My Go-To Peanut Sauce & The Best Tofu Ever

May 7

May 7 My Go-To Peanut Sauce & The Best Tofu Ever

Google has played matchmaker to almost all of my favourite recipes and me because, although I love the idea of cookbooks and have a few I enjoy (Rebar and Feast!), I'm terribly lazy, don't plan ahead, and I don't love to cook. So when I find a super delicious recipe that's simple-ish, utilizes pantry staples, and can be altered to include various ingredients I have on hand, I fricking memorize it. This peanut butter sauce has served me well both as Delish Knowledge originally intended it (uncooked on a Buddha bowl and as a glaze for tofu) and as a cooking sauce for stirfry nights. It's sweet, tangy, rich, peanut-buttery, and will have you eating your veggies like no other sauce can. And what of my "best tofu ever" promise in this title? I'll get to it in a sec. First, here's the peanut sauce recipe via Delish Knowledge:

1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons chilli garlic sauce
1/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter

Whisk the ingredients together until creamy and smooth, and you've got yourself a satisfying sauce for Buddha bowls or as I enjoy it, in a stirfry.

Like so:

Begin by frying roughly chopped onions in a bit of sesame oil
Add carrots when the onions start to soften
Stir in some of your peanut sauce
Keep adding veggies in descending order of cooking time (cauliflower, broccoli, bok choi, mushrooms, etc.) all the while adding a bit more sauce
Stir in the best tofu ever, which you can either make simultaneously or ahead of time, placing it aside on a paper-towel-covered plate
Serve this deliciousness over rice, vermicelli, whatever you like
Thank me for sharing this with you

ON TO THE TOFU! No pressing out water or baking for me, thanks. Here's my super easy tofu method that is just as good as any other five-star-rated I've tried. You'll need:

Firm or extra firm tofu
Cornstarch
Sesame Seeds (I ran out, just imagine them)
Salt and Pepper

Cut your tofu into chunks or strips and get a pan with a tbsp or two of oil heating over medium-high (I use vegetable oil with some sesame oil for flavour). Pour a bunch of cornstarch and sesame seeds onto a plate and cover your tofu pieces in it. When the oil is hot enough (you'll know by the sizzle when you toss in a pinch of cornstarch), get 'em frying, shake some salt, and grind some pepper. Soon, your tofu will get crispy and brown-- if you find they're sticking when you go to turn them over, just turn the heat down a notch.

I use this method when I'm adding tofu into the above peanut sauce stir fry but it tastes good with any dressing or sauce in salads and bowls. It's all about the texture. See?