Welcome (back) to the blog and happy first Meatless Monday for 2011. Thanks for stopping by and reading this week’s eco-friendly vegetarian recipe in support of this great movement to “reduce meat consumption by 15% to improve personal health and the health of our planet”.

This week’s recipe is for Kung Pao Tofu and it’s from myveganplanet.com which is a great resource and so worth a visit if you’re interested in veganism. Tofu is a bit of a taste chameleon as it takes on the flavor of whatever it is being cooked with and that is a very good thing because this Kung Pao sauce is great. There may seem to be many ingredients and steps to this recipe but it’s well worth it. In case youa re wondering, you can find brown rice syrup in health food stores and also in the health food section (which most large chain grocery stores have nowadays).

Ingredients
• 3 T minced garlic
• 1 T crushed red chili flakes
• 3 T sesame oil
• 3 C tamari or soy sauce (tamari is wheat free)
• 1 C water
• 1 1/2 C brown rice syrup
• 1/4 C rice wine vinegar
• Cornstarch slurry (mix 2 T cornstarch with 1/2 C cold water until dissolved)
• 2 C crushed peanuts
• 2 red bell peppers (cut into 1in. x 1in. squares)
• 2 yellow bell peppers (cut into 1in. x 1in. squares)
• 2 lbs Firm tofu (drained and cut into small bite sized cubes)
• 1 bunch Green onions, finely chopped for garnish

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and then grease 2 sheet trays with oil or pan spray and set them aside. Thoroughly drain and cube your tofu and place the pieces in a large mixing bowl with 1C of the tamari or soy sauce and toss. Be sure to toss gently or your tofu will start to crumble. You want the tofu to soak up the sauce so that it has a base flavor. Once you have done this, spread it onto the sheet trays and place in the oven. You will want to bake the tofu for 15 minutes, then flip them for another 15 minutes and then repeat flipping pieces in 15 minute intervals again for a total of 1 hour cooking time. Once the tofu is done baking, place the cooked cubes into a large mixing bowl where they will be tossed with the sauce.

To make the sauce, pour the sesame oil into a large sauce pan over medium heat until it warms. Add ginger, garlic, and chili flakes. Sautee lightly – you do not want to overcook anything, just soften up the garlic and ginger a bit. Next add the remaining soy sauce/tamari, water, vinegar, and brown rice syrup. Whisk it all together and continue stirring as it heats up to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat a bit and add the cornstarch slurry. Continue whisking as it starts to thicken up. You want the consistency of this sauce to be similar to the thickness of gravy or tomato soup…it should not be thin. If you are having trouble thickening it, add more slurry. If it is too thick, you can add a little extra water and soy sauce (be careful though as too much soy will make it too salty). Once the sauce is at the proper consistency, add the chopped bell peppers and peanuts, stir. Remove sauce from the heat and pour it over the tofu in the mixing bowl. Toss and add the chopped green onions. Serve with rice, salad, or all by itself!

The flavours in this recipe will make you forget this dish was ever made with chicken so give it a try. Many thanks to myveganplanet.com for this tasty vegan recipe.

If you want to learn more about the eco-friendly Meatless Monday movement, you can click here to visit their website: meatlessmonday.com.  

Enjoy!