Thursday, October 8, 2015

TOFU, QUINOA & GREEN SALAD



This recipe came from a Japanese cookbook, from a recipe titled "Millet & Tofu Salad". My creativity ran wild with this recipe and I ended up keeping just one of the original ingredients: tofu! This goes to show how deviating from the exact instructions and ingredients of a recipe is absolutely fine to do and I expect readers to do the same with my recipes! To me, cooking is fluid and everything can be fixed, like painting. You just have to own the ingredients and the methods you choose. Anyways, tofu has recently become a wonderful source of protein for me, as I am not an avid meat eater. I hope you like the dish (and if you don't, change it!). 

Ingredients

Salad 

  • 300g firm tofu, halved 
  • 1 cup quinoa 
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil 
  • paper towel
  • 1 medium green capsicum (around 250g), seeded removed & thinly sliced
  • 150g green beans, trimmed and cut in half
  • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup almonds, halved
Dressing
  • a generous pinch of ground black pepper
  • 1 heaped tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons water (or more, if you want the dressing thinner)

Cooking 

1. Place the halved tofu between two chopping boards or plates with a weight on top (I used a jar of nuts). Raise one end (I placed a small scale underneath one side of the chopping board) and sit for 25 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa thoroughly, twice, with your hands and strain through a sieve. Bring the quinoa to boil in a medium saucepan over high heat with 2 and a 1/2 cups of water, covered. Once boiled, lower to a simmer and continue to cook, covered, until all the water is absorbed, around 10-12 minutes. 

3. Whilst the tofu is sitting and the quinoa is cooking, heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat and dry fry the halved almonds (meaning without using any oil). When the almonds are fragrant and the inside of the almonds are very slightly golden, remove from the heat, as they will continue to brown as they sit. 

4. Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl or mug and stirring well until no lumps of mustard remain. 

5. Once the tofu has sat for 25 minutes, chop into slim, even strips. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat, swirling to coat. Add the tofu strips and cover the pan. Cook for around 3 minutes on each side or until the tofu is lightly browned. Remove from the heat and place on a few paper towels, then pat with another few paper towels to remove the excess oil. Repeat this process, adding another teaspoon of oil, until all tofu is cooked. Remove the tofu from the heat and leave to cook on the paper towel. 

6. Change the heat to low and add the sliced capsicum, green beans and spring onions and cook, uncovered, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the spring onions are very fragrant. 

Serves /
Total Prep & Cooking time / around 45 minutes (including the tofu resting time)


x Emily 

No comments:

Post a Comment