Tofu in Tomato and Peanut Butter Sauce

Vegetarians and adventurers! It's tofu again! Offering for you, easy to make,  delicious soul food you can prepare in a 15 minutes. 

Blog's Category: Healthy, International, My Own Fast and Easy, Vegetarian, Effortless

Intro

If you are lazy like me and like straightforward cooking... If you are often deterred from tofu recipes just because it starts with "..to remove extra-liquid.." , then this recipe is for you.  The best part of recipe - it will be ready in 15 minutes at most.


What is it?

Tofu cooked in a tomato paste, peanut butter based sauce.

Taste Description

Tender tofu pieces bathe in a bold and bright tomato-based sauce with a soft peanut butter flavor. Flavors of garlic and spices mingle together creating  intricate Indian-Thai fusion.

How to Serve

- It's really good served hot over bowl of pasta.
- My second choice would be serving it around blob of plain rice.
- In a real life, I devoured it with a piece of fresh baguette, enjoying plenty of sauce to dip my bread into.


Note

I added kaffir lime leaves to add some Thai flavor I'm fan of. I usually buy them at oriental store nearby. If you don't have kaffir lime leaves, don't worry - there will be enough flavors to enjoy in this dish anyway.

Tofu in Tomato and Peanut Butter Sauce

• 1 pack of tofu, sliced into 1" cubes
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tbs ground coriander
• 1 tbs ground cumin
• 1 tbs ground turmeric
• 1 tbs smoked paprika
• 1 tbs tomato paste
• 1 tbs smooth peanut butter
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbs sugar
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves (optional)

- In a frying pan, cook onion with olive oil until translucent and soft.

- Add garlic, coriander, cumin, turmeric, tomato sauce and paprika and cook, stirring, on a medium-low heat for 2 minutes.

- Add remaining ingredients, except tofu, bring to a boil and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes.

- Add tofu pieces, bring to a boil, then simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes.

- It's done - enjoy!



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In Pictures

Did you tried it already? Still don't like tofu??

Easy Tofu Hash

It is such an easy, just few ingredients, no fuzz recipe of tofu! This yummy tofu hash looks exactly like chicken, but tastes better ;) It is my number one tofu recipe when I have a couple of blocks of tofu on hands, but feel so-o-o lazy..

Blog's Category: Healthy, My Own Fast and Easy, My Staple Food, Vegetarian

Intro

Tofu has become one of my favorite sources of protein a long time ago. In my blog I have a few tofu recipes that I adore. Unfortunately, almost all of them involve some kind of meticulous job - cutting, putting under press, dredging in flour, flipping in a hot oil, and so on. But what if you are not up to this? And you have abandoned block of tofu in a fridge? And you want your dinner be simple and easy? Here it is! My new invention, hash made of tofu, is presented to a world :)


What is it?

Word hash tells all the story - break it, stir it in a skillet with an onion and some seasoning just until nice and brown.

Taste Description

It tastes like chicken. No, really. After 10 years of vegetarianism, I still remember how it tastes. Simple win-win combo of garlic, salty soy sauce and sweet housin sauce is all you need to give a tasteless tofu its final unbelievably umami zing.

How to Serve

- Serve it with a rice, buckwheat kasha or pasta on a side (or on a top - the way I like it). It could be also nice filling for a taco or pita pocket.

Easy Tofu Hash

For 2 servings:

• 1 block firm tofu (I prefer organic), drained (but no need to put it under press to get rid of extra liquid)
• 2-3 tbs olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs Hoisin sauce (or Kecap Sambal or any other sweet oriental sauce)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or garlic powder)
• 1/3 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you don't like spicy food)
• pinch of salt and black pepper

- In a skillet, cook onion until soft.

- Add whole block of tofu. Using spatula, crumble tofu and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a 5-7 minutes.

- Add remaining ingredients. Continue to cook until all liquid evaporates and tofu is golden brown. 

- Enjo-o-o-y!



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IN PICTURES

This time, I'm making double-batch...

u̶n̶b̶r̶e̶a̶k̶a̶b̶l̶e̶  easybreakable

I've made this recipe twice - one time with Kecap Sambal, other time with hoisin sauce. Can't tell a difference. The key is to use any sweet dark sauce. In combination with soy sauce and garlic, it's heavenly delicious and gives nice tan to otherwise pale tofu.

Done!

I garnished with a green onion, cut in strings, and served with a plainly cooked jasmine rice.

Other time, I served it with buckwheat kasha, with a fresh cilantro thrown all around a plate :)