tofu vegetable curry

Hello, 2024!  I’m not much into New Year resolutions but I do like to kickstart the month with a healthy diet.  For the past 10 days, Mr. S and I have drastically cut back on meat consumption and amped up the veggies.  If you have been following my blog, you know the vegetables I serve are always the bigger portion on our plate than meat. An increase in fruits and vegetables (antioxidants) daily helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases (free radicals).

I have always said to my adult children if your plate is colourful, then you’re getting a good supply of nutrients.  I was also looking to reduce our cheese intake and found myself curious about vegan cheese.  Not that I want to go full-on vegan…I love my dairy too much for that. 🙂  I did find a blue cheese (made from cashews with spirulina throughout).  It was quite nice and surprisingly, the veining from the spirulina made it seem as though we were eating blue cheese.  But I digress.  Last night I made this vegetable curry in roughly half an hour.

This dish is easy to make and adaptable to whatever vegetables you have on hand.  I bought snow peas from our farmers’ market on Saturday but you could easily substitute them with zucchini or green beans.  If you don’t have bell peppers, change it up for carrots.  Think of the colours of a rainbow when combining vegetables in this curry.  If you enjoy a good curry, I have a few on my blog.  Click here to view.

you will need (for 2)

1 pkg firm tofu, drained and cut into chunks
1 small onion, sliced
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon curry paste (I used yellow curry)
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 to 2 cups coconut water (you can also use coconut milk for a thicker broth)
pad Thai rice noodles (1 bunch per person), prepare according to packet instructions, drain noodles
handful of snow peas (remove the fibrous strip running from the stalk along the back side to the tip of the pod), cut in half
1 bell pepper (use any colour), cut into chunks
1/2 lime
handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
cashews, roughly chopped (optional)

method

Toss tofu into about 1/2 cup of cornstarch until coated (shake off any excess cornstarch). In a wok over medium-high heat add 2 tablespoons oil (your choice). Add tofu and cook until golden brown. Remove from the wok and place on a plate. Add more oil to the wok then add the onion. Cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Next comes the curry paste and peanut butter. Stir to combine. Pour in one cup of coconut water and stir. Toss in snow peas and bell pepper. Let this bubble away until veggies are al dente. Add noodles. Toss to combine and add more coconut water if too dry.  By the way, this curry isn’t meant to be a soupy consistency.  Adjust seasonings according to taste.  When ready to serve, divide between bowls and squeeze lime juice over the curry.  Garnish with cilantro and cashews.

the culinary chase’s note:

Instant noodles will also work nicely in this dish. Enjoy!