With Christmas approaching it means more work than ever for uni, with my dissertation, assignments and exams I have an endless amount of things to do and it feels like it will never end. Now, I'm sure that when it's this time next year and I'm getting up with it still dark out, to go to work I will wish I'm right back where I am now, but the stress right now is certainly overwhelming.
My way of escaping the stress has always been cooking, to me it's therapeutic and you get a great meal at the end. This next recipe of almond sauce coated tofu is layered on top of beautiful Asian inspired veg and wholegrain & wild rice. The flavouring from the veg infuses into the rice and the veg get coated in the delicious almond sauce - so packed with flavour and incredibly nutritious too!
The almond sauce uses toasted flaked almonds to create a creamy dressing full of garlic, ginger, soy sauce and a couple of dates for a hit of sweetness. Using toasted flaked almonds instead of almond butter delivers that nutty savoury flavour at a fraction of the price, plus there's so many other uses for them afterwards. The veg are lightly steamed in soy sauce and lime juice for a bit of seasoning, which also leaves them crisp and vibrant. This meal is healthy, delicious, easy and quick to make - for an even quicker version you could use already cooked rice and cut the cooking time in half!
Almond Sauce Tofu & Wild Rice | Serves: 4 | Time: 30 mins
You'll need
- Large saucepan
- frying pan
- non-stick frying pan
- Spatula
- Blender
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Sieve/colander
Ingredients
Almond Tofu:
- 1/4 cup toasted flaked almonds
- 1 garlic
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
- juice 1/2 lime
- 2 dates
- 1/4-1/2 chili, seeds removed
- 1/4 cup water + 1 tbsp
- 1 block firm tofu
- Sesame oil
Veg:
- 2 pak choi
- 2 red peppers
- 200g tenderstem broccoli
- 4 spring onions
- 1/2 chili, seeds removed
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- Juice 1/2 lime
- 1 tbsp water
Rice:
- 1.5 cups wholegrain and wild rice
- Pinch salt
Method
- Boil the rice in lightly salted water for 25 minutes, then drain.
- Peel the garlic and ginger and dice the ginger. Add the almonds, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, lime juice, dates, chili and water in the blender, blitz until smooth. Drain the tofu, cut into 8 triangles then fry in a non-stick with a splash of sesame oil until golden brown. Then stir through the sauce until just warmed.
- Remove the end of the pak choi, cut into quarters and then separate the leaves. Remove the inside of the peppers and slice thinly, chop the end of the broccoli and slice the thicker stems in half, then slice the chili and spring onions. Add the veg to the frying pan with 1 tbsp soy sauce, the juice of half a lime and 1 tbsp water, steam for 5 minutes.
- Serve up with a base of rice, topped with the veg and two triangles of tofu, repeat with the other 3 plates and enjoy!
Cassidy xx
