Chili lime tofu
So, to continue on my healthy food kick, I now would like to raise another controversial topic: tofu. I know many people are haters, but I honestly love tofu mainly because of this recipe. I also am obviously super into Asian food and I think any Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese dish with tofu is almost always delicious. The key to tofu is just putting it in the right kind of sauce so that it is flavourful. This soy, sweet chili, and lime sauce is super easy to make and is the key to the dish. Because I won’t deny that tofu by itself is a bit boring, but make it like this and I swear you will see it differently. No frying necessary!
Chili lime tofu (adapted from Eat Me, Delicious) – serves 4 with some vegetables and a grain
Ingredients
1 package of extra firm tofu (you can also use firm, but I prefer extra firm)
2-3 tbsp sweet chili sauce (this is a glorious sauce that is extremely common in Australia and not as common in the U.S. But if you live in America you should try to find it because it makes everything taste better.)
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
The juice of a lime (just dump it all in, I love any kind of citrus)
Zest of the same lime (I’d suggest grating the zest off the lime first before cutting the lime)
Additional chili flakes if desired (if you don’t have sweet chili sauce, you can add a couple teaspoons of sugar and about 1/2 tsp of chili flakes)
Pinch of sea salt
4 mint leaves, very thinly sliced (optional – I didn’t have and the sauce is fine without it)
Prepare the sauce by whisking together all ingredients except the tofu. Like I said, make sure to zest the lime first before squeezing the juice into the sauce. Stir the sauce well and make sure to give it another stir before dumping it on the tofu.
Drain the tofu and cut it into small squares. Spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat it over medium-high heat. Spread out all the tofu squares in the pan in a single layer and cook for about 5 minutes (if it’s not fully dry, it may sizzle a bit – I like to press it into the pan with a back of a spatula). Flip one piece of tofu and if it’s not brown enough on the bottom, continue cooking. When it’s browned to your satisfaction, flip all the tofu and cook for another 5 minutes.
Once the tofu is cooked, give the sauce a good stir and then add it to the pan, stirring to coat all the tofu. The heat should be high enough so that the sauce bubbles as you stir it around. Turn down the heat once it bubbles and let it all simmer for about 1-2 more minutes. Then turn off the heat and serve hot.
Tofu ready to get cooked
Fully cooked tofu with sauce added
I served this over quinoa and made some steamed broccoli and zucchini to go with it as well. Steamed vegetables can be kind of plain so I made a bit extra of the sauce to go over the veggies and then they were delicious.
Overall, I felt so happy and virtuous eating this meal and can guarantee the feel good atmosphere it will inspire!
merrifood 