Chilli-fried tofu with egg-fried rice
Spice up crispy tofu with a fiery chilli sauce. Serve alongside egg-fried rice for a quick vegetarian stir-fry that is packed full of flavour.
Each serving provides 713 kcal, 22.3g protein, 71.3g carbohydrate (of which 48.7g sugars), 35.1g fat (of which 4.7g saturates), 6.3g fibre and 2.48g salt.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for shallow frying
- 500g/1lb 2oz firm tofu, drained, patted dry with kitchen paper, cut into 1.5cm/½in cubes
- 4 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
- 75g/3oz cashew nuts
For the chilli sauce
- 150ml/5fl oz rice wine vinegar
- 150g/5oz caster sugar
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 red chillies, finely diced
- 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 10cm/4in piece fresh root ginger, peeled, finely grated
- 2 carrots, peeled, julienned
For the egg-fried rice
- 2 tbsp groundnut oil
- 2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 200g/7oz cooked basmati rice, cooled
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
Method
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Mix the tofu with two tablespoons of vegetable oil.
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To make the tofu, pour the vegetable oil into a deep heavy-based frying pan until it is 3cm/1in in depth. Heat over a medium heat. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
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Mix the flour and crushed peppercorns together in a bowl. Dredge the tofu in the flour, shake off any excess, then carefully lower the coated tofu into the hot oil and cook the tofu for 1–2 minutes, or until crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. (You may need to do this in batches.)
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Fry the cashew nuts in the hot oil for 1 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.
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For the chilli sauce, heat the vinegar, sugar and soy sauce in a non-reactive frying pan until the mixture comes to the boil. Add the chillies, chilli flakes and ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until the volume of the liquid had reduced.
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Add the fried tofu, fried cashew nuts and carrots to the pan, stir well and cook for 2 minutes, or until the carrots have softened.
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To make the egg-fried rice, beat together the eggs and sesame oil in a bowl and add to the wok. Allow to set a little and move around the pan to scramble. Remove from the pan, add a little more oil and stir-fry the rice for 3 minutes, or until the rice is completely warmed through. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper then stir through the egg, spring onions and coriander.
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To serve, spoon the egg-fried rice onto four serving plates and top with a spoonful of chilli-fried tofu.
Butternut squash tagine with couscous
Sweet butternut squash with sour preserved lemons makes a fragrant and easy vegetarian tagine with herby couscous on the side.
Each serving provides 593 kcal, 19.4g protein, 63.1g carbohydrate (of which 27.1g sugars), 26.8g fat (of which 3g saturates), 10.7g fibre and 2.93g salt.
Ingredients
For the butternut squash tagine
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
- 200g/7oz tinned chopped tomatoes
- 200ml/7fl oz vegetable stock
- 3 preserved lemons, rind only, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp clear honey
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the herby couscous
- 400g/14oz couscous
- 600ml/1 pint 2fl oz hot vegetable stock
- 2 lemons, zest only
- 100g/3½oz toasted flaked almonds
- 1 tbsp each chopped fresh parsley, chives and coriander
- 1 tbsp olive oil
To serve
- small handful coriander, to garnish
Method
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For the butternut squash tagine, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a further 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
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Add the cayenne pepper, ground ginger, ground coriander, ground cumin, cinnamon stick and ground turmeric and stir well. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the spices are fragrant.
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Add the butternut squash cubes and stir well to coat the squash in the spices.
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Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, preserved lemons and honey, then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender but still holds its shape.
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Meanwhile, for the herby couscous, place the couscous into a large bowl and pour over the hot chicken stock. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside until the couscous has absorbed all of the stock, about three minutes.
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Fluff up the couscous using a fork, then stir in the lemon zest, flaked almonds, chopped herbs and olive oil until well combined.
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Serve the couscous with the tagine on top and a little chopped coriander to garnish.
