Moo Shu Tofu Wraps

Now that school has started again, I am completely overwhelmed with the amount of homework.  It's really not cool how much work can be piled on a person.  One of the things that I have to do is participate in National History Day, which is a competition where we have to research a topic and present it somehow.  I decided to research the spice trade, and ended up reading Nathanial's Nutmeg, which is really a spectacular book about how the British and Dutch East India Companies fought over control for the Spice Islands.  The book was really well written too, especially for a nonfiction.  It's not dry at all.  In fact, when I finally reached the end of it, I nearly cried because of what happened.  But on the whole it was a very facinating story about what the two companies did to keep their hold on the spice trade.  I will never use nutmeg or cinnamon with the same attitude again, because so many thousands of lives were fought over just those little Spice Islands.  That's so facinating, what went into getting control of some of the smallest islands in the world, and just how much spices used to cost back in the 17th century.

 I did not use any of those sorts of spices in this dish, but I still think of Nathanial every time I reach for the cinnamon.  These wraps are more Asian, and are really quite good, if quite messy to eat.  And, as usual, the pictures for wraps are not all that pretty.  I have yet to figure out how to take decent pictures of a wrap.  But despite all of that, these taste amazing, especially for the 15 minutes of total labour that went into making these.  I probably spent the most time trying to find the wraps at the Asain Market.  Every time I go for something new there, I end up spending quite some time deciphering what the packages contain, and even then I usually end up subsutituting something else.  I suppose one could just use normal wraps, too, but that wouldn't be as fun...  As for the tofu, I have always wanted to try marinade tofu before broiling it, but I have never had the chance.  Well, now I have done that, and turned out really good. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to broil it for longer, to get more of a hard outside.  But other than that, these were perfect.

Moo Shu Tofu Wraps

Adapted from Chinese and Thai 400

Serves 4

19 oz tofu, cut into 1 ½ strips and pressed for 30 minutes

4 carrots, cut into strips
1 bunch green onions, cut into pieces the same length as the carrots, halved if large

8 Moo Shu wraps, warmed

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup soy sauce

½ tbsp fresh grated ginger
¼ cup hoisin sauce
¼ cup dry sherry
2 tbsp honey or agave nectar
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
3 large cloves garlic, pressed

Mix together the chopped bell pepper through the garlic in a medium bowl, and add the tofu strips. Marinade for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler, and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Remove the tofu and place on the baking sheet, reserving the marinade. Broil the tofu for 15 minutes or so, until nice and firm.

Heat a wok with a bit of water over medium high heat. Add the carrots and green onions, and stir fry until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the leftover marinade, reduce the heat, and cook for another minute.

Serve, dividing the tofu and veggies among the wraps, taking care to not get any extra sauce on the wraps because they will break more easily.