Soul Food on a Dark August Day

The Buddha's Last Instruction

"Make of yourself a light,"

said the Buddha,

before he died.

I think of this every morning

as the east begins

to tear off its many clouds

of darkness, to send up the first

signal - a white fan

streaked with pin and violet

even green.

An old man, he lay down

between two sala trees,

and he might have said anything,

knowing it was his final hour.

The light burns upward,

it thickens and settles over the fields.

Around him, the villagers fathered

and stretched forward to listen.

Even before the sun itself

hangs, disattached, in the blue air,

I am touched everywhere

by its ocean of yellow waves.

No doubt he thought of everything

that had happened in his difficult life.

And then I feel the sun itself

as it blazes over the hills,

like a million flowers on fire ----

clearly I'm not needed,

yet I feel myself turning

into something of inexplicable value.

Slowly, beneath the branches,

he raised his head.

He looked into the faces of the frightened crowd. 

- Mary Oliver

Baked Tofu

Ingredients:

A packet of extra firm tofu.
Marinate:
2 Tbsp of soy sauce
2 Tbsp of Sesame oil
1 tsp of Chinese Five Spice


Instructions:

1. Take the tofu out of packet, rinse with cold water, pat dry, place tofu on a big flat plate and put another big plate on top. Put a heavy object on top to squeeze out the extra liquid. Leave it for an hour.

2. Pat dry tofu again and cut into 1/2" thick slices with a sharp knife.

3. In a small bowl mix soy sauce, sesame oil, and Chinese Five-Spice. Brush the mixture evenly on the tofu, hold the tofu gently in the palm of your hand, brush the top, sides and bottom. Lay the coated tofu in a container in layers. Cover and leave in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. Turn occasionally.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking oil and lay the marinated tofu slices in a single layer 1/2" apart. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden.

There are many ways to enjoy the baked tofu, my favorites are:

1. Cut the baked tofu into 1/2" strips, sprinkle soy sauce, sesame oil, chopped green onion and cilantro. We love spicy food so I usually add a dash of hot chili oil. Chinese usually eat this as an appetizer or as a side dish for noodle soups, rarely as a main course.

2. Cut the baked tofu into 1/2" strips or cubes, stir- fry either with broccoli, or/and red bell pepper, beans, the possibility is endless. Since the tofu is already cooked, add last just to heat through and to coat with the spices you add and the juices from the vegetables.

3. Spicy baked tofu bean paste noodle sauce - I will post the recipe shortly. "Zha Jiang Mien" is the Chinese name for noodles with a sauce made with minced pork, baked tofu, soy beans and bean paste - it's a very common and popular street food in Taiwan.  But the quality depends on how it's prepared, and the difference is like using Spaghetti sauce from a jar or making your own with fresh ingredients.