Sunday 28 September 2014

Peanut sriracha tofu




So I found this tofu recipe on pinterest this week that looked amazing. And I had about 1/3 of the ingredients necessary… so I completely winged it. And ...! Amazing meal !… (I'm fairly impressed with myself). Honestly you are going to laugh because it is the most compromised recipe, salvaging random things in my cupboard and ignoring many of the important ones the recipe instructed to use. But I thought hey, sriracha will probably mask the taste of most of these things anyways, or at least subdue them enough to make it seem as if I used the proper substances. And it worked. It's actually so damn good.

Ingredients 
**(i.e. things I used-not things the recipe instructed me to use-- feel free to substitute my somewhat questionable items with fresher or more appropriate ones)

For the TOFU:
+ oil for frying the tofu (I used grapeseed)
+ extra firm tofu
+ 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
+ IF you have fresh ginger- use some of that. I did not, and substituted a sprinkling of ginger powder…
+ lime juice from that random wedge in the fridge you've been meaning to use in something for a week

For the SAUCE:
+ 2-3 tbsp of peanut butter- the recipe called for plain all natural… All I had was honey flavoured peanut butter, so yes, I used that-- it still tasted A-OK.
+ 2-3 tbsp of sriracha
+ 2-3 tbsp of water

Optional additions:
+ More lime
+ Chopped green onion

Things I did not use that the recipe called for:
- soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, agave nectar, vegetable stock

Directions
+ PRESS the tofu! This is an important step! One of the most important steps! If you do not press your tofu, it will taste like bean mush. I just wrap it in paper towel, set it on a plate and pile cookbooks on top. Leave it for about 10 minutes. Then cut it into thick strips.

+ Heat the oil, garlic, ginger and lime juice over medium heat and add the tofu. Fry the tofu until it is well browned on all sides and slightly crispy.

+ While the tofu is cooking, combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

+ When the tofu has browned and is a good, appetizing texture-- add the sauce. Mix it around and let it cook for a minute or two more, before removing from heat.

+ Serve with lime and green onions. Cilantro would probably be good too.

Holy easy dinner.

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