Peanut tofu with green beans and eggplant has a sweet, nutty flavor. It's a perfect meal served with rice or added as an aromatic side dish.
Peanut Tofu and Recipe Creation
I like to start out each recipe with a real plan. Usually, I’ve decided which flavors will work well together. Additionally, I have researched and/or experimented the best techniques on how to put things together.
Seasonings and proportions may shift. However, by the time I am actually cooking, I know what I’m doing.
Once in a while, that doesn’t happen. Sometimes, you find yourself in the middle of a recipe and realize that things need to change.
That’s how this peanut tofu recipe evolved.
And even when I thought I had come to a conclusion, I still changed my mind. Before, while thinking about how to serve the eggplant, I started with it cut in strips.
My goal was to make it more like the shape of the green beans. After that, I then decided I liked it better diced, like the tofu.
Peanut Tofu - Firm or Extra-Firm Tofu?
Change and exploration captures the nature of cooking. However, I should note that lots of people have very strong opinions about right and wrong of different types of tofu on the internet (shocker!).
I am recommending a firm tofu for this peanut tofu recipe because I think it absorbs the marinade a little better than extra-firm tofu.
But people have furious debates in food blogs about firm tofu’s right to exist in the world. If your political beliefs will not allow you to use firm tofu, by all means, replace with extra-firm.
Is this peanut tofu recipe right for your body type?
This dish is perfect for people with a qi deficiency body type. The herbs, chicken, and spinach warm the body from the inside out.
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Peanut Tofu
Equipment
- 2 large dinner plates
- 4 sheets paper towel
- 1 Dish
- 1 fine-mesh strainer
- 1 saucepan with lid
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 wok or skillet
Ingredients
- ½ cup peanut butter smooth
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 each eggplant
- 12 oz green beans
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2 cups water
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Drain tofu by wrapping placing paper towels on the top and bottom and pressing it under some weight (see photo) for at least 30 minutes.
- Dice the tofu and then put in a dish. Pour ¼ c. of soy sauce over tofu and stir to cover everything. Let sit for an hour.
- Dice the eggplant. Salt liberally and then cover in water.Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
- Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer, then put into a saucepan with water and salt.
- Bring rice to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for about 45 minutes. Take off the heat and keep covered and let stand for 10-15minutes.
- Trim green beans and cut in half.
- Combine the peanut sauce ingredients and stir until smooth.
- In a skillet, heat oil over high heat. Cook green beans and let them blister and brown – about 5 minutes.
- Reduce to medium heat and add more oil if needed, cook the eggplant until soft (3-5 minutes).
- Add tofu and cook for another 3 minutes. If you use firm tofu, it may break apart a bit, which is fine.
- Add sauce and beans and toss well. If your family has different ideas about sauce usage, hold back a little so folks can add after the fact
- Serve tofu and vegetables over rice immediately.
Nutrition
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