This recipe was created out of necessity one afternoon when I had a hankering for Asian spices and odds and ends to pick from for ingredients. I was also motivated by the chunk of silken tofu in the back of the frig that had been purchased weeks ago for a dessert that never happened. Noticing it’s sell-by date, I decided something with silken tofu was for dinner. I also had a large harvest of Swiss chard in the crisper and some kale and arugula that needed to be consumed. I love the challenge of cooking something from all the items that are near their expiration. I think that is how some cooking shows got started, but my version is no TV lights or pressure. It’s really quite easy to make. Here is my step-by-step process:
- First, I put brown rice on to cook in the ricer.
- The tofu went in our press. It’s one of my husband’s favorite gadgets and makes pressing tofu so simple.
- Then I started on my greens by stripping the kale and then giving it a good massage (that sounds so …) as I tore the leaves into small bite-size pieces. Next the Swiss chard and the arugula both got torn. All three greens are cruciferous and therefore are best chopped (or torn) and held before cooking to encourage the most bioavailability from these power houses. I finished by adding them all to the spinner to rinse and clean and then setting aside until I needed them.
- I minced 3 large cloves of garlic or about 4 teaspoons.
- Finely dicing 5 green onions, I separated the white from the green so I could ensure I didn’t over cook the greens and a few were available to garnish my dish. (You can use fewer if the onions are large, but mine were small.)
- In my smallest non-stick skillet, I combined 1 Tablespoon of dried peppers. Again, all I had on hand was the crushed red peppers my husband likes on his pizza. Then I added 1 t. tamari and 2 t. of toasted sesame oil. Once this mixed well, I added a heavy shake of Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Company’s Umami seasoning blend. Enough to cover everything below it. Lastly, I had fresh ginger so I got out my trusty zester and added a big knob of fresh ginger into the mix. The smell was divine. I turned on a low heat and instantly realized I was dealing with something that might have overdone the ginger, so I added a teaspoon of sugar to counter the bite. I let this simmer on a very low heat and stirred often while I cooked the rest of the meal.
- In my large GreenPan (or other non-stick) I combined the garlic, 1 ½ Tablespoons of organic brown sugar and stirred before adding an ample pour of soy sauce (a bit more than 1/3 cup) and 2 Tablespoons of rice vinegar.
- You need to stir this often over a medium heat until it begins to bubble and then watch it simmer on a lower heat a few minutes until it starts to thicken a bit. Once it was starting to get thick, I dried off the tofu and crumbled it into the pan before adding the green crucifers. Then I put the lid on and let that steam until the greens started to wilt. (It looks like too much until they steam and then it reduces to almost nothing.)
- Once the greens were ready, I added half of the leftover green onions, the sesame seeds and the pepper concoction from my little skillet and stirred well to make sure the chili mixture was evenly distributed. I let those flavors marinate together with the lid on for about a minute while I put the brown rice in bowls.
- I added the greens and tofu mixture over the top of the rice and garnished with the last of the green onions.
INGREDIENTS:
Brown Rice 2 cups
Silken Tofu 14-16 oz.
Scallions 4-5
Garlic 3 cloves
Brown Sugar 1 ½ Tablespoons
Soy Sauce 6 Tablespoons or a little over 1/3 cup
Rice Vinegar 2 Tablespoons
Toasted Sesame
Seeds 2 Tablespoons
Greens Whatever you have and the more the better. See instructions above to identify what I used the first time I created this dish.
Crushed
Red Pepper 1 Tablespoon
Toasted Sesame
Oil 2 teaspoons
Tamari 1 teaspoon
Umami
Seasoning 2-3 teaspoons
Fresh
Ginger ~ 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger or to taste
We found this to have just the right blend of flavors and perfect to feed two hungry adults. I hope you enjoy it, and I would love to know what you think of this dish and especially any edit or additions you made to make it perfect for your family’s table. Bon Appetit!