Black Pepper Rice Supper with Tofu, Roasted Peanut Sauce and Stir-Fried Carrots

From Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen, Deborah Madison, Broadway Books, 2005.

While this recipe was really for brown rice I decided to make a black pepper rice to go with it.

For the tofu I first made a peanut sauce to go with it. I used roasted peanuts so they went straight into the blender with a little oil, some chopped coriander, some mint leaves, a garlic clove, a pinch of chipotle powder, salt, a little soya sauce and the juice of a lime. They were blended until smooth and a little water added to thin it out, although I did leave mine a little on the thick side.

I needed to use both a wok and a frying pan to make the main dish. The wok was used to stir-fry the vegetables while the frying pan was used for the tofu.

In the wok went a little olive oil and when it was hot I added a little ginger sliced into thin batons and three carrots sliced thinly on the diagonal. After a few minutes of tossing about, some soya sauce was added. I wanted some more green so added some Chinese broccoli. A little more tossing and about half a cup of water was added, the lid went on the wok and it was left to simmer to cook the vegetables and give time to look after the tofu.

The tofu was sliced into rectangles and added to the frying pan with a slight brush of oil. Salt was sprinkled over the rectangles and they were cooked until lightly browned and then turned to brown the other side. A little soya sauce was sprinkled over the tofu and it was ready.

Some sliced spring onions were added to the vegetables and they were ready to serve. They went on a plate together with the tofu slices which were then topped with the peanut sauce.

I always enjoy tofu that has been cooked until it becomes chewy. This was quite enjoyable with the thick spicy peanut sauce and the juicy vegetables. The book seems to have quite a number of variations on tofu dishes so I must get back to trying some more of them.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔