Thursday, March 16, 2006

Sprouting Cauliflower and Tofu in Spicy Peanut Sauce


Oh, so good! This appeared in the Oregonian's Food section on Tuesday (March 14), and was contributed by Mollie Katzen. It was originally Broccoli and Tufu in Spicy Peanut Sauce, but I had sprouting cauliflower from our CSA box, and it was SO good!

Broccoli and tofu:
1 pound firm tofu
1 pound broccoli (or sprouting broccoli or sprouting cauliflower--or even another leafy green vegetable)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion (I just used one largish onion)
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced or crushed garlic

Spicy Peanut Sauce:
3/4 cup natural-style smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup boiling water
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
cayenne pepper

1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts, lightly toasted
2 green onions, minced (include both whites and greens)
Hot cooked rice

Start rice cooking--brown rice will take about as long as it takes to cook the rest.

Cube tofu in 1 inch pieces and put in a saucepan with water to cover, then heat over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes (or until needed for recipe). While tofu cooks prepare sauce.

Place peanut butter and 3/4 cup boiling water in a medium bowl and stir until homogenous. Whisk in vinegar, soy sauce, and molasses. Season to taste with cayenne.

Trim broccoli or cauliflower and cut into bite-sized pieces. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat, then add oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onioin and stir-fry for a minute or two. Add broccoli, ginger, garlic and salt. Continue to stir-fry over high heat for another 5 minutes, or until broccoli is bright green and tender-crisp. Stir in tofu and stir-fry for another minute or so. Lower heat to medium and pour in sauce. Stir until everything is well coated. Serve immediately over rice, topped with lightly toasted peanuts and minced green onions.

4 comments:

Mimi said...

Oooh, it looks lovely!

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

oo I've been wondering about molasses in peanut sauce, how do you like that, specfically?

Anonymous said...

Would you be willing to experiment and try this with almond butter and almonds? I'd love to hear how it turns out.

Elizabeth said...

The molasses was very nice, I think. The original recipe called for honey or molasses, and besides it sounding better I also wanted to make it purely vegan for Hibi's sake.

Suzanne--why don't you try it with almond butter and let us know how it is?