Chinese Bistro

Tonight's class is "Chinese Bistro", which is a sneaky way of teaching people to make food very similar to what they order at PFChang$ (I don't have copyright permission). I love Asian cuisines in general, and this is a good class to get people to try cooking more asian at home. I'm trying to incorporate more veggies and tofu into my recipes these days, that way if people ever have a vegetarian or vegan come to their house, they won't feel pressured into serving a boring pasta dish with a side salad. The Chinese especially have raised vegetarian cooking into an art form, food that is both tasty on its' own merits, and beautiful to look at.

Too many people view tofu as a nasty, pale, tasteless meat "unalternative". Frankly, most of the vegetarian fare I tried when I was younger was just that. The trick is to treat tofu on its own terms. I personally like to freeze extra firm tofu, then defrost it. The texture changes completely into something with more substance to it. Then I'll pair it with a silken of soft tofu in the same dish, and the contrast in textures makes for a great dish. I'll be using that combination tonight in my take on Ma Po Tofu. Served with rice and Coconut Curried Broccoli on the side, you have a complete meal.

I still need to tweak my party menu for Saturday. This is what I have so far:

• Butter-Poached Lobster with Mango served parfait-style in a martini glass
• Baby Green Salad served with Macadamia-Crusted Goat Cheese
• (?) Pork Loin with a Ranier Cherry and Port Wine Reduction (sides TBD)
• Individual Peach Cobblers with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream