Deborah Madison's Pan-Glazed Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce

There's nothing like going to see an Almodovar movie by yourself on a Sunday night. Resplendant actresses with perpetually tear-filled eyes and glorious bosoms, foul-mouthed declarations of love, music that makes your throat swell, gallows humor - it's all so beautiful that one can get downright melancholy.

I walked out of the movie theater late last night, my eyes still sort of wet, holding my little plastic shopping bag that contained one packet of tofu, one can of coconut milk, a sackful of green beans, and a lime. I'd done my grocery shopping before the movie, not remembering that after an Almodovar movie, the only thing you really feel like eating is a spicy bowl of gazpacho and a ham sandwich (Serrano, of course). Or, if someone else is cooking, a huge paella crammed with briny clams and tender octopus and savory chorizo and green flashes of peas, I suppose.

But a new-fangled, single-girl meal of Asian-inflected tofu? Dios mio. I can't see Raimunda eating that stuff for dinner.

Still, I couldn't very well go shopping all over again, and where was I going to find Serrano ham on a Sunday night, anyway? Tofu it'd have to be. But, oh, it felt awfully unromantic to be blotting tofu slices with paper towels when all I wanted to do was chop vegetables and weep into my cutting board (of course, it would have helped things if I'd been wearing a pencil skirt and Wonderbra, instead of my Sunday uniform of jeans and a lumpy sweater).

I'd had this recipe from the New York Times clipped for years, but since Ben refuses to knowingly eat anything with fish sauce in it, I'd had to save it for a night when I'd be eating alone. Brandishing my knife as sexily (and safely!) as possible, I sliced my block of extra-firm tofu into equal pieces and blotted them dry, before whisking together coconut milk, the fish sauce, lime juice, some sugar, a spoonful of Thai red curry paste and hot chicken broth.

I browned the tofu gently in the pan, then added the pale orange sauce (which bubbled up alarmingly) and reduced it to a syrupy glaze (this actually took more than 2 minutes, as Madison directs you, but no more than 4 minutes, because then you're left with very little sauce and as anyone who eats tofu knows, not enough sauce can be a Very Bad Thing Indeed).

With a small pile of patna rice and some steamed green beans drizzled with toasted sesame oil, it was a fine dinner and one I'll certainly make again. The tofu was appealingly creamy and tender on the inside, while the outside crust had a nice chew to it. The sauce was spicy and exotic, and nicely balanced with the whole sweet, sour, salty, hot thing. It wasn't the most authentic meal I'll ever cook, but for a Sunday night by myself (and as leftovers today), it was quite good.

Would I rather have been eating morcilla? Perhaps. But then again, I'd also like to look like Penelope Cruz. With the morcilla thing, I'll just have to be patient (we're going to Spain for a few days this summer). With the Penelope thing, I'll just have to be happy that Ben doesn't like Almodovar. Because who could compete with a woman like that?

Pan-Glazed Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce
Serves 2 to 4

1 one-pound package firm or extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
Minced cilantro for garnish

1. Cut tofu widthwise into eight 1/2-inch-thick slices. Blot tofu dry between layers of paper towels.

2. Combine coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, lime juice, curry paste and sugar in small bowl, and set aside.

3. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet until shimmering. Add tofu, and cook over medium heat until golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn and cook about 5 minutes more.

4. Add coconut milk mixture to pan and simmer, turning tofu once, until liquid reduces to thick syrup and tofu is glazed, about 2 minutes. Transfer tofu to serving platter, and scrape the glaze left in pan over tofu. Garnish with minced cilantro and serve immediately.

Comments

[Lia]

I have a block of tofu waiting in my fridge for dinner tonight. I was going to make my go-to dish (a great recipe from Everyday Food that includes broccoli and cashews), but I think I might give this a whirl instead.

And wasn't Volver great? I thought Penelope was simply stunning.

[Emily]

Ooh- I loved Volver, too! Your tofu dish looks delicious and I'd take it over gazpacho and a ham sandwich any day.

[Tea]

You crack me up! "Chop vegetables and weep into my cutting board," indeed.

[i *heart* food]

I have a list of recipes from your blog that i want to try. It'ss like 100 items long. It's now 101!

My tuesday is going to be a copy of your sunday - right down to the jeans and lumpy sweater *blush*

[Nosheteria]

Sounds like a perfect Sunday evening. Sometimes there is just nothing better than going to the movies by yourself.

[lindy]

This sounds pretty good to me, being both an Almodovar and D. Madison fan. You didn't do the cilantro, did you?

[Jeff]

As long as that isn't too spicay, my wife would totally dig!

[Caroline]

I always want to eat more tofu and never quite know how to make it. This looks wonderful... I will try it!

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

I admire your fortitude. I would have saved the tofu for another day and headed straight to Tia Pol. That said, the recipe does sound delish!

[Luisa]

Lia - tell me more about this tofu and broccoli thing, I'm feeling like I'm on a bit of a beancurd roll.

Lindy - I most certainly did not!

Caroline - that's how I feel about tofu... I know I need to eat it more, but I just never know how. This is definitely one good way.

[Lia]

Luisa, I have to admit that last night on my way home, I decided to make the broccoli tofu instead since I already had all the ingredients ready for that one (minus the cashews, so I substituted sliced almonds which were an ok replacement).

It's really easy to make. You pan fry the tofu pieces, then add in cooked broccoli and a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, red pepper, rice vinegar, cornstarch and water. Topped with toasted cashews and served on top of brown rice, it's such a quick, easy and cheap meal. I've made it so many times, but have yet to ever photograph it.

I think I'll need to post it now, but I can bring you a copy of the recipe when I see you next week.

[Lia]

P.S. I just posted that last comment before noticing the top of your Nibbles column. Thanks for the shout-out! :)

[Ben]

Penelope's alright, but she's got nothin' on you Weezie.

[jinius]

wow i've never seen tofu look so sumptuous! even almodovar would fall in love with that picture!

[Lydia]

Tofu and curry sauce with Almodovar? An unusual combination, and one that only you would think of!

[abby]

I just made this tonight and it was delicious. I may eat the rest before my husband gets home! I often make tofu with red curry a la Nigella (her recipe is for fish, I think, but I substitute tofu). Her recipe always comes out differently for me and I end up having leftovers for too many nights. This may be my new go-to tofu recipe. Thanks!

[hungry girl]

Nice writing. Good eating. I like the combo.

[Laura]

Hooray! I can't wait to see what you learn on your trip to Spain. As a Spaniard it always makes me happy when people truly embrace real Spanish cooking :)

[lobstersquad]

I can´t imagine Raimunda eating tofu. And as for Penélope, I think the last time she ate morcilla must have been around the 1988 oscar nomination of "Mujeres".
I tried cooking tofu for the first time last week and wasn´t too impressed, but this sounds so tasty, I might give it a go.

[Luisa]

Laura - I'll only be there for a few days, but we'll be at a wedding, so I'm sure the food will be delicious. I didn't try any morcilla the last time I went to Spain, but I'm going to do my best to do so this time around.

[MeltingWok]

wow, the tofu is nicely browned, pan seared to perfection :) Can never go wrong with thai curry paste there. Next time I do my egg tofu scallopini, perhaps I'll use this recipe instead of mushroom seasonings. Thanks for sharing, cheers !:)

[lobstersquad]

btw, where´s the wedding? anywhwere near Madrid?

[Julie]

I can't say that I've ever been particularly successful with tofu. However Thai red curry sauce seems like just the thing to take tofu's blandness curse away.

[Anne]

Wow. Volver. A gray night. A delicious dinner of glazed tofu and rice. You, my dear, had the perfect "girlie" evening. Makes me wish Fred would go on a business trip or something!

[Luisa]

Ximena - I actually will be near Madrid, but I'm not sure of the name of the town...the town has a spa where the wedding will be.

[pseudostoops]

This was great- I doubled the sauce recipe and used half the glaze the tofu and the other half to drizzle over some steamed broccoli and spinach- it was lovely.

[Carly]

I finally got around to making this, after jotting down the recipe back in February. It was the perfect antidote to a weekend with my fiancee's family in North Carolina, where it really feels like everything is deep fried. This is sure to become a standard in our house. Thanks!

[Bill]

Thanks so very much for taking your time to create this very useful and informative site. I have learned a lot from your site. Thanks!!