Slow Cooker Thai Tofu & Lettuce Wraps from the Leftovers

I saw a recipe pop up for slow cooker Thai chicken the other day and I realized that I had all the ingredients on hand to make a vegetarian (actually vegan!) version. YAY!  It looked easy, tasty and I thought I’d give it a go. The results did not disappoint. It truly was easy and it tasted amazing. Final icing on the cake? I was able to put my leftovers to good use by making them into lettuce wraps the next night at dinner!

A couple of things of note…  I ate it before I took a picture of it. So, just take my word for it that it looks good too. Also, the 1 Tbsp of saracha in the recipe makes it pretty hot. If you don’t like spicy foods, I’d drop it down to just 1/2 Tbsp.  If you’re not a tofu fan, you can also adapt this same recipe to use a Faux Chicken product such as Quorn Chik’n Cutlets or Gardein Chick’n Scallopini.

Slow Cooker Thai Tofu

Serves 4. Recipe based off of Shrinking Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbsp PB2 (or 1/4 cup of peanut butter)
  • 3/4 cup light coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (use 1/2 Tbsp if you like less heat)
  • 2 Tbsp lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1 package extra firm Tofu, sliced in 1/2 inch slabs
  • 1/3 cup chopped peanuts, for topping
  • 4 Tbsp chopped cilantro, for topping
  • 1/2 cup bean sprouts, for topping
  • 8oz Whole wheat pasta
  • 1 cup shredded carrots

Directions:

  1. Combine PB2 or peanut butter with coconut milk in a medium bowl.
  2. Add in Sriracha (or less), lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and ginger. Stir well to combine.
  3. Coat the tofu with the mixture and place in a slow cooker. Pour half of the remaining mixture into the slow cooker. Retain the other half in the refrigerator for use later.
  4. Cook on high for 2 1/2 – 3 hours or low for 4 – 5ish hours.
  5. Cook and drain the pasta. Heat remaining peanut sauce and carrots in the pasta pot, cooking over medium heat until well combined and carrots are slightly limp. Add the pasta back to the pot and stir well to combine.
  6. Serve tofu over the top of the pasta. Top with chopped peanuts and cilantro.

 

Thai Tofu Lettuce Wraps from the leftovers

Ingredients:

  • Leftover Thai Tofu (recipe above)
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/2 can water chestnuts, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup green onions, for topping
  • Leftover bean sprouts, for topping
  • Leftover cilantro, for topping
  • Lettuce leaves (iceburg, romaine or green leaf), washed and dried

Directions:

  1. Cut the leftover tofu into cubes. Heat over medium heat along with carrots and water chestnuts.
  2. When it’s heated through, add green onions and serve with lettuce leaves, bean sprouts and cilantro.
  3. Eat by placing a bit of the tofu mixture into the lettuce leaf, roll it into a wrap and devour!

Vegan & Vegetarian Tofu Stir-Fry

2013_01_16_stir-fry

For years I’ve been creating mushy, crumbly, and – quite honestly – gross tofu stir-frys. As a vegetarian, married to an Asian, you’d think I would have this one mastered. It was embarrassing. Thankfully this story doesn’t end here. My … Continue reading 

Homemade Tofu Quinoa Veggie Burger Patties

Last summer, a lovely food cart – A La Cart – appeared downtown Benicia at the Farmer’s Market every Thursday night. I was delighted to find out they had a completely homemade veggie burger served on delicious whole grain bread with caramelized onions and mixed baby greens. I got one and was in heaven! After talking to the owner for a little while, I decided to go home and attempt my own version.

Excuse the somewhat ugly cell phone camera picture. It was too delicious and I couldn’t wait long enough to take pretty pictures.

Tofu Quinoa Veggie Burger

Tofu Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Makes 6-8 patties.

Ingredients

  • 10 oz extra firm tofu, sliced and patted dry (I recommend WildWood)
  • 10 oz cooked quinoa (You can use any color, but I used white)
  • 8 oz raw sunflower seeds
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is almost smooth. Scrape down sides occasionally.
  2. Divide into 6-8 equal portions and use your hands to press and form round, slightly flat patties.
  3. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Arrange patties on the skillet, cover and cook. Once they are browned, turn it over and continue to cook until browned on both sides, approximately 5 minutes each side. Make sure it is completely done inside as well, so be sure to not have your temperatures too high on the pan.
  4. Serve with your favorite burger toppings and buns. (I served mine with toasted multi-grain bread by Alvarado St Bakery, caramelized onions, quick homemade pickles, a little ketchup, mustard, tomato and lettuce.)

Nutrition for 1 patty (1/8th of the recipe) (approx): 330 cal, 18g fat, 29 carb, 5 fiber, 15g protein

Egg Drop Soup (aka Egg Flower Soup)

There’s just something about a yummy soup on a cold rainy day that just does it for me. I’m always looking for new soup recipes – ones that are choc full of healthy veggies and that are filling. Egg Drop soup has the added benefit of having a ton of protein and is lowfat. It’s also (almost) fully customizable. You can add in whatever you’d like – more or less vegetables; and if you prefer to add some faux meat, you may.

I made it for dinner for my husband and me a few nights ago. We licked the bowl clean – no leftovers. Yumness.

Egg Drop Soup

Makes 4 servings.

  • 4 c plus 2 Tbsp no chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
  • 1/2 t fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 3 oz extra firm tofu, cubed
  • 1/3 c carrots, chopped
  • 1/4 c corn
  • 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 c snow peas
  1. Bring the 4 cups broth, ginger and soy sauce to a full boil. Make a slurry of the remaining 2 Tbsp broth and cornstarch by mixing in a small bowl until combined. Slowly pour into the broth and stir until thickens, slightly – 2 or 3 mins.
  2. Add carrots, corn and tofu to the soup. Boil 5 minutes.
  3. While the broth is at a full boil and while stirring in one direction, slowly pour in the egg whites. The egg will spread and feather.
  4. Add snow peas, green onion, salt and pepper.

Nutrition: 103 cal, 2.5g fat, 8.5g carb, 1.6g fiber, 2.9g sugars, 11.7g protein

Asian Tofu Salad

Inspired by a tofu salad I had a Trader Joe’s recently, I tried my hand at my own homemade version with a few tweaks to the flavor. I tried to make it somewhat Vietnamese Spring Roll-esq, so to speak. The result was a smashing success. I served it to a group of friends and they had nothing but raves. I have cravings for it on occasion. The flavors compliment each other so well.

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Vegetable Casserole with Tofu Topping


My sister made this dish especially for me at a bbq we both recently attended. It is absolutely delicious. She doubled the recipe for some extra flavor, and I thought it was fabulous. She intentionally left out the fact that the topping had tofu in it for the anti-tofu meat eaters in our mix and just said it was “bread crumbs, parm cheese and stuff like that”. They loved it. I’m sure you will too!

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