Tofu with hot & sour rhubarb sauce

December 15, 2017

We had leftover rhubarb from Cindy's birthday cake and Cindy had the perfect recipe to use it up in. Aside from the marinating time, this all comes together really quickly, so if you can plan a half day ahead this is an easy and delicious school night meal. Even if you're not that organised, a pre-marinated tofu would probably do the trick. The sauce is the real star, with a great mix of flavours from the ginger, chilli and especially rhubarb - it provides a sweetness, but of a particularly tangy kind. 

We really loved this dish - it's reasonably healthy, packs a big flavour punch and kept us going for a few meals of leftovers. We don't buy rhubarb too often, but I think we're going to start.

Tofu with hot & sour rhubarb sauce

(adapted slightly from Mostly Eating, who adapted a Jamie Oliver recipe)

marinated tofu

1 tablespoon golden syrup (or agave/maple syrup)

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice

1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 tablespoon peanut oil

500g tofu, sliced into 1 inch strips

sauce

4-5 sticks of rhubarb, trimmed and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons ground ginger

1 red chilli

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons golden syrup

3 tablespoons tamari

toppings

1 lime, quartered

1 chilli, seeded and finely sliced

2 tablespoons roasted cashews

small bunch fresh coriander

veggie oil for frying

rice

broccoli (or other green veggie), chopped

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and let the tofu soak it all up for a couple of hours (turning once if you can be bothered)

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend it all up until you've got a smooth sauce - it'll take a good 30-60 seconds of whizzing.

Pop the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a low simmer, for around 20 minutes (it can basically be left while you do the rest).

Heat the veggie oil in a frying pan or wok and throw in the tofu and marinade, cooking the marinade off and then getting a bit of a golden edge on the tofu. Throw in the broccoli and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, until it just starts to soften. 

Serve it all up - a layer of rice, some tofu and broccoli on top, generous dollops of sauce and then a scattering of the toppings and a squeeze of lime.