Day 45.
Tofu In Peanut Sauce CrockPot Recipe
The good thing about tofu is that it doesn't have any flavor. That means that whatever sauces you like work well with it. I was in the mood for a gingery, spicy, peanut sauce and it tasted wonderful with a bunch of spinach and some baked tofu.
The Ingredients:
serves not too many -- probably a family of 2 to 4 if over rice and vegetables. If you've got hungry people you should double it.
package of extra-firm tofu (16 ounces)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce (La Choy is gluten free, as is Tamari wheat-free)
3 tablespoons Margarita Mix (be quiet. we were out of limes. it worked! but you should probably use 2 limes)
1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2-3 cloves of chopped garlic (we're still out, so I had to use the jarred stuff)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
--whole bag of baby spinach (10 or 12 ounces)
The Directions:
Use a 2-4 quart crockpot for best results. Although I despise pre-cooking things before cooking in the crockpot, tofu is best when lightly browned. I’ve found the best way is to cube it, then toss with a tablespoon or so of cornstarch. Pan-fry on the stove in butter.
Add to crockpot with peanut butter, soy sauce, margarita mix, garlic and pepper flakes. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. 15 minutes before serving, cram an entire bag of baby spinach inside and cover. The spinach will wilt. Serve over basmati rice.
The Verdict:
We all really liked this!
whew.
Posted by: Stephanie O'Dea | A Year of Slow Cooking at February 14, 2008
Labels: Asian, crockpot, gluten free, main course, tofu, vegetarian,
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What they say about this article
Good Morning Steph,
"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY & SCT"!!!! "THANK YOU" for stopping by. I do hope you enjoyed your visit and know you are Welcome anytime. I have never tried Tofu. I've seen it on Food Network and I have never seen it in the stores here where I live. I guess you have to buy it in the bigger stores. Wal-Mart may have it. Your recipe does sound good. "THANK YOU" for sharing it with us. Take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours.Hugs,
Karen H.This sounds good. We've been using more tofu lately- but I've never used it in a slow cooker. I'll have to try it out. Thanks for sharing!
Renee'
http://rmboys2.wordpress.com/I have never had tofu, my family is just NOT interested at all LOL
But this looks so good though...I may just make it and not tell them what it is LOL
For those of you not into tofu (or don't know if you are into tofu) you could also try half tofu and half chicken.
Anonymous2/14/2008
Pass on the tofu. I think the jerk seasoning ca nbe found in the spice aisle. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
MJ
We love tofu so I am definitely going to have to try this one.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Saw this and thought of you!
http://fullbellies.blogspot.com/2008/02/triple-chocolate-mess.html
Anonymous2/14/2008
We don't usually eat tofu but this recipe does look good.
I'm going to make the Rocky Road Candy recipe! Sounds delicious for Valentine's Day!
oh. my. oh. my.
i do so love tofu and any thing with peanut sauce is a hit in my book. i'm thinking saturday night. yummy again!!
hope your ♥ day is super sweet!!
karen, happy V day right back!
renee, it's actually the sauce that gets slow-cooked, maybe next time I'll be more adventurous and put the whole thing in there.
sarah, you're welcome!
sandra, I totally won't tell them.
cat, very good idea!
mj, thanks, I'm going to look for it.
jilly, I know. I saw it yesterday on sandra's blog. looks crazy good. can't wait to try it.
eleisha, I hope the candy is as big of a hit in your house as it was in ours.
kay, thank you! and how did you do that super cool heart?
xox
stephI just want you to know that I enjoy reading your blog very much. I'm impressed that you are really using your crock pot every day!!!
I left something for you on my blog. Check it out when you get a chance.
I'm glad this one was a success for you...but I think I'll probably be passing on this one..no one in my house will eat tofu...thanks though..your recipies are always so entertaining!
THIS is in my list to try for sure!!!! Thanks for visiting our blog - I check out your site daily - fun fun fun!
Anonymous2/16/2008
Wow. Every day a recipe?! Very impressive! This one is especially impressive. I tried to make tofu once; Hubby and I did NOT like it. Maybe I didn't cook it correctly or chose the wrong kind or something...I'll try again, if you insist this was good :)
Just curious, do you cook your rice in another crock-pot? I heard that you could do that. It would be nice to have it all ready at once without all that stnading and stirring.
Just wondering like how much water and how long it takes to cook rice like that.Hi Zimms,
I have cooked rice in my crockpot before. It worked really well! But for this tofu dinner and for a regular weeknight dinner I use a rice cooker.
-steph
We tried this and liked it, but what I liked even better was the tip to bake the tofu first. I'm gonna use that tip again and again.
Thanks!
Anonymous8/27/2008
Finally getting around to trying this and have a question. The sauce assembled in the crock looks lot not very much sauce at all and lots of peanut butter. Does it all melt together to make enough sauce for the tofu and the spinach and the rice? I'm prepping it tonight but it just looks weird.
Hi Beth,
I made this so long ago that I don't really remember, but yes, peanut butter will melt into the other sauces/liquid and will create a sauce.
since the tofu is already cooked, this doesn't need to cook long at all.
xox
stephI made this and it did not turn out very well :( I think I cooked it too long in too large of a slow cooker (6 qt). Oh well :) I'm excited to try other recipes.
Thanks.Tried this tonight, but my crockpot was busy with the hot and sour soup recipe from your site, so I made this sauce on the stovetop and just transferred it into the crockpot once I was ready to add the spinach (after taking out the soup of course! :) ) Probably as a result of doing it on the stove, I had to add some extra water to get the sauce to become "saucy." I liked the *idea* of this recipe, but really didn't enjoy the flavor of the lime in it. I subbed the exact quantity of margarita mix you used with lime juice, and I think it was just too much -- very bitter.
I have this in the crock now. I should have read the ingredients better before starting because I had some troubles. It's not vegetarian because of the worstershire, and I don't use teriyaki sauce due the the alcohol content. But I managed to fudge it.
it was delish! but i used pb that had been gound (sowwy one of my keys is not woking LOL) fwom peanuts at the co-op. it was vewy thick...not weally saucy. i should have added some h2o.
wascally sawce.
LOL
steph
tried this recipe and it truly was superb! i love the tip you gave to bake the tofu first. Thanks you.
Cris8/07/2011
I love this recipe and make it often. Tonight I realized I didn't have the spinach I thought was in the fridge, so I improvised and added frozen green beans, sliced carrots, and red pepper chunks with the tofu. It turned out good and I was glad to have another recipe that gives me the excuse to have peanut sauce!
Anonymous11/15/2011
I tried this recipe last night and found it wasnt making a good "sauce", I added some water to loosen it up and it added a little more seasoning. It worked perfectly. But i definitely thing 3/4 cup of water should be added for a good consistency.
Tara7/31/2012
This was quite tasty, but I had the same problem as some other posters with not enough liquid. I added water and rice vinegar and it came out pretty yummy. I think I will try it on the stovetop next time!
