Spiced Coconut Tofu (or prawns if you swing that way)

We are back in Stockholm and need to adjust our recipes, and eating habits to accommodate the type of available produce.

I am doing a series of tofu dishes trying to sort out how to best use the tofu that I can get in Stockholm.  We have decided that the tofu here does not soak up the sauces in the usual way, making the dishes a bit bland.

Cutting the tofu much smaller seems to help.

 As I have written before the produce is very different from Tasmanian produce, and worlds away from our garden produce.

This spiced coconut curry sauce masks the inferior produce, and goes well with many vegetables, bok-choi, cauliflower, carrot, broccoli, or whichever vegetables you have on hand.  This is also a good recipe if you have vegetables in the pantry/crisper not quite good enough for a fresh salad.

I used a small wok to cook the prawns which my vegetarian wife does not eat.

They are easily tossed in cooked, after I serve up her portion.

After your rice is cooked (I couldn't live without my rice cooker, the rice is done by the time my prep is finished) About 20 minutes total.

Here is the original recipe for 4 people.

Due to familiarity I do not actually measure - but I use the recipe as a guide towards portions/ratios 

1.25kg uncooked prawns (of your choice, here I used frozen, shelled, deveined- ready to cook)

200g Broccoli cut into florets

250g Cauliflower cut into florets

1 small brown onion (about 100g) sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

2 fresh long red chillies, sliced thinly

1 tsp. turmeric

2 tsp. mustard seeds

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

140ml can coconut milk

Tofu (of your choice, cut to preferred size)

Prep - Cut your vegetables and put aside

Roast the mustard seeds until fragrant

grind the cooked mustard seeds, then add in all other dry spices, in a bowl big enough to then add in your coconut milk and vegetables (except onion and garlic) and toss all vegetables to coat with your spices/coconut milk

Start your wok, quickly stir-fry your tofu and prawns

Add in your garlic and onion- quickly stir-fry

Add in your vegetables and sauce

Stir-fry until vegetables are tender- and your sauce has rendered down a bit

Serve over rice

Spanish Rice

I call this 'Spanish rice' but I think the name is a misnomer from childhood.

This is not common in Australia so I make it more than I used too as a 'bring a plate'.

This dish keeps for a long time and transports easily.

It can also be made early in the day, and re-heated to serve, so I make it when we have people over for burritos, or something in the Mexican food vein.

I have also taken this camping twice, and it kept well for days in a cooler no problems.

 

Here is my recipe.

I make about 3/4 of a cup of rice and twice that water and add it to our rice cooker. I let the rice finish before I do anything else.
I boil about a 1/2 cup of water and add some vegeta or any time of vegetarian dry soup making mixture- but vegeta is my first choice. I set this aside.

I then take a tablespoon of olive oil, and about just one clove of chopped garlic and heat that.

Then I add in about 3 chopped tomatoes (no seeds or core)

As many peas as I can get my hands on

 (I used all ripe peas from our garden)

I put in about as much carrot, and again I just use what is on hand, here we have the small variety of carrots, so I just cut them and it was as if they were already diced, you want the pieces to be about pea size

I saute the carrots just for about 3-minutes, then I add the tomatoes and the peas for just about another 3 minutes

Then I add in the cooked rice

After I mix it all through

I start adding in the vegeta mixture slowly- and I keep stirring until the consistency seems pleasing.

 

So easy, even I can make it.