Orange-glazed tofu and asparagus

I tried a recipe last week, and am finally posting about it! This is out of my 1,000 vegan recipes book, and it was my first time trying to cook with tofu!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 (16 oz) package extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/4" strips
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Asian chili paste
2 tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
8 oz thin asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 1 1/2" pieces

Directions:
1. In a shallow bowl, combine the mirin and cornstarch and blend well. Add the tofu and toss gently to coat. seat aside to marinate for 30 min.
2. In a small bowl, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and chili paste. set aside.
3. In a large skillet or wok, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry unitl fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the marinated tofu and the asparagus and stir-fry until the tofu is golden brown and the asparagus is just tender, about 5 min. sir in the sauce and cook for about 2 min more. serve immediately.

Well, as you can tell from my picture, my tofu didn't get golden brown. I don't think the mirin/cornstarch "marinade" was that great, but the asparagus and sauce was good. I couldn't find Asian chili paste, so I just used some Sriracha sauce-we call it "rooster" sauce. The author recommends eating this with basmati or jasmine rice, but I had some brown boil-in-a-bag rice, and it tasted just fine to me! I obviously need to work on my tofu-cooking skills, and I think next time I make an attempt with it, I'll press it first. I would try this recipe again, but I would double the sauce and use that as the marinade. And I would maybe use a little less sesame oil. I find it a little too intense...especially after what I tried today; which I'll post later this week.