Easy Thai Peanut Sauce with Tofu and Noodles
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tonight my husband, who generally avoids tofu, swallowed his pride and admitted to me that he loved dinner. In fact he added that if tofu tasted that good all the time he would even request it periodically. The dish I made was Thai Peanut sauce with fried tofu on whole grain noodles.
To tell you the truth I nearly didn't make it because I was out of fettuccine and I didn't want to make it with wide noodles. As you can see I cooked it anyway, however I really don't recommend it with wide noodles. Even though my husband loved it, I suggest that you make it with fettuccine or spaghetti. The wide noodles just couldn't hold onto enough sauce to make it perfect.
So, in spite of the tofu, I'm adding this to my list of man-friendly recipes. I used a medium spicy picante sauce which my husband prefers, but if you prefer a mild, more boring flavor you may want to use a mild picante sauce (or spicy picante sauce if you really like the heat). I'm not a fan of hot spices but I do prefer this recipe with the medium picante sauce. It really isn't spicy at all and the flavors blend so nicely with a little heat added.
I make the sauce first and set it aside, heating it just before pouring it onto the pasta.
Sauce:
1 cup picante sauce
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
Mix all items together in small saucepan and heat through. Set aside.
Fried Sesame Tofu
1 block of firm, water packed tofu.
2 Tablespoons fine, whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes.
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
canola oil
peanut oil
First press some of the water out of the tofu by placing tofu block on two folded paper towels. Place on a plate or on a dish cloth and top with two more paper towels and a small heavy bowl or a cast iron bacon press. Turn tofu every five minutes for 15 minutes.
Slice tofu block in half through the center creating to thinner blocks. Then cut each block into 3/4 inch cubes.
In a small bowl stir together flour, nutritional yeast and sesame seeds. roll each cube of tofu in flour mixture to coat, pressing sesame seeds into tofu.
This is about the time that I start cooking the whole grain fettuccine and simmering the peanut sauce.
Pour 1 part peanut oil and 3 parts canola oil in a skillet to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Heat to 350 degrees. Carefully drop in cubes of coated tofu. Allow them to cook, turning occasionally until cubes are light brown and crispy on the outside - about 4 minutes. Lift them out of oil and drain on paper towels.
When fettuccine is cooked, drain it and place it in a bowl. Add heated peanut sauce and stir to coat. Top with fried tofu. Sprinkle on chopped peanuts and additional peanut sauce if desired.
Serve hot with broccoli and fresh pineapple.
Labels: fettuccine, peanut butter, peanuts, picante, Thai, tofu
