4.12.2010

Coconut Lime Tofu

I think a while ago I said that I'm really into a blog called Cara's Cravings right now. John and I really love tofu, and that girl has some tasty recipes for it.






















This recipe reminds me of a certain Thai soup that I love. It has a lot of similar flavors - tofu, coconut, lime, brown sugar, spinach. The soup version takes a lot longer to make than this tofu, which I hope to make again very soon.



























Other than tofu, I had a few things to tell you. We have about a month before we head down to the Land of Freedom for 4 weeks or so. The first couple of stops: Fort Wayne, then Oxford, OH for Music Theory Midwest. I'm hoping that my desire to find good blog posts will prompt me to find good things to do in Fort Wayne for 2 weeks (!). Things other than just cooking and dog walking, of course. Before we head down there, we still have to administer a couple of exams, and John and I are both participating in the Forest City 5K Road Race on May 2nd. It's the first race I've entered since my epic ankle sprain of 2009.



Back to tofu.

























We made some rice to have with this, and I added a little more coconut milk to it, just for kicks. A quick note - John and I like to press our tofu with something heavy to take some of the moisture out of it. We put it on a plate with a couple paper towels on either side of it, then stack either another plate with a canned good or a big canister of sugar on top. Doing this for a couple of hours before actually cooking it will firm it up even more and help it absorb flavor.



Coconut-Lime Tofu
from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 tsp coconut extract
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
1 10oz package fresh baby spinach
1 lb firm tofu

Directions
Add the block of tofu to a pot of boiling water with about 1 tbsp salt. Let it simmer in the water for 5 minutes. Remove from the water onto a paper towel. Press out some of the water and chop into cubes.

In a shallow baking pan, stir together the coconut milk, coconut extract, jalapeno peppers, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add some nonstick cooking spray. Cook the tofu, turning occasionally, until browned on both sides. Remove from the skillet and add to the dish with the coconut milk. Toss to coat, and refrigerate for one hour.

Heat the skillet again over medium heat with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the tofu from the dish with a slotted spoon and add to the pan along with the tomato and spinach. Cook until spinach wilts, about 3-5 minutes. Add the marinade to the skillet, bring to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes until thickened.

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