Thai-Inspired Tofu

A friend saw me at the grocery store and asked, “What are you making for dinner?” When I said tofu, he made a face. Not a yum face, but a yuck face. I really don’t understand that reaction. Tofu has NO taste. It does have an interesting texture. I like to freeze it first, then thaw it. That process makes it chewy.

So don’t yuck it, ‘til you try it. This recipe was inspired by Pad Thai, which in and of itself is a version of a Chinese dish. So I don’t even fool myself into calling this Thai food. But that is where the idea came from and it tastes great, sooooo it’s all good.

Thai-Inspired Tofu

Servings: 2-4

Time:  Prep: 15 minutes   Cooking:  15 minutes

Hardware:  A cutting board and knife, measuring spoons and cups, a small bowl, a large bowl, a fork, a zester, a whisk, 2 paper towel covered plates, extra paper towels, a deep skillet, and tongs

Ingredients:

• 7 ounces of extra firm tofu (I like Nasoya)*
• Oil to cover the bottom of the skillet-maybe more (I used sesame, any oil will do)
• 2 cups frozen broccoli florets
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 green onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons cilantro
• 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 ½ cups very cold water
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• Salt
• 8 ounces cooked angel hair pasta
• 2 tablespoons peanuts for garnish

1. Cut the tofu into 1 inch by 1 inch squares.  Lay the squares on to the paper towel covered plate and allow some of the water to drain from the tofu.  You might want to change the paper towels a few times. 
2. While the tofu is draining, crush the garlic and slice the green onions. Separate the white part of the onion from the green and save both. Zest and juice the lime, setting zest and juice aside. Chop the cilantro. Place the corn starch into a bowl with the cold water and whisk until the corn starch dissolves. Measure everything else and set aside.
3. Heat the oil on medium high and add the broccoli florets and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.  Add the carrots, onion whites, garlic, cilantro and lime zest. Stir fry for 2-5 minutes.
4. Push the veggies to the side. You may need to add a little more oil to the skillet. Sauté the tofu until it is crispy, flipping so that it crisps up on every side. This should take another 5-7 minutes. Place everything in the large bowl.
5. Pour the cornstarch-y water, lime juice, peanut butter and brown sugar into the same skillet. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. The sauce will thicken. Taste and adjust the salt. Return the tofu and the veggies to the sauce.
6. To plate,  put the pasta on a serving plate, top with the tofu stir-fry, and sprinkle with the onion greens and peanuts.

Tofu comes in 14 ounce containers. To keep the unused portion simply place it in an airtight container with fresh water.