Spicy Peanut Tofu Power Bowl

First off- how cute is my pineapple bowl??? I found it at Marshall’s and it was on clearance for only $5 so obviously I had to buy it. Also, I know I said that I was going to work on my photography skills this summer, but I get too impatient and just want to eat quickly so I snap a few photos and dig in. Maybe some day I will get into photography, but right now I am not really feeling it- but I do apologize for poor picture quality at times!

Some of my favorite meals consist of me tossing whatever veggies I have in my fridge into a huge bowl and then adding a protein source & some sort of delicious sauce/dressing. This dish has some of my favorite foods ever: tofu, peanut sauce, quinoa, and carrots. I like to put my veggies over a big bed of spring mix or kale to get more greens in my diet.

I usually don’t plan out my dinners too far in advance. Most nights I decide what to make just my looking in the fridge and seeing what I can make with the ingredients we have at my house. I’m sure that will change when I move out on my own as I won’t have to worry about any of my family members eating my ingredients. That is one of the reasons that I do not plan my dinners in advance because when I go to make it, there is a good chance that the ingredients will have been eaten or thrown out. I am definitely one of those people that mentally claims food in my head- as in I see watermelon or grapes in the fridge and think “I am going to eat that tomorrow morning for breakfast”. Then when I wake up and it is missing I get so upset because I already claimed it in my head. Anyone else do this? Only me? Maybe.

Having to deal with quickly disappearing food this summer has caused me to get more creative in the kitchen- so that’s a plus! It has also helped me to pick foods that I am really craving in that instant. Lately I have been all about the salad bowls with loads of veggies thrown in- which is why you have probably been seeing a lot of those on my blog 🙂

For the dressing I used the same one that I made for my Thai Peanut Kale Salad which I am obsessed with! You can check that recipe out here !

So- let’s get to the recipe!

For this dish you will need:

For one serving you will need:

1/2 block of extra firm tofu

1 tbsp San J Szechuan GF Sauce (for the tofu)

1/3-1/2 of a cucumber

1 large carrot

1 Campari tomato

1/8-1/4 cup cooked quinoa (or however much you want really)

2-3 cups spring mix (or again, however much you want)

Dressing/Sauce:

1.00 oz, Hot Water ~ Plain
2.00 tbsp(s), Rice Vinegar
1.00 tbsp (15mL), Gluten Free Soy Sauce
4.00 Tbsp (32g), Organic Creamy Peanut Butter
2.00 tbsp(s), Coconut Sugar, Organic
1.00 fruit, Lime Juice – 1 Fruit
1.00 tbsp(s), Ginger root – Raw
1.00 tsp, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Note: The dressing makes about 8-10 servings. I find it difficult to make one-serving dressings because you have to use such tiny amounts of each ingredient and it can make it difficult to get the taste right. Instead, I make a bigger batch and store it in the fridge and use it as I please!

Directions:

Prepare the tofu to your liking. My favorite way to eat tofu is baked in the oven so I will dry it out with paper towels (totally necessary for firm texture), cut it into rectangular chunks and then season it and pop it in the oven. I brushed the tofu with the Szechuan sauce before baking it for about 20 minutes on 400. The cooking time will vary depending on how crisp you like your tofu and how thin/thick you cut it.

While the tofu is cooking, prepare the salad and the dressing. For the salad simply chop your veggies & arrange them nicely on a bed of greens (so you can take an instal-worthy shot of course!). I already had some quinoa in the fridge that I had cooked a couple of days prior, but to cook it just follow the instructions on the package!

To make the dressing add the peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and coconut sugar to a bowl. Whisk everything together well. Add the juice of one lime to the bowl & whisk again. Then chop up fresh ginger and add that and the red pepper to the bowl. Then add about 1-2 tbsp of hot water to the dressing and mix again. Feel free to play with the water amount used to make the dressing as thick/thin as you prefer it.

When the tofu is finished cooking, add it to the salad & drizzle with the dressing & dig in! If you are not much of a tofu person, this salad would go well with chicken or shrimp as well. It would also be good with tempeh or just plain by itself!

Next time I make this salad I will probably add some different veggies to it like red bell pepper & edamame! I think almost any veggies would go well with this- broccoli, snap peas, red cabbage, & red onion would be amazing additions!

Feel free to customize this dish to make it your own.

As always, if you try it let me know what you think of it in the comments! Also let me know your favorite salad toppings! (always looking for inspiration around here :))

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