Posts tagged with tofu

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November 5, 2012

Scattered Sushi Bowls

I think I have some weird attraction to eating things in bowls. Usually all three of my meals are bowl-based, and my work pants are usually better off for it (read: I’m a messy eater and end up with far less food in my lap)!

One of the worst messy-meal offenders? Sushi. Or, anything that requires the use of chopsticks, really. This meal is a slightly less messy and super fun way to get the taste of a maki combo without the work and the $25 bill! Win-win.

Any dish like this is super flexible and will taste pretty great no matter what fresh ingredients you use, getting a variety of flavours and textures guarantees a meal that will totally hit the spot. Think tender-crisp veggies, creamy avocado, the saltiness, sweetness, and spiciness of the sauce is perfectly balanced. Did I mention that this is undeniably uber–healthy? A great way to counter-balance those weekend indulgences!

Scattered Sushi Bowls

2 servings

2 servings short-grain brown rice, cooked according to instructions
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 servings protein of choice, salmon or tofu for eg. and seasonings, like garlic powder, salt & pepper

grated zest and juice of 1 orange

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar

Assorted veggies, such as:

Sweet peppers, cucumber, green onion, sauteed bok choi, avocado, boiled edamame

Sesame seeds, lightly toasted (optional).

Directions

Cook your rice according to directions, and set aside. Pan fry your protein of choice, with a dusting of seasonings. I used a bit of garlic powder, a touch of ginger, some salt and pepper.

To make the dressing, set the sheets aside. Combine the orange juice lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minute, the add the shoyu and vinegar. Return to a gentle boil and cook another 1 or 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the zests.

Assemble bowls with a layer of rice, topped with dressing to taste. Top with your fave veggies and your protein, and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on there too! We drizzled ours with some sriracha for added kick.

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February 22, 2012

Crispy Tofu & Broccoli in Lemon-Tahini Dressing

My fridge is currently bursting at the seams with veggies, so friends, expect a wallop of veggie recipes upside your blog-reading head. Being a party of one (most of the time), I am usually pretty mindful of eating and cooking based on what’s about to perish in my fridge. Sometimes it results in painfully random meals that I wouldn’t dream of sharing with you, but sometimes it forces to me to get outside my dinner comfort zone and make a brand-new tasty dish.

This little ditty is the latter.

I know I often plead to you guys to lower your guard on certain foods that might seem exotic/weird (chia seed, quinoa etc.). If there’s one thing I’d love to turn you on to that you may otherwise scoff at, it’s tofu. Now tofu can be a freaking mushy trainwreck, if not done right! Pressing as much water as you can out of tofu before you fry/bake it does wonders for the texture. Even 5 minutes between a few sheets of paper towel with some cookbooks on top will get lots out, if you can let it drain for an hour, even better. Getting the moisture out will help you get a nice, crunchy texture once you cook it up. Also, tofu is one of those things that really absorbs flavours. Don’t be shy with the spices and marinades! It is a blank canvas that can be a protein supa-stah if treated right, or also hidden easily in dishes like lasagna if that’s more your style.

This dish makes a fab lunch. I whipped it up today, as a matter of fact, and because I had just inhaled a big slab of birthday cake at 11:00, I didn’t bother to put it over grains. This atop some seasoned quinoa, bulgur, or brown rice would make an amazingly filling lunch or supper!

Lemon-Tahini Tofu and Broccoli

Ingredients

  • 125 g extra firm tofu
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 tsp oil for frying (I used coconut)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • drizzle olive oil (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Drain your tofu by placing it between a few sheets of paper towel and put a couple of heavy books on top, for 10-20 minutes. Once drained, chop into 1 cm blocks. Heat the oil in a medium/high skillet and place tofu blocks, allowing them to get a nice crispy shell, turning over just once. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and broccoli florets and sautee until broccoli is bright green and tender-crisp.

Whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil if using. Toss broccoli and tofu in a bowl with the sauce, adjust taste to your preference with some salt and pepper. Enjoy on its own or on a bed of quinoa, bulgur, or rice!

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February 11, 2012

Curry Spiced Cauliflower and Tofu

I bragged a few posts ago about how I get to walk home for lunch, I live a few blocks away from my office, and am a ‘walker’. Just like those lucky little bastards in elementary school who walked home to a steaming hot bowl of freshly made KD, while the rest of us were stuck with soggy tuna fish sandwiches. To my mother’s defence, apparently I was a big fan of the fish sandwich as a child, and I got what I asked for.

Anyway, now I’m the lucky bastard. I get to trot home, enjoy a hot lunch, and maybe even get some tinkering done around the house for an hour. It’s weird, it seems that when I only have 15 minutes left of my lunch break, I feel more inspired than ever to put in a load of laundry or do dishes. I perform better under pressure, I guess.

This recipe is one of my lunchtime faves, because it’s healthy and hearty, but doesn’t leave you feeling stuffed and ready for a nap. It has lots of belly-filling protein from the tofu and quinoa, and is a flavour party in your mouth. The raisins and pumpkin seeds add great sweetness and texture, so don’t skip ‘em!

The flavours in this dish really do taste better as leftovers. They mingle and meld after a day or two in the fridge, I often make it, split it into four servings, and have it to look forward to for most of the week!

Curry Spiced Cauliflower and Tofu

Adapted from Clean Eating Diet website.

Yield: 4

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-size pieces
  • 250 g extra-firm tofu
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • 1.5 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tbsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin/sunflower seeds

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water and salt to boil and stir in quinoa. Cover and reduce heat to simmer until all water is absorbed (10 minutes or so). Remove from heat, fluff, cover and set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until starting to brown, about three minutes. Stir in cauliflower, tofu, raisins, spices, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth.

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer until cauliflower is starting to become tender, about three minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until broth reduces by half, about five minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in seeds reserving a few.

Calories: 286
Calories from Fat: 52
Total Fat: 6 g
Total Carbs: 44 g
Fiber: 8 g
Protein: 16 g
Sodium: 395 mg
Cholesterol: 0 mg

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January 19, 2012

Veggie Scrambler (vegan)

Okay, so I may not be giving full disclosure on what this recipe is by way of the title…so brace yourself, I have a confession.

I eat tofu for breakfast.

Don’t judge me.

My defence: At first it was out of curiosity (can it really come across scrambled-eggy?), and then recently, out of necessity. An empty fridge, and a half-assed pledge to myself to eat vegan this month, had me scavenging for a tofu scrambler recipe. I hit up some of my favourite vegan/veg blogs and saw, thankfully, that most don’t include any weird/uncommon/rare ingredients.

A recipe for any scrambler, egg or tofu, is pretty hard to screw up – you can toss in any combo of spices and veggies and it’ll still taste pretty freaking good.

One serving of tofu has more protein than two eggs, and very little fat. You can play around with spices, oils, sauces that you add to it as you go along, too!

This is one of my favourite weekend brunches, a big ol’ scrambler with a ton of veggies, served with avocado and a whole wheat pita on the side. If you like a little heat, a few good squirts of sriracha make this an awesomely flavourful meal!

Veggie Scrambler

Serves 1

  • 1/4 block of extra firm or firm tofu (I like President’s Choice Blue Menu brand)
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, diced
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  • 5 mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped
  • 1 handful baby spinach
  • Good pinch of the following spices:
  • Tumeric
  • Pepper
  • Cumin
  • Pepper
  • Salt, to taste

If you have a few minutes, drain the tofu by sandwiching it between a few pieces of paper towel and setting something heavy on top (cookbooks work great). Tofu has lots of water in it, so the more water you can get out, the better. That said, if you’re in a rush, you can bypass this step.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add diced veggies. Mash up the tofu with a fork, it will crumble and look like scrambled eggs! Add to the frying pan and incorporate well into veggies. Add your spices, taste as you go. Sautee for an additional 2-3 minutes, until tofu is heated through. Now add the handful of spinach and let it cook down until wilted. Now all the flavours will have mingled and everything is heated through, it’s ready to be served!

This is great served inside a wrap too, with a good dousing of salsa and hot sauce.