I always said that I would never be able to be vegetarian, or even vegan. That is just impossible. But maybe I could try if I live in Indonesia, because they have really good vegetarian or vegan food. So now that I moved back to my home country, I get to eat as much tofu and tempe as I want.
This recipe I made while I was still in New York though, you can tell from all the ingredients I whipped out. I used tabasco for some extra kick, but if you don’t like spicy then you can leave this out. Or if you like to be more spicy, like me, I ‘accidentally’ splash some more. Actually elevate the whole thing.
Marinating the tofu also better if you do it overnight, that is just a standard of marination. I used honey, then I realized this recipe wouldn’t pass as vegan recipe. But you can still make it vegan by substituting honey with maple syrup or agave or brown sugar.
Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu
1 tbsp cooking oil
6-8 skewers sticks
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tabasco (optional)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp garlic powder
For peanut sauce:
4 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp tabasco (optional)
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, mix all the peanut sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Press tofu to extract liquid (this is important in order to get the tofu crispy). Cover the tofu with a clean towel or paper towel and put a large plate on top of it. Press for about 30 minutes.
- Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes, then in a large bowl, marinate tofu with soy sauce, tabasco, honey, and garlic powder. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. I did overnight.
- Assemble the tofu: Stick the tofu on the skewers, leaving some gap in between each tofu cubes.
- In a large pan, over medium high heat, add cooking oil. Then pan fried tofu skewers until they are crispy on the outside, about 5 minutes. Brush some of the leftover marinade while frying.
- Remove skewers from the pan and serve warm with prepared peanut sauce. Enjoy!