Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mizuna with Tofu

This morning I asked Jim whether he wanted for dinner, cabbage or tofu.  .He stopped in the middle of the living room and looked at me as if I was crazy. He said something really adorable, that I cannot now remember. However the message was clear, beam me up Scotty, save from this woman. We settled on the tofu from this month’s Bon Appétit. It was easy to prepare and said serves 4. I think that a lot of the serves amounts are based on having at least an appetizer and dessert. For the two of us, I usually only fix one thing for dinner and therefore it serves 2.
Ingredients :
3 ½ T soy sauce, divided
4 t Asian sesame oil, divided
3 ½ t unseasoned rice vinegar, divided
1 14-16 oz container extra-firm tofu, drained
2 T peanut oil
4 green onions, chopped
1 T finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 baby bok choy, leaves separated and washed
12 cups loosely packed mizuna (you can use Arugula, mustard greens, or I used spinach and pea shoots. I wish I had used dandelion greens and the pea shoots.) I should have gone to Manassas to my oriental store, but sometimes the greens are a little worn out looking.
Directions:
1. Whish 2 T soy sauce, 2 t sesame oil and ½ t vinegar in bowl.
2. Place 4 paper towels on the table. Cut tofu crosswise into 3/4 “thick slices; cut each slice crosswise in half. Arrange tofu on paper towels and let stand 10 minutes. Pat top of tofu dry. (I let it dry longer, turn and change the towels often.  My experience in frying tofu is that it needs longer to dry and several changes of paper tow or it is like water hitting oil.)
3. Heat peanut oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook, without moving, until golden brown on bottom 3–4 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain, remove the towel and pour the soy sauce mixture on the tofu. Turn once.
4. Wipe out any peanut oil from skillet. Add 2 t sesame oil and place skillet over medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining 1½ T soy sauce, 3 t vinegar and then the bok choy. Toss until bok choy is wilted. Add the mizuna in 2 batched, tossing to wilt.
5. I then transferred the greens to a serving bowl and placed the tofu on top.
The recipe said to add salt and pepper. With all that soy sauce you do not need any. In retrospect, I would have soaked the tofu in the soy sauce mixture and then fried it after thoroughly drying it for 1 hour. It is the only thing that needed seasoning. The other thing you could do is delay cooking the greens and let the tofu after frying absorb more of the sauce.
We had an excellent Viansa Dolcetto Rose, 2008 with the meal. It is made in the French style and very good. If you get Bon Appétit you will find these directions very different. They are trying to make it a “30 minute” meal. Definitely dry the tofu longer.