Coconut-Curry Tofu and Jasmine Rice

Day 2 of living out of my pantry was a success. I had a can of coconut milk I wanted to use up, and my favorite use for that is usually some sort of curry. I usually make a coconut-curry jasmine rice in which you cook the rice in the coconut milk which is to-die-for delicious (recipe to come), but I wanted to make a creamy curry sauce with the coconut milk instead.

Since I was feeling sort of vegetarian-ish, I rummaged around in the freezer for a block of tofu for my protein and pretty quickly got this meal together - once the tofu had thawed and all the excess moisture had been pressed out. The tofu cubes really sucked up the sauce; in the end, they were like little coconut-curry sponges, very tasty. Using the toasted coconut shreds in the coconut milk really amped up the coconuttiness, but I think that it works well with the other flavors, especially the peanut and lime.

If fat content is an issue for you, you can use light coconut milk, but don't be fooled, that still has some fat in it. You wouldn't be wrong to put chopped cilantro in the coconut milk puree which you add to the rice. I love cilantro usually, but I was out of it and was feeling too lazy to go out to the store JUST for that one item, so I said, "No cilantro today." It was just fine and tasty without it.

Coconut-Curry Tofu and Jasmine Rice

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

•  1 3/4 cups water
• 1 t salt
• 1 cup jasmine or basmati rice

• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 T minced fresh ginger
• 1 T fresh lime juice
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 t dried jalapeno flakes

• 2 T canola oil
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, pressed, drained, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 t curry powder
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1/8 t dried jalapeno flakes
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped

• hot sauce to taste
• 2 T chopped peanuts
• lime zest

Directions

1. In a dry skillet over medium-high heat, toast the shredded coconut until light golden, about 5 minutes. Stir constantly and be careful not to let it burn. As soon as it starts to smell toasted and reach a nice golden color, remove it from heat and transfer to a bowl.
2. Bring 1-3/4 cups water and salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Add the rice and let boil again.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 18 - 20 minutes.
4. Puree 1/2 cup of the coconut milk, 1 teaspoon ginger, lime juice, and 1 clove of garlic in a blender.  Add the toasted coconut and blend for a few seconds. 
5. Mix the coconut milk mixture into the rice and set aside.
6. Heat some canola oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu cubes and saute until golden.
7. Add the onions, curry, cumin, jalapeno flakes and the rest of the ginger and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add the tomatoes and stir everything well.
9. Serve over the coconut jasmine rice, add hot sauce to taste and top with chopped peanuts and lime zest.

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Spicy Peanut Noodles

I absolutely love peanut butter. I prefer natural varieties. My current favorite is Smucker's Naturals, chunky, of course. I haven't bought the standard sugar and salt-laden pb in so long that when I had some a few months ago at someone else's house, I was shocked at how cloyingly sweet it was. Plus, for some reason, the texture struck me as unnatural and kind of icky.

Food confession: I love peanut butter so much that I will sometimes eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon and call that a snack or a mini-meal. Now, I don't particularly care for peanut butter paired with sweet foods, except when combined with chocolate of course; I generally prefer peanut butter with savory foods. When I crave a peanut butter sandwich, I am more likely to add wheat germ and sunflower seeds instead of jam or jelly.

A nice spicy peanut sauce will really make my taste buds happy. Pair it with chicken, or tofu like I did today, toss in some noodles, and we're in business.

Spicy Peanut Noodles

Ingredients:

• Cooking oil (peanut or canola)
• Red pepper flakes
• 1/2 onion, halved and then sliced into thin strips
• 1/4 cup carrot, cut into matchsticks
  
• the whites of 2 green onions, chopped
  
• Minced fresh ginger
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1/4 package of tofu, pressed of water and cut into strips
• Noodles, vermicelli, spaghetti, Chinese noodles, whichever you prefer - today I used a block of ramen noodles
• 1/3 cup peanut sauce, jarred or homemade*
• Sesame oil
  
• Chopped peanuts
• Green onions, chopped (optional)
• Toasted sesame seeds (optional)
  

Directions:

1. Pour some oil into a large skillet, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes and let sit.
   


2. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Drain the noodles, put them in a bowl and toss them with 1 T of sesame oil. Let sit and cool.
   


3. Over high heat, sauté the onions, ginger until onions are just starting to brown.


4. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
   


5. Add the strips of tofu and cook until golden brown.
   


6. Add the peanut sauce to the skillet, stirring to coat well. Taste frequently and adjust seasonings to your liking. Add more of the sauce if you like.
   


7. Toss the drained noodles into the skillet, mixing everything well.
   


8. Garnish with chopped peanuts, green onion and sesame seeds.
   

*Homemade peanut sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves of garlic.
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
  
• 2 T honey or agave nectar
  
• 2 T rice vinegar
  
• 2 T. chili oil
  
• 1 chopped hot chili

Directions:

1. Put the garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.


2. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.
   


3. Add water to thin the consistency if you find it necessary.
   


4. Refrigerate any unused sauce in a tightly-lidded container.
   


5. You may use more or less chili pepper to suit your taste for spiciness.
   

Notes:

• I might start a series of recipes titled "Things to Do With Ramen Noodles."
  

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Scrambled Tofu with Mushroom, Onion and Bell Pepper

Poor tofu gets such a bad rap from its bland flavor, sometimes spongy texture and its soy origin. I say that its blandness only means that it won't compete with other strong flavors in a dish. It literally soaks up marinades, so with a wonderful mixture of spices and seasonings, you can have a dish that is every bit as flavorful as any meat-based dish.

Be sure to choose the right kind of tofu for your task: Japanese-style Silken tofu is an excellent choice in blended smoothies and desserts, while Chinese-style extra firm varieties make the best stir-fries and baked dishes. You can further affect the texture by pressing out the excess water and even freezing it.

As for the stigma of its soy roots, I have yet to see good evidence that it causes cancer or makes you gay.

This recipe gives you a double-shot of umami goodness with the wild mushrooms and nutritional yeast.

Scrambled Tofu with Mushroom, Onion and Bell Pepper

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• ¼ block of extra firm tofu (I like nasoya organic tofu best)
• ½ onion, chopped
• ½ orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (½ oz) packet dried mushrooms, rehydrated to make 2 oz. mushrooms
  
• ¾ t onion powder
• ¾ t garlic powder
• ½ t turmeric
• 2 T nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Put the olive oil in a pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the rehydrated mushrooms and cook until nicely browned and they release no more moisture. Set aside.
   


2. In another skillet, pour in about 2 T olive oil.
   


3. Drain the tofu and blot it with a paper towel. You can even squeeze it a bit to release more moisture.
   


4. Crumble the tofu into the pan and saute until it's nicely golden-brown.


5. Push the tofu to the sides of the pan and add the chopped onion and saute until translucent.


6. Add the orange bell pepper and stir the mixture together.


7. Stir in the onion powder, garlic powder and turmeric and mix well.


8. Dump in the cooked mushrooms and mix well.
   


9. Fold in the nutritional yeast, making sure that everything is well coated. Let it cook for about a minute more, then plate.


10. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

See the steam rising? Hot and tasty.

Notes:

• This dish works well with almost any combination of vegetables. I often use chopped tomato in it, added just before the nutritional yeast goes in. Sometimes I cook up a separate skillet of diced potato and fold that in once the other vegetables are done, before seasoning with the spices.
  


• I prefer to cook the mushrooms in a separate skillet because, even over high heat, they give off moisture. Dried, reconstituted mushrooms give off less moisture than fresh, but still I don't like adding any extra water to tofu when it's browning.
  

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