Category Archives: soy

Tofu Recipe: Sesame Peanut Crusted Tofu

This recipe looked so yummy, I wanted to share it here. If you have tried tofu and didn’t care for it, hang in there. Tofu itself is bland. With the help of flavorful recipes you’ll be on your way to incorporating tofu into your diet.

For all of the details, go here. Here is the recipe below.

Sesame Peanut Crusted Tofu
vegan, serves two

Ingredients:
2 cups diced tofu, extra firm
3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
3 Tbsp peanut or olive oil
1 lime, juiced
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp agave syrup
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or cayenne)
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
3 garlic cloves, grated or chopped
garnish: chopped cilantro and fresh chopped ginger/garlic

Instructions:

In a soup or saute pan:
Add oil, garlic, ginger, peanut butter, agave syrup, lime juice and a pinch of sesame seeds.
Saute on medium-high heat for a minute.

Tofu:
Chop into cubes or thin slices and marinate in 3-4 tbsp soy sauce soy sauce and 2 Tbsp water for five minutes (while you do the first saute above).

Add tofu to pan with the peanut mixture.
Stir/toss well over high heat for a minute to coat tofu.
Turn heat to medium.
Cover pan and allow steam and heat to cook tofu for a few minutes.
Constantly move covered pan around, to preventing burning.

Uncover pan and check for doneness of tofu. It should be fluffy from the steam and cooked through.
If the mixture looks dry, add a Tbsp of water and a tsp of soy sauce and re-cover to steam.

Once the tofu looks fluffy with a few browned edges, turn heat to medium-low.
Sprinkle in red pepper flakes and toss tofu a few times-gently.

Pour in sesame seeds. Allow the seeds to stick to tofu.
Add more or less if necessary to coat about 1/2 of the total surface area of the tofu.

Saute sesame crusted tofu for a few minutes- uncovered.
Sesame seeds should be crusted and lightly toasted.

Serve over a bed of fresh chopped cabbage or on a bed of steamed veggies and brown rice.

Garnish with garlic/ginger/cilantro.

Get To Know Tempeh

tempeh.jpg
Interested in soy foods? Consider trying tempeh. Tempeh is derived from cooked soy beans. While tofu has become a star of sorts, tempeh offers solid, healthy, delicious nutrition. Tempeh is a fermented food. Tempeh is made by fermenting boiled soybeans with Rhizopus oligosporus.
In Indonesia it is a staple food. Preparing tempeh involves inoculating cooked soy beans with a starter, which is then wrapped in banana leaves and left to ferment in the humidity. The beans are bound together by a ‘furry’ mushroom-like culture which has grown through them.

Basically tempeh is a cake of cooked soybeans, bound together by a white mycelium, similar to Camembert or Brie which have soft, white mantels. The spore culture is rhisopus oligosporus. The mold penetrates the beans and makes them more digestible. It results in a very nutritious product, high in vitamin B12, it is also a source of complete protein.

Good quality tempeh should be firm, dense and covered completely with white mycelium. It should have a pleasant, clean, subtly sweet or mushroom-like aroma.

Tempeh is often enjoyed fried. It can be marinated first, it can also be steamed and then incorporated into dishes.  Typical condiments used with tempeh are chilli, coconut milk, cucumber, and raw or steamed vegetables. Tempeh can also be pureed and used as a part of other dishes or baked goods. Keep tempeh refrigerated and use according to package directions. It can even be left unrefrigerated for about a day. Just wipe or rinse off any spores.  Dark spots on tempeh are signs of maturity and ‘increase nutrition and flavor’.

Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian food. For more info on tempeh, click here

References:

Downes, John 1987. The Soy Source, 1987: A practical guide to cooking with soy foods.
image credit: brownie points