israeli couscous with tofu and feta cheese

a few months ago, shawn, randall and i took a trip to socal to visit family, but most importantly, for shawn to play badminton with his cousin. it was randall's first time to ride the car with us for more than an hour or two. so before our trip i made sure the i scour all pet stores within a 50 mile radius to get anything that would calm him down just in case he goes cuh-razy.
after about three bathroom breaks and a little over six hours, we get to our destination, the valley. randall and i dropped him off there and we went to anaheim to stay at my uncle's. our trip was filled with a lot of driving around. from disney's location to the kardashian's hometown and a lot of other places in between just to play badminton. after four days of driving, i felt like i knew socal like the back of my hand.
when i finally found time to do some eating, i headed to sunset boulevard and see where i can sit down and relax for a couple of hours until shawn's done playing. after driving up and down the boulevard for a good 15 minutes, i decided to park near the weekend market that was happening and just walk until i find a nice place to eat at. finding a spot to park at was a bitch due to that market thing that was ongoing. it took me 10 freaking minutes just to find a spot. it was crazy. anyway, as i walked past each stall, i kept telling myself to not buy anything because one, i did not have cash and two i didn't need a turquoise bracelet and feather earrings.
after that little internal struggle i had, i saw this little restaurant and went in. the selection was nice and the prices weren't too bad, so i was set, i was going to eat there. after reading the ordering instructions i decided on getting their couscous , mac & cheese and tuna. the couscous were to die for and the mac & cheese were ridiculously creamy. after eating and cleaning up my table i went to the counter again to get an order of mac & cheese to go for shawn and tell them how much i loved the couscous. the couscous were to die for. i am not sure if they put crack in it but it was totally addicting. how can something so simple be so memorable and good? i don't know, but my recent craving for it pushed me to try and make my version of it. by the way the restaurant is called forage. if you're in the los angeles area, be sure to check out their site and see what they have today. they have some amazing grub.

anyway without further ado, here's my take on their couscous based on what my tongue remembers.

israeli couscous with fried tofu and feta cheese

ingredients:

1 cup soy sauce
firm tofu ( i used trader joe's firm tofu in water)
4 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
4 tbsp butter
1 1/3 cup israeli couscous, or ptitim (you can use regular couscous, just refer to its cooking instructions)
1 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 large red onion diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
salt and pepper
green onions, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

instructions:

1. marinate tofu in soy sauce with a little bit of ground black pepper for about 10 minutes. make sure you flip it over after the first five minutes so that both sides can be seasoned.

2. heat up frying pan over medium high heat. add 2 tbsp vegetable oil on the pan and fry tofu. cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

3. take tofu out of the heat and let it cool. once cool, dice into bite size pieces. set aside.

4. in a 3 quart pot, or anything similar to it in size, over medium high heat melt butter and add the remaining vegetable oil.

5. saute all of the vegetables (bell peppers, onion and garlic) in the pot until the onions are soft and translucent. add salt and pepper to taste.

6. add coucous and cook for about 5 minutes or until it turns a little brown.

7. once the coucous gets a little toasted, add chicken/vegetable stock and bring to boil.

8. reduce it to a simmer, cover it and cook for another 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. fluff with a fork, serve hot and top with diced tofu, crumbled feta and green onions.