Spicy Baked Tofu and Satay Sauce

Yesterday ended up being a much busier day than I anticipated. My hubby worked until 7:45p so we had dinner a little after 8p. I made a quick baked tofu with sauce (recipe to follow). After dinner we went to visit our friends Jackie and Walid. Dan and Walid work together and had spent the day at the office so I would have thought they would be tired of seeing each other but apparently not. Although Jackie and I did most of the talking last night. Isn’t that what normally happens?

I took some of the raw cookies and they were a hit. Jackie, like my hubby, isn’t a big fan of coconut but liked the cookies. I know she wasn’t just being polite because she had a few. ;) Her hubby, Walid, has a major sweet tooth, which he claims is an Egyptian thing. But even Mr. Sweet Tooth liked the cookies. I am psyched that the recipe has been universally well received. Don’t we all just love it when one of our creations turns out so well?

Our dinner was intentionally high in calories because we hadn’t eaten much for breakfast or lunch today. I know you shouldn’t have most of your calories at dinner, but I knew we were going to be up for a while so this wasn’t as bad as it could have been. ;) I have been making variations of this meal for a long time (decades actually). The recipe changes at our house based on what I have in the pantry. Tamarind paste may not be traditional, but I love the flavor it adds to the sauce. Fresh cilantro would be great in here if you have it on hand.

Here is what we had for dinner. Recipe in a slightly different format. Do any of you have a formatting preference? Is this easier to follow, or more difficult?

Spicy Baked Tofu and Satay Sauce
Serves 2

Tofu:

14 ounces extra firm tofu, drained
1 tablespoon liquid aminos (or substitute low sodium soy sauce)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Cube the tofu into bite size pieces.  Toss the tofu with the seasonings and place on a sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and lightly browned (about 40 minutes).  If you are worried about the tofu sticking, line your sheet tray with parchment paper.  My tofu released fine, but the pans are fairly new and that my have made a difference.

Sauce:

¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
½ inch ginger, finely minced (peel if not organic)
1 tablespoon liquid aminos
¼ teaspoon coriander seed, toasted and ground
Stevia or agave, to lightly sweeten (I used a small amount of stevia, about ¼ scoop)
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (I used ¼ teaspoon)
½ tablespoon tamarind paste (or substitute lime juice)

Puree until completely smooth. Heat until warm.

Vegetables:

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons water
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 tablespoon liquid aminos - optional

Water sauté the onions until wilted, add the red bell pepper and pineapple and cook until heated (about a minute). Add the liquid aminos when sautéing, if using.

Rice:

¾ cup brown basmati rice
1 ½ cups water

Combine the water and rice and bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to stand, covered, for another 10 minutes. Then fluff the rice with a fork.  I intentionally didn't add salt to the rice since I knew the sodium would be high due to the liquid aminos.

To serve:

Top brown basmati rice with lightly cooked red bell pepper, onion, pineapple and baked tofu. Drizzle with peanut sauce and serve. If desired top with cilantro and diced peanuts.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 730.41
Calories From Fat (35%) - 253.53

Total Fat - 30.34g
Saturated Fat - 4.87g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1001.04mg
Potassium - 1013.87mg
Total Carbohydrates - 88.44g
Fiber - 9.27g
Sugar - 19.61g
Protein - 35.5g

Comments:

The sodium content of this dish is high due to the liquid aminos. This is something that I would not make often, for that reason. But every once in a while a high sodium meal is fine. The sauce is much healthier than what you get out since that typically has a generous amount of oil it in. The baked tofu, even without oil, will develop a crusty exterior. If you haven’t tried baking tofu without oil you should give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the results the first time I made it. We enjoyed this dish and hope you do as well.

Each serving of this dish contains approximately 2,300IU of vitamin A, 140mg of vitamin C, 420mg of calcium, 130mcg of folate, 670mg of phosphorus, 280mg of magnesium, and 45mcg of selenium.

Unrelated notes:

Today I am back to finishing a project at home, not cooking related. I have been taking the house apart room my room and cleaning it top to bottom. I absolutely hate to clean, but our precious felines have hair that floats so it ends up everywhere. So …. I need to defuzz the house a few times a year to keep things somewhat under control. And on that note, I am off to tackle the cat hair storm.

I will be back later with tonight’s soup. At the moment I have lentil, wheat berry and mushroom soup in mind for tonight.