Sometimes Veganomican has unrealistic expectations of my cooking ability and/ or patience. But, this recipe was pleasing enough to the ear to inspire the rest of our dinner. Mmmm... we'll make this one again!
Step one:
Drain and press your tofu.
I like to do this by wrapping my tofu block up like a present in a single paper towel, then wrapping it again in a clean kitchen towel. It makes me happier because it's less waste. Once it's all wrapped, I set the tofu package on my counter with a big cutting board on top of it and a giant book (Joy of Cooking is usually handy for this!) on top of that.
It doesn't need to be so heavy that it will squish and break your tofu-- just evenly heavy enough to gently press excess water out.
It can sit like that while you gather the ingredients for your marinade.
Curried Tofu
brought to us by Veganomican
1 pound extra firm tofu, pressed and sliced into 8 equal pieces (I made pretty triangles)
For the marinade:
1/2 cup veggie broth
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used Tamari)
1/4 cup curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
optional: 2 tablespoons mirin (not optional, in my opinion! but do check the ingredients, as the bottle pictured was the only brand of 3 on the store shelf without high fructose corn syrup.)
Note: After tasting the finished marinade, we added 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Combine those marinade ingredients and whisk away!
Now, it's time to cut the tofu. I always push for triangles when Mike asks me to get the tofu ready for dinner. He likes strips. But, I won for triangles today! Anyway, I got picture happy, so here's my triangle-shaped tofu cutting process:
Cut in thirds like this.
Then, cut in half like this.
Finally, cut diagonally like this.
Choose a baking dish or tupperware container that will hold your tofu pieces pretty tightly. Poor enough marinade into the dish to coat the bottom. Add your tofu and cover each layer with more marinade. Top with the rest of the marinade! Let it hang out for as long as possible. An hour is fine.
Rice? Quinoa?
We used Basmati rice. I prefer quinoa, mainly because of the health benefits, but I'm lucky to have gotten Mike away from Jasmine rice at this point. So, we compromise. Whatever your choice, now's a good time to get it started.
Veggie time!
Choose whatever veggies you'd like. Cauliflower was the centerpiece of our stir fry and it was a great complement to this dish. If you're not strict on the anti-inflammatory thing, I think some peppers would be a tasty addition.
1/2 cauliflower
1 small zucchini
4-5 mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
white part of a bunch of green onions
green part of green onions for garnish
We used a large non-stick saute pan to cook up the veggies over medium heat in a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
Add your cauliflower first. Add splashes of water when necessary to prevent sticking. Cover the pan with a lid to help steam and soften the cauliflower. Cook it until it is browned and can be easily pierced with a fork.
Then, add the rest of your veggies. Continue with the baby splashes of water and keep it covered until it is almost done.
Pour in a few tablespoons of your tofu marinade once the active cooking part is done. Mike ended up adding more splashes of water to make it saucier.
Cooking the tofu:
Meanwhile, get the tofu a-cookin'! You could grill the tofu, or bake it. We decided to fry it. Okay, to be fair, my oven is broken and we don't have a grill. But we still decided to fry it! ;-)
It works best to kind of scrape the tofu on the sides of your dish as you're removing it with a fork, or just wipe off the excess marinade with your fingers. The marinade tended to burn and flake off in the first batch before we learned better.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick saute pan. Put about half your tofu in at a time. You'll have to do batches so the tofu has room to cook. Let is sit there without touching it for several minutes. When you lift up one corner to peak, the underside should look somewhat blackened or crispy. If it does, flip 'em all over. If not, let it be a little while longer.
Make it pretty
Use a small cup or bowl to mold your choice of grain. Flip it over off to one side of your plate (pasta bowls are prettier). Fill larger area with veggies. Tuck tofu triangles beside rice mold. Drizzle extra marinade across veggies and rice. Garnish with sliced green onions.
