Last Saturday, I went a bit wild and cooked all the things. I made beet stem hummus, baba ganoush, berry cobbler, and noodles with vegetables and fried tofu in spicy peanut sauce. All before lunch. It was a good day.
Since Storm came into our lives, I haven’t had much cognitive capacity available to think about cooking. We have sustained ourselves largely on the many freezer meals I made before the birth, and things that could be whipped up quickly and to the tune of baby cries. But after some 10 weeks, I am finding my food curiosity to be slowly returning, and ideas for dishes and recipes have started brewing in my mind again.
So here’s a peek at our lunch this past Saturday: noodles with bok choy, red pepper, spring onion, and fried tofu in a spicy Thai curry peanut sauce. Scroll down for the recipe. This one came about as a result of thinking about what I would do with all the duck fat in my fridge. Not the most glorious source of inspiration, perhaps, but I’m not picky at this point.
Pressing the tofu lets the excess water drain
All the vegetables.
Charred! Baby bok choy is one of my favorite vegetables.
Frying the tofu.
Mixing the tofu with the peanut sauce.
Lunch is served
Fried Tofu in Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pack firm tofu
- oil/fat for frying
- salt
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp soy
Instructions
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Drain and press the tofu for at least an hour.
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Put a wok on the stove and set the heat to high. Add the oil/fat. Cut the tofu in thumbnail sized cubes while you wait for it to become hot.
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Stir fry the tofu cubes in two or more batches until golden, then remove them with a slotted spoon, and leave to drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with a bit of salt.
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Remove all of the fat from the wok, except for 1 table spoon. Turn down the heat to medium low. Add the curry paste and let it cook for a minute. Then add the peanut butter and stir. Add water if it gets too thick - you want it to be sauce-like.
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When you have a good consistency, add sugar and soy to taste. Let the mixture simmer for another minute, then add the fried tofu and mix.
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Serve over noodles or rice with stir fried or steamed vegetables.
