Chilli Tofu {Vegan MoFo 2014}

Tofu has never been on my list of favourite food items. I have had it a couple of times in Japanese stir fries and Asian Salads, but somehow it has never made its way in my weekly Grocery shopping. Although I understand that Tofu apart from being an excellent source of Plant Proteiins, also is one of those ingredient that carries flavours very well and depends on how you cook them,changing its texture from soft and tender to crisp and crunchy. But then, it does take time and guts to include new things in your diet .. doesn’t it !?

So when I initially thought about taking part in the Vegan Mofo for this year, this dish wasn’t really on my mind at all. But then – for a Non-Vegan person like me Tofu, Chickpeas and Soy were the only Vegan things in mind. So before I could explore my other options, I thought of starting with the easy things first.

I hopped over this recipe on Su's blog and immediately fell in love with the breath-taking photos and interesting narration. And then I thought – Come on , it can’t be that bad to have Tofu in its non-fried form. So I came out of my shell and tried my hands on this amazing stir fry. And I must say, this was one of the nicest Tofu stir fries I have had. I like the stir fries with Onions and some easy sauces to cover it up. And this one fitted the bill perfectly !

The good part was it doesn’t use that much of Corn flour which I hate to use. And I skipped using corn syrup which was present in the  original recipe, instead I increased the quantity of chopped garlic and onion to cover it all which worked fine btw. Toasted sesame seeds add a very nice crunch to the whole dish and I am so looking forward to add them to any other stir fry that I make..

Let me admit, I am super excited to take part in the Vegan Mofo 2014. If you're not familier with the Vegan MoFo, it's short for The Vegan Month of Food. Every year the MoFo team pulls together this awesome blogging event where food Bloggers from all over the World share tons of delicious Vegan recipes...

                         

... Bloggers usually choose a theme to work through this Month, but I have only kept it simple to start with. If I sail through this month with minimum 20 posts this time, may be next time I will also think out of my idiot box and get some good theme worked up. But for now.. lets start with the first post for Vegan Mofo 2014 –Chilli tofu. This dish is easy to prepare and simple flavour combinations of hot and sweet works wonders.

Prep Time: 4-5 minutes ( includes pressure cooking time ) 

Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 2-3 people

Cuisine:-  Asian 

Spice Level:  Sweet and Sour 

Recipe Level:  Easy 

Shelf Life: Up to 12 hours at room temperature, up to 3-4 days in the Fridge

Serving Suggestion:  With Soups, salads or as a side dish. It tastes good on its own as an appetizer too 

Nutritional Facts:- Rich in Proteins and Fiber

Recipe Source: Baba Ganuj 

What you need?

• 1 pack of firm tofu, cubed (about 300 gms)
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
• ½ inch ginger, grated or minced
• 1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
• ½  tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ cup of  water
• A generous pinch of chilli powder
• 1 tbsp toasted Sesame seeds
• A handful of finely chopped spring onion
• 1 tbsp Oil ( I used Canola Oil )
• salt and pepper according to taste

 How to make? 

• First of all, pat dry tofu before you cube them to remove excess water and coat them lightly with corn flour. Add pinch of salt and generous helpings of freshly cracked black and black or white pepper. 
• Heat some oil into the non stick frying pan over medium to high heat, and gently shallow fry them until golden. This should take around 5mins. Remove cooked tofu cubes and set aside.
• Use the same pan, heat some oil and gently fry the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and chilli until onions are softened. You may add half the amount of chillies at the beginning to introduce some chilli flavour into the oil and add the other half at the end of the cooking process to keep the freshness.
• Once onions are softened, add tofu, soy, sugar and chilli powder along with water. Bring them up to boil and simmer on low heat until tofu has soaked up all the juices. This simmering process allows tofu to take on the flavours of the sauce.
• Drizzle sesame oil and seeds on top for the gorgeous nutty flavour, and sprinkle finely chopped spring onions and dig in. Turn off and serve hot and sizzling..

Tips and Notes:

• When corn flour is lightly coated the surface of cubed tofu, not only it protects tofu when frying, but also it gives slightly crisp texture on the outside. And these layers will help tofu to retain its soft texture inside while soaking up all the flavours from the sauce.
• You may deep fry the Tofu pieces for extra crunch and lovely flavours for which tofu is being loved by all.
• Some chopped vegetables like French beans, carrots, broccoli etc. can be added to the stir fry. I simply love the addition of Bell Pepper/ Capsicums or simply on its own.