cute kitchen

I love tofu but I’m never really sure how healthy it is. On the one hand it’s a great meat substitute, on the other hand it is highly processed. In any case I try not to cook with it too often and always go for the organic tofu when I do buy it.

This is a fast dish, packed full with flavour and sprinkled with fresh greens which help absorb the salty, tangy sauce. The steaming hot basmati rice is a welcome addition to the sauce and also goes perfectly with the tofu and veg.

Again, best to do your chopping prep ahead as the cooking part is not all that time consuming 🙂

Ingredients for 2 servings

200g smoked tofu, chopped into small squares

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

A big chunk of ginger, finely chopped or grated

300g tomatoes, chopped into small segments or squares

2 tsp. sugar

3 Pak Choi, slice the harder stems and keep them in one bowl, slice the leaves and keep them ready in a second bowl

200g basmati rice, rinsed and drained in a sieve

1 tsp. chilli flakes

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup water

1 orange, juiced (comes to 1/4 cup liquid)

2 tsp. tamarind paste

2 Tbsp. olive oil

• Bring 400g water to the boil. Once boiling, add a pinch of salt and the washed rice. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat completely and leave to gently simmer for 10 mins. After 10 minutes, remove from the heat, leave the lid on and allow to sit for a further 10 minutes.

• In a frying pan, heat up 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Once well warmed, add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger. Fry for 8-10 minutes until very lightly golden and softened.

• Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar. Stir on a low heat for a further 6-8 minutes until soft and sticky (stir gently every minute or so).

• While the tomatoes are frying, mix the chilli flakes, soy sauce, water, mirin, orange juice and tamarind in a jug.

• Add your well mixed sauce ingredients to the tomatoes once the tomatoes have softened and look slickly coated in the sugary juices.

• Allow the sauce to thicken slightly, then add tofu. Meanwhile steam the pak Choi stems in a few centimetres of water for 3 minutes until softened. Drain the water and stir through the pak Choi leaves.

• Serve the basmati rice with tofu and sauce, topped with the steamed pak Choi and leaves. A very simple yet tasty meal!