Recipes Revisited 2: Crispy Coated Tofu in Sweet and Sour Sauce- vegan

The crispy tofu is delicious on a bed of  brown rice and stir-fried veggies

We first posted this back in January (I cringe at the dodgy photography!) and it was published without a proper recipe, so this time I made sure it got written down. The sweet and sour sauce is very basic and easy to make; there is maybe room for further subtle flavour improvements, although I like it that it is so simple. The only major change is that I used agave nectar instead of maple syrup, and had run out of Chinese five-spice powder for the coating so I used garam masala instead, which was just as tasty. I also had no miso to add to the marinade.Today's version served five comfortably(trn cubes of tofu each), with the addition of stir-fried vegetables and rice. See below for the recipe:

400-450g firm tofu (or make your own with 3l unsweetened soya milk)

For the marinade:

5 tabs soy or tamari sauce

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

2 tabs lemon juice

50ml water

For the coating:

3 tabs wholemeal flour

3 tabs millet (aka bajri/ ragi) flour or fine cornmeal

2 tsps powdered ginger

2 tsps garam masala or Chinese five-spice powder

1 tsp seasalt

For the sweet and sour sauce:

100g fresh pineapple, cut into very small pieces

500g passata

3 tabs agave nectar

2 tabs soy/ tamari sauce

1 tab lemon juice

2 tsps paprika

1 tsp seasalt

1/3 tsp coarse black pepper

• Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour into a shallow dish. Cube the tofu and marinate for as long as you can spare- a minimum of 20 minutes, turning it at least once.
• Meanwhile, mix the coating ingredients together in another shallow dish.
• To make the sauce, just stir all the sauce ingredients together in a saucepan and heat through gently.
• When the tofu has been sitting in the marinade for a while coat the tofu in the flour mixture and place on a lightly oiled baking tray. Cook in an oven preheated to 200C until browned; shake or turn the pieces from time to time.
• When the tofu is done and the sauce is hot, just serve together with some veggies and rice or noodles for a complete meal.

Possible Future Tweaks: Use a flax egg to stick the coating to the tofu and add extra nutrition. Make it a gluten free recipe by using millet and cornmeal and tamari sauce. Add chilli to the sauce for a spicier kick...

The original version- click here to read the post

This post is for Vegan Thursdays: