Bowl Dinner with Chicken-Style Tofu
The batch in this photo uses “super-grains mix” for the grain. The fruit is a mix of black plums and apricots.
I love the idea of recipes for a meal in a bowl, with little nests of different foods making up a harmonious whole, but for a long time every time I found a recipe for one, it would turn out to be basically “cook six different dinners and serve small amounts of each in a bowl,” which is likely delicious, but it takes a lot of time. Then I ran across a bowl recipe on the Lazy Cat Kitchen website for a Vegan Chicken Burrito Bowl. This one is pretty approachable and it has lots of yummy components. This is my adapted version of the recipe.
My adult kids and I adore the chicken-style tofu in this recipe. The dressing is delicious! I’ve never been a fan of slaw, but the slaw in this recipe is delicious. And easy!
Bowl Dinner with Chicken-Style Tofu
Ingredients
Grain:
- 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rice, millet, or your choice of grain
Chicken-Style Tofu:
- 1 package super-firm tofu (12 to 16 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1-2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Slaw:
- 1/4 cabbage, or a zucchini, finely grated
- 2-4 tablespoons cilantro or garlic chives, chopped
- 1 heaping tablespoon mayo (I like Woodstock Farms brand)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I like Annie's brand)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar or lime juice
- salt and pepper
Dressing:
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 to 3 cloves garlic, to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon dried coriander
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or other mild-tasting oil
Other Ingredients:
- 1 can black beans or other beans, or 1 1/2 cups cooked beans
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, or a red bell pepper, or salsa, or chopped fruit (a black plum and two small apricots are amazing in this recipe) -- basically a colorful fruit or vegetable
Instructions
Grain:
- If you are cooking quinoa, put the dry quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and run water through it, to rinse off the bitter saponins. Rinsing other grains is optional.
- Put the grain in a pot with 1 1/2 cups of water. Heat to boiling, turn down the heat, and cook until the water is absorbed.
Chicken-Style Tofu:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Choose a pan: I like to use a silicone 8 or 9 inch square or round pan, but you could also use a nonstick cookie sheet, a silicone cookie sheet (on top of a solid cookie sheet), or a version of one of these things that isn't necessarily nonstick but with a sheet of parchment paper on top to prevent sticking. I use silicone without parchment and it works really well for this recipe.
- Cut the tofu into about 12 pieces.
- In the pan you chose, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch all over the bottom. Add the tofu, then the tamari and oil. Then stir the tofu around, to coat it evenly. Then sprinkle on the other tablespoon of cornstarch.
- Now bake in an oven or toaster oven for 22 minutes.
- After baking, sprinkle on the rest of the Chicken-Style Tofu ingredients.
Slaw:
- Grate the zucchini, or shred the cabbage (a food processor works well for doing this very quickly and finely). Stir in all the other slaw ingredients.
Dressing:
- Place all dressing ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Other Ingredients:
- Rinse the beans in a strainer.
- Chop the brightly colored item (red bell pepper, fruit, whichever item you are using).
To Serve:
- To serve, divide the cooked grain among three bowls. Then add little piles of each of the other ingredients. And serve!
Comments
Bowl Dinner with Chicken-Style Tofu — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>