Recipe for Tofu Chilli Stir Fry | Indo-Chinese Recipes

Tofu Chilli and Egg Fried Rice

How to make tofu taste more edible is a question I am often asked in my cooking workshops. Tofu is like a blank canvas. Good tofu, that is. Good tofu is clean tasting, with no flavour of its own. Marinate it in a good dressing and it will behave like a most obedient student, taking on whatever flavours you urge it to.

My regular readers will remember that I won a Nature's Basket cook-off that took me to Australia last year, and what won me that contest was a dish called 'Trio of Tofu'. I made tofu three ways - a Korean style tofu-cake, tofu satays with dipping sauce and sauteed marinated tofu in rice paper rolls with another dipping sauce. One of the judges, Michael, who was from the Australian Trade Commission, told me, his wife will be happy he ate something healthy for a change :)

This is a somewhat healthier take on this very popular Indo Chinese dish called Paneer Chilli or Chilli Paneer, where Indian style paneer pakodas (with a cornflour batter of course) are tossed along with strips of bell peppers and chillis in the typical ginger-garlic-green chilli-soy sauce combination. Since I don't deep fry unless my life depends on it, or if it is for a really good Vadai, this is a slightly modified recipe.

Recipe for Tofu-Chilli Stir Fry 
Prep Time 15 minutes | Cooking time 15 minutes | Serves 3-4
Serve as appetiser or a side with steamed rice or fried rice

Ingredients
200 gram tofu cut into finger lengths - around 16 pieces
1 tbsp cooking oil
2-3 green chillies or fresh red chillies
1 tsp finely minced ginger
1 tsp finely minced garlic
1 large green bell pepper
1 large onion
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp corn flour
1/4 cup water
1 tsp rice vinegar
black pepper to taste

Marinade for the tofu
2 tbsp light soy sauce or 1 tbsp dark soy plus 1 tbsp water
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp finely grated ginger
1 tbsp honey
big pinch of ground black pepper
1 tsp of rice vinegar or regular white vinegar

Coriander or spring onion greens for garnish
toasted sesame seeds (Optional)

Directions
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk well, keep aside.
Place the tofu pieces in a large bowl. Pour the marinade over it and gently toss and coat well. 
Keep aside for 15 minutes at least and up to one hour in the refrigerator.
Meanwhile chop the bell pepper into long strips and the onion into thin slices or cut into quarters and peel each quarter into petals (like you see in the photo of the dish). 
Mix the 2 tsp corn flour, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/4 cup water to make a slurry, in a small bowl. Keep aside.
Place a wok on HIGH heat with the oil. Once the oil is hot, quickly stir in the green chillies, ginger garlic. Don't brown the garlic. Add the sliced veggies and stir fry on high flame for 5 minutes or so, with constant stirring, so it doesn't burn.
Next drain the marinated tofu and add it to the wok, toss it gently on medium flame for 2-3 minutes.
Add the leftover marinade plus the slurry and toss until it gets a well glazed look. Add the 1 tsp rice vinegar, give it a final stir and remove into a bowl.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander or spring onion batons and toasted sesame seeds.

If you want to serve with rice, use an extra tsp of cornflour and increase water to around half cup, simmer until a little thick, adjusting the seasoning accordingly. 
You *can* try this with paneer too, if you are still not convinced about tofu :)

Previous Indo-Chinese recipes in this month's series
How to make a vegetable stock in 30 minutes
Lemon-Coriander Soup

Next week: How to make a basic egg fried rice

----------------

This recipe is part of the endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Indian Chinese Recipes in collaboration with a few bloggers who share the same passion of cooking. All the recipes from #thekitchendivas are pinned on this Pinterest board. 

Other Indo-Chinese recipes this week from #thekitchendivas

Crab Rangoon from WhiskAffair
Gobi Manchurian from FunFoodFrolic
Vegetarian Rice Paper Spring Rolls from Archana's Kitchen

Quick lunchbox recipe: Pita pocket pizza sandwich

Lunchboxes need to be quick, healthy AND tasty, and something that will stay tasty 4 hours after you fill them up. Even though I am an early morning person, a number of chores miraculously line up for my mornings, no matter how well I try to organise them. I am on most days left with no more than 15 minutes allotted to prep-cook and pack the son’s lunch.

While making things from scratch is a done deal for most part, some cheats help in keeping things fun while being easy on parents. These mini pitas I picked up from Foodworld were just that. Cut them through the center and they make a nice pocket to fill up with whatever you fancy. The Splitz tomato paste is another such ingredient that leads to umpteen cheat meals – instant rasam, pasta sauce and in this case, a faux pizza sauce. Keeping a couple of veggies handy, that kids will never say no to, such as red bell pepper is another winner in my book. Also, I find the humble tava such a quick alternative to, preheating the oven, and while they do need a little monitoring on the tava, you can clean up on the side, so it’s not entirely a time killer.

Pita Pocket Pizza Sandwich
Makes 4 pieces
{lunchbox / sandwich recipes}

Ingredients

2 pitas, roughly 3” in diameter

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

5-6 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped or 2 fat pinches of dried basil, crushed

Ground black pepper

Pinch of salt

3 tbsp of diced red bell pepper or a mix of onion, bell pepper, zucchini

2 tbsp of pizza cheese, cut into strips or grated

1-2 tsp of ghee or butter to cook

Directions

Slice the pitas horizontally through the center to separate into two layers, but not through and through, so that they are still attached at one end.

In a small bowl, with a small spoon, mix the tomato paste, extra virgin olive oil, finely minced fresh basil, black pepper and salt, until well combined.

In a pan, heat a few drops of olive oil and sauté the bell pepper for 1-2 minutes until just a little soft.

Gently spread the prepared tomato sauce inside both the cut open pita breads.

Divide the cheese strips between the two pockets, and divide the sautéed bell pepper on the top of the cheese equally.

Close the pockets by pressing down gently.

Heat a non stick pan or heavy bottomed pan. Spread a thin layer of ghee or butter.

Place the stuffed pitas on the hot pan and on medium heat let it turn golden brown on one side. Flip them around and let the other side turn a nice golden. By this time the cheese melts and holds on to the vegetables.

Slice into two semi-circles each-wrap tightly in cling wrap or foil and pack in a hot casserole lunch box so that the sandwiches are still warm at lunchtime.

You can prepare the same thing for an older kid’s lunchbox or an adult’s lunchbox, by adding more complex veggies like mushrooms, wilted spinach or marinated tofu, and adding some chilli flakes to the faux pizza sauce. A bean salad on the side would make it a heartier lunch. I would not recommend preparing this sauce with tomato puree as you need to cook it for quite some time to make it thicker, and a thinner sauce will make the sandwich soggy, and not suitable for a lunch box.

If you don’t find pita breads easily where you live, you can buy pizza bases, cut them through the center and use them similarly. One medium sized pizza base can be used instead of two pita bread rounds.