I got the recipe from this awesome new blog I've started reading called Quiche a Week. It's all vegetarian and uses stuff like tofu and flax, my faves. I simplified this recipe a bit when I made it, partially due to time, partially due to lack of a few ingredients, and partially due to, let's face it, laziness. Anyway, if you want the original, complete with delicious pictures and witty foodie comments, check it out here. If you want the abridged version with a possibility of some random tangents, then by all means keep reading.
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| I would like to point out that this high-quality picture was taken with my iPhone. This obviously makes me cool and tech-savvy. And not at all the kind of person who has to google how to get pictures onto her computer from her fancy new iPhone because she has no idea how technology works. Not at all. |
In its original state on the blog where I found this, the tofu was paired with a balsamic reduction and thrown in a homemade wrap with tomato and lettuce. In my version the tofu was put in a (not homemade, but I promise to do better in the future) wrap with tomato but no lettuce, because I didn't have any, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on top because I didn't feel like taking the time to make a reduction. I was also warned that my whole house would smell of balsamic vinegar for days, which I'm guessing would not be appreciated by myself or the other inhabitants of the house.
Ingredients:
1 block of firm tofu
3 tablespoons peanut butter (creamy or chunky, whatever floats yer boat)
1 to 2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 clove of garlic, minced/crushed
Note: The original recipe also called for 1/2 tsp minced ginger and 1 tsp garlic chili sauce. If you have those things in your house, go ahead and add them in. I didn't.
Directions:
1. Drain your tofu and press it for about 20 minutes. The drier it is, the firmer and more willing to take on other flavors it will be. For those who don't know how to press tofu: Plunk the block of tofu on a plate. Cover it with another plate. Rest a decently heavy object, like a large cookbook, on top of the tofu. Wait for the magic to happen.
2. After your tofu has been pressed and dried, cut it into bite sized chunks. Toss the tofu with about 1 tablespoon of corn starch- this will help it get a little crust as it cooks.
3. Spray a pan with cooking oil and let it heat up over a medium heat. Add the tofu and (thanks to the original blog post for this tofu-cooking-tip) don't touch it for about 5 minutes. Not constantly stirring it around will help it get nice and brown and chewy, in a good way of course. After the 5 minutes you can stir the pieces, but let it keep cooking until it's decently brown and delicious looking. Oh wait. Is plain tofu not supposed to look delicious? I think I need to get out more.
4. While the tofu is cooking, whisk together all the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Realize you don't have ginger or chili sauce. Take a moment to grieve. Realize the sauce is delish anyway. One note- the sauce seemed thick when I first whisked it together, but when I added in the hot tofu it melted the peanut butter a bit and made it more saucy. Sigh. Oil-based sauces, what a devious companion you make.
5. Guess I already gave away the surprise ending, but once the tofu is delicious and brown, add it into the bowl with the sauce and mix it up! Make sure you really toss the tofu around so the sauce covers all of it.
6. Eat it right then and there, or pop it in the fridge for a bit to really let it marinate.
7. Put the tofu in a wrap with some lettuce and tomato and drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar on top. Or just eat it straight. Or make it into lettuce wraps. I won't judge.
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| Oh peanut butter tofu, you saucy minx. |
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