I have a thing for magazines.
People always say that print is dead and that the internet has replaced magazines and newspapers. Well, clearly these people do not know me. Because I will take a print magazine over the internet any day. There's something about magazines that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
It's probably because I grew up reading magazines. My grandma subscribed to just about every publication under the sun--Cosmopolitan, Allure, Good Housekeeping, Lucky. But my favorite were the tabloids. Once a week, my grandparents would drop off a big shopping bag full of old magazines for my mom to read and I'd immediately rifle through them, pull out The National Enquirer, and bring it up to my room. I was quite possibly the only third grader who knew all about Jessica Hahn or that Kitty Dukakis was drinking rubbing alcohol before her stint at Betty Ford. And when I grew up, it was kind of fitting that I was a periodicals librarian. For a while, at least.
Although I still love tabloids, most of my magazine subscriptions are food-related now. If it's a magazine and it involves food, you can bet I probably get it delivered to my mailbox once a month. Years ago, I used to tear out all the vegetarian recipes, but lately I gravitate towards the recipes made with meat. It's more of a challenge! And so many of the vegetarian recipes in magazines are similar--vegetable lasagna is nice, but I don't need 20 recipes for it, you see.
I clipped out a recipe for a Grilled Thai Chicken Sandwich from the most recent issue of Eating Well because I thought it would be good with tofu instead. I ended up making a lot of changes, but the resulting meal was super tasty.
If you read my tofu for tofu haters post, you might remember this cooking technique--I cut the tofu into 16 triangles and then fry it in a tablespoon of oil. It gives the tofu a crunchy exterior and a bit of a nutty flavor. But the real nutty flavor comes from peanut sauce. Delicious ginger peanut sauce!
(I also have a thing for peanut sauce.)
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
Crispy Tofu
- 1-14 oz. package extra-firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes (you can use a tofu press)
- 1 tbsp. vegetable or peanut oil
Ginger Peanut Sauce
- 6 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce
- 2-3 tsp. light brown sugar, to taste
- 1 tbsp. ginger juice, see note
- cayenne to taste, optional
- 1 tbsp. lite coconut milk or water
Sandwiches
- 1 small carrot, peeled and shredded
- 1 small sweet red pepper, sliced
- ¼ c. sliced green onion
- 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
- 4 sandwich wraps, pitas, tortillas, or naan (if you don't eat dairy, make sure the naan is vegan if you use it!)
- lime wedges, optional
Instructions
Crispy Tofu
- Cut tofu crosswise into 8 slices; cut each slice into two triangles. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high eat. Carefully place tofu in skillet (the oil may spatter a little!); cook about 5 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy. Transfer tofu to plate lined with paper towels to absorb any extra oil.
Ginger Peanut Sauce
- Whisk together all ingredients. Add additional coconut milk or water, one tablespoon at a time, to thin sauce if necessary. (Some peanut butters are thicker than others, so the amount you need depends on the type of peanut butter you use.)
Sandwiches
- Heat sandwich wraps, tortillas, pitas, or naan according to package instructions--you want them to be pliable so they can be folded over without breaking. Top each with 4 pieces of tofu, shredded carrot, red pepper, green onion, cilantro, and peanut sauce and fold. Serve with lime wedges, if using.
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
I'm always so torn because prefer magazines over the internet as well but environmentally I don't like to go that route, even though I recycle. I just got the Swiss Colony catalog in the mail the other day which is the signal that yes maam, the holidays are coming and that makes me an ecstatic girl!
Look how purty that dish is!
Kiersten says
I donate my magazines to the library after I read them. They'll either sell them or use them to replace their own worn out issues. No environmental guilt that way!
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
I need this sandwich in my life! I can see it just being so messy and delicious.
Jeanette says
I love the idea of a crispy tofu sandwich - I happen to love tofu, but I'm sure you'd convert non-tofu eaters to try this, especially with peanut sauce!
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
I'm with you! I will ALWAYS choose print over the internet and suspect I always will. That is one tantalizing meal there!
Kiersten says
We probably shouldn't be admitting to this as bloggers, huh? 😉
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective says
Girl, I get more cooking magazines than I would like to admit! This looks utterly delicious!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
great looking vegetarian sandwich!! I am putting this on my list
Carolyn says
I love tofu, and pressing it makes all the difference in getting a decent crispness to it. Yummy recipe!
HilLesha says
I bet that is really good!
Lauren@LittleYellowKitchen says
Wow! That looks amazing. I'm on the same page about magazines...print magazines. I love cuddling up on the sofa after a long day with a glass of wine and Sunset. It's just not the same with a computer in your lap!
Kiersten says
You cannot curl up with a computer on your lap! And if you do, you're just asking for carpal tunnel syndrome.
JulieD says
Wow, this looks amazing!!! I really need to cook more with tofu like you!
Tina @ More Please Recipes says
I too love magazines. Maybe print is on its way out, but I'll be clutching my issues of Food and Wine, Cooking Light, and Eating Well until the day I die! Sandwich looks great; something I definitely want to try soon!
Kiersten says
Cooking Light and Eating Well are two of my favorites too!
Marisa Voorhees, The Food-Sensitive Foodie says
What a super tasty (and beautiful) recipe. I've had tofu in my fridge just begging me to use it. Tamari instead of soy sauce and my favorite brown rice wrap - I'll be scarfing the gluten-free version tonight. Thank for posting!
Kiersten says
Yay! I hope you like it! 😀
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
As much as I enjoy surfing online, I still appreciate and enjoy REAL books and magazines. They are just different...you can touch, feel and smell them. Ain't they just wonderful! That's something online reading can't do at all.
I need to make some tofu sandwiches!! They are right up my alley!
Kiersten says
Yes! Even seeing a photo of a recipe in print is so much more engaging to me than seeing it online.
Jackie @ Domestic Fits says
I love magazines too. It's strange, but I still get really excited when they come in the mail. EVEN when my (not at all a magazine) King Arthur Flour catalogue comes.
And I love this tofu recipe.
Mary Beth Elderton says
Okay.Okay. I will try tofu again. I have just never warmed up to it,but I am willing to think that I have just never cooked it well. We have reduced our meat consumption drastically--mostly doing something like what you do. I read both vegetarian and meat versions, then do something sort of in between, usually substituting smashed beans--the meat becomes more of a flavoring than a main ingredient, but also provides whole protein.
This sandwich actually looks really good! I think we would enjoy tofu fried a bit crispy.
Kiersten says
Yeah, if it's the texture that you don't like about tofu, frying it a little will help. It will get kind of chewy (instead of soft/mushy) and the exterior is nice and crisp. And adding the peanut sauce helps the flavor too!
Natalie says
This is the only recipe I saved from that magazine! I actually thought about making it this weekend but then saw that you had to grill pizza dough and I don't have a grill so I abandoned it. Love the idea of using naan instead though - that would make it much easier!
Kiersten says
I know! I mean, I'm sure it's good, but who wants to fire up the grill just to make bread for a sandwich?! I like this way better. 🙂
Balvinder says
I am not a tofu hater but I do crunch a bit as you have said in your post. This is a beautiful sandwich, I just showed it to my daughter and she wants it for lunch this week. Thanks for sharing!
Your Photographs are work of art.
Kiersten says
Thank you! I hope your daughter likes it if you make it. 🙂 I'm picky about tofu too, but when it's pan-fried and paired with a strongly-flavored sauce, it's so good!
SCM (SocialCafe Magazine) says
I love magazines, especially food and decorating ones. I'm the same with books. I just don't have that same feeling when reading a digital copy of a book. I love print and that feeling of curling up in a chair or on the couch with a cup of coffee and a book 🙂
Love this dish, I'm trying to include more tofu in our diet and well, with picky eaters all around me it's not going that well. But the ginger peanut sauce may just do the trick 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Kiersten says
Yeah, tofu can be a tough sell. But frying it in a small amount of oil really helps. And then if that doesn't work, drown it in peanut sauce. 😀
Courtney Rae Jones says
Awe, you sound just like me. My grandma orders every magazine under the sun. And passes them on to me. I definitely have inherited her obsession. I subscribed to lots of magazines myself and then hoard them. LOL.
Still not a huge fan of tofu, but this sandwich looks AWESOME. Love the idea of crispy tofu with ginger peanut sauce. Sounds wonderful. Looking forward to trying this soon!
Kiersten says
That is so funny! Now that I live several states away, I don't get the hand-me-down magazines anymore. I miss my tabloids! And if you're not a fan of tofu, I think tempeh would work really well in this sandwich too. You could even just add more veggies!
Brenda Williams says
This looks so good. Yes, I love magazines too and read and re-read them. I enjoy recipes on the internet and in magazines, BUT my favorite thing is to have them all in a cookbook...I think having ALL YOUR RECIPES in a COOKBOOK would be wonderful for all of us!
All you OH MY VEGGIES readers encourage Kiersten and let her know we want all her recipes in a cookbook!
Kiersten says
I am working on it! 🙂 I hope to have some news about that by the end of the year.
Chris says
Wowser! This looks amazing. I never know what to do with tofu, but I do now.
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom says
I love all the different colors in textures in this recipe! This looks beautiful and sounds delicious!
Kathy - Panini Happy says
Great idea to use tofu in a sandwich - can you believe I still haven't done that? Sounds like I need to!
Richa says
that is one perfect sandwich for me! i love print magazines.. the online ones dont keep me as into them. i already spend too much time online, so a cozy print mag on a comfy recliner is the way for me
Kiersten says
I definitely spend more than enough time online myself!
Regan @ The Professional Palate says
I never tell you enough how much I like your site & your recipes, but this one today reminded me that I needed to 🙂
Kiersten says
Aw, thank you! 😀