that first experience.  
 
Because frying isn’t my specialty, I had yet to make it at home. Then a few months ago I came across a post from Taste Hong Kong with step by step instructions on how to fry tofu. 
 
With tofu fresh on the mind, I met friends at Windy Corner Market on the outskirts of Lexington for a holiday lunch a few weeks ago. I’ve already written about this wonderful, must-try establishment serving up local foods. On my most recent visit, I branched out to try the Tofu Boy for Topher. As the menu describes, “Crispy fried tofu in Black Jack Barbecue Sauce stacked with Earthy Crunchy Slaw, tomatoes, pickles and our special sauce.” 
 
Tofu Po’Boy from Windy Corner Market in central Kentucky | Fake Food Free
 
Despite the mediocre iPhone picture, I assure you it was delicious.
 
So, I had some tofu-focused signs telling me that it was time to bring it to my kitchen. As a result, I have my version of the Tofu Boy for Topher. It is different in style and ingredients, but similar in flavors. I also still have a way to go with perfecting fried tofu, but practice makes perfect in the kitchen. 
 
Despite these shortcomings, I am ready to make this again for lunch tomorrow. It’s not Asian-style bean curd, but it’s a lot closer than the first version I tried. And surprisingly, barbecue sauce and crunchy cabbage go wonderfully with tofu. 
 
Tofu Po’Boy with Barbecue Cole Slaw | Fake Food Free
 
 
Tofu Po’Boy with Barbecue Cole Slaw
Makes: 2 servings
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Ingredients
  1. 6 pieces of tofu about 1 ½ inches wide & ½ inch thick
  2. 1 teaspoon olive oil
  3. 1 cup green cabbage, thinly sliced
  4. 1 cup purple cabbage, thinly sliced
  5. 2 green onions, sliced
  6. 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  7. 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce (I use a local favorite, KY Smokin’Grill)
  8. Salt and pepper to taste
  9. 12 inch baguette or bun
Instructions
  1. Prepare the tofu by using the instructions at Taste HongKong.
  2. In a bowl, combine the cabbages and green onion. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayo and bbq sauce. Pour the sauce over the cabbage and toss to coat. Salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Cut the baguette in half and split down the center. Once the tofu is done, place three pieces on each half of baguette. Divide the slaw and top tofu. Enjoy right away.
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 Tofu Po’Boy with Barbecue Cole Slaw | Fake Food Free
 
 
 
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Travel Snacks

November 3, 2009

The trip seemed to pick up pace towards the end and left very little time for photo managing and post writing. Here I sit in San Francisco geared up for the Foodbuzz Fest and finding it hard to believe our Southeast Asia trip is behind us.

What an amazing trip it was. Honestly we could have not asked for anything better. We have no complaints and we had more good travel luck than I think any one person is entitled to. Flights were smooth, we have our luggage (hopefully I’m not speaking too soon as I do still have to get back to KY), and no missed reservations. Pretty incredible.

I still have so much to share with you so as I get back into a kitchen next week and return to recipes I will also be continuing recaps of our foodie adventures.

I’ve been struggling a bit with how to organize it all. I didn’t want to simply provide a number of breakdowns for each location so you’ll be finding some of our favorite meals from specific places as well as combinations of food favorites from our entire trip.

As you can imagine there was quite a bit of snacking going on. In fact, I’m so full I’m beginning to worry how much room I have for this upcoming fest. We find it very difficult not to pick up an item that looks intriguing while we are out and about. Good for interesting blog material and trying new flavors, but it felt like we didn’t stop eating the whole trip!

There were so many great snacks throughout the places we visited in Southeast Asia from breads, to desserts to drinks. Some flavors were familiar such coconut others were new to us such as red bean and black sesame.

Looking back there was only one flavor I didn’t like. Those of you that know that area of the world can probably guess what it was. Yep, Durian, but I’ll explain more about that in an upcoming post.

Here were a few of the snacks that got us through the day, as if our unbelievable meals wouldn’t have tide us over.

We loved the bread shops, especially in Hong Kong. You pick up your tray and tongs and choose until your hearts content. My favorite was the green tea bun with red bean paste, soft and sweet with only a mild beany texture. My husband’s was the peanut waffle. You just can’t go wrong with waffles regardless of what culture you are in.



I had my share of drinks that could be more accurately called meals. The ice fruit shakes in Thailand were so simple, yet so tasty. I absolutely loved the jackfruit shake – a cup full of jackfruit, ice and some sugar syrup.


A fresh mango juice with sagu, or tapioca pearls, in Hong Kong. Very similar to a bubble tea, but much thicker and more filling with chunks of mango.


A coffee drink with soy bean curds in the bottom from the weekend market/walking street in Krabi, Thailand. Again, like a bubble tea. I love those chewy bites.


Avocado Coffee at the Greenfield Bungalows in Ubud-Bail, Indonesia. Catch that? Avocado coffee. Yep, I was intrigued too. They told me it was a bit of avocado blended with coffee, slightly sweetened with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. It was served cool, not exactly cold. I could get hooked on them for sure.

An item that seemed very popular in the area was squid balls and we got these at the night market/walking street in Krabi, Thailand. Basically like a baked corn fritter with pieces of squid then garnished with some sweet soy sauce and another white sauce that was like mayonnaise. These were fun to try, but not something I’d go for often.


At that same market we also picked up some steamed buns filled with a savory mix of chicken.


A real highlight was the ice cream and I think we tried it all in Singapore. I find the way they serve them on the street to be pure genius. They use two wafer cookies and slice the ice cream off in a thick rectangle. So simple, but so much better than scooped in a cone.


The first is red bean and the second, yam. Both had a flavor that I would almost assimilate with the strawberry. Kind of odd, I know, but that is what it tasted like a first bite. As different as they are from our standard ice cream flavors in the US, I found them both to my liking. You just have to get over the pieces of bean in the red bean.

We found this Azabu Sabo Hokkaido ice cream several places around Singapore. It was smooth and creamy like gelato, but in lots of traditional Asian flavors. The first wasn’t so specific to Asia I guess, but had that wonderful balance of salty and sweet – sea salt and caramel. The next day we tried the black sesame. It was nutty and sweet with a slightly grainy texture. At first I didn’t think I liked it, but it is a flavor that grows on you.

Pad Thai from the street vendors in Thailand is a snack I could eat every day for a long time before tiring of it. The noodles, sprouts and egg, not to mention the peanuts and red chili are such a delicious combination. We got this one from a cart about half way down Khao San Road in Bangkok.



Not far from that, I spotted this Roti stand and watched as the hardworking lady behind the cart rolled it out then fried it up with a very generous amount of butter. We ordered the lemon sugar and it was fantastic. Sweet and tart, it wasn’t overpowering and allowed the flavor of the bread to come through.

Thailand might be one of the best places in the world for the after midnight snack. We had the awesome experience of being shown around by some friends – expats from Australia who live and work in Bangkok. After hanging out at a street bar on Halloween night and then making a stop at the Aussie expat hangout we took a short cab ride for food. Tucked in the corner of a side street was this little place, or cart rather.

He was incredibly busy and the area was packed with locals. We enjoyed fresh noodles with pork wontons floating in a savory broth and then topped with sliced pork and crab. It was delicious, the best pork of the trip in fact. Did I mention it was a whopping $2? The price of Thai food almost makes you feel guilty for enjoying such wonderful dishes at such a low cost.


See what I mean. I’m not sure we ever stopped eating. And you would think after all that I would no longer be hungry, but just looking at these photos makes we wish we were back there enjoying it all over again.

Hong Kong: Adventures in Dim Sum

October 8, 2009


We stood there like typical tourists, a bewildered look on our faces. We were wondering if this was in fact the place the hotel desk clerk was referring to when she told us where to get dim sum for breakfast. We had just arrived at the hotel at about 8:30 am and although I had a list a mile long of recommended dim sum restaurants we were both too exhausted, hungry and still too disoriented to set out to find them just yet.

We knew right away there would be little English at this place and while we enjoy jumping feet first into other cultures, Chinese is a whole different ball game. I mean, you can’t make any type of wild guess at what words mean when reading the language. Whereas with languages like Portuguese or French you might recognize a word even if you don’t know the language much at all.

We were about to leave when what turned out to be one of the most adorable waitresses I’ve encountered greeted us in English. We asked if they had dim sum and she said yes as she seated us at a table with two women and one man. The place was obviously popular with an older group, like a retiree hangout. We were quickly welcomed without reservation.

Right away the group tried to show us how to prepare for our meal by cleaning the tea cup and chopsticks. Unable to understand, the woman next to me finally grabbed all my things and did it for me and then gestured for me to show my husband. We all laughed with each other in that way only a true language barrier can create.

They motioned for us to try our chopsticks and smiled and gave us the thumbs up when we succeeded which I have to admit was not an easy task. I am used to using my lightweight bamboo chopsticks at home and these things were heavy and not to mention a bit slippery. I’m sure I made quite a few faux pas as I tried my best.

Next we were given a lesson in the language as we were instructed to repeat the names of dishes. I received some nods, smiles and tiny cheers as I sounded my way through pronouncing them.

Fortunately, there was a menu available with English and although it wasn’t the official menu for the time we were there, they allowed us to select from it. We jumped right in and picked a variety of things. Some we’d had before, others were new and one was unidentifiable. Not bad for your first meal in a brand new country.

Along with the BBQ pork buns pictured above we ordered another favorite, steamed shrimp dumplings. The pork buns were some of the best I’ve had because they were not overly sweet. I’ve had some before that are more similar to a dessert, but these had a balanced savory flavor. The shrimp dumplings need little description. Hot and steamy, filled with tender shrimp surrounded by a delicately chewy dumpling exterior, they rank as my favorite dim sum dish.

Then this is where things got confusing. We thought we ordered steamed chicken with yam, but ended up with some rolls which can be seen in the photo above. It definitely wasn’t a disappointment, they were very good, filled with vegetables and shrimp, but I’m not exactly sure of all the ingredients.

Speaking of not knowing the ingredients our unidentifiable selection was quite interesting. It was listed as assorted meats wrapped in bamboo with oyster sauce. When it arrived, the um, meats, were certainly assorted. Actually I think the proper translation for the menu should have been meat parts. It included a piece of imitation crab and a piece of ham, the rest looked to be animal fat or cartilage of one variety or another. We ate what we could identify and tasted what we couldn’t. The flavor was actually very good, but the texture kept us from downing the whole thing.


Last, but not least, I have to show you my new favorite – pan-fried pumpkin cakes. Apparently, you can take me away from October and autumn in Kentucky, but you can’t take the pumpkin from me. These little bundles were fantastic. They had a crunchy outside layer and were filled with a thick, sweet paste on the inside.


The responsible traveler in me can’t even tell you exactly what the name of this place was as we didn’t see an official translated name. I can tell you it is on the third floor of the Emperor shopping plaza on Wan Chai road though.

As we were leaving I told my husband that dim sum experts may not have recommended that as the best in town, but nothing could compare to diving in with that cultural experience right from the start of our visit to Hong Kong.

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