One of the newer staples in my arsenal of Savory Spice Shop ingredients is Korean Aged Black Garlic. It can turn an ordinary dinner into something much more interesting and unique, so, pick some up and experiment.

Here’s what I did this time…

Ingredients:

• One block firm tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 TB chopped garlic
• 2 TB chopped black garlic (which you can find at Savory Spice Shop)
• 1 TB grated ginger
• 4 TB soy sauce (divided in half)
• 1 TB sesame oil
• 1 TB rice vinegar
• 1 lime
• 1/2 cup white wine
• baby bok choy, chopped and divided between leafy greens and celery-like stem
• soba or udon noodles
• 3-4 TB toasted sesame oil
• toasted sesame seeds (I buy my seeds already toasted from Savory Spice Shop)
• chopped peanuts

Heat up a wok with 1 TB sesame oil. When hot, add the tofu cubes, ginger, garlic, and 2 TB soy sauce. Let this cook a bit, tossing it around occasionally. Squeeze half of the lime, mix, and let it cook. Next, add the chopped stem part of the bok choy and 1 TB rice vinegar. Then add the white wine and the rest of the soy sauce and let it cook another few minutes (approximately 10 minutes total).

By now, the noodles should be boiled, drained, and rinsed. Add the noodles to the wok as well as the leafy part of the bok choy and toasted sesame oil, and gently stir to mix it all evenly and heat the noodles all the way through.

Scoop some noodles into a bowl and top with some toasted sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, and a spritz of lime. Enjoy with chopsticks.

I make a lot of Asian-inspired tofu dishes, so I decided to think outside of my box. I was in the mood for something with BBQ sauce, but wasn’t going to grill. I had a some beautiful Bok Choy from Ollin Farm’s CSA, which I absolutely love. I came up with a BBQ Sauce Tofu and Bok Choy Saute and served it over wild rice. Very satisfying.

First, I planned a little ahead and removed a firm tofu from the freezer to thaw all day. Then, I made a sauce with:

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 TB soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
• 1/2 TB dried ginger
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• a splash of fish sauce
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 cup water

Spring garlic smells absolutely amazing. Especially when you cut into it.

I had some spring garlic from Jay Hill Farm, and fresh shiitake and cinnamon cap mushrooms from Hazel Dell, so I wanted to put them together in a dish.

I decided to make a stir-fry with some carrots and firm tofu that had been frozen, thawed, and pressed.

First, I sliced 4 bulbs of the spring garlic, 1 carrot, 1/2 pound of mushrooms, and cubed the tofu.

Next, I heated 1 TB of olive oil and 1 TB of butter in a wok. When that was hot, I added 1 TB of freshly grated ginger and let that get hot before adding the mushrooms and tofu. I moved this around in the wok a bit to distribute to buttery goodness as evenly as possible before adding the spring garlic and a couple tablespoons of soy sauce.

I let this cook on medium high for 10 minutes or so before adding a little more olive oil and the carrots.

Next, I squeezed 1/2 lemon, mixed it up, and added a big handful of coarsely chopped turnip greens. I mixed those in, sprinkled the top with a tablespoon or so of Cambodian Lemongrass Curry Powder from Savory Spice Shop, mixed again, and let it cook a few minutes until the greens turned a vibrant green.

I served it over brown rice and drizzled a little the following dressing, which made enough to drizzle on two plates plus extra to put in my Spring Garlic Broth:

• 2 TB soy sauce
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp Sambal Oelek (Asian Chili Paste)
• 1 TB Kecap Manis (Sweet Soy Sauce)

Enjoy.

As always, please follow the rules to make good tofu- Buy firm or extra firm (I prefer Denver Tofu), freeze it, thaw it, press it by placing it on a hard surface with paper towels on top and bottom and a heavy surface (like a cutting board stacked with cook books) on top for 30 minutes, slice it, marinate, and bake.

For this tofu, I used my Best BBQ Sauce recipe.

Mix 1 cup BBQ sauce with 2 cups water. Pour some in a Pyrex baking dish, arrange the tofu, then pour the rest of the sauce on top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Enjoy.

I served this with my Blue Corn Cakes and sliced avocado.