DEC 2009 HealthyLife.Net Listener Newsletter

Hunan-Style Tofu & Vegetables
Chris Vachon

Marinade
o ½ C rice wine
o ½ C soy sauce
o a C vegetable broth
o 3 T apple cider vinegar
o 1 tsp powdered hot red peppers (or less or more, to taste)

Tofu and Vegetables
o 1 lb firm tofu
o Broccoli, mushrooms, snow peas, baby peas, and other favorite vegetables

Sauce
o b C vegetable broth
o ½ C red wine
o 1 tsp thick soy sauce
o ½ C soy sauce
o 2 T cornstarch or arrowroot
o ½ C water
o 2-3 large cloves fresh garlic
o ¼" piece of fresh ginger root
o 2 T salted black beans
o ½ C peanut oil
o 5-6 dried hot red peppers

For the marinade: mix together rice wine, soy sauce, vegetable broth, and apple cider vinegar. Stir in hot red peppers. Slice tofu thinly and evenly into strips (about ¼"-thick). Put strips in a bowl and pour in marinade. Mix thoroughly and cover; set aside. Dice vegetables into small, bite-sized pieces. Dice broccoli and put it into a bowl; do the same with the mushrooms. Tail the snow peas and put them into a bowl. Put the baby peas into a bowl. Make the sauce: Combine vegetable broth, red wine, and soy sauces in a bowl. Mix together, set aside. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch or arrowroot into water and set aside. Chop garlic and ginger root very finely. In another bowl, mix salted black beans, garlic, and ginger together; set aside. Light up stove to high and heat wok until it smokes. Add peanut oil. Get oil really hot, and then add dried hot peppers. Next, add the ginger/garlic/black bean mix, stirring constantly. Use two long-handled wok spatulas while stir-frying. Add tofu. Stir for 1 minute. Add broccoli (and other "harder" vegetables). Continue stirring-keep burner on maximum heat throughout. Another 30 seconds later, add snow peas, and then the baby peas. Pour in sauce, stirring quickly and evenly. Add mushrooms to wok. Re-stir and add in cornstarch or arrowroot/water mixture. Garnish with chopped fresh shallots or spring onions. Serve with steamed rice or noodles.

Since 1990, multi-talented Chris Vachon has been guitarist for the award-winning, chart-climbing Roomful of Blues, Rhode Island's most famous band. His prowess as a guitar slinger is well documented, and his strengths as a producer and songwriter grow from album to album. Chris produced the band's most recent albums-There Goes the Neighborhood (1998), Watch You When You Go (2001), Live at Wolf Trap (2002) the Grammy-nominated That's Right! (2003), Standing Room Only (2004), and Raisin' a Ruckus (2008), after co-producing all of Roomful's other albums recorded in the '90s. Chris' Web sites: www.roomful.com and www.alligator.com