3/5/18

One of my biggest go-to’s when I’m trying to go for a high protein & veggies/low carb meal is tofu. Quite often I get tired of the monotony of getting my protein fix from eggs, meat and lentils. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good steak for dinner or eggs for breakfast or incorporating lentils and veggies in various dishes but sometimes enough is enough and my pallet is left feeling like something is missing in the cooking routine. To mix it up, I’ve started Meatless Monday!

Many people look down on tofu as some sort of sad, grey, disgusting & tasteless lump of bean curd that is absolutely undesirable. I must admit that I too was one of those naysayers back in the day. It has no flavor. It’s mushy. It’s wet & generally unappealing in all aspects. But one day while at the store a few years ago, I decided to give it a try. I was very sick and wanted something other than condensed canned soup that I could cook with little effort. I found a Martha Stewart recipe for hot & sour soup. It sounded great…but one of the ingredients was tofu. 😣 Hey, if Martha says “It’s a good thing” then you need to trust that woman!! Well, Martha certainly did NOT steer me wrong – that was the BEST hot & sour soup I have ever had in my entire life. And the tofu was absolutely delicious!

From that day forward, I had a new respect for tofu and all of it’s amazingly delicious possibilities. The key to tofu is not finding a particular brand but understanding how to prepare it. I generally use extra firm tofu for all of my recipes. I’ve found that it presses well without losing it’s form and withstands heat very well during the cooking phase.

I’ve always had a love for Asian or Asian-inspired dishes. I thought up this recipe about a month ago based on a few Asian-inspired vegan recipes I saw on Pintrest and made it. I shared it with my neighbors who absolutely loved it…but I wasn’t really sure about the reception as they like tofu and were biased. One day back in late January I had a cook-off at a friend’s house. He never had tofu before but was willing to give it a try – FINALLY, an unbiased guinea pig! I made this dish for him and he really liked it. Like, he genuinely liked it and even had the leftovers for lunch the next day at work! So now, I will share this delicious recipe with you in hopes that you will enjoy it as well.

Ingredients (serves 3 – 4)

• 1/2 package soba noodles
• 1 container extra firm tofu
• 1/4 head of red cabbage
• 1 large purple onion
• 1 small baby bok choy
• 1 cup shredded or chopped carrots
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 3 tbs avocado oil
• 2 tbs crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbs avocado oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cut a slit in the package of tofu and drain the liquid.
2. Place tofu on a cutting board and cut into 1/2 inch slices.
3. Place paper towels or 1 clean kitchen towel on the cutting board. Arrange the tofu on the towel each piece about an inch apart, cover with a second towel or second layer of paper towels and cover again with another cutting board. Let the tofu press for 20 minutes. This will draw out excess liquid to allow the tofu to soak up the marinade.
4. After the tofu has been pressed, remove top cutting board and all towels. Place the tofu back on the cutting board and cut into bite sized pieces.
5. In a small bowl combine red pepper flakes, ground ginger, garlic powder, brown sugar, soy sauce, 1tbs avocado oil. Mix well. Dip a spoon in the marinade and taste. Add salt & pepper if desired.
6. Place the tofu into the bowl of marinade and stir with a spatula or spoon a few times to coat well.
7. In a large skillet or cast iron dutch oven, heat 3 tbs oil on medium high heat for about 2 minutes.
8. In a medium pot, heat up 4 – 6 cups of water on high heat and bring to a boil.
9. While the oil heats up, roughly chop the carrots (if using whole carrots), bok choy, onion and cabbage into medium bite sized pieces.
10. Once the oil is hot, add garlic and simmer until fragrant – about a minute, stirring constantly. Add the chopped veggies and sauté for 4 or 5 minutes until onions and cabbage are almost translucent. The goal here is to cook the veggies but leave them with a little crunch.
11. Once the water in the pot is boiling add the soba noodles and boil for about 4 minutes. Remove from the stove and place noodles in strainer. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
12. Add tofu & marinade to the skillet once the veggies have sautéed for 4 – 5 minutes and reduce head to medium low. Lightly mix to coat veggies in the marinade/tofu mixture.
13. Add soba noodles to the skillet and lightly mix again. Remove from heat & cover. Let rest for 3 minutes.
14. Serve topped with diced scallions, chopped peanuts and/or sesame seeds if desired.

Did you give the recipe a try? Let me know what you think & any alterations you made in the comments.

Enjoy!!!

XOXO – A