Teriyaki Tofu Noodle Bowl

My dear friend Mahi loves my tofu recipes and recently requested a ginger tofu recipe. This is what I came up with. Mahi, this ginger teriyaki tofu noodle bowl recipe is for you ♥

Teriyaki sauce is really easy to make at home. Just whisk together sugar, mirin and sake (or vinegar), and let it boil to thicken. You can use this sauce as a marinade on vegetables, brush it over anything you are grilling, or toss it in some rice or noodles. My ginger teriyaki sauce recipe is sweet, you could ofcourse adjust the sugar according to taste.

I love using thin rice noodles for this recipe. All you have to do is soak them in hot water till they have softened. You can find rice noodles or rice vermicelli in the Asian section of the grocery store. For a larger selection of rice noodles, head to an Asian store. When buying rice noodles for this recipe make sure that rice and water are the only ingredients. Some brands use corn starch in their rice noodles, and thats ok too.

Teriyaki Tofu Noodle Bowl Recipe

Serves 1 as a main dish

For the Ginger Teriyaki Tofu
Half of a 15 oz package of tofu, pressed. Read this post on how to press tofu.
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar (this will produce a sweet sauce, use less if you dont want it sweet& remember mirin is sweet too!)
2 tablespoons mirin (look for ‘mirin style seasoning’ in the asian section of the grocery store ot substitute with 1 tablespoon rice vinegar+a pinch of sugar)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Cut the tofu into 1 inch long pieces. Lay the tofu pieces on a non stick skillet and brown each side on medium heat (no oil needed).

Place all remaining ingredients in a non stick sauce pan, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 minutes or till the sugar dissolves and sauce thickens slightly. Take care not to boil the sauce too much and burn the sugar. Taste the sauce, and adjust sugar or rice vinegar if needed.

When the tofu pieces are browned, pour half the teriyaki sauce over the tofu. Save the other half of the teriyaki sauce to serve for dipping.

Turn the tofu pieces so all sides are coated with sauce. On low heat, let the sauce bubble away and thicken (but be careful not to burn the sauce), about 1-2 minutes.

Serve ginger teriyaki tofu over rice noodles (recipe below) and the remaining teriyaki sauce on the side for dipping.

For the Rice Noodles
2 oz dry rice noodles or rice vermicelli
1/4 cup carrots peeled and cut into thin sticks
1/4 cup of cucumber cut into thin sticks
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon dried chili flakes, optional
Salt
1 tablespoon chopped mint or cilantro

Soak rice noodles in very hot water for 10 minutes, or prepare according to package directions. Drain well.

Gently toss the noodles and all other ingredients together in a bowl. Top with ginger teriyaki tofu. Serve reserved teriyaki sauce on the side for dipping the noodles.

How to Press Tofu

Many tofu recipes in cookbooks and online, including several of my own, call for pressed tofu. Pressing tofu takes out the water in it and makes it firm. Pressed tofu becomes wonderfully dense and pleasantly chewy when cooked. Pressed tofu is also a great meat substitute. So how exactly do you press tofu? Read on..

What you need to press tofu
one 15oz package of firm tofu, drained and patted dry
an absorbant kitchen towel
paper towels
a plate
something heavy (weighing about 2 lbs). Choose from:

  • 2-3 cans – canned beans, canned corn, peanut butter jar, pickle jar…whatever you have
  • a book
  • heavy skillet

 

Lay out the kitchen towel on a table. Place 3 layers of paper towels on top so that the paper towels cover the cloth towel. Put the tofu block in the center.

Now wrap the paper towels over the tofu. Bring all four side up and wrap them gently, but firmly over the tofu block.

Now do the same with the cloth towel. Bring each side up and wrap firmly.

You will now have a tofu parcel. Put a plate over the tofu parcel. Place 2 to 3 cans (or a book, or skillet, or anything heavy – weighing about 2lbs) over the the plate. Adjust their positioning so that the plate is well balanced over the tofu.

Let the tofu with the weights sit for atleast 1 hour, and up to 4 hours.

The weights will release all the water in the tofu, and the towels will absorb it.

 How long to press the tofu will depend on its water content and how dense it is. But you should press tofu for atleast an hour, longer wont hurt. Trader Joe’s extra firm tofu is very firm, so I dont need to press it for more than an hour. Other firm tofus arent as dense, so I press them longer.

Use right away or store pressed tofu in a zip lock bag for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Now go check out some of my tofu recipes!

More tofu pressing methods..

How to press tofu in 5 steps in too many combined
A video on how to press tofu using a plate and book
Tips on how to press tofu on Bon Appetite
How to press tofu using a heavy pot on Fit Sugar

Quick Thai Red Curry Fried Rice with Green Beans

If you have left over rice, you can make this Thai red curry fried rice in 10 minutes. This is a quick, easy meal and a great way to use up left over rice and vegetables. Add some scrambled tofu or a couple of scrambled eggs to add extra protein to this fried rice recipe.

Blanched asparagus, or broccoli, or frozen mixed vegetables will also work in this instead of the green beans. I just happen to think green beans taste nice with Thai red curry paste.

 

Day old rice is best for fried rice. Also called overnight rice, day old rice it is drier than freshly made rice, so it absorbs flavors nicely, and the rice grains stay separated. If you don’t have left over rice from the previous day, make rice like you usually would (should not be mushy), then spread it out on a plate and place it under a fan or in the fridge till it is completely cooled.

Check out Jaden’s secrets to cooking the best fried rice.

 

Fried Rice with Thai Red Curry Paste and Green Beans Recipe

serves 4-6

3 cups cooked jasmine rice, preferably a day old (brown rice, wild rice or basmati will also work)
20 haricots verts or green beans
1 tablespoon or according to taste, thai red curry paste
2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, lightly crushed
Chopped cilantro, mint or thai basil for garnish

Trim the ends of the green beans, and cut them in half. Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Salt the water generously. Add the green beans, and boil for about a minute or till the beans tender but still a little crisp. Drain the beans. Fill the pot with cold water and enough ice cubes to make the water very cold. Dunk the beans in the ice water. This will stop the cooking process and keep the beans bright green and crisp. Drain well.

In a small bowl, whisk the red curry paste, soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons water together till they form a paste. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add onion and sauté till translucent. Then add red pepper, and sauté for about a minute. Add the drained green beans, and the whisked red curry paste. Stir on high heat for about 30 seconds.

Add cooked rice (must be cooled) to the wok. Using a wide spatula, gently and quickly stir the fried rice to incorporate everything.

Top with crushed peanuts, fried garlic slices, chopped cilantro or mint or thai basil.

Optional: add 2 scrambled eggs to the fried rice.

This fried rice tastes better the next day!

Black-Eyed Pea Cakes with Chipotle Mayonnaise

I had these wonderful black eyed pea cakes at Spotted Dog, a vegetarian friendly restaurant in Carrboro, NC. Their vegetarian black eyed pea patties had jalapenos, red pepper, celery, lime, and cilantro. I think my recipe comes pretty close to Spotted Dog’s! Served with a green salad, this makes a satisfying lunch.

You can used canned black eyed peas as a short cut, but I prefer the texture of freshy cooked dry black eyed peas in this recipe.

You could dip these cakes in butter milk, roll them in bread crumbs and shallow fry them. But this can get messy, and I didn’t want to use too much oil. So to kept things on the simpler and lighter side. I just dusted the patties with a tiny bit of corn starch, and pan cooked them with just a little olive oil.

More black eyed pea cake recipes..

Black eyed pea cakes recipe with liquid smoke on Fat free Vegan

Black eyed pea cakes recipe with cumin, on Soup Spoon

Martha Hall Foose’s Black-eyed pea cakes recipe on Ezra Pound cake


Tips for forming the patties

If the mixture is too wet, the patties will be difficult to form. So make sure your black eyed peas are drained very well drained.
Add more bread to a wet mixture, to make it more firm.
If the mixture is too dry, either mash the black eyed peas more, or sprinkle a little water
Using a wide spatula will make it easier to flip the cakes while cooking them

If you don’t want to pan fry them, you could brush the black eyed pea cakes with oil, and broil them till the tops are browned and crusty. Carefully flip them over, brush more oil and broil the other side.

Black-eyed pea Cakes Recipe with Chipotle Mayonnaise

makes 4 cakes

½ cup dry black eyed peas*
1 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon or to taste, finely chopped jalapenos, optional
1 garlic clove, minced
½ a medium green pepper, diced small
½ cup slightly stale bread, torn into small pieces. I used left over challa bread.
Zest of ½ small lime
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
¼ teaspoon or to taste Seasoned salt (I like Lawry’s and McCormick’s)
1 tablespoon Corn starch

Soak the dry black eyed peas overnight in water. Drain. Then boil plenty of fresh water in a medium pot. Salt it generously. Add soaked peas, and boil till cooked, about 20 minutes.

Drain the peas well. If they are watery, the cakes won’t hold together.

*I prefer dried black eyed peas that have been freshly cooked. But if you don’t want to use dry beans, use canned black eyed peas instead. Rinse and drain them well. Then measure out 1 1/4 cups for this recipe. You may need to use more bread, because canned beans can be wetter than cooked dried beans.

Heat a medium sauce pan with 1 teaspoon oil. Add jalapeno, garlic and green pepper and sauté on medium heat till pepper is soft, about 2 minutes. Add the bread, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, seasoned salt, and mix well. Turn off heat.

Add the cooked drained black eyed peas. Mix well. Using a potato masher, or the back of a wooden spoon, mash the black eyes peas. The mixture doesn’t have to be completely mashed, some whole black eyes peas (about 30%) will give the cakes a nice texture. Taste and adjust seasoning.

When the mashed peas mixture is cool enough to handle, divide it into 4. Roll each section into a ball. Place the 4 balls on a plate.

Sprinkle corn starch on another small plate. Dust your hands with the corn starch. Using both your corn starch coated hands, pick up a black eyed pea ball and gently flatten it to form a disc like patty. Dust your hands again, and repeat with the other balls.

Heat a medium non-stick skillet with ½ teaspoon oil, add 2 patties, and cook on medium-high heat till the patties are golden on one side. Carefully flip them and brown the other side. Remove to a plate.

Add another 1/ 2 teaspoon oil to the pan, and cook the other 2 patties.

Serve like a burger with chipotle mayonnaise burger buns, tomato slices, lettuce, pickle etc. Or serve over salad greens with chipotle mayonnaise.

Chipotle Mayonnaise Recipe

¼ cup mayonnaise (vegenaise, silken tofu or tahini for vegans)
¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle powder. Substitute with smoked or regular paprika
½ teaspoon lime juice

Whisk everything together in a small bowl. Keep chilled.

Spicy Szechuan Eggplant with Tofu

I am on a mission to make myself like eggplant. Many of you on twitter and facebook helped me with your amazing eggplant recipe suggestions to make me like it! I am now trying every method possible (except deep frying!) – grilled eggplant, sautéed eggplant, baked eggplant, stir fried eggplant..and I’m pleased to inform you, I loved the eggplant in this vegan Chinese Szechuan eggplant and tofu recipe!

My dear friend and incredibly talented food blogger, Xiaolu of 6bittersweets blog took me on a tour of a local Chinese grocery store. She showed me some amazing and exotic ingredients that I can’t wait to try! I picked up the chili bean sauce, black vinegar, and Szechuan pepper used in this recipe during my Chinese grocery store visit.

The basic idea for this dish comes from Fuchsia Dunlops  book ‘Land of Plenty’. And because Xiaolu has such a passion for food (you DO read her blog don’t you?!), I consulted with her to perfect this vegan Chinese eggplant and tofu recipe.

This recipe does take a bit of time to make, but it is so worth the effort. It tastes like something you’d get at a Szechuan restaurant.You can easily use any combination of vegetables you like for this dish – broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, or zucchini along with seitan, tempeh or paneer.

Short cuts and substitutions

Instead of pressing and then pan frying your own tofu, buy pre-baked or pre fried tofu in the grocery store
Use store bought paneer cubes instead of the tofu, and lightly pan fry them
Use balsamic vinegar instead of the Chinese black vinegar (it doesn’t taste the same, but it’s the closest substitute for Chinese black vinegar I can think of)
Use regular black pepper corns instead of Szechuan peppercorns

To salt or not to salt an eggplant before cooking? See this post.

 

More delicious vegetarian and vegan Szechuan Chinese eggplant and tofu recipes

Vegetarian Szechuan eggplant recipe on Weird Combinations
Vegan Szechuan eggplant recipe with beansprouts on No Meat Zone Recipes
Szechuan tofu stri fry recipe  on Eating Well
Szechuan garlic eggplant and tofu recipe on Hypokrtical

I molded the rice using this cute rice mold I got as a gift.

Szechuan Tofu and Eggplant Recipe

adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Plenty
serves about 3 with rice

For the tofu
One 14 oz pack of extra firm tofu
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, optional

For the eggplant
1 lb purple or Asian eggplant, cut into ¾ inch cubes
1 tablespoon oil

For the szechuan sauce
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns lightly roasted in a dry skillet, and then crushed in a mortar and pestle. Substitute with regular black peppercorns. Use less if you dont want it spicy.
1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar. Substitute with cider vinegar or balsamic
1/2 cup water

½ tablespoon oil
1-3 tablespoon black bean chili sauce (this sauce is very spicy! Start with 1 tablespoon, taste and add more at the end of cooking if needed) update: I used “guizhou black bean chili sauce”, the brand is Lee Kum Kee. Whatever brand you buy, make sure the ingredients include fermented black beans and chili peppers.

2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
5 scallions/green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 teaspoon sesame oil, optional

press the tofu
Drain the tofu and pat it dry. Place several layers of paper towels on a table. Place the drained tofu in the middle of the paper towels. Wrap the towels firmly, but without breaking the tofu, around the tofu block (like a gift wrap). Wrap this in an absorbent kitchen towel. Place a plate over the tofu parcel. Put something heavy (like a few cans of beans) on top of the plate. Let the tofu sit with the weights on top for about 4 hours (longer won’t hurt).

cook the eggplant
In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil. Add the eggplant cubes in a single layer, without crowding. Fry the eggplant cubes on high heat till they are golden, about 3 minutes for american purple eggplants. The eggplant doesnt have to be fully cooked, just browned on the outside. Flip the eggplant pieces and brown the other side. Make sure the eggplant cubes are in a single layer, so they brown quickly. Don’t over-crowd the pan. Do this in batches if needed.

Set the eggplant aside on a plate.

make the tofu
Cut the compressed tofu into ¾ inch cubes

Wipe the skillet clean. Turn heat to medium. Arrange the tofu cubes in a single layer on the skillet. I don’t use oil for the tofu, but you can use 1 tablespoon of oil if you like. Cook tofu on medium heat. Don’t move around or disturb the tofu cubes while cooking. When brown on one side (about 12 minutes), flip the tofu cubes and brown the other side. When the tofu is light brown on all sides, remove it and place it in a plate.

(If you don’t want to pan fry the tofu, toss pressed tofu it in ½ tablespoon oil, spread the tofu cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake it in a 375f oven for about 40 minutes or till the tofu is golden, and slightly chewy).

make the Szechuan sauce
In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, Szechuan pepper, vinegar and water. Keep the bowl at hands reach.

Heat a large wok with oil on high heat. Carefully add the chili bean sauce, ginger and garlic, and stir for 30 seconds. The chili bean sauce may give out fumes, so stand back. Take care not to burn it.

Remove the wok from heat. Extend your arm with the wok, so that nothing splashes on you. Now carefully pour in the whisked ingredients.

Return wok to the stove. Immediately add the scallions/green onions, eggplant, tofu, and 1/2 cup water. Toss gently and cook on high for 5 minutes or till the eggplant has softened but is not mushy. Add more water if the dish is too dry. Taste the dish and add more chili bean sauce if you like.

Drizzle sesame oil, if using.

Serve with steamed rice or wheat tortillas and extra soy sauce and chili bean sauce on the side

Sweet Potato Samosa Pops

It seems like pops (food on sticks) are every where. Starbucks recently came out with cake pops. And the amazingly talented Bakerella has made cake pops into an art form . I’m jumping on the pop band wagon with this savory sweet potato samosa pops recipe! Yay! for samosa on a stick!

Im modernizing the Indian samosa by using sweet potato, making it mini sized, and putting on a lollipop stick.

You could also use this recipe for making regular potato samosas, green pea samosa, or pumpkin samosa. Whatever samosa filling you use, make sure you dont over stuff the puff pastry. Also make sure your lollipop sticks are oven-safe before baking! 

I use puff pastry because it’s so delicious and easy (and its vegan). You could ofcourse use your favorite samosa shell recipe if you have one.

An egg wash will make the surface of the samosa pops beautifully golden. Vegans can leave out this step and still get great tasting samosas.

I serve samosa pops with the same sauces one would use for regular samosas – tamarind chutney and mint chutney. This recipe goes to the Chez Cayenne’s House Favorites: Vegan event.

Sweet Potato Samosa Pops Recipe

Makes 20 pops

1 large Sweet potato (substitute with regular potato or ¾ cup peeled, cooked butternut squash or pumpkin)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
½ tablespoon minced ginger
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon, or to taste red chile powder
¼ teaspoon coriander powder
¼ teaspoon garam masala
1/8 teaspoon aam choor or mango powder (substitute with 1/2 teaspoon lime juice)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Salt
2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed for about 30 minutes.
1 egg (vegans leave this out)
1 tablespoon milk (vegans leave this out)

20 six inch lollipop sticks (I used ‘Candymaker’ brand; it is oven-safe)

Pre heat oven to 400f

Wrap the sweet potato in a paper towel and microwave on high for about 4 minutes or till the sweet potato is cooked through. When it is cool enough to handle, peel the skin and lightly mash.This is the easiest way to cook and prepare a sweet potato for this recipe. Alternatively, you could peel, cube, and boil the sweet potato in water till tender. You need about 3/4th cup of cooked and peeled sweet potato.

While the sweet potato is cooking, heat the oil in a medium sauce pan. Add cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle, add the chooped onion and cook on medium heat till onions are lightly browned. Then add the ginger and garlic and cook for about a minute. Add turmeric, chilli, coriander powders, garam masala, and aam choor. Stir for about 30 seconds, taking care not to burn the spice powders. Turn off heat. Add the mashed sweet potato, cilantro and salt. Mix well. Taste and adjust salt and seasonings.

Lay out the thawed puff pastry on a clean work top. Measure out 2 inch squares. Using a sharp knife, cut the puff pastry sheets into 2 inch squares. You should have about 40 squares.

(If you have any odd sized bits of puff pastry left over after cutting, simply bake the scraps without filling, along with the rest of the samosas. You can snack on these!)

Press a lollipop stick onto the center of 20 of the squares. Mound 1 teaspoon of the sweet potato filling on top of the squares with the lollipop sticks. Don’t over fill.

Cover these with the other 20 squares of puff pastry. Gently stretch them a little so they fit over the filling mound. Using the tines of a small fork, press down and seal all the edges. Make sure they are sealed well. (Look at photos above).

(If you wish to freeze the samosa pops, you can do so at this point. Lay out the samosa pops on a single layer and place in the freezer. Once they are frozen hard, remove the samosa pops and put them in a zip lock bag, and return to the freezer for future use.)

Lay the samosa pops on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Whisk together the egg and milk in a small bowl. Brush this egg wash over the samosas.

Bake in a 400f oven, for 15 minutes or till puff pastry is golden.

Serve with store bought tamarind chutney.

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