For many people tofu is really blah and very bland.  I must admit I thought so too initially, that is until I’ve learnt to spice these nutritious protein packed soya bean curds.   For this recipe I’ve chosen to use soft tofu.  I find that cooking it along with the marinade for such a long time creates a beautiful texture.  It has a beautiful charred crispy crust on outside and with squeegee but cooked and silky smooth texture in the inside…. about medium rare I’d say…lol 🙂  In this recipe I paired the Tofu Tikka Stayks with a Bok Choy & Chunky Veg stir-fry but another delicious variation is with a huge green salad and a buttery baked potato.  M mm mmm…now how lekker does that sounds.

Recipe as follow:   

Preparation:       15 minutes :  Cooking tikkas:  25-30 minutes Veg stir  fry:         15 minutes:  Serves:     2

Tofu Tikka Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp (30ml) sunflower (add more if needed)
  • 2 x 200g soft tofu (cut into 6 pieces)

Tikka sauce

  • 3 tbsp (45ml tomato paste)
  • 1 tsp (5ml) fresh garlic paste
  • 1 tsp (5ml) fresh ginger paste
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) soy sauce
  • 1 tsp (5ml) cayenne pepper ( add more for extra heat)
  • 1/8 tsp white pepper
  • ½ tsp English mustard powder
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) water
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) maple flavoured syrup (optional)

Let’s cook 🙂

  • With a very sharp knife, carefully slice the tofu about 2.5cm – 3cm thick – place in a flat dish.
  • Combine all the tikka sauce ingredients except for the maple syrup in a bowl.  Pour 80% of the marinade over the tofu.  Make sure that you coat both sides.  You may let this marinate for 10 minutes to 2 hours or even overnight.
  • In a big heavy based pan or pot or non-stick pan, heat the oil over medium hot heat.
  • Gently place the tofu in the pan.  If your pan is not big enough, place 2 or 3 at a time.
  • Fry 3-5 minutes before turning over with a spatula or fork and then fry for another 3-5 minutes on the other side. This is a good time to do salt check, if need be just sprinkle salt as required.
  • Continue to fry for 10 – 15  minutes turning every now and then until a nice crispy crust forms on both sides.  As soon as a crust forms – add the maple syrup to the balance of the marinade and smear onto tofu steaks, fry for 45 seconds on each side.  Serve with veg stir fry.  Or with a huge green salad and a buttery baked potato.

Bok Choy Chunky Veg Stir-Fry

  • 1 tbsp (15ml) peanut oil
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) sesame oil
  • ½ small red onion roughly chopped into pieces
  • 1 tsp (5ml) finely chopped garlic
  • 1 tsp (5ml) finely chopped ginger
  • 2-3 green or red chillies finely chopped
  • 1 small brinjal chopped into chunky square pieces
  • 1 cup (250ml) 1cm sliced butternut
  • 3 bunches Bok Choy – washed and trimmed
  • 1 handful mung sprouts

Stir- fry sauce:

  • 1 ½ (22.5 ml) tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp (5ml) brown sugar
  • ½ tsp white pepper powder

Let’s Stir-Fry

  • Chop off about 1 cm of the bottom pieces of the bok choy and then wash them out thoroughly.  Now chop off the about 2 – 3 cm of the bottom pieces of the washed bok choy and place in a separate bowl along with chopped brinjal.
  • In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine and sugar – give it a good mix and set aside.
  • Heat a wok or a large pot over medium – high heat. Add the peanut and sesame oil – give it a swirl than add the garlic, ginger and chillies –  fry for a few seconds.
  • Toss in the onions – stir fry for a few seconds and then add the brinjal, and bottom pieces of the bok choy.  Stir fry for about 5 minutes until brinjals are cooked.
  • Add the butternut and half of the stir fry sauce.  Cook for a further 3-5 minutes just until the butternut starts to soften.
  • Toss in the bok choy leaves as well as sprouts – use a tong to stir the leaves, add the balance of the stir fry sauce and stir fry for a few minutes, until the leaves wilt.  Turn off heat (adjust seasoning by adding salt if necessary)

Below Ingredients for Tofu Tikkas

Tofu Tikka sauce

Tofu soaking up the marinade

Stir Fry