I recently went to an Asian supermarket (something I should be doing more frequently to access stuff that I sometimes miss), and I came across some firm tofu. I thought it was the perfect time to try the tofu sisig recipe that my friend Anjou had sent me a few months ago. I also found some red and green chilis, which I remembered that the recipe called for, so I was all set.
As I was getting ready to prepare the tofu, I came across some oyster and button mushrooms in the refrigerator which were on the verge of being spoiled, so I decided to add them to my sisig. I don't ever remember having any kind of sisig with mushrooms, but I figured it wouldn't hurt, and would be a great way to make use of them.
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| Tofu/Mushroom Sisig |
I chopped everything to make them sisig-sized, and I noticed something after cutting up the peppers. I'm not an expert on chilis, but I did expect these red and green ones to be quite hot. I noticed that where I had paper cuts in my hands, the chili caused them to sting. I paid no mind, as it felt pretty much like when lemon juice enters these cuts.
However, a few hours later, well after I'd enjoyed my plate of spicy tofu and mushroom sisig, I noticed that my fingers were burning. At first it wasn't that obvious. I thought the heat was emanating from my mobile phone which was particularly hot because I'd been playing a lot of videos on it. After a while I realized that my fingers were indeed burning.
I thought that it might be related to the peppers although it had been hours since I chopped them up. So I went to reliable old Google to find out what the deal was. It turns out that there IS such a thing as "chili pepper burn" caused by the capsaicin in peppers. It can be unbearable for some people, but for me it was more just an irritant. Some people suggest that you wear rubber gloves if you're going to be chopping a lot of hot peppers to avoid it.
That's something new I learned today. Oh, and how to make tofu (and mushroom) sisig. It turned out pretty well, burn and all.
Here's the recipe of what I made.
Ingredients:
500 grams tofu
500 grams mushrooms (oyster and button)
2 pieces onion
4 pieces hot red pepper
4 pieces hot green pepper
butter
mayonnaise
soy sauce
ground black pepper
oil for frying
Procedure:
1. Chop up tofu, mushrooms, onions, and peppers- tofu into small cubes, the others into approximately the same size as the tofu.
2. Deep fry the tofu until golden and crispy. Set aside.
3. Fry the mushrooms for 30 seconds. Set aside.
4. Melt butter in pan. Sauté the onions until soft and transparent.
5. Add mushrooms, tofu, and peppers, stir for a minute. Season with soy sauce and black pepper.
6. Add mayonnaise and stir until everything is well blended.
7. Serve with rice (in my case, bread, which was all I had), and enjoy!
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