Orange Pepper Tofu

I have recently discovered the Kroger near me. On my last shopping trip, I found a brick of my favorite tofu brand (Nasoya Organic) for 88 cents because the expiration date was five days away. This is the tofu that's almost $4 at Whole Foods. Score!

1 brick extra firm tofu
1 red onion
1 each red, yellow, green bell pepper
1 Anaheim pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
------------------------
2 TBSP good horseradish mustard
juice of two oranges, with some pulp
1/4 soy sauce
1/4 seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin

Cut tofu into 1" blocks, coat in oil and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, depending on oven. Turn half way through.

Slice all veggies into 1/4" slices. Be sure to remove seeds and ribs from peppers.

Juice oranges, adding mustard, soy, vinegar, cinnamon, and cumin. Mix well with whisk.

Saute peppers and onion on high for five minutes. Add tofu and saute for another two minutes. Add sauce and toss well. Use 1 TBSP cornstarch mixed with 1 TBSP of water to thicken sauce.

Serve immediately over steamed rice.

Notes:

I have recently discovered that baking tofu gives a nicer texture and makes the tofu easier to saute. You may want to double the sauce and marinate the tofu overnight before baking. I've said before I have a wacky oven. The temperature is dead on, but for some reason stuff takes longer to cook. You're baking this until the tofu is golden brown and crispy on the top and bottom.

This came out spicer than I was expecting, but I like it. In Googling chile pepper varieties to jog my memory about the kind I used here, I found this database. Impressive!

I only had a grainy, deli mustard on hand. It has a nice horseradish quality to it. If you have a real Chinese yellow mustard, you may want to reduce the amount to 1 TBSP since they are usually more potent.

I am not a fan of five-spice powder. If you are, skip the cinnamon and cumin and use that instead.

The Chinese typically use peanut oil for stir-fry, since it has a much higher smoke point that other oils.

This is so good, I'm going back for seconds.