December's Recipe: Fuchsia Dunlop's Silken Tofu and Avocado · Blog

Happy early December! It seems everyone is busy with holiday planning, and the weather dropped right in time for it to really feel like winter is coming.

For December (Cook) Book Club we selected Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice. Dunlop has published many a great cookbook but we love Every Grain of Rice for her simple and no-fuss approach to Chinese home cooking. You can read more about our book selection next week (in addition to our January cookbook pick), but for today's post we are focusing on one recipe in particular...

Have you ever paired avocado and tofu together? It's an easy but brilliant combination. Dunlop's recipe for Silken Tofu and Avocado is a must-try. Best part is that it looks so elegant and put together. We adapted the recipe a bit to simplify and adjust to our tastes.

Here's what's you'll need:

7 oz silken tofu
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 an avocado, perfectly ripe and sliced thing

Method

Turn the block of silken tofu out onto a serving dish. Cut the block into thin 1/8-inch slices, then push down gently so that the slices lean towards one end of the dish.
Pour half the the light soy sauce over the tofu slices.
Top with the sliced avocado.
In a very small pan, heat the tablespoon of sesame oil till just below smoking point (remove the pan from heat the minute you see a whisper of smoke rise up from the sesame oil).
Pour the "sizzling" sesame oil over the avocado and tofu. Then pour the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce over the avocado and tofu. Serve immediately.

There are just two components (avocado and tofu) and two seasoning elements (sesame and soy sauce), but the end result is spectacular. Serve as a snack, or appetizer. It's refreshing on a warmer day (save this recipe for summer as well!) and equally comforting on a colder winter afternoon (just make sure you have the heater on at home :) .

P.S. This dish pairs especially well with our Signature Mille Crêpes, a true classic and perhaps our most timeless cake. There are two key elements in this creation: whipped pastry cream and our beautiful handmade crêpes. Like the tofu-avocado dish, oftentimes, simple is best. Bon Appétit!