Getting Saucy

I have a very interesting, unique personality. Sometimes, I'm in a great mood and nice to everyone around me. I can light up the world with my smile, and I really am a nice girl. Sometimes, I'm down right sardonic. The point here is that sometimes I'm a little sweet and sometimes I'm a little sour. It makes sense that one of my favorite dishes before "the change" was sweet and sour shrimp. There's this great Chinese food restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd called Jin Jiang. It looks like something straight out of Temple of Doom. At least I think it was Temple of Doom that started out in some 80's-tastic chinese night club. Am I right here?
Oh yea, so this is a food blog. Point is, sweet and sour sauce is easily made vegan. However, you need to decide what to pour it over. I've been meaning to try it with vegetables, but I really love it over tofu. I've been eating a bit of tofu lately (and balancing it out by using rice-milk instead of soy). This dish is best served over steamed rice with a side of lightly steamed vegetables. I like to go with snap peas, mushrooms, and broccoli, but really you should do what you feel.


Sweet and Sour Tofu
1/3 c. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. agave
1 tbsp. ketchup
2 tsp. molasses
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. corn starch dissolved in 4 tsp. water
1/2 package tofu
2 tbsp. cornstarch by itself


In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, ketchup, agave, and soy sauce to a boil.
Add cornstarch and stir until thickened.
While the sweet and sour is thickening, rinse and pat dry about half a package of tofu. Cut it into some artful pieces. I've seen triangles, but I usually go for the more classic cube. You could use star-shaped cookie cutters if you need to get magical.
Coat a pan with nonstick spray and dredge the tofu through the cornstarch. Cook over medium heat until golden brown, flip and repeat.
Serve by plating your tofu and drizzling the sweet and sour over it.