It’s Meat Free Monday once again and today we are having a simple tofu dish. It’s easy and simple to make but it’s absolutely flavorful and tasty. I like using tofu for my meatless Monday recipe because they’re very easy to prepare and cook, on top of that they are budget friendly. You don’t need to pay much to eat something as food as this dish. This dish is becoming my favorite meatless dish among the many others that I have in my website because I love that there’s plenty of texture in this dish and it got the “kick” of heat that’s just right and perfect.

Less is more

This dish uses few ingredients only and it’s not a strict recipe, its very flexible. You can mix and match vegetables that you like, and for me that’s the key to enjoying my Meatless Monday.  The main ingredients that is of course a must is only the firm tofu, although I think this recipe could work as well with Paneer cubes. I added eggplant as I have a large one sitting in my fridge and think it makes a good combination with the spicy minced tofu, and I was right. Then a sprinkle of chiles and peppers to give some nice heat and color too. Presentation counts, as I always say “We feast with ouy eyes even before we eat”. So how do we do this? 

It’s a simple process, everything is cook in one pan

First thing that you need to do is to cut up the tofu into small tiny bits like a pea size. It is very important to use the firm tofu because we are stir frying the minced tofu and a soft tofu will not hold good for this process. Now, season it up. Since tofu doesn’t have taste on its own, you need to season it well and let the marinate sit for at least 15 minutes. You can also leave it overnight in the fridge for a more flavorful taste, but if you do not have time, work with 15 minutes and just adjust the seasonings as you cook. Set aside the tofu while you fry the eggplant. I like my eggplant really soft and I think that’s the texture that works best with this dish, but then again cook it to your texture preference. Once that is done, set it aside and you are now ready to cook the tofu. You will then stir-fry the tofu in the same pan where you cook the eggplant, no need to rinse. I like it slightly toasty but not too dry, just a nice browning on the outside but still soft inside. Again, you can cook it to your preference. Remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add oil , garlic, onion and sauté until fragrant. Return the tofu and eggplant and mix until combined. Then a small touch of soy sauce with a little bit of sugar and vinegar to give the dish moisture and extra taste. Garnish with chopped jalapeño peppers and red bell pepper and mix. Cook for another minute. That’s it ! It’s ready to serve. Enjoy! 

I like serving this with brown rice and I usually enjoy mixing it with together, like a brown rice bowl kind meal but this work great as well with any type of rice that you like. You can also use it with spaghetti pasta, a similar one like my Spaghetti Caponata. You should try that pasta, it’s absolutely amazing. But before you do that, give this dish a go first, then let me know how it goes. I love getting comments from you. Let’s get started!

Ingredients: 

• 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 175g Firm Tofu – minced
• 100g Eggplant – cut into small pieces 
• 2 cloves Garlic – minced 
• 1/4 cup White Onion – minced
• 3 1/2 teaspoon Brown Sugar (or white) 
• 3/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Chili Flakes 
• 3 tablespoon Red Bell Pepper – minced
• 2 tablespoon fresh Jalapeño Peppers – thinly sliced or minced
• 2 teaspoon Rice Vinegar or any plain White Vinegar

Instructions: 

1. Cut Ingredients: Cut and prepare ingredients as mentioned above. 
2. Marinate Tofu: In a small bowl, mix minced tofu, salt, chili flakes and paprika. Set aside while you cook the eggplant.
3. Cook Eggplant: In a heated pan, add 1 tbsp oil and stir-fry the eggplant. Leave for 5 minutes in medium heat without turning and mixing. Add another 1 tbsp of oil and stir the eggplant. Cook for another 5 minutes until eggplant becomes soft and brown. Remove from the pan.
4. Cook Tofu:  Using the same pan (make sure that the pan is hot), add 1 tbsp oil and transfer the minced tofu. Leave for 6 minutes without touching it, this will create a nice browning and will avoid ticking. Stir and cook for 6 minutes to brown the other side. Remove and set aside. 
5. Mix Tofu & Eggplant: Using the same pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and add garlic and onion and sauté until fragrant. Return the tofu and eggplant and mix until combined. Add soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. Mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. 
6. Garnish: Remove from heat add minced red bell pepper and jalapeño pepper and mix to distribute. 

Serves 2

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