Recipe: Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce and Bok Choy

ByCheryl

Whether you’re a strict vegetarian or a tofu rookie, you’ll love this easy and flavourful dish. Tofu, also known as bean curd, is made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks (credit to Wikipedia for that nice definition).IMG_9372

Swap it for meat and you’ll still get a good shot of protein – 26 grams per serving for this dish, including the peanut sauce and rice. Bonus: You’ll also get healthy fats, fibre, magnesium, calcium, iron and more.

You don’t have to be a vegan to be healthy, but I do suggest my clients have at least one meatless meal a week, to get more of these nutrients. Want an easy way to remember? Try doing Meatless Mondays, starting with this.

Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce and Bok Choy

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Main Dish
Servings 4 servings
Calories 588 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons white rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated or minced (see tip)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 6 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound tofu, drained (I prefer medium-firm for this)
  • 2 bunches bok choy, chopped (or use baby bok choy)
  • 2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
  • 3 cups cooked brown rice (more or less as you like)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375F.
  • Combine peanut butter, soy sauce, water, sesame oil, rice vinegar and brown sugar. Stir until smooth. (I used crunchy for this batch, so it's not perfectly smooth.)
  • Mix in garlic, ginger, sesame seeds and green onions. (I pre-prep my ginger and freeze. See tip below.)
  • Spoon a fourth of the peanut butter sauce into an 8-inch square baking pan.
  • Cut tofu into 4 equal slices. Arrange them in a single layer in the pan, trimming to fit if necessary. Tuck any trimmings into the corners.
  • Pour the remaining sauce over the tofu.
  • Bake for about 25 minutes, until the tofu is heated through.
  • While the tofu is baking, stir-fry the bok choy: Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet until shimmering hot. Add the bok toy and stir-fry until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.
  • Serve the tofu and bok choy on the rice. Top with a little extra sauce if you like. Enjoy!

Notes

To make sure you have fresh ginger readily available, peel a large piece and grate or chop it all at one time (easiest with a food processor). Freeze extras in a small ziplock bag. Store it flattened out, so you can easily break off a chunk next time you need it.
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If this seems like a lot of sauce, relative to the tofu, you're right! It's delicious, and it's great mixed with the bok choy and brown rice. It might also seem like a lot of bok choy, but after it cooks down, it'll be just right to fit half your plate.
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Are you wondering "Why is a cardiac dietitian posting a recipe with so much soy sauce?" Good question! Look for soy sauce with less than 600mg sodium per tablespoon. (Some have 1200mg!) Since there are no other significant sources of sodium in this recipe, it only has about 650mg per serving. (Aim for no more than about 2000mg a day.) Beat that at any restaurant!
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This recipe is based on one I photocopied about 15 years ago and have been carting around ever since. Sorry to say, I don't know the original source. Let me know if you do!

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(Assumes 3/4 cup rice per serving.)

 

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