Sweet Chilli Lime Tofu

Now to the recipe by Vegan Yum Yum. I was flipping through my cookbooks looking for something to cook and feeling like some tofu. I usually combine tofu in a stir-fry and even though I have come to love the stuff I haven?t been very adventurous in my cooking of it. When I stumbled onto this recipe with the glaze for the tofu I thought why not! Looks good. And it was good! Actually it was better than good it was fantastic. The flavours were just right and the quinoa (another favourite ingredient at the moment) and the spinach matched just right. This is a really healthy meal too. Lots of iron from the spinach and quinoa has so many nutrients (including an abundance of calcium) that it easily earns the Incan title of ?Mother Seed?. Vegan Yum Yum on her blog post of this recipe notes you can substitute other items for the quinoa if you wish ? but I know you don?t wish :) ? check it out on her website. She also has lots of good ?How to do? photos.

I also pressed my tofu ? something I have never done before either ? I know all you tofu masters out there can roll your eyes now and sigh ?such a novice!? But I am! I grew up on a farm and in a family of meat eaters who ate lots of meat. Every meal (except for a few) had meat. Every cake had egg, milk or something else non-vegan in it. Now I?m lucky cause what was cooked was really good and my mum and nan had skills I learnt from but this vegan cooking is a new frontier in our household. So I bravely pressed my tofu and it worked out great. The tofu was a better consistency for frying and had a nicer texture. I pressed it the old fashion way by wrapping it up in paper towel and putting a heavy pot on top of it. Didn?t use one of those new fangle dangle tofu presses to completely pancake my tofu.
Ingredients1 400g Block Tofu, extra firm, pressed Quinoa3/4 Cup Quinoa, rubbed/rinsed in cool water, drained 1/2 Zest Lime 2 Bruised Cardamom Pods (optional) 1 Tiny Stick of Cinnamon (a broken piece of a larger stick) (optional) 1/4 tsp Salt 1 1/3 Cup Water Sweet Chilli Lime Sauce3 tbsp Sugar 3 tbsp Reduced Sodium Tamari (or soy sauce) 1 3/4 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice 1/2 Zest of Lime 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Flakes (or 1-2 fresh hot chillies, minced) 1 Clove Garlic, pressed (optional) 1/4 tsp Salt 4 Mint Leaves, chiffonnade Wok Steamed Collards1 Bunch spinach (original recipe used Collard Greens), middle veins removed, washed 2-3 tbsp Water 1 Pinch Salt 1 tsp Lime Juice Directions
Combine all the ingredients for the quinoa in a pot that has a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, then turn off heat. Do not open lid. Let steam for 10 minutes before serving. Fluff with a fork.

Prepare the sweet chilli lime sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together until the sugar and salt is dissolved.

Drain tofu and cut it into small triangles - slice the block into 8 rectangles, then each rectangle in half to make two squares per rectangle. You can cut the tofu however you please, but a thinner, smaller shape will work best for this method.

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. A 10-inch skillet will fit all the tofu, so if you?re using a smaller skillet, you?ll need to do this in batches. In order to properly ?dry fry? the tofu, you?ll need a pan the tofu won?t stick to even without any oil.

Spread the tofu out in one layer in the pan. Using a spatula, press the tofu. The liquid will squeeze out and boil away, and the tofu will begin to turn golden. The more water that evaporates, the sturdier the tofu will be, so be gentle at first to prevent the tofu from breaking up. After several minutes, flip the tofu over and press the other side. After about 10 minutes of dry frying, you can turn off the heat and set the tofu aside for finishing later, or proceed to adding the sauce. (You might want to set the tofu aside before finishing in order to prepare the collards, below.)

Stack the collard leaves on top of each other, 3-4 at a time, and roll. Slice the roll in 3/4 inch segments. Run your knife through the chopped collards to make smaller pieces, then add them to a wok with the water, lime juice and salt. Cover with any lid that will contain the collards and cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes until the collards are steamed and tender.

To finish the tofu, bring the pan back up to temperature if it?s not already very hot. You want to heat the pan and the tofu over high heat, making sure the tofu is hot all the way through. Add the sauce and stir to coat the tofu. Turn off the heat. The sauce will bubble up, reduce, and form a glaze. If it isn?t bubbling up and forming a glaze, turn the heat back on high and cook until the tofu is glazed.

For plating, arrange the collards around a bed of quinoa and place the tofu on the top of the quinoa bed, drizzling any leftover sauce over the dish. Garnish with lime slices and mint leaves. Serve and enjoy.
Serves 2-3


This recipe is from:
Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining and Everyday
by Lauren Ulm
Recipe can be found at Vegan Yum.Yum