Surprise Dinner Guests

Last night was just going to be another sleepy Monday night when I got home from work my friend called me and we decided to have a little wine and dinner at my place...yay for impromptu dinner parties!! Her and her friend visiting from Dublin had to make the trek in from Vancouver to Coquitlam which is a good 45 min, so me and my sister got right to work on what to make. She said she likes quinoa so I decided to make, a big salad, quinoa and this new crispy tofu recipe I found on Martha Stewarts whole living website. I took a photo of the beautiful salad my sister made, but forgot to take a picture of the rest of the food...ooops. It was very tasty, I have never tried to make tofu like this before and I quite liked it. The salad had everything but the kitchen sinks in it: butter lettuce, avocado, craisins, mandarin, orange slices, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sprouts, cucumber, tomato and feta cheese.

Spicy Crispy Tofu Recipe

Serves 4

1 package regular tofu, firm or extra-firm, drained
1/3 cup spicy Asian chile sauce , plus 1/2 teaspoon for dressing
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt
1 cup panko
3 tablespoons canola oil
Directions
1.Cut the tofu in half horizontally (slicing parallel to work surface). Keep the tofu stacked; cut crosswise in half to make 4 rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 2 triangles. Press).

2.In a large bowl whisk together 1/2 teaspoon chili sauce, orange zest, orange juice, and olive oil. Season the mixture with salt to taste. Set aside.

3.Pour the remaining 1/3 cup chile sauce into a shallow bowl. Place the panko in a separate shallow bowl. Piece by piece, gently coat the tofu in the chile sauce and then the panko, patting it on each piece to coat.

4.In a large, nonstick skillet, heat half the canola oil over medium heat. Gently place half the tofu in skillet. Pan-fry the tofu, turning once, until outsides are crisp and brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat. Repeat the process with remaining oil and tofu.