Recipe Source: Robertson, Robin. Vegan Fire & Spice. Vegan Heritage Press, Woodstock, 2008 p. 135
I was all excited to have made this last night. Then I sat down to write this up and I got suspicious. I did a quick search and I realized I was right. I'd done this before. Maybe I've been doing this too long. Then again, maybe not. There are some similarities between the two versions of the same recipe. In both cases I reduced the amount of fat in the final product. In both cases I made changes to the spicing. In both cases I added a vegetable to the dish.
This time, though, I changed it up. I increased the garlic. I used a Napa cabbage because I had one, and a large one at that. I didn't marinate the tofu overnight, or even for a minute. Instead I increased the heat... by a lot. My husband was complaining of a headache, and in this house there is only one approach to illness: kill it with fire. I used five different kinds of chile pepper before I decided enough was enough.
Maybe I have been doing this for a while, but I think it's just fine that I can look at the same recipe two years apart and come up with two totally different dishes.
Piri-Piri Style Tofu with Napa Cabbage (serves 4; approx. $1.91/serving)
1 block tofu, cut into cubes and drained
10 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1/2 teaspoon Urfa pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head Napa cabbage, shredded
Equipment:
- Large wok
- Heat the oil in the wok.
- Add the garlic. Saute about a minute.
- Add the spices. Saute about twenty seconds.
- Add the tofu. Stir-fry about two minutes - long enough to coat the tofu in the pan juices and cook it a bit.
- Add the Napa cabbage and reduce heat. Cook until the cabbage is tender. There should be enough water in the cabbage to keep the pan from burning.
- Serve hot.
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