The Empty Fridge Pasta

I wish I lived next to the David Jones Food Hall.

Really I do. Because it saves me the trouble of waking up to an empty fridge and then having the devil and the angel duking it out in my head first thing in the morning before my coffee about whether to go out and buy groceries.

Today I went with the devil, and left my fridge exactly the way it was. Instead, I headed over to my pantry and pulled out the following residents:


Ok fine I lied. Mr. Parmesan and Anchovies and Tomato Paste came from the fridge. But you get the drift.

Oh and I forgot these two friends in the picture:


So what exactly am I making?

Well a while ago I came across this box of really nommilicious Penne Arrabiata we bought from a place up in East Ryde. It seemed simple enough to replicate, especially on days where you're just cooking for one. And with that, I decided to give it a shot today.

I often find that I cook best when I'm cooking for myself. There's something about the lack of a need to impress anyone, or do something superbly fancy that I really like. Portions are also small enough so its easy to handle, and life is simple. Sweet. Effortless.


I made this before guzzling down my morning coffee...

...and this is coming from a person who considers themselves a bigger hazard to road safety when driving without her morning coffee than someone who's driving drunk.

Make it. It's easier than pancakes.


Penne Arrabiata cheat guide
Serves 1

Note: I use the measuring term "handfuls" because this is a recipe for one. Generally speaking, bigger people = bigger hands = bigger portions. See my logic? Oh and feel free to use fresh herbs and chilli. I was desperate.

Buy:
2 handfuls of penne (roughly 1.5 cups for me)
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
200g canned diced tomatoes
1 tblsp tomato paste
2 small anchovy fillets
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tblsp olive oil

Garnish:
Shaved parmesan
Cracked pepper (optional)

Cook:
1.) Cook penne in boiling water until al dente. Drain and keep warm
2.) Heat oil to a small saute pan
3.) Add anchovies. Cook until anchovies have melted a little
4.) Add chilli flakes into the oil. Gently stir to release flavours.
5.) Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is transparent
6.) Pour in diced tomatoes and bring to simmer
7.) Add tomato paste, dried parsley, dried oregano
8.) Simmer until sauce is reduced and thick.
9.) Add cooked penne into the sauce and quickly reheat pasta. This will help the sauce thicken onto the pasta.
10.) Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with shaved parmesan and cracked pepper.

Nom it while it's hot.

Caught out.

One should know, that in every household, there's always a couple of things that never run out.

Never. Ever. Ever.

Common items can include the likes of milk and bread, the emergency roll of toilet paper that's tucked away in some random place so no one will actually bother going to find it unless they're really THAT desperate, or even to the occasional cat-lover -- a can of whiskers. Simple things that you never really think to run out on.

Well, that said...

There's two things in life this household would never be caught without.
1.) Fresh Tofu
2.) Some other form of tofu.

Seriously. We've run out of toilet paper many-a-times, and bread, and milk, and chicken feed for the chickens - oh and did I mention rice? (Like honestly, which Asian household could possible forget to buy rice?) But alas, there will always be a box of fresh tofu. Or two. Or three.

Usually you'd just ignore their existence in the corner of the fridge out of habit. But once in a while, when you're in charge of dinner-duty, but you're running about an hour late from work and hit in the face with the horror of an absent-minded family who forgot about getting groceries for the week...you become relieved to see the slabs of tofu in the corner, as if some long lost friend had just come to the rescue.

And then the two of you produce this baby:



Hells yeah.

I'd have that baby anyday.

It's my little trusted dish that's well and truly been tested over and over again. Foolproof. Stressproof. Goodsmellingmouthproof.


As Huey would say, there's about 3 tonnes of garlic in there. And by about 3 tonnes I really meant 3 cloves. But there's a lot. And that's really about the point of this paragraph.

Alas I yabber too much. Here's the recipe:

Tofu. Guaranteed-you'll-need-a-breath-mint style.
Preparation time: <2 mins
Cooking time: Around 7 mins if you multitask.

Buy:
6 blocks of tofu (this is half a big tub)
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 small spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tblsp light soy sauce (or preferably Lee Kum Kee Seasoned Soy Sauce for Seafood)
2 tblsp vegetable oil

(I also used some left over carrot juliennes from my sushi-making adven-churrs, but this is strictly optional. You can also add sliced snow peas if you want.)

Cook:
1.) Stack the tofu on a plate and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It lets the tofu release some of its excess liquid.
2.) Drain liquid in a manner of your choosing. Just make sure the tofu doesn't fall into the sink.
3.) Place carrot/snow peas on top and place plate in steamer for about 5 minutes. Tofu doesn't need much cooking, but it's nice to just warm it up and let the vegies release its vibrancy.
4.) Remove plate from steamer. Drain excess liquid.
5.) Sprinkle garlic on top of carrots and tofu.
6.) Garnish with spring onions on top.
7.) In another pan, heat oil until just smoking.
8.) Drizzle soy sauce onto tofu.
9.) Pour hot oil onto the tofu. Aim at the spring onions to cook them. Enjoy the sizzling sound and the smell, but please be careful with the hot oil.

Nom it while it's hot.