Bite sized pieces of crispy tofu in a quick and tasty firecracker sauce that is spicy, sweet, tangy and salty all on top of a bed of coconut cauliflower rice.
My second Food Lovers Unite Challenge has arrived! This month I visited the in-store Registered Dietitians at my local Loblaws to help me set and achieve nutrition goals, and of course to create a recipe using fresh local produce!
One of my nutrition goals for the year is to increase the amount of plant-based protein and fresh produce in my meals and that became my focus for this challenge! A dietitian can help with many different nutritional goals, and to learn more about the in-store Registered Dietitian program at Loblaws stores, head to bookadietitian.ca.
Karley, the in-store dietitian at Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens was very knowledgeable and helpful! She asked a few questions about goals and about my current diet/eating habits and gave me tips about how to make progress towards my goal: to increase plant-based food in my meals. The focus was on how to increase the plant-based protein in my diet by including more foods like beans, nuts, seeds, dairy, tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc. I was aware of and used most of these ingredients, but I do not use a lot of tofu, tempeh or seitan, so I thought that would be a good place to start.
After my initial consultation, Karley walked me through the store pointing out local produce and plant-based products that I could add to my diet. As we walked around the store, she mentioned crispy baked tofu which caught my attention as I had never tried baking tofu until crispy!
I left with an idea and I was thinking that crispy baked tofu tossed in an Asian style sauce served on rice with some local veggies would make for a tasty meal! I decided to go with the firecracker sauce that I normally use on chicken and I went with some local broccoli which is in season! They also had some local cauliflower and I quickly decided to swap out the plain white rice for cauliflower rice.
Cauliflower rice is simply cauliflower that’s grated into small, rice sized, pieces and then quickly sautéed in a pan until just tender! Instead of just making plain cauliflower rice, I added a few tablespoons of coconut cream to give it an amazing aroma of coconut!
This recipe for crispy baked tofu in a spicy firecracker sauce served over coconut cauliflower rice with a broccoli is easy to make, plant-based, and pretty healthy to boot!
Description: Bite sized pieces of crispy tofu in a quick and tasty firecracker sauce that is spicy, sweet, tangy and salty all on top of a bed of coconut cauliflower rice.
Grocery haul!
Cauliflower ‘rice’ raw and cooked.
Tofu patted dry and sliced into cubes.
Crispy roasted golden brown tofu!
Crispy firecracker tofu on coconut cauliflower rice bowls with broccoli and shredded carrots.
Crispy Baked Firecracker Tofu on Coconut Cauliflower Rice
Prep Time:20 minutes Cook Time:40 minutes Total Time:1 hour Servings: 4
Bite sized pieces of crispy tofu in a quick and tasty firecracker sauce that is spicy, sweet, tangy and salty all on top of a bed of coconut cauliflower rice.
ingredients
- 1 pound firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes and pat dry
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 head cauliflower, rinsed and ‘riced’
- 3 tablespoons coconut cream (or 1 tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoons coconut milk)
- 1/2 cup hot/chili sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot or Sriracha)
- 1/2 cup palm sugar (or brown sugar or honey)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or coconut vinegar)
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
For the crispy baked tofu:
For the coconut cauliflower rice:
For the firecracker sauce:
directions
- Gently toss the tofu in the mixture of the oil, salt and pepper, arrange in a single layer on parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400F/200C oven until golden brown and crispy on the bottom, about 15-20 mutes, before flipping and baking until golden brown and crispy on that side, about 15-20 minutes.
- Toss the crispy baked tofu in the firecracker sauce and serve over the cauliflower rice.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut cream (or the oil) in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the riced cauliflower and cook, undisturbed, until lightly golden brown on the bottom, stir and let brown again before removing from heat. (You may need to do this in batches.)
- Gently mix in the remaining coconut cream (or milk).
- Mix everything in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar has melted.
For the crispy baked tofu:
For the coconut cauliflower rice:
For the firecracker sauce:
Tip: Cut the tofu into 1-inch thick slices (before cutting in the other two directions), pat dry and place on a tea towel or cloth, fold the cloth over on top and place something moderately heavy on to help squeeze out extra moisture into the cloth.
Option: Season the tofu with 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, and a pinch of cayenne!
Option: Season the tofu with 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast.
Note: To quickly and easily rice the cauliflower, push it through the large grater blade for your food processor!
