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Friday, August 13, 2010

Crisp Tofu and Spicy, Bitter Greens w/ Peanut Sauce

Sometimes you just need something to pummel the sh*t out of your taste buds.  You know what'll do that.  Easy?  Turnip Greens.  They're like a swift kick to the face....nose tingling, sinuses opening up with all the force of a raging inferno, eyes watering.  But in a pleasant way.  I gathered a giant handful of them at the community garden a few days back and decided I would pair them with tofu for a quick, pungeant, nutricious lunch.  Since I also still have an abundance of my favorite green, kale...I threw a good handful of that in, too. I modeled it on a Mark Bittman recipe in which he pan fries some tofu hooray!  Another chance to use my magical TofuXpress, then sautĂ©s up some Asian greens.  He uses baby bok choy. chinese broccoli, tatsoi, or napa cabbage...those are all puppies compared to the rabid pitbull that is the turnip green  please, no rants about how wonderful and misunderstood the pitbull is.  It's a metaphor people. And I'm a cat person.  I ended up adapting the recipe a bit to match what I was putting in...and this was a serious all-night rager disguised by a sunny day.  Not a plate for the meek.


Crisp Tofu w/ Spicy, Bitter Greens and Peanut Sauce
adapted from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express
serves 2-3

Slice firm pressed & drained overnight tofu into strips or cubes and pat dry no need; roughly chop a bunch of the greens one handful turnip greens, one handful kale.  Pan-fry the tofu in some vegetable coconut oil until it browns on all sides, about four minutes; remove and pour off all but a little of the oil. Add the greens and a pinch or two of red chile flakes, and continue cooking until the greens turn dark, about 3 minutes.  Mix together a half cup 1/4 c. of peanut butter, a couple of Tbs. soy sauce, and fresh lime juice to taste.  Also added a drizzle of sesame oil & some sesame seeds; and a bit of water if necessary to get a nice consistency I ended up adding a lot of water in order to get a drizzl-able sauce.  Add the sauce to the pan along with the reserved tofu and toss to coat. I removed the greens from the pan first.  Garnish w/ crushed peanuts and serve.

Told ya I adapted it a bit. HA! 


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Would you like to comment?

  1. wow it looks awesome ...very interesting n unique dish ...tofu is my hubby's favorite ...i must try this dish ...thanks for sharing


    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

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  2. A delicious and healthy dish! I love your addition of red chile flakes to the greens and the peanut sauce is yummy!

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  3. This looks so good! Except... I'm crazy about greens, I try to have a bunch every day, but turnip greens are one of the only foods I absolutely hate (though I still like turnips!). I'm not sure what it is. Anyway, I'll just make this with kale or mustard greens. Thanks for a great post!

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  4. el tofu siempre me ha gustado mucho, y con la salsa de avellanas tiene que estar riquisima. Saludos

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  5. that looks tempting..and i don't even like tofu.,gotta try this!

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  6. This looks really great. Unfortunately I've been having a bit of an intolerance to tofu and soy products lately. Very troubling for this vegetarian!

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  7. Can I eat at your house? Everything you do looks so good it's ridiculous. Also, I've been eyeballing tofu presses like crazy since you reviewed one, it won't be long till there is one in my cabinet too.

    You're arm is looking great, love the strength card and they did a fabulous job on it!

    I'd love it if you hooked this up at Family Food Fridays. :)

    http://www.gethealthycheap.com/2010/08/family-food-fridays-813.html

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  8. Looks fantastic - the sweet, the bitter, yay to taste buds!

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  9. I just can't past the tofu texture with the exception of a orange fried tofu at my favorite local Chinese joint. Your dish is certainly visually appealing and you sure like it hot, don't ya...hot mama!

    Love you, can't love the tofu. Sorry :-(

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  10. I will have mine with a bowl of rice. :)

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  11. You have such a colorful way with words, that was some discription...I'm glad you added "but in a pleasant way".

    I love all the falvors going on here, it sounds awesome! (but then how could it not with you telling us about it?)

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  12. Tina...I promise you, the texture is a whole 'nother experience when you press it (or freeze it)!!! But that's okay...I love u whether you like it or not ;)

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  13. Julie...I linked up (meant to anyway, but forgot...of course), thanks for the reminder!! And THANK YOU!! I had that portion done back in February and I'm itching to get some ink soon =)

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  14. I am simply loving it. What a beautiful, mouth watering pic. I love peanut sauce. Bookmarking, will surely try it out :)

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  15. OK, yum! No one could accuse your tofu dish of being bland! It looks delicious. I love some good turnip greens and of course that peanut sauce looks heavenly too. ;-)

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  16. Girl, you make tofu look good! ☺
    I wonder if you could use that gadget for cheese, too.

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  17. This looks great. Bitter greens and peanut sauce, awesome. I like Mark Bittman a lot too! I'm making this for sure.

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  18. Yum, this sounds terrific! Have a great weekend! :-)

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  19. This is a tasty twist on turnip greens. I usually only use them in soups.

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  20. whoa very delicious !!

    Lavanya

    www.lavsblog.com

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  21. This is all I want to eat. Every day. For the rest of my life. Till death do we part.

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  22. I love everything about this, except the tofu (yes, I'm one of those people), but I guess I could swap it out with some chicken or salmon. Love the peanut sauce though and the greens sound divine. I don't think I've ever come across turnip greens here, but I'll be keeping my eyes open. Do you think radish tops would give a similar result?
    Sue

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  23. Girl! You know how much i LOVE bitter greens, but what you didn't know is I grew up on Tofu cause my dad was born in china! I LOVE fried tofu the BEST! what an awesome recipe! :) HUGS!alex

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  24. Tofu... really??? and you feed a family with that crap? Oh well, at least it didn't have a side of Brussels Sprouts along side.

    But seriously, sorry i haven't been around as much as i would have liked. Connection issues made viewing and commenting all but impossible (slooooooow). But, all that is over. I am looking forward to becoming a regular again!

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  25. Ha Ha Ha I've missed reading your posts while I've been away! I love the flavors in this dish and I love tofu. Perfect!

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  26. what a beautiful and unique dish, i really want to try some turnip greens now!

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  27. This had made my mouth water like crazy. Greens (yum) and peanut sauce (yum) with that tofu you make. (yum). Yum yum yum!!!

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  28. we have a similar dish with peanut sauce only that it's wrapped with a crepe. i love the peanut sauce, this will definitely give the ooomph! YUN!

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  29. Adding the chilie flakes is grand. Peanut sauce is a favorite of mine and am always looking for new ways to use tofu! Srumptious recipe! (Adaptation!)

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  30. This has to be tofu at it's best nicely cooked, hot and spicy! I'm starting to think I could dig tofu:) This was a great and fun choice.

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  31. "need something to pummel the sh*t out of your taste buds"

    Well, who doesn't? LOL. You're really talking me into giving tofu another try. Okay, Okay. I will. I promise.

    This looks wonderful!

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  32. That is a really pretty looking plate. I've never had turnip greens and am intrigued now.

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