Mango Burrito Bowls with Crispy Tofu and Peanut Sauce -- After the Crackle, the Bowl That Holds

The Friday night lights at high school football games. Three twelve-hour shifts this week. The body holding.

Lourdes is 74. She is in the kitchen. She is luminous. Joseph and Suki sent photos of the kids this week.

I made lechon kawali Saturday. The pork belly, the brining, the deep fry, the crackle. The kitchen smelled of hot oil for two days.

I drafted a blog post on Tuesday and almost did not publish it. I published it Friday. The publishing was the practice.

The kitchen window faced the inlet. The inlet was silver in the late light. The light was the inheritance.

The Anchorage sky was the Anchorage sky. The mountains were the mountains. The inlet was the inlet. The geography was the geography.

The salmon in the freezer is from August. Joseph's catch. The bag is labeled in his handwriting — "for Grace." I will use it next week.

A reader from New Jersey wrote in about her grandmother's adobo, which used pineapple. I had never heard of pineapple in adobo. I tried it. It was strange. It was also good. The strange and the good are not opposites.

The Filipino Community newsletter announced the Saturday gathering. I will be on lumpia duty. I am always on lumpia duty.

I cleaned the kitchen Sunday afternoon. I wiped the stove. I scrubbed the sink. I reorganized the spice cabinet. The cleaning was the small reset. The reset was the marker. The marker said: the week is over, the next week begins, the kitchen is ready.

The Filipino Community newsletter announced a fundraiser for typhoon relief in Samar. I committed to making three hundred lumpia. The number is the number. The number has always been the number. Three hundred is what I make. The math has stopped surprising me.

The therapy session this month was about pacing. Dr. Reeves said, "Grace. The pacing is the love for the future self." I am working on the pacing. The pacing is harder than the loving.

Lourdes called me twice this week. The first call was about a church event. The second was about a recipe variation she had remembered from her childhood. The remembering was the gift.

I read three chapters of the novel Saturday night before sleep. The novel was about a Filipina nurse in California. The nurse was being undone by her work. I knew the unraveling. I had lived the unraveling. I read on. The reading was the witnessing.

The break room had cake Tuesday. Someone's birthday. We ate the cake. We did not ask whose birthday. The cake was the cake.

Angela texted me a photo of the kids. I texted back a heart. The exchange took thirty seconds. The thirty seconds was the keeping.

I made tea late at night. The tea was the small comfort. The comfort was the marker.

I drove home Tuesday evening and the sun set at three forty-five and the highway was already iced at the bridges and the radio was on a station I did not recognize and I did not change it.

I took inventory of the freezer Sunday. The freezer had: twelve quarts of broth, eight pounds of adobo in vacuum bags, six pounds of sinigang base, fourteen lumpia trays at fifty rolls each, three pounds of marinated beef for caldereta, and a small bag of pandan leaves Tita Nening had sent me. The inventory was the proof of preparation. The preparation was the proof of love.

A blog reader sent me a photograph of her grandmother's wooden mortar and pestle, used since 1962. The photograph was holy. I wrote her back. The writing back is the work.

I made the lechon kawali on Saturday and the kitchen smelled of hot oil well into Sunday, and by the time I finished scrubbing the stove I was craving the crackle all over again but not the weight of it—that particular hunger that wants the texture without the occasion. This bowl is what I make in that space. The tofu gets crispy the way the pork belly gets crispy, the mango is the sweetness I did not know I needed, and the peanut sauce is the kind of thing Lourdes would call “a reasonable shortcut,” which from her is high praise. The pacing, Dr. Reeves would say, includes knowing when to go light.

Mango Burrito Bowls with Crispy Tofu and Peanut Sauce

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 block (14 oz) extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as avocado or canola), divided
• 2 cups cooked long-grain white or jasmine rice, warm
• 1 large ripe mango, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed, or fresh corn kernels
• 1 1/2 cups red cabbage, thinly shredded
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
• For the peanut sauce:
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
• 3 to 4 tablespoons warm water, to thin

Instructions

1. Press the tofu. Wrap the tofu block in a clean kitchen towel and set a heavy skillet or cutting board on top for at least 15 minutes to remove excess moisture. Cut into 3/4-inch cubes.
2. Season and coat. Toss the tofu cubes with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, then sprinkle the cornstarch over them and toss again until each piece is lightly coated.
3. Make the peanut sauce. Whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl. Add warm water one tablespoon at a time, whisking until the sauce is pourable but still thick. Taste and adjust lime or soy sauce as needed. Set aside.
4. Crisp the tofu. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the tofu in a single layer without crowding — work in two batches if needed. Cook undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes until the bottom is deeply golden, then turn and cook another 3 to 4 minutes on the second side. Transfer to a plate and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
5. Warm the beans and corn. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the black beans and corn, stir, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until heated through. Season lightly with salt.
6. Assemble the bowls. Divide the warm rice among four bowls. Arrange the crispy tofu, mango, black beans and corn, shredded cabbage, and avocado slices over the rice. Drizzle generously with peanut sauce.
7. Finish and serve. Scatter fresh cilantro over each bowl and serve immediately with lime wedges alongside for squeezing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 530 | Protein: 21g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 65g | Fiber: 11g | Sodium: 690mg