Turmeric Tofu Skewers with Peanut and Ginger Sauce
Another recipe that fits into my current theme of quick and easy!
I am sure most of you have tried a peanut sauce in your life time, espeically if follow a plant based diet. It's such a staple sauce for vegan or vegetarian cooking. And with good reason, it’s delicious and pretty darn easy to make.
Whilst I am no expert on the topic of Malaysian or Thai cuisine, I should first clarify that this is not a recipe for satay tofu. Satay refers to the marinated protein skewers, not the sauce itself. Satay is often served with peanut sauce so it gets called satay sauce. As I have don't marinate the tofu (in order to make it quick and easy), I can't call this satay tofu. So this is a recipe for tofu with peanut sauce......a subtle but important difference! Just thought I'd cover this so no one reports me to the authentic police!
I actually very rarely marinate tofu in my cooking. For one, I love tofu as it is. I eat it raw and even pack raw sliced tofu in the kids lunch boxes – they call it tofu “cheese” and love it. I know this is quite an unpopular opinion! In fact many people can't stand tofu no matter how it’s cooked. But the biggest reason is because I find marinated tofu harder to cook than plain tofu. A marinade often means the tofu burns or sticks to the pan and you don't get that crispy outer layer you get from plain fried tofu.
I prefer to pan fry plain tofu so it gets all nice and crispy and then drown it in sauce. This way you get the best of both worlds, nice and crispy tofu and lots of flavour from the sauce. My recipe for Agedashi tofu is the perfect example of this. Pillowy soft tofu, crispy coating swimming in a delicious umami broth. Check it out here.
Turmeric Tofu Skewers with Peanut and Ginger Sauce
Prep time: 30 minutes
Makes: 2 serves
Dietary Guide: The recipe is vegan and gluten free if using GF soy sauce. To make it FODMAP friendly, omit the garlic from the peanut sauce, use peanuts not cashews as a garnish and make sure the greens you choose are FODMAP friendly.
Ingredients
6 wooden skewers soaked in water for an hour
300g of firm tofu cut into bite sized pieces (about 2.5cm squares)
1 teaspoon of turmeric
½ a teaspoon curry powder
Vegetable oil for grilling
1 cup of brown rice
Asian green of your choice for 2 people
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
A handful of toasted cashews or peanuts
½ cup of washed coriander leaves
1 tablespoon of toasted white or black sesame seeds (optional)
1 lime to serve
For the peanut sauce
1/3 cup cup of crunch peanut butter
1 teaspoons of sesame oil
1 teaspoons of chilli oil or veg oil if you don't like chilli
2 ½ teaspoon of lime juice
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
2 small garlic cloves or 1 medium one
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of finely grated ginger*
3 tablespoons of water
1 ½ tablespoons of brown sugar or maple syrup
2 coriander roots washed (optional)
*It's important the ginger is finely grated otherwise it will feel grainy in the sauce. I freeze my ginger and then grate it on a micro place so its super fine. If yours feels a bit chunky or fibrous, add it to the finished creamed garlic in the mortar and pestle (step 3) and grind it up more with the pestle.
Method
Bring the brown rice and 5 cups of water to the boil in a medium sized saucepan. Reduce to a low heat and simmer until cooked - about 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, drain the rice into a metal colander, place the colander on top of the saucepan and cover with a lid. This will keep the rice warm until you need and help dry it out to make it nice and fluffy.
Meanwhile mix together the turmeric, curry powder and tofu in a medium sized mixing bowl. Thread the tofu onto the skewers and set aside.
Now make the peanut and ginger sauce. Prepare the garlic by “creaming it” - grind the garlic and the salt in a mortar and pestle until it forms a rough paste. Add the chilli oil to the garlic and mix together. Scape the garlic mix out into a small saucepan - if you doin't love garlic, just add half of the creamed garlic and see if you want to add more later. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk well to combine. Taste and adjust if needed, i.e. add more sugar if it's too sour. Simmer gently for a few minutes to warm through.
Heat a large fry pan on medium heat with a little vegetable oil. Grill the tofu skews for a few minutes on each side until a little charred. Transfer to a plate and cover with a lid to keep warm whilst you prepare the greens.
Wipe down the pan and turn the temperature up to high. Quickly saute the greens with a little vegetable oil until just wilted. Mix through 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
To assemble, divide the rice, greens and tofu skewers among 2 bowls. Drizzle over the peanut sauce or alternatively serve the sauce on the side. Top with the fresh coriander leaves, nuts, sesame seeds if using and garnish with a lime wedge.
