Delicious tofu indeed!

Tofu is something I could happily eat every day of the week. I love it's ability to soak up flavours and the different textures that can be achieved by applying various cooking methods. Having said that, I try to limit my weekly tofu consumption as there are enough soy products in my diet and it's better to eat a variety of protein sources. If I had to choose between a meal containing lentils, beans, tofu or nuts, tofu would be the winner most of the time.

Perhaps my self-imposed tofu limit is the reason that Matthew's delicious tofu posted by In the Mood for Noodles well over a year ago didn't make it out of my bookmarks until now. I always have an abundance of tofu recipes stored up and never enough time to cook them all! The flavours in the recipe sounded great, a combination of spicy, salty, sweet and sour. It had also been given the thumbs up by Where's the Beef earlier this year.

After planning out my meals for the week and deciding to try Matthew's delicious tofu, I became somewhat conflicted after reading K's post about Toby's Singapore Noodles. The noodles also sounded fantastic and I haven't eaten Singapore Noodles for quite some time. Of course, I could have made both recipes but the rest of my week's cooking was organised so I stuck to my original plan, telling myself that it was only fair to give this neglected recipe a shot first.

I wanted to include some vegetables with the meal without making a separate side dish so I decided to steam some vegetables and add them to the tofu at the end. As the sauce would have been devoured by the tofu by this stage, I doubled the sauce quantity and reserved half to mix into the pan with the vegetables. The recipe also listed chopped nuts which the man doesn't like as toppings so I left them out to appease him.

The recipe's title was certainly an honest one as the tofu truly was delicious! There were no complaints from my crew so it was unanimous win. It was also a simple meal to prepare which was perfect for a weeknight dinner. This recipe is one that I will keep in mind for nights when you need a quick meal on the table.

This post is my second submission for the 'that recipe seems very familiar...' blog event which is part of the 2nd birthday celebrations for Planet VeGMeL.

Matthew's delicious tofu with steamed vegies
(Adapted from In the Mood for Noodles and originally from The Garden of Vegan)

1 tablespoon peanut oil
350g firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into pieces
1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
1 small red capscium, sliced
1 medium carrot, sliced
6 button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup tamari
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Sriracha chilli sauce (or less if you don't like too much spice)
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 tablespoon minced ginger

Heat the peanut oil in a large pan over medium heat and fry the tofu until browned on both sides.

While the tofu is frying, steam the broccoli, capsicum, carrot and mushrooms until just tender. Whisk the maple syrup, tamari, lemon juice and chilli sauce together and set aside.

When the tofu has cooked on both sides, reduce the heat, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for a minute. Pour half of the sauce into the pan, stir well, then cover and cook until the juices have almost evaporated. Add the steamed vegetables to the pan with the rest of the sauce, mix thoroughly and cook until heated through. Serve the tofu and vegetables on a bed of rice with sauce from the pan drizzled on top.