Serves: 4
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than 75p per person
What are the benefits? This sweet chilli tofu with vegetable stir fried rice recipe is really high in protein, high in fibre and low in fat.
I’ve spent a good few years being scared of tofu, but it turns out if you season it properly, toss it in vegetable stir fried rice and drizzle sweet chilli sauce all over it, it’s pretty damn good!
Probably about.. four years ago? Maybe five? Anyway, a few years ago, I dived into my very first, very spontaneous foray of vegetarianism and decided I’d give it a crack (I was incredibly unsuccessful and bombed in about two weeks, but whatever).
Where I worked at the time had limited lunch options and, being a brand new and totally clueless herbivore, I panicked and just went with the first thing I saw – sweet chilli tofu from Wasabi. And it was gross. Like, really disgusting and I had to throw most of it away. It was like chewing on pieces of sponge – not nice.
I was completely put off of tofu and have always been wary of cooking with it, even though I’ve educated myself massively on veggie food since then. But I started getting bored with meat replacements and decided it’s about time I faced my tofu fears and give it a try – and it was awesome!
This sweet chilli tofu is oven baked and high in protein while the vegetable rice is a great source of fibre, and the whole shebang is really low in saturated fats. Tofu can be a little more pricey than I’d like, I won’t lie, but a little goes a long way. We ate leftovers for lunch the next day and it lasted well, so you can definitely stretch this one out.
INGREDIENTS
400g Firm Tofu
240g Brown Rice
1 Bell Pepper, Diced
1 Onion, Diced
1/2 Mug of Sweetcorn (fresh or frozen)
4 Mushrooms, Chopped
4 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
SEASONING
Okay, so it turns out when cooking tofu it’s super important to season things really well. I marinated my tofu in a combination of soy sauce, ground coriander, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and some chilli oil from the cupboard that I hardly ever use. I also gave the rice a pinch of salt and pepper before blitzing it in the microwave and seasoned the veggies with garlic and, you guessed it, a little more salt and pepper.
HOW TO MAKE SWEET CHILLI TOFU WITH VEGETABLE STIR FRIED RICE
1. Drain the tofu (I cut mine into chunks, sandwiched it between two paper towels, rested a book on top and left for about an hour to try and squeeze as much moisture out as possible) and then marinade in a dish or bowl with a combination of soy sauce, ground coriander, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and a chilli oil if you’ve got it for at least half an hour – longer if possible – before it’s ready to cook.
2. Empty the marinated tofu onto a baking tray (you might want to use greaseproof paper to make sure it doesn’t stick) and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
3. Cook the rice according to packet instructions (30 minutes in the microwave does the trick with mine).
4. Add the diced onion, pepper, mushroom and sweetcorn to a pan with garlic, salt and black pepper and stir fry on a low heat for 10 minutes with a splash of oil or cooking spray.
5. Drain the cooked rice and add into the pan with the vegetables. Fry everything together for the last couple of minutes until well combined.
6. Serve the veggie rice, remove the tofu from the oven and place on top, then drizzle generously with sticky sweet chilli sauce.
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