08 August, 2008

Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok Steamed Spinach & Quinoa: Try Something New

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Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Spinach & Quinoa

I don’t have anything to rant today other than give you one wonderful recipe I tried from gorgeous blog Vegan Yum Yum. This is one of my favourite blog where Lolo posts vegan recipes which make my eyes pop and I almost end-up licking my laptop screen. This blog has most tempting pictures of Vegan food which makes you drop all the things at once and rush to your kitchen to start cooking straight away. Not only that, you will be surprised to see so many ways of cooking vegan food without compromising taste factor. You will find an array of vegan food from appetizers to desserts including varieties of baked goodies to satisfy your cravings. Her Knitted Cupcakes are the best ever cupcakes I have ever seen or come across. Go check it for yourself and feast on her drool-worthy pictures. I have already tried two recipes from this wonderful blog and highly satisfied with the end result.

Today I am posting Lolo’s recipe of Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Collard and Quinoa. This was the first time we bought quinoa and cooked at home. So Lolo’s recipe sounded something what we could try for first time. Another thing that got our full attention was the process of “dry frying” the Tofu as till date we had either used them as they are or simply pan fried them with little oil. So we were eager to test and taste quinoa and ‘dry fry’ tofu. Unlike Lolo I used Baby Spinach instead of Collards and made few modifications to the original recipe to our liking. Other change is in the ingredients used in Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce. We added little extra chilli flakes as we felt the sauce was little mild for our liking and also added a small spoonful of chilli sauce. And we replaced Tamari with Teriyaki sauce as we didn’t have it in our pantry. We also reduced the amount of lime zest used and instead increased the amount of lime juice from original recipe. And addition of ginger again was to our preference.

The sauce was easy to put together and was very flavourful. It formed a nice glaze on dry fried tofu and was a real pretty sight. Over all I can easily say that Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Spinach & Quinoa was one flavoursome, nutritious, pretty and very healthy meal which we devoured without complaining. I am not sure if I have left a thank you note at Lolo’s blog. Lolo, I want to thank you for this wonderful recipe which has become our family favourite. This is my entry for JFI-Soya hosted by yours truly and dearest Pooja's Theme of the Week-Saffron, White & Green in spirit of my beautiful country's Independence Day celebration. And this is also my contribution for Melissa's Let it Grain-Quinoa event which showcases this lovely grain this whole month.

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Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Spinach & Quinoa
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-4
Recipe Source: Vegan Yum Yum

Ingredients:
1 block firm Tofu

For Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce:
3 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce (or just use Soya Sauce)
6-8 Mint Leaves, thinly chopped
2 tsp Chilli Flakes (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Chilli Sauce
1 clove of Garlic, crushed and very finely chopped
½ inch Ginger, very finely chopped
2 tbsp Lime Juice, freshly squeezed
¼ zest of the Lime
¼ tsp Salt

For Wok Steamed Spinach:
2-3 packed cups of Baby Spinach
A big pinch of Salt
1 tsp Lime Juice

For Spiced Quinoa:
¾ cup Quinoa, rinsed in cool water and drained
¼ zest Lime
½ tbsp Lime Juice
2 Green Cardamom, lightly crushed
½ inch Cinnamon Stick
1 Bay Leaf
¼ tsp Salt
1-1¼ cups Water
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Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce

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Dry Fried Tofu glazed with Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce

Method:
For Spiced Quinoa:
Combine all the ingredients listed under Spiced Quinoa in a thick bottomed pot with tight fitting lid. Bring it to a boil, then cover the lid and reduce the flame to low. Cook undisturbed for around 15-20 mins and turn off the heat. Let it sit covered for about 10 mins so that the steam is retained.

For Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce:
Meanwhile, prepare the Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce by combining all the ingredients listed. Whisk the sauce till all the sugar and salt is dissolved and keep it aside.

For Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu:
Cut Tofu into bite sized pieces of desired shape and set aside.
Heat flat bottomed non-stick pan or good iron pan and arrange the tofu so that it fits in single layer. If not then do it in batches. I used good non stick pan in order to “dry fry” tofu without using any oil.
Spread out the tofu in a pan and with a help of spatula press the tofu. The liquid from tofu will squeeze out and boil away, and the tofu will start turning golden colour. The more water evaporates, the sturdier the tofu will be and that’s exactly what we want. Remember not to press the tofu too hard initially to prevent tofu from breaking.
After several minutes, flip the tofu over and repeat the same method. After 10 mins or so you will be left with dry fired golden tofu pieces. Now you can either proceed with the next step or wok steam the spinach.
To finish the Tofu, bring the pan back to stove if it’s not already very hot. Now add the sauce you prepared and let it bubble up. Switch off the heat and let the sauce reduce and form a glaze. Make sure that the sauce is bubbling up nicely before you switch off the heat.

For Wok Steamed Spinach:
Stack the spinach leaves one above the other and roll them. Slice the roll into 1 inch segments. Repeat same procedure till you get 2-3 tightly packed cups of Spinach.
Heat wok and add spinach, lime juice and salt. You can add about a tbsp of water if required. Cover and cook for 1-2 mins. Remember you don’t need to cook it thoroughly. I like my greens to be little raw and crunchy.

To Assemble:
Place cooked spiced Quinoa on a serving dish and arrange steamed spinach on top. Arrange sweet chilli-lime Tofu on a bed of Quinoa and Spinach and drizzle any left over sauce on top of it. Serve it immediately and enjoy.

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Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Spinach & Quinoa


Note:
Other Tofu recipes to feast on

Reminder for JFI-Soya:
I invite you all to celebrate Jihva for Ingredients with this month’s theme JFI-Soya. Choice of Soya products, the recipe, ingredients, method etc is entirely left to you. I would greatly appreciate if you can send me any Vegan or Vegetarian recipes but I leave it to your choice. Soya foods include tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (chunks, mince etc), miso, soya sauces, soya oil and margarine, and soya dairy alternatives.

Deadline: 31st August, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and also in your e-mail while sending your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish, Type of Dish and Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

41 comments :

  1. Sounds lovely! I've seen quinoa here, horrendously expensive.

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  2. That sure pleases the eye and palette Sia, even for someone like me who turns to Tofu only if absolutely everything fails.

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  3. Superb pictures!!!! The Tofu looks marvelous! I love thai food and I am a Tofu fanatic. But the thing I loved the most about this whole post was the sauce. Cant wait to try it out :)

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  4. that tofu looks scrumdiliyumcious, Sia! :)

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  5. Ohh ohh..how should I thank you for giving that cupcake link? they are gorgeous. I am trying them.

    Never tried quinoa. I will have to try it. I am tired of making same things again and again. Any new recipe/method/ingredient is always welcome in my kitchen. Thanks dear

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  6. this has tickled my interest....am looking for recipes with tofu to try....but i dont have quinoa....wonder if broken wheat will work....def trying out the tofu tho...

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  7. Hi Sia,
    Never heard of Quinoa, want to try it now, will look for it the next. This looks really yummy.

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  8. This looks really lip smacking entry....and Tofu is a healthier option..
    Alas!! I cannot enrol in ur blog as my blog is still not 3 months old.
    anyways will enrol it once my baby grows up to 3 mths.
    hey check out fun filled 'Festive Food event'

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  9. I will grab this from you if you dont plan to send anything else for theme - I day Sia :D.

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  10. btw, forgot to say this looks absolutely delicious. Only your dishes are the reason which makes me eat Tofu, I used to hate its taste earlier.
    thanks for introducing this healthy option in my meals , hugs to you .

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  11. This looks delicious! What kind of chili sauce do you use? Thank you for your great recipes. I read all the time and have never commented before, but this one compelled me. I just adore tofu, and quinoa, and spinach, and together, this looks like a fantastic meal!

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  12. that tofu looks nice and spicy... I don't think I've seen a more appetizing tofu picture :)

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  13. oooh..spicy'ing the tofu with little bit of sweet and sour action! I can alomost taste this. Yummy!

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  14. ohh..whats that!!!...looks great..

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  15. wow this looks so so yum,..thnks for the link love,..

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  16. Woman! This looks seriously good. I owe you one big time for binging this blog to my notice. What a find!!

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  17. Wow, what a yummy recipe Sia! The pictures are tempting as usual.

    Hey, the first thing I too realised after waking up this morning is the date 08/08/08. And this is the day the famous olympics begin and also my little one's first day of preschool. What a coincidence!

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  18. Drool, drool, and drool as always..I wish, wish, wish I could have it too! The pictures are so beautiful..and what a recipe. Those amazing flavours...im only a month old so cant be added to your blog roll.. nice observation on the date.. never realized

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  19. New to me :) lovely pics & recipe

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  20. 8/8/8 - happens once in 100 years!also the the start of the olympics :)

    dish looks yummmmmy, gotta' try with paneer ;)

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  21. Oooh, how divine does that look!! Love the concept of dry frying though with the kind of pans I have, I'd be scrubbing them for ages after dry frying anything! Never tried quinoa before though I've been talking about making something with it for months now! The sauce sounds & looks FABULOUS, Sup!

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  22. That is seriously some of the best looking tofu I have ever seen, Sia. I simply have to try it, as I love tofu.

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  23. Quinoa with spinach sounds interesting, the sweet spicy tofu compliment well together :) Delicious :)

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  24. j says cooked quinoa looks like ...never mind. it starts with a 'c'.

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  25. event going in my blog too! do participate in it!

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  26. This looks yummy! The sauces you made look delicious and simple.

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  27. I have some posts for u scheduled in blogger for ur event..loved the way u have cut the tofu

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  28. Your dishes always make me drool! I don't like Tofu, but your pic is making me hungry..you have an award on my blog.

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  29. Hey, do check my latest post on kootu. There's a small reference to you :)

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  30. Wonderful recipe,I love the tofu images and is truely tempting.

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  31. hi, I have something waiting for you at my blog.

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  32. I have something waiting for you at my blog.

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  33. Thats one beyootiful dish and looks like it tastes great too !

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  34. very very interesting!!! will try it next week - when I go grocery (S)hopping for paneer!!???

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  35. This dish looks yummy.I have not heard of quinoa before.But I am gonna try it for sure.I have planned to make your other tofu dishes also.

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  36. Looks restauranty, Sia :). Totally love it.

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  37. Nice gloss to the dish! Tofu looks so seductive in all the blogs this month:)

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  38. Hi Sia,

    Great to see your lovely tofu recipes. I am a real advocate of tofu, but it gets such a bad press because people don't know how to cook it with lots of delicious flavours as you do!

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Namaste! I am Sia and welcome to Monsoon Spice, my virtual home. Thank you for all your comments, inputs and feedback. I really appreciate the valuable time you spent browsing through my recipe repertoire.

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