Thrifty... Healthy... and damn-right Easy to make!Those were the three main things I was aiming for when I decided to revamp my to-go meals or "baons" for work. Consider it as a personal resolution to healthy eating...more like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution! So as a stepping stone to this project, I decided to start with something really simple and a favorite of mine: my Mother's Spinach and Tofu in Oyster Sauce!
What I love the most about this dish is the simplicity of it, and that the ingredients are easily available and, the best of all, affordable! It is for me a perfect lunch to take to work because whipping it up does not take much time. Add to the fact that this is also a great suggestion for a healthy baon for kids to have at school, too. I learned how to make this from my Mother and it has remained up to this day, one of my favorites, for the main reason that it highlights two healthy elements: Spinach and Tofu.
One of which, Spinach is one of the highly suggested vegetable staples to have, being packed with nutrients, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Calcium and anti-oxidants, all of which benefit to the overall well-being of a person, as well as help fight off free radicals and improve the immune system. In addition to this, Spinach has been given much regard by research for contributing against Cancer and other age-related illnesses.
(To learn more about the Health Benefits of Spinach, Click Here)
Tofu (and other soy products) on the other hand is well known for it being a great source of Protein, thus making it a popular alternative to meat products. But aside from the general knowledge, a recent research has found another benefit we can get from eating Tofu. It has been found that Peptides extracted from Soy Beans have a considerable effect on slowing the growth of cancer cells by around 70%. (To learn more about this research, read the article from blog.womenshealthmag.com) Thus, combining the dynamic duo of Tofu and Spinach makes this dish a sure-packed health treat!
Being an amateur cook and food enthusiast, I found cooking this up is a breeze to do. I know it may not be as fancy as the amazing concoctions out there but hey! What's important is that it taste good and it makes me good inside, right?! So preparation! We start off by gathering our ingredients: a couple bunches of fresh Spinach, a pack of four firm Tofu, a Medium Red Onion, 3 cloves of Garlic, 2 tbsp. of good Oyster Sauce, a tsp. of Brown Sugar, Salt and Vegetable Oil. We get on by slicing up the Onion oh so thinly so that when we cook it, it blends so nicely with the vegetable and then chop the Garlic. These we set aside for the amazing saute goodness (God I love the aroma of Onions and Garlic cooking up!)
For the Tofu, better make sure to the drain the liquid out and pat the Tofu blocks dry. I found this helps considerably in my attempts to get that amazing golden brown texture when I fry Tofu. So after patting them dry, we proceed to cutting them into a convenient-to-eat 1 cm sticks. From there we prep the Vegetable Oil (enough to fry the Tofu) on the Wok in High-Medium heat.
We first fry the Tofu, cooking them until they reach that beautiful golden brown hue. It's important to note that in frying these babies, not crowding them in the pan is crucial if you want the Tofu sticks to be evenly browned. My thanks to Julia Child for that simply logical tip, although she did mention that tip while browning mushrooms, but hey, it applies and it works pretty damn well! Check the pic below.
Once the Tofu sticks are cooked, these are set aside to drain off excess oil. Then we proceed to the next phase. Reduce the oil in the pan - a considerably enough amount for sauteing. We then start off by sauteing the Onions and Garlic, and like I said earlier, I love the smell emanating from cooking them up! Next we add in the seasonings - the Oyster Sauce, 1/4 cup of Water, Sugar and Salt. These can be adjusted according to your taste preference, and you can even use Soy Sauce as an alternative to Salt to add in an extra taste element to this dish. Once these are mixed in well in the pan, you can let it simmer a bit then add in the Spinach leaves. And here's the irony of Spinach leaves... you think you have a lot to serve once you buy them but once you drop them in the hot pan, they shrink up, beating down your expectations of a big serving size! Anyways, after adding in the Spinach leaves, you cook them until they are wilted, and then mix in the Tofu Sticks and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. From there... you are all set! Serve it for everyone to enjoy or pack yourself some to take to work.
And since I enjoyed having my taste of it, I couldn't help but have a go at eating it and serving myself with my own cooking on a bowl of hot steaming rice. A truly satisfying lunch I might say!
I soon realized that being healthy with what you eat can be equally satisfying and I intend to continue on this project, cooking up more of these Thrifty, Healthy and Easy Baon Dishes! And if you do give this a shot, I hope you get to share the same satisfaction as I have with this motherly creation that I shared with you.... so enjoy!
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