I periodically buy tofu and let it sit in the refrigerator for a long time without doing anything about it. That is stupid, but somehow everything I think sounds like a good idea to do with it feels like too much trouble when it comes down to it, or requires coconut milk that I do not have, or something of the sort. I own a copy of Deborah Madison's That Can't Be Tofu. This is probably the most inanely titled cookbook I own, though Ms. Madison is a very dependable person whose recipes have a way of sounding boring but cooking up to be delicious and very well thought out. To a certain degree I can remember these facts about her works, but the combination of tofu and that title and the lack of photographs and extended prose explaining why a given recipe is a good idea (plus the coconut milk and pain-in-the-ass factor) has meant that I haven't made much use of it.

Recently I bought a copy of Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Suppers. This has a much better title and tantalizing food photography, although it also features a very unflattering picture of the author on the cover. Fortunately this is just on the slipcover, so I removed it immediately and felt much better. Anyway, the chapter on tofu features a but-slightly modified version of a technique featured in the former book, for glazed tofu, that I had always passed over as dull. (I should know better by now, but of course I don't.) Something about the way she presented it this time around finally caught my fancy, and I made it.

This is a very simple, basic, quick, versatile, and delicious thing to do with a package of tofu. It takes about twelve minutes from carton to plate and can be combined with any number of other elements to make a wide variety of delicious meals. You can keep the tofu fairly well as is and present it on its own little plate as reddish-gold rectangles topped with a little blob of tomato relish, or slivered scallions and red peppers, and it will be very elegant accompanied by whatever side dish or salad you like. Or you can smother it in other vegetables -- this is a fine use for reheated leftovers like the broccoli and pine nuts I used tonight. I bet it would be nice underneath some curry, especially a Thai curry, or just Thai curry paste in (ahem) coconut milk.

The main point is that it tastes good and is dead simple to make even when you are dead on your feet, and I don't think I'm going to be letting my tofu purchases languish much anymore. One batch makes enough for two or three, depending on what else you serve with it.

INGREDIENTS
1 package firm tofu, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil or other tasty oil
salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tamari, or what have you
freshly ground pepper

TO DO
Cut the tofu into six slabs, crosswise. Blot dry. Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Place the tofu in the pan, sprinkle with salt, and let cook, undisturbed, for five minutes. As the water evaporates, it may jump around a bit, but it will settle. (While it is cooking, heat your vegetables and cut your scallions. Or whatever.) Flip the tofu and cook five minutes more.

Now take the two tablespoons of sauce and sprinkle over the tofu. Let it cook a minute or two more, until the liquid has reduced away. Now the tofu is seasoned and beautifully glazed. Season with pepper and serve as you please.