Sunday, January 26, 2020

MONDAY RECIPE POST - CRISPY PEANUT TOFU AND CAULIFLOWER 'RICE' STIR-FRY




I have been looking for meatless meals to put into our weekly meal plan.  As we are both Thai food fans, I chose this one.  

We found the meal at Minimalist Baker at this link, hosted by Dana.  I recommend reading her information and advice while making this recipe.  She also has a great food blog with many delicious recipes.  Thank you Dana for adding to our list of favorite meals.



Crispy Peanut Tofu and Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry

The tofu is baked not fried, served over cauliflower rice with sautéed vegetables.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves 2
Freezer: sauce only, nothing else

Ingredients:

Stir-fry:

12 ounces extra firm tofu (organic and non-GMO if possible)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 small head cauliflower

2 cloves garlic (minced - 2 cloves yields 1 tablespoon or 6 g)

Sauce:

1-1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (tamari for gluten free eaters)
1/4 cup light brown sugar (or honey if not vegan)
1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
2-1/2 tablespoons peanut butter or almond butter (natural, salted)

Optional extras:

Vegetables: baby bok choy, green onion, red pepper, broccoli

Toppings: fresh lime juice, cilantro or Thai basil, sriracha

Instructions:

First step, drain tofu for 1-1/2 hours before you serve up your meal.  The instructions say that if your block of tofu is larger than 12 ounces, trim it down, that you don't need a full pound for this recipe, though truthfully we added the whole 16 ounces.

Roll tofu in a clean, absorbent towel several times, and then place something heavy on top to press.  Our blog host used a pot on top of a cutting board, and occasionally added something to the pot to add more weight.  Do this for about 15 minutes.

Near the end of draining, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (204 C.) and cube tofu.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (I used non-stick aluminum foil) and arrange in a single layer.  Bake for 25 minutes to dry/firm the tofu.  Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool.

Prepare sauce by whisking together ingredients until combined.  Taste and adjust flavor if needed.  Our blog host often adds a little more sweetener and peanut butter (we felt it was fine without the extras.)

Add cooled tofu to the sauce and stir to coat.  Marinate for at least 15 minutes to saturate the tofu and infuse the flavor.

In the meantime shred cauliflower into 'rice' by using a large grater or food processor.  You don't want it to be too fine, just somewhere close to the texture of rice.  Set aside.

Mince garlic if you haven't already done so, and prepare any vegetables you want to add to the dish (this is optional).

Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, and if adding any vegetables to your dish, cook them now in a drizzle of sesame oil and a dash of soy sauce.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Cover to keep warm.

Using a slotted spoon, put the tofu into preheated pan.   Drizzle a few spoons of sauce to coat.  Cook, stirring frequently for a few minutes until browned.  It will stick to the pan a bit, but don't worry.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  Cover to keep warm.

Rinse your pan under very hot water and scrape away any residue.  Place back on oven top.  Add a drizzle of sesame oil to the pan, then add garlic and cauliflower rice and stir.  Put cover on to steam the 'rice'.  Cook for about 5-8 minutes until slightly browned and tender, stirring occasionally.  Next add a few spoons of sauce to season and stir.

In two individual plates or bowls, divide equally the cauliflower rice, top with your vegetables and tofu.  Serve with any leftover sauce.  

Leftovers reheat well and will keep covered in the fridge for up to two days.  

This is approximately 524 calories per serving.  

What did we think?  Delicious!  Not much here that we would change.  We enjoyed it just as the recipe said.

There were leftovers for the next day and as often happens, the meal tasted even better.









33 comments:

  1. I have never cooked with tofu before, but I must say this looks good!

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    1. Hi Ginny, I think I tried it the first time we discovered Thai food. Gregg has had it before and never been too keen, but this is the first time he enjoyed it, only because the cooking technique made it crispier, rather than gelatinous. He would definitely have it again but he also said maybe next time we could add chicken :)

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  2. Yum.
    This is something I would like (a lot) and I have bookmarked the recipe for later.
    Thank you.

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    1. Thanks EC, I wanted to put a Vegan recipe on here so that you could enjoy it :)

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  3. You are such an awesome cook and everything you make looks so delicious!

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    1. Thanks Kay, I have a lot of help in the kitchen these days. I find the recipe, read it to Chef Gregg and he is the one who likes to do the cooking :) I chop the garlic, and sometimes some of the ingredients, but he does most of the cooking.

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  4. Looks nice but I don't like tofu.

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  5. I have never eaten tofu but this recipe sound good. I might try it. Are the ingredients for 2 or 4 Denise?

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    1. Hi Margaret, it is not everyone's cup of tea :) This recipe is for 2 people.

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  6. I agree with Kay on both counts.

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    1. Thank you Valerie, you are very kind but I have a lot of help as I mentioned to Kay.

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  7. Replies
    1. Obrigado e envio um abraço e desejo-lhe uma boa semana também :)

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  8. Hello, I have never tried tofu, I wonder is there something to put in it's place. The recipe sounds yummy. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!

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    1. Thank you Eileen :) I find a lot of people are not liking tofu, but this cooking technique was a winner for my non[-tofu eating hubby. We take turns in making something we like and I tried to find a recipe I thought he would enjoy. We are both trying to eat healthier.

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  9. ihave never tasted tofu of any kind and did not want to, but I sure would love to try this, it looks really good from here... now if I had access to someone who can follow a recipe..

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  10. Glad you enjoyed it, not my cup of tea, the only food in this world I really dislike is peanut butter!!! Have a great week, Diane

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    1. Not for everybody Diane, and then a lot of people are allergic to peanuts. You have a good week also :)

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  11. I got some tamari and it had more sodium than the low sodium gf kikkoman , neither of us like tofu or cauliflower so will have to forgo this one

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    1. That's a good point Linda, thank you for sharing that :)

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  12. Thanks Laurie, she has great recipes on her blog doesn't she? :)

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  13. You might remember that I’ve loved all your Thai recipes and we are trying to do at least one vegetarian dinner a week ...so you know I’ll try this. We’ve tried Tofu over every so often the years and Bill will tolerate it in a spicy stir fry sauce sort of thing. I’ve never tried baking it, so this is intriguing. I’d use the veggies because more of those is another thing we’ve added to our menu plan these days. Thanks for this one.

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    1. I'm very happy you enjoy these Thai recipes Sallie :) The important thing for crispy tofu is to get as much moisture out of it as you can beforehand. Baking it is new to me and I enjoyed the results. My hubby is like yours sounds like, not too fond of tofu but he really did enjoy it this way, so we will be making it again. I love the veggies especially the Bok Choy, and learned on a TV show this morning that it is a symbol for prosperity in the Chinese culture. Like we would make Black-Eyed Peas for luck in the New Year for our culture, it is made at Chinese New Year Celebrations for prosperity. It was one of the veggies used in the recipe on the show. A whole chicken is also considered good luck. Whole garlic cloves were also being cooked in the pot with their skins on. The recipe still picks up the flavor. The lady said this was to prevent burning. I am always careful about cooking garlic, and this was a new one on me. I love learning these things. I don’t normally watch daytime TV but I am glad I tuned in for this food show.

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  14. Many thanks for sharing this recipe.
    Love cauliflower rice :)

    All the best Jan

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    1. Me too Jan, and am using it in rice form more and more these days. Thank you and all the best to you too :)

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  15. I expect it would be too spicy for me.

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    1. You can always leave the spice out William. I cut it down a lot for me.

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