Smoky Plum Sauce Marinated Tofu & Wilted Greens

Ah, Spring. So much choice at the fruit shop! Mangoes and strawberries are high on my must have list at present. Meals become lighter and I don't know about you but enjoying the great outdoors becomes more manageable here on our mountaintop. I've been busy in the garden soaking up lots of Vitamin D and generally enjoying being in shorts and t-shirt. The houndies have of course been ever so helpfully supervising all garden activities and sunning themselves at the same time. What would I do without them? Luckily, nobody of great concern is about to be blinded by this mountaineer's white winter legs apart from the residents of Fowlty Towers but the girls are too busy looking for grubs in any case.

This recipe makes use of autumn's plum sauce, and the fresh bright greens that are sweet and in abundance at present. Make sure you marinate the tofu from the day before for the flavour to develop fully, and top with some toasted peanuts. 

If you haven't made your own plum sauce yet I have included it at the end, but a good quality shop bought one is fine. The liquid smoke isn't essential but it does add a good flavour to the tofu, so use it if you can.

Ingredients (Dinner for Two)

250gr firm tofu

2/3 cup plum sauce (shop bought or home made)

2-3 drops of liquid smoke

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2-3 cups of Asian greens ( pak choy, gai lan, wombok, choi sum etc)

1 small bunch coriander leaves

2 cups brown rice (cooked)

toasted peanuts to serve

oil for frying

Method

1. One day ahead, drain and cube the tofu, and put it into a container with the plum sauce and liquid smoke. Toss well to coat evenly and leave in the fridge overnight.

2. Cook rice according to packet directions and set aside, keeping warm.

3. Put  a little oil in your wok or frypan, and fry the tofu on high heat, until it is brown and sticky from the sauce. Set aside.

4. Crush the garlic and fry on high heat for a few seconds before adding your choice of greens and coriander. Add the soy sauce and a tablespoon of water and put the lid on, giving it a shake. The water helps the greens steam and wilt quickly. Leave it  a minute and take off the lid.

5. Serve the greens over the rice, with the tofu and top with toasted peanuts.

 Spicy Plum Sauce

Ingredients

2kg pitted red or purple plums 

1 large diced brown onion

1 cup sugar 

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 teaspoon crushed ginger

2 tsp Chinese five spice

1/4 tsp chilli powder

a little oil for frying

Method

In a large saucepan saute the onions, garlic, ginger, spices, and plums in a little oil until onion is translucent.

Add the sugar and vinegar, and gently bring to the boil, and then reduce to low heat and put on the lid, Leave for about 30 minutes, or until the plums are very tender. Take off the heat and allow to cool a little.

You can run the mixture through a mouli, or use a hand blender, until smooth. Return to the pan and simmer on low until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Vegan MoFo: Tea Smoked Tofu

Sometimes I get really good inspiration from reading cooking mags, and one of them just happens to be Donna Hay. Granted, the magazine uses an awful lot of meat, but her tips and techniques are really good, not to mention her flavour combos. I was looking through the June/July issue and spotted the recipe for tea smoked fish. Although I was a bit 'erk' about the fish, I got a bit excited about making my own smoked tofu. Tea + tofu, two of my favourite things! There's lots of how to's on the net, but basically, the idea is to put equal parts of tea, sugar, and rice on some foil, suspend your firm tofu over the top on a greased wire rack (as shown) and heat up on a BBQ, shutting the lid. Folks, this should NOT be done in the kitchen - unless you want a smoked house, and the firies to turn up at your door! I smoked mine for about half an hour. The flavour was subtle, so I think I'll try this one again with a different flavoured tea, and smoke longer, but it was still worth it. Considering smoked tofu at the co op is about 200gr and costs about $8.00, and I can get a 600gr tofu for less than $3.00, I think this is worth pursuing! We made a dinner out of it with celeriac and potato latkes, orange infused beetroot relish, sauteed baby spinach, and vegan sour cream. It was delish!

Kentucky Tofu Nuggets

Ok, I know. These aren't particularly healthy. And I didn't grow any of it myself. And I didn't make the seasoning from scratch. And it is a little funny that the seasoning is for use on "any poultry" but on the back is listed as vegan so that I actually chuckled out loud in the supermarket. And the fact they are remarkably like (as I remember them) KFC nuggets they don't particularly help the vegetarian cause. BUT - after gving these to my omnivore sister Rachel last weekend who poo pooed them and then demanded to know if I was making another batch - I think you'll find these scrum-diddly-umptious!

Ingredients
1 large block of hard tofu ( I used a 600g block)
1/2 cup Nice N' Tasty Kentucky Style Chicken Seasoning
1 cup water
oil for deep frying

Method
Mix seasoning and water into a bowl and whisk into a batter. stand aside for a few minutes to thicken.
Turn on your deep fryer. If you don't have one, a small saucepan 2/3 filled with oil is fine ( and I think less messy). To test the the temperature drop a small amount of batter into the ol to see if it bubbles up to the top.
Cut the tofu into bite sized cubes (about 3cm). Coat in the batter, and then gently drop the battered cubes into the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan - cook in batches of about five.
When golden remove with a metal slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
you can double batter tehm by allowing to cool after the first cook, redipping, and then cooking until a deep brown - they'll be nice and crunchy!
Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.