Every now and then I miss Chinese takeout. I miss the pork fried rice and that great salty taste of it. I miss the sesame chicken and the sauce that coats the rice perfectly. While Sarasota has a lot of good places to eat, good Chinese take out isn’t here. Or at least I haven’t found it.

To combat this issue, I decided to make my own fried rice the other day. I call this “leftover fried rice” since it was made entirely of things I had in the pantry (rice and sauce ingredients) and leftovers in the fridge that I needed to do something with (tofu, scallions, carrots, peas).

I did consult my usual internet sources – NY Times Cooking, Minimalist Baker, Two Peas and Their Pod, Oh My Veggies, etc., but I just didn’t see anything that was exactly what I wanted, or that didn’t require me to go to the grocery yet again.

So … leftover fried rice.

Recipe:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/2 contains firm tofu, pressed
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/3 cup diced carrot
• 3 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon peanut or almond butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• cornstarch
• olive and sesame oils

Cut the tofu into pieces, about 1/3 inch or so. Press to remove water, then coat in cornstarch.

Heat 1 teaspoon sesame and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When pan and oil is hot, add tofu and fry until crisp on all sides. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and return pan to heat.

Beat eggs and add to pan with remaining oil. Cook, stirring constantly until you have soft fried eggs (under cook these a little since you will be returning them to heat at the end). Remove eggs and put aside with the tofu.

Heat another 1 teaspoon sesame and 1 tablespoon olive oils in pan over medium heat. Add carrots, scallions and garlic to pan, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for three to five minutes, then add peas and cook 1-2 minutes more.

While vegetables (or tofu) are cooking, make sauce. Combine, peanut butter, honey, chili garlic sauce and soy sauce. mix well. Adjust seasoning as needed – I added a little more soy for salty.

Add 1 tablespoon of sauce to pan with vegetables and mix. Add rice and stir together so vegetables are distributed through. Add 1/2 of the sauce and mix to coat the rice. Let sit over medium heat for a few minutes to get the rice crisp on the bottom. Add tofu and egg, mix again, and the add remaining sauce and mix one more time. Allow to heat through 1-2 minutes.  Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.

I was in the mood for pasta, but I didn’t want spaghetti or ravioli. When I first thought about making lasagna I contemplated a regular spinach one, but that didn’t appeal either. I finally settled on a cheese lasagna. Yes, this is mostly cheese and noodles, not a particularly inspired concoction, but it worked.

I started with the sauce. Instead of buying a jar of sauce (which, I admit is easier) I pulled the crushed tomatoes from the freezer and decided to make my own sauce. I wanted some vegetables in it, so I finely chopped some carrots and grated a zucchini. I wanted to grate the carrots too, but I only had baby carrots on hand and those are a pain to grate.

After cooking the aromatics and vegetables, I added the tomatoes, a touch a sugar and some red wine and let that cook fora few minutes. The final touch to the sauce was a little grated pecorino.

The layers – I kept this simple. Lasagna noodles, sauce, ricotta cheese and repeat. On the top I sprinkled shredded mozzarella and some more grated pecorino. It looked pretty.

Lasagna is a pretty simple dish and done right, it is everything a good comfort food should be – filling, satisfying and something you want seconds of.

Recipe (Sauce):

• 1 can or box crushed tomatoes (~15 oz)
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano (I used fresh, but dried is ok too)
• 1/4 -1/3 cup grated carrot
• 1/2-2/3 cup grated zucchini
• dash of wine (optional – whatever you have on hand will do)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• small handful grated pecorino cheese (<1/4 cup)
• oil, salt and pepper

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion, garlic and oregano and cook, stirring, until soft – about 3 minutes. Add carrots and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and cook about two minutes.

If using, stir in wine to deglaze the pan and scrape any browned bits. Add tomatoes, sugar and a pinch more salt. Stir and raise heat to medium high. Cook until bubbly, then reduce heat and cook through another 2 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Lasagna:

• 9 lasagna noodles (I like the no bake kind)
• sauce (see above)
• 1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper
• 1/3-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cop grated pecorino

In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, salt and pepper and a small amount of mozzarella. Stir to combine.

In a 8 in square pan, spoon a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place three noodles on the bottom of the pan. (two will fit – I place a third in the middle over the seam because I like noodles, you can leave this one out if you want.) Layer on about 1/3 of the sauce. Layer 1/2 of ricotta over sauce and spread into thin layer. Top, in the opposite direction of the first noodles, three more noodles. Repeat sauce and cheese layer and top with another three noodles. Pour rest of sauce over the top and sprinkle mozzarella and pecorino over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting and service. (If you want browned cheese, uncover for the last ten minutes).

I was in a weird place this weekend. I didn’t know what I wanted to make for dinner this week and I was having trouble thinking of something different. I wanted to try something new, but I also knew I had a lot of school work to do. Part of me wanted pork steam buns, but I really didn’t want any meat. I decided to try a vegetarian version using tofu instead of pork, but with the same hoisin sauce mix that is just perfect with steam buns.

I started with pickling vegetables – carrots, red onion, cucumber and kale. Wait, kale? Yes, kale. I am still working through the last of the kale from the garden and decided to try picking it. It isn’t bad, but not my first choice.

I did try to make steam buns again, in large part because I can’t find them in a store around here. I used a different recipe than the last time I made them, and refined the steamer just a little. It worked, but the buns didn’t rise the way I wanted them to. I’m getting closer on the buns, but they still aren’t perfect. (Taste was good, but they didn’t rise enough and were pretty dense.)

So tofu. I know what you are thinking – how is this going to work. Soft tofu on a soft bun … the texture should not work. But … cornstarch. Cornstarch is my best friend when it comes to frying tofu. Light coating of cornstarch and into hot oil – the result is a crispy, crunchy tofu with a soft, silky center. And the tofu took the sauce beautifully.

So how did it turn out? I can’t wait to have this tomorrow for lunch. I’m skipping the buns and just using the pickled vegetables with the tofu as a salad. It’s tangy, sweet and really satisfying.

Pickled Vegetables:

• Vegetables of choice – cut (about 1/4 cup)
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch salt

Mix together vinegar, sugar and salt. Add chopped vegetables and coat. Let sit at least fifteen minutes, up to an hour. If not using in the hour, drain the pickling liquid.

Hoisin Tofu:

• 8 oz. extra firm tofu, cut and pressed
• 1/4 cup corn starch (probably could use less, but I like to make sure there is enough in one go)
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (or sub whatever soy sauce you have on hand)
• 2 tablespoons vinegar (I used sherry vinegar because that I what I had, but rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar should do fine too.)
• Mix of sesame and olive oil (about 1 tablespoon sesame and 2 tablespoons olive)

Cut tofu into strips about the size of the buns. Place between paper towels and press for about ten minutes. (I find a baking sheet over the tofu works pretty good)

Mix together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce and vinegar until well combined.

Heat pan with oils over medium high heat until hot enough to crisp the tofu. Toss tofu in corn starch and add to pan. Allow bottom to crisp (don’t turn) for a few minutes until lightly browned. Flip and crisp/brown the other side – about 7 minutes total. Reduce heat to medium and add hoisin sauce mix. Toss tofu in sauce over medium heat until well coated and the sauce begins to thicken, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place one piece of tofu on the bun and top with pickled vegetables of choice.