Korean Tofu Tacos

In May, Food and Wine magazine included a story about different tacos from across the US. Most of the tacos in the story were traditional al pastor, chicken, or fish varieties, but they also showed a fun fusion option. Here in Austin, we enjoy a delightful plethora of taco opportunities of all kinds, and we even have a trailer that offers up Korean-Mexican fusion fare. Chi’lantro, the name being a melding of kimchi and cilantro, moves around town to different locations, and I haven’t been able to visit the trailer yet. So, when I saw these crunchy tofu tacos with kimchi in the magazine, they were destined for my dinner table. First, I needed to visit my nearby Korean market for kimchi and gochujang. As luck would have it, the only msg-free kimchi available that day was a big jar. I asked around about how to use some of it quickly to regain refrigerator space and got some great ideas like kimchi burgers and kimchi soup. Now, my big jar will be empty in no time.

To make these tacos, tofu was drained, patted dry, and cut into one-inch cubes. A paste was made from Korean chile powder, gochujang, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and salt. In a separate bowl, cornstarch was combined with Korean chile powder and salt. The tofu cubes were tossed in the chile paste mixture and then in the cornstarch. Then, it was fried in hot oil for three minutes or less until browned and crunchy on the surface. Tortillas were filled with the fried tofu, hoisin sauce, kimchi, sliced pear, green onions, and chopped peanuts. I added a little extra gochujang as well.

I was completely thrilled with these tacos. This mix of spicy, tangy, crunchy, savory, and sweet was a big winner. I should have thought of this sooner, but an interesting substitution for the pear slices, and to extend the fusion concept, would be jicama. I also think this taco filling would be fun and delicious placed on top of crisp tostadas. Clearly, this is somthing I’ll be making again and again.

Hoisin-Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken with Asparagus and Shitake Stir-Fry

How weird, anal, and obsessive is my recipe collecting? You don’t really want to know. I’ll just say that for years I’ve been cutting photos and recipes out of magazines and filing them by category. One of those magazines is Living, and its recipes get their own filing system. Recipes from other food publications have a separate system of their own. Too much information? You don’t want to see the files or how they’re overflowing at this point. The important thing is that I do actually, eventually thumb through them for inspiration.

In Living, there’s a section each month called What’s for Dinner, and four recipe cards are included with photos on the front sides. They get their own file folder. Well, at long last, a What’s for Dinner dating from March 2003 made it to our table last Sunday. As it appeared on the recipe cards, it was

Hoisin-Roasted Game Hens with Asparagus and Shitake Stir-Fry.

I revised the meal a little by using a whole chicken instead of game hens, and the chicken was spatchcocked and grilled instead of roasted. The chicken was prepared as follows:
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 fresh red Fresno chiles, seeded and finely chopped
3 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T lime juice
1 t soy sauce
¼ c canola oil
½ c hoisin sauce
-remove backbone from chicken and flatten it with wings tucked back
-mix all ingredients except hoisin together and spoon mixture over both sides of chicken and rub under skin; refrigerate until ready to grill
-grill over high heat for seven to ten minutes per side, then move chicken to a cooler side of the grill; baste with hoisin sauce and cook for ten minutes; turn and baste other side and cook until juices run clear when pierced, about another ten minutes

Note about hoisin sauce: Some brands list sugar as the first ingredient and contain astronomical amounts of sodium. I chose House of Tsang brand because the first ingredient listed is fermented soybean paste, it contains no msg, and it is much lower in sodium and sugar than others.

For the asparagus and shitake stir-fry, my only change was adding red bell pepper. The plated chicken and vegetables were sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. I’m glad I kept these recipes. Hoisin makes a great barbeque sauce, and this was another really easy meal.

What will I do if I ever make it through all of my files? What if they’re left empty with nothing remaining to cook? I’ll just keep reading so that never happens.