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.
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Pressing the tofu lets the excess water drain
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All the vegetables.
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Charred! Baby bok choy is one of my favorite vegetables.
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Frying the tofu.
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Mixing the tofu with the peanut sauce.
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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.