Spicy Peanut Tofu (+ A Giveaway)
I have a confession.
I’ve been a vegetarian for about 7 years, and I’ve never prepared tofu. (There was that one time when Brett made me dinner, and I watched him cook tofu. Does that count?) I know, I’m a poor excuse for a vegetarian 😉
Thankfully, the awesome folks at Nasoya offered to send me the Spork Foods, Spork-Fed cookbook, and some coupons for tofu, so I could give this a try! (They also gave me some awesome shorts. More on that later.) I flipped through the cookbook, which has tons of vegan recipes. They don’t all use tofu but I wanted to try one of those, because I’m always looking for a new adventure.
I flipped to this recipe with spicy peanut sauce, and since I love all things peanut, I figured this would be a good place to start. I did make some tweaks and substitutions along the way, based on what I had in my kitchen. I don’t keep as many vegan products on hand these days, so I had to get a little creative.
Tofu Satay with a Decadent Peanut Sauce
Based on the recipe from Spork-Fed Cookbook
Tofu Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 2 tbsp vinegar (it called for rice, I used regular)
- 1 tbsp natural tasting high heat oil, plus 2 tablespoons (I used coconut)
- 1 tbsp palm sugar (I used plain granulated sugar)
- 2 tbsp tamari (I omitted this)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp finely ground pepper
Peanut Sauce ingredients
(I changed this a lot, so it’s not quite like the original!)
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 almond milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
First things first, you have to press your tofu. I just put mine on a plate, and stacked another plate on top of the tofu, and topped with some heavy books. After an hour or so, it was good to go! I sliced it into 8 triangles. Then I mixed together the next 6 ingredients, and marinated the tofu in that for about an hour. While that was marinating, I mixed together the peanut sauce.
I just grilled the tofu on my George Foreman for about 3 minutes. You could also use a grill pan (or a regular grill) but I didn’t have either of those, so George did just fine! I had the peanut sauce on the side for dipping, and ate this with some mix veggies stir fried in soy sauce.
And now, you have a chance to win some goodies of your own!
One lucky reader will win:
- A copy of the Spork Fed cookbook
- (5) Coupons for one free Nasoya tofu product
- A pair of Tofu U gym shorts; (Tofu U is Nasoya’s online tofu college teaching users how to press, prep and cook tofu)
To win, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite way to use or cook with tofu! [If you have a link to a favorite recipe, I’d love to see those, too.]
You can get a bonus entry for liking my Facebook page! (Just let me another comment so I know that you did!) The winner will be announced on Friday!
Love love love spicy peanut sauces! It took me awhile to get the courage to try tofu too. I was always kind of scared of it
I have no idea why I was afraid of it for so long! It was super easy to make!
Oh my god, THOSE SHORTS. I want them, haha. My newest tofu obsession is making creamy tofu-based sauces (made a vegan tartar sauce this weekend) and creams–whipped cream, to be specific!
Hahaha aren’t those hilarious?! My roommates crack up when I wear them around the house 😉
i liked your page on facebook!
I really like using tofu to make dairy-free french silk pie…silken tofu, cocoa powder, sugar, and vanilla make the filling and you can put it in a homemade graham cracker crust or a prepared store one…once my friends and I used a prepared Oreo crust (sooo pathetically easy of us – but it was DELICIOUS)
I DEFINITELY want to try some sweets recipes with tofu! I’ve heard you can make a good chocolate mousse with it (probably similar to your silk pie filling!)
My go-to with tofu is almost always stir fry with tons of veggies on top of cabbage slaw. It’s fast, easy, and healthy. I’ve been branching out though and using tofu in Mexi meals as well as Italian.
Ohh I like the idea of eating it on top of cabbage slaw!
I liked you on fb!
I love roasting tofu, so good. I really even like making tofu mousse out of it. I love their products so winning would be awesome!
I love tofu … when it’s prepared for me haha. I’ve tried making it before, but I just can’t seem to get the flavoring correct. My favorite tofu dish is offered as a “small bite” at a local salad restaurant. It’s fried (of course) so that it is crispy and smothered in sesame sauce. Mmmmm delicious.
Hahaha yeah, I think fried tofu is probably the tastiest, hands down 😉
🙂 I have been eating tofu since…forever! (that Asian 1/2 of me…ya know. LOL) I LOVE the peanut sauce! I will def be trying that!
We (my mom and I) let it drain-or press–and fry it in sesame oil with sesame seeds–with chopped green onions-until the outside is a little crispy. Then it is served with soy sauce for dipping. It is a staple of our “ban chan”–which are “side dishes” served with Korean food. yum…..
(oh…and I like you on FB!)
I bet you have tons of amazing peanut sauce recipes!!
Tofu is definitly something tricky to make. It seems so easy, but you really have to cook it right. I think when I first became a vegetarian I still cooked it, but I definitly wasn’t doing it right. I’ve never had much luck with peanut butter and savory dishes, but this looks so amazing! I think I’ll have to try it.
Haha it took me a little while to get used to peanut as a sauce (and not a sweet!) but now I love it! I make so many peanut sauces. I think I could cover anything in peanut sauce 🙂