This is really a technique that could be used for tofu with a variety of seasonings. Chat Mingkwan calls for a mix of lemongrass, garlic, chiles, and then the addition of soy sauce and sugar at the end to glaze the tofu. But I would imagine that ginger would be an awesome stand in for the lemongrass, too. In addition, I bought water packed tofu and pressed the heck out of it for a good couple of hours before I fried it--far better browning and less popping in the pan (I typically have Mori-Nu tofu around, so the Nasoy was an atypical purchase for me).
This was a great first recipe to try, and one that I anticipate making often. I'm spending a bit of today looking through the rest of the book, picking my next recipe to try!
The eggrolls are pretty easy, as well. They are stuffed with sauteed cabbage (thanks to our farmer's market basket), grated carrot, green onion, with a little soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. I then take store bought wrappers, fill and roll, then roll them around on a baking sheet that has a bit of oil on it. Bake at 425 or so until they are golden. Eat them. Make everyone step away from the pan when they are halfway gone so you have lunch the next day!
A note on pressing tofu: I read a review recently ofVegan Soul Food where the writer was surprised that the author has folks press the water out of tofu. Apparently this was something the reviewer has never heard of before. I can only guess that the reader has been checking out cookbooks that assume anyone cooking with tofu knows about pressing it. If you are new to tofu and are a texture freak like I am, press it. This is easy--slice your tofu, put a kitchen towel in the bottom of a casserole dish, place tofu slices on it, put another towel on top of that, then put a skillet or other heavy object on top of that. I use a smaller casserole dish with my pasta pot on top of it so that all of the pieces get even pressure and so on. Twenty minutes usually does the trick, but you can always do this when you are getting ready in the morning, then shove the drained tofu in the fridge and just pull it out when you're ready to cook later in the day.