Ah yes, tofu!!!

Just gotta love that stuff!  Think about it:  I was raised on good old staunch Austrian food and although we weren’t rich, we were never starving.  Even if all we had for dinner was bread and margerine – starve we did not! 

So, after being anorexic and only having memories of stick to your ribs food, Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim suggested I eat tofu. 

Well, at the time, I had no idea what it even was, so I went to the nearest grocery store and got a generic package of tofu.  I went home, opened it and try to eat it, as it was.   YUCK!!!!!!

I went back to Grandmaster Kim and told her I simply didn’t like tofu and couldn’t eat it.  She asked me to describe how I prepared it.  Prepare??  I was glad I made Grandmaster laugh!  After composing herself again, she gently taught me one very simply way to actually enjoy tofu, not just choke it down.

Here is a very basic “recipe” on how to enjoy your tofu, or, “tofu for beginners”:

Ingredients:

• Firm tofu (best from an oriental grocery store)
• about a handful chopped green onions
• about a tablespoon chopped garlic
• about a tablespoon red pepper flakes
• a little fresh lemon juice (optional)
• a dab of honey (optional)
• about a tablespoon ground sesame seeds
• Naturally fermented soy sauce

Start by cutting up the tofu into bite sized pieces (Koreans tend to make small rectangles that arent too thick)

in a seperate bowl, put the chopped green onions and the rest of the solid ingredients.  Add enough soy sauce to make it into a thick sauce, and spoon over the drained and cut up tofu.

Enjoy!!!

PS:  I know there are probably thousands of different variations on this, and I am not claiming any originality, in fact, I didn’t come up with this!  This is the first recipe I ever received from Grandmaster Kim, so it holds a place very dear in my heart.

PPS:  If you really want to do it up, blot dry the tofu, coat it with a mixed up egg, and fry.  Then use as above.