03.18.12_Sweet Chili Lime Tofu

Having been out of town the past several weekends, Phillip and I planned on doing nothing all day Sunday. We decided we wanted something light and healthy for dinner after a weekend of drinking for St. Patrick's Day. Phillip had found this recipe for Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Quinoa and Collard Greens that looked good and fit the bill. We decided to sub that with kale because I have never been a big fan of collards.

I left Phillip in charge of mixing up the sauce. He combined

• 3 Tbs Sugar
• 3 Tbs Reduced Sodium Tamari
• 1 3/4 Tbs Fresh Lime Juice
• 1/2 Zest of the Lime
• 1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes
• 1 Clove Garlic, pressed, optional
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 4 Mint Leaves, chiffonaded  (we used a few more since the mint leaves we had were tiny)

While Phillip mixed up the sauce, I prepared the tofu and the quinoa. For the quinoa, I combined 3/4 cup quinoa, 1 1/3 cup water, 1/4 tsp of salt, and the zest of half a lime in a pot, brought to a boil, then reduced the heat to low and simmered for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, I removed the quinoa from the heat and let it steam for 10 minutes while I finished off the rest of the meal.

Earlier in the day I pressed the tofu like I learned to do the first time I used tofu. I cut the tofu across into 8 slices, then took each slice and made 4 triangles, making a total of 32 pieces of tofu. Next, I brought a nonstick skillet up to medium. This recipe called for "dry frying" the tofu which I had never done. I was excited to try a different technique because every time we have made tofu in the past I never got it as browned as I would like.  I placed all the tofu into the heated pan, and then used my spatula to lightly press the tofu and get out any remaining liquid. I cooked the tofu on each side until they were as brown as I liked. I took the tofu off the heat so that I could make the kale.

For the kale, I quickly heated a little EVOO in a pan, then added the kale. I squeezed a lime over the kale, then seasoned with red pepper flakes and salt. I used tongs to constantly toss the kale until it was cooked and tender. After the kale was cooked, I put the tofu back over high heat, then added the sauce Phillip made. The sauce bubbled and reduced, coating the tofu in a glaze. I flipped the tofu over once to make sure both sides got coated in the sauce. This only took a couple of minutes at most.

We served the dish all piled on top of each other: quinoa, then kale, then tofu. I was super happy with how the tofu came out. It was a great texture and didn't taste tofu-y at all. I think in the future I will use the dry-frying technique to cook my tofu as this was the closest I had gotten to the texture of tofu you order in a restaurant (without deep frying it).