Coconut-Chili Grits with Broiled Tofu and Roasted Vegetables
Posted Jun 30 2011 7:39pm
Apparently, I don't like leaving recipes alone. I add beans and spices to my turkey burgers. I substitute bison for beef . I throw things like gourds and vinegar into my ice cream machine. Culinarily speaking, I like to march to the beat of my own standing mixer.
This recipe was no exception. When I sat down to plan meals this week, I inevitably decided to make a vegetable-tofu stir fry with rice. The only problem with this idea: the last several times we planned to make vegetable-tofu stir fry with rice, we never made it. Part of the problem is that this dish, unless served with the right sauce or seasoning, can be quite boring - especially when tofu enters the picture. Tofu is like a distant relative that you see at family reunions, off on the periphery of all the action; you really want to get to know it, but it doesn't really have much personality by itself and by the time you get up the energy to go talk to it, Billy Beef or Chelsea Chicken comes over and distracts you with a more interesting conversation.
I decided to scale this wobbly, soy-based mountain and try once again to make really tasty, tantalizing tofu. But the rice still had me. What can you do to make rice less boring? Cooking it in chicken stock can only take you so far. And then I remembered that I had grits in the cupboard. I recently told you about my discovery of the ecstasy that is ground-up corn bits, more popularly called grits. The creamy yet hearty texture was just what I needed to bump this dish up from a planned-it-but-avoided-making-it recipe to an I-can't-wait-to-make-it-is-it-time-yet? recipe. So here it is, folks - my foray into Asian-style grits and soy-tisfying tofu
Coconut-Chili Grits with Broiled Tofu and Roasted Vegetables
1 cup Arrowhead Mills Organic Yellow Corn Grits (or you can use whatever brand you have on hand, but the cooking method may differ from my recipe - check the box)
2 cups water
2 cups light coconut milk
2 tsp chili oil
Assorted vegetables - this is the fun part. You can basically grab whatever vegetables you have on hand and throw them on a baking sheet and roast them. For this recipe, I used:
5 cloves garlic, halved
6 carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 turnips, quartered
1/2 sweet onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
9 beets (these were organic heirloom beets, which run a little small), halved or quartered
Olive oil
Sesame oil
Salt
1 block extra-firm tofu
Crushed red pepper flakes
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk and chili oil in a bowl, mixing well. Set aside.
Drain the tofu well and slice into triangles, about 1/4 inch thick. Place between paper towels and set aside.
Scatter the vegetables on a large, high-sided baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and sesame oil. Roast for approximately 45 minutes, mixing every fifteen minutes, until vegetables are fork-tender.
When the vegetables are done, take them out of the oven and set aside. Turn on your oven's broiler to high, making sure the oven rack is about six inches from the heating element.
Place the tofu triangles on a lightly oiled baking sheet (I used my oil mister to lightly coat the sheet with olive oil), sprinkling lightly with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Broil tofu for approximately ten minutes, turning after 5 - 7 minutes (when the triangles start to brown). Watch them carefully at the end - when a broiler is involved, it only takes a minute to go from delightfully crispy to completely incinerated!
Meanwhile, combine the grits, water, and coconut milk-chili oil mixture in a pot with some salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, reduce the hear, and simmer for approximately five minutes.
Note: If you cook the grits for longer/at a higher heat, like I accidentally did, you will end up with more of a polenta-like texture - kind of cakey when it cools.
Spoon the cooked grits onto a plate and surround/top with vegetables and tofu. Enjoy!
This recipe was no exception. When I sat down to plan meals this week, I inevitably decided to make a vegetable-tofu stir fry with rice. The only problem with this idea: the last several times we planned to make vegetable-tofu stir fry with rice, we never made it. Part of the problem is that this dish, unless served with the right sauce or seasoning, can be quite boring - especially when tofu enters the picture. Tofu is like a distant relative that you see at family reunions, off on the periphery of all the action; you really want to get to know it, but it doesn't really have much personality by itself and by the time you get up the energy to go talk to it, Billy Beef or Chelsea Chicken comes over and distracts you with a more interesting conversation.
I decided to scale this wobbly, soy-based mountain and try once again to make really tasty, tantalizing tofu. But the rice still had me. What can you do to make rice less boring? Cooking it in chicken stock can only take you so far. And then I remembered that I had grits in the cupboard.
I recently told you about my discovery of the ecstasy that is ground-up corn bits, more popularly called grits. The creamy yet hearty texture was just what I needed to bump this dish up from a planned-it-but-avoided-making-it recipe to an I-can't-wait-to-make-it-is-it-time-yet? recipe. So here it is, folks - my foray into Asian-style grits and soy-tisfying tofu