CSA Zero: Chilled tofu with stuff on it; whatever gomae-ae
Last week I had friends in town, but still managed to not throw any of my CSA out! Victory! I don’t have much to say, because I’ve been feeling annoyingly emotional recently, just a pervasive tenderness that makes daily living really aggravating, because I keep getting sad or angry really suddenly without realizing that it’s happening at first.
My favorite wrestling promotion started allowing cheering again (for the last two years the line in Japan has been to “cheer inside your heart”) and when I heard people cheering at Summer Sun Princess I cried. There’s a wrestler that I follow whose gimmick is that he is sexy (he says “sexy” over and over, like he’s a pokemon and its his name) and now the audience can finally chant “sexy!” when he comes on. It’s really good stuff.
I keep wanting to write about wrestling, but unfortunately, everyone except for Noah is tired of hearing me think about it. It’s funny, I have no idea what is going on in The Theatre, but I do follow live performance art, so I guess that theatre degree is getting put to good use anyhow. Anyway, on to the CSA.
This week here’s what I have:
Bunch of radishes
Collards (again, I am tired of collards)
Swiss chard (again, and I didn’t eat last week’s yet, oops.)
Zucchini
THREE cucumbers
Basil
Kale
Scallions
Here’s a little menu that uses this stuff:
Steamed tofu with scallions, ginger, and cilantro with stir fried garlic scapes, carrots, and fake meat
Kale, walnut and breadcrumb pasta (I shared this one many years ago I think?) with marinated zucchini (Split zucchini in half, brown the cut side in an oiled pan very thoroughly, then flip and cook the other side, total cooking time around five minutes) mix a little olive oil, a spoonful of minced garlic, and a lot of red wine vinegar in a container with some chili (I like the silk chili, or aleppo pepper, gochugaru obviously works as well). Once cooked, cut the zucchini into a few big chunks, add to the mix. Toss around, then add some slivered basil. Let rest. Lasts in the fridge for a good four days.)
Chilled tofu with stuff on it and swiss chard gomae-ae (recipes below!)
Dubu jorim with oi muchim (I like mine sweeter than most recipes are, so I add plum syrup at the end) and collard namul (like a basic spinach one except you cook the collards longer)
Pesto pasta with the kale breadcrumb salad (I will eat any permutation of kale, walnuts, and breadcrumbs, I guess.)
Sweet and sour baby radish stir fry (haven’t tried it yet, might be awful) with rice and may wah meat
Chilled tofu with stuff on it
Silken tofu block
Ginger
Frozen corn kernels
Sake
Ponzu
Bonito flakes
Scallions
Other stuff to put on it you want (shiso is good if you have some)
To make chilled tofu with stuff on it:
Pour a generous handful of corn into a small frying pan, add sake, cook quickly over high heat. Pour into a small dish and stick in the freezer or fridge.
Remove silken tofu block from the water, set on a few paper towels on a plate and put in the fridge for 15 minutes or longer.
Grate ginger (mincing it will not do in this case, you need the juice.), a lot.
Chop herbs if you’re putting some on there (scallions are Quite Necessary, shiso or perilla is also a really nice addition)
Assemble:
Split tofu block in half (one block is good for two people), cover the entire top with a generous amount of ginger, you want toe to tip coverage. Layer your stuff on it, starting with herbs, then corn, then ending with bonito flakes, finally pour some ponzu over the top. Eat with rice and pickles if you have them, or another vegetable. I really like green beans goma-ae, which I make a super lazy and fucked up version of using Chinese sesame paste (don’t @ me, I am Lazy).
I love this dish. it’s great in the summer, when your house is already hot, and when you feel lazy.
Fucked up gomae-ae
2 tbs sesame paste (I use unhulled sesame paste which I get from the Chinese grocery)
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp soy sauce (or more if you want)
1 tsp mirin
Mix well, and add to blanched vegetables. This week it’s going on chard. I mean, whatever. We do what works, I make no claims to authenticity.